Dates Kheer (or) Dates Rice Payasam (or) Kharjuram paravannam

On karva chaut my friend gave all prasadh to us and this dish is one among them. I so liked it , and i asked her for the recipe. Its a healthy dish also so give it a try ....

Preparation time : one hour
Makes : 2 cups

Ingredients :

Rice : 1/4 cup
Milk : 2 cups + 1 cup
Dates : 10 or to taste
Ful makhani : 5
Coconut Pieces : 2 Tbsp

Method :

Soak pitted dates in one cup of milk for one hour .
After one hour mash them a bit with your hands.
Take a pot , add one cup of milk , add rice, let it boil in medium flame.
Once rice is almost done , add dates, ful makhani, coconut pieces.
Put it in very low flame, let it boil for 40 mins.
Your kheer is ready to serve.
Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you , do post your comments !!!

Palakova

This is concentrated milk so i say it is healthy than other sweets , its like you are having a cup of milk with couple of table spoons of sugar :) but let me tell you this tastes heavenly 

Preparation time : 1 hour
Serves : 4

Ingredients :

Milk : 4 cups
curd : 3/4 cup or more as needed
Sugar : 1/2 cup (if u eat less use 1/3 cup)
Toppings which are optional :
Almonds : 1 tsp
Pistachio : 1 tsp
Silver foil : 1/2
Saffron strands : few

Method :

Take a heavy bottom pan , heat it up and add milk.
Let it come to boil , once boiled keep it in medium flame and keep mixing it.
Take care not to burn the bottom.
Boil them until they become half.
Now add curd and let the milk curdle.
(you can even use lemon juice but than that i feel this is good and tasty)
Let all the water evaporate , be patient its worth :P
After all water is evaporated add sugar.
Let all the sugar melt and it should almost become like a dough.
You can have it as it is or if you want a smooth kova then grind it in mixer until smooth.
Take it out.
Your palakova is ready to serve.
Top it with your favorite toppings or serve as it is.
Enjoy your dish :)

Vella seedai

Seedai is a traditional snack in Tamilnadu cuisine made during Janmashtami or krishna jayanthi festival. When i first came across this recipe , i was in a dilemma to prepare this or not, but when i saw detailed step by step description from a blog, i thought i will give it a try and its a hit :) I have heard about disastrous stories of seedai bursting, so i kind of stayed away for them for some time but my urge to try new dishes dint stop me, so i ended up making them successfully and posting it here, go through 'things that need to be taken care of while making' at the end of the post .

They taste amazing. Do give it a try.

Preparation time : 40 mins

Serves : 2 to 3

Ingredients :

Rice flour : 1 cup 

Urad da flour : 2 tsp

Unsalted butter : 1 1/2 Tbsp

Grated coconut : 1Tbsp

Jaggery (grated) : 3/4 cup 

Water : 1/2 cup

Sesame seeds : 2 tsp

Oil : to deep fry 

Method :

Take a bowl add jaggery and water to it and let it soak for 5 mins.

Now take that in a pan and heat it until it comes to a boil.

Strain this and set aside.

Take rice flour, urad dal flour in a dry pan and roast for 2 mins or so.

Take this in a sifter and sieve well.

To this flour add in butter, sesame seeds, coconut and mix well.

Add in jaggery water little by little and make a dough.

Take small portions from the mix and shape it into a small ball.

Set aside for 30 mins so it dries up.

Heat oil for deep frying, drop the seedai in oil and fry till it gets light color.
Now reduce the flame to medium and fry till dark.
Drain them onto a paper towel and let them cool down.
Store them in an air tight container.
Enjoy your dish :)

Why Does Seedai Burst? TIPS TO AVOID THEM :
Things that need to be taken care of while making :

If the rice and urad dhal flour are not grinded and sieved well they will end up having small grains inbetween which will cause the seedai to burst. So make sure both the flours are sieved well and are very fine. Sifting and roasting flours is very important. It takes the moisture from them, so don't leave that step.

You should use soft butter which is at room temperature for this recipe.

