Desi Fiesta

manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Orange peel chutney /pachadi

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The orange peel has is used in many traditional recipes like the candied orange peel. The Indianized way of using orange peel is always my favorite one such dish is the Orange Peel Chutney/pachadi. The tangy taste of this pachadi  can be accompanied with any parathas or rice.

Ingredients:

Orange Peel – 1 cup, chopped
Red chilli pd – 1 tsp
Urad Dal – 2 tsp
Tamarind – lemon size soaked in water (strain the tamarind water after few mins)
Oil – 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida – a pinch
Jaggery pd- 1 tbsp

Salt as required

Method:

 

  •  Select loose jacketed orange and chop outer skin.
  •  Remove innermost white pith which is bitter in taste.
  •  Chop orange peel into pieces.
  •  Heat little oil, season with mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and urad dal.
  •  Add the orange rind and saute till soft. Add red chilli pd and tamarind water, salt and cook them till the raw smell goes off and oil leaves the corner of the mixture .At last add jaggery pd and mix.
  •   Your pachadi / chutney is ready to serve with dosa, idli, or side dish for any kozhambu with rice, parathas.

 

Dal palak ( T&T)

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This was the first recipe I tried from Rak’s kitchen and it was a great hit !!! Loved the way she has explained each and every dish   !!!I liked the way the pureed  palak used in this dal and Really a GRT grand style dal palak yummy..

Recipe source : Raks kitchen

Ingredients(serves 2)
Moon dal/ paasi paruppu (or u can even use masoor dal) 1/4 cup
Palak leaves 1 cup tightly packed
Onion 1
Tomato 1 large
Ginger garlic paste 3/4 tsp
Garam masala powder 3/4 tsp
Green chilli 5-6
Sugar 1/4 tsp
Salt 1 & 1/4 tsp
Ghee 1 tsp
Jeera 1 tsp
Method

  • Wash the palak and remove the stem. Tear the leaf and take out the thick stem in the middle too if possible to make sure it gets cooked easily. Fry in 1/2 tsp oil along with green chillies. Pressure cook moong dal upto 3 whisltes.
  • Fry the palak until it gets reduced in volume. Cool down and grind with little water.
  • Heat kadai and temper with ghee and jeera. Add the chopped onions and saute them till transparent. Next add ginger garlic paste and saute . Add chopped tomatoes, salt and fry until tomatoes turn mushy.
  • Add the ground palak, sugar and garam masala. Fry for 2 minutes in medium flame. Add cooked, mashed dal.
  • Mix well, add 1 cup water and let it boil for 4-5 minutes or until you get thick consistency.
  • Top with ghee if desired and serve hot with steamed basmati rice and your choice of subzi. You can have it with roti as well.

Tips

 

  • You can also squeeze lemon before you serve the dal. In that case, be sure to add more spiciness (green chilli) to balance the
  • You can replace ginger garlic paste in this recipe with either finely chopped ginger or garlic. In that case, add it immediately after jeera crackles.
  • You can also add red chilli powder instead of green chillies. But the colour will be differing.

Sending to Nivedhanam and Tired and tasted (Kitchen chronicles)

Rajasthani mini Ghevar topped with kesar rabdi

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Rajasthani Ghevar

       HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 TO SNC !!!


SNC CHALLENGE -4
Welcoming south team for my Chweet challenge to them !!
Hello everyone !!! Am really very happy happy to host this months challenge 🙂 Thank’s a ton to divya pramil who gave me a chance to show case and introduce  my traditional Rajasthani  Dessert to south team and to represent north team..yupiiee its “Dessert” … As you all know there is an event going on  Divya pramil’s space YOU TOO CAN COOK .. The idea of this event is that we learn so many different recipes from northern and southern parts of India .. Hats off to divya for this great idea .. click here for  more info about this event ..

Now lets move to this months challenge.. This months challenge for south team will be A  honeycomb shaped delicacy made using plain flour and ghee that has originated in Rajasthan- “Ghevar”. But to make it a bit easier am challenging the team with a mini ghevar topped with rabdi .

 

Taddda here comes my ghevar topped with rabdi …

Ghevars are usually and traditionally large in size about 8″ or 10″ round shaped but now a days you can also find them in square shapes. They are sold either sweetened with syrup or served topped with sweet rabdi (i.e. thickened milk). Lakshmi Mishtaan Bhandar in Jaipur is famous for their “melt in the mouth” Paneer ghevars and many other sweet shops in Rajasthan also specialise in the same. Ghevars are made and sold as a traditional dish for some special festivals. They are generally prepared in January for Makar Sankranti ( or you call them pongal), in March-April for Gangaur and in July-August for the Teej festival ( in some parts they celebrate karwa choth ) . But you can enjoy these at any time of the year by just following the recipe given below.So obviously pongal or makar sankranti is nearing so this will be the perfect sweet for the occasion..
 People living in India are fortunate enough to enjoy ghevar at any time . But , those who are living in abroad and missing ghevar Like me , here is the recipe for them..I tried it manytimes before it can make it to blog.
I know many of them out there haven’t even heard of this dessert and don’t know how it will taste… they are crispy and when hot syrup is added to this crispy delight it is soft from inside but doesn’t looses is crispy texture . ..
Process of making traditional ghevar
To make a delicious ghevar, the ingredients needed are flour, clarified butter, sugar, almonds, pistachios, saffron, cardamom powder, and yellow food color. For making the batter, flour is mixed with water and clarified butter. The food color is also added and the batter is put in a cylinder with heated clarified butter. The process is repeated and a round cake is made which is called ghevar. Sweet sugar syrup is made and ghevar is dipped in it. Soaked saffron is put on it and it is garnished with chopped almonds and pistachios.
Also, for the preparation of ghevar, a special skittle is required. It should be flat surfaced with 8-9 inches of breadth and 12 inches of height. It is tough to prepare this dish in an ordinary skittle and this one is the only recommended.
Ghevars are gifted to the newly married girls during Teej and Gangaur as a ritual. The gifting of sweets is called Sanjara or Shagun and is one of the traditional rituals of  Rajasthan.
ok now without any further ado lets move on to the recipee..

There are two ways and set of ingredients to prepare the batter for ghevar .. you can follow either one which ever you feel is easy..I made them both the ways and both were equally good to to form and mesh textured ghevar .. Texture is the key for this delight you have to get the texture correct to enjoy this dessert  .. so every step should be done with lots of patience ..(Adapted from nisha madulika.com)

Ingredients For ghevar:
Method  1 (Batter):
  •  Maida (All Purpose Flour) : 5 tbsp
  •  Water: as required to make a thin batter I used abt 3/4 cup approx
  • Ghee/ Clarified Butter: 2 1/2 tsp
  • Cardamon a pinch (optional)
Method 2 (Batter):
  • Maida – 1 n 1/2 cup
  • Ghee/ clarified- 2 Tbsp
  • Milk-1/4 cup (shd be in room temperature)
  • Water-3/4 cup if required you can add more to make a thin batter
  • Cardamon a pinch (optional)

For frying :

 

  • Ghee or refined oil or olive oil

For syrup:

 

  •  Sugar: 1 1/2 cup
  •  Water: 1 cup
  • Saffron strands few

Ingredients for  Kesar Rabdi

  • whole milk – 3 cups
  •  sweetened condensed milk – 1 can
  •  cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp, (crushed, if powder not available) pistachios – 2 tsp, crushed
  • saffron strands – 1/2 tsp

For garnishing

  • Shopped almonds and pistachios
  • Silver Varak (optional)
  • Saffron strands few

Method of preparing Ghevar :

Preparing Batter (Method 1):

  • Sift the flour, and keep it aside.
  • Take ghee and  sifted flour in a large bowl and mix them well.
  • Add maida to it slowly, and keep mixing  softly till they nice ans fluffy  in texture,. in this stage if you want to add color to your ghevar’s  you can soak the saffron strand in water or milk and add to the batter. I did add the saffron stands soaked in the milk .
  • Now add water to this dough gradually, and not in one shot. Pour in a little water and mix with the dough; be careful that there are no lumps formed. Keep on adding water slowly, and make a smooth, lump free batter.
Preparing Batter (Method 2):
  • Take milk  and ghee and mix (whip) nicely for 2-3 minutes.
  • Now, add sifted maida and mix well till there are no lumps.
  • Add water little by little and mix it well into a smooth consistency. If you take in a spoon and try to drop on a plate, it should be thin (check my pics for consistency )
Note : Use warm water to make batter so that it is easy to form a smooth batter without any lumps and easily pour able. If its cold weather then heat the water in microwave for 1 min .
Frying Ghevar:
Frying process is same for both the methods of batter preparation .
  • Take a round deep and flat bottomed  vessel ( I used a vessel as shown in the pic .. Use a cylindrical vessel ) and fill more than half of it with ghee. Heat it on high flame till the ghee gets really hot. Check the correct temperature by dropping a small portion of the batter and see if it immediately comes up, and doesn’t stick to the bottom.
  • Once the ghee is optimally hot (don’t over heat the ghee otherwise your ghevar will start burning) , take the batter ( I used a loti and ladle as shown or you can use a glass or a spoon with a sharp edge), and pour it in the middle of the vessel in a thin stream from 1 foot height. You could actually increase or stretch the height as much as you can; greater the height, better the texture. I stretch out my hand fully over the vessel to reach the best height I can before I pour in the batter.

