Rasgulla

Rasgulla (Oriya: ରସଗୋଲା rasagola ; Sanskrit:रसगोलकम्) rasagolakam  ; Bengali: রসগোল্লা rôshogolla; Hindi: रसगुल्ला Rasgulla) is a very popular cheese based, syrupy sweet dish originally from the Indian state of Orissa
 It is popular throughout India and other parts of South Asia The dish is made from balls of chhena (an Indian cottage cheese) and semolina dough, cooked in sugar syrup..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasgulla The given recipe is a basic guide to make Rasgulla from scratch.

 Ingredients

Whole Milk                        4 cups

Lemon juice                       3 tbsps.

Water                               3 cups

Sugar -                             1 1/2cup

Cardamom powder              a pinch

Rose Water                        1tsp

Method:

• Heat the milk in heavy bottom vessel.  When it comes to boil, turn off the heat.
• Add lemon juice into it. Stir until milk separates completely and separates into curds.
• On straining this milk, the curd that is obtained is called "Chenna". Wash Chenna well under cold running water and twist the cloth that was used for straining to extract water.
• Knead Chenna to make smooth dough. Make small balls of equal size (6-7) of the dough and keep aside.
• While you are kneading the Chenna, prepare the sugar syrup.

• Place a pressure cooker on the stove and add water and sugar and allow the sugar to dissolve.
• Add Chenna balls to the syrup and cook for 15 minutes with lid partially covered. Turn off heat.
• Once the pressure is off, remove the lid. The balls will double in size and become light and springy on touch.
•  If you feel that the balls are not cooked yet, place lid and cook for another 5 mts.
• Remove from the heat. Cool it. On cooling, add rose essence.
• Serve it in room temperature or colder.

Sundakkai Sathuamuthu (Turkey Berry Rasam)

Solarium torvum (Turkey Berry), is a bushy, erect and spiny perennial plant used horticultural as a root stock for eggplant. People used chunadakka (the fruit of chunda or sunda) as a vegetable that goes into Sāmbhar and individual curries. People also used to preserve this wild-looking fruit by first soaking in curd as an Ayurveda herb, it has sedative, diuretic and digestive properties. It used in the treatment for coughs. It is a tonic for liver.

 Traditional way of cooking Sundakkai though, would be more elaborate as in Sundakkai VathalKozhambu, which makes for a beautiful classic dish in itself.

 In Iyengar cuisine, Sundakkai Vathal is an important part of the Dwadashi Thaligai  (the menu for this day is specifically geared towards leveling the acidity and getting the digestive juices flowing –simple menu).

This Sathuamuthu is easy to make and its very tasty also. 

Ingredients:

Tamarind                           – 1 small lemon size

Salt                                    – to taste

Asafetida                            – ¼ tsp.

Curry leaves                          – a few

Tomato                               – 1 no

Ginger grated                      – 1 tbsp.

Turmeric powder                    – ¼ tsp.

FOR THE POWDER:

Coarsely grind the following into a powder. No roasting is required.

Pepper                                 – 1 tbsp.

Cumin seeds                            – ½ tsp..

Coriander seeds                      – 1 tbsp.

Tovar dhal                               – 1 tbsp.

Red chilies                                 – 2no

FOR THE SEASONING:

Ghee                                               – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds                           – ¼ tsp

Black Pepper                              – ¼ tsp

Jeera                                       – 1/8 tsp

Rasam Powder                           - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves

Red Chilies                                    –2 no

Sundakkai vatral                              2 tbsp.

Chopped coriander leaves               – 1tsp

METHOD:

• Soak tamarind in warm water and extract the juice.
• Add salt, Asafetida, tomato pieces, turmeric powder, and ginger and curry leaves.
• Boil until the raw smell disappears.
• Grind the five ingredients into a slightly coarse powder.
• Add the powder and add water immediately to make one liter of rasam.
• Boil for few more minutes in low flame.
• Cover it with a lid to preserve flavor.
• Switch off flame when the rasam is just about to boil.
• Heat ghee and fry the seasoning and add to the rasam.
• Garnish with Coriander leaves.

