Palakoora - Vadiyala Koora

Recipe Source: Prabha Gandlur

Update: This was originally published during the second week of May and was lost because of the Blogger issues. I could not recover either the post or all the comments received. I am republishing it with a few comments I could recover.

Adding sun dried vadiyalu (vadi) to vegetable or dal preparations is common in some of the regional cuisines of India. Some of them may involve an elaborate preparation like nimona or some may feature the minimalist cooking to bring out the flavors of the ingredients used. Today's recipe is of the latter kind representing traditional Andhra cooking.
The original recipe is a very basic and simple one. It is a spinach - uraddal vadi preparation with a tadka using only mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chillies. If I include the salt and oil, there are only 7 ingredients used in the recipe and that is as minimal as possible considering that it is an Indian recipe and that too a subzi. (There is nothing wrong with the original recipe but) I added some more things to make it extra delicious.

Ingredients for 4 servings:
For tadka: 2-3 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 6 red chillies, few curry leaves, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 cup chopped onion
Spinach *
1/4 - 1/2 cup oil to fry the vadiyalu
1/2 cup minapappu vadiyalu / urad dal vadi
Salt to taste
* I used 1 lb frozen, chopped spinach. That would be about 2 cups when cooked.  If using fresh spinach, use an equivalent amount. Wash and chop the leaves finely before using it.

Check here to learn how to prepare minapappu vadiyalu / urad dal vadis.
Other recipes published here using vadis are

Nimona

Vadiyala Pulusu

Method:

* If using frozen spinach, cook in microwave for about 10 minutes. By that time, spinach thaws and gets done. If using a smaller quantity of spinach, time it accordingly.

* Meanwhile heat oil in a pan and add the tadka ingredients in the order mentioned. When chanadal turns reddish, add the onions and stir well. Cook covered on low flame until the onions turn translucent. If using fresh spinach then it is time to add to the pan. Sauté until the leaves appear cooked.

* While the onions are being sautéed, heat oil in another small pan to fry vadiyalu. When the oil is hot enough, add the vadiyalu to it and deep fry turning them around, until brown. It would take only a few seconds to fry them and so be careful to remove them as they are done. A few seconds more, they will burn. Drain them on paper towels.

* Add the microwaved spinach and salt to the cooked onion. Sauté for a couple of minutes more and turn off the stove. 

* Though the fried vadiyalu can be added to the cooked spinach subzi at this stage, I personally prefer it to add while serving to retain their crunch.

* Serve with rice and ghee.

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Authentic Andhra ~ Dappalam

Today marks the final day of this blogging marathon and I am here with another delicious stew from Andhra. Besides the sambhars and rasams (that are popular through out the southern parts of India), various spicy stews with toor dal and/or vegetables are prepared in Andhra to go along with hot, steamed rice. Among those, dappalam happens to be a spicy, tangy stew prepared with an assortment of vegetables. This dish could be prepared in a matter of minutes and particularly an apt one when you have to finish off the odd medley of leftover veggies from your refrigerator. It is delicious when served with rice as it is or along with some mudda pappu (cooked, plain toordal).

Recipe source: M's aunt
Ingredients for 6 - 8 servings:
For tadka: 1 - 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, asafoetida to taste, few curry leaves
6 green chilies - Slit lengthwise (I used Serrano peppers)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 cups - mixed vegetables (Veggies like drumstick, winter melon, brinjal, potato, bottlegourd/lauki, okra, beans and carrot are usually used.)
Tamarind (a lime sized tamarind soaked in water, squeezed and puree extracted)
Jaggery - 2 Tbsp or as per taste
Salt to taste
2 - 3 tsp rice flour
Cilantro for garnish

Method:
* Cook vegetables until tender, not mushy. Some veggies need to be cooked individually since cooking time of each vegetable varies.
* Mix the rice flour with little water to form a watery paste and keep it aside.
* Heat oil in a kadai (small wok) or a pan and add the tadka ingredients. When mustard seeds start to splutter add green chillies and turmeric powder. Sauté the chillies for a few seconds.
* Then add the cooked vegetables, tamarind juice, jaggery, salt and rice flour paste. Also add some water to reach the desired consistency (like a thick sambhar). Check the taste and adjust the ingredients if needed. The final dish should be spicy, tangy and sweet. J
* Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and lower the heat. Then simmer it for a few minutes. Turn off the stove and garnish with cilantro.
* Serve with rice and mudda pappu (plain dal).

