Gajar Kaa Halwa ( Carrot Halwa )

In winter you get lots n lots of carrots and I like to make various dishes using carrot during this time. Carrot contains plenty of Vitamin A which is essential for our eye sight and also lot of fibre to provide roughage to our body. Though eating raw carrot regularly  is best for our health, there is certainly no harm in occasionally  making something as simple and delicious as this gajar kaa halwa.

This sweet can be easily made with minimum ingredients and is always popular among children and adults alike.I saw this recipe in a Marathi book called Sugranishi Hitaguz written by a well known nutritionist Dr Malati Karwarkar .

 She has advised on turning our regular dishes into healthy and delcious ones.  In this recipe instead of using Khoya or Mawa I have used instant milk powder. This makes the dish more nutritious . For making khoya /mawa you need to boil and reduce milk and in this process the nutrition part in milk is lost whereas milk powder provides you with all the advantages of milk . Also adding poppy seeds adds to the nutritional value along with giving that additional crunchiness to the halwa. You can add or skip the other nuts according to your taste.

Ingredients :

1/2 kg................ carrots ( select dark orange and long thick variety )
1 n 1/2 cup.........sugar ( use can alter the amount as per your liking)
2 tbsp................ghee
2 tbsp..............chopped nuts ( almonds, pistachios , cashews etc )
1 tbsp...............raisins
1/2 tsp..............cardamom powder
4 tbsp.............. instant milk powder ( or can use khoya / mawa )
1 tbsp ..............poppy seeds ( optional )
silver foil for garnish ( optional )

Method :

Wash and grate the carrots.

In a non stick pan add ghee and saute the carrots till the raw smell disappears.

Cook till carrots are half cooked . ( this may take 8 to 10 minutes ).

Add sugar and cook till sugar melts.

Now add poppy seeds and instant milk powder and cook for 5 more minutes.

Before removing add the nuts, cardamom powder and switch off the gas.

Garnish with silver foil and serve warm.

Also sending it to :


Foodabulous-fest  @ eshoboshoaahare

spotlight-continental 

holiday-recipes

Tadkewaali Masoor ki Daal

Daals and pulses form a very improtant part of our Indian diet and we use them almost every day. Daal chawal is the staple diet of more then 50 % Indian population. Usually tuvar daal ( arhar daal ) is commonly used in our meals but I found that masoor daal too is tasty and make it a point to use this occasionally . 

I got this recipe from one of my friends and tried it . The daal is very simple and yet the flavors come out very nicely. This daal has to be little thick and tastes very nice with paratha or jeera rice.


 Sending this to Srivalli's   cooking from cookbook challenge ( CCC ) .

Ingredients :

1 cup.......................masoor daal
3 to 4 ...................dry red chillies
2 sprigs................curry leaves
1/2 tsp..................mustard seeds
1/2 tsp..................cumin seeds
1 tbsp..................ginger chilly paste
1/2 tsp..................turmeric
1/2 tsp..................amchoor ( dry mango powder )
1 tsp....................sugar
salt
2 tbsp.................oil




Method :

Wash and boil the masoor daal in a pressure cooker till soft .

Mash it and add ginger chilly paste, turmeric, amchoor, sugar and salt to it.

Add some water but don't make it too thin.

Give it a boil.

In a small vessel make a tadka by heating oil.

When the oil is hot add mustard , cumin, hing, dry chillies and curry leaves.

Pour this over the daal and immediately cover daal with the lid.

This ensures that all the flavors get mixed well in the daal.

Serve this daal with paratha or plain pulav.

Aloo Methi

 Tthis dish is from my handwritten recipe collection and goes to     Srivalli's    ccchallenge  ( cooking from cookbook challenge ) .

Once when I had gone to my friend 's house many years ago , she had prepared this yummy dish for lunch. It tasted too good and I asked her the recipe. When she told me the recipe I wash simply bowled over by its simplicity and deliciousness. I promptly noted down the recipe and since then this has become a regular in my house .

An ideal option for tiffins , meals or even as a filling for rolls, wraps or samosas just try this lovely dish .

Ingredients :

4 to 5 .....................potatoes
1 small bunch...........methi leaves
2 ...........................onions ( chopped)
1/2 tsp....................turmeric powder
1 tsp.......................chilly powder
1 tsp.....................dhana jeera powder
2 tbsp...................oil
salt

Method :

Peel and cube the potatoes.
Pick the methi leaves from the bunch and wash and cut them.
In a non stick pan heat oil and saute onion in it.
When they become transluscent add potatoes and stir fry.
When the potatoes are half cooked add the chopped methi leaves.
Add haldi, chilly pd and dhana jeera powder .
Add salt and let the aloo methi get cooked for 5 more minutes.
Serve hot with rotis or daal rice.

Vermicelii Upma Pulav

If you are a Maharashtrian or are familiar with maharashtrian cooking  then you have to know about this cookbook called " Annapoorna" written by a well known writer Mangala Barve. This book is a must in every maharashtrian household as it has almost all types of typical maharashtrian dishes.

 My today's post for Srivalli's  CCC ( Cooking from Cookbook Challenge ) for November 4th week has been taken from the same book.

This upma is very simple and when made with addition of various veggies of your choice becomes a perfect one meal dish. On the days when you are not in a mood to make a full meal and yet want to have a light but healthy and balanced diet this is the dish you ought to make.

 It is delicious and can be made in a matter of few minutes. Even children who otherwise don't like eating veggies are all crazy about this upma as the vermicellis look like noodles and taste yummy. So now off to the recipe.

