Desi Fiesta

manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Spicy Gavarfali dhokli/ cluster beans with wheat flour dumplings

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Gavarfali  dhokli/ cluster beans and wheat flour dumpling come together in this delicious recipe, making it a really healthy and delicious treat! serve hot with phulkas or can be had as is.  String and boil the cluster beans before use.The Rajasthanijasthani dish and my favorite, mom thought me this recipe . They taste really yumm when had piping hot and spicy 🙂

 

 

 

Ingredients

For The Dhokli
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp carom seeds
1/2 tsp red chilli pd
1/4 tsp turmeric pd
1/2 tsp cumin pd
1 tsp oil
salt to taste

Other Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
2 cups cluster beans (gavarfali) chopped
salt to taste
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tsp red chilli pd
1/2 tsp cumin pd
1 tsp dhania/ coriander pd
1 sprig curry leaves
salt to taste

Method

  • Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and knead into firm dough using enough  water.
  • Divide the dough into 20 equal portions and shape them into rounds.
  • Press each portion into a flat circle by pressing between your palms and then a small hole in between with your thumb (  this helps them cook evenly and faster). Cover and keep aside.
  • In a saucepan fill plenty amount of water to cook the cluster beans and dhokli . After the water starts boiling add the cluster beans and dhokli and cook them till they are done.
  • Now strain cluster beans and dhokli and store the water.Add  the red chilli pd, turmeric, cumin, dhania pd and salt to the strained cluster beans and dhokli.
  • In a pan heat oil add cumin seed and mustard seeds and when they crackle add the cluster beans and dhokli mixture.
  • Now add a little amount of store stock to the mixture so that they are well combined. Mix well.them piping hot as is or it goes well with roti/ chapathi

Tips
The rest of the stock can be used for making soups.

Sending to sara’s tasty buds

 

Royal short bread cookies

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I tried these shortbread cookies today and they came out very well ..My hubby was so happy after having this delicious cookie.Origin of these cookies are scotland, this rich, tender and crumbly straw colored biscuit (cookie) was once only served during Christmas and New Year’s Eve. In its most basic form, shortbread’s are made with just four ingredients, butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and flour. While today they are made in various shapes and sizes, at one time the dough was baked in a round mold and then cut into wedges that were given the name “petticoat tails”.  They are called royal short breads bcoz they are dipped in melted chocolate .

Another valentine treat from my kitchen  :)..

 

 

Short breads  are yumm as is but  chocolate added to it makes them yummier and add all good ness to the cookie.. perfect with a with a cup of hot coffee or Tea..

 

 


Ingredients 

1 cup all-purpose flour

A pinch of salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup  powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbread:

1 cup semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Method
In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl , beat the butter until smooth and not too creamy fora minute or so. Add the sugar and beat until smooth for 2 min or so.  Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.  Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F  .  Line the baking trays with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle.  Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter.  Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.Refrigeration helps the cookies to maintain the shape while baking.  Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads:

Place the finely chopped milk or dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Melt the chocolate. Add the remaining chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy. Taking one cookie at a time, dip one end of each cookie in the melted chocolate and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dip all the cookies halfway and place it on a parchment paper till the chocolate sets.

Store in air tight container for 15 days .

Tips:
Temperature is really important for this cookie as if the room temperature is very hot it may be tricky to handle the dough. . Shortbread’s can also be cut into various shapes and sizes using your favorite cookie cutter.

 

Rava corn dhokla

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I love making Instant dhokla , this is giving a twist to the normal dhokla. Combining corn and rava makes this dhokla taste divine and it is really amazing how the fresh flavour of the crushed sweet corn kernels enhances the taste of the otherwise bland rava.When sweet corn kernels is blended with curds, these dhoklas are sure to win you many compliments. And what’s more, it can be whipped up in no time at all! fruit salt works its magic by helping the dhoklas to rise without any fermentation. lets look for the ingredients and method for making these yummy dhoklas.

