Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Apple, Banana & Carrot Halwa (ABC Halwa)


Apple, Banana & Carrot Halwa (ABC Halwa)
ABC Halwa is a most popular Indian Dessert .In short we say ABC Halwa. Made Of Apple , Banana ,Carrots Cooked in Milk . It has a Very Rich Taste, Easy to make and Nutritious.  This Halwa is rich in Vitamin A & C .The sweet and juicy apple carrot and banana fused together form and created such an exotic tastes and melts in mouth. This Halwa is rich in Vitamin A & C and nutritious Sweet dessert.
Ingredients:

1 cup chopped apple (without skin)

1 cup chopped banana

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup milk

Sugar - 2 cups

Almonds -few

Pistachio - few

Cashew nuts -few

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Cardamom Powder -1 tsp

Method:

1.Cook grated carrots in milk until cooked.
 
2.Add grated apples and smashed banana and cook.

3.Then add sugar and mix all the ingredients together.

4.Keep on stirring till the apple & banana pieces are cooked and the halwa becomes one mass.

5.Add ghee to the mixture and mix well till the Ghee oozes out. Then add cardamom powder.

6.Remove from heat and garnish with chopped almonds ,cashew nuts and pistachio.
 
Enjoy Healthiest and delicious colorful Apple, Banana & Carrot Halwa (ABC Halwa)

Monday, December 27, 2010

Iru Puli Kuzhambu

Iru Puli Kuzhambu
This is one of my favorite kuzhambu. I love this kuzhambu for its spicy and tanginess.It is a tangy gravy with a delightful mix of spice ,butter milk and vegetables.. We are using both butter milk and tamarind to make this kuzhambu and so its called iru puli kuzhambu. It is a very popular dish among the Tamil Brahmin and Kerala community. This unsual kuzhambu made with coconut ,roasted with fenugreek seeds and dried red chillies and cooked along with tamarind paste, makes it deliciously tangy and spicy.We can  add a variety of vegetables can be used for this recipe. It goes very well with paruppu usili, roasted chepankizhangu, vazhakkai , any type spicy curry and with hot rice, dosa’s ,idli as well.

Ingredients:

For kuzhambu we need
Tamarind – the size of a small lemon
Thick butter milk / curd (slightly sour) – 150 ml
Salt to taste
Brinjal
 Ladies finger
White pumpkin
Drumstick
For Coconut Paste
1cup grated fresh coconut
dried red chillies-3-4
fenugreek seeds-¼ tsp
white urad dal -¼ tsp
Raw rice-1/4 tsp

For Seasoning
Oil-1 tsp
Curry leaves-few
mustard seeds-1 tsp

Method

  1. Soak 1 teaspoon of raw rice in water for about 10-15 mins.
  2. Soak the tamarind in water and extract the juice and keep it aside
  3.Chop the vegetables in bigger sizes, wash it and keep it aside
 4.  Heat the oil in the pan and add red chilli and fenugeek seeds and fry till the fenugeek seeds becomes red color
  5. Remove from flame and add it to mixer along with grated cocunut and soaked rice and grind all these to a fine paste
  6. In the pan add the vegetables and add some water and allow the vegetables to cook
  7.When the vegetables are half-cooked, add the tamarind extract and salt and allow the mixture to boil to to avoid raw smell of tamarind
 8.  Finally add the ground paste, butter milk and mix it well and when the mixture starts to boil remove from flame
  9. Heat oil in separate pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begins to sputter add curry leaves and fry for a while and add these to the Iru puli Kuzhambu.
10.The mouth-watering iru puli kuzhambu is ready serve it with Hot rice and spicy vegetable.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Bourbon Biscuits

Bourbon Biscuits- Homemade Heaven

While browsing I have found a recipe for some lovely, chocolaty, chunky homemade bourbon biscuits! The moment, I saw this bourbon biscuits I decided to bake them. Everyone knows about bourbon biscuit for its chocolate cream filling It surely is a hit amongst kids. I took time out to try the recipe and make the bourbon biscuits. The biscuits came out very well.

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour (maida)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp golden syrup OR honey
2-3 tbsps cold milk
Sugar for sprinkling
For filling:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup icing sugar
1 tsp cocoa pwd
few drops vanilla essence
 Method:
1 Sieve together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cocoa. Keep aside.
2 In a bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until well blended. Add vanilla essence and golden syrup and combine.
3 Mix in the sieved ingredients with butter mixture and combine to form a soft dough. Add little milk to form the dough.
4 Place butter or plastic wrapping sheet on the work surface, sprinkle some flour and roll the dough into a large roti. Use a knife to cut into rectangle shape pieces. Use a toothpick to prick over the rolled out rectangle. Sprinkle white sugar on top of each rectangle.
5 Grease a baking tray and place each rectangle shaped dough on the tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 14-15 mts or till the edges are toasted. Once baked, the cookie will feel soft on touch but once cool it will harden. Cool for 3 mts before proceeding with the filling.
6 Repeat the process with remaining dough.
Method for the filling:
Mix all the filling ingredients to a smooth paste. Sandwich the biscuits with this chocolate butter icing.
Note:
This recipe shall make around 14-16 bourbon biscuits all together. To enhance the flavor of the filling/icing of the biscuits, you may add 1 tsp coffee essence or 1/2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp water