Sweet Appam / Yereyappa

White Rice - 1 cup, wash and soak for a few hours
Jaggery - 3/4 cup, crumbled
Fresh Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Poha / Flattened Rice - 2 tbsp, soaked for a few minutes
Banana - 1 tbsp, mashed
Cardamom Powder - a pinch

Blend everything together in a blender with little water to make a thick batter. Batter should be thicker than Dosa/Pancake batter.

Using a spoon, drop a tablespoon of the batter and deep fry in medium high oil in batches till brown on both sides. remove on paper towel to remove the excess oil. Cool completely and store in a air tight container for a week.

Sweet Boondi

Besan /Chickpea Flour - 2 cups, heaped
Water - around 2 cups

Turbinado Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Saffron - a few strands
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp
A handful of cashew nuts and raisinsPeanut Oil for deep frying
Ladle with small holes

Sift the besan with a sifter. Add water slowly and make a batter by mixing simultaneously using a wire whisk. The batter should not be too watery and should be of pancake batter consistency. Deep aside for atleast one hour.

Toss the cashew nuts and raisins in warm ghee and keep aside. 

Heat oil in a kadai / iron wok over medium heat. The oil should be sufficiently hot before dropping the batter. This can be tested by putting a drop of batter in the oil. The drop should immediately bubble up.

Now hold the ladle over the kadai and pour some batter on it. The drops of batter will fall on the oil and immediately bubble up. Remove the boondis once they begin to change color. Leave the boondis on a paper towel to soak excess oil.

Before frying the next batch of boondis, wipe or wash the ladle completely clean. If the ladle has some batter clinging to it, the next batch of boondis will not be round and they will have an elongated shape. Continue frying like this for the entire batter. If the bonds are not round and flat then the batter is too thick, add a little water. If the bondis have an elongated shape, then the batter is too thin, add a little chickpea flour.

Make a sugar syrup of 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water. Boil till the syrup for a few minutes till the syrup slightly thickens. Add saffron and some cardamom powder. Add all the fried boondis and mix well. Now put the syrup along with the boondis back on heat for a few minutes till all the syrup is soaked. Add the fried dry fruits and mix well. Leave the mixture to cool down for  a few minutes before serving.

Puran Poli

Chana dal - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups

All purpose Flour / Maida - 1 cup
Ata / Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Salt - a couple of pinches
Peanut Oil - 3 tbsp
Warm Water - 1 cup

Gur / Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Nutmeg - 2 pinch
Cardamom - a pinch

Ghee / Clarified butter

Soak the chana dal in plenty of water for a few hours or preferably overnight. Drain, add fresh water and cook the dal till done. You can cook it in a pressure cooker or in the rice cooker. Once the dal is cooked, strain any remaining water, mash the dal well and keep the cooked dal aside.

Mix flour, whole wheat flour and salt together. Add 2 tbsp of peanut oil and mix well with the flour. Now slowly add a cup of warm water and knead the dough. The dough should be loose and soft. Cover it with a damp cloth and keep aside for an hour.

Add 3/4th cup jaggery to a pan and begin to heat the pan. Once the jaggery starts to melt, add the cooked chana dal. Mix together well and continue to cook till liquid is evaporated and the mixture becomes thick and starts to leave the sides of the pan. Add nutmeg and cardamom powder. Cool the puran and pass it through a mincer to make it soft and lump free. This step of passing through mincer is optional but it results in soft puran polis.

Now take a tbsp of oil and knead the dough again. Take a small ball of dough and roll it like a small puri. take a small ball of the puran, stuff it in the rolled puri, seal the edges and squeeze out the excess dough.

Lightly dust the rolling pin with flour and roll the poli in circular direction like a roti. Roast on a medium high hot skillet on both sides till it gets golden spots. Once the puran police is almost done, quickly apply ghee on both sides and immediately remove from heat. Serve hot with a dollop of ghee over it.

Coconut filled Sweet Appam

For the coconut filling :
Fresh grated coconut - 1 coconut
Dark Jaggery / Molasses - 1 cup approximately, depending on the quality of the jaggery and sweetness desired
Water - 2 tbsp
Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1/2 tsp



Place the jaggery in a large heavy pan with 2 tbsp. water and put it on medium flame. Once the jiggery melts, add the grated coconut.



Continue to stir once in a while. Slowly the coconut gets cooked and the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Now stir continuously till the mixture is almost dry and leaves the sides of the pani. Add the ghee and mix well.



Remove it from heat and leave it aside to cool down a little.
For Appam :
White Rice - 1 cup
Urad Dal - 1/2 cup
Water - 5 cups


Ghee for cookin the appams


Mix rice, dal and water and soak overnight or for a few hours.