Pricking holes on all seedai will help to release the air trapped inside the seedai when you are making balls, this will avoid the seedai from bursting.

Do not roll the balls tight, do them as smooth and gentle as possible. If you roll it tight then air bubbles might get trapped inside making them to burst. Also dont expect to get perfect rounds just pinch roll 

Drying the seedai for 30 mins, will dry it out and remove any moisture from it . This will prevent them from bursting.

Roasting Coconut helps to remove the moisture from it and will prevent it from bursting.

Mango pie

I made this pie on a pie day ;P that is on 22/7 ;)
I should tell you that you’ve landed on the right spot if you’re looking for a quick and easy dessert for your pot-luck parties. Yeah, this is a very simple mango pie recipe that needs no baking and involves no messing in your kitchen. Just pour in the ingredients, blend and refrigerate. That very simple dessert but one which will beat all other desserts brought to any big get-together parties.

Preparation time : 15 min + 8 hours
Makes : one 9" pie

Ingredients :

Mango pulp : 2 cups
Milk : 1/2 cup
Sugar : 1/4 cup or to taste
Water : 2 Tbsp
Gelatin : 1 1/2 Tbsp
Heavy Whipping cream : 1 cup

Method :

I got a ready-made no-bake crust (Graham’s ready crust). It’s a 9 inch pie crust. Save the plastic cover in the product. We will need it once we finish preparing the pie.

What gives the jelly consistency to the mango pie? I got Knox gelatin (unflavoured). I used just one packet. That itself gave enough jelly-ness to the pie. You can substitute gelatin with agar agar.

Take a large mixing bowl and add two tablespoons of cold water or milk to it. Sprinkle the gelatin powder over the water to make the gelatin wet.
Then pour hot milk to the gelatin and mix to dissolve the gelatin completely. Make sure there are no
lumps.
Then add the mango pulp and the sugar and mix well.

If you’re lucky to make your own mango puree/pulp, fine. I got a tin of sweetened mango pulp from the Indian stores. [If your mango pulp is not very sweet then you will have to use 1/2 cup of sugar (adjust sugar amount according to your taste). You can also substitute sugar with 1/2 cup of sweetened condensed milk.

Keep this aside.

Next take the whipping cream in a separate bowl and whip it using an electric whisk to make it fluffy
(till soft peaks form). This should take about 4-5 minutes.
Finally fold in this whipped cream with the mango mixture slowly and once mixed in thoroughly
pour it into the pie crust.
The quantity given in the ingredients list exactly fits a 9 inch pie crust.
Close the filled crust with the cover. Refrigerate it for 6 to 8 hours. I kept it in my fridge overnight. [By the way, it’s up to you to decide if you really need a pie crust. Yeah, you can just pour them into a bowl/cup and simply scoop it and enjoy after refrigerating]
and…. the mango pie is ready.

                                                   

Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you , do post your comments !!!

Mango halwa

Preparation time : one hour

Makes : 60 2x2 size thin pieces 

Ingredients :

Mango pulp : 2 cups
Ghee : 1/4 cup
Corn starch : 1/2 cup
Water : 1/2 cup
Sugar : 2 cups
Cardamom powder : ½ tsp
Cashew nuts : ¼ cup
Almonds : 1/8 cup

Method :

Take a bowl add corn starch and water make a paste.
Heat ghee in a pan and add mango pulp.

When heat up the mango pulp in this add cornstarch mixture and mix it well and keep stirring till thickened.

Add sugar, mix this and add ghee mix it till the mixture is thickened this will take around 45-50 min. (I used canned mango pulp, as it has sugar in it, i dint add much sugar).

Once it moves at one single mass and separates from the pan, add broken cashew nuts, almonds, cardamom powder, keep this mixing another 10 minutes. 

Pour the mixture on to a greased tray with ghee and rest for 2 to 3 hours and cut them in to pieces.

Enjoy your dish :)

Thank you, do post your comments !!

Strawberry roll ups

It is an easy fruit leather with only two ingredients.