Note:
* 1 - 2 tsp of sambhar powder can be added to this dish to enhance the flavor.
* The color of dappalam depends upon the jaggery and tamarind used.

Check out what the other marathoners in BM#5 are cooking today. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree , Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Harini, Me , PJ and Vaishali
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

Even if an Andhrite haven't eaten dappalam, they have surely heard about it. Thanks to this evergreen and iconic song from Mayabazar.
Ghathothkacha (Bheemasena's Rakshasa son) has come to help his cousins Abhimanyu and Sashirekha get married. In the process, he impersonates Sashirekha to stop her wedding that her parents had arranged with Lakshmana Kumara (son of Duryodhana). He lands up in kitchen where a scrumptious feast has been arranged for the wedding guests and ends up enjoying it single handedly.

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Genasugadda Pulusu

Genasugadda Theeyati Pulusu ~ A Sweet & Spicy Sweet Potato - Lentil Stew

I was surprised to notice that this one is going to be my first pulusu post here considering the fact that I grew up eating pulusu / pappus on a daily basis. To this day, my mother and her siblings prepare either a sweet - tangy pulusu / pappu in their kitchens but never a sambhar. This may be surprising to many South Indians but there are many Brahmin families (especially in the coastal Andhra regions) where sambhar never makes an appearance at their dining tables. Naturally, I was (and still am) not fond of sambhar and did not start to prepare it until M (who is used to sambhar from childhood) kept insisting for it.

Like a sambhar, Andhra pulusu is prepared using toor dal and a vegetable / a mixture of vegetables. Depending upon one's preference, the consistency of a pulusu can be anywhere between a sambhar and a rasam. The main difference between these two stews is that sambhar uses sambhar powder, the signature spice mix while the pulusu doesn't need anything of that sort. The sweet, tangy flavors should balance and sometimes for the uninitiated palates, pulusus can come across as sweeter.

For today's post, I have used the sweet potato to prepare a tangy - sweet pulusu.

Ingredients: (4 servings)
1/2 cup toordal
1 cup sweet potato cubes (chopped and cubed)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
Salt to taste
1 small lime sized tamarind (soaked in water and juice squeezed)
1 Tbsp powdered jaggery (less or more quantity depends upon preference)
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves

Method:
* Wash the toor dal. Cook the dal along with the vegetable and turmeric powder adding about a cup of water in a pressure cooker, until softly done. If your pressure cooker takes longer to cook the dal, then the sweet potato may be cooked separately until tender either on stovetop or in a microwave. 
* When the valve pressure is gone, remove the dal container; gently mash the dal with the backside of the ladle and keep aside.
* Heat the oil in a kadai / deep pan and add the tadka ingredients. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the cooked dal, sweet potato, tamarind juice, jaggery, salt and chili powder. Add water to reach the desired consistency and check the taste and adjust the quantities of ingredients if needed. All the flavors should shine in this recipe unlike sambhar. Bring to a rolling boil and lower the heat. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes more and turn off the stove.
Serve with hot rice and koora, a vegetable side dish.

Check out the other marathoners participating in BM#5. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree , Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Harini, Me , PJ and Vaishali
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

Today's post is going to be a part of the event I am guest hosting this month, Cooking with Wholefoods - Toordal / Pigeon Peas, originally started by Kiran.

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Karam Gavvalu

Karam gavvalu literally means savory shells in Telugu.

Today's special is 'karam gavvalu', a traditional, delicious snack from Andhra. Gavvalu literally means shells in Telugu and this item is called so because of the shape. There are both savory and sweet versions of it and today's post is about the savory one. 
The particular shape is attained using a special gadget known as gavvala peeta or gavvala chekka. It is a wooden board with ridges that comes in different sizes. In the absence of it, one can use the backside of a long fork or a grater or even a new comb.

