'Shanthisthaligai' blog anniversary

I launched this blog eleven years ago. Yes, my blog stepped into the 12th year on Feb 9th. Never in my dreams, I thought I would start blogging but it happened! 11 years of blogging ❤❤ !! Indeed a memorable milestone!! It is all about hard work, love and determination 💕😍. Over this period of blogging, my blog has 46,07,000 Lifetime Pageviews/readers/visitors. With every blog post, I engaged myself and learned and the learning continues. Special thanks to everyone from the bottom of my heart, for your continuous support and taking time to show your love by visiting my blog, reading, trying out recipes, mailing me and leaving comments. Love you all! 💕💕.  Over these years, I have built up a very good circle of friends from all over the world. I am elated and grateful to God for these 11 years of growth, influence and impact and am happy that I started this journey. I owe every bit of success of my blog to all the readers of my blog. Its 'you' who have made a normal home maker into a food blogger. I will continue to share my kitchen journey through 'Shanthisthaligai'. I've received so much of love and appreciation from all of you. Thanking you all once again for motivating me. 

PAAL ALWA RECIPE / MILK HALWA RECIPE

Pretty excited. My blog 'Shanthisthaligai' is Ten!! Special thanks to everyone from the bottom of my heart, for your continuous support and taking time to show your love by visiting my blog, reading, trying out recipes, mailing me and leaving comments. Love you all! 💕💕

Celebrating my blog's 10th anniversary with Paal Alwa!
Paal alwa / Milk Halwa is a simple, mouthwatering dessert/halwa. We can make it easily at home with minimum ingredients.  

INGREDIENTS:

Milk - 1 ltr.
Sugar - 2 cups
Saffron - few strands ( soak in a spoon of warm milk)
Sliced pistachios - optional
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp.
Curd - 1 tablespoon 
Ghee - 1/4 cup

METHOD: 

Boil milk. Pour milk in a heavy bottomed pan and allow it to boil it reduces to 1/3rd. Stir in between. Now add sugar, stir well. When it thickens again, add curd and stir continuously. The mixture will thicken and become grainy. Adding curd gives the grainy texture for halwa. Stir well, add ghee, cardamom powder, sliced pista. Mix well. When ghee oozes from the sides, switch off the flame. Mix well and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with saffron.   

SEMIYA PAAL PAYASAM / VERMICELLI KHEER / SEMIYA PAYASAM

I launched this blog nine years ago. Yes, my blog is 8 years old and stepping into the 9th year. I am happy to share on my Blog Anniversary, the stats google gives me. Over this period of blogging, my blog and has 35,86,334 Lifetime Pageviews/readers/visitors.With every blog post, I engaged myself and learned and the learning continues. Thanks to all for your support. I celebrate this with a Semiya paal payasam. Very appropriately and with no plan whatsoever, this is the 651st  post on my site.

INGREDIENTS:

Roasted vermicelli - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 ltr.
Cardamom powdered - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Ghee fried cashews and raisins - few
Condensed milk -1/4 cup
Saffron (optional)
Ghee - 1 tablespoons

METHOD:

Heat a tablespoon of ghee and fry vermicelli until golden brown. Fry cashews and raisins in ghee and keep aside. Powder cardamoms and keep ready.

Boil milk in a heavy- bottomed deep pan. Stir frequently until the milk reduces to 3/4th. Simmer and add ghee roasted vermicelli into the milk and cook until soft. Now add sugar, condensed milk, stir and cook until the milk is thick. Add the powdered cardamoms,saffron and ghee. Garnish with ghee-fried cashews and saffron. Serve hot or cold. Both will taste good.

NOTE: Sugar can be adjusted to suit your taste.

AZHAGAR DOSAI / AZHAGAR KOVIL DOSAI

A 'KRISHNA PRASADAM' for Aathu Perumal on my Blog Anniversary! Yes, my blog is 7 years old and stepping into the 8th year and nearing 26 lakh hits. Thanks to all for your support.

