Moongdal Halwa

For Indian Cooking Challenge (ICC)-December, Srivalli has chosen Moongdal Halwa. When I saw the announcement I was very excited. Since I hadn't made any North-Indian style halwa's before, so I couldn't wait to try it.

I have followed Recipe # 2, for me it took about 50 mins to get to the Halwa stage. I had fun making them and enjoyed them warm, with lots of nuts and raisins.Thanks Srivalli, Simran and Lata ji for the recipe and trying it out for us.

Moongdal halwa was very apt for the occasion as well, made this for Sankranthi y'day in place for our regular Sweet pongal. We all enjoyed it very much.

Soaking Time : Overnight

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 - 45 mins

Recipe 2 : With just the Dal (no Khoya)

Ingredients :

• Split (Yellow) Moong dhal - 1 cup (I have used, split moongdal with husk)
• Ghee - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 3/4 cups to 1 cup (as per required sweetness)
• Milk - 1/2 cup (Notes from Lataji - instead of water for the sugar, milk gives the khoya added taste, Simran's recipe asked for water)
• Cashews & Raisins roasted in ghee for garnish.

1. Soak 1 cup moong dal overnight. Next morning, grind to a paste.
2. Heat a heavy Kadai, take initially only 1/2 of the ghee and heat it.Add the dhal and stir continuously, not allowing lumps to form. This part is very tricky as the dhal cooks really fast, irrespective of the ghee.
3. Keep the heat at the lowest and keep stirring even after the dhal becomes thick.Add the rest of the ghee intermittently and cook the dhal until aromatic and the ghee starts oozing out.
4. Meanwhile mix the sugar with water/ milk in a pan and bring to a boil. Add this slowly to the cooking dhal.
5. Keep the fire low at all times and break lumps if formed while adding the sugar and water/ milk mix.
6. Cook until the ghee surfaces.Garnish with cashews and raisins.

Notes :

• Use a thick bottom pan or better nonstick pan.
• Don't leave the halwa unattended. The dal can stick and it can go from just done to burnt in a second so keep stirring as much as possible. You should remember to keep stirring to prevent dhal from sticking irrespective of the ghee added.
• You aren't looking for the halwa to get too thick when you turn off the heat. It was thicken as it cools.
• Cook until ghee surfaces on the sides and the halwa attains a very nice shine.
  Initially, it may appear that all the ghee is being used up. But as the dhal cooks the ghee separates. So the ghee measure is sufficient.
• In both recipes depending on how you got the moong dal paste, you may require slightly more ghee to get the texture
• Though original recipe didn't call for roasting the dhal before soaking, Lataji felt roasting it a bit gives more fragrance.

* Halwa looks bit green in color, since I have used the moongdal with husk which gives this color.

Off this goes to Indian Cooking Challenge( ICC) challenge, hosted by Srivalli.

Have a Good Weekend, Everyone!

Ellu-Bella

Wishing you all a very Happy Sankranthi/Pongal, with a bowl full of Ellu-Bella.

Every year during Sankranthi/Pongal , a mixture of Jaggery, Dried coconut, Dalia Dal, Peanuts/groundnuts and Sesame seeds(roasted) known as Ellu- Bella are mixed together and shared with families, neighbors and friends. Along with this mixture seasonal fruits like sugarcane and oranges are also given to mark the harvest season and sweet beginnings.

Ingredients (all toasted lightly).

• Peanuts/Groundnuts (Kadalekayi) - 1 cup (toasted, skin removed and halved)
• Dalia dal (Hurigadale) - 1 cup
• Jaggery (Bella) - 1 cup
• Dried coconut (Kobbari)- 1cup
• Sesame seeds (Ellu) - 2 tbsp

Toast all the above ingredients, let it cool and mix them all together and enjoy !

Will send this to Priya's Cooking with Seeds event.

Vegetables in Sesame-Cashew sauce

I use Sesame seeds (Ellu) in most of my gravy/curries quite often. I usually pair this with roasted peanuts/groundnuts, but this time I tried something different and paired with Cashews.

Both of these are lightly toasted with cinnamon, cloves and dried red Chiles for some spice and flavor and mixed with veggies like onion,tomato, potato and bell peppers.

Sesame seeds and Cashews makes the gravy/curry very rich and cream in taste.

