Easy Beetroot Halwa Recipe In Pressure Cooker

Every Thursday and Friday , I perform Guru Pooja and Mahalakshmi Pooja at home. Usually I make Payasam/Kheer or sweet pongal for neivedyam/Prashad. As I am bored of making the same, I am trying out easy sweets recipes like burfi, halwa for every week pooja. Check out my earlier posts suji ka halwa, atta halwa, bread halwa and carrot halwa.  

Last week Thursday, I prepared this beetroot halwa for the first time following my carrot halwa recipe using pressure cooker. As I did not have Khoya/mawa or condensed milk in hand, I just used milk and sugar. It came out really well. This halwa takes less ghee and sugar unlike other halwa recipes. Still it tasted rich, looked colorful and shiny. Sendhil & Raksha loved it a lot. I am sure kids would love to taste this halwa just by seeing its color. 

Overall its a healthy and nice alternative from the carrot halwa/ Gajar halwa. But remember to add the right amount of ingredients mentioned in the recipe. Adding more sugar makes the halwa hard like burfi. Stirring the halwa for long time makes it chewy. This halwa thickens as it cools down. Keep these points in mind and start making it. You can make a perfect beetroot halwa ! 

Beetroot halwa stays good for a week when refrigerated. You can serve it chilled or reheat for few seconds in a microwave oven or a kadai with little ghee to serve it warm. It tastes really great when served warm with a scoop of ice cream. Now lets see how to make this yummy, easy, colorful , healthy, Indian dessert recipe –Beetroot halwa with step by step photos and a video !

Beetroot halwa recipe in a pressure cooker

How to make beetroot halwa in a pressure cooker just by using milk and sugar !

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: 4

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 25 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Grated beetroot - 3 cups Sugar - 3/4 cup ( Reduce 2 tbsp for less sweet) Ghee - 3 tbsp Boiled milk - 1. 5 cups Cashew nuts – 5 nos Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

HOW TO MAKE BEETROOT HALWA IN PRESSURE COOKER - METHOD

Wash 2 big sized beetroot, slice the top and bottom portion and peel its skin using a peeler. Grate it using a big holed grater. If we use small holed grater, beetroot becomes mushy after cooking and resembles jam. So I always prefer big sized holes for grating. Measure it after grating and keep 3 cups ( loosely packed) aside ! In a pressure cooker base, heat 1.5 tbsp of ghee. Add the grated beetroot and saute till its raw smell goes off completely & beetroot turns pale in color. It takes 7 to 10 minutes. Now add the boiled milk( at room temperature) and add a small pinch of salt. Addition of salt helps to enhance the sweetness of halwa. Mix well and pressure cook in very low flame for 3-4 whistles. It takes nearly 15 minutes. Open the cooker after the steam is released. Boil till 3/4th of the excess milk gets absorbed by the halwa.When the halwa starts to become thick, add sugar. Mix well till sugar melts. The mixture will become watery. Keep mixing in medium to high flame till the halwa starts to leaves the sides and bottom of cooker. Stay nearby and keep mixing else halwa may burn in the bottom. This process takes more than 20 minutes in medium flame.   When the halwa becomes thick, glossy and leave the sides of cooker, reduce the flame to low and keep mixing for one minute. Halwa leaves the pan completely and gathers in the center. Switch off the flame and remove the cooker from the stove. It looks moist now. Let the halwa be in cooker for few minutes.In the mean time, roast the cashews. Heat the remaining 1.5 tbsp. ghee in a kadai and roast the cashew nuts till golden. Add it to the halwa in the cooker. Mix well and transfer the halwa to another bowl. Halwa looks slightly moist and sticky when hot.  As it cools down, it becomes thick and set well. Original taste and sweetness of this halwa can be known only after it becomes warm. If you want more sweetness, heat halwa & sugar in a kadai and Consume after it becomes warm. You can even refrigerate the halwa for an hour to serve chilled ! I like to have it warm with a scoop of ice cream! Tastes yummy !!!

Note

This halwa stays good for one day without refrigeration.But it stays good for 3-4 days if stored in an air tight box in a refrigerator. Use clean spoon for handling ! Reduce the quantity of sugar if the beetroot is too sweet. But do not add more sugar than the mentioned quantity. Halwa may become hard like a burfi after mixing. Mix the halwa till it becomes thick and leaves the sides of pan. It will thicken as it cools down. Adding cardamom powder helps to give a nice flavor. Do not avoid it. If you want to add condensed milk, reduce the quantity of sugar or skip it completely. You can add sugarless khoya at the end, mix well and remove the halwa. It makes the halwa more rich in taste !

Try this easy, yummy beetroot halwa for festivals and occasions. You will love it !