Gavvala peeta ~ A wooden board with ridges on it.

Ingredients: (Makes about 90 shells)
2 cups all purpose flour / maida
2 - 3 Tbsp melted ghee / oil
Salt & chili powder to taste
Water to form dough
Oil to fry

Preparation:
Combine the flour, salt, chili powder and ghee in a mixing bowl. Add water to it little by little and form firm dough. Let it rest for about 30 minutes or so.

Shaping the dough into shells:
Pinch out a small marble sized portion from the dough and roll between your palms into a ball. Place the ball on the ridges of the gavvala peeta and press the dough ball with your thumb. Slide it along the ridges (towards the right side for a right handed person) without removing your thumb from the dough. The ball would curve into a shell, half moon shaped one. Keep it aside.
Repeat the steps with the remaining dough and shape into shells. Keep them covered.

Frying:
Heat about 2 cups of oil in a kadai / small wok. When the oil is hot enough to fry, gently drop the dough shells into it. Keep flipping and fry them in batches on low flame, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Cool and store them in airtight container.

Check this video to get a better idea about forming shells.

Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing BM#5 along with me. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree , Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Harini, Me , PJ and Vaishali
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

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Simple and Quick Subzis ~ Vankaya - Batani Koora

And for this Andhra special theme in BM#5, I could not stay away from an eggplant post either J Eggplants are an integral part of Andhra cuisine and its presence is a mandatory one even at wedding feasts (at least in Brahmin households). Besides potato, probably I would never run out of eggplant recipes for blogging even though I have already posted plenty of them.

Eggplants and peas happen to be a classic combo and add some yummy koorapodi to it; you will end up with a delectable curry.

Ingredients: (2 -3 servings)
For tadka: 1 - 2 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, few curry leaves

6 eggplants (I used small round ones)

2 - 3 Tbsp peas (I used frozen)

Salt to taste

To toast and powder: 1 Tbsp chana dal, 1/2 Tbsp urad dal, 1/2 to 1 tsp coriander seeds, 5 red chillies, 4 Tbsp dried coconut

Preparation:

1. Wash the eggplants and remove the stalks. Cut them into half lengthwise and slice them thinly. If using later, place them in a bowl filled with water.

2. Dry toast all the ingredients (except the coconut) mentioned under 'to toast and powder'. Let cool and grind them fine. 

Method:

Heat oil and add the tadka ingredients. When chana dal starts to turn reddish, add the eggplants and salt. Stir well once to combine, cover and cook until tender on low flame. Then add the frozen peas and the spice powder. Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes more.

If using fresh peas then add them halfway through the cooking.

Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing BM#5 along with me. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree , Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Harini, Me , PJ and Vaishali
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

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Pappu Urumindi / Pappu Urubindi

I honestly wanted to stay away from 'pappu' during this Regional Specials - Andhra  week here, since it seemed so predictable. Being a true Andhrite, it was impossible to escape from this addictive and comforting dal and here I am today with a pappu post. J I can however promise you that this is not going to be one of those regular ones you find over the web. This dal falls under that category of simple, home style dishes which are not familiar to masses and gets lost over a time period / generations.
During my last India trip, one of my BILs got to see my blog for the first time and I should say that he was pretty much impressed with my work. He immediately called his wife who happens to be a very good cook, to share some of the forgotten traditional recipes with me so that I can record them. I am guessing that the recipe must have come from M's maternal grand mother or the previous generations and this is easily over than a century old recipe.This was one of those recipes that I had never heard about earlier and the recipe was called pappu urubindi. Later I noticed the recipe in M's aunt's cookbook and it was named pappu urumindi. I am giving both the names and the dish must have rayalaseema origins since my part of the family from kosta (coastal Andhra) region do not prepare it. Like the kobbari pappu and menthula pappu I posted earlier, this does not require any vegetables and this delicious, spicy dal is an apt one when you want to try something different or when you run out of vegetables.
For the uninitiated, pappu is a traditional dal unique to the Andhra region and is different from the other regional dal preparations like the sambhars / rasams. It is prepared on a regular basis in all households through out the region, using a combination of a vegetable and toor dal (pigeon peas) or moong dal.
If anyone is interested, here are my earlier 'toor dal pappu' posts.
Beerakaya, Bendakaya, Chintachiguru, Dosakaya, Gongura, Kobbari, Mamidi, Menthula Pappu, Palakoora - Mamidi, Payalaku, Payalaku - Tomato, Potlakaya, Tomato Nimmakaya, Tomato - Tomatillo, Vankaya and Zucchini.

