AAHA bhavan

1.9.15

Rasmalai

Rasgulla in sweetened milk.

The process of making Rasgullas and rasmalai is the same.

Deviation from Rasgulla making:

1. When you knead the dough, add a pinch of yellow food color.

2. Do not make small balls. Make small, slightly flattened thick circles.
(I got 16 thick circles from 1 litre milk)

3. Once the rasgulla gets cooked in the sugar syrup, taken them out carefully, cool and squeeze out softly , using the palms of both hands, the extra sugar syrup.

Ingredients for sweetened milk (rabdi):
Milk - 500 ml
Sugar - 6 tbsp
Saffron - 1 pinch
Almonds - 10
Cardamom essence - 2 drops (or) Cardamom - seeds of 2, powdered

Method to prepare sweetened milk:

1. Place the almonds in a microwave safe bowl and add enough water to submerge it. Microwave high for 1 minute. Cool and remove skin. Slice into long thin pieces.
(If you do not have a microwave, then simply soak the almonds in hot water for 1 hour. Peel and slice.)
2. Boil the milk.
3. Move 2 tbsp into a separate bowl and add the saffron strands to this.
4. Into the boiling milk add the sugar and continue cooking till it reduces a bit.
5. Now add the cardamom essence and saffron. Mix well.
6. Add the squeezed rasgullas to this and boil on low flame for 2 minutes.
7. Turn off flame and add some or all of the sliced almonds.

Cool to room temperature and refridgerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Poppadom varavittathu / Poppadom enhanced

Poppodom as such is a treat. Onam just got over and I have lots of left over poppadoms at home. Just plain poppadoms will not do any more. How about enhancing it's taste?

The recipe is fairly easy. Needs a bit of patience though, not for the cooking process, but in waiting for the final mix to happen!

It is not necessary to add salt, as Poppadoms have ample salt. But if you feel it necessary, do add salt AFTER you have tasted the end product.

poppadom

Ingredients:
Poppadom -1 packet of 10
Oil for deep frying

Shallots - 10
Curry leaf - 2 sprigs
Coarsely ground red chilli - 1 tsp or more (depending on your spice level)
Oil (preferably Coconut oil ) - 2 tbsp

Method:
Cut the poppadom into thin pieces of 2 cm lenght. Use your scissors.

Deep fry and remove almost immediately as they brown very easily.

Not a great color. Too brown.Yikes!

Cool and keep tightly covered in an airtight vessel.

Coarsely grind the shallots.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large kadai and fry the shallots and curry leaf together until golden.

Now add the red chilly powder and mix well on low flame for 1 minute. Turn off flame.

Now comes the patience part.
You MUST wait until the mixture cools down to room temperature.
If you add your poppadoms to the mixture before it cools down, the poppadoms softens. Trust me, I have done it.

Once the mixture cools down, add the fried poppadoms and mix well.

Transfer immediately back to the air tight container.
That's it. How easy!!
Enjoy with South Indian meals or as an evening spicy snack with your tea!

21.8.15

Rasgulla

Really? Is it that easy to make rasgullas??

If I tell you that the paneer / cheese from curdled milk, if kneaded well and then poached in sugar syrup, is the recipe for rasgulla, would you believe me?

Let's make rasmalai another day. Today I will show / tell you how I made my rasgullas.
I have underlined the important points you have to be careful about. It is an easy recipe, so don't worry.

Recipe courtesy : Mrs. Pushkala Mani
She uses 4 litres of milk which yields her nearly 80-100 rasgullas depending on the size of the rolled balls. I made with 1 litre and got 25 rasgullas.

Ingredients:

Milk - 1 litre

for curdling milk:

Curd - 6 to 8 tbsp (or)
Lemon juice - 1-2 tbsp

For kneading with paneer:

Rava / semolina - 1/2 tsp

Maida / all purpose flour- 1/8 tsp

For poaching:

Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 4 cups

Rose water / cardamom powder / strands of saffron - optional - for flavor

Method:

Boil milk and add the curd / lime juice in a diluted form, by the spoonful till the milk curdles.