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Millet Noodles Recipe | Vegetable Millet Noodles | Siruthaniyam Noodles

Recently I got a mail from Native Food Store – An Online millet stores in Chennai, to try their millet products and share few recipes with them. I visited their website Nativefoodstore.com and found wide range of millets and their products like Instant millet mix, millet flour, millet flakes, instant millet noodles and many more. Rates are also reasonable when compared to other online stores. I found millet noodles, millet flakes are interesting and new to me. So I decided to try their instant millet noodles recipe and asked them to send me the products.

As I haven’t shared any millet recipe in my blog for long time, I wanted to take this as a chance to make varieties of millet recipes in my kitchen and share with you all. My contact at Native food store was very much responsive and sent me the products immediately. They sent me Samai/Little millet noodles, Kuthiravali/Barnyard millet noodles, Varagu/kodo millet noodles, thinai aval /foxtail millet flakes and Kambu aval/ Pearl millet flakes. I tried Samai veg noodles recipe for the first time in Indian style. They had also given their own tastemaker masala along with the noodles just like Maggi and other branded noodles. 

As its my first attempt, I just followed the recipe given in the packet, added all the colorful vegetables and made this millet noodles for our breakfast. It came out really well and I couldn’t find any difference in taste, color or flavor from our regular, plain noodles.We loved it to the core. I feel the tastemaker does the magic to the recipe. It can be prepared in less than 15 minutes. So bachelors and working women can make this healthy as well as quick recipe for their breakfast, lunch box or for dinner. I am sure its a very healthy choice for kids and adults as well. 

You can try varieties like hakka noodles, Schezwan noodles, vegetable Chinese style noodles and much more. I will try to make some interesting recipes with it and share here soon. I strongly recommend all my readers to try these products from their online stores. They deliver their products in Chennai, all over Tamil nadu, Karnataka and Andhra as of now. They told they will be expanding their service all over India and abroad.  Now lets see how to make Instant Veg Millet Noodles recipe with step by step photos !

*This is not a paid post. But I got the products for free. I have shared a honest review. 

Veg Millet noodles recipe - How to make Millet noodles at home

Veg Millet noodles recipe - How to make Millet noodles at home - Indian style !

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Millet Recipes

Serves: 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Millet noodles packet - 1 no ( 70gms) Mixed vegetables - 1/2 cup ( Carrot 1 small, capsicum 1 tbsp chopped, Green peas fistful) Big onion - 1 no Curry leaves - Few Tastemaker - 1 packet OR Red chilli powder + Garam masala powder - 1 tsp each Salt & water - as needed Cooking oil – 2 tbsp Lemon juice - few drops ( optional)

HOW TO MAKE MILLET NOODLES - METHOD

Heat 2 cups ( 500ml) of water adding few drops of cooking oil and little salt. Let the water come to roll boil. Then add the noodles and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. In the mean time, you can chop onion and vegetables into small pieces and saute them to make the masala. In 12 minutes, noodles will turn soft but stays firm in shape. All the water will be evaporated. Now take one noodle and try to mash it. If it breaks and mushes, noodles is cooked soft. Switch off the flame and drain the noodles in a colander or sieve. Discard the excess water and wash the noodles in cold water. This helps to keep the noodles non-sticky and avoids excessive cooking. Heat 2 tbsp cooking oil in a kadai and saute the finely chopped onion,curry leaves and mixed vegetables. Add the salt required for vegetables and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water and cover cook till the vegetables are soft. Boil and drain the excess water if any. Now add the tastemaker and mix well. Add the cooked noodles and toss it to coat the masala. Check for taste and add more salt if needed. Lastly sprinkle some lemon juice if you wish and mix well. Switch off the flame and serve hot immediately ! Enjoy !

Try this healthy mixed veg millet noodles at home and enjoy !

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Jaljeera Recipe With Video –Jaljira – How To Make Jal Jeera At Home

Jal Jeera / Jaljira is a healthy summer drink that is most popular in North India. In Hindi, Jal means water and Jeera means cumin seeds. This drink is prepared with special spice mix masala powder that is mixed with water or soda. Jal jeera spice powder is made of roasted cumin, pepper, mint leaves, black salt, ginger, amchoor powder and lemon juice. So it has lots of health benefits. Basically it helps to improve digestion and aids for weight loss too. I have tasted this jaljira several times in “The Village” restaurant and in some other hotels as well. Mostly it is served as an appetizer in restaurants whereas I like to have this drink after a heavy meal. I love this drink very much and I don’t mind drinking at any time or any season of the year. So I bought a packet of jaljeera powder from the shop and prepared this drink at home for the first time. We loved it very much. Then I started serving this to my guests as a welcome drink. Everybody liked it so much and asked me the recipe too. Even though I make it with store bought powder, I used to tell the ingredients roughly and ask them to buy this jal jeera powder from the market. Yesterday I was thinking to start summer recipes in my blog. The most refreshing summer drink jaljeera flashed in my mind. I tried it this morning by watching Sanjeev Kapoor’s YouTube video and made it from scratch. I altered the recipe slightly by looking at the ingredients list of store bought jaljira packet. It came out very well and tasty. Traditionally tamarind is used in jaljeera but have used lemon juice instead. So lets check how to make this refreshing, fresh, yummy, healthy, easy Indian drink for this summer – Jal jeera recipe with step by step pictures and a video. Do try it and enjoy !
Check out my other summer recipes in THIS LINK