 

Recipe Inspiration – Tarla dalal
Ingredients
3/4 cup sweet corn kernels (makai ke dane)
1/2 cup low fat curd
1 cup semolina /rava
1/2 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
salt to taste
1 tsp fruit salt
1/4 tsp lemon juice
For tempering
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
2 slit green chillies
1 tsp sugar
1//4 cup water
1 tsp oil
For The Garnish
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)
 Method
  • Combine the sweet corn and curds together and blend in a mixer till smooth.
  • Add the semolina, ginger-green chilli paste, salt and ½ cup of water and mix well.
  • Just before steaming, sprinkle the fruit salt and add lemon juice over it.
  • When the bubbles form, mix gently and pour spoonfuls of the batter immediately into greased dhokla mould.
  • Steam for 15 to 20 minutes or till the dhoklas are cooked.
  • Cool slightly and demould and cut them in to pieces.
  • For tempering: In a pan heat oil add mustard seeds, sesame seed. Once they starts popping add slit green chillies saute and then add sugar and water boil for 2 mins and then turn off the stove.Pour this water in steamed dhokla’s as required .
  • Serve immediately garnished with chopped coriander leaves.
  • Serve this hot with mint chutney.

Tips
If you do not have moulds, use small cups/vatis. Or you can even spread the batter in a thali, steam and cut into pieces.

Sending to Saras tasty buds

 

Sending to priya’s versatile recipes

Sending to Nithu’s kitchen

Sending to Foodabulous Fest Event organised by Simply TADKA

Sending to Hema’s Adugemane

Sending to merry tummy and gayathri
Sending to seduce your taste buds and spice you life
Sending to Nivedhanam and UK rasoi

Sending learning to cook

Guava curry/ Amrood ki sabzi

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I love to have guava with some salt and red chilli pd topped on it  . When i was schooling my mom used to prepare this subzi with chappathi’s / roti’s and packed our lunch , my friends just loved this curry a lot and used to ask me for it . When guavas are in season my mom never forgets to make this curry at least 2 twice ..Guava as such has so many health benefits-they are rich source of Vitamin C, potassium, iron, fibre and pectin. It helps to lower the blood pressure and cholesterol , sugar in diabetics etc .. 

Ingredients

500 gm firm, ripe Guavas
1 tbsp oil or ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafoetida or hing powder
1 tsp red chilli pd
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
1/4 tsp. chilli powder or to taste
1-2 tbs. sugar, adjust to taste
1/4 tsp. Garam Masala
1 sprig chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method

 

  • Remove top and stalk ends of guavas and chop into bite size pieces.
  • Heat oil in a pan.
  • Add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When seeds splutter,add turmeric, coriander powder, red chilli powder, salt  on chopped guava and stir fry them .
  • Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil. Amount of water depends on how thick a gravy you want.
  • Turn heat to minimum and cook until guavas are soft but not mushy.
  • Add garam masala, sugar and coriander leaves. Turn off the  heat and your delicious curry is ready to serve.
  • Serve them hot with Poories or Parathas or Chapaties.

Pineapple Salsa

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This one is my favorite and yummiest salsa which i wanted share here .. Salsa is nothing but Spanish term for sauce .. Today am going to share a unique and lip smacking variety of salsa-  pineapple salsa !!!

Lets look for the ingredients and method of this quick and easy salsa which needs no food processor or any equipment, only equipment needed will be your knife  🙂

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped pineapples

1 chopped tomato (smal)
1 chopped onion (small)
2 to 3 tsp chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dry red chilli flakes


Method


Mix all the ingredients together .serve immediately.. yuppie!!! your yummy pineapple salsa is ready..Isn’t tat simple i bet it will tastes really good .. you can have them as such as a salad or Have this salsa with some Doritos or any kind of chips ..



