Dum Ke Rote

I have signed up for Srivalli's month long marathon this April, with the theme of "Indian states". It is giving me an opportunity to explore the regional, culinary heritage of India and the first one in the series is going to be my home state "Andhra Pradesh". The state can be classified geographically into three regions - Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana. I am very well acquainted with the first two regions, being connected to them through my parents and husband. Telangana is the region that I am not familiar with and I wanted to try something from this region. 

Hyderabad is a part of Telangana and is the home for another culinary heritage, the Hyderabadi cuisine that was greatly influenced by the muslim reign there. I have noticed that the hindus are less familiar with several of the recipes that are popular among the muslim community there. Dum ke rote is one such Hyderabadi recipe that I wanted to try ever since I saw them on Mona's blog. She has a wonderful collection of recipes from the region. for people who are interested. Dum ke rote are semolina based cookies, baked / cooked in dum. These cardamom flavored cookies are soft from inside and crunchy outside. They are deceptively plain looking but are very addictive.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup pistachios 
3 & 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 cups fine semolina (not semolina flour)
3 cups sugar
1 & 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cardamom powder
3/4 cup unsweetened khoya
1 cup warm milk
1 cup warm ghee
Almond and pistachio flakes to garnish

Note:
I used 1/3 of the ingredients and got 4 rotes. Actually could have made 5. The rotes spread while baking and the 6 inched unbaked ones yielded 8 inched rotes. And I think making small sized ones is a smart option both for storage and consumption purposes.

Method:
* Soak almonds and pistachios in water overnight. Drain and peel off the skins in the morning.
* Grind almonds, pistachios and khoya to a fine paste adding warm milk.
* Combine all purpose flour, semolina, sugar, baking powder and cardamom powder in a mixing bowl.
* Add the nut-khoya paste to the flour mixture and mix well to form a firm dough. Add extra milk if needed to form the dough. The dough was a little on the sticky side. Knead the dough and allow to rest it for about an hour. Remove, knead the dough again and put it back to rest once again for another hour.

* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
* Divide the dough into 13 - 15 portions.
* Cover baking sheets with aluminium foil and grease them. Gently pat each portion into a thin circle of about 6 inches in diameter.

* Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the edges and the bottom side starts to brown. Broil on low for 2 to 5 minutes until they turn golden brown uniformly. Keep an eye through the broiling part and don't let them burn. Remove, cool and store them in an airtight container.



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An InLinkz Link-up

Gulab Jamun (Khoya Version)

Gulab jamun is one of the popular desserts from the Indian sub continent that is usually a hit among crowd of all ages. Dough balls made with flour and milk solids / milk powder are deep fried until golden brown and then soaked in warm sugar syrup that has been flavored with aromatic cardamom / saffron. The result is super delicious, soft & spongy, melt in mouth kind gulab jamuns that one finds hard to resist.
I grew up eating gulab jamuns prepared using store bought instant packets and therefore have no qualms using a MTR / Gits packet now whenever needed. They yield super delicious, spongy gulab jamuns beside being hassle free and cost effective. However from a long time, this blogging bug had given me an itch to prepare them from scratch. And so naturally the version Pradnya posted during the A - Z marathon caught my attention. The recipe sounded very easy and besides I had khoya in my freezer. The recipe was tried and my husband who shows least tolerance towards desserts was also praising it.

Ingredients: (yield about 15 jamuns)
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 cup unsweetened  khoya / mawa
1/2 cup all purpose flour / maida
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 - 5 tbsp. milk (Adjust the quantity accordingly.)
Oil for deep frying (I used canola oil.)

Method:
* Add sugar and water to a sauce pan and bring it to a boil, stirring in between on medium flame. When the sugar melts, simmer for about five minutes and turn off the stove. No need to make sugar syrup of any thread consistency here. Add cardamom powder to the sugar solution and mix well. Or you can add few saffron strands instead.

* Sieve flour and baking powder together.

* If the khoya is frozen / granular, just pop it in the microwave for few seconds and crumble it.
* Now combine the flour mixture and khoya in a mixing bowl. Gradually add milk to the flour - khoya mixture, one tbsp at a time and knead it into a smooth dough. The final dough should be such that it wouldn't stick to hands. Cover and let it rest for five minutes.

* Knead the dough one more time and prepare about 15 - 20 small balls out of it. Take care that the balls are smooth without any cracks.

* Heat oil in a frying pan. Add a small piece of dough to the oil to check whether the oil is ready for frying. If the dough piece sizzles and comes to surface immediately, then frying can be started.
* Add the dough balls to the hot oil, as many as the pan can fit without overcrowding. Fry on low flame until the dough balls are cooked through and turn golden brown through out.

* Remove the fried jamuns with a slotted spoon and drop them in the sugar syrup prepared earlier.
* Let them soak for at least 30 minutes before serving. Longer soaking would result in juicy and soft jamuns.

* Serve jamuns in small dessert cups with a little sugar syrup. Though jamuns taste good on their own, vanilla ice cream or rabri can be served along.

