Pineapple Gujiya

Diwali is here & I just couldn't resist making Gujiyas  for the occasion.

With little time on hand and lots to do ..........I made the dough first.

Ingredients :
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons Ghee
1/4 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients ,add water & knead to a firm dough.Set aside the dough in a plastic wrap.

Now the filling.I had seen this filling once on Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's TV show - Khana Khazana.
So here are the ingredients:

• 3 Pineapple slices finely chopped
• Half a cup of fresh grated coconut
• 2 tablespoons of raisins
• 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds
• 2 tablespoons of chopped cashew nuts
• A pinch of cardamom powder
• A pinch of Salt
• 4 Table spoons of semolina (Rava)
• Oil/Ghee for frying
• Sugar - add to taste

Heat oil and add the chopped pineapples to this and fry well on high heat. Reduce heat and add grated coconut to this and mix well. Next add raisins & the nuts along with salt and cardamom powder.

Now add semolina and saute for a minute. At this point add sugar as appropriate to taste. The filling is now ready.

Knead the dough once again and roll out small rounds. Fill in with the Pineapple coconut mixture, seal the edges with water and cut out with a pastry wheel - zig zag cutter. Set aside in a pan and cover with  a wet cloth. This quantity makes about 18 Gujiyas.

Heat oil in a kadai - deep fry the gujiyas until they evenly turn golden brown. They get crisp once cooled.

That pouch in the center is what I made with the left over dough.......:)

''HAPPY DIWALI" - May this season bring pouches full of joy and happiness to all !

                                                           I link this post to.......

                                              Tickling Palates - Diwali Special Sweets

                                          

                                             

                                              Anu's Healthy Kitchen - Festival of Lights

                                          

                                                  My Diwali - My way hosted by Khushi

                                           

Recipe Exchange Concept

I get an email this morning from my cuz..Jyoti, a busy bee herself and a mail like this surprised me ..........

Hi everyone,

We are participating in a collective, constructive, and hopefully TASTY experiment. As such, you have been invited to be part of a Recipe Exchange Concept. We hope you will participate. We have picked those we think would make this fun.
Please send a recipe to the person whose name is in position 1 (even if you don't know him/her) and it should be something quick, easy and without rare ingredients. Actually, the best one is the one you know in your head and can type right now. Don't agonize over it, it is one you make when you are short of time.
After you've sent the recipe to the person in position 1 below and only to that person, copy this letter into a new email, move my name to position 1 and put your name in position 2. Only my name and your name should show when you send your email.
Send to 20 friends BCC (blind copy). If you cannot do this within 5 days, let us know so it will be fair to those participating. You should receive 36 recipes. It's fun to see where they come from! Seldom does anyone drop out because we all need new ideas. The turnaround is fast as there are only 2 names on the list and you only have to do it once.

1) Aparna Eswaran: 19.aparna@gmail.com

2) Jyothi Jayaprakash: doeye4u@gmail.com  

Regards

Jyothi Jayaprakash

I promptly did my share of sending the recipe to Aparna and the request to 20 others as well. Divya responded first. Gayatri  wrote in that she wont be able to participate.
Quite an interesting concept as long as the chain continues.I've decided to blog all those recipes that come back to me. I shall be listing them here on this page as and when they get published.

1. Divya Hegde - coming soon! 

2. Gayatri Raani 
3. Aparna Eswaran
4. Anagha Prasad

Eggless Cocoa Cake

After all the cakes I have baked over a period of time,the eggless version is one cake I've never tried or even remotely thought of trying. Well then, today I did ...............like this. Found the recipe in an old booklet that once came in free with a pack of Cadbury's cocoa powder......this offer I guess was sometime in the 80's.

Step 1 : Seive One cup all purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and set aside.
Step 2 : Take 2 tablespoons of crisco ( butter flavor) and 3/4 cup of granulated sugar and beat with a hand mixer till creamy.Add 1 teaspoon of Soda Bircarb to this and mix well.
Step 3: Take 1/2 a cup of yoghurt, add a pinch of salt .
Step 4: Fold in the flour into the sugar cream mixture alternating it with the yoghurt.
Step 5 : Pour out the batter into a lined pan and bake for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees ( in a gas oven) Test with a skewer , if it comes out clean - get the cake out and set aside for cooling.

 Thats the slice - perfect texture and taste ..............!

Sprouted Moong Pulao

Sprouted Moong( Green Gram) Pulao - I made this up...........why because - I had these stuff handy& had to make a quick fix dinner for kids ........................Thanks to the Moong that I had soaked and forgot to cook ,therefore they sprouted:) Then there was left over rice from lunch..........Other ingredients I guess are just part of every kitcken. Somethings just fall into place when you least expect them to....necessity definitely is the mother of invention:))

Over to the recipe..............