Remove from the soaked water and blend the mixture in a blender with a few tbsp. of fresh water till it becomes a smooth paste.


Cover and keep the paste overnight  to ferment.


Once it is fermented, add a little water to the rice dal paste and mix well to make a thick pancake like batter.


Heat a abelskiver / paniyaram pan and add a little bit of ghee to each of the holes. Drop a tsp of batter and then put small portions of the coconut mixture. Add some batter again to cover the filling. Now cover the pan, reduce the heat slightly and cook for 5 minutes. Then turn the appams and cook on the other side till brown and crispy.


Serve hot as it is or with chilled sweet thickened milk.


Adapted from http://kichukhonn.blogspot.com/2016/01/jaggery-and-coconut-stuffed-sweet.html

Steamed Modak

Rice Flour - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Salt - a pinch

For filling :
Fresh Coconut - 1, grated
Gur / Jaggery - around 1/2 cup, depending on how sweet you want
Poppy Seeds - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Water - 1 tbsp

Roast the poppy seeds in a heavy bottomed pan for a couple of minutes. Add jaggery and a tbsp of water and let it melt.

Now add the grated coconut and 1 tbsp of ghee and cook on medium low till the mixture comes together, around 10 to 15 minutes. Check for sweetness and add more jaggery if required.

Remove from heat and cool the filling.

Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add salt and 2 tbsp of ghee. Add the rice powder and mix well. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Immediately knead to make a soft ball. Do not let the mix cool down.

Make small balls, flatten them, fill about a tbsp of coconut filling and close the cover and shape them.

Steam in a steamer / rice cooker for 15 minutes.

Serve immediately with dollops of ghee on top.

Badam Barfi / Almond Fudge

Blanched Almond Flour - 21/2 cups (I used Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour)
Sugar - 1 cup
Water 3/4 cup
Saffron - a pinch of strands
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Roast the almond flour over low heat for around 5 to 10 minutes till it emits a nutty smell. Keep aside.

Mix sugar and water and a few strands of saffron and heat it in a heavy bottomed pan. Once the sugar melts and the syrup slightly thickens(before it comes to a boil), add the almond flour and mix. (If the sugar syrup is too thick, the barfi becomes brittle and hard)

Continue to mix over low heat for around 10 minutes till the mixture becomes a soft dough. In between add a couple of tsp of ghee. Do not cook for long as again this will turn the barfis hard.

Transfer it to a ghee greased plate and knead for a couple of minutes using the backside of a small bowl. Apply a little ghee to the back of the bowl also before you start kneading.

Transfer the dough between two parchment paper and roll into desired thickness. Cool for a few minutes and cut to diamond shape.

Cool completely and remove and transfer to an airtight container.

Chia Cashew Pudding (Raw & Vegan)

Raw Cashew nuts - 1/2 cup
Water - 1.5 cups
Chia Seeds - 4 tsp
Maple Syrup / Honey - 1 tbsp
Pure Vanilla Extract - 1 few drops
Orange Zest - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Mint - for garnishing

Serves two.

Soak the cashew nuts in 1.5 cups water overnight. Blend in vitamix along with the water for a minute. Divide the cashew milk in 2 small serving bowls.

Add 2 tsp chia seeds in each bowl. Add a few drops of vanilla extract, orange zest (if using) and drizzle some maple syrup on top. Reserve the bowls in refrigerator for at least an hour.

Garnish with mint leaves, drizzle some more maple syrup on top and serve chilled.

 

 

 

 

Moong Dal Halwa

Yellow Moong Dal - 1 cup
Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1 cup
Turbinado Sugar - 1 cup to 11/4 cup depending on how sweet you want the halwa
Water - 4 cups
Cardamom Powder - a pinch
Saffron - a pinch
Raisins and Slivered Almonds - a handful

Wash the moong dal well and soak overnight in plenty of water.

Drain water and blend in a blender / mixer to make a smooth paste. If required, add just a few tsp of water while blending. Keep aside.

Mix 1 cup sugar with 4 cups water and bring it to boil. Simmer for a few minutes and keep aside.

Now take a heavy bottomed pan and add the blended moong dal. Mix a cup of ghee with it. Place the pan on heat and cook it on medium low heat for around 20 to 25 minutes mixing constantly with a wooden spatula.

When the mixture becomes slightly dry, grainy and changes color, add the sugar water syrup. Mix and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for a few minutes till the bubbling stops.

Remove the lid, add saffron, cardamom, raisins and almonds and continue to cook for 5 minutes more.

Serve the halwa warm.

 

 

Watermelon Granita

Seedless Watermelon - 1/2 of a medium sized melon, cut into small cubes
Agave / Maple Syrup - 2 to 3 tbsp depending on how sweet the melon is
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Mint Leaves for garnishing

Mix the watermelon, agave and lemon juice together and blend in a blender till smooth.