Ingredients:
1 cup toor dal
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida and few curry leaves
To dry roast and grind:
2 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp urad dal (split blackgram), 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1 Tbsp tamarind, 3 Tbsp grated dry coconut and 6 - 7 dried red chillies

Method:
* Cook toordal adding 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker until soft. Remove and mash with the back of a ladle.
* Meanwhile, dry roast all the ingredients mentioned under 'to roast and grind', excepting tamarind and coconut. Let cool and grind all the ingredients.
* Heat oil in a kadai / pan and add the tadka ingredients. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the cooked toor dal, the ground spice powder and salt. Mix well and let it simmer for a few minutes. Turn off the stove.
* Serve with rice / rotis.

Variation:
1. Cook toor dal until about 70 to 80 % done in a thick bottomed pan. Add the ground spices to the cooking dal and cook until the toor dal turns mushy. Add salt and tadka.
2. Cook toor dal until about 70 to 80 % done. Grind the toor dal along with the roasted ingredients, tamarind and coconut. Add salt and tadka and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Check out the other marathoners participating in BM#5. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree , Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Harini, Me , PJ and Vaishali
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

Today's post is going to be a part of the event I am guest hosting this month, Cooking with Wholefoods - Toordal / Pigeon Peas, originally started by Kiran.

If you happened to or planning to post any toor dal recipes, please send them over. I would be glad to include them in my event.

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Authentic Andhra ~ Dhibba Rotte

The word dhibba is used in reference to the thickness of these rottes and literally means dense. Dhi pronounced as 'thi' in the word 'this'. 'Ro' as in rose and 'tte' as in 'tay' with a stress on 't'.

My day 2 post related to "Andhra" region special is going to be dhibba rottes, a breakfast item unique to the region. Though idli batter is used to make this rottes, they are in no way related to idlies. These rottes have a crispy exterior and soft interior. When cut into wedges, they appear like cake slices and one can get addictive to these rottes because of their taste and texture. Serve them with some yummy chutney and see these delicious wedges disappear in no time. J

Ingredients:

1 cup urad dal

2 cups idli rava or 1 cup idli rava + 1 cup rice rava (biyyapu rava) or 2 cups idli rice

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp cumin seeds

Oil to shallow fry

Preparation:

* Soak urad dal and rava / idli rice separately for at least 3 hours.

* If using idli rice, grind urad dal and idli rice together until very smooth, adding only as much water as needed. The batter should be very thick like idli batter. If using rava, then grind urad dal adding little water very finely. Drain all the water from the rava and add it to the urad dal and run the grinder / blender for a couple of minutes to mix them together.

* Remove the batter, add salt and let it ferment overnight in a warm place.

Method:

Add cumin seeds to the fermented batter. Heat 1 - 2 Tbsp of oil in a kadai (banali) or any thick bottomed deep vessel and pour about 2 cups of the batter into it. Cover and cook on low flame until the bottom side turns golden brown, about 15 minutes. Flip it and cook for a few minutes more until the other side cooks too.

Remove, slice into wedges and serve with chutney. 

Note:

1. Basically, the batter used to prepare dhibba rottes is idli batter and so, freshly fermented / leftover idli batter can be used to make this rottes. You can spice up by adding minced green chillies.

