Sewai Halwa/ Semolina Pudding

I was craving for sweet sewai the other day specially  made on the occasion of Id and I came across this recipe on internet (ifoodtv). Adapted it to Indian style as the flavour of cardamom should be prominent for me in halwa. I tried it though now sure how it will come out because of egg as an ingredient which I had never tried with semolina. But to my surprise it turned out well..liked by Sanjeev and Toshini both. I am putting it down, I need to try it again without egg, I will share the subsequent adaptations as well.

You need:
Semolina (sewai) : 1 3/4 cups
ghee: 2 tspn
sugar: 1 1/2 cups (grind it)
egg: 1 (well beaten)
coconut milk: 2 cups (I took half of a big raw coconut and grinded it with two cups water and then sieved the milk)
cardomon (Elaichi): 2 pieces
Cloves (Laung): 2 pieces
salt: 1/2 tspn
water: 1 1/2 cup
vegetable oil: 3 tbspn
poppy seeds (khus khus): 2 tspn
Mewa katran (kaju, badaam, kishmish): 3-4 tbspn (optional) [thin long slits of almonds, and cashew nuts; some raisins]

• Coarsely grind cardamom and cloves in a stone crusher.
• Roast semolina in ghee till golden brown in a thick bottomed pan.
• Beat egg in a bowl, add sugar, vegetable oil, coconut milk, salt, water and mix well using a beater. 
• Add this mixture to  semolina and cook on high flame stirring continuously till you see the first signs of bubbles. 
• Reduce the flame and the mixture will also start thickening. Cook on low flame, stirring continously till the mixture thickens and starts leaving the surface.
• Mix the mewa katran and cardamon-clove powder.
• Transfer this in a greased baking dish and layer it with poppy seeds.
• Put this in convection 200 degrees for 10 minutes. This will make the top layer crispy. (incase you do not prefer to have some crispy semolina you can avoid this and can directly grill the semolina).
• Then grill it for 8-10 minutes till golden brown on surface.
• Serve hot.

DOZZA

A traditional uttapam with a cheesy touch to make it look like pizza from the toping and having a base of dosa- is what this recipe is all about. Both of us -me and Sanjeev  just love this, and I have to make this whenever I make dosa.

Try this as it tastes different from pizza or uttapam.

Dosa batter (Makes 10-12 dozzas) (To prepare dosa batter, soak 2 1/2 cups of boiled rice, 1/2 cup raw rice and 1 cup urad dal for 7-8 hours. Grind rice and dal separately, Mix after grinding , add salt and enough water to get the pouring consistency. Keep it in warm place overnight, or for 8-10 hours for the batter to ferment).


For dozza topping: (5-6 dozza)
Potato boiled: 3-4  medium sized (Meshed, add salt, 1/2 tspn black pepper powder)
capcisum (chopped): 1 large
onion (Chopped): 2 medium
Tomato sauce: 1/2 cup diluted with 2-3 tspn water
butter: 50 gms
cheddar cheese (Grated): 40 grams
Oil: 3-4 tb spn

• Heat a flat pan/ non stick tawa.
• Reduce the flame, put one cup batter and spread it evenly into a thick dosa.
• Top it with two tbspn potato masala, two tbspns capsicum, two tbspn onions.
• Put some butter at 2-3 places, tomato sauce in circles or drops, and top it with grated cheese.
• Circle the dosa with oil, so that it is cooked on edges and can be removed easily later.
• Cover the dozza and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes. The dozza will be cooked and cheese melts like pizza.
• Remove the cover, increase the flame for a minute. This makes the bottom of dozza crispy.
• Nudge at the edges and remove carefully, tranfer to a serving dish and serve hot.

Methi ke paranthe

Methi paratha is a favourite in winters...made it yesterday...missed to take a picture, but thought of posting the recipe...

Take:
Wheat floor: 4 cups
Gram floor: 3/4 cups
3 cups of chopped methi bhaji (fenugreek leaves)
Oil: 3 tbspn
Green chilly: 1
Ginger: 1/2 inch shoot
Coriander powder: 1 tspn
Garam masala: 1/2 tspn
Rai (mustard seeds): 1/2 tspn
Salt

• Crush ginger and green chilly in stone crusher to make a paste, or finely chop them.
• Heat oil, add rai to splutter.
• Add  ginger chilly paste, coriander powder and then washed fenugreek leaves.
• Add salt and cook for 5-6 minutes till cooked. Add garam masala and remove it from fire.
• Mix both wheat and gram floor, add cooked fenugreek  leaves. Knead it with warm water and make 10 balls from the dough.
• Roll a ball into a 4 inch dia roti, layer it with a coat of oil and then make it into a ball folding the edges in the center.
• Roll this ball into a 8 inch paratha after coating it with wheat floor (palethan).
• Put it on a hot tawa (flat pan) on high flame, roast both the sides on high flame.
• Reduce the flame and layer both the sides with oil . Make it crisp by cooking it on low flame.
• Serve hot with curd chutney. 
• 
  Make rest of the parathas similarly.