Use a thin muslin cloth over a sieve to separate the cheese / paneer from the whey.

Wash this paneer (inside the cloth) under running water for 1 minute and squeeze.

Hang the cloth with the paneer to drain out excess water. There is no need to put any weight over the cheese.

After 20 minutes, take out the paneer and add the maida and rava to it.

Knead. Knead well with your knuckles. This is the MOST IMPORTANT STEP.

The kneaded dough must start giving out it's oil and you must be able to make a cohesive ball.

Start boiling the 4 cups of water with 1 cup of sugar in a large vessel which will have ample space to accommodate all the paneer balls.

Make small perfect balls with the kneaded dough.

Tip: You can keep a pinch of sugar inside each ball. This enhances the sweetness of the paneer balls and also as this sugar melts on cooking, it creates an air pocket.

When the water starts boiling add in the balls one by one.

Keep the water boiling on a steady medium flame and cook covered for 20 minutes. Do not increase or decrease flame as any fluctuation in temperature affects the 'look' of the rasgullas.

After 20 minutes, turn off flame and add the rose water / cardamom / saffron, if using.

Look at how they have expanded!!

To check if your rasgullas are ready, pick one and add to a glass of water. If it sinks to the bottom, then it is cooked. Otherwise boil covered for a further 5 minutes.

Cool to room temperature and taste your lovely rasgullas!!

20.8.15

Coconut rice / thenga sadam

My dad cannot have anything spicy. This rice is the pefect antidote to my mom's favorite tamarind rice / puliyogarai !

Thus my mom , Mrs. Radha Parameswaran, makes the perfect coconut rice.

Notes:
Be careful with the rice. It must not be over cooked. The cooked rice grains must be must be 'udir-udira' or separate.
I have used 1 cup of loosely packed coconut in this recipe. Feel free to reduce it to 3/4 cup. But please do not use 1/2 cup, or less than 1/2 a cup. Once the coconut fries, it shrinks and further reduces in quantity.
I have used coconut oil for obvious reasons. But vegetable oil is also alright. Do not use any other oil like til, mustard or groundnut as they have strong smells, which will not compliment the dish.

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 2 cups*

Mustard - 1 tsp

Urad dal / Chana dal- 1 tsp
Red chilli - 4, broken

Curry leaf - 2 sprigs

Coconut - 1 cup (loosely packed)

Coconut oil - 2 tbsp

Salt

Sugar - 1 tsp

Ground nut or cashewnut - 2 tbsp

Method:
Heat the coconut oil, fry the groundnut / cashewnut until golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove it from the oil. Keep aside for garnish.

Into the rest of the oil, add the mustard. Once the mustard splutters, add the urad / channa dal and red chilli.

When the dal turns red, add the curry leaf.

Almost immediately add the coconut and reduce flame.

Fry till the coconut becomes golden.

Turn off flame and add the sugar.

Keep stirring for 1 minute.

Then add the rice, salt and mix well.

Garnish with the ground nuts / cashewnuts.

6.8.15

Arbi / Chembu dry fry

Arbi / Chembu / Chempam kizhangu / Colacasia is supposed to be excellent for women ; especially those in the wrong side of 30's. It helps balance their estrogen.

Recipe Courtesy: Mr. Santosh Namboodiri, the passionate owner of Elements Restaurant.

I have used the bigger variety of 'chembu' to make this recipe. He had asked me to make it with the small variety....But I had only these at hand and I HAD to make this recipe!!!

And I plan to make this same recipe once, with potato!

It is a fairly easy saatvik (no onion, no garlic) recipe and like the recipes of yore, uses pepper for spiciness and dry mango powder for giving it a zing.

