Quick Shahi Tukda

So planning to throw away the rasagulla /gulab jamun's sugar syrup. Think again.
Make a simple, rich, sweet out of it.

Generally Shahi Tukda involves a lot of Ghee, Rabri. Lets try a simpler and cost effective way 

Ingredients:
4 - Bread Slices (Firm)
2tbps - Roasted powdered mixed nuts 
4 tbps - Condensed Milk
100ml - Sugar Syrup
2 tbps - Ghee
Oil to fry
Cherries & coloured Vermicelli to decorate.

Method / Vidhie:

1. Mix 1 tbps of ghee with oil to fry the bread.
2. Heat oil. Cut each bread slice into 2 in a triangle shape
3. Deep fry then and drain excess oil.
4. Everytime you fry the bread put them directly into the sugar syrup and take it out immediately.
5. Set the bread slices on a plate.
6. Drizzle the condensed milk covering all over the bread slices.
6. If, you have ready made Rabri then its added flavour.
7. Decrote with Cherries, coloured vermicelli, powdred nuts & drizzle rest 1tbps ghee.
8. Keep it in the refrigerator in the normal compartment wrapping the plate with strech wrapper or a silver foil.
9. If, you wish to have hot that gives a different taste too.
10. I added a drizzle of rose syrup too :) which gave a awesome taste.

 

SOYE KEERAI VADAI

Soye Keerai - That's how its called down south. It more or less looks like a cilantro/coriander or even rosemary. But, warning it is smell bound- means it has a strong pungent smell. Always use it fresh.
You can use any other spinach to make this vadai.

Ingredients
1 cup - Chopped Soye Keerai
1 cup -  Onions finely chopped
2 inch - Ginger finely chopped
2 cups - Soaked Pitham Parupu / Broken Green gram
1 cup   - Soaked Raw rice
2 tbs    - Soaked Toor Dal
2         -  Melagu / Pepper
1 tbs   -  Jeera
4 pcs   - Dry Red Chilly (Depending upon your taste)
1 tbs    - Asafetida
1/2 cup - Water
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method/Vidhee:

1. Soak the pulses and rice for 2 hrs. 
2. Smoothly grind in a blender along with pepper, jeera, dry red chilly, asafatida, ginger
3. Add water if required to make batter bit semi solid & not watery.

4. Add finely chopped soye keerai, onions, curry leaves, salt, ground batter.

5. Mix them well.
6. Heat oil on high flame.
7. Deep fry small portions into vada shapes.
8. Deep fry until they turn golden brown.
9. Once done take it and drain on to a tissue paper.

10. Serve hot with sweet chutney, green chutney.



 

Chow Chow Thol Thokku/ Chow Chow Skin Tangy Chutney

Chow Chow or otherwise known as Bangalore Kathrikai or Chayote vegetable is a common vegetable which is used down of south India. Rich is calcium,iron,magnesium etc.. a water based when cooked becomes transparent.

Ingredients:
 1 bowl / 200gms- Peeled skin of Chow Chow
 100 gms               - Kadala parupu/ Channa Dhal
  3 pcs                    - Dry Red chilly
  2 inch                  -  Ginger
  1 pc                      - Tomato
  (If, you don't like tomato you can use 1 small lemon size tamarind)
   1 tbs                    -  Til Oil/ Nalla Ennai (Can use any oil)
   1/2 tbs                -  Asafatida
   1 tbs                    -  Salt to taste

 Method / Vidhiee:
  1. Peel the skin of chow chow and keep aside.
  2. In a pan add some oil and roast the channa dal, dry red chilly, asafatida separately. Keep aside until the        heat goes down.
  3. In the same pan add in the roughly chopped tomato and skin removed ginger.
  4. In a mixer add in the roasted channa dal, red chilly, asafatida, salt grind them well into a powder.
  5. To it add the peeled chow chow peel, ginger, tomato.
  6. Grind all of them together into a paste like consistency.
 
 Serve with hot cooked white rice and ghee.

Mixed Pullipu Kootu

Pullipu or Tangy or Khatta gravy dish made during 3rd day of Pongal festival down south. It is one of the healthiest and yummy traditional dishes made during that season. It is served with mixed rices like coconut rice, lemon rice, tomato rice, puliyogare rice, curd rice etc.. on normal days too you can serve it along with dosa, chappati.

Serves - 4

Ingredients:
2                - Large Red/Orange Carrots
10             - French Beans
5               - Clustered Beans
100 gms - Fresh green peas
100 gms  - White pumpkin
100 gms  - Red pumpkin
50   gms  - Yam
2                - Medium Potato
1                - Large Capsicum
1/2            - Chayote/Cho-Cho/Chow-Chow
2                - Green chillies
1/2 inch  - Ginger
200 ml     - Tamarind pulp
1 tbs         - Turmeric powder
1 tbs         - Sambhar powder
3 tbs         - Home made kootu powder (check end of the page for the recipe)
1 tbs         - Oil
1/2 tbs     - Mustard seeds
2 arc          - Curry leaves
1/2 tbs     - Asafatida
1     tbs     - ghee
Salt to taste

Method/Vidhiee:
1. Roughly chop carrots, french beans, clustered beans, white pumpkin, red pumpkin, capsicum, potato, Yam(to be chopped and par boiled separately), chayote, green chilly, ginger finely chopped.
2. In a pressure cooker add oil and splutter the mustard seeds, curry leaves along with asafatida.
3. Add in the vegetables, turmeric powder, sambhar powder, tamarind pulp, salt amd if needed add in 1/2 cup water.
4. Pressure cook the vegetables until 3 whistles come.
5. Once the pressure cools add in the kootu powder.

Kootu Powder : Dry roast & Grind the below ingredients. You can use them in various other south Indian kootus and curries.

2 tbs   - Channa dal
1 tbs   - Corainder seeds
2          - Dry red chilly
1/2 tbs - Asafatida
1/4 tbs - Fenugreek seeds

6. Add in the kootu powder on the vegetables and boil them by stirring for 3 mins.
7. Temper some more curry leaves and mustard in ghee . Pour them over the vegetables.