Gajjar Ka Doodh - Carrot Milk
February 20th, 2007Gajjar ka doodh is one recipe I’ve tweaked and tested a number of times and today’s version, is one which I keep returning to and well received by family and friends. Well, it all starts with some fresh carrots, milk, pala kova (evaporated unsweetened milk), sugar, infused with a hint of cinnamon, clove and a dash of freshly ground cardamom and saffron which gives it a delicious sweet note, aroma and a lovely color.
If you don’t have unsweetened pala kova on hand, substitute with condensed milk and reduce the quantity of sugar. But try preparing it with pala kova - nothing to beat the flavor it lends to the carrot milk. This richly flavored comforting drink makes an ideal summer drink/a perfect party drink or when unexpected guests arrive. Well, this drink does improve with age, ahem, yes, tastes better the next day or the day after that..:).
I’m sure many of you are surprised at the color of carrot milk, expecting it to be a bright orange shade. You see, its the addition of saffron which lent this dish its enticing beautiful yellow color..:)
Gajjar Ka Doodh Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 30-40 mts and chilling time
Makes approx 6 glasses
Cuisine: North Indian
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2 big carrots, steamed and pureed
1 1/4 lt milk (I used skimmed milk)
1″ cinnamon stick
1 clove
2 tbsp unsweetened kova or 3 tbsps condensed milk
4 tbsps sugar (adjust according to your choice)
1/2 tsp elachi pwd
few strands saffron (optional)
6 cashewnuts & 4 almonds (blanched) (soak together in some milk for 10-15 mts)
1 Steam the carrots, cool and puree. Keep aside.
2 Grind the cashewnuts and almonds to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
3 Add the clove and cinnamon stick to the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil the milk for at least 10 mts, stirring it. Add the sugar and stir till its completely dissolved.
4 Add the carrot paste to the milk mixture, combine well and let it cook for 3-4 mts.
5 Add the nuts paste, pala kova and elaichi pwd - combine well. Turn off heat after 2 mts and cool completely. (remove the clove and cinnamon stick from the mixture and discard it)
6 Blend the cooled mixture till you get a smooth consistency.
6 Garnish with toasted almonds slivers or pista. Serve warm or chilled.
Pesara Punukulu - Moong Dal Fritters
February 17th, 2007Both Satish and I like to snack on some tasty nibbles with our evening tea and one tea-time snack I prepare once in a while, are green moong dal fritters - full of earthy goodness, simple with few ingredients, flavorful and ones which Nehal also relishes. It hardly takes any effort to prepare them - to savor these fritters at tea time, remember to soak the moong dal atleast 5-6 hours before tea-time.
Best eaten hot, off the skillet, when the crust is crisp. When eaten cold, its sort of chewy but pleasantly livens up our palate with a hot cuppa chai.
Pesara Punukulu Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 20-30 mts, soaking: 5-6 hours
Makes approx 35-40 punukulu
Cuisine: Andhra
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1 cup pesalu, green moong dal (soaked in water for 5-6 hrs)
1 onion finely chopped (optional)
3-4 green chillis (adjust according to your spice level)
1″ ginger
2 flakes garlic, crushed (optional)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small bunch coriander leaves finely chopped
salt to taste
oil for deep frying
1 Grind the soaked and drained moong dal, green chillis, ginger and salt to a paste. There is no need to add water while grinding. Remove onto a dish and add the chopped onions, coriander leaves, cumin seeds and mix well.
2 Heat oil in a deep frying vessel. Once its piping hot, reduce flame to medium and drop a little mixture (about a tbsp) and fry the fritters to a golden brown color. Deep fry a batch of 8-10 punukulu depending on the size of the vessel.
3 Serve hot over a cup of masala chai.
Note:
Generally, the split husked green moong is the preferred lentil for these fritters. You need to soak these lentils for 2-3 hours unlike the whole moong which requires more soaking time.
Bellam Garelu - Jaggery Flavored Vadas
February 13th, 2007I’m not sure if many of you have heard of sweet flavored ‘vada/garelu’. Dear reader, I’m talking of bellam (jaggery) garelu where deep fried crisp vadas are sweetened with jaggery syrup, a traditional sweet in our parts. Sometimes, during festivals or special occasions, when garelu are prepared, if there is any left over urad dal or garelu batter, sweet flavored vadas are prepared and usually served during tea time. I can eat them at time of the day, though..:)
No onions or green chillis go into this vada batter - just whole urad dal soaked in water, drained, ground to a fine paste with salt, beaten till fluffy and white, shaped into vadas, deep-fried till crisp and golden brown and dropped immediately in warm jaggery syrup till they absorb the syrup. The resultant vadas are absolutely delicious with the first bite having that hint of crispiness when eaten hot and puffy off the stove.
The sweet richness of jaggery countered by the earthiness of urad dal, leaves a pleasant mouth-feel, very earthy and sweet - a fine balance of flavors. Best eaten hot when the crust still retains the crispiness and believe me, savoring these teepi (sweet) garelu is pure pleasure guaranteed!
Bellam (Teepi) Garelu Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 45 mts, Soaking time: 2 hrs
Makes: 12-14 vadas
Cuisine: Andhra
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1 cup whole urad dal (black gram dal, minappappu)
salt to taste
oil for deep frying
1 cup grated jaggery, add water, cook to prepare a syrup that is sticky on touch
1 1/2 cups water
1 Soak whole black gram dal in water for 2 hours.
2 Strain the water, and grind the dal to a paste sprinkling little water and salt. Use small portions of dal to grind batch wise as its easier to grind into a soft paste. Beat till fluffy.
3 Heat water, add the jaggery and let it melt and form a syrup which is sticky to touch. While the jaggery is forming a syrup, deep fry the vadas.
4 Take a deep frying vessel, add enough oil and heat till piping hot.
5 Wet your hands with water, take a lemon-sized ball of batter and flatten it into a vada on a greased sheet or banana leaf. Make a hole in the centre of the vada so that it cooks evenly all over.
6 Slowly drop the vada into the hot oil carefully and fry it on both sides on medium heat to a golden brown color. Deep fry 4-5 vadas per batch depending on the size of the vessel.
7 Immediately dip these fried vadas into the jaggery syrup. Let them sit in this syrup till the next batch of vadas are deep-fried. Remove them onto a serving plate and drop the next batch of vadas into the syrup.
8 Drizzle some left over syrup over vadas before serving and serve hot while the crust is still crisp.
Note:
Add a pinch of cardamom pwd to the syrup or for a savory touch to this sweet, add a pinch of freshly ground pepper pwd to the syrup. Its your choice. Ensure that the jaggery syrup doesn’t become thick, it should just melt and feel sticky. You will know when the vadas have absorbed the syrup and done as they will be heavy. Be careful they don’t become too soggy.
This recipe is my contribution to VKN’s group book project ‘You can cook for FAHC campaign. Thank you, VKN, for providing an opportunity to contribute to a worthy cause and appreciate the efforts of the entire team of FAHC.
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