 

Saidapette vadakari/ vada curry N variations

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Hi my dear SNC group !!!Am so happy to complete  the 4th challenge …As you all know there is an event going on +Divya Pramil  space You Too Can Cook  .. The event is all about two teams north and south team ..A member from north team and a member south team respectively  will challenge  the opposite team members with a recipe from their respective zone  and opposite teams have to post the same recipe on their Blog .. this takes place every month .. The idea of this event is that we learn so many different recipes from different zones .. Hats off to divya for this great idea .. click here to partcipate

An update on whats going on till now in SNC challenge:

Challenge 1– October month’s challenge

North team Host shruti dhingra from ” shruti’s rasoi”- Bhel puri
South team Host divya from “Divya’s culinary journey “- Mysore pak

WINNER
NORTH TEAM

Challenge 2– November month’s challenge

North team host Pallavi from “cook -eat- burrp” – Gulab jamun
South team host Yashodha from “yashodha’s kitchen” – Adhirasam

WINNER
SOUTH TEAM

Challenge 3– December month’s challenge

North team Host Meena from ” Random rambling ” – Misal pav
South team Host Sherin from ” Kuk’s kitchen” – Medu vada

WINNER
SOUTH TEAM

Challenge 4– Janurary month’s challenge

 

North team Host ” me ” (Manjula bharath) from “Desi fiesta” – Rajasthani  mini ghevar topped with kesar rabdi  click here

South team Host Ramya  from ” Lemon Kurry” – Vada curry click here

I was so happy to  receive 3 precious awards for last months challenge – Medu vada . I have to thank december months host for north team  sherin from ” Kuk’s kitchen”  for the lovely challenge and also for nominating me for the awards.. thank u so much sherin :). I am also thankful to divya pramil for these lovely awards thank u so much divya  🙂

These are the awards i received for my Madras donuts/Medu vada  post click here

 

I felt like am crowned for miss india or universe he he 😛 thanks again divya  🙂

Now coming to this months challenge .. I was so very excited to host this month challenge, challenging my south team pal’s with one of my  favorite  traditional dessert and am double excited  to finish this months challenge given to north team . One of my favorite side dish which i love a lot . Thanks Ramya for the super duper delicious challenge 🙂 This months challenge for north team is “Vadakari”.

It is the tasty, crispy, aromatic  popular side dish of Tamil Nadu and all over south India. Bengal gram is soaked and prepared like masala vadai. It is then crushed in a masala gravy. The method for making vada karai may vary in each home.

Now i have to  say this why i have prefixed vadakari with saidapet. Saidapet is where i belong to in chennai . One of the oldest hotel in saidapet  is MARI HOTEL where Vadakari is very famous and will be available at all time .There used to be so much of rush in this hotel for their delicious finger licking vadakari.. Remembering my childhood days how my bro and  i used fight for vadakari we got from the hotel..  we just liked to eat it as such and it was so yummm… Mari hotel located centrally in saidapet is famous for  Vadakari and there after they started calling the dish as saidapet vadakari 🙂

I was so excited to try a dish which was famous in my home town and one of my fav side dish for idli and dosa. This dish is known with variations as Vadakari/Vada Kari/Vadai Curry.

 

Ingredients

For Batter :
Bengal gram – 1 cup
Onion – 1 no
Green chilli – 2 no
Fennel seeds – ½ tea spoon
Ginger small piece – 1inch (chopped)
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Salt to taste

For gravy :
Onion-1 no
Tomato – 1 no
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – ½ tea spoon
Turmeric powder – ¼ tea spoon
Garam masala powder –½ tea spoon
Coconut milk – ½ cup (optional)
Mint and coriander leaves – few strings
Salt – as per taste
Oil – for deep frying and seasoning

For seasoning
Cinnamon sticks – 2 no
Bay leaf – 1 no
Cloves – 5 no
Fennel seeds – ½ tea spoon (this is the must ingredient bcoz the main flavour of an authentic vada kari comes from this flavorful ingredient )
Mustard – ½ tea spoon
Curry leaves – few

Today we are going to see 3 methods of making vada for vadakari.. Vada’s for vadakari can be made in 3 ways :

 

  • Frying method (i.e.. making masal vadai)
  • Steaming method
  • Adai method (Adai is nothing but a type of dosa or south indian crepe )

 

Method:

Batter preparation (vada/adai/steam vadas) :

  • Soak channa dal for 3-4 hours.
  • After 3-4 hours drain channa dal completely and add it in two batches and grind coarsely. Not too smooth not very coarse too. One or two channa dal can be whole.
  • Mix finely chopped onion,chopped green chillies, chopped ginger,fennel seeds, salt and curry leaves.
Frying Method :
Check my masala vadai post for frying the vada’s Click here
                 
Scramble the vada and keep it a side.

For Steaming Vada batter (Steaming method:):

  • Form the batter into disk shapes(or small dumplings) and steam it in an idly cooker.
              
  • Once the vadas are done, set it aside and let it cool and scramble them.
Adai method:
  • Heat a dosa pan and make thick adai’s(about 2 inch thickness) use your hands to spread them on tawa (take care while spreading the batter as the tawa in hot) and  add little oil on the sides.
               
  • Keep the heat in medium and allow it to cook well, until browned on both sides(as shown in picture above).
  • Cool it and scramble it into tiny pieces and keep a side.

To proceed -Gravy 

 

  • Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds,fennel seeds, curry leaves and let it splutter.
  • Add cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves and stir for a second.
  • Add onions, green chillies, ginger garlic paste,tomato and saute well till the raw smell goes.
  • Now add garam masala , turmeric powder and chilly powder.(increase/decrease chilly powder according to your taste)
  • Add  5 cups of water and cook for a few minutes.Add more water if necessary.
  • Add the scrambled fried vadas/steamed vadas/adai to the curry.
  • Now add the coconut milk, cover and cook for a minute.
  • The channa dhal mixture will soak up all the liquid. Add  chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves and stir well.  Vadakari is ready to serve!!!
Vadakari(Fried vadas)

 

Vadakari (Steamed vada)
Tips
  • Vada’s will absorb some water from vadakari gravy . Quantity of water to be added, can be varied accordingly.
  • Adding coconut milk is optional. It makes the dish creamy and rich in taste
  • You can also use ginger garlic paste instead of  chopped ginger.
  • Adjust the amount of water to the gravy according to the consistency needed i.e., reduce the amount of water for a thicker consistency. I usually like the thick vadakari than making them thin.
  • Do not skip the coriander leaves, it is a must for this dish.

Serving options:

You can serve vadakari with  Idiyappam, hot piping idli or dosa’s, and also with  poori’s.  My daughter likes different shaped dosa’s so i made flower shaped dosa for her 🙂

 

 

Variations 1:

  •  Use equal measures of channa dhal and thoor dhal combination  or just thoor dhal  to make the Adais/ vada. These also turns out very well with slightly different taste.

Variation 2:

Channa Masala Vadakari

 

Ingredients

Masal vadai – 4-5 (click here for masal vadai recipe)

Boiled Channa/chickpea – 1 cup
Tomato onion puree 1 cup
Cashew, dhani/coriander seeds and coconut paste- 3 tbsp (1tbsp each to make a paste)
Red chilli pd 1 tsp
Turmeric pd 1/4 tsp
Cloves- 2 no
Cardamon – 2 no
Bay leaf- 1 no
Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp

Method :

 

  • Make masal vadai’s you can even use leftover vada’s. In a deep pan heat oil. add cloves,bay leaf, cardamon, fennel seeds, tomato onion paste and saute  . Then add dhania, coconut and cashew paste,salt and cook till the raw smell goes off.
  • Add red chilli pd, turmeric pd mix well and add the boiled channa  . Let the mixture boil for a while and at last add crushed masala vadai in the gravy and cook till the vadai combine well in the gravy .
  • Channa masala vadakari is ready to serve with poori, idli, dosa, idiyappam or even roti or paratha.