2. Some use fresh batter instead of fermented one. We usually go with fermented batter and I have heard that rottes made with fermented batter tastes better.

3. I used about 2 cups of batter to make each rotte. You can fill half of the kadai with the batter and cook.

4. Don't ever rush to cook these rottes. They are ought to be done slowly, to cook thoroughly. 

5. My SILs use idl rava and rice ravas for a crispy rotte while I use the idli rice.

Check out the other marathoners doing BM#5 along with me. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree , Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Harini, Me , PJ and Vaishali
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

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Beerakaya Atlu / Koora Atlu

Recipe Source: Prabha Gandlur

There are going to be theme based recipes again this week at veggieplatter. Yes, I am participating in the third round of Srivalli's blogging marathon # 5. I posted with the themes "Curries in a hurry" and "Indian Sweets" the past two weeks and it is going to be "Regional specials - Andhra" theme this week.

For the first day, here are beerakaya atlu or simply ridge gourd dosas. Actually the name is misleading since the recipe uses not the ridge gourd pieces but surprisingly, the ridge gourd peels. Of course, the peels can be replaced with ridge gourd or an equal quantity of the gourd and peels. Also, the original recipe uses only moongdal but since no one at home (excepting me) seems to be fans of pesarattus, I substituted half the quantity with rice.

I got the recipe from a family member and what I found interesting was this could be eaten not only as breakfast but also as a side dish along with sambhar / rasam rice. And hence the name koora atlu, koora meaning subzi and atlu being dosas in Telugu.

We enjoyed these delicious dosas for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice (I used extra long grain)

1/2 cup green gram / moong beans

1/4 - 1/2 cup ridge gourd peels and/or ridge gourd pieces

Salt to taste

1 tsp cumin seeds

A small piece of ginger 

Green chillies to taste (I used 3 Serrano peppers)

Oil to make dosas

1 cup finely minced onion (optional)

Preparation:

* Soak the rice and beans overnight or for at least 3 hours. After the soaking period, wash the rice and beans thoroughly with fresh water and drain.

* Grind together the beans, rice, ridge gourd / peels, salt, ginger, chillies and cumin into a thick, coarse batter adding water as needed. 

Making dosas:

Heat a tawa / griddle. Pour a ladleful of batter at the center of griddle and spread into a thin circle. Sprinkle some chopped onion if using on the spread batter. Spread 1/2 tsp oil around the edges of the dosa. Let it cook until it appears dry on the surface and the bottom side gets golden brown. Flip and spread again 1/2 tsp oil around the edges and cook until the other side is done as well. Remove and repeat the step with the remaining batter.

Traditionally pesarattus are served with allam pachadi / ginger chutney and ours were served with mango ginger chutney.

Check out the other marathoners doing BM#5 along with me. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree , Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Harini, Me , PJ and Vaishali
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

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Quinoa Kheer / Quinoa Payasam

I chose Indian Sweets theme for the second round of BM#5 and mainly went with kheers / puddings. So far, I blogged

1. Gasagase Payasa

2. Pasta Payasam

3. Creamy Corn Kheer

4. Kandipappu Payasam

5. Paneer Khoya Kheer 

6. Phirni

Kheers / Payasams are egg less Indian style puddings that can be prepared in no time. These delicious desserts are an integral part of any festival meal, particularly in Southern India. A dairy base, a sweetener along with a flavoring agent and garnishes are the common factors of any standard kheer recipe. And of course there is a key ingredient that lends the texture and some flavor to the kheer besides being the reason for the nomenclature of the dish.
This main ingredient can come from any food group ranging from grain / bean group to veggie - fruits to dairy. What kheer is cooked may depend upon the occasion, cook's mood or even one's pantry. Limitless varieties of kheers can be prepared by being creative. Ingredients not native to India can also be incorporated and this quinoa kheer is one such example.
Quinoa - the protein rich, pseudo grains from South America is the key ingredient in this kheer. I have added the MTR almond mix powder and condensed milk for more rich flavors but they are optional ingredients.

