Cracked Pearl Millet Kheer / Sajja Nooka Payasam

Kheer / payasam is one of those Indian desserts that can be prepared in no time and is always delicious. Though the basic kheer is made with rice, there are plenty of other varieties to entice. It can be prepared using any grain, some varieties of beans and fruits and so I bet even a sparse pantry can afford a kheer preparation. Milk and sugar are the other required ingredients to make a kheer. The traditional version kheer is cooked mostly using dairy milk though some south Indian version recipes use coconut milk. Sugar / jaggery are the usual sweeteners whereas cardamom and toasted nuts add flavor and a yummy garnish to a kheer. 

Today's kheer is made with cracked pearl millet. Pearl millet aka bajra has been cultivated in India for thousands of years now and like other millets, it is one of the healthiest grains on earth. It is specifically beneficial to diabetics and can be incorporated into various everyday Indian dishes even if one is not familiar with the grain. This gluten free grain can be used to make rotis, idlis, dosas and so on. 

I kept the kheer to a simple, basic version though it can be made richer by addition of nut paste or condensed milk. Coconut milk also works in the recipe in place of dairy milk. I made the kheer with jaggery since it is healthier compared to sugar. I directly add it to the kheer since the jaggery I buy is usually very neat. In case, the jaggery appears to have any impurities, boil it with some water, filter out the impurities and then use the jaggery solution in the recipe. However in lieu of jaggery, sugar can be substituted in the recipe. Sometimes I refrain from using both and add a little stevia to each bowl before serving.

Also there is a possibility that sometimes the combination of hot milk and jaggery would end up being curdled. I have never faced that problem but in that case either of the following can be done. The milk can be boiled separately, cooled and then added to the cooked millet and jaggery mixture when it is not too hot. Or the jaggery can be melted separately with little water and added to the cooked millet - milk mixture when it cools down. One can follow any one of the methods and basically, the point is to not to mix the milk and jaggery when they are hot.  

Ingredients: (Yield -  3 to 4 servings)
1/4 cup cracked pearl millet / sajja nooka
1/2 cup water
2 cardamom pods
1 tsp. ghee
1 tbsp. cashews
1/2 cup jaggery powder* 
1 and 1/4 cups full fat milk
* Adjust the quantity of jaggery to taste. I added less than 1/2 cup.

Directions:
1. Rinse the cracked pearl millet once with water and drain. Pressure cook it adding 1/2 cup water for 2 or 3 whistles.
2. Lightly mash the cardamom pods and separate out the seeds. Grind the cardamom seeds finely and keep aside.
3. Heat ghee in a pan and toast cashews until golden brown. Transfer the toasted cashews into a small bowl. 
4. Add the cooked millet, jaggery and ground cardamom along with pods to the same ghee pan and stir on low flame until the jaggery melts. 
5. Next add the milk and cook on low flame until the milk starts to boil and switch off the flame. (Sometimes addition of milk to the hot jaggery mixture may end up being curdled. I never had this issue and so follow the above method. However if one is worried about the problem, then the milk can be separately boiled, cooled and then added after step 4. ) 
6. Add the toasted cashew nuts and serve either warm or chilled.

Comments

Hurigadale Unde / Maa Laddu / Malaadu / Pappula Laddu

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi for those celebrating!

There are going to be Indian sweets and snacks' themed recipes posted this month at my space, as part of the mega marathon I am participating in. There are no recipes posted on Sundays and so there are going to be 26 recipes posted in total. The first week is about sweets and I chose to go with recipes which doesn't need any expertise to try and contains 3 to 5 ingredients at most. Most of them are commonly prepared in my mother's kitchen but I have been too lazy to post them so far. I wanted to utilize this opportunity to record them instead of trying some new or fancy ones. These are tried and tested recipes by family and mostly associated with the south Indian festive season.

The first one are laddus made with fried gram / hurigadale / pappulu - the ones commonly used to make chutneys to go along with south Indian breakfasts like idlis and dosas. These are made in some parts of southern India and are called malaadu in Tamilnadu and hurigadale unde in Karnataka. I had no idea that these were made in Andhra as well until my husband mentioned that his mother used to make them on one of the days during Dasara / Navratri festival. These make a great substitute for besan laddus if you are looking for something similar sans the stirring workout. I would however suggest to stick to besan laddus if you are a great fan of those. These melt in mouth kind laddus are quick and easy to prepare and a perfect recipe for novice cooks. There is nothing to mess up and makes a great Dasara or Diwali treat. Go ahead and try these delicious laddus for the upcoming festivals and you wouldn't be disappointed.