Pour the mixture in a flat metal / glass baking pan and freeze, uncovered in the freezer for an hour.

Remove and using a fork scrape the granita mixture to break all the frozen bits.

Freeze and repeat the process twice, after every hour till the mixture becomes like snow. Cover tightly and store. Before serving, scrape again with a fork and serve garnished with mint leaves on top.

Coconut Ladoo

Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup or Frozen Shredded Coconut - 12 oz
Dark Jaggery - 1 cup approximately, depending on the quality of the jaggery and sweetness desired
Homemade Mawa / Thickened Milk - 2 tbsp
Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1/2 tsp

Place the grated coconut or the defrosted shredded coconut and the jaggery in a large kadai and put it on medium flame.

Initially the jaggery will release a lot of liquid. Continue to stir once in a while.

Slowly the coconut gets cooked and the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Now stir continuously till the mixture is almost dried and leaves the sides of the kadai. Add the mawa and cook for five minutes more.

Remove it from heat and leave it aside to cool down a little.

Once it has cooled down enough to handle, apply a little ghee to both the palms. Take a little mixture and press to form a small round ball. Do this for the entire mixture. Cool completely, the balls harden a little when cooled. Store in an airtight container.

Sending this recipe to the event Cook.Eat.Delicious - Desserts happening @ Sensible Vegetarian.

Mug Dal'er Bhaja Pithe / Coconut stuffed lentil balls

Yellow Mung Dal - 1 cup
Water - 7 cups
Brown Rice Flour - 1 to 2 tbsp
Flour - 2 to 3 tbsp

Turbinado Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Green Cardamom Powder - 2 pinches

Grated / Shredded Coconut - 2 cups
Milk - 1 cup (needed only if using dry shredded coconut)
Jaggery - 1 cup to 2 cups depending on the quality and the sweetness desired
Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1 tsp

Makes around 20 pithe.

To make the stuffing, place the shredded coconut in a wok / kadai. If using dry shredded coconut, add the milk and cook till the milk is almost absorbed. Then add the jaggery. If using fresh coconut, add the jaggery to the coconut and cook over medium heat. Initially the jaggery releases water and then slowly the liquid is absorbed by the coconut and in the process it gets cooked and becomes soft. Cook till the mixture gets dry, becomes dark brown and starts to caramelise at the bottom. Remove from heat and let it cook for a few minutes. Apply a little ghee to the palms and make small balls out of the mixture. Keep aside.

For the sugar syrup, add sugar and water together, bring it to boil and simmer for a few minutes. Add cardamom powder and keep the syrup warm.

Dry roast the mung dal in a skillet over low heat for around 10 minutes. When the dal begins to change color and emits an aroma, remove from heat.

Wash in water, place in a pot and add 7 cups of water. Bring it to boil and simmer for about 45 minutes till the dal is soft and completely cooked and there is no excess water. Cool for an hour.

Add the rice flour and all purpose flour to the dal and knead together to make a soft dough. Make around 20 walnut sized balls of the mixture.

Flatten each ball, stuff with the coconut mixture and cover from all sides.

Heat oil over high heat. Drop a small piece of dough in the oil. If the dough sizzles, rises on top immediately and becomes brown then the oil is ready. Fry each pithe one or two at a time over high heat till they become brown on all sides. Remove on paper towel and soak in warm syrup for 5 minutes. Serve either warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from http://www.ahomemakersdiary.com/2012/01/mug-daler-bhaja-pithe-or-muger-puli.html

Dark Chocolate Bark

 

Adapted from http://usmasala.blogspot.com/2012/01/fruit-and-nut-chocolate-bark.html

Organic Dark Chocolate Chips - 2 cups
Mixed nuts and dry fruits - 1 cup (mix of almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, raisins, currants)

Chop the nuts roughly and dry roast them in a cast iron skillet over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, mix in the currants and raisins and keep aside to cool.

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler till smooth and completely melted. Pour over a parchment paper lined baking tray. Immediately sprinkle the nuts and dry fruits on top.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes till the chocolate becomes firm.

Peel off the parchment paper and break the chocolate bar into small pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Sweet Brown Rice and Lentil Fritters

Adapted from http://www.cookingandme.com/2011/10/vella-cheedai-seedai-festival-sweets.html

Brown Rice Flour - 3/4 cup
Urad Dal / Black Lentil Flour - 2 tbsp
Shredded Coconut - 3 tbsp
Jaggery / Solid Date Molasses - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - a pinch
Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Water - 1/2 cup
Peanut Oil for deep frying

Take the jaggery in a pan and add water just enough to cover the jaggery pieces. Bring it to boil and simmer for a few minutes to thicken the syrup.