The real beauty of these homemade strawberry fruit roll-ups besides tasting amazing and looking amazing (checkout out those natural strawberry seeds!), is that they are made with simply fresh fruit and sugar (if you choose). All natural strawberry fruit rollups without artificial colors, flavors, corn syrup and other “stuff? Get out of town!!!

I so love these fruit roll ups and i made only these with all the strawberries that i have.

Preparation time : 4 hours approx
Makes : 2 trays

Ingredients :

Strawberries : 2 cups
Granulated sugar : 4 Tbsp (or to taste)
Fresh lemon juice : 1 Tbsp (optional)

Method :

Preheat oven to 170 degrees F.

(You can go unto 200 but not above 200)
Line a large baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper.

(Or simply you can use non stick baking tray)
Place strawberries in food processor or blender until blended.
Add enough sugar to sweeten and a splash of lemon juice( if desired).
Pour into prepared pan and spread out into a thin, even layer.
Bake for 4 hours or until the center is set.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Carefully peel up the fruit roll-up and place the sticky, smooth side on parchment paper.
Cut to size so that you have an even rectangle to work with. (I usually cut off the edges of the fruit rollups since they are usually crunchy and uneven.
Cut into 2-inch strips and roll-up firmly.
Store in airtight container.

This takes a bit time, don't rush and tempt to increase your oven temperature, if so you will end up with burnt rollup those will go straight into the bin.
Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you, do post your comments !!!

Sweet corn halwa

Preparation time : 45 mins
Serves : 3

Ingredients :

Sweet corn : 1 cup
Milk : 1 1/2 cup
Sugar : 1 cup
Cardamom powder : 1/2 tsp
Ghee : 10 Tbsp
Cashew nuts : 10
Almonds crushed : 3 Tbsp
Pista crushed : 2 tsp
Saffron strands : few
Pala kova : 6 Tbsp (optional)

Method :

First take a blender add sweet corn to it,  and grind it into a smooth paste(without  adding any water)
Now take a pan add 5 Tbsp of ghee, heat it, add sweet corn paste .
Fry it on low flame.
When sweet corn is fried for good smell ( it leaves raw smell), keep it aside.
Now take a pan , add 1 Tbsp of ghee and add 1 cup of milk and then boil it for one boil, when milk is boiled then add fried sweet corn mixture and then mix it well, then put lid to boil it on low flame for 5 minutes.
( If you are using khoa or kova then add another 1/2 cup milk and kova to it now)
Then add sugar also and boil it on a medium flame till the mixture is thick.
(Ghee will separate from the pan when done)
 Now take a pan add 2 Tbsp of ghee to it add nuts and fry them a bit.
When the halwa is cooked then add cardamom powder and mix well.
Then add 2 Tbsp of ghee and fried nuts.
Add saffron strands and mix good.
Take it into a serving plate, garnish with pista crush and almong crush and then serve.
Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you, do post your comments !!!

Dry fruit chikki (or) Dry fruit burfi

This burfi is really good for pregnant women. 25 grsms of dates will have 15 mg of calcium and 167mg potassium . With all other dry fruits this chikki is an energy booster even.

I prepared these and i used to have one of these everyday while i was pregnant .

Instead of dates you can use figs and make fig burfi which also tastes good.

Preparation time : 45 mintues

Makes : 30 or 40

Ingredients :

Seedless dates : 250 Gms

Cashew nuts : 1/4 cup 

Almonds : 1/4 cup 

Pistachios : 1/4 cup 

Cantaloupe seeds : 1/4 cup (or) you can use pumpkin seeds (optional)

Poppy seeds : 1 Tbsp

Edible gum : 1 Tbsp (optional)

Cardamoms : 5 (or) Powdered cardamom : 1 tsp

Freshly grated nutmeg : 1/4 tsp

Ghee : 2 Tbsp (divided)

Method :

Using a knife chop the dates into small pieces and coarsely grind them using a mixer grinder.

Or you can even chop the dates finely using a food processor.

(Grind them to a coarse texture only, to get the feel while eating the chikki)

Chop cashew nuts, almonds, and pistachios to small pieces.

Chop the nuts using knife to get texture. 