Ingredients: (Yield 14 laddus)
1 cup roasted gram (chutney dal)
1/2 cup (2 tbsp. extra sugar can be added if sweeter laddus are preferred.)
3 cardamom pods
5 tbsp. ghee
1 tbsp. cashew pieces
1 tbsp. raisins (optional)

Directions:
* Finely grind the roasted gram dal and sieve it into a mixing bowl. Grind finely again any coarser dal particles left in the sieve and add it to the bowl.

 * Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods. Grind sugar and cardamom seeds together finely. Add this to the bowl with the ground dal and mix well.

* Heat a tbsp. of ghee (just until hot but not to the smoking point) in a small pan and add cashews and raisins if using. Toast until cashews turn golden brown and raisins turn plump. Turn off the heat and add them along with the ghee to the bowl.
 
* Melt the remaining ghee and add it to the bowl and mix everything well with a spoon.
* Shape the mixture into laddus / small sized balls using your fist. Make sure that each laddu has raisins and cashew pieces in it. 
* Store the laddus in a tight fitting container.



Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#104.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Comments

Vermicelli Kheer / Semya Payasam

 
A kheer or payasam denotes a festive dish and this semya payasam is one of the yummiest and the most commonly prepared sweet dishes in most of the Indian households. Especially it is so popular in the southern regions that it is probably one of the first sweet dishes that a novice learns to cook. The rich, creamy kheer is easy to prepare and hard to mess up unless one is not paying attention. Semiya payasam uses the Indian style vermicelli that is sold as 1/2 inch sized bits. In the basic and common version, the vermicelli is roasted in ghee until golden brown and then cooked in full fat milk and sugar and flavored with cardamom. It is finally rounded off with the addition of toasted raisins and cashews. Depending upon the occasion, this basic version kheer can be made more richer and creamier with the addition of condensed milk at the final stages of cooking. Or as they do in Bangalore region, the payasam can be made more flavorful with the addition badam mix powder (like MTR brand for example).

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. ghee
1/2 cup vermicelli / semya
2 cups full fat milk (Don't substitute skim milk.)
3 tbsp. sugar or to taste
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1 to 2 tbsp. MTR badam mix (optional)
1 tbsp. raisins
1 tbsp. cashews

Method:
* Heat 2 tsp. ghee in a pan and roast vermicelli on medium flame, stirring continuously until the vermicelli turns uniformly golden brown. Turn off the stove and set the vermicelli aside.
Skip this step if using pre-roasted vermicelli. Vermicelli can be roasted without adding ghee too.
Take care not to burn the vermicelli and in case, accidentally if vermicelli is burned, throw it away and start over with fresh batch of vermicelli.
* Heat milk on low flame in a thick bottomed stainless steel pot or a non stick one. Add the roasted vermicelli to the milk pot and stir well with  a ladle so that the vermicelli does not form a clumpy mass. Leave the ladle in the pot so that the milk will not flow over the pot. Continue to cook, stirring intermittently until the vermicelli is done. The stirring is important not to let the milk scorch. (When vermicelli is cooked properly, it can be broken easily pressing between two fingers.)
* Add sugar, cardamom and Badam mix powder if using and cook until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the stove.
* Heat a tbsp. ghee in a small pan and add cashews and raisins to the pan. Toast them until the cashews turn golden brown and the raisins turn plump. Add this to the cooked payasam and mix well.
* Serve warm or chilled.

This goes to Blogging marathon #71, under the theme 'One Ingredient - Three Courses'. Check here to find out what the other marathoners are cooking as part of the BM.


Comments

Apple Kheer

For today's 'fruit' based recipe, here is a very yummy dessert based on apple and it involves a simple preparation. I am sure that anyone with a sweet tooth would enjoy this treat, irrespective of their age. Any variety of apple works here as long as it is a sweet one. I have just used milk here and reduced it in quantity to get a thicker consistency but for a quicker and more decadent version, a small quantity of condensed milk or cashew paste can be added. It would make a great treat for gatherings as it can be prepared a day in advance or it can be a part of festive meal for a quick 'sweet' option.