Paneer Makhani – Butter Paneer Masala

 Paneer Butter Masala / Paneer Makhani is well known dish in Indian cuisine. Paneer cooked in rich gravy with tomatoes, butter and cream. Paneer Butter Masala is similar to other Paneer gravies, except that as the name implies, it is richer due to butter and the gravy is thickened by using tomatoes and cashew paste rather than just cream. .It’s really yummy.

 Making this recipe is might differ from region to region and even from one household to another. Some like to fry and brown the Paneer, while some use it raw. Here I marinated the Paneer and baked it in the oven for few minutes and also I used already precooked Mahani sauce. (When machani sauce in hand, you can make this gravy any time). In this recipe , I used very less butter, because of health reasons. If you want  and buttery sauce , you can add more butter.

Ingredients:

For Paneer Preparation: 

Paneer cubes                               – 2 cups

Thick yogurt (curd)                         – 2 tbsp.

Kashmir red chili powder                  – 1 tsp. (Its gives you color)

Salt                                             – a pinch

Kasuthuri Methi Powder                   – ¼ tsp.

Red color                                       – 1 drop (optional)

Oil                                                  - 1 tsp.

Method: 

• Whisk the yogurt, salt, chili powder, kasuri Methi powder. Add oil in it. Mix well.
• Add Paneer cubes to the bowl and toss for the marinade to coat the Paneer, keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven at 350 degree. On an oven prove tray, place aluminum foil and place the Paneer and bake for 6 minutes and turn them over and again bake it for 4 minutes. Set aside. 
• Now Paneer is ready. 

For the sauce:

Ingredients:

Makhani Sauce                - 1 ½ cup (without  cream)

Makhani Sauce

Chopped capsicums          – 1cup

Ginger paste                   – 1tsp.

Oil/Butter                          – 1tsp.

Cloves, Cardamom                – 2 each

Water –                              1 cup

Cream                                   – ½ cup

Sugar                                 – 1 tbsp.

Kasuthuri methi Powder            – 1tsp

Salt                                     to taste

To be grind:

Cashews                             – 1 tbsp.

Khuskhus                             – 1 tbsp.

Almonds                                – 1 tbsp.

Method for Paneer Makhani 

• Soak the cashews, almonds and khuskhus in a hot water for ½ hour. Then drain the water and grind it very smoothly.  Keep aside.
• Dry fry the cloves and cardamoms and grind coarsely.
• Heat butter in a pan, add ginger paste and fry for few seconds, then add chopped capsicums n it and saute for few minutes. Keep aside.
• Take a deep pan, add Makhani Sauce, add little water and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat.
• Add the powdered dry masalas, capsicums, sugar in it, and cook it in low heat.
• Now add Paneer cubes, cashew paste, and kasuri powder and salt in it. Mix it gently.
• Add little water and cook it for 10 to 15 minutes in a low heat. Now add cream gently in the mixture and cook it for 3 minutes.
• Remove from the heat. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Now Yummy Paneer Makhani is ready.
• Serve with Nan, Pulao, Pulka.

Makhani Sauce (Butter based Tomato sauce)

If you are the familiar with the popular dishes that 9 out of 10 Indian restaurants never fail to offer, Dal Makhani has to be one of them. Makhani' is a Hindustani word meaning "with butter". It is used in the names of several dishes from Punjabi cuisine. . This delicate tasting buttery tomato sauce is part of quite a few dishes, Dal Makhani, mixed vegetables Makhani, Spinach machani and Paneer Makhani (Paneer Butter Masala).

 Traditionally fresh butter and cream were used to cook this basic sauce. But in my recipe I used very less butter and no cream at all. Instead of butter I replaced smart balance oil in my recipe.

This sauce keeps very well for 3 days refrigerated, for 6 months frozen. It is better to freeze it into two different containers. BUT if you want to freeze it, DO NOT add the cream and the milk. Add the cream and the milk when you want to use it to prepare the final dish.

Ingredients

Organic Tomato sauce                   -    6 cups

Ginger paste                                   – 3 tbsp.

Finely chopped green chilies                – 2 tsp.

Kashmiri chili powder                     –     1 tsp

Honey                                               – 2 tsp.

Kasuthuri Methti (Dry fenugreek leaves)   1 tbsp.

Butter                                              1tbsp

Cooking oil  (Smart balance)             – 3 tbsp.