Note : you are working with oil or ghee so be sure that you on your exhaust fan or open your windows 🙂 .If your oil or ghee is too very hot its going to splatter out..

                                           
  • As soon as the batter touches the hot ghee, bubbles start to appear. Be sure that the ghee bubbles do not start jumping out of the vessel. If you see that the bubbles are getting high enough, stop pouring for a while, and continue later.
  • After the first spoon or after pouring quarter part of the batter , wait for a few seconds till the bubbles settle, and then pour the second spoonful  . Repeat this for 3-4 times if you want to increase the size of your ghevar I poured  only 2 spoon full to make mini ghevar . This actually depends on the size of the vessel; the bigger the size, more are the number of spoons or the number of times you have to pour the batter  required.
  • If the ghee or oil  is not hot enough, the batter will start sticking to the bottom, so keep the flame on medium to high depending on the temperature required. That is while pouring it should be in low if the oil or ghee is very hot  and while cooking it should be low..
  • When you pour in the batter, you’ll see that the batter starts scattering and collects near the sides in a circular fashion. As you keep increasing the batter, the disc starts taking its correct shape. In the meanwhile, if the batter sticks in the middle after pouring, use a skewer to detach that. Keep on increasing the center space by using that skewer after the batter has settled. After 2-3  pourings this is completely your choice on how thick enough you want your ghevar be i am making a mini ghevar so i just poured two ladle full of batter, a complete disc will be formed.
  • Let this disc go golden brown on medium flame.
  • Once it is properly fried, take it out very carefully by inserting that thin skewer in the middle hole of the disc and lifting the whole ghevar with it.
These are saffron colored ghevar  …
  • Keep the ghevar slightly tilted on a plate to remove excess ghee.
Still if  you have any doubts while frying you can watch nisha madhulika mam’s ghevar cooking video click here
Sugar syrup Preparation 
Every body are confused with the sugar syrup consistency so i thought  of explaining with detailed instruction…
  • For preparing syrup, take 1 and a half cups sugar and 1 cup water in a pan. Bring them to boil with occasional stirring. After the boil, heat it on low flame for 5-6 minutes till you get a one-string consistency.
  • Now for checking one string consistency – stir the syrup with a spoon and then lift the spoon up – lift a tiny amount of the syrup with your  forefinger and press the forefinger to your thumb. Now gradually separate the thumb and the forefinger – if the sugar syrup is of ‘one string’ consistency, you should be able to see a single string between your thumb and forefinger.
  • Now spoon the hot syrup on top of the ghevar if you are making a thicker ghevar you even dip them in the sugar syrup . Do not keep the ghevar in the syrup for long, as it will make them very soggy and wet.
Note : Sugar syrup must be topped on the ghevar even if your are going to top the ghevar with rabdi  atleast in small quantity bcoz It gives the extra flavor to the ghevar..
  • Again keep them tilted in a plate to remove excess syrup.
  • Let them dry in open air for about 1 hour or more.
  • Now you can store them in closed containers and refrigerate for further use.
  • If you wish, you could garnish the ghevars with sliced almonds and pistachios.
Method for preparing Kesar Rabdi:
  •   You can prepare Ghevar ahead..
  •    Apply some ghee or butter on a pan and grease it well with this ghee/butter.This avoids burning of the milk.
  •  Now heat the milk on low heat while stirring frequently.
  •   Get the milk reduced to half of its original quantity.     Now add the cardamom powder, saffron strands and 1 tsp of crushed pistachios, mix them well.
  •   Add the condensed milk to this mixture and bring it to a boil. Don’t forget to stir constantly and scraping the sides.
  •     After the milk is of thick consistency then off the stove.
  •     Your delicious rabri or malai is ready, let it cool naturally then top  the rabri or malai on top of crispy ghevar.
Note : Top the ghevar with rabdi only when you are ready to serve.