Ingredients :

2 cups ........................vermicelli ( I used wheat variety)
1 onion.......................sliced finely
1/2 cup.....................carrot ( cut into long sticks)
1/2 cup......................french beans ( cut into long slanting sticks)
1/2 cup....................capsicum ( cut thin vertically )
1/2 cup....................spring onion ( chopped )
1/2 tsp.....................green chillies ( finely chopped)
1/2 tsp.....................ginger ( finely chopped)
1/2 tsp....................mustard seeds
1/4 tsp.....................hing
salt ...................as per your taste
1 tsp..................sugar
1 tbsp....................oil for tadka




Method :

In a pan heat oil and when hot add the mustard seeds.

When the mustard splutters add hing, ginger , chillies and onions and saute till soft.

Now add the vermicelli and stir it for some time till it turns light golden.

Now add the carrots and french beans and stir for few minutes.

Then add capsicum and spring onion and saute for 2 minutes.

Finally add salt, sugar and add 4 cups hot water and cover the pan with a lid.

Cook till all the water is absorbed and the vermicelli swells wp to almost double the size.

Serve hot as it is or with any salad if you want.




also linking it to :

Gavsalli ( Wheat rotis stuffed with rice balls)

Today for the Srivalli's   Cooking from Cookbook Challenge (CCC)  I chose this recipe from a Marathi cookbook  " Draupadichi Thali " .

This paratha recipe is very versatile and though the original recipe calls for wheat flour and rice flour , I have successfully tried it with many other flours like Ragi, Bajra and Jowar in place of rice. The outer cover though should be of wheat only as it gives the needed elasticity to roll the paratha.

This way you can include these healthy cereals in your daily meals. This paratha though looks plain is very soft and goes very well with any veg or non veg gravy . It also tastes yummy with aamras or basundi.

Ingredients :

2 cups.....................wheat flour
2 cup......................rice flour
2 cup.......................water
salt
oil

Method :

Knead a soft but firm dough with the wheat flour, salt and water and keep aside.

Heat 2 cup water in a pan and let it come to boil.

Add to it little salt , 1 /2 tsp oil and the rice flour.

Stir with a spoon so that the rice flour mixes with the hot water.





Cover the pan with a lid and switch off the gas.

After about half an hour knead this rice to form a soft ball.

Make 8 to 10 balls of the wheat dough and the same number of balls with the rice dough.




Now on a roller roll the wheat ball to the size of a small puri and keep the rice ball on it.






Cover the rice ball with the puri completely and now again roll into the shape of a  roti.





Cook it on a tawa on both side as you would normally do for a roti.





These gavsallis can be had with any gravy.




also linking it to :

 health-diet-indian breads  @ accessiblediary 

cooking with seeds - wheat  @ priyas-virundhu

wtml-nov @ sahasravantalu

Waldorf Salad

I love to make various salads and usually combine the vegetables and fruits with different type of dressings. My love started when I bought a small book Salads while travelling in a Mumbai Local Train.

 Though small the book is a treasure house of various salads and there are still many recipes which I yet have to make. This particular Wakdorf salad is a family favourite and is always a hit at get togethers and parties.

This salad is very simple and is very delicious . So make it whenever you have apples and walnuts handy.

Ingredients :

2........................large juicy apples
1/2 cup..............chopped walnuts
1.......................lemon ( squeezed into juice)
1 tsp.................sugar
2 tbsp..............finely chopped coriander leaves



Ingredients : ( Eggless Mayonnaise)

1 cup.................thick curd ( hang it in a muslin cloth for 1 hour)
1/2 cup ..............fresh cream

1/2 tsp..............pepper powder

1 tbsp...............olive oil
1tsp....................sugar

Method :

Wash the apples thoroughly and cut them into cubes.
Apply sugar and sprinkle the lemon juice on the cubes and chill them till further use.
This prevents the apples from turning black.
Now take the hung curd in a bowl and add fresh cream ,sugar, salt , olive oil and pepper powder.
Whip it till smooth .
This dressing is a good substitute for mayonnaise and can be used as veg mayonnaise in salads.
While serving mix the chilled apples with this sauce add walnut pieces and mix well.



Linking this to CCChallenge of the month

Pear and Pomegranate Shake ( For C C Challenge )

Hi all ,

I am super excited to post the very first dish for Cooking From The Cookbook ( CC ) Challenge .

 And just don't believe my luck that yesterday I recieved a book Burgers & Smoothies from Gayathri  as a winning prize for her WTML ( walk-through-memory-lane) event for my dish idli-burgers-with-moong-cutlets . Thanks a lot Gayathri for such a lovely book.

Coming back to this lovely CC challenge - it is started by a well known blogger Srivalli   and if interested you can get more information from here . This challenge is all about cooking from a cookbook or handwritten notes.

I have a really huge drawer full of various cookbooks and handwritten diaries and bound books containing xerox of newspaper and magazine cuttings . So I found this as a great way to use all my notes and cookbooks .Hence decided not to lose this opportunity.

So when one more lovely book - Burgers & Smoothies ( from Tarla Dalal ) was addend to my collection I couldn't resist myself and immediately made this lovely smoothie from pomegranate and pear as luckily I had both the fruits ready in my house.

Ingredients :

1 ...................Pear
1...................Pomegranate
1/2cup ............chilled milk
1/2 cup ...........chilled fresh thick curds
2 tsp................sugar

Method :

Peel the pomegranate and separate the seeds and chill them in fridge.

Also chill the pear , cut it remove the seeds and roughly chop it in pieces along with the skin.

Now blend everything in a mixer till smooth.

You can add more milk if the smoothie is too thick.

Serve chilled .