NEI APPAMS, how to make ground Vella appams

 

All these years, I have always made this Instant and quick appams, which is my maternal home special, a fool proof recipe.

But this year I tried this traditional version and the recipe is  from my respected Manni (brother's wife)

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1/2 cup

Wheat flour - 2-3 tsps

Jaggery powder - 1/2 cup

Brown/white sugar - 2-3 tsps

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Grated coconut - 2-3 tsps

Ripe small banana - 1/2

Baking powder or baking soda - a pinch (optional)

Oil and 2 tsps ghee to make the appams

Recipe cuisine: South Indian; Category: festival delicacy/neivedhyam/karthigai

Soaking time: 3-4 hours or overnight; Cooking time: 25-30 mts totally

Yields 20 Appams

Raw rice washed and soaked in hot water for 3-4 hours

Then after soaking, rice added into the blender jar, along with wheat flour,  banana and coconut

Now jaggery, 3 tsps brown sugar and cardamom powder too. Always remember, adding some sugar enhances the sweetness of jaggery (my mom in law used to say)

Ground into a batter, and rest the batter for 30 minutes to an hour

Appe pan heated with oil and a drop of ghee in each cavity

After the oil becomes hot, keep the flames on medium and pour the batter. Do not over fill. fill to 3/4 level only

Flipped over...see how golden and puffed up they look!!!

This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com

BOONDI LADDOOS, how to make boondi laddoos

Unplanned sweet!!!!
I hadn't even thought of making this!!!
Was talking with my manni /bhabhi/sister in law,  who is an expert in cooking, and she told me, day before yesterday she made laddoos. I told her, I haven't made so far, she gave me the exact measurements, and lo!!! within an hour, I finished making these!
Now after making these, I have come to a conclusion:
This is the most economical sweet we can think of, ww do not have to buy butter, paneer, condensed milk or milk powder.......
All ingredients are readily available at home, and I am so happy, they have come out very well too!
I did not add any extra artificial food colors, which aren't good for health. So, it is just the color of saffron and besan. And of course, a pinch turmeric powder.....

Ingredients

Besan - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 1/2 cup for the sugar syrup

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Baking powder - a pinch

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Saffron - a few strands

Ghee - 2 tsps

Broken cashews - 10-12

Enough oil to make the boondis

Recipe cuisine: South Indian; Category: Indian sweets; festival delicacy

Prep time: 10 mts; Cooking time: 30-40 mts

Yields small sized 17-18 laddoos

Besan flour taken, turmeric powder and baking powder, both just a pinch, added

Enough water added and whisked to a smooth dosa batter consistecy. Batter should be flowy, not too thick, not too thin. If it's thin, boondis will be flat, they won't look good, and if it's thick, boondis will have tails😊

In a small pan, roast the cashews in 2 tsps ghee, and keep aside

1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water kept on medium flames

This is my boondi plate, very very good

Sugar starts boiling, and when it reaches 1 string consistency, switch off the stove. You can see, side by side oil also getting heated on low flames.

Add saffron and cardamom powder to the syrup

As you make sugar syrup itself, keep oil in low flames, after switching off the syrup, make the flames high for this kadai, pour 1 ladle batter, with another ladle, you can gently , in circular motions, rub in the batter, so that small droplets will fall into the hot oil. Boondis did not become flat neither did they develop tails, If tails come, please add some more water, if they are flat, add in some more besan.

Another very very important tip is, after every batch, you need to wash the boondi plate and wipe it dry.

The boondis need not become very crisp, because to take in the syrup they will require longer time. As the boondis are done, strainght from this pan, you can put them over the syrup, and mix.

Boondis done, added to the syrup, and the roasted cashews with ghee too added, all mixed well, mashed well with a masher or ladle, and keep it covered for about 10 minutes, so that boondis will get soaked well and become soft.

When the mixture becomes bearably warm, please mash it nicely with hands, as if mashing rasam saadham or curd rice.

I did not even have to grease my hands, laddoos were perfect in texture, made small laddoos.

This post first came in www.malpatskitchen.com

7 CUP BURFI, how to make a 7 measure burfi

This delicate burfi is called 7 cup burfi , because, totally 7 cups of ingredients are used in this. We can call it 7 Measure burfi too......because, we can measure the ingredients in a cup, tumbler, dabara, or a ladle , whichever suits us.
Please check my other Indian sweets here
Deepavali is nearing!!!

Ingredients

Besan flour - 1 cup

Grated fresh coconut - 1/2 cup

Grated carrots - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Sugar - 3 cups

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Saffron - few strands

Recipe Cuisine: Indian; Category: Sweet/prashaad/festival delicacy

Prep time: 15 mts; Cooking time: 30-40 mts

Yields 60 burfis

Grated coconut and carrots taken in a blender jar...and

pulsed..no water, please!

Non stick pan heated, 1 tsp ghee added, and 1 cup besan added

and roasted on slow flames till nice aroma comes out , may be for 5 minutes

Pulsed carrot-coconut mixture added now

and mixed well

I switched off the stove now, and added ghee, sugar, cardamom powder, saffron and milk, switched it on now, and now our duty is to stir non stop, with lot of Shraddha and Saburi...perseverance and patience...

Mixture will be like this, there will be small lumps, don't worry, as you keep on stirring, it will become okay

Various stages given below, mixture slowly thickening

Nearing final stages. When it becomes frothy around corners, and mixture starts leaving sides of the pan....

pour it immediately to a well greased plate or tray

Flatten it nicely with a greased flat  bottom

After 5 minutes, it sets , now cut into square, rectangle or diamond shape..whatever you want

See! how beautifully it has come out!!

This post first came in www.malpatskitchen.com

Notes

* Instead of carrots, we can add 1/2 cup of soaked cashews or almonds

* We can add a mixture of everything too, by having 1/4 cup almonds, 1/4 cup cashews/ 1/4 cup coconut and 1/4 cup carrots. Choice is ours, but take care , the total must come to 7

MULLU MURUKKU , how to make spiky, crispy snacks

Mullu Murukku.....the spiky and flavorful crispy snacks are also called Butter Mixture...since they just melt in your mouth. Your attempts to bite them will fail, I am warning you.....when you pop them into your mouth, before you try to munch them, they will just melt...so soft, crisp and crunchy...
The white sesame seeds impart special aroma and flavor to the murukku.
Please check my Glossary for any unknown terms.

Ingredients

Fine rice flour (home made or store bought..I used the latter) - 2 1/2 cups

Pottukadalai/fried gram  powder - 1/4 cup

Hing powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

White sesame seeds - 2 tbsps

Butter (in room temperature)- 1 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Enough cooking oil to fry the murukkus

Recipe Cuisine: South Indian; Category: Snacks/neivedhyams

Prep time: 10 mts; Cooking time: Roughly 30-45 mts

Yields roughly 1/2 kg of murukkus

Pottukadalai powdered fine in blender jar

Rice flour measured and taken, on top of which pottukadalai powder is sieved and added.

Chilli powder, salt and white sesame seeds added

All mixed well, after adding butter and ghee. All the dry ingredients have to be first mixed with butter and ghee, then only water should be added

Adding water little by little, knead to a smooth dough.

Oil heated, and murukku squeezed into the oil

                                                          Getting fried to golden color.

Almost getting done.

Drained and kept in a colander.

Store in airtight containers, after they cool down.

This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com

Notes

* Jeera/cumin can be added in the place of sesame seeds, but I always feel sesame seeds are  delicate and add  subtle flavor to the murukku, while the flavor of Jeera can be a bit stronger.

*Melted butter can be added too, instead of butter in room temperature