Salt                                              – to taste

Masalas:

Cinnamon sticks                  – 2 ( broken into small pieces)

Black cardamom                      – 2 no

Green cardamom                    – 4 no

Cloves                                   – 4 no(crush)

Method:

• Dry fry the masalas and coarsely grind them.
• In a pan, heat oil & butter. Add the coarsely round masalas, green chilies, ginger paste and red chili powder. Lower the stove heat, Fry till the oil separates.
• Now add the tomato sauce, Kasuthuri methi powder, salt. Cover the pan and let it cook in a lower heat.
• Cook till reduces the tomato sauce. (Spice masala leaves the sides of the pan and the oil separates) 
• Add honey and mix it well.  Cook for two more minutes.
• Use immediately or pour sauce into a bowl; cover bowl and refrigerate or freeze sauce. 

Note:

• After the sauce is done, proceed to cook whatever dish you have decided. Just you need to shallow fry the vegetables, add few amount of sauce, and add heavy cream and milk. Boil/simmer for about 10 minutes. Your Makhani is ready.
• If you like the sauce more creamy and mild you may want to increase the amount of fresh cream added to the sauce. You may also adjust the quantity of sugar/honey in the sauce according to your taste.

Badam Burfi/ Almond Burfi

Sweets are very important  part of any Indian festival and function.  .Baadam or Almond Burfi is a sweet dish and you can munch it any time of the day.

Ingredients:

Whole almonds                      3 cups

Sugar                                    4 cups

Water                                    1 cup

cardamom Powder                 1 tbsp

 Ghee                                    3 tbsp

Method:

• Soak Badam in hot water for five hours. Peel the skin. Clean the Badam in a paper towel.   Grind it to fine meal.

Almond Meal

•  Take sugar in a pan, add water and place over low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves completely.
• Let it cook till one string consistency.(Take a water in a small  bowl, add a drop of sugar syrup in it . When the syrup holds it shape and does not dissolve in the water).
• Now add the Badam meal and cardamom powder.  Lower the stove heat.
• Keep stirring until it leaves the sides of the pan add the ghee and switch off the stove.
• Immediately pour the mixture on a flat, ghee applied tray. Level it evenly with a spatula, and cut into squares. Let cool.

 Separate the squares and store them in an airtight container.

•  

Eggless Banana and Nuts Cake

Nothing like a slice of freshly baked cake with a cup of tea in the chilly weather.  Banana cake is definitely one of the best and most delicious cake. Bananas really want to be flecked with brown and have a golden hue just as the old jingle says. And when they have gone beyond that stage just a tad -- they are perfect for cake! Yes, this is a really tasty way to deal with all those overly ripe bananas that are begging for use in your kitchen!

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour                1 ¼ cup

Wheat flour                       ¾ cup

Baking soda                       1 ¼ tsp.

Baking powder                   ¼ tsp.

Plain sugar                         1 ½ cup

Mashed Banana                  1 cup

Cooking oil                         ¾ cup

Lime juice                          2 tbsp.

salt                                    A pinch 

Soy milk (OR)Milk             ¾ cup (no added sugar soy milk)

Vanilla essence                  1 tsp.

Butter                               1 tsp

 Nuts

Finely ground almonds      ¾ cup

Chopped walnut                ½ cup

Tutti Fruitty                       ¼ cup  (optional)

 Method;

• Sieve the flours, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
• In a big bowl, mix the wet ingredients - mashed banana, Oil, vanilla extract, soy milk. And lemon juice. Whisk very nicely to mix all the ingredients very well.
•  Mix the sugar, nuts and make a well in the center. Place the mashed banana mixture in the well. And combine all mixture very well.
• Prepare the Bundt cake pan, by applying butter on the bottom and to the sides.
•  Pour the cake batter. Spread evenly.
• Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 50 minutes or cake is cooked when tested with a skewer.
• Cool for 5 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.
• A moist, tender, nutty delicious egg less banana nut cake is ready.
• This cake really likes a Lemon or Caramel frosting. 

Note:

• The riper the bananas the better the results will be.

Happy New Year 2012

Dear Readers

I Wish in 2012

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12 Month of Happiness,

52 Weeks of Fun,

365 Days Success,

8760 Hours Good Health,

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3153600 Seconds of Joy...and that's all!