Jal jeera Recipe - Jaljira - How to make Jal jeera at home

Jal jeera Recipe - Jaljira - How to make Jal jeera at home

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Summer Drink

Serves: Serves 3-4

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 5 Minutes

Total time: 10 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Mint leaves - 1/2 cup Coriander leaves – 1/4 cup Ginger - 1/2 inch piece Pepper corns – 1/2 tsp Roasted cumin seeds – 1/2 tbsp / 1.5 tsp  ( Dry roast) Black salt - 1 tsp Powdered white salt – 1/2 tsp  ( Regular salt) Sugar or grated jaggery -  1 to 2 tsp ( adjust) Chat masala powder Or Amchoor powder - 1 tsp Lemon – 1 no Cold Water -  3 cups To Serve Ice cubes – Few Kara Boondhi – To garnish ( as needed)

METHOD

Dry roast cumin seeds in a hot kadai for one minute. Do not burn the jeera. It tastes bitter and spoils the taste of jaljeera. Take all the ingredients given in the list in a mixie jar. Add the roasted cumin seeds. Grind to a smooth paste adding required water. I used 1/2 cup water to grind it. Transfer the ground paste to a bowl and wash the mixie jar with one cup of water. Add the washed water to the paste.  Place another bowl, keep a metal strainer and filter the drink. Press it with a spoon to filter well and discard the residue. Add 1.5 - 2 cups more water and mix well. Check for taste and add more salt, sugar or lemon juice if needed. If you need more cumin flavor, add 1/2 tsp readymade cumin powder if u have in hand. To serve : Take a tall glass, add some crushed ice or ice cubes, top it with 2 tsp of kara boondhi and pour the jaljeera till the rim. sprinkle a pinch of cumin powder if u wish. Serve immediately. Refrigerate the remaining drink for later use. Stays fresh for 2-3 days in refrigerator. Enjoy !

Note

You can add more black salt, amchoor powder , sugar and lemon juice at anytime after making the drink. Adjust them based on your taste.  Jaljeera tastes the best when its served chilled. So always use ice cold water for preparation or refrigerate it  / add ice cubes while serving ! Never try this recipe without black salt and chat masala or amchoor powder.It adds a unique taste to this drink.

Try this easy drink at home and have it after or before a heavy meal. It helps to improve digestion and increases appetite !

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Tomato Sabji Recipe – Onion Tomato Sabzi Recipe For Chapathi, Poori

When my father was working in Mumbai, he learnt this recipe from his North Indian friend.  Whenever my dad comes to Salem for holidays, he used to cook for us. We love our dad's cooking a lot . We love his Kara kuzhambu, rasam and this onion tomato sabji. My dad used to say this tomato sabzi is their go to recipe for every day's dinner.They also make it for their lunch box as a side dish for chapathi or poori . Its so easy to make and tastes great too. Sometimes my dad make this sabji by adding boiled potato, peas and even ladies finger. We love this simple sabzi with idli,dosa as well. I don’t say this is the authentic Maharashtrian style tomato sabji or tomato bhaji. This is just an easy, one pot version which is ideal for working women and bachelors. Last weekend I made methi poori and this tomato sabji for our breakfast. It was a nice combo.Sendhil and Raksha loved it a lot. It tastes the best with roti and poori. Do try this tomato sabji recipe and share your feedback with me  :)

Tomato sabji recipe for chapathi, poori

How to make tomato sabji in a pressure cooker - Easy & quick side dish for poori and roti/chapathi !

Cuisine: North Indian

Category: Side dish for roti

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 15 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Ripe tomato - 3 nos Big onion - 1 no ( Big sized) Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/2 – 3/4 tsp ( I used Kashmiri chilli pwd) Dhania powder/coriander seeds powder - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Sugar - 1/2 tsp Salt & water - as needed To temper Cooking oil - 2 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp ( optional) Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - few Coriander leaves - to garnish

METHOD

Wash and chop the onion and tomato into small pieces. In a cooker base, heat oil and splutter cumin seeds. Saute onion until transparent and then add ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves.  Saute till the raw smell of g&g paste goes off. Now add the tomato pieces and saute for a minute. Add salt, turmeric powder, sugar, red chilli powder, Dhania powder, garam masala powder and saute till tomato turns mushy. Now add 3/4 cup of water, mix well and pressure cook in high flame for 2 whistles. Open the cooker after the steam is released. Oil would float on top. Mix well with a ladle and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Boil for few minutes if the sabji is watery. Make it thick. Serve hot with poori or roti ! Enjoy !

