Pineapple Burfi

Pineapple Burfi is a simple and yummy fruity burfi with no fat and also looks great. It is very easy to prepare and gives you unique taste. I tried in my own version.

Ingredients:                                                                                         

Pine apple - 1 cup

Besan- ½ cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

cardamom powder- 1 teaspoon

Ghee-- ¼ cup 2+1 tbsp to grease

Chopped almonds - 1 tbsp

Pistachio slivers as required

Method:

1.Grate the Pineapple and Grind it into a paste.

2. Sieve the besan | kadalai maavu to avoid lumps. Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan.

When the ghee melts and is hot, add the besan.

3.Roast the besan for 5 minutes till the raw smell goes and gives out a nice aroma then keep aside  Grease a tray with ghee and set it aside.

4.Add the grated Pineapple paste to it and reduce the heat to medium. Keep stirring till no moisture is left.

5.Now Add sugar to it andKeep stirring for few minutes till sugar turns into thick syrup.

6.Add besan slowly; keep stirring so no lumps are formed. Reduce the heat to medium and keep stirring.

7.Add the remaining ghee slowly while keep stirring continuously.

8.When it starts leaving the sides of the pan and moves as a mass along with the stirring ladle, it is done. Add cardamom powder and mix properly

9.Transfer to a greased pan and Spread it evenly and set aside to cool.

10.Garnish with. chopped pistachios& Silvered Almonds.Then cut into desired shape& Serve.

Mango Salsa

Those who bored with the regular slices of tomatoes or cucumber salads  can, try something different for a change- a Salsa.A salsa is a kind of spicy sauce popular in Mexican cuisine. The basic ingredients consist of chopped fresh tomatoes, green chilies, coriander, onions, lime juice and sometimes even capsicum.

 Salsas need not be restricted to just vegetables or pulses, you can even make it with fruits! . You can mix two fruits together or make a vegetable-fruit combo. Just use your imagination and you can dish out infinite number of salsa combos! You can substitute mango with any other fruit) or vegetable of your choice to make a salsa. . Tickle your taste buds with colorful salsas. I tried with other fruits too But, This Mango Salsa was great hit in my home.

Ingredients:

 Mango -1 cup, cubed

Onion-1/2 cup (finely chopped)

Tomato:- 1/2 cup( finely chopped)

Capcicum-1/2 cup (diced)

Coriander leaves: 2tbsp (finely chopped)

Lime juice: 1 tsp

Green chilies: ½ (finely chopped)

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

 Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

 Chill 25-30 minutes before serving

Badam Kheer/Almond Kheer

Badam Kheer/Almond Kheer is a popular dessert dish and that’s perfect to serve it cold for a summer lunch party or hot during the winters. . It is so simple to make but also a rich and creamy dessert. The use of saffron in this badam kheer recipe not only adds an aromatic flavor but also gives it a rich creamy color. . I made this Kheer for my daughter’s Birthday. This Kheer is one of my family’s favorite.

 Ingredients:

Almonds-1/2cup

Cashews-2tbs

Condensed milk – 1 can  or Sugar-1/2cup

Milk- 3 cups       

Cardamom powder-1/2tsp

Saffron – few strands

Yellow food color(optional)-  a drop

Method:

1.the almonds and cashews in water separately for 2-3 hours.

2.Peel the skin of the almonds and grind both almonds and cashews to a paste with 1/2cup of milk.

3.Soak the saffron in a 1tbsp of warm milk and keep aside.     

4.In a sauce pan boil the milk in a medium flame till it becomes thick; Keep on stirring the milk to avoid burning at the bottom.

5.When it come to boil, lower the flame and add the saffron strands along with condensed milk and stir. First add half a can, mix well and check if there is right amount of sweet.

6. Add more if you want. Keep on stirring till the milk reduces to 1/3 of the quantity

7.NowAdd the ground almond cahew paste and cook on medium heat, stirring continuously, for about five minutes or till the mixtures thickens a little. if the kheer is too thick, add some milkand reduce the flame. Add ground cardamom

8. Remove from heat and let it cool. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours once it becomes cool down. once the kheer cools down, it thickens, so you can add some fresh milk to adjust the consistency

9.Chilled Badam Kheer is ready to serve. Garnish it with finely chopped nuts & saffron strands.

Homemade Granola Bars

This Granola Bar Recipe is healthy, low fat, full of vitamins and proteins at the same time delicious. These homemade nutrition bars are perfect to start your day or as an anytime snack.  It has whole grains, nuts and fruits.  The best part about making it is, you get to pick your choice of fruits and nuts. There are many ways and various flavors you can play with while making your Granola Bars. My Healthy Granola Bar are packed with oats, raisins, honey and also  added almonds, pistachios and walnuts sesame seeds, and a little bit of chocolate.

Ingredients:

Cooking Oats - 1 cup

Cornflakes-1/4 cup

Light Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup

Honey - 1/2 cup

Butter - 1 tbsp

Water - 1 tbsp

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Peanuts-1/4 cup

Almonds - 1/2 cup

Cashews - 1/2 cup

Golden, black raisins and Dates - 1/4 cup

Dried figs/anjeer,finely chopped-3-4

Sesame Seeds - 2 tbsp(White & Black)

Chocolate chips- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. First dry roast oats, cornflakes, nuts and dry fruits in a pan until a nice aroma comes and oats starts slightly browning up. Keep aside

2. Now in the same pan, add butter heat it till it melts. Now add honey, demererar sugar, vanilla essence and water, heat it until the mixture starts bubbling up.

3. At this stage add the roasted oats, cornflakes and nuts mixture and mix well until the honey mixture is coated on all sides of the oats cornflakes mixture.

4. Then transfer the entire contents into the greased pan and press well

 and spread it using a spoon or a wooden laddle to 1/4 or 1/2 inch thickness. Straighten the edges and make it as a square or rectangle.

5. Sprinkle chocolate chips all over and press them into the mixture as well.Cover it with another butter paper and press them down gently.Allow them to cool for 15mins then cut into bars.

6. Store them in an airtight container and enjoy them any time.

Biscuit Sablés/Eggless French Shortbread Biscuits

Sables are also known as French butter cookies. These cookies have a wonderful flavor which is because of the butter. They are really very soft buttery, mildly sweet and super scrumptious. The lovely sablé biscuit recipe is very simple and just perfect to have with your tea /coffee. In my home everyone love this biscuit.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour-2 cups

Softened Butter-1cup

Powdered sugar-1/2cup

Vanilla extract-1/2tsp

Milk -1tsp

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar the mixture is nice and smooth.

2. Then add drops of vanilla essence and mix in well.

3. Finally add sieved plain flour and mix well to form smooth dough.

4. Then put dough in cling film on the bowl and put in the fridge for atleast  1 to 2 hrs.(This will make the mixture firmer and much easier to roll out.)

5. Take the mixture from the fridge and dust your work-top and your rolling pin with flour.

6. Using a cookie cutter,cut the cookies from the rolled dough. Preheat the oven to 200c

7.Transfer the unbaked cookies to a baking sheet lined over a baking tray.

8.. Bake in medium rack for 15-18minutes or until set.

9..Cool the cookies on baking sheets. Store in air tightened box.