Ingredients: (yield 2 servings)

1 small sized apple (1/2 cup grated)
1 to 2 tbsp. ghee 
1 & 1/2 cups full fat milk 
2 to 2.5 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tbsp. slivered almonds to garnish

Method:
* Peel and grate the apple.
* Heat ghee in a pan, preferably a non stick one and fry the apple on low flame until it softens, about 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer the cooked apple to a bowl and keep it aside.
* To the same pan, add the milk and bring it to a boil. Lower the flame and continue to heat it until the quantity reduces to about 2/3rds (about a cup), stirring intermittently.
* Add sugar and cardamom to the milk and stir until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the stove and stir in the cooked apple. 
* Either serve the kheer warm or let the mixture cool and chill it before serving. 
* Garnish with almonds or other nuts/ dry fruits of your choice.
 
These pancakes go to 
1. Blogging marathon #69.
2. 'Kids' Delight' event hosted by Varada this edition, with a theme of 'Fruit based Recipes'. 

Comments

Mohana Payasam & Veggie Platter Turns 9

Recently I was talking over the phone with my brother in law who is in India and our conversation slowly drifted towards my blog. Usually, the topic of my food blog is the last thing on my mind when I am conversing with family who are thousands of miles away, that too with the male members of the family. My brother in law was almost shocked when I mentioned that I had over 1100 recipes on my blog. The reaction was not a surprising one considering that he had seen me as a new bride not knowing the way around the kitchen. Looking back, I am equally surprised considering that this blog was supposed to be a chronicle of family recipes and the passion to pursue it had continued over the past nine years. It had last longer than any other hobbies of mine. Touch wood. 
I am lazy when it comes to celebrating my own personal milestones and so, this blog birthday announcement is also coming late by almost two months. Here is a yummy and easy kheer with an unusual name that I happened to see in a Telugu magazine as part of the celebration. Chickpea flour is the star ingredient of this kheer, which is an unusual choice when one thinks about Indian style puddings. I wasn't even certain that this creamy kheer would taste delicious until I tasted it.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chickpea flour / besan
1/2 cup water
2 to 2.5 cups full fat milk
1/4 cup powdered jaggery
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
2 tbsp. ghee
1 tbsp. each - cashews and raisins
A pinch of saffron strands

 Method:
* Heat a tbsp. of ghee in a pan and toast the cashews until they turn golden brown and the cashews turn plump. Transfer them to small bowl using a slotted spoon. To the same ghee, add besan and toast it on low flame, continuously stirring until you smell the aroma. Remove and let it cool.

* Add the saffron strands to a tbsp. of warm milk in a small bowl and keep aside.
* Heat the milk and bring to room temperature.
* Add water and about 1/2 cup milk to besan and whisk well to form a lump free mixture, preferably in a non stick pan. If you notice any lumps, pass it through a fine sieve. 
* Put the mixture on low flame and cook continuously stirring, for about 10 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick to stir, add extra milk as needed. Turn off the stove and add the saffron soaked milk, cardamom and jaggery. Stir until jaggery melts.
* Add the remaining milk, toasted cashews and raisins and stir to combine.

Note: 
1. I actually added the whole quantity of milk at the beginning along with the besan and added jaggery at the end. Sometimes the jaggery may curdle the hot milk and so I mentioned to add cold milk at the end.
2. The color of the kheer depends upon the jaggery used. The jaggery I used was pale yellow in color and so the kheer ended up being creamish colored one.

This goes to Blogging marathon #60 under the theme 'Bookmarked Recipes'. Check the link to see what other marathoners are cooking.



Comments

Sabudana Laddu

 
I chose to cook with sabudana this week just because I had around 5 to 6 pounds of sabudana lying in my pantry and as far as I remember I haven't posted a single sabudana recipe so far. Growing up I saw my mother using sabudana / saggubiyyam basically in two recipes - a payasam (that was less preferred over the vermicelli one) and the saggubiyyam vadiyalu or the vadi. Later on came the sabudana dosa, sabudana vada and the khichdi to my life when I had my own home and hearth. For today's post it was decided that I would do a dessert and kheer seemed like an easy way out. I have grown a penchant towards the sago kheer over the years and besides, my son loves it too. However change in plan happened because of Ugadi. I thought of preparing something with sabudana for the neivedyam and this laddu came to the rescue. The laddus were so yum and appealing that even my sweet-phobic husband ate a couple of them without any coaxing from me. They looked so tempting to him that he wanted to taste a bit of it and couldn't stop himself from tasting more. That means a lot coming from a person who wouldn't even glance the sweet dishes.