This is going to be a part of BM #35 under the theme of "Desserts". Check what other marathoners are cooking here.

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Gil - E - Firdaus

Going by the name, I was somewhat expecting a Mughlai dish when I came across this recipe in a Sanjeev Kapoor's cookbook. However it turned out to be the chef's signature dish, served in his own restaurant. The unusual combo of ingredients that went into this kheer sounded interesting and I had noted it down to try later. Today seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it for the theme "Sweet dishes using Vegetables" during this BM and I was glad to try this yummy kheer.

Ingredients: (4 servings)
1 - 2 tbsp ghee
3/4 cup peeled & grated bottle gourd / lauki
2 tbsp rice rava / coarsely ground rice
3 cups full fat milk
1/4 cup grated khoya / mawa
4 - 6 Tbsp sugar 
Few drops of rosewater
Sliced almonds to garnish

Method:
* Lightly toast rice rava, remove from heat and keep it aside.
* Heat ghee in a pan and add lauki. Saute on low flame for about 5 minutes. Next add milk and cook until it starts to soften. 
* Next add rice rava and cook until it is done.
* Stir in grated khoya and sugar to the milk mixture. Simmer until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.
* Stir in few drops of rosewater and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
* Serve chilled.

This is going to be my contribution to "Sweet Dishes using Vegetables". Check what other marathoners are cooking at BM #34.

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Sindhi Cuisine ~ Majoon for ICC

Majoon - a Sindhi delicacy from Mrs. Sabnani's blog has been this month's Indian Cooking Challenge theme. I kept contemplating until the end to go with it or not since it is a calorie laden sweet dish and only two of us at home like sweet stuff. I so enquired my son actually showed the recipe to my son and asked him whether he would like to have it. I started making it only after he assured me that he would try it. :)
Vaishaliji mentions that majoon is a winter special dish. Sindhis usually prepare it in bulk quantities and store it to last thru the winter months. It can be stored for up to six months if it doesn't come in contact with any trace of moisture. It is served as breakfast in small quantities, each day during winter. :) And newly wed daughters and married daughters receive it from their mothers during this season. 
This dish is simple in terms of preparation but takes longer since the milk and other ingredients have to reduce to a solid mass. And majoon is like embellished paalkova. It tastes fabulous as it's SouthIndian counterpart but is full of other yummy additions like poppy seeds and nuts.
I usually pick a time to cook dishes of this nature when I need to take care of things in the kitchen so that I can keep an eye on the dish instead of constantly hovering over it. This time I was cleaning in the kitchen and helping my daughter with her homework while the dish almost took care of itself. It was a lot easier since I cooked the whole time on simmer mode and didn't have to check quite often.

Ingredients: (Make about 1 & 1/4 cups)
2 cups milk (I used a cup of each - full fat milk and skim milk.)
6 Tbsp sugar (I like my sweet dishes not overtly sweet. Sugar quantity can be increased if more sweetness preferred.)
1/2 cup khoya (Another half cup can be added if preferred.)
2 Tbsp poppy seeds / khus khus
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
10 dried dates - coarsely chopped (I added pitted dates.)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts - almonds, pistachios and cashews (I just pulsed them in food processor. Vaishaliji has mentioned to avoid walnuts if preparing the majoon in larger quantities.)
3 Tbsp ghee (I omitted it and still found the dish to be rich.)

Method:
When I have to deal with milk dishes and the recipe involves simmering and stirring for longer times, I usually go with a non stick saucepan. It makes the cooking job a hell lot easier and after cleanup is a cinch.
Heat milk in a nonstick pan and when it starts to boil, add everything except nuts. Cook on slow flame until it reduces to half the original quantity. Leave a spoon or a ladle in the pan so that the milk would not boil over (and so automatically your time to babysit that dish is considerably reduced. :)) Then add the nuts and ghee into the mixture and stir well. Continue to cook until the mixture turns into a thick mass and ghee starts floating over the surface.

How to serve:
Heat about  2 - 4 Tbsp of majoon with 2 tsp of milk in a microwave and serve piping hot.

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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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Creamy Corn Kheer

I was eagerly waiting to try this corn kheer ever since I watched it on a television show. A sweet dish with corn sounded interesting and the chef & hostess of the program made it sound very delicious. Finally the time came to try it out a couple of weeks ago and it turned out yummy. We absolutely loved this rich, creamy and delectable kheer. This is going to be my Day 3 post during this blogging marathon #5, with the theme "Indian Sweets". 