My family and i enjoyed all three versions of vadakari and especially my hubby loved the variation of vadakari with channa masala 🙂 This was another yummy and delicious challenge from south team !!! Completing the first challenge for this new year and waiting for more such delicious and interesting challenges from the glorious South team!!! 🙂

Rasgulla Black Forest Cake

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I used to watch”masterchef ” and saw this challenge,so wanted to try tis recipe …  and  i got a perfect reason to try tis for a dessert competition conducted by my hubby’s office team.. it was overwhelming moment for me when i knew from over 25 entries  i won the frist prize for ” Rasgulla Black forest cake” .. So this recipe is close to my heart 🙂 I have to thank master chef india and  chef pankaj bhadouria (winner of MCI season 1)  for sharing such an awesome dessert .. I am a great fan of master chef n  was excited to try tis dessert for the dessert competition .. i had displayed 5 entries for tis competition : rasgulla black forest cake, gulab jamun cheese cake, gulab jamun, sweet potato pakoda jamun, kaju kathli apples and mango panne cotta  I wanted to share the dessert table with my readers so here is my dessert table ….
I’ll be sharing other recipes which i have displayed soon .. for now i wanted share my first award winning dessert from master chef kitchen .. awaiting to watch their next season 🙂 Happy thanksgiving to all my readers .. thank you for your appreciation and support….

 

Next comes the ingredients and method of this scrumptious  indian style cake 🙂

 

Ingredients:


2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Cocoa powder
2 cups sugar ( you can reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cup if u like less sweet )
1 cup butter
1 cup yogurt
11/2 cup Reduced Fat Milk or whole milk
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Cantaloupe/Honey Dew
Chocolate bar ( Grated) or chocolate shaving’s
Rasgulla’s 8-10  ( for rasgulla recipe click here )
chocolate glaze (optional )

For icing

470 ml Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla essence

Rasgulla

 

click here for rasgulla recipe

Method

  • Melt butter in a pan on a very low temperature.
  • Remove the butter from the flame and let the butter cool.
  • Sift Maida, cocoa powder, baking powder, cooking soda and salt together. Make sure your mixture should not be lumpy.
  • Grease a baking tray with little butter. Dust it with Maida and keep it aside.
  • In another bowl beat butter then slowly add the dry mixture while beating well in one direction. Keep beating until the entire dry mixture is fully incorporated.
  • Now add the milk slowly and beat for a minute.
  • Pour the mixture into the greased pan. You do not have to spread the mixture using a spoon, if the mixture is of the right consistency.
  • Place in the centre of the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes . The temperature and baking time can vary from oven to oven. Hence, test the cake at around 25 minutes to see if it is done. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted, should come out clean. When it is done, let it cool for a while completely . NOTE:  Its very important for the cake cool completely which will avoid crumbling and also the frosting will not melt  ..
  • Now slit the cake horizontally into two layers .. I baked two thin cakes …

Assembling the cake:

First moisture the cake with 2 tsp of sugar syrup from rasgulla by gently starting from the corner to the middle of the cake..

  • Now take first layer of cake and spread the blue berry jam. on top of which spread whipping cream all over the layer..
  • Now arrange pieces of fruits (orange) and rasgullas as shown in the pic . In this step i have removed the pith part of orange and used the whole rasgulla.. you also halve the rasgulla n arrange them… Spread some whipping cream again.
  • Take another layer and repeat the process of spreading whipping cream .
  • Finally garnish it with whipping cream and grated chocolate and melons. I glazed my cake with chocolate glaze in the center , cut the melon into circles using a cookie cutter and added some detailing using grated chocolate and star sprinklers…
  • Black Forest cake is ready!

Masala vada/Masal vadai Recipe | Paruppu Vadai

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Indian Festival Recipes

Masala vada/masal vadai is one among the favorite snack of tamil nadu . Masal vadai are the crispy delight prepared from channa dal soaked and ground in to coarse paste in which onion, green chilli , ginger,fennel seeds and salt is added, after which they are shaped and deep fried in hot oil till golden and crispy beauties. slurrrp !!! mouth watering right?? My mom never fails  to make these in rainy days so i learn’t to make masala vada from her .. lets quickly look into the ingredients and method to make these delicious vadas..