Ingredients:(Yield 15 - 16 laddus)
1 cup sabudana / sago / tapioca pearls
1 cup powdered sugar (or adjust the quantity)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp. ghee
1 Tbsp. raisins
1 Tbsp. cashews
Extra ghee / milk to shape the laddus

Method:
* Dry toast sabudana on low flame, continuously stirring until they turn slightly brownish. It would take around 15 - 20 minutes to toast sabudana this way. The hard sabudana would have attained a crunchy texture by the time toasting is done. Transfer the sabudana to a wide plate and let it cool.

* Heat 2 tbsp. ghee in a small pan and add raisins and cashews. Stir and toast them for few seconds until the raisins turn plump and cashews turn golden brown. Turn off the stove and keep the pan aside.
* Grind the toasted sabudana to a fine powder. This step can be done in batches. Grind the mixture and sieve it if it appears coarse. Collect the fine powder and again grind the coarse powder left in the sieve and repeat the process until you are left with finely ground sabudana.
* Combine the ground sabudana, sugar powder, ground cardamom and the toasted cashew-raisin mixture along with the ghee in which they were toasted in a mixing bowl. Add extra melted ghee / milk to the mixture until you are able to hold it together. 
* Shape lemon sized balls out of the mixture by rolling between your palms.
* Store them in an airtight container.

Notes:
1. In case, one doesn't prefer to use that much of ghee in the recipe, warm milk can be substituted instead to shape the laddus. 3 to 4 tbsp. milk should suffice to make laddus. Please note to add ghee / milk in small increments instead of dumping it all into the mixture at once. If it becomes too wet, you need extra sabudana powder to fix it and extra sugar to balance the flavor and so add milk/ghee in little quantities, combine the mixture and check whether the laddus can be made or not. 
2. If milk is used to make laddus, they would turn harder after a few hours. They just need to be warmed in the microwave for few seconds before consuming them. I used milk to make these laddus and didn't refrigerate them. We ate them in about four days and they stayed fresh for that long.

This goes to Blogging Marathon #50, under the theme of "One ingredient - Three different dishes", Sabudana / Sago / Tapioca pearls being my chosen ingredient. Check out the link to find out what other marathoners are cooking.

Comments

Shrikhand (Short-Cut Method)

Shrikhand in short can be described as a thick, sweetened yogurt redolent with cardamom and saffron flavors and garnished with nuts. It is a sweet dish that is popular in the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and ridiculously easy to prepare. It is even eaten as a side dish to pooris in Gujarat. While this would be the basic, traditional version, another version prepared adding mango pulp, called aamrakhand is equally popular in Maharashtra.
Traditionally full fat yogurt is tied in a muslin / thin cotton cloth and allowed to drain until all the whey is separated and one is left with thick yogurt. Usually I follow this method when I have time. I leave the tied yogurt in a colander and place the colander over a container to catch the whey. And I place the whole setup in the refrigerator overnight so that I have the hung yogurt ready by the morning. If you want to prepare shrikhand from scratch then you can follow this method. However remember that the final hung yogurt would be less in quantity than the original yogurt you started with since some of it will be lost in the form of whey.
Then sugar is whisked into the hung yogurt until it is dissolved, garnished with spices and chilled before serving. 

For a short cut method, one can skip above steps and directly use the Greek yogurt as I have used here. I prefer powdered sugar over the granular variety since it is easy to mix. And sometimes I even use a sugar substitute. This shrikhand doesn't need chilling since the Greek yogurt comes from the refrigerator.
My husband and I love shrikhand and I frequently prepare it to eat as a dessert. However I paired it with pooris for the first time today and it was not that bad as I had anticipated. In fact I liked the combo.

Ingredients:
1 cup Greek yogurt (I used non-fat Greek yogurt.)
A generous pinch of saffron strands
1 tbsp. warm water / warm milk 
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar (or as per taste.)
1/4 ground cardamom
Sliced almonds and pistachios to garnish

Method:
* Gently crush the saffron strands between your fingers and add it to the warm water / milk and leave it aside for about 10 minutes.
* Add the Greek yogurt and powdered sugar to a bowl and gently whisk it until blended. 
* Next add the saffron along with the liquid and cardamom to the yogurt mixture and mix gently.
* Garnish with nuts and serve. If not serving immediately, refrigerate it until ready to use.

This 'Poori-Shrikhand' combo goes to BM #46. Check what other marathoners are cooking during this marathon.

Comments