Check what the other marathoners are cooking today.
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

Ingredients: (4 servings)
3/4 cup corn (I used frozen)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup grated khoya
4 - 5 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 - 2 Tbsp ghee
1 Tbsp cashews
1 Tbsp raisins

Method:
* Cook the corn kernels. Save a few Tbsp of corn if using as garnish and grind the remaining corn adding a little milk / water if needed.
* Heat the ghee in a pan and toast cashews and raisins. Remove them with a slotted spoon and keep them aside.
* Then add the corn paste to the same ghee and fry for a couple of minutes.
* Then add the milk and bring it to a rolling boil. Next add the grated khoya, sugar, cardamom powder to the mixture and keep cooking for a few minutes. By the time, the khoya gets incorporated into the mixture and the kheer turns rich and creamy. Turn off the stove.
* It can be served hot or chilled. Garnish with the saved corn kernels if desired.

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MEC - Fresh Produce Roundup, Carrot Laddu & Vegetable Poha

Microwave Easy Cooking - Fresh Produce round up is here and I thank all the bloggers who have sent their delicious entries for the event and also thank Srivalli for giving me the opportunity to host the event. Also a big thanks to my mother and sister who gave me the recipes instantly when they heard about the event in spite of not being well versed with the blogging process. Obviously, they are non bloggers and so, basically gave me the recipe. I tried their recipes, photographed and posted here. A special mention about Priya has to be made as well. She sent four entries and thank you Priya.The entries have been arranged in an alphabetical order. Go through, try and enjoy the recipes. :)

MEC - FRESH PRODUCE ROUND UP

Aloo-Methi Matar by me


Avial by me


Baby Corn, Potatoes Stir Fry in Microwave by Srivalli


Carrot Chikki by Sheetal


Carrot Laddu by Lakshmi, my mother (Recipe below)


Dry Curry Leaves, The Microwave Way by PJ


Microwave Beetroot Halwa by Priya Srinivasan


Microwaved Cabbage and Carrot by Nathan Lau


Microwave Carrot Halwa by Priya


Microwave Carrot N Spinach Fried Rice by Priya


Microwave Jeera Aloo by Priya


Microwaved Spinach and Malai Kofta by Cool Lassi(e)


Microwave Spinach Stir Fry by Priya


Okra Fry by Kamala Bhoopathy


Potato - Carrot Soup by me


Raw Banana Peper Fry by Radhika Subramanian


Saunfwale Aloo Baingan by Lata Raja


Spicy Red Potatoes by me


Stuffed Tomatoes and Potatoes Salad by Lata Raja


Sweet Potato Kheer by me


Tomato - Capsicum Chutney by me


Vegetable Poha from Sirisha, my sister (Recipe below)


Now coming to the recipes for carrot laddu and vegetable poha. I must admit I was so much caught up in the act that I forgot to note the time required to make the dishes.

Carrot Laddu:

My mom said that she prepared these laddus based on a TV show. They were an absolute delight and I enjoyed them to the last bite.They are quick to prepare and are suitable candidates to impress guests and also an impossible to screw up kind of dish even for a beginner. Glad to learn this new dish. :)



Ingredients to make around 16 laddus:
Grated carrot - 1.5 cup
Unsweetened khoa/khoya, grated - 1.5 cup
Fresh, shredded coconut - 1.5 cup
Sugar - 1.5 cup (reduce if less sweetness preferred)
Milk - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Cooking:
This can be prepared on a stove top as usual but today I am giving the MW method. Take a microwave safe bowl big enough to hold all the ingredients. Add the carrot and milk and cook/fry for 3-4 minutes. Then add the sugar and coconut and keep cooking. You have to keep an eye and stir in between till the mixture comes together. Then add the khoa and cardamom powder to the carrot mixture and keep cooking till the mixture comes closer again. Do not stop paying attention to the mixture or it may get burnt. Remove and let the mixture cool. Then make laddus. You can also roll them in dessicated coconut, if you wish.
They can be refrigerated.

Vegetable Poha



I make poha regularly but never in the microwave and also never had added vegetables before. This was a change from my routine way of making poha and we enjoyed this.

Ingredients:
Thick variety poha - 2 cups
Onion, potato, tomato, carrot - one each and a handful of green peas
Medium hot green chillies, finely chopped - 4 or 5 (red chillies or a combo of green & red chillies can be used)
Salt to taste (about 2.5 tsp)
For seasoning - 3 or 4 Tbsp oil, a handful of peanuts, 1 Tbsp chanadal, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp urad dal, curry leaves, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Chopped cilantro (Optional) - 2 Tbsp


Cooking:
* Wash the poha thoroughly twice with water, drain all the water and keep it covered till needed.
* Chop the veggies and green chillies.
* Heat the oil in a microwave safe bowl and add peanuts, chanadal, mustard seeds, green chillies and curry leaves. When peanuts and chanadal start to turn reddish, add the onions and turmeric powder and fry till the onion turns translucent. Then add the chopped tomatoes and fry for about a couple of minutes. Then add the rest of the vegetables and continue to cook till vegetables are done. Keep stirring in between. Then remove the bowl and add the poha, salt and cilantro. Turn around the poha mixture once so that all the ingredients are mixed well. Then cook for about five minutes or till the raw smell of the poha is gone with stirring once or twice in between.
* Stir the content gently one more time before serving.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

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