FROTHY KULFI

Hi all, the holidays are here and it's time to celebrate. I have made a different version of this recipe and it's also in my blog. However, the one I made recently was a simplified version of the one I posted years back. This one uses just 3 ingredients and it's perfect for gatherings and parties. Quick to make and yummy in taste. 

LIQUID FROTHY KULFI

INGREDIENTS

Evaporated Milk: 1/2 cup

Cardamom seeds crushed & powdered: 1/2 Tsp

Half & Half heavy Cream and Sugar: 1 cup and 1/2 cup respectively.

FROTHY KULFI

FROTHY KULFI

MAKING

In a bowl beat the half & half heavy cream and sugar until it reaches a frothy consistency or thicker consistency. 

Take a glass, pour evaporated milk, add crushed powdered Cardamom seeds, mix it well. Top it with the frothy whipped cream. 

That's it, delicious frothy Kulfi is ready. Serve it at room temperature or cold. Believe me, it's pure deliciousness

Simple but delicious. 

TIPS/VARIATIONS

You could use whipped cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk with crushed cardamom to make it, even more, thicker consistency kulfi.

In a small cup, pour the liquid kulfi, cover the top with an aluminium foil. Insert a popsicle stick in the middle and freeze until it hardens. There you go kulfi in a stick is ready.

SHAHI LASOONI PANEER

 Hi all, it's winter break, and my kids are off, they wanted the day to be special. So I decided to make a dish with their favourite ingredient, Paneer. Now, you can find various versions of this dish, however, I decided to do my own, add my own touch to it. Kids loved it, we all enjoyed it so sharing it with you all. Here it goes, its called

SHAHI LASOONI (Garlic) PANEER

Now I gave it this title because the ingredients I used were such that, it had the touch of luxury in it. Shahi means royal and as the name suggests, there's a lot of lasoon (garlic) used in this.

INGREDIENTS

For Curry Paste

Garlic: About 5-8 pods

Ginger: 1 Tbsp chopped

Coriander seeds: 1/2 Tsp

Cardamom seeds: 2-3

Cinnamon stick: 1 small stick

Red chillies: 2 medium

Jeera: 1 Tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/4th tsp

Red Chilli powder: 1/2 Tsp

Jeera-Dhania powder: 1 Tsp

Onion: 1 medium 

Tomatoes: 1 big or 2 medium chopped

Cashew Nuts: 10-12 

Raisins: about 8-10

Turmeric powder: 1/4th Tsp

Red Chilli powder: 1/2 Tsp

Salt as required

Oil & ghee: 1 Tbsp

FOR GRAVY

Paneer: 1-2 cups cubed pieces

Onion: 1 medium finely chopped

Green Chilli: 1 thinly sliced or slit

Garlic: 1-2 pods thinly sliced

Ginger: 1 Thinly sliced

Salt as required

Curry paste (mentioned above)

Yoghurt: 1 cup

Cream: 1-2 Tbsp

Garam Masala: 1-2 Tsp

Kasuri Methi: 1 Tsp crushed

Oil & Ghee (1 Tbsp)

FOR TADKA 

Ghee: 1 Tsp

Garlic thinly sliced: 1-2 pods

Red chilli powder: 1/4th Tsp

                                        

Shahi Lasooni Paneer

MAKING

Although you may think, its such a long list of ingredients and tedious. Believe me, it wasn't. Once you had all the ingredients ready, it was simple. Take a pan, add some ghee & oil ( 1 Tbsp), add in the Jeera, once aromatic, add in the cardamom seeds, cinnamon stick, ginger-garlic, onions, tomatoes, red chillies, dhania seeds, Turmeric, red chilli powder, cashew nuts, raisins with enough salt and saute for about 5-8 minutes until the onion raw taste is gone and all the spices are well blended. Switch off the gas, once the mixture is cool, grind it into a nice paste consistency. Curry paste is ready, set it aside.

Now proceed to make the gravy. In the same pan, add some Ghee ( 1 Tbsp), add in some ginger garlic, 1 Green chilli, add in the onions, once golden brown, add in the curry paste that you made. Saute it for a few minutes in low flame, add in the cubed paneer, mix it well and again saute it for a couple of minutes before adding in the yoghurt. Mix it well, add salt and cook in low flame for about 4-5 minutes, add some Garam Masala, Kasuri Methi and fresh cream. Cook for a couple of minutes, switch off the gas.