The famous ‘Azhagar Kovil’ or ‘Thirumaliruncholai’, also named as ‘Sri Kallazhagar Perumal Temple’ is located in the outskirts of city Madurai in Tamilnadu. The temple is on the foot hills (Malai adivaaram) of 'Azhagar Malai'. The atmosphere of this temple is so beautiful with cool breeze, surrounded by mountains, thick groves, dense forests, and waterfalls. It is also one of the 108 Divya Desam Temples.The presiding deity of this temple is Lord Kallazhagar (Lord Vishnu). He is Goddess Meenakshi's brother. The Lord is "Sundararajar" popularly known as "Kallazhagar". "Kallar" in tamil means thief. The Perumal is called with this name because He steals His devotees heart by His beauty (Azhagar). He protects all His bhaktas from all evil. The Pushkarani (Temple tank) of Sri Kallazhagar Perumal Temple is called 'Noopuragangai'. This spring is believed to have originated from the anklet of Vishnu. 

As I said earlier, I have been fascinated by the exclusive prasadams in Vaishnavite temples. And in 'Azhagar Kovil', the pride goes to "Azhagar Kovil Dosai". I needed an authentic recipe for this prasadam. I got this recipe from a 'Kainkaryaparar' (one who serves the Lord) of the temple.The 'Kainkaryaparar' says, "Azhagar Perumal takes care of Himself and His needs and there is nothing as a man does something for HIM". The spring is said to have medicinal values, and taking bath in this cures many diseases. Water for temple usage, such as 'Tirumanjanam', 'Thaligai' etc. is only from this spring. He also says, "It is because of this water the temple prasadams have a distinctive taste". Unlike other temples, this dosai is cooked in a "Panchaloha" (Aiympon) tawa, a special utensil  ('Thirumeni of Perumal' is also made of the same Panchaloha) which is a giant-sized dosa pan, shaped as an 'Adai Madakku' measuring around 2 feet in diameter and 3" height. 'Azhagar Dosai' is cooked and deep fried only in ghee. No oil is used for prasadams. The batter for 'Azhagar dosai' is prepared in the morning and offered to Perumal in the evening. After the offering (Neivedhyam), the dosai is torn to pieces and distributed alongwith vadai and  karuppu kondakkadalai sundal to the 'Goshti' (a set of people who sing hymns). This prasadam is called "dosai podi". Only one dosai is prepared a day. However, during festivals, many will be in the 'Goshti', so dosai is prepared according to the need in distributing to the 'Goshti'. This dosai which is almost 1 1/2 feet in diameter and 2" thick, never goes to the prasadam counter. Small sized dosas are prepared and sold to the bhakthas who come to the temple, which is NOT from the Madapalli. 

An extra bit of information which I read few months ago, Dosai is said to be one among the 4 appams told in ancient tamil literature, and the shape which we make came into existence much later. This temple is  known for its antiquity and the azhagar dosai looks more like an appam.

Coming to the recipe (Source:Azhagarkovil), the measurements were given in 'padi' and I am posting in cups for easy reference and preparation.  

Par boiled rice is NOT used in the 'Thirumadapalli' of temples. All temple prasadams are made with raw rice only. Ghee, Pepper and Jeera are used generously. 

NOTE: This dosai will NOT be soft as the regular dosa. As all Perumal kovil dosais are made with raw rice, these will mostly be thick and hard to swallow. When made thick, this dosai is crispy outside and soft and grainy inside and also tastes good. 

INGREDIENTS:

Raw rice - 1 cup
Black whole urad dhal - 1 cup
Pepper Jeera powder - 3 tablespoons (Coarsely ground)
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Ghee - to deep fry

This is a deep fried home style Azhagar dosai. The original recipe calls in for ghee to deep fry, but I deep fried in oil.
  

METHOD:

Wash and soak rice  in water for 2 hours, drain the water completely and dry in a cloth.  Wash black urad dhal and soak for 4 hours. Grind it with skin to a smooth, thick batter. Coarsely grind pepper and jeera and keep aside.

When rice is dry, powder it into fine flour and combine with the urad dhal batter. If the rice flour is not fine, you can sieve it. Add chopped curry leaves, pepper-jeera powder and salt. Mix well. Allow it to stand for a couple of hours. Its fine if you allow it to stand for 4 to 6 hours.

Heat an adai madakku, fill it up with ghee, pour the batter and spread into circles thicker (1/2" thick) than the regular dosas. Flip and deep fry on both sides until golden brown. Serve hot.

