Rava Kesari recipe

Ingredients:

Rava - 1 cup

Sugar - 2 cups

Water - 3 cups

Cardomom powder - 1 tsp

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Cashew nuts - 8 cut in to pieces

Raisins - 10

Food colour ( Orange ) - 1 pinch

Method:

• In a vessel boil 3 cups of water.

• In a heavy bottomed pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee and roast cashew nuts and raisins. Remove and keep aside.

• In the same pan, add another tbsp of ghee and roast rava till it becomes golden brown. After roasted,  add the boiling water which we got from step 1 little by little. Take care no lumps are formed.

• Keep the flame low and keep stirring till it cooks well.

• After it cooks well, add sugar and mix well.

• Take 1 pinch of food colour in a cup and add 2 tsp of milk. Mix well and pour it in the rava mixture.

• Mix well till it doesn't stick on to the vessel. If needed add some ghee. ( when it comes with the spatula when you stir with out sticking, turn off the flame ).

• Add cardamom powder and cashews and raisins to it.

• Rava kesari is now ready to serve.

Note:

Add sugar only after rava cooks well. Later it'll not cook.

Onion Raita

Ingredients:

Onion - 2 

Ginger - 1 tsp finely chopped or grated

Green Chilly - 1 medium, finely chopped

Salt - as per required

Curd - 1 cup

Coriander leaves - few

Method:

• Finely chop the onion in to small pieces.

• Peel the outer skin of ginger and grate it or you can chop it in to pieces.

• Add onion, green chilly, salt and ginger in 1 cup of curd. Mix well.

• Dress it with few coriander leaves. 

• Cool it in the refrigerator for few hours and serve.

Vermicelli kheer

Ingredients:

Vermicelli - 75 grams

Milk - 1 liter

Sugar - 1/2 cup or as per required

Cardomom powder - 1/2 tsp

Cashew nuts - 8 or 10

Raisins - 10 

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. In a heavy bottomed pan heat 1 tbsp ghee and roast vermicelli till brown. Remove and keep aside.
2. In the same pan add 1 tbsp ghee and fry nuts and raisins separately. Remove and keep aside.
3. Boil milk in the same pan in very low flame for a few minutes. Then add the roasted vermicelli to it and cook till it becomes soft. Keep stirring to prevent it from getting burnt.
4. Add sugar and mix till it dissolves.
5. Add cardomom powder and nuts and raisins to it.
6. Now the vermicelli payasam or kheer is ready to serve hot. If desired you can serve it chill by keeping it in refrigerator for 1 or 2 hours.

Note:

If the payasam or kheer becomes thick after few hours, you can add milk to reach your desired consistency.

Makkan Peda Recipe

Ingredients:

Gulab Jamun Mix - 200 gms

Sugar - 1 kg

Milk- less than 1/4 th of Gulab jamun mix

Dried Nuts - 1 cup ( cashews, dry grapes, pista, pumpkin seeds etc.,)

Cooking Soda- 1 pinch

Cardomom powder - 1 tsp

Food Colour ( optional ) - 1 pinch

Oil - to fry

Cinnamomum Camphora - 1 pinch

Method:

• Mix Gulab Jamun mix with soda and milk and knead gently to make a soft dough with out sticking and rest it for 5 to 10 min.

• Prepare the dried nuts mixture by cutting it in to smaller pieces and keep aside.

• Make the dough in to soft round balls on your palm and make a small hole and fill it with nuts mixture, close the hole and slightly flatten a bit.

• Now heat oil in a pan and fry the prepared balls 2 or 3 at a time. Do not overheat oil, otherwise it will brown quickly but the innerpart of the ball might not cook.

• Turn sides slowly for even cooking on both sides. Cooking time for each piece should be 7 to 8 min.

• In another pan add sugar and equal amount of water, bring it to boil to make the sugar syrup.

• Once the syrup thickens after boiling, add cardomom powder, food colour, Pacchai karpooram and mix well. Take it out from the flame and keep aside.

• When the peda pieces are cooked, drain the oil and drop it in the sugar syrup. At that time sugar syrup should be hot.

• Set it aside for 15 to 20 min to soak it completely and dress it with nuts on top.

• Mouth watering Makkan peda is now ready to eat.

Note:

• When the peda Soaks in syrup, it expands its size. So, prepare enough sugar syrup.

Sundal recipe - Green gram

Ingredients:

Green Gram - 1/4 kg

Salt - as per required

Coconut ( shredded ) - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:

• Soak Green gram for at-least 5 hours. Drain the water and keep aside.

• Take a heavy bottomed pan. Add ghee and mustard seeds. When it splutters add green gram. Mix well. Add half a cup of water and cook well along with required salt and turmeric powder.

• After it cooks well and coconut.

• Sundal is ready to serve now.

Gooseberry with Honey

Ingredients:

Gooseberries - 10


Honey - 1/2 kg

Method:

• Wash Gooseberries and pat it dry.

• Using a sharp knife make a cross on the top of each gooseberry. ( You can also cut the gooseberries in to four pieces and remove the seed with the knife. But it is somewhat difficult. So, i did with the full gooseberry without slicing ).

• Take a clean and steriled glass bottle. Place all gooseberries in the bottle and pour honey until you cover all gooseberries.

• Close the mouth of the bottle with a muslin cloth.

• Keep this bottle in the sunlight for an hour daily for 15 days before using it.