Tips:

  • Dry ghevar’s without syrup can easily be stored for 15 days. When you want to have them, dip them in the hot syrup an hour back and serve then. As our ghevar’s are mini once you just have to top the hot syrup on the ghevar and not dip they might break if you dip.
  • While making the batter, if lumps still go stubborn and trouble you, simply use a blender/mixer for getting the smooth consistency. Be careful not to blend it for a long time else the ghee would separate; just 1 round of mixing is enough to break the lumps.
  • If you find the batter sticking to the bottom, do not panic; take a break,  put the flame on high, and try after 1 minute. I’m sure the trick will work.
  • Pour the batter in very thin streams, almost like pouring drops.
  • Keep the height for pouring at its max.
  • Do not overdo pouring. Begin with 1-2 spoons and gradually increase if you go successful.
  • After topping them with hot syrup, keep them for some time; do not just be ready to jump over and eat, else you’ll find them a bit harder.
  • You can also garnish the Ghevar with fresh khoya.
Nutritional Value Of Ghevars
Ghevars are a rich source of calories. The fat content is also high in this sweet Indian delicacy. People who want to lose weight or are suffering from diabetes should not over indulge in this sweet snack. To decrease the fat content and calorie count, clarified butter should be used less or you can use olive oil which i did  and it can be made with sugar free.

Variations Of Ghevars

A ghevar recipe is very popular during the festive seasons. On Raksha bandhan, people love to enjoy this delicacy in paneer ghevar form. It is garnished with grated khoya.  Desi ghee and mava ghevars are usually made during the celebrations of Teej festival as i said before.

Ghevar cake

Ghevar cake is a  Indian dessert a very good alternative for people who prefer egg-less cake and do not wish to resort to milk cake.
Ghevar cake was made in a master chef challenge and the innovation done in it was ghevar was frosted with cake frosting and topped with fruits . I have topped the ghevar cake with some strawberries and pista…

 

North teams challenge is being hosted by ramya of Lemon curry she have challenged us with an very popular south indian sidedish-
“VADAKARI”..yumm so delicious challenge from her… click here to  see North team’s challenge 
Am so happy to share an authentic dessert with you all , I know this is not so easy one but i have tried to make it a bit easy i hope .. This is one of the unique dessert of rajasthan  which is not so easily available at abroad and many people are unaware of this delicacy so tats the only motto of me challenging south team with this rajasthani mithayi  :)..  so am all set to look for your yummy looking ghevar’s .. i’ll be always in your support south team dearies..
Giving my blog a sweet start this  new year !!!!
Once again thanks to SNC group for being a great support 🙂
Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous NEW YEAR 2013!!!
 
Sending Mj delights
 
 

Pineapple sandesh

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A light creamy delicacy from west bengal made with curdled milk or paneer- “Sandesh”  . Sandesh is a delicacy, served as a dessert. Made several different ways using freshly made paneer. But today’s recipe will be “Pineapple sandesh”  🙂 ..

 

 

Let’s look at the ingredients and method to make this dessert 🙂
(Adapeted from tarla dalal recipes)

Ingredients:

Paneer  or chenna – 750 gms
(make fresh paneer see my rasgulla recipe for preparing chenna click here)
Sugar – 1 cup
Pineapple Slices – 1 cup
Pineapple Essence – 1/4 tsp

For Garnish:
Sugar – 1 tblsp
Kesar strands few

Method:

1. Knead paneer with sugar for 2-3 minutes.
2. Heat it in low flame in a heavy pan for 2 minutes until sugar melts.
3. Remove and allow it to cool.
4. Add the pineapple essence and knead again till paneer becomes smooth. Add few drops of soaked kesar in warm milk to the panner if you want to give them colour..
5. Chop pineapples
6. Mix it with sugar and heat till sugar melts.
7. Add kesar strands and remove from fire.
8. Prepare small balls from this mixture.
9. Flatten each balls and top them with chopped pineapple . You can even stuff pineapple in each sandesh..
10. Granish with kesar strands.

 

Tips

we can try making these sandesh with different fruits like orange , mango  …..