Below is the low calorie version of home style Azhagar dosai, compared to the above, but with generous oil. Same method as above, spread in a tawa and drizzle generous oil on all sides. You can also spread as regular dosa. 

Peas masala roast (Restaurant style)

Well, this is my 601st post! Hurray! Thanks to all my regular readers and visitors who have kept this blog going, challenged and encouraged me!! 

The Annapoorna Hotels at Coimbatore are the masters of making distinct varieties of masala roasts. One fine day, my memories went back to eating paneer masala roast and many other masala roasts in Annapoorna, Coimbatore. So I tried the same at home and it was a big hit. I don't know if it is made this way or I won’t say it tasted 100% like that, but I can say that this was close to it. This is just my way of creating the nearest match of Annapoorna peas masala roast from my memories.  Now, let's see how to make this peas masala roast with step-wise pictures.

INGREDIENTS:

Dosa batter - as required

For masala:

Dried green peas - 1 cup
Tomato - 2
Ginger paste - 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Coriander powder - 2 tsp.
Sambhar powder - 2 tsp.
Garam masala - 1 tsp.
Green chillies - 2
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Oil - to fry

METHOD:

Soak dried green peas overnight. Pressure cook soaked peas alongwith salt for 3 whistles with enough water. Drain the water. Keep aside.

Grind the tomatoes to a paste alongwith green chillies. Heat  little oil add curry leaves turmeric powder and tomato paste and fry until oil leaves the sides.(If using onions, chopped onions can also be added before adding the tomato paste).

Meanwhile, mash cooked peas slightly. Add all other ingredients, mix well and add to the tomato paste. Cook until the raw smell diffuses and thick. (I used ginger paste. If using garlic, ginger-garlic paste can be used instead of ginger paste).  Add chopped coriander leaves and mix well. The masala is ready.

HOW TO SPREAD: Spread the dosa batter in a dosa pan. Drizzle oil/ghee on all the sides and when one side is cooked, flip it to the other side. Leave it for 10 - 15 seconds. Again, flip it to the first side. Place a ladle of masala in the centre and fold as shown in the picture, to get a triangle. Serve hot with any chutney or sambhar or your choice.

NOTE: The masala should be semi-solid.
This masala can also be used as a side dish with pooris and chappathis.

Cashew urundai / Cashew jaggery balls

It is a melt in mouth sweet for my Blog Anniversary! Yes, my blog has completed 6 years and stepping into the 7th year  and also crossed 21 lakh hits. I thank all my readers, bloggers and friends who spend their time in reading my posts , commenting and trying my recipes. A special THANKS to each and every one of you for your support.

INGREDIENTS:

Cashews (whole) - 2 cups
Crushed Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp.
Ghee - 2 tablespoons

METHOD:

Keep cashews in sun until crisp OR dry roast without changing the colour until crisp. Dissolve the crushed jaggery in water, strain and make a soft ball consistency syrup. Switch off the stove. Add cashews to the syrup. Mix well. Grease your hand with ghee and shape to balls when warm.

NOTE: Before dry roasting, bring the cashews to room temperature if kept in fridge. 

CELEBRATING 20 LAKH HITS :)

It's good to know 'Shanthisthaligai' blog has crossed 20 lakhs hits. It means that over 20 lakh persons have visited my blog. The entire blogging experience has been a mind-blowing pleasure.  My blog also has a very wide reach & it has attracted visitors from almost every part of the world. When I started  blogging, I never expected it to be linked by so many people. Thank you for all the support and I hope this journey goes on and on. :) Love each and every one of my readers! Whole hearted and humble thanks to all the viewers and friends. 

I have enjoyed every minute of this journey. I want to thank each and every one of you for your encouragement and support. It was great getting to know all of you through blogging and I hope I continue to meet you at http://shanthisthaligai.blogspot.in .

LENTILS KHICHRI / LENTILS KHICHDI

This is a very special post for me, as its my Blog Anniversary! I thank all my readers, bloggers and friends who spend their time in reading my posts , commenting and trying my recipes. A huge THANKS to each and every one of you for your support!

Recently, I had this prasadam  in ISKCON temple. This was different from the usual Vennpongal of South India and Khichri of North India. I asked the temple authorities about it and they told me the ingredients they used for this Mahaprasad. Ofcourse, the recipe is simple and needless to say, prasadams offered in temples have a distinct flavour. The prasad "as it is" is here for you. 