(These nuts may even be chopped using a kitchen chopper or food processor but  more than half the quantity would be transformed into a powder - this would not give the texture and taste to the burfi . So chop the nuts using a knife only.)

Take cardamom seeds, discarding the shells and make fine powder using a mortar and pestle.

Measure one teaspoon of cardamom powder and keep it aside.

Grate nutmeg, measure 1/2 tsp of the powder and keep it aside.

Heat a pan and add poppy seeds.

Fry stirring poppy seeds on low flame for 5 minutes.

Take the roasted poppy seeds into a plate and allow them to cool.

In the same pan, take one Tbsp ghee and add edible gum.

Fry stirring till the pieces of gum puff fully.

Take the fried gum pieces into a plate and allow them to cool.

Once cooled, make powder of the fried gum pieces by rubbing between fingers or by crushing them using a mortar and pestle.

In the same pan, add one more Tbsp of ghee and add cashew nut pieces, almond pieces, pistachio pieces and cantaloupe seeds.

Fry stirring the seeds and nuts on medium flame.

Fry till the cantaloupe seeds make crackling sound.

Then add coarsely ground dates and mix well.

Then add roasted poppy seeds, cardamom powder, and grated nutmeg along with fried and crushed edible gum.

(edible gum if used in the recipe, will give nice binding to the chikki)

Mix the mixture well till it forms a solid mass.

Once mixed well, transfer the burfi or chikki into a plate and spread to cool.

While still warm knead the burfi and divide it into three portions.

Take one portion between palms and give a cylindrical shape.

Similarly form cylindrical shapes out of the two other rolls. 

Take an aluminum foil and place one portion of the burfi on it and cover.

Roll tightly in the aluminum foil pressing at the ends.

Twist the foil at the ends to give a firm shape.

(Rolling the cylinders and wrapping like toffee in aluminum foil)

Roll this on a flat surface to get even cylindrical shape.

Similarly wrap and roll the other two parts also.

Place the three rolls in refrigerator for 4 hours to make it firm to cut into slices.

After four hours remove the rolls from fridge and remove the aluminum foil.

(Using aluminum foil to roll gives a firm and even cylindrical shape. To remove the foil it would be difficult , but the taste of the burfi which we enjoy afterwards is worth taking the pain in removing the foil)

Cut the chikki or burfi or dry fruit halwa into desired thickness and serve.

Enjoy your dish :)

Thank you, do post your comments !!!

Kaakinada kaja (or) Gottam khaja

Preparation time : 3 hours + 20 mins
Makes : 20 approx

Ingredients :

For kaja :
Maida (or) all purpose flour : 1  1/2 cup
Besan / chickpea flour / gram flour : 1 Tbsp
Baking soda : 2 generous pinches
Ghee : 1 Tbsp
Water : as needed
For sugar syrup :
Sugar : 1 cup
Water : 1/2 cup
Ilachi (or) Cardamom powder : 1/4 Tbsp

Method :

Take all purpose flour in a bowl, mix baking soda and besan very well with it.
Make a well in middle, add melted ghee and just mix once.
Add water and make a soft dough .
(water will be around 50 % of flour that means if you are using one cup of flour add 50 % of cup i.e half cup of water)
It should be soft and sticking to hands.
So grease your hands with ghee and, knead it for 15 minutes.
(lift the dough with your hands from the bowl and throw it into the bowl from top or simply saying man handle the dough ;) )
Cover it fully with wet cloth or wet tissue.
Rest it for three hours.(Don't skip this step, if you skip this step your kaja's don't get those pores and they will be like hard biscuits)

Just before making kaja's
Make sugar syrup, take a pan add sugar and water into it.
Boil it till you get one thread consistency.
(see down for what is one thread consistency)
(Add one Tbsp of lemon juice , so that it won't solidify)
Add cardamom powder.
Keep this aside.

Again knead the dough for 5 more mins.
(lift the dough from the bowl and throw it into the bowl from top or simply saying man handle the dough again ;) )
Take a plate and sprinkle little flour all over it.
(If you don't do this they will get stuck to the plate)
Dust the surface with little flour.
Roll the dough with your hands into a big log.
Pat the log a bit to get a rectangle shape.
Cut it into 2 cms pieces.
Take one by one press them once and put them in plate.

Heat up the oil.
When the oil temperature is ready (medium high), start frying kaja's in batches until golden brown. While dropping the kaja's in oil the temperature should be hot, then reduce the flame to medium and fry until dark brown.  Check the temperature from time to time and also for every batch.

Remove them one by one and immediately drop them into prepared sugar syrup.
Let them immerse in sugar syrup, press each khaja into syrup and hold for 30 seconds.
(while doing this, put oil in low flame, so that other khaja's don't get burnt).
If you don't press and hold for 30 seconds for each and every kaja then they won't absorb syrup which is very important part of kakinada kaja and they will be like hard biscuits.

Then let them soak for 30 minutes and then remove from the syrup.
Add little melted ghee around one table spoon , add some powdered sugar around 2 Tbsp and mix it good so that each kaja gets that coating of powdered sugar.
Let it cool down completely before storing.
Store them in a box.
Shelf life : Stay fresh for 10 days out side ... can be refrigerated for more shelf life

Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you, do post your comments !!!

One thread consistency :

While the syrup is boiling keep testing it for its consistency. To do this, dip a spoon or spatula in the syrup and lift it out. Allow to cool for a few seconds as it will be very hot at first. Now touch the syrup with a clean forefinger , and then touch your thumb and forefinger together and pull apart gently. Keep boiling the syrup gently till you reach the consistency called for in the recipe.
Stages progress fairly quickly after a point, so check frequently.
One - thread consistency is when a single thread is formed ( and does not break) when your forefinger and you thumb are pulled apart gently.

Madata kaja

Preparation time : 1 hour + 20 mins
Makes : 4 dozens approx

Ingredients :

For kaja :
Maida (or) all purpose flour : 1 cup
Baking soda : 1/4 tsp
Ghee : 1/2 Tbsp
Water : as needed
For sugar syrup :
Sugar : 1 cup
Water : 1/2 cup
Ilachi (or) Cardamom powder : 1/4 Tbsp
To mix :
Ghee : 1  Tbsp
Rice flour : 1 Tbsp

Method :

Take all purpose flour in a bowl, mix baking soda very well with it.
Make a well in middle, add melted ghee and just mix once.
Add water and make a dough like a chapati dough.
(water will be around 40 % of flour that means if you are using one cup of flour add 40 % of cup i.e less than half cup)
Make the dough - not too soft / not too hard dough.
Knead it for 5 minutes.
Rest it for one hour.(Don't skip this step)

Mean while mix rice flour in melted ghee.
Keep it aside.

Just before making kaja's
Make sugar syrup, take a pan add sugar and water into it.
Boil it till you get one thread consistency.
(see down for what is one thread consistency)
(Add one Tbsp of lemon juice , so that it won't solidify)
Add cardamom powder.
Keep this aside.

Dust the surface with little flour.
Divide the dough into four equal parts.
Roll dough's into big chapati's, roll it as thin as you can. (Try it to make equal sized chapati)

Put one chapati, apply rice flour paste on chapati and spread it evenly over all, put one more chapati on top, again apply rice flour paste.
Roll it like a mat and seal the edges firmly.
(If you don't seal the edges, then when you fry they will open up, so seat it properly)
Cut them into pieces.
( if you want you can lightly press or roll on top to give a rectangular shape , if you press them hard you won't get those layers and if you are making bigger kaja's you have to roll them lightly)

Follow the same procedure for the other two chapati's.
Cut them into pieces.

Heat up the oil.
When the oil temperature is ready (medium high), start frying kaja's in batches until golden brown. While dropping the kaja's in oil the temperature should be hot, then reduce the flame to medium and fry until light golden. Too much heat will burn the outer covering the inner folds will be left uncooked with the raw dough. So check the temperature from time and also for every batch.

Remove and immediately drop them into prepared sugar syrup.
Let them soak for 30 minutes and then remove from the syrup.
Let it cool down.
Store in a box.