Note

For variations, you can add equal quantity of tomato and onion but adjust the quantity of spice powders accordingly. You can also add some cooked peas or boiled potato cubes. You can skip dhania powder if u wish. But flavor varies. Adding sugar helps to enhance the taste. It gives a mild sweetness to the bhaji. You can also make this sabji in a kadai instead of pressure cooker. For variations, you can add coarsely crushed peanut powder ( 1 tbsp )

Try this easy, yummy tomato sabji at home and enjoy !!

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Coconut Khoya Burfi Recipe – Nariyal Ki Barfi With Khoya

I must thank my reader friend Harini for requesting me to try Chennai Ganga sweets shop style coconut burfi with khoya ( Thengai burfi in Tamil, Nariyal Ki burfi in Hindi). When she told me, I had no clue about its taste and texture. Recently I bought that coconut burfi from Ganga sweets during my Chennai trip. When I tasted it, I found the barfi is made with coconut and khoya. I browsed for the recipe and tried it by watching Dr.Shalini’s YouTube video. Even though its my first attempt, I am quiet happy with the results.I won’t say it came out 100% close to the sweet shop ones but it tasted similar. 

Usually South Indian coconut burfi is made by cooking freshly scraped coconut in sugar syrup of one string consistency. But this coconut burfi with khoya is prepared by cooking khoya/mawa, desiccated coconut, sugar and water together till it reaches the burfi consistency. You don’t have to check for one string sugar syrup. But this burfi takes long time to cook and set as it has khoya in it. 

I have not used milk, milk powder or condensed milk in this recipe as I had used yellow food color to resemble the sweet shop burfi. If you want to make white colored coconut burfi, use milk instead of water. I am happy that I could try this North Indian style nariyal ki burfi successfully at home. I am sharing this colorful recipe as my contribution for Holi festival. Do try this easy and yummy coconut mawa burfi at home for this festival and have a great celebration. Lets see how to make coconut khoya burfi with step by step photos and a VIDEO !

Do check out my Holi special recipes COLLECTION for more sweets and snacks ideas!

Coconut khoya burfi recipe - Nariyal Ki barfi with mawa

How to make coconut khoya burfi recipe at home - North Indian style coconut burfi with khoya !

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: 10 

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 30 Minutes

Total time: 35 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Desiccated coconut - 1.5 cups ( I used store bought dry coconut) Unsweetened Khoya / Mawa - 1 cup ( I used  200gms of Milky mist khoya) Sugar - 1 cup Water - 3/4 cup Saffron threads - Few Yellow food color - A pinch Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Chopped pistachios – 2 tbsp ( To garnish) Ghee – 1 tsp ( to grease the plate)

METHOD

Grease a tray with ghee and keep it ready. Mash the khoya well and measure 1 cup. Keep aside.In a kadai, take 3/4 cup of water, add saffron threads, food color and cardamom powder. Mix well and let it start to boil. Add 1 cup of mashed khoya and mix well without lumps. It resembles condensed milk after mixing. When it starts to boil with bubbles, add sugar and mix well.Sugar melts and the mixture starts to roll boil. Let it boil for a minute. Then add 1.5 cups of desiccated coconut and mix well. Mixture will start to thicken. Keep mixing till the burfi mixture is thick and leaves the sides of pan completely. It becomes a whole mass with nice coconut smell. Stay nearby and keep stirring to prevent burnt bottom. It takes nearly 10–15 minutes to reach the final stage if mixing in medium to high flame. Make sure there is very less moisture. It should not be too wet. Remember over mixing makes the burfi too hard and chewy.So remove it at the right time. Grease the bottom of a small bowl with ghee. Put the burfi mixture to the greased tray and press it well with a greased bowl. Level it and sprinkle the chopped pista pieces. Press it well. Freeze the burfi mixture for one hour OR refrigerate it for 2-3 hours. It helps to set the burfi quickly and make shapes perfectly. Mark square shape using a greased knife.As the burfi mixture is cold and frozen, it would be difficult to handle. So press it hard to mark shapes. Remove it after few minutes. It tastes slightly chewy when consumed on the same day. Tastes perfect the next day. This burfi needs a setting time of 8 hours. Be patient. Leave over night and taste it the next day to know its actual taste.   Enjoy ! This burfi stays good for 2 days in room temperature and 4 – 5 days under refrigeration.

Note

If you want to use fresh coconut, you can use instead of desiccated coconut. But it takes longer time to cook and reach the final stage as fresh coconut has some water content. Shelf life of the sweet reduces if you use fresh coconut.

Try this easy, yummy coconut khoya burfi at home and enjoy the festival !

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