Paruppu vadai recipe

 

South Indian recipes

Ingredients

Channa dal/Bengal gram dhal- 1 cup
Onion-1 no ( finely chopped)
Green chillies-3 nos ( finely chopped)
Fennel seeds/ sombu-1 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Mint leaves – 4- 5 ( chopped)
Ginger – 1 inch piece

Salt as needed

Method

  • Soak Channa dal for 3 – 4 hours. After 3-4 hours drain channa dal completely.
  • Grind the batter to a coarse mixture without adding any water. I usually remove a handful of soaked dal before grinding and add them after I am done grinding.
  • Note: Don’t grind too long as we don’t want the batter to become a paste.
  • Mix onions, green chillies,  ginger, fennel seeds .cut mint leaves curryleaves salt and cut curry leaves.
  • In a kadai heat oil , at the same time make vadai by taking a portion of the batter and flattening them between your palm.
  • Now deep fry the shaped vadai in hot oil fry the vadai till golden in color. Do the same for the rest of the vada mixture and fry them in low heat.
  •   Lower the flame after you drop all vadai and cook in medium flame until done , keep flipping from one side to other frequently. Drain it in paper towel.
  •  Serve hot with  coconut chutney as side dish or enjoy it as is .
  • You can serve even with Tomatillo cilantro chutney Click here

Tips

  • Soak the channa dal well till it breaks when you try with your fingers, if its not soaked well the vadai will turn hard.
  • You an skip onion and add cabbage or spinach as well.
  • Green chillies can be skipped and you can use red chilli, but make sure you grind them with channa dal.
  • Flatten the vadai well in between your palms and press it , even that helps in making crispy vadai.
  • Leftover Vadai can also be used for making vadacurry.
  • Crush these masala vadas in White peas/ vatana gravy sundal top it with onion, coriander leaves and enjoy!!
Snacks recipes

Fried snacks recipes

Straw- and blue- Berries shrikand ( Berries shrikand)

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Shrikhand is traditionally made of hung curd/yogurt . It is often the sweet dish found in Maharashtrian and Gujarati thali’s and not only is it a sweet component, but a very healthy one too. My mom use to hung the yogurt in a muslin cloth on a wall so that it becomes nice and thick .she used make plain shrikand by just adding sugar and cardamon pd to it. Shrinkand has been a traditional sweet dish at home and my mom used to make it often. Shrikhand is often served flavored with saffron, and at times fruit flavored variations of shrikhand are also enjoyed. The most popular flavor being mango when its season. It’s called amarkhand. I have flavored my shrikhand with  2 berries- strawberry and blueberry , which gave it a mild purple color.

Ingredients:

1 cup yogurt
4 nos strawberries
10 nos Blueberries
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp confectioners sugar(as needed)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1 tbsp sliced pistachios for garnish

Method:

  • Place the yogurt on a tea sieve or on a cheese cloth and drain it over a bowl, overnight. If using the tea sieve place a layer of plastic wrap over the yogurt to prevent it from drying out. Also if the weather is too hot keep them in refrigerator as yogurt may turn sour. The drained yogurt is also called ” chakka”
  • When ready to make the shrikhand, wash and slice the strawberries. Sprinkle the strawberries and blue berries with 1 tbsp of granulated sugar. Set aside to macerate for about 15 minutes.
  • At the end of 15 minutes, the strawberries and blueberries would have lent all their juice. Drain the juice and puree the berries.
  •  Fold the pureed berries with the strained yogurt along with the cardamom powder. Sweeten with confectioners sugar as needed, it depends on how sweet your berries  are.
  •  Pour into serving glasses/cups and let sit in the fridge to set. Again line the tops with plastic wrap. When ready to serve, sprinkle with pistachios and garnish with strawberries. Enjoy!

 

Tips

You can also make shrikand’s using other fruits like pineapple or orange.