Actually traditional madatha kaja's are very big with many foldings, the chapati's are rolled very big, almost double the size of ours . So i made these miniature khaja's or Baby madatha khaja .

Shelf life : Stay fresh for 10 days out side ... can be refrigerated for more shelf life

Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you, do post your comments !!!

One thread consistency :

While the syrup is boiling keep testing it for its consistency. To do this, dip a spoon or spatula in the syrup and lift it out. Allow to cool for a few seconds as it will be very hot at first. Now touch the syrup with a clean forefinger , and then touch your thumb and forefinger together and pull apart gently. Keep boiling the syrup gently till you reach the consistency called for in the recipe.
Stages progress fairly quickly after a point, so check frequently.
One - thread consistency is when a single thread is formed ( and does not break) when your forefinger and you thumb are pulled apart gently.

Jello roll ups or Jello pin wheels

Jelly pin wheels - kids will love these ... You can do them in any colour for any theme.
you can call these even as Gelatin pin wheels.
This is super easy recipe, can be made in no time.
You can use any flavor of jell-o to make these.

Preparation time : 10 mins + 45 mins
Makes : 15 to 20

Ingredients :

Jell-O gelatin :one 3Oz package
Water : 1/2 cup
Mini Marshmallows : 1 cup

Method :

Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan or tray with non stick spray, Spread oil around and leave just a thin film of oil on the pan. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine Jell-O and water.
Microwave on high for one minute.
Using a whisk, Stir to combine until all gelatin is dissolved.
(If necessary , return to microwave for 10 to 20 sec or so to make sure jello is dissolved completely)
Add in mini marshmallows and microwave on high for 20 to 30 seconds, or just until marshmallows begin to puff.
You don't want them to melt.
(This is the key to a successful marshmallow layer ! If you over cook the marshmallows, they just dissolve and your roll up will not have two distinct layers.)
Whisk until marshmallows are dissolved into the Jell-O.

Quickly pour into prepared baking pan and refrigerate for 45 minutes to one hour or until well set.
(Creamy layer will float to the top)
When thoroughly chilled, remove the pan from fridge.
At this point, the jello should be very firm and easy to handle.
Gently pull one side away from the pan and lift entire sheet onto counter.
Starting at one end, roll up tightly.
With seam side down, cut into 10 to 15 half inch slices.
(You can cut them using mono filament or unflavoured dental floss or simply a thread or even a serrated knife. Just put the string around roll - up, cross and pull).
Place on to a place and keep refrigerated until served.
Serve and enjoy your dish :)
Thank you, do post your comments !!!

Left over roti Laddu

Preparation time : 15 mins
Makes : 10

Ingredients :

Left over roti : 2
Sugar or jaggary : 1/2 cup or to taste
Cardamom powder : 1/2 tsp
Ghee : 1 Tbsp
Cashew nut and Almonds : 10

Method :

Grind the roti in a mixie and make it into crumbles.

(You can even measure the roti crumbles and add sugar or jaggary accordingly i.e like 1 : 1 or 1 : 1/2 depending on how sweet you like, i added 1 : 1 , but its a bit sweet for me .. even fine ;P)
Take a pan , heat it , Add ghee, cashew nuts and almonds, let them fry a bit.
Add sugar or jaggary when it starts to melt , add crumbled roti .
And saute it for one minute, till you get a thick dough kind of consistency.
(don't over do this other wise you end up in hard chewy laddu)
Add cardamom  (elachi ) powder.
Take it off the stove.
Let it cool down a bit.
Make lemon size balls.
Your left over chapati laddu's are ready to serve.
Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you, do post your comments !!!

Purnam burelu

'Purnam boorelu ' (or poornam burelu) is an authentic Andhra sweet, especially prepared on pongal (or sankranti festival) or in occasions like marriage ceremonies etc...

Boorelu is a sweet with smooth crispy delicious coating outside and a sweet filling inside.

There are two types of boorelu one is poli boore other is poornam boore. 

For poli boore stuffing is prepared by using yellow split moong dal and grated coconut , where as for poornam boore stuffing is prepared by using chana dal .