Creamy Pasta

After a good break at Andaman and Nicobar islands and defending my PhD thesis proposal, I was back in kitchen today...made creamy pasta, tangy pasta, salad and garlic bread in dinner ....Here is the creamy pasta recipe.

Onion : 1 (medium sized)
ginger: 1/2 tspn
butter: 2tbspn
maida (white floor): 2 tspn
oil: 1 tbspn
farfalle pasta: 1 1/2 cup
black pepper powder: 1 tspn
oregano: 1 tspn
sugar: 1/2 tspn
salt:  to taste

• Boil pasta in water with salt and a little oil. Strain and wash with cold water.
• Make paste of onion with ginger.
• Heat oil, and saute onion paste till it is golden brown.
• Heat butter in a thick bottomed pan, add maida and roast till golden brown.
• Add a little warm milk and mix it well with floor, see that no lumps are formed.
• Add remaining milk, sugar, salt, black pepper, cooked onion paste and mix well.
• Add pasta in this mixture and mix well. 
• Transfer in serving dish and serve hot with garlic bread.

Caramel Custard

Hmm I never knew this mouth watering recipe is so easy..tried it yesterday and it came out just fantastic..thanks Clare..

You need:
Eggs: two
milk: 1 1/4 cup
sugar: 1/2 cup
vanilla essence: 3-4 drops

Preparing caramel:

• Heat 2tspn sugar in non stick pan stirring continuously. The sugar will melt. When it turns brown and the bubbles start coming take it off from fire and shift it to aluminium or steel mould.
• Keep this caramel in freezer for 5 minutes.

Custard:

• Beat the eggs with beater, add remaining sugar and warm milk and beat it again.
• Strain the mixture to remove egg threads.
• Add essence and mix it well.
• Pour it in the mould over caramel.
• Cover the vessel with tin foil, make some fine holes on the foil for steam to escape.
• Steam the custard in pressure cooker without placing weight (whistle) for 20 mins on slow flame. (Put 2 cup water in the cooker and heat it till it starts steaming. Place a hollow ring at the bottom and then place the mould. Close the lid and let it steam for 20 mins. Preferably take a deeper mould).
• After the pressure cooker cools, remove the mould from pressure cooker and take off the foil. Use a knife and gently nudge the custard sticking to the mould walls.
• Keep the serving plate or dish on mould's top. Invert the mould quickly so that the custard tranfers to the dish with caramel on top.
• Chill it for 1-2 hours and serve.

Maithi ki kadhi

Maithi ki kadhi is a curd based recipe which is one of my favorites since childhood. It is generally made in winters and tastes good with rice.

You need:
curd: 500 gms
gram flour (besan): 3 tb spn
Fenugreek leaves dried (Kasuri maithi): 3 tbspn
(You can use fresh green leaves also, will need 1/2 cup chopped)
fenugreek seeds (maithi dana): 1/2 tspn
mustard seeds (rai): 1 tspn
asofoetida (heeng): 1 pinch
turmeric powder (haldi powder): 1tsp
coriander powder: 2 tspn
green chilly chopped: 1 large
curry leaves: 8-10

How to proceed:

• Beat curd well, add gram flour and mix well so that no lumps are there. 
• Heat oil, add mustard seeds to splutter, add green chilly and curry leaves.
• Add fenugreek seeds, asofoetida, coriander powder, turmeric powder and saute.
• Slowly add the curd mixture stirring continously. Add 500 ml water, and keep stirring continuously on high flame till one boil. (The curd will split if you stop stirring)
• Add salt and let the kadhi simmer for 10 minutes on low flame. In between  add fenugreek leaves after two-three boils.
• Add garam masala and let it cook for 3-4 minutes or till desired consistency is achieved.
• Serve hot with rice.

Chilled macroni salad

I made this two days ago and it tasted awesome..My husband just went gaga over it... preferred this over dinner. Thanks to my sis Vaishali for sharing this with me..
 Dressing: Churn in mixer for 2-3 minutes- (3 tbspn chopped onions, 2 tb spn oil, 1/2 tspn each of red chilly powder, mustard powder, pepper, salt, sugar; 1 tspn oregano, 3 flakes garlic, 1tbspn lemon juice, 2 tbspn vinegar, 1/2 bay leaf crushed). Refrigerate the dressing in deep freezer for 10 minutes.

• Meanwhile, boil 1 cup macroni. Add macroni to boiling water with 1 tspn salt and 1 tb spn oil, drain when cooked.
• Saute 3 tbspn peanuts with 1 tbspn oil
• Take half capsicum chopped (1/2 " squares).
• Cut slices of one small sized cucumber.
• Mix macroni, peanuts and capsicum with the dressing. Garnish it with a cucumber slices on top and keep in refrigerator.
• Serve chilled.