 

Sandwich chocolate pancakes

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Tall, fluffy pancakes are delicious  and scrumptious if served with butter and syrup or topped with strawberries and whipped cream for a real treat.. My daughter is not a dessert lover but was yumm  yumm having these pancakes only by seeing the strawberries which i used for garnish .. he he she is crazy about fruits and whenever she is hungry she either ask for grapes or apple or strawberry and nooo to other foods .. so i specially made these pancakes for my fruit baby / my angel .. she enjoyed these scrumptious pan cakes a lot..so lets  see the ingredients and method needed to prepare these “sandwich chocolate pancakes ”

 

Recipe Inspired from Tarla dalal
Ingredients
1/4 cup plain flour (maida)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp melted butter
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp fruit salt
For the yoghurt 1/2 cup yoghurt (dahi)
1/4 cup cream
2 tbsp castor sugar
a few drops of vanilla essence
To be mixed into a soaking syrup 
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water
Other ingredients
1 mango, chopped
melted butter for cooking
Method
 Pancakes:
  • Combine the plain flour, cornflour, cocoa powder, milk, salt, butter and ¼ cup of water. Mix very well until no lumps remain. Add the fruit salt and mix well.
  • Grease a 125 mm. (5″) diameter non-stick pan with a little butter.
  • Pour 1 tablespoon of the batter to make a pancake of 50 mm. (2″) in diameter.
  • Turn over gently and cook till both sides are lightly browned.
  • Repeat for the remaining batter to make 5 more pancakes, greasing the pan with butter when required.
 Yoghurt:
Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla essence and keep aside
Beat the yoghurt well ensuring there are no lumps.
Now Gently fold whipped cream into the yogurt.
Assembling :
  • Place the pancake on a serving plate and sprinkle with a little soaking syrup on top.
  • Spoon some of the yogurt mixture on top.
  • Place a few mango slices and top with one more pancake.
  • Sprinkle some more sugar syrup on top and serve immediately.
  • Repeat to make 2 more servings.
  • Serve immediately.
I gave the pan cake triangle shape by cutting them from the sides. and also made a Santa Claus hat using  strawberry and the yogurt which i prepared  for decorating these yummy sandwich chocolate pancakes..  Also made a fan out of strawberry for garnishing…

Ridge gourd peel chutney

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I Like to use the leftovers so tried this yummy chutney with ridge guard peel …

 

 

 

It tastes heavenly when mixed with rice along with a dash of til oil. It can also be had along with dosas, idlis, puris, and just about any dish. I had this chutney with  Carrot rava idli  .. yummmm i wanted more but nothing was left coz my hubby enjoyed it so much tat he finished all the chutney i made. I also made ridge gourd chutney which was equally yummy but i like the chutney which i made with the peel ..

Ingredients

1 tbsp other refined oil
1/2 cup finely chopped ridge gourd (turai) peels

NOTE: Just take a peeler and peel thin peel as they will become crispier when sauteed. Keep peeling till you see the white portion,the green has to be used.

 

1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp chana dal (split Bengal gram)
2 tsp urad dal (split black lentils)
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 whole red chilli, broken into pieces
1 sprig chopped coriander
1 1/2 tbsp tamarind
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tbsp freshly grated coconut
salt to taste

Method

  • Heat 2 tsp of oil in a kadhai, add the ridge gourd peels and sauté on a medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes, while stirring continuously. Remove and keep aside.
  • For the tempering, heat the remaining 1 tsp of oil in the same kadhai and add the mustard seeds.
  • When the seeds crackle, add the curry leaves,chana dal, urad dal, asafoetida and red chillies and sauté on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes, while stirring continuously.
  • Pour the tempering over the sautéed ridge gourd peels and mix well.
  • Add the coriander, tamarind, coconut, salt and 1/3 cup of water and blend in a mixer to a smooth paste.  if you want temper the chutney with some mustard seeds, urad dhal and whole chilli ‘s again on top ..Store in an air-tight container and use as required.

 

Quick ginger bread cookies ( with no molasses)

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Ginger Cookies are so my favorite, but I haven’t given it a try. Anything, unless tried, shouldn’t be ignored is my mantra . I tried these cookies the outcome was really good and  When you bite into one you will find the texture soft and chewy with a flavor that is crispy and spicy. The combination of  jaggery  with  ground ginger makes eating one just about impossible.  These cookies are perfect  for winter .. enjoy these cookies with a hot coffee or tea… Merry christmas to all !!! Disclaimer – If you are not fond of ginger flavor, these cookies are not for you. try adding some other flavor if you like.