Ingredients :

Vegetables I have used : Onion, tomato, Potato and Bell peppers (capsicum) - 1 each chopped into bit size pieces.

Lightly toast and grind :

• Sesame seeds (Ellu) - 2 tbsp.
• Cashew nuts (godambi) - 2 tbsp.
• Cinnamon & cloves (chekke-lavanga)- 2 each.
• Dried red chilli - 1or 2

Others : Oil - 2 tsp, turmeric - 1/2 tsp and salt to taste.

1. Wash and chop vegetables to bit size pieces.
2. Lightly toast the above mentioned ingredients, let it cool and then grind them to fine powder, keep them ready.
3. Heat a pan, add oil when hot add turmeric and then add chopped veggies and fry for few mins, until half cooked.
4. Then add ground sesame-cashew mixture. Add enough water, salt.
5. Cover and cook until veggies are cooked though about 10 - 15 min. Keep stirring in between to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
6. Adjust salt, mix well. Garnish with few cilantro leaves and top with few toasted sesame seeds (this is optional).

Serve warm with Rotis or rice. Enjoy !

Sending this to Priya's Cooking with the Seeds event.

Happy 2010

Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy New year.

Pooris

Day 7 of 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Closing the week long recipe marathon (in my case its Roti Marathon) with our beloved bread, Poori. This is puffy bread, deep fried in oil. We like having them with vegetable Sagu, or most times with Aloo palya and Coconut chutney.

I made this Pooris using my Mom's recipe. Its a very simple recipe, dough should be kneaded to soft but stiff and should rest for not more that 10-15(otherwise this will absorb lots of oil), and dough needs to be fried at the medium-high temperature, in order for the pooris to puff up.

Ingredients :

• Whole wheat flour - 1cup
• All-purpose flour/Maida - 1cup ( used any India atta instead of wheat and all purpose flour)
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt - 1tsp
• Water - about 1 cup ( for kneading)
• Vegetable/Peanut Oil - 1 - 2 cups ( for deep frying).

Method :

1. Take flour/atta, salt and oil mix well. Now add water little by little and mix to form a stiff dough. Add little oil to hands, knead until soft for about 5 mins,cover and let is rest for 10- 15 min.
2. Heat oil in a pan/wok on medium. Turn to medium high while frying.

3. Roll the dough to about palm size and bit thicker than regular rotis.

4. When oil is hot, drop the rolled dough, through the edge of the wok(just one at a time).

5. In a few seconds, the dough will puff up (if not press gently with back of the ladle).

6. Turn/ flip gently and let it fry for few more seconds on the other side,. Take it out with a stainer, drain, any excess oil on paper towel.

Pooris are ready to be served. We enjoyed ours with Aloo Palya and Chuntey.

* Frying temperature is the main thing while making Pooris, make sure to maintain med-high temperature.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti , Day 3- Homemade Bread, Day 4- Naan , Day 5- Aloo paratha , Day 6- Phulkas .

I very much enjoyed cooking for this Week long Recipe Marathon. Thanks Nupur for this lovely event to end 2009.

Phulkas

Day 6 of 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Phulkas are the softest of all Indian flat-breads with out the use of any oil. They are made to puff up by the heat(fire), which creates a air pocket in between, hence making the bread very soft.

Few days back, one of my dear friend suggested me, to blog about Phulkas and gave me the recipe and procedure for making them. I did follow her recipe, and did some trail and error and finally was able to get the Phulkas right.

3 things to keep in mind while making Phulkas, 1. kind of flour we use ( Indian atta are the best kind), 2. kneading them to stiff dough and rolling them to circle just about palm size. 3. dry roasting them on tava/griddle and then putting them on a open flame, and let it puff.

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour/maida - 1 cup
• Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Water - about 3/4 cup (to knead the dough.)

*Due to the non-availability of Indian atta, I have used the above proportion of wheat and all -purpose flour.

Mix the flour with little water at a time to make to stiff dough. cover and let is sit for at least an hour. This makes the dough soft and will be easy to work with.

Making Phulkas :

1. Once ready to make the Phulkas. Make small ball ( lime size) roll them not bigger than palm size, and don't roll them too thin.
2. Heat tava/ griddle to medium high heat. Put the rolled dough on the tava, when you see small bubbles (half cooked) turn them around.
3. Roast the other side for just few seconds.