Preparation time : one hour
Makes : 22 or 24

Ingredients :

Chana dal : 1 cup
Sugar : 1 1/2 cup
Water : 1 cup
Cardamom powder : 1/2 tsp
(You can prepare coating in two ways, one is traditional way , other is instant way)
For Coating 1 :                                For Coating 2 :
Urad dal : 1/3 cup                           Wheat flour : 1/3 cup
Rice : 2/3 cup                                  All purpose flour / Maida : 1/3 cup
(Urad dal : rice = 1 : 2)                    Rice flour : 1/3 cup
(It is like if you are taking one cup of chana dal then for coating you need all together one cup)

Method :

Boil chana dal and cook till it is well cooked and drain all water when hot.
Make it into paste using grinder with out adding water.
Take a pan, add sugar and chana dal paste.

Cook till it is thick. (you can know that when you stir it, cook it till all smell goes and the mixture thickens)
Add cardamom powder and mix it real good.
Cook it for few seconds and take it off from stove.

This mixture is called as "purnam".
(When you make less quantity you get light color mixture , but if you prepare in more quantity you will get little dark yellow color mixture - this is an observation that i made )

Let it cool down completely before proceeding.

Make nice round balls from this mixture.
Keep them aside.

If you are preparing coating by method one , that is by using urad dal and rice, then -
   Soak urad dal and rice together for a minimum of 4 hours.
   Grind them into a smooth batter, like dosa batter, but not too runny.
   Take it into a bowl,add a pinch of salt to this and keep it aside.
If you are preparing coating by method two, that is by using flours, then -
   Take a bowl, add all three flours and a pinch of salt, mix them.
   Prepare the batter by adding water little by little, consistency should be like a dosa batter
   (or) like bajji batter ...
   Keep this aside.

Take a deep pan, add oil that is enough to deep fry boorelu.
Dip the ball in batter and deep fry them in oil.

Tasty tasty and yummy yummy boorelu are ready to eat.

Make a hole in middle, add tsp of melted ghee and eat when hot. This tastes best,believe me eat like this and you will tell me how heavenly it is ...
Serve them hot or cold.
You can keep them in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks and in shelf for up to 4 - 5 days.
Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you , do post your comments !!!

Sweet Gavvalu Or pakam gavvalu

In my childhood my mom and my grand mom used to prepare this on summer holidays and we used to have them. (Even now they will prepare of coarse. Give these a try and i am sure you gonna like.

Preparation time : 30 min
Makes : 2 cups or so

Ingredients :

All purpose flour (or) Maida : 1 cup
Ghee or oil : 2 Tbsp
Salt : pinch
Water : As needed to make the dough
Sugar : 1/2 cup

Method :

Take a bowl pour maida into it , add ghee and mix it very well.
(Till all ghee incorporated into the flour very well)
Now add water to make dough, the dough should not be too hard or too soft.

Knead the dough , make it like rope and cut into small pieces.

If you have gavva press (gavvala balla) then roll the dough away from you, on it to make shell shape.

If you don't have one like that you can even use a fork.
Take a fork turn back side, then take one piece of dough into hand and press at the back side of the fork and remove it from opposite direction , repeat the same way for all the dough.

Some I just made them with my hand. The are big and when you eat them, you will get little doughie taste.

Keep the shells aside.

(When i first made these , while keeping them aside they all stuck to each other and again formed like a dough :( , so if possible make them fast or roll one batch while they are frying, roll 2nd set of dough into shells, when i made 2nd time i made like this and they came out really good)

Take a pan , add oil heat it while you are making shells.
When oil is hot add shells to the oil and deep fry till light golden brown color , fry in a medium flame for about 5 minutes or so..

Make all of them keep them aside.
Now take another pan, add sugar and little water and let it boil till you get a thick consistency and remove from the flame.
Add the fried shell to the sugar syrup once the sugar sticks to shells transfer them to another container.

Yummy yummy teepi gavvalu are ready to serve .
Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you, do post your comments !!!