Ingredients for 3 generous servings:
1/4 cup quinoa
2 cups milk
3 Tbsp condensed milk (optional but recommended)
Sugar to taste (I used 2 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp MTR badam mix (optional but recommended)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 tsp ghee
1 Tbsp raisins
1 Tbsp cashews

Method:
1. Cook quinoa adding 1/2 cup water / milk in a pressure cooker. Or else it can be cooked in a saucepan.
2. Heat milk in a pan and gently stir in the cooked quinoa. Keep simmering for about 10 minutes. Then stir in the condensed milk, sugar, badam mix and cardamom powder. Heat for few minutes more until the sugar melts.
3. Toast the cashews and raisins in ghee and add it to the cooked kheer.

And check the other marathoners of  blogging marathon #5.
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Priya Suresh, Srivalli, Usha
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Vardhini
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Harini,  Veena & Me
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Aarthi, Kalyani, Pavani, Shylaja
Summer Coolers: PJ,  Vaishali
Under 15 mins Quick Breakfast: Sushma Pinjala

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Kesar Phirni / Saffron Phirni

Phirni - a sweetened rice pudding in a milk base, garnished with saffron and nuts happens to be quite a popular dessert in North India. It is very simple and quick in terms of preparation. This particular phirni happens to be the basic version and there are a few variations like this aam / mango phirni.

Ingredients: (For 4 servings)
8 - 10 saffron strands
4 Tbsp rice (I used Basmati)
4 cups milk
Sugar to taste (5 - 6 Tbsp)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 Tbsp each - Almonds & pistachios (blanched & slivered)

Preparation:
* Wash and soak rice in water for about 30 minutes or in hot water for about 10 minutes. Then drain and grind the rice to a slightly coarse paste adding water as needed.
* Dissolve the saffron strands in two tablespoons of warm milk and keep aside.

The cooking part:
* Bring the milk to boil, reduce the heat and gently stir in the rice paste. Keep stirring to avoid lumps. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 12 - 15 minutes. Phirni should be fairly thick like custard.
* Add sugar and cardamom powder and continue to simmer until the sugar dissolves. Add the saffron and turn off the stove. Let cool and refrigerate the phirni.
* Serve chilled phirni in individual bowls garnishing with nuts.

And check what the other marathoners are cooking on Day 6 during blogging marathon #5. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Priya Suresh, Srivalli, Usha
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Vardhini
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Harini,  Veena & Me
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Aarthi, Kalyani, Pavani, Shylaja
Summer Coolers: PJ,  Vaishali
Under 15 mins Quick Breakfast: Sushma Pinjala

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Paneer - Khoya Kheer

While the toordal kheer that I published yesterday is a simple delight, this paneer - khoya kheer has decadence written all over it. One can guess by just the title that this kheer is a rich and yummier one. What makes it more likeable is the fact that even a novice cannot screw it up since this kheer happens to be a simple one in terms of preparation. I should also mention that you can prepare this kheer in no time when you have the ingredients ready and so an apt one to surprise your guests.
And one more to dear Shreyas, who enjoys kheers. J

Ingredients (2 - 3 servings)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup grated khoya / khoa
1/2 cup grated paneer (I had made fresh paneer just then and so crumbled some paneer and used it.)
3 Tbsp sugar
Nuts to garnish

Method:
Bring the milk to a rolling boil. The original recipe requires the milk quantity to be reduced by half the quantity and I find it too rich and skip that step. If you prefer to follow that, increase the quantity of the milk to at least 2 cups in the recipe.
Gently stir in the paneer, khoya and sugar. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes or a little more. By the time, the khoya gets incorporated into the mixture and the kheer gets rich and creamy.
Garnish with nuts.
This kheer can be served warm or chilled.

And check what the other marathoners are cooking on Day 5 during blogging marathon #5. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Priya Suresh, Srivalli, Usha
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Vardhini
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Harini,  Veena & Me
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Aarthi, Kalyani, Pavani, Shylaja
Summer Coolers: PJ,  Vaishali
Under 15 mins Quick Breakfast: Sushma Pinjala

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