INGREDIENTS:

Raw rice - 1 cup
Moong dhal with skin (Green gram) - 1/2 cup
Urad dhal with skin (Black urad dhal) - 1/4 cup
Roasted peanuts - 1 tablespoon
Grated ginger - 1/2 tsp.
Pepper - 1/4 tsp.
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Hing (asafoetida) - a pinch
Curry leaves - few

Ghee - 3 tablespoons

Oil - 2 tablespoons
Cashews - few

METHOD:

Rice/dhal:water ratio is  1:31/2.

Pressure cook rice and dhals without adding salt.

In a pan, heat a spoon of ghee and fry cashews & peanuts until golden brown. Keep aside.

In the same pan, heat oil, add pepper. When pepper splutters, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, curry leaves, grated ginger, and hing. Pour these over the rice. Add salt for rice and mix well. Add ghee fried cashews & peanuts. Top with melted ghee.Offer it to the LORD with a tulsi leaf.

Nei payasam (Kerala special)

Surprise!!!! A special occasion as this post marks 500 on my blog. I still remember, scratching my head how to proceed the first step of my blog. I had no clue how to do it, the benefits of blogging, or the joy it would bring me. I did not  even know how to choose a name  for my blog and just started it as a cookbook of mine. By the time, I felt to change my blog name, the search engines showed a good number  of responses and  I continued in the same banner, slowly it turned out to be of great help to the  novice cooks, which now has earned a good recognition for  me. 

After my VRS from a bank, it started out as ‘just another thing’. Never did I think, 5 years before, when I first created my blog, that I would keep updating it for so long. Even some said me " A vegetarian blog??? that too traditional blog???. You cannot do it for more than 2 years." Regardless of what others think about me and my work, I’ve dedicated an enormous amount of time and energy to each and every post, in cooking the  correct texture and  consistency of the dishes, taking photos and posting, which I think will be useful for the future generations at any point of time. I know, good bloggers post 500 posts in a  year, but I do blogging as a useful timepass. I am feeling quite exciting and emotional right now because  many  of my readers now say they preserve my blog as a treasure of traditions. 

It’s been a lovely journey so far, sharing whatever little I’ve learnt all the way, from my mother, grandma,   from other blog friends and have also had the pleasure of knowing so many wonderful people from all over the world. It’s been a real pleasure to have known you all. Thanks to all my readers, who have been simply wonderful and have lent so much support. Thanks to all  of you who mail me regularly and ask clarifications.   

All over the world, good things come with a sweet. Shall we go in for a really something sweet for all of you? Luv you all. 

NEIPAYASAM... Yes...  A very sweet combination of rice, ghee and jaggery. This is a Kerala recipe offered in temples as prasadam.  It is also prepared during poojas like bhagawath seva, sastha preethi etc.

The taste of the payasam will be heavenly. Keralites say it as as "kadu madhura payasam" meaning very very sweet.  In Kerala, the nei payasam will be made in an uruli (a heavy brass utensil).

INGREDIENTS:

Raw rice - 1/3 cup
Ghee- 1/3 cup 
Jaggery - 1 cup (preferably paahu vellam)
Cumin seeds - a pinch
Cashews- 10 
Coconut - 2 teaspoons (cut into small pieces)
Water - a ladle

METHOD:

NOTE: 
The Rice: Jaggery ratio is  1:3.  
The rice when cooked in jaggery tends to become slightly hard. So, cook the rice well. DO NOT MASH THE RICE.

Wash well and pressure cook the rice.  Dissolve jaggery in a ladle of water. Strain without any mud and allow the jaggery syrup to boil. Add  the cooked rice, and stir without any lumps. Add a tablespoon of ghee. Keep on stirring.  Add ghee at intervals and  keep stirring. Cook till the mixture becomes glossy and saucy. (Do not over cook as it will become like kamarkat  when cool).

In a pan, heat a spoon of ghee. Add finely chopped pieces of coconut. Fry till it browns. Keep aside. In the same pan, heat another spoon of ghee, add cuming seeds, when it sizzles add cashews and fry till golden brown. Garnish the payasam with roasted coconut, cumins and cashews. Kerala special Nei payasam is ready.