 

 

 

 

Recipe Inspired – Joyofbaking

Ingredients

150 ml olive oil
150 gms jaggery
4 tbsp hot boiling water
6 tbsp hot milk
300 gms all purpose flour ( 150g maida + 150g  whole wheat flour)
2 tbsp cornflour
2 t/s baking powder
1 inch fresh ginger juice
3 tbsp ground ginger powder
1 t/s salt
4 tbsp cranberry juice / 2 tbsp yogurt

Method

  • Preheat oven at 160°C ten mins before baking. Grease the tray Or pan with oil.
  • Firstly grate ginger and squeeze the pulp. Extract the juice and keep aside.
  • Sift all dry ingredients (flour, cornflour, ground ginger, salt and baking powder).
  • Take a microwave safe bowl and combine milk, olive oil, water and grated jaggery. Microwave for 2 mins on high power. Mix all well until all blend well.
  • Make a small well into dry ingredients. Slowly add warm jaggery mixture. Also add cranberry juice. Mix all nicely kneading into a dough. Finally add ginger juice. If the dough is too sticky add little water and oil.
  • Keep this dough into freezer for 15 mins. Remove the dough from the fridge. Form the dough into balls.
  • Flatten these balls with your hand. You can even create various patterns on the cookies eg . you can prick the cookies with fork or make some lines using fork .  Roll them and cut them using a cookie cutter.
  • Place these balls into greased pan. Bake at 160°C for 10-12 mins. Kindly don’t over bake them. When you remove the cookies. Initially it would be soft but later it will firm up once cools down. Keep them in airtight container.
  • Your Ginger Cookies is ready..
  • You can even frost these cookies using some royal icing or cake frosting.. I frosted the cookies using cake frosting .

Chocolate meetha Paan (mouthfreshner)

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Sweet paan or mitha paan is my favorite and i look for paan when i go to any marriage feast especially when it is Rajasthani style marriage you will surely have paan in our menu ‘s… I made this chocolate paan bcoz am great chocolate lover i wanted to include some chocolaty touch to my mouth freshener.

Today we will make my fav version “chocolate Meetha or Sweet Paan”. we would also use many interesting & commonly available ingredients to prepare our chocolate Paan.

Its so much fun when we prepare paan at home i enjoyed preparing these yummilicious chocolate paan and enjoyed the refreshing taste of this chocolaty meetha paan!!! ….

 

 

Ingredients

Stuffing

1 tsp  Raisins or  tutti frutti
1 tsp  cashews

1-2 chopped dates
1 cup Melted dairy milk
2 tbsp meethi supari/ betal nuts
1 tbsp Gulkand (rose petals preserves)
1 tsp sweet sounf/ Balli Mithai
Note : Mix in all the above ingredients in  a bowl )
4 betel leaves/paan leafs
1 tsp choona/lime scale

For garnish

chocolate vermicelli
chocolate syrup
cherries

Method

  • Wash the betel leaves.
  • Apply a little choona/lime scale.
  • Make a cone of the betel leaf.
  • Fill in the mixture pressing it down with  your finger .
  • Fold the two sides and top part.
  •  Insert a toothpick to seal.
  • Dip this into melted dairy milk.(To melt the dairy milk bar just break the bar and  in a microwave container keep in microwave for 30 seconds )
  • Drizzle some chocolate syrup.
  • Sprinkle some chocolate vermicelli.
  • Also prick a cheery on the toothpick..
  • Chill (till the chocolate outer layer is set) and serve.
I used dairy milk bcoz it’s easily available all time in my pantry. You can even fill some dark chocolates with the other fillings ..

Vegetable Puffs

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I made all time favorite snack of mine .. yumm  it was really delicious..Vegetable Puffs are a wonderful snack option for the days that you want something substantial and you can’t wait very long for it to be made!!They will take you back to the nostalgic ‘college days’. Relive the memories, at least the good parts with this easy recipe! I made the puff pastry sheets ahead and used them as needed..