It tastes good - both with chappathy and raitha ; and with curd rice.
Almost like a 'chaat'??

Serves : 2

Ingredients:
Arbi / Chembu - 2
Salt - to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1 heaped tsp, preferably freshly pound
Aamchoor powder / dry mango powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Garnish : Coriander leaf (optional)

Wash clean the Arbi / chembu and pressure cook for 2 whistles, reduce flame and wait for 1 more whistle. Caution: I have used the large ones, small ones will take lesser time to cook. If you overcook, the Arbi will lose shape. So be careful.

When cooled removed skin and dice into pieces.
If you are using the small ones, then smash in between your palms to flatten them.

Heat oil in a kadai and add in the diced / flattened arbi to it.
Fry for one minute and add in all the powders.

Mix well, reduce flame and cook covered for 2 minutes or more if the insides need to be cooked. Keep stirring often.
Then open and cook till it gets golden brown around the edges.
It is ready for serving. Garnish, if you please.

Notes:
1. I have decorated with spring onion.
2. If you want to use this as a starter, then thinly slice onions, chop green chilly and finely dice some tomato. Add these and mix them lightly with the arbi and serve.

28.7.15

Vegetable Samosa

Now a days, it is so easy to prepare Samosas and Spring rolls at home, thanks to the 'Frozen patty sheets' available in the super markets.

My friend, Mrs. Safeena Harris, makes these patty sheets at home from scratch. I prefer buying them.
Update: I found an easier recipe to make these sheets at home. Homemade Warka.

The filling / stuffing recipe given here is just one of the various varieties you can try. I have used vegetables like cabbage and carrot. Almost like my spring roll recipe, but with an Indian twist.

We, at home, have a preference for this filling. It is light unlike the classic potato filling.

I have added Poha / flattened rice / aval, in the filling as it absorbs a lot of the liquid which oozes from the vegetables while deep frying.

Ingredients:

Frozen Samosa Sheets - 25

(or) Home made warka sheets - 50

Onion - 1 large , chopped fine

Carrot - 1 large, grated

Cabbage - 1 large cup chopped fine

Ginger grated - 1 tbsp

Green Chilly - 1 , chopped fine

Poha / flattened rice / Aval - 2 cups (more or less)

Salt

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp (or more depending on your spice level)

Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Lime juice - 1 tbsp

Mint leaf - 2 tbsp , chopped fine (optional)

Coriander leaf - 2 tbsp , chopped fine

Oil - 2 tbsp + extra for deep frying

Maida / All Purpose Flour - 2 tbsp heaped

(Make a thick paste with the maida / flour with just enough water. It is to seal the samosa sheets.)

Method:

Heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the onion + green chilly on a low flame till transparent.

Now add the carrot, ginger, salt, pepper, chilly powder, garam masala and turmeric powder.

After 1 minute, add the cabbage and fry on medium flame for 1 minute.

Turn off flame and add the lime juice. Mix well.

Allow to cool for 2 minutes.

Now add the poha / flattened rice / aval in batches and mix well.

Stop adding poha once the vegetable mix looks dry.

Add the chopped mint and coriander leaf.

Taste the masala and add more salt if necessary.

If you want more spiciness in the masala, then fry 1 tbsp onion in a little oil on a low flame. Once it becomes transparent, add required amount of chilly powder. After the raw smell of chilly powder goes, add this to the masala and mix well.

Making the samosa from the patty leaves:

Transfer the samosa patty (without opening the wrapper) from the freezer to the fridge compartment at least 1 day in advance (2 days would be ideal). Otherwise keep it outside at room temperature for 6 -12 hours, until it thaws.

I prefer the former method of thawing in the fridge.

Once you open the plastic wrapper, do not take out all the leaves at one go. Take out one by one and keep the plastic wrapper covered always, as the sheets dry out easily.

I have shown how to fold the samosa on a piece of paper. You can also practice the folds on a paper first, before you start working with the patties.