Finally, take a tadka pan, add ghee, put in some sliced garlic, watch it turn brown, add a little bit of red chilli and pour the tadka onto the gravy.

Garnish it with fresh cream and freshly chopped coriander leaves. 

Delicious, Shahi Lasooni Paneer is ready to eat. Serve it hot with Rotis or Naans or paratha.

TIPS/VARIATIONS

You could add more cream to take off the heat.

The Gravy should be thick and creamy. The cashews and the raisins give a creamy consistency to the curry paste. When grinding, you could add some water but not too much, as we need a thicker paste consistency.

you could remove some ingredients if you want, like dry red chillies, cinnamon or dhania seeds. I added it as I like it spicy and flavorful.

QUICKFIRE RAVA IDLI

Hi all, this recipe is perfect when you want to make something quick when some guests show up or you are too tired to make something. This one comes out really well when you make it right. My relative Santhy gave me this recipe and I have followed it since and make it often now. All credit to her for this one, here it goes

QUICKFIRE RAVA IDLI

INGREDIENTS

Rava (Sooji coarse): 3 1/2 cups

Buttermilk (storebought 2%): 3 1/2 cups

Salt as required

Baking Soda and Baking powder: 1/8th tsp and 1/4 tsp respectively

Oil: 2-3 Tsp for greasing the idli plates and tadka

Jeera: 1-2 Tsp

Red Chilli: 1

Green chili: 1

Coriander and Curry leaves: 1 Tbsp chopped

Hing (Asafoetida): 1/4th Tsp

                                

                                    

Quickfire Rava Idli

MAKING

In a bowl, put in the Rava, salt, baking powder, and baking soda mix well. Add in the buttermilk. Mix the batter thoroughly and set it aside for at least 20-30 minutes. 

After 20-30 minutes, add in the chopped coriander-curry leaves. Now for tadka, in a tadka pan, add 1 Tsp oil, add some jeera, red chili, green chilies, Hing. Once the jeera turns aromatic, add the tadka to the batter. 

Finally, grease the idli plates with oil. Take a ladle, pour the batter into the idli plate and place it inside the pressure-cooker, and steam for about 6-8 minutes. Remove from gas, and voila, soft fluffy Rava Idli's are ready to eat. Serve them hot with molagapodi, sambhar, or any chutney.

TIPS/VARIATIONS

The key to getting this Rava Idli soft and fluffy is the buttermilk, it has to be store-bought. I use the Harris teeter 2% or the Aldis low fat one. 

You could add ginger (1Tsp chopped) when doing the tadka, to add to the taste.

INSTANT CILANTRO-CURRY LEAVES THOGAYAL

Hi all, it's been a while but here I am. This recipe comes from my Mother's kitchen. If I have some creative genes, it's only because of her, she is amazingly creative. I was talking to her the other day and she told me about this quick recipe and how delicious it was. I decided to try it and with her permission posting it here so others can try it out and enjoy the same.

Its called 

INSTANT CILANTRO-CURRY LEAVES THOGAYAL

INGREDIENTS

Coriander leaves (Kothamalli) : 1/2 cup

Curry leaves: 1/4th cup

Ginger: 1 medium piece about 2 tbsp if chopped

Green Chilli: 1

Jaggery : 1 tbsp

Coconut: 1 Tbsp

Tamarind: 1 tsp or small penny sized

Salt as required

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Red Chilli: 1 medium

Hing a pinch

Oil : 1 Tsp

                                    

Cilantro-Curry leaves Thogayal/Chutney

MAKING

Grind the Ginger, Coriander leaves, curry leaves, tamarind, coconut, jaggery, Green chilli and salt into a thick coarse thogayal consistency. You could add a bit of water to grind.

For tadka, add oil, once heated, add mustard seeds, Hing, Red chilli, once the mustard splutters, add it to the chutney/thogayal.

Simple, easy chutney.thogayal is ready to eat. if you made thogayal ( thicker variety, you could mix it to rice with sesame oil and eat it. If you made the chutney variety, you could serve it as a side to dosa/idli and even as a side to Molagutal

TIPS/VARIATIONS

I made the chutney style, so I added more coconut (1 cup) than mentioned above and more water, however if you want to make the thogayal style, then follow the above measurements. 

Tadka is optional, you could make it without the tadka too.