 

 

Lets look for ingredients and method to fill in our puff Pastry’s

Ingredients

Home made puff pastry( Eggless ) click here for the recipe
You can even use store bought frozen pastry sheets .. just thaw it for 30 mins and then use  ..
Mixed vegetables – 1 cup (I used carrots, French beans, potato and green peas)
Onions – 2, sliced long
Tomatoes – 2, chopped
Capsicum / green bell pepper – 1/2 cup, chopped
Coriander powder /malli podi – 1 tbsp
Jeera /cumin seeds / jeerakam – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp or to taste
Pav bhaji masala – 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – a few
Oil – 1 tbsp
Sugar – a pinch
Salt – to taste

Method

  • Boil the vegetables until soft and keep aside.
  •  Heat oil and saute the onions until golden brown. Add the curry leaves, coriander powder, chilli powder and jeera. Fry for 30 seconds.
  •  Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for another minute.
  • Now add the tomatoes and capsicum and fry well till its blended well.
  •  Finally add the vegetables and salt and sugar and mix well. Cook on open fire for about 5 mins. Don’t add water at any stage. The filling should be moist yet thick

 

To Assemble Puffs Before Baking:

– Take a rectangular strip of rolled out puff pasty sheet and spoon in some filling on one end, leaving enough space on all sides to ‘seal’ the puff.

– Fold them and seal the corners. The puff pastry can be sealed by pressing the corners using your fingers.

Baking

Bake in a preheated oven at 220 Centigrade for 30 mins until the top is golden brown. You can brush on some milk while still warm out of the oven to make it look prettier and glossier.

 

Home made puff pastry (Eggless)

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Puffs are one of the scrumptious snack i crave for .. I remember in school days we friends used have veggie puff aft we left school in the evening at least once in a week .. I used to love those flaky wafer’s stuffed with a spicy vegetable curry .. yummmm … I wanted to try home made veggie puff , so  I was looking  for puff pastry sheets while grocery shopping but i found tat all the pastry sheet contained egg in them..So i prepared tried the eggless version of puff pastry @home .. they where very very tasty and flaky too.. I have learned this recipe in my home science studies. There’s no reason to fear puff pastry. It only contains 5 ingredients (including the water) and the major effort is waiting for it to chill several times before you can make it into flaky croissants, crisp palmier stuffed veggies puff or delicious fruit turnovers, to name a few.

 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups maida
2 sticks  unsalted butter
25 gm unsalted butter ( to be added in the dough)
1 cup maida (for dusting)
1 tsp salt
Water as needed
1 lemon

Method
Place the two cold sticks of butter, straight out of the fridge, on a chopping board or the kitchen platform. Sprinkle some flour over it and, using a rolling pin or something heavy, beat the butter until it flattens out quite a bit but is still quite solid.
Pat the edges of the butter to form a square. Place in a container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
In a bowl, place the 2 1/2 cups of flour, butter,salt, squeeze lemon  and, using enough water, knead into a smooth and pliable dough.(lemon is added for the gluten formation)

 

 

Allow the dough to rest for a 15 mins, then roll it out into a square large enough so you can wrap the square of butter in it.

Once you have wrapped the butter, making sure it is well-sealed, then roll out the dough into a rectangle about 7 inches wide and 10 inches long. Do this preferably on a metal baking sheet so you have a cool surface and also so you can easily transfer the dough to the fridge. The rolling might take a little work because the dough can be resistant, but be patient.


Now lift the edges of the rectangle along the long side and fold over one another so you have three layers. Place the sheet with the puff pastry in the fridge (cover it with a cling wrap ) and let it stand for at least 20 minutes. Then remove and roll out again and fold again to make three more layers. Repeat four more times.

 


After you’ve let the dough stand in the fridge for the last time, divide the puff pastry  and roll them to rectangular sheets and Use them as  required..Freeze the leftover pastry sheets and use them when needed ..

 

Puff Pastry Tips:
  • When preparing the dough for baking, make sure all edges you want to puff up are cut cleanly with a sharp knife or the layers may stick together and have a tough time rising.
  • Using unsalted butter is preferred because it is the moisture in the butter, turned to steam, which helps the dough to puff. Apparently salt inhibits this somewhat by making the water take longer to convert to steam. Don’t substitute margarine or whipped butter spread.
  • It is best to make puff pastry in a cool room. Heat and humidity will make the dough more difficult to roll out because the butter will try to melt on you and make a mess, fast.
This is one basic and classic recipe, but there are a variety of puff pastry versions. For example, you can substitute cake flour or cornstarch for a portion of the all-purpose flour for extra tenderness. There is also a variation for croissants which includes a yeast dough. One method incorporates part of the flour into the butter pat to help stabilize the dough while rolling out. Experiment and find the one that works best for you.

Vegetable puff and plain puffs for tea time .. They where yumm and you can see the flaky texture they where scumptious .. Do try this n  drop me your valuable comments 🙂 ..