Ingredients:

1 Cup - Sprouted Moong
11/2 Cup rice cooked
1 Medium onion finely chopped
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
3 Tbsps Oil
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp Jeera
A pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Tsp Chilly powder
A pinch of Garam masala
1-2 Dry red chilly
A few curry leaves
Salt as appropriate
Water as required

Step 1: Boil Moong in a pot some water and a little salt. Keep water minimal and once done,do not throw the water.Do not over cook,the moong should be crunchy to bite.
Step 2 : Heat oil in  a wok,add mustard seeds,jeera,hing whole red chilly - stir lightly. Add the onions and curry leaves.Saute well. Now add ginger garlic paste,turmeric,red chilli powder and the garam masala & fry until the raw smell fades away.
Step 3: To this add the boiled moong along with the water,add salt - adjust to taste. Stir on a high flame. Add rice and toss well. A teaspoon on Ghee /butter at this stage will add to the taste.

Linking this post to The Kerala Kitchen - October 2011 hosted by Khushi

Garlic Sauce

I complete 10 years in UAE in November 2011.....and very sheepishly I must admit that I haven't really explored the local food. It only shows what a sport I am when it comes to this. Am open to the idea though, as long as the food looks convincing..........then again, if I've not tasted much in 10 years -need I say  more????

Well, Garlic Sauce - this is one of the things that I have tried with broasted chicken and pita bread. Too too good!! Finally decided to make it myself.
I've experimented crushed garlic with a whole load of ingredients such as corn flour, egg whites, lemon salt, olive oil at times even garlic powder - with completely failed results. And, guess what..? I gave up thinking its wiser to buy,eat & relish :)

Some months ago, while net surfing I came across this wonderful site featuring Mediterranean Cooking  Dede's Recipes. This is a one stop site for all who love Mediterranean food. Her recipes are simple, videos make them even more simpler .................... wonder - what would life be without google ..sigh !! I found my answer to my favourite GARLIC SAUCE!!! After a series of failed experiments behind me, this video came as a boon and ever since this is one thing one can find in my refrigerator.

Ingredients:
4 - 5 pods of fresh garlic crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup Sunflower oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Egg whites

Step 1: In a food processor, put in the crushed garlic, salt, a some oil, and a little lemon juice and let it run at speed 1.While it runs, let the lemon juice and oil drizzle through the nozzle alternately.
Step 2: Add the egg whites through the nozzle.Keep a watch and keep adding the remaining oil and lemon juice till it becomes creamy like mayonnaise. Stop the processor, just scrape down the sides and just pulse it to ensure its all blended well.Remove to a clean and dry bottle.

May I share these tips which I learnt over time. :)

• A food processor is an absolute must to get this sauce right - not a stand mixer or mixer grinder- at least I didn't. :(
• The recipe calls for canola oil. It works very well - so does sunflower and corn oil too.Olive oil takes away the white color of the sauce ,do not use it- it isn't very impressive,trust me :)
• Lemon juice - fresh squeezed juice is ideal,but lemon/lime concentrate works just fine.
• Egg whites - use it straight out of the refrigerator meaning - colder the better.
• Most of all, for anyone who tries this recipe, use your wisdom to adjust the quantity of the ingredients since our purpose is to make the sauce flavorful yet not overpowering.
• Once bottled - place it in the refrigerator for it to set well.
• Could be used as a dip with French fries, baked chicken wings, fresh cucumber and carrots,fish fingers, rotis, parathas so on & so forth..............

Mango Chutney-Sweet Sour

On a visit to the local market, we saw an old man selling some of his farm produce like melons, onions,greens such as mint, coriander & curry leaves, brinjals, fresh dates etc.Am sure they are organic too.
The raw mangoes were really firm &  really raw and  the freshness of it all made us pick up a few. Used it for fish curry....and  had some more left. So, mango thokku pickle came to my mind. As I started off - I decided on making  a sweet sour chutney instead. The chutney is done and bottled - now set for cooling :)

This is how I made it....... washed the peeled  mango and wiped it with a paper towel to remove moisture& grate it fine like this .Mix in salt as appropriate.
Grated mango would be about 1.5 cups appox.

The next step is to heat about 5 tablespoons of sesame oil , add  a teaspoon of mustard seeds. When they splutter add a teaspoon of turmeric & the grated mango and saute on medium heat till the moisture leaves out of the mango and they all get to stick together. Keep stirring and make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Now add about 4 tablespoons of  pickle powder ( I have used the brand Eastern here) 2 teaspoons of red chilli powder and a teaspoon of Jeera powder.

As they get mixed the oil starts separting at the corners as shown in the picture. Now add a 1'' Block of Jaggery/Gud. While adding just break it into pieces as they melt in easily. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. The mix would now look a shade darker & the oil will show up at the sides. It is time to take off the heat and bottle the chutney.

Tip: This recipe has a balanced taste of sweet - sour - spice. The proportion could vary according to individual tastes. Any which ways, this would taste really well with rotis,pooris and parathas as well.