4. Then with the help of tongues or a spatula put (first side/top side down) on the open flame and it will puff, with in a few seconds (don't allow it sit for too long, it will burn). Take out as soon as it puffs. Refer pic above.
5. Follow the same steps and do with the rest of the dough. Keep the left overs closed in a box, stay soft up to a day.

Serve warm with favorite sidedish. Enjoy !

I owe a Big thank you to my dear friend Suju, I wouldn't have made it otherwise.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti , Day 3- Homemade Bread, Day 4- Naan , Day 5- Aloo paratha .

Aloo Paratha (Potato flatbread)

Day 5 of 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Paratha/Parotha is a wheat flour flat bread mostly stuffed with potatoes(aloo) or mixed vegetables and spices. This tastes good on its own, no side dishes required. I like making this when we travel. Simple and satisfying meal on the go. But at home we like to eat this with a cup of Curds/yogurt and little pickle(Indian pickle) on the side.

Making aloo Paratha requires 2 steps,
1. Making the dough &
2. Making stuffing (Aloo Palya/curry).

Making Dough :

• All purpose flour (Maida)- 2cups
• Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Salt - 1tsp
• Water - about 1 cup

Add salt to maida & wheat flour, then add water little by little to make a stiff dough. Knead well to soft and cover and keep it aside until ready to stuff them.

For Aloo/Potato Stuffing :

• Potatoes - 3 medium size ( boiled and skin peeled)
• Onion- 1 medium size(chop finely)
• Spices - 1/2 tsp of each Red chili powder, Turmeric and Garam masala.
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste.

1. Boil potatoes. Once cooled, peel the skin and mash them and keep aside.
2. Heat oil, when hot add finely chopped onions. Cook them until it soft .
3. Add all the spices and salt. Switch off and add the mashed potatoes. Mix well to combine.
4. Adjust salt. Let it cool.
5. Make small balls and keep them ready.

Making Parathas.

1. Make a medium to big size balls out of the dough, roll them to small circle shape.

2.Now take a aloo stuffing and put it in the middle. Bring all the sides together and press them in the middle.

3.Now roll them gently to a small to medium size circle.Use dry flour if require for rolling.

4.Then roast them on a heated pan/tawa for few seconds on each size. I like to cut them into small wedges and serve. Enjoy when warm.

* Making stuffed Paratha takes bit time, sometimes stuffing tends to peep out of the dough. So to keep the stuffing inside, roll the dough to smaller size and bit thick than usual flat breads. I am still learning to make a perfect round shaped Parathas, I need more practice and have to make them as often as possible.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti , Day 3- Homemade Bread, Day 4- Naan.

Naan with Nigella seeds

Day 4 0f 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Today I decided to make Naan (Indian flat bread). This is my favorite type of bread to order, in any Indian restaurants we go.

Recipe is very simple, takes few minutes to make the dough. But has to rest for at least an hour before proceeding to roast/bake them. Once the basic dough is ready, one can top them with different spices, seeds, nuts and even herbs.

I have toped it with Nigella/Kalonji seeds (which looks similar to black sesame seeds, but has very mild onion flavor, mostly used in Bengali cuisine). I use them for its flavor and as a topping on this bread, Naan looks so pretty when topped with this seeds.

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour - 1 cup ( I use unbleached flour)
• Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
• Salt - 1tsp
• Sugar - 1tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp ( for kneading)
• Yogurt/curds - 1/2 cup
• Yeast - 2 tsp
• Warm water - about 1 cup (2 tbsp for dissolving yeast + 3/4 cup for kneading).
• Nigella seeds - few tbsp for sprinkling on top (substitute with sesame seeds(ellu) or cumin seeds)

1. Take 2 tbsp of warm water, dissolve yeast in it,add little sugar to it. Cover and let it sit for 5-10 mins.
2. Now add yogurt to yeast mixture. Combine all purpose flour, wheat flour and salt. Add this to the yeast mixture. Mix well, add little oil for kneading.
3. Cover and let it rest for at least 1 hour, until raise in the volume.
4. When ready, make lemon size balls, roll to circle shape(use little dry flour, if the dough is sticking while rolling).



5. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of Nigella seeds on top of the rolled dough. Press/roll gently with a rolling pin(so the seeds won't fall while roasting).
6. Heat griddle/tawa on a medium high heat.When hot,put the rolled dough on the tava.