Valentines day is nearing and am trying lots dishes to impress my beloved hubby 🙂 ..He enjoyed this delight a lot 🙂

Small potato birayani (T&T)

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I tried this recipe from Raks kitchen as i am a big spicy food lover and carve for spicy recipes., This was new to me and looked so tempting the way raji made 🙂 my hubby loved it 🙂 I mixed both version and made this yummy Small potato birayani…

 

Recipe source : Raks kitchen

Ingredients
Basmati rice 1 cup
Small potato 10 – 15
Tomato 1 big
Water 1 cup
Curd(Not sour) 1/4 cup
Coriander leaves 1/2 cup tightly packed
Garam masala powder 1/4 tsp
Salt As needed
Oil As needed
Onions 2 (cut lengthwise)

TO ROAST & GRIND
Coriander seeds 1 tsp
Red chilli 3 – 4
Coconut scrapping (optional roast) 2 tblsp
Ginger(Do not roast) 1 small piece
Garlic – 2-3 clove (optional)
Green chilli (Optional roast) 3 – 4
Optional:
Whole garam masala  to season.

UPDATED METHOD (FOR EASIER COOKING)

METHOD

  • Wash and soak rice for minimum 10 minutes. You can soak it for longer time. In a pressure cooker cook the small potato for 2 whistles. Peel the skin after they cool down. Chop and wash the coriander leaves.
  • Fry coriander seeds and red  chilli until golden brown. Grind it along with washed coriander leaves, coconut, green chilli and ginger. Use the curd for grinding.
  • Grind smoothly. Heat kadai with 2 tblsp of oil and add the boiled,peeled small potatoes. You can prick the potatoes with fork(only once) for masalas getting inside it easily.
  • Roast in medium flame until golden brown. Turn over carefully then and there. Heat a small pressure cooker with oil / ghee and season with a elachi,a clove and a small piece of cinnamon. Add sliced onion and fry for a minute.
  • Add finely chopped tomatoes and fry till soft. Add the ground paste and give it a stir. Add the roasted potatoes and required salt. Add oil if needed while frying.
  • Cook in medium flame for 4-5 minutes until oil separates from the masala and the raw smell goes off. Add the soaked rice drained from water. Add 1 cup of water and mix well. Check for salt and pressure cook for 2 whistles or 14 minutes in lowest flame. My stove can be kept in a really low low flame, so mine does not get burnt at the bottom. So take care to stir in between if you are not sure. At the same time, dont break the rice while mixing.
  • Top with ghee and enjoy with onion raita!

ORIGINAL (OLD) VERSION :

Method

  • Wash and soak rice for 10 minutes.
  • Grind the coriander leaves and mix it with curds and keep a side.
  • Cook rice with tomato juice,salt and 1 cup water. (Season with whole garam masala if desired)
  • After done,add a tsp of ghee and cool down the rice to make it separate separate grains.
  • Cook the small potatoes in a pressure cooker,peel the skin and deep fry it in a really hot oil till golden brown(Pierce the potatoes carefully with fork in 2,3 places,b4 frying)
  • Heat a kadai with oil,add the onion and fry till brown.
  • Add the ground masala (Under the “To roast & Grind Table)and sprinkle little water and fry for 3 minutes till a nice aroma rises.
  • Then add the fried potates and coriander mixed in curd,Mix gently.
  • Add this in a heavy bottomed vessel(cooker),add the cooked rice sprinkle 2 tblsp of water,mix well and simmer the stove and cook for 7-10 minutes.
  • Serve hot with raitha!!

Notes

 

  •  Potatoes can also be shallow fried but I deep fried the potatoes.
  • For many of you it will be spicy so for 1 cup rice, 2-3 red chillies and 2-3 green chillies will be enough.
  • Since we add curd, try adding less water, otherwise, the rice will become mushy.
  • Add oil or ghee as needed as this rice will be very dry if there is no oil/ghee.
  • While pricking potato, be gentle and take care not to break the potatoes. Also pricking more than needed will break the potatoes while cooking.

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