orema

Chivda is a low fat snack made with less oil and not a deep fried mixture. Though i already posted South Indian Mixture recipe, i have a few request from readers for a healthy diwali recipe which they can make for their parents | in laws, this poha chivda immediately came to my mind. So if you want to try something healthy this time, make this poha mixture | aval mixture. I learnt this recipe from my friend long back when we met for a evening tea .

INGREDIENTS:

POHA | AVAL	1 CUP
GREEN CHILLI	2
PEANUTS	4 TBLSP
ROASTED DAL | POTTUKADALAI	4 TBLSP
SUGAR	1 TSP
SALT	AS NEEDED
MUSTARD SEEDS	FEW
DRY COCONUT(SLICED)	1 TBLSP
TURMERIC POWDER	1/4 TSP
OIL	1 TBLSP

METHOD:

• In a pan,  roast the poha , with 1 tsp of oil ( use thin poha) till it turns golden brown.
• Be careful not to make it burnt.

• Keep it aside. In the same pan add oil and add mustard seeds and slit the green chillies and add to it.
• Powder the sugar in a mortar and pestle.
• Add the roasted gram, peanuts and powdered sugar and salt to this.
• When the peanuts,  and dal turns golden brown switch off the flame and mix it to the roasted poha. Mix this nicely with dry hands.

• Store this in a airtight container . Enjoy with hot tea | coffee.

 
Note:

1. You can add a few tablespoons of roasted cashew nuts also.
2. Few curry leaves can be added while adding the mustard seeds.

MILK PEDA WITH MILK POWDER AND CONDENSED MILK

  Milk peda | Paal peda |Dhoodh peda  is a very simple and easy dessert made with milk. If you are running out of time but still wanted to try out an easy sweet then this milk peda is the exactly perfect sweet for you. The entire process can be done in Microwave oven but since i don’t have microwave oven i made it in the stove top. It took less than 10 minutes for me for the entire process.


INGREDEINTS:(YIELDS : 35 - 40 PEDAS)

MILK POWDER	2 CUPS
CONDENSED MILK	1 CAN (395GMS)
SAFFRON	A PINCH(OPTIONAL)
BUTTER | GHEE	2 TBLSP + 2 TSP

METHOD:

• Soak the saffron in a tblsp of warm milk for 10 minutes.

• In a wide non stick pan, combine the condensed milk and milk powder and mix it into a smooth paste without any lumps. It should be like a thick idli batter.
• Add butter | ghee to this and start mixing them on a low flame.

• Add the saffron milk to this and mix well without getting it burnt .
• I added a pinch of Everest Milk masala to get an enhanced flavor.
• After 7-8 minutes the mixture will come out like a soft ball without sticking to the bottom.

• Stop the flame and allow it to become warm.
• Grease your hands with butter | ghee and grease the chapathi rolling stick too.
• Grease the base as well and knead the mass of peda and roll it into a circle  of your desired thickness.

• I wanted to get a perfect shape so adapted this easy way and made cute shapes with cookie cutter. Thank u so much Nags for the cookie cutter ,i loved the cute edges.
• If you don’t have the cookie cutter you can just make small balls and flatten it.

Note:

1. Do not cook till it becomes a hard mass, just take it when it gathers a mass by not sticking to the bottom. When it is cools down slightly it will be thick.
2. If it is too thick the pedas will be hard. In that case, just sprinkle few drops of milk and knead it and make pedas.
3. I added saffron to get the kesar flavor, you can add a tblsp of cococa powder to get chocolate peda or you can cardamom powder to get a nice cardamom flavor.
4. My friend told when she tried in microwave and she used 1 and 3/4 cup of milk powder.
5. This can be stored in the refrigerator for a week

  Rava laddu or Rava ladoo is a simple and exoctic sweet made with Semolina or sooji. Though i attempted this for the first time, i have tasted this many times. But i always like the texture to be smooth and not the grainy rava texture. I just followed my Besan ladoo recipe replacing rava instead of besan. Try this easy and yummy Rava ladoo for this Diwali.


INGREDIENTS: Makes 13- 14 ladoos

RAVA | SOOJI | SEMOLINA	1 CUP
SUGAR	3/4 CUP
MELTED GHEE	1/4 CUP
CASHEW NUTS	FEW
CARDAMOM POWDER	A PINCH(OPTIONAL)

METHOD:

• In a pan add 1 tsp of ghee and roast the cashew bits and keep it aside.

• In a same pan roast the rava till it for 5 to 10 minutes in a medium flame. Do not get it burnt or the change the color.
• Allow this to completely cool.
• Grind this into a fine powder along with sugar.

• Add cardamom powder(if adding) at this stage and pulse once for even mixing.
• Transfer this mixture to a wide bowl.
• Add the roasted cashew also to this and mix well.
• Melt the ghee and add this to the rava sugar mixture.

• Mix well with a spoon and make it into round balls.
• The mixture will be easy to handle only. If you feel that you can’t make balls, just sprinkle 1 tblsp of milk .

• This can be stored in a air tight box for 4-5 days in room temperature.

Note:

1. If you want to make it with less ghee you can add half of ghee and half of milk too.
2. But if u do this this has to be consumed in a day.

This is the first time i am making Mysore Pak , but to my surprise it turned out extremely well and tasted exactly like Krishna Sweets Mysore pak. I made few batches and packed for my friends when i visited them during Navaratri. When i was searching in google for mysore pak recipes most of the recipes which i have come seen involves 2-3 cups of Ghee. And i finally i landed in Vardhini's space . Go ahead to try this delicious soft Mysore pak for this Diwali and surprise your family and friends.

INGREDEINTS: (YIELDS APPROX. 10 PIECES)

BESAN |KADALAIMAAVU	1 CUP
MELTED GHEE	1 CUP
SUGAR	1 CUP

METHOD:

• Keep a tray greased with ghee.
• In a pan, preferably non stick add a tsp of ghee and roast the  besan in a medium low flame till it emits a nice aroma. It will take 10 minutes. Though the original recipe doesn’t have this step ,as far as i have made the google search most of the recipes have included this step.

• Once done sieve the flour nicely.
• This step is a must as it will give a smooth texture to the mysore pak.

• Mix this sifted besan with 3/4th cup of ghee and make a smooth paste out of it.

• In a deep wide pan,preferably non stick, add the sugar and add 1/2 cup of water.
• Once sugar gets dissolved stop stirring and boil till this reach one string consistency.
• You can check the one thread  consistency of the syrup between the thumb and the index finger.
• Once it reaches the right consistency, add the ghee and besan paste which we mixed together. The consistency is more important else you will get hard or crumbled mysore paks.

• Now keep the flame in medium low and stir continuously adding the remaining 1/4 cup ghee at frequent intervals.
• Stir it nicely till it leaves the sides of the pan and doesn’t get stick to the bottom.

• At this stage transfer it to the greased plate. It will spread smoothly.
• Cut it into pieces with a knife or a pizza cutter when it is warm.

The entire process took just 20 minutes and as mentioned in the original recipe after adding the besan mixture to the sugar syrup it took less than 10 minutes for the mysore pak to get ready.
           
Note:

• One string consistency is a must and be careful not to miss it out .
• At last also, when the mixture doesn’t gets stick to the bottom transfer it to the greased plate.
• If it over cooked even for few minutes mysore pak will not be soft.

Will try to update a Video of mysore pak before Diwali.