Badam Burfi/Almond Fudge

                                      This year's deepavali sweets : Almond Burfi and Jhangri

Trust you all had wonderful deepavali. I made badam burfi and jhangri for this year deepavali. Numerous blogs have shared this recipe. Here is my version of Almond Fudge aka Badam Burfi.

You need :

Almonds : approx 200gm (2 fistfulls less than one pavu)
Sugar: measured the same qty as almonds. Used same cup to measure both the ingredients
Ghee : 2tbsp (which I did not add)
Saffron strands a few

Greased plate and rolling pin (lattanige)

Step I: Blanch almonds. Pour almonds into hot water and leave it aside for 7 to ten minutes
Step 2: Deskin almonds and pat them. Let them dry.  I just used my hair dryer to blow dry the almonds. Worked well. Blend them to make almond flour.

Blanched Almonds (R) Almond Flour (L)

Take sugar and saffron strands in a heavy bottomed non stick pan. Add water enough to dissolve sugar. Boil on medium flame till you get one string consistency. When you start seeing bubbles like this..

Gejje Paaka

be prepared. This stage is called gejje paka and 2-3 mins later you start seeing one string paka or consistency syrup. Pull the sugar syrup between your thumb and fore finger. The string which forms should be firm. Slowly start adding almond flour little at a time. Mix well, add again till you finish all the flour. Add 2 tbsp of ghee and keep mixing till it comes together like ball in the center of the bowl.

Grease a plate or mould with ghee. Pour this hot mixture in the non stick pan over to it. Grease a rolling pin and make it even.

Cut them into desired shape and apply little ghee on top which I did instead of adding 2tbsp ghee. But I advise you to add ghee to get much nicer burfis.

Take out and store in a air tight box.

and enjoy like this....

Kobbari Sakkare Holige

I would like to share kobbari sakkare holige..

Few facts about this holige :
1. Easy to make
2. Less preparation required
3. They must be consumend when hot. Please do not keep them as they tend to become dry. Unless you like to eat that way!

What you need:
1. Maida (All Purpose Flour) - 1 cup
2. Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup (adjust sweet levles according to you taste)
3. Dessicated dry coconut (powdered dry coconut)-1/2 cup
4. Milk - 3-4tbsp
5. Oil
6. Water
Method:
1. Mix maida with water to make a very soft dough. Add oil on the dough and leave it aside. It looks like this:

Mix, grated coconut, sugar with 1-2 tbsp milk. If you need more milk, add little at a time and mix. It should look like this :

Make small balls.

For making holige, take a plastic coated paper and oil the surface. Oil the rolling pin. Take a small lemon sized maida and pat it on the paper. Roll it to have a small circle. Keep the sugar-coconut mixture in between. Close it from all sides. Roll it to make holige and transfer it to the hot pan along with the paper. Slowly remove the paper. Fry with oil on both the sides and remove it to a serving plate. Eat hot with ghee/milk.

On other note, Pratibha of The Chef and Her Kitchen tagged me for 7 links game. I went back to search the post thinking that it was only 2 weeks ago that she tagged me. I realised that it has already been more than 4 weeks since she tagged :P Ok, here I go about telling the 7 links of my blog...

My Most Beautifull Post : There are many! It would be unfair to pick any one of them.

I pick a sweet made on Varamahalakshmi vrata, Hayagreeva

What is most beautiful about this? It is the sweet itself and many memories attached to it. We loved it as children and my mom loved it too.
My Most Popular Post : Well, popularity has varied with times. But, most of the times my google side bar of 'most popular post' shows Vangibath Powder and Vangibath. So, I go with google... Well, there is no good picture of it though. Sometimes, recipe speaks better than picture and this is a good example.
The post I am most proud of: It would be good to say it this way: The post that made me proud of by the feedback of readers : Vadappi/Akki hittu poori. Again, recipe speaks more than picture.
Most Useful Post: There are many. From stotras to mantras to many readers requested recipes. Navaratri Festive Food Round up was liked by most of my subscribers.
Surprise Success Post: Rave Pongal

Most Controversial Post : None
Post Which requires most attention : Please revisit all the recipes, whenever you get time!!! ehehehee...

Have a fantastic Deepavali. Not sure when will I get time to blog again, till then take care and eat well.

Mekkejola Usli/ Quick Corn Snack for navaratri days

Navaratri is fast approaching and we all need some or the other quick snacks for serving guests. Everyday is a special day and navaratri days are overloaded with usli recipes in blogs. Here is one of the simplest ones which we all love :D

It is easy to buy fresh corn from supermarkets here in Singapore. If they are not available, frozen corn works well for this.

You Need :

Fresh corn on the cob : 2
Butter/Oil : 1/2 tbsp
Kitchen King Masala+Red Chilli Powder + Salt = 1heaped tsp

Separate corn from the cob like this :

Knife works well for this purpose. Easy and neatly done.

Heat butter/oil in a pan. Fry corn till it is golden and starts to pop. Add the masala mix and stir to mix. Switch off the stove. Scoop it into a bowl and serve hot!

For variation, I added cooked rice flour balls (cooked, kneaded and made into small rounds) to this and it worked well. It was Prathibha's avarelalu usli idea which I extended to corn.

Khara Bhath

Khara Bath is nothing but Upittu with a gorgeous name. I got tempted to make it the way Pratibha made after she flaunted her awesome clicks. Basically anything with too much oil or ghee gets a 'no' ticket at home. But, I was heads over heels to make this...err..like this... 

                                                            (Aditya @17 months)

Here is the outcome ..

It was delicious. Akash and Nita (our helper), who dislike upittu, took two servings!

Ingredients:

Vegetables cut into very small pieces : Carrot, french beans, brinjal, onions

I added a half a handful of peas too.

Green Chillies, cut length wise:  6 (depending on the spice levels of chillies)

Ginger-Garlic Paste: 1 tsp

Garam Masala Powder: 1tsp

Semolina/Rava : 1 cup (250ml) (roast rava till fragrant, before you use it for upma)

Ghee : 4 tbsp (You can add more if u wish, this is the highlight of the dish which makes it a winner)

lemon juice : 1tbsp; coriander leaves chopped: 2tbsp and grated coconut : 2tbsp

Seasoning Ingredients : Mustard, Cashewnuts (handfull), chanadal (1tsp), uriddal(1tsp),curry leaves (few)

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a pan. Add cashew nut,chanadal, uriddal and fry till golden. Add curryleaves, greenchillies and fry for 30 sec.

2. Add onions, fry for 30 secs, and ginger garlic paster.

3.Add vegetables and fry till they are soft. Add little salt to aid quick cooking

4.Add 2.5 cups of water (use same cup to measure rava and water) and bring it to boil. Add salt. Mix well and lower the flame. Taste water and check salt levels. If required, add and adjust the taste. Add garam masala powder. Switch off the stove. Slowly add rava with constant stirring. After all rava has been added, switch on the stove again. Cover and cook for next 3-4 mins. Switch off the stove.

5. After 10 mins, add lemon juice and mix well. Sprinkle few coriander leaves and coconut when you serve.