Pretzels

Pretzel is a type of baked bread product made from dough most commonly shaped into a knot.
Pretzels originated in Europe, most likely among monasteries in the Early middle ages. Now a days pertzels are coming in different shapes. Salt is the most common seasoning for pretzels, complementing the soda that gives pretzels their traditional skin and flavor through the Malliard reaction; other seasonings include sugar, chocolate, glazes, seeds and / or nuts.

Preparation time : one hour
Makes : 12

Ingredients :

Warm water : 1 1/2 cup
Active dry yeast : 1 /8 tsp
Brown sugar : 2 Tbsp
Salt : 1 1/8 tsp
All purpose flour : 4 cups

Hot Water : 1 1/2 cup
Baking Soda :  1/4 cup

Butter : 1/4 cup melted (4 to 6 Tbsp)
Coarse Salt : 1Tbsp
Cinnamon sugar : 1 cup (Sugar 1 cup , Cinnamon 1 Tbsp)
Sesame seeds : 2 Tbsp
Jalapenos : 3 slices

Method :

Take a large mixing bowl, add 1 1/2 cups of warm water, add yeast to it.
Stir it to dissolve.
Add sugar, salt and stir again.
Add flour and knead dough until smooth.
Cover and keep it in warm place for at least 1/2 hour for the dough to raise.

Mean while take another bowl add 1 1/2 cups of hot water and add baking soda.
Mix it well and stir it often.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

When the dough is risen, knead it once.
Take a handful of dough and roll a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape.

(The longer and thinner you can make the dough rope, the more like Aunti anne's pretzels they will be.)

Dip pretzel in soda solution.

Place it on a cloth for 10 sec to catch excess water.

Put it on baking sheet.

Allow pretzel to raise again for 5 mins.
I sprinkled sesame seeds on some pretzels, and for some of them i sprinkle salt and for some i sprinkled jalapenos.
Most of them i just left them because i love cinnamon sugar pretzels :)

Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until golden.
Brush with melted butter and enjoy !
( I found they are really good when they are dipped in butter than brushing them with butter)

For parties or get to gathers you can just make pretzel pieces , make a rope cut it into 2 inches long pieces. After making 8 pretzels i made rest of the dough like this and you know these got consumed first because they are bite size pieces and we had them when moving around just like that.

Cinnamon sugar pretzel:
   Take two bowls , that are big enough to fit the entire pretzel.
   In first bowl melt the butter, in second bowl add cinnamon sugar.
   Take a pretzel dip it in butter and then in cinnamon sugar mixture.
   Coat both side of the pretzel very well.

Lovely pretzels are ready to serve.
Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you, do post your comments !!!

Churros

A churro is a fried dough pastry. Churros are popular in Mexican, Spain, France, Philippines, Portugal, and US.
They are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in hot chocolate , but you can just serve them as dessert.

Preparation time : one hour
Makes : 40

Ingredients :

Water : 1 cup
Brown sugar : 2Tbsp
Salt : 1/2 tsp
Butter : 1/3 cup
White flour : 1 cup
Eggs : 2
Vanilla extract : 1/2 tsp
Sugar : 1/2 cup
Ground Cinnamon : 1tsp

Method :

Take a bowl mix 1/2 cup of sugar with ground cinnamon and set aside.

In a pan add water, brown sugar, salt, and butter.
Heat it to a good boil.
Remove from the heat and add the flour.
Stir in the flour and mix it in until well blended.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture.
(Flour mixture should not be very hot to mix in eggs, it should just be warm to add in eggs or else you will end up in scrambled eggs in mixture)
Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.

Heat oil in a pan. (Oil should be hot such that when you drop in your batter, it should come up immediately)
If your oil is not hot enough you will end up in a soggy churro .
Fill your tool with the dough.

Squeeze some dough into the oil about 4 inches long. ( I made it like rounds and i cut them into pieces)
Cook them till it is golden brown in color.
Turn it and cook it other side also.

Remove the churros with the slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
While still warm, roll each churro into the dish which contained sugar and cinnamon, until coated.

You could serve this churro recipe with Mexican hot chocolate topped with whipped cream.
Enjoy your dish :)
Thank you, do post your comments !!!