Add brown rice flour, urad dal flour, coconut, cardamom, salt and fennel seeds and mix together. Add the jaggery syrup little by little to make a soft dough.

Make small balls of the dough (keep the shape of the balls with a little rough edges and not too smooth). Deep fry on medium heat till golden brown. Remove on paper towel to soak excess oil. Store in air-tight container.

Bonde aar Muri - breakfast on Mahalaya

Processed white sugar is something which we have completely eliminated from our diet but there are few occasions in a year when we indulge a little and break this rule. This is one such occasion.

Besan /Chickpea Flour - 2 cups, heaped
Water - 2 cups

Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Saffron - a pinch
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp
Peanut Oil for deep frying
Ladle with small holes

Sift the besan with a sifter. Add water slowly and make a batter by mixing simultaneously using a wire whisk. The batter should not be too watery and should be of dosa batter consistency.

Mix oil and ghee in a kadai and heat over medium heat. The oil should be sufficiently hot before dropping the batter. This can be tested by putting a drop of batter in the oil. The drop should immediately bubble up.

Now hold the ladle over the kadai and pour some batter on it. The drops of batter will fall on the oil and immediately bubble up. Remove the boondis after 10 seconds. The boondis should not get dark in color and should not be crisp. If a boondi is pressed between 2 fingers, it should get squeezed in and not crumble. Leave the boondis on a paper towel to soak excess oil.

Before frying the next batch of boondis, wipe the ladle completely clean. If the ladle has some batter clinging to it, the next batch of boondis will not be round and they will have an elongated shape. Continue frying like this for the entire batter.

Make a sugar syrup of 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water. Boil till the syrup for a couple of minutes. Add saffron and some cardamom powder. Add all the fried boondis and mix well. Now put the syrup along with the boondis back on heat for a few minutes till all the syrup is soaked. Leave the mixture to cool down for  a few minutes before serving. We had ours with some crisp brown rice muri.

Banana Thekua, gluten free

Banana / Yellow Plantain - 1, mashed
Brown Rice Flour - 3/4 cup
Amaranth Flour / Rajgira - 3/4 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup, grated
Dried Shredded Coconut - 1/2 cup
Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
Cardamom Powder - a pinch (optional)
Warm Ghee / Clarified Butter - 2 tsp

Peanut Oil for deep frying

Mix all the above well and form a soft dough. Depending on the size of the banana, a little more or less flour may be required to make the dough.

Divide the dough into small balls and flatten the balls into circular shapes in between two plastic sheets.

Deep fry 5 or 6 thekua at a time till golden brown on both sides. Remove on paper towels to soak up excess oil. The thekuas harden when they cool down. They can be stored in an airtight container for a week.

Sending this to http://gourmetglobal.blogspot.com/2012/06/new-blogging-event-seriestaste-of.html

Arisa Pithe from Orissa / Sweet Brown Rice Crisp

Adapted from http://kichukhonn.blogspot.com/2009/06/arisa-pitha.html

Brown Rice Flour - 1 cup
Grated Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Black Pepper - a pinch
Salt - a pinch
Ghee - 1 tsp
Fennel Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Sesame Seeds / Poppy Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Peanut Oil for deep frying
Water - 1/4 cup
Brown Rice Flour for dusting the patties

Heat the water in a big sauce pan. Add the jaggery and a pinch of salt  and cook on low fire till the jaggery is completely melted and the syrup begins to boil. Once the syrup reaches one thread consistency, remove from fire.

Add a tsp of ghee to the sauce and mix well. Add the pepper powder, fennel seeds and brown rice flour and continuously stir the mixture till there are no lumps.

Once the mixture comes together as a ball, keep aside to cool a little.

When the mixture has cooled just enough to handle, using dry brown rice flour and a little ghee applies to the palms, make small balls of the dough and press to form patties. Sprinkle some sesame seeds / poppy seeds on top and press them so that they slick to the patties firmly on top. The ball and the patties should be made when the mixture is still warm as the mixtures turns very hard when it cools down.

Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the patties gently till brown. Remove them very carefully as the patties remain soft even if they turn brown and they break easily.

Leave them on paper towel to soak up excess oil. They turn hard and crunchy when cooled.

Caramelised Banana

A simple dessert but tastes heavenly. Banana, when caramelised is wonderful. It tastes good as it is, even without the icecream.

Banana - 1, ripe but firm
Butter - 1 tbsp
Turbinado Sugar - 2 tsp
Icecream / Frozen Yoghurt

Cut the banana into thick slices. Heat butter over low flame in a large skillet. Arrange the banana slices in a single layer on the pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Cook on medium heat till the bottom side caramelises and becomes crispy. Flip them and sprinkle brown sugar on the other side. Cook till the other side caramelises. Remove from heat and serve immediately with icecream / yoghurt.