7. Leave it for few seconds, until you see small puffy bubbles on top. Flip/ turn over and cook the other side for few more seconds, till you see golden brown spots.
8. Soft Naan is ready to be served. Enjoy with a side dish.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti , Day 3- Homemade Bread.

Bread Baking

Day 3 of 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

I am not much of a baker. I have previously attempted to bake(bread), but it was a total disaster. So I was waiting to try baking (esp bread) with someone who knows about baking.

Last week I was able to visit our friend (Cindy) who happens to be our neighbor as well. First we baked some sugar cookies for my daughter to take to her Christmas party. Later that week we baked some bread loaf, bread rolls, donuts and Cinnamon rolls. After tasting all the goodies, we are loving the taste of freshly baked home made bread.

After baking with her and getting some tips from her , I feel confident to try it on my own. So today I made bread using her basic bread baking recipe, to give some extra flavor I have added little cumin ,chili powder and Carom seeds (Ajwain/Oma).

So here is very basic and simple recipe for Bread Making. I call it Cindy's Recipe.

Ingredients:

• Water - 1/2 cup
• Milk - 1 cup (Boiled and cooled, one can use a cup water instead)
• Vegetable Oil - 2tbsp (butter can be used as well)
• Yeast - 1 package (2 tbsp)
• Sugar - 2 tbsp ( 1 tbsp for dissolving with yeast + 1 tbsp with the flour )
• Salt - 1tsp
• All purpose flour - 2 cups ( I have used unbleached bread flour)
• Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

Spices : 1/2 tsp of each cumin & chili powder and carom (ajwain/oma) seeds,for some extra flavor.

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 tbsp of sugar (sugar helps yeast to get active). Cover and let it sit for 5-10 mins until foamy.
2. After yeast turns foamy, add milk and oil mix well.
3. Mix all the other dry ingredients together in a different bowl. Now add it slowly to the yeast mixture.



4. Mix well and knead for 5 mins to make the dough soft . Cover and keep for 30 mins to 1 hour or until dough doubles its volume.
5. Now punch the dough and form into balls(for rolls) or desired shapes.I made some balls and made like a log for bread loaf.



6. Cover and let it raise for another hour.
7. Bake the rolls at 350 F for 10 - 12 mins and bake loaf for 20-25 mins or until golden brown on top ( keep checking inbetween, since the oven temperatures may vary).



8. Take out and butter the top when its warm. Let it cool a bit. Cut a slice and enjoy with little butter on top.

* Make sure the water temperature is not too hot or cold, but just right. This is the most important part, once the yeast is dissloved and foamy. The rest will be easy.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis , Day 2- Jodala Rotti .

Jolada Rotti

Day 2 of 7 days of Recipe Marathon.

Weekends, I usually make elaborate brunch's, mostly different kind of Rottis(South-Indian flat bread), so today I made one of North-Karnataka specialty Jolada Rotti.

Jola/ Jowar or Sorghum is a gluten free flour, so after the dough is prepared. It takes little patience to roll the dough, since it breaks and requires bit more dry flour than usual. But once you get the hold of it, it will be as easy as making any other kind of Indian Bread.


So here is what we need to make the Dough.

• Jowar/Sorghum flour(Jolada hittu)- 2 cups
• Water - 2 1/2 to 3 cups
• Salt - 1 tsp

1. Boil the water.

2. Take the jowar flour in a wide bowl. Add salt and pour water slowly and mix well to combine. Water and flour should come together to form stiff dough.

3. Cover and let it sit for 5 mins(so the dough will be cool enough to handle). Once cool enough but still warm to touch, knead to a soft dough. Refer pic 3 and 4.

4. If the dough is sticking, add little more flour and knead it.

5. Apply little flour on rolling board and roll it to a small to medium size circle. If it tends to break, add little more flour and roll.

6. Roll the rest of the dough and keep it ready.

7. Heat pan on high heat. Once hot enough, put the rolled dough carefully. Cover with a lid, this makes the rottis soft. Leave it for few seconds turn/ flip them around(on oil is required while cooking).

8.Turn and let the other side cook for few more seconds.Serve warm. This makes about 15 small size rottis.We had Jolada Rotti with Brinjal/eggplant Ennegayi. Enjoy !

* Leftover can be kept in a closed box once cooled. Rottis stays soft if kept this way.

Recipe Marathon : Day 1- Chapatis.