Badusha / Sugar coated badusha

I am very much happy as my blog has completed 4 years and steps into the fifth year. A special thanks  to all  of you  for your continuous support and encouragement to reach this milestone. :) Celebrating this with Badusha (Iyengar style).

These type of sugar coated badushas are made in Iyengar marriages. 

INGREDIENTS:

Maida - 1 1/2 cups
Butter - little less than 1/4 cup
Ghee - 3 tablespoon
Cooking soda - a generous pinch
Milk  - 1 tablespoon
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 4 (powdered)
Saffron  - 6 streaks (optional)
Ghee / Oil ( for frying )

METHOD:

Sieve flour, add cooking soda and mix well for 5 minutes.  When it becomes like crumble, add butter and again knead for 5  minutes.

Add very little water ( 1 ladle and if needed little more) to make a soft, smooth dough.  Ensure there is no lumps. Add ghee and knead again for 5 more minutes without any lumps.

Take a small ball ( little less than the size of a lemon), knead again and flatten it. Slightly press the centre. Repeat with all the dough. Keep covered.

Meanwhile make the sugar syrup.

Heat ghee/ oil and fry  2 badushas. Allow it to raise up. Then flip it to the other side. Flip 2 or 3 times. The badushas get cooked well  if doing like this.  It should be golden brown and cooked inside as well.

For the sugar syrup:

Add little water to immerse the sugar, heat and when boiling, add milk and remove the scum which floats on top. By doing like this, you will get  a pure white sugar-coated badusha. Make a syrup of thick and long one string consistency. Keep it ready.

When it is still warm, drop the fried badushas, 2 badushas at a time and turn it well 2 or 3 more times until the sugar syrup is evenly coated on all sides. Then transfer it to a greased plate.  When cool, the sugar syrup hardens and the badushas will be evenly coated with sugar.

NOTE: Add very little water to the flour while kneading. The dough should not be too loose or crumble.It should be soft and pliable.

If cooking soda is more the badushas will crumble while frying. So,its enough if  u add a pinch.
If it is hard inside, again add a pinch of cooking soda and knead again.

If the sugar syrup hardens, add 1/2 a ladle of water again and keep on the  stove to loosen.

CHOCOLATE BURFI & A CELEBRATION

I AM REALLY EXCITED THAT MY BLOG HAS CROSSED 10 LAKH HITS.  I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL MY FRIENDS, READERS AND VISITORS FOR YOUR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT. THIS IS A REAL SUCCESS FOR MY TRADITIONAL BLOG AND IT HELPS ME TO BE MORE DEDICATED IN COOKING, CLICKING AND PRESENTING AS WELL.  I AM CELEBRATING THIS HAPPY MOMENT WITH A CHOCOLATE BURFI. THANKS AGAIN :)

NOW THE RECIPE:
This is a quick, simple yet tasty and chocolateee burfi loved by all.

INGREDIENTS:

Milkmaid - 1 tin
Broken cashews - 100 gm.
Cocoa powder - a little less than half a cup
Butter - 50 gms.
Sugar - 3/4 cup

METHOD:

Break cashews into small pieces. The cashews in each bite gives an excellent taste to the chocolateee burfi. So be generous in cashews.

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan, pour in the milkmaid, butter, sugar, cocoa powder and cashews. Mix well.

Ensure medium heat and stir continuously till the mixture leaves the sides.

Transfer to a greased plate and when warm, cut into desired shapes.

Sadasadayam/Chadachadayam

This is a kerala special payasam pronounced as sadasadayam and chadachadayam. This is a unique and tasty offering or prasadam made in Kerala. Coimbatoreans, would have surely tasted this in a Sastha Preethi. OK..... What is the celebration behind this payasam? My blog has completed 3 years and is stepping into the 4th year. A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL MY CO-BLOGGERS, READERS, VISITORS AND TO THE TRIED & TASTED, FOR ENCOURAGING ME TO REACH THIS MILESTONE.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice - 1/3 cup
Coconut - 1 big
Crushed jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom - 4
Cashews - 8
Ghee - 2 tablespoons

METHOD :

Scrap the coconut and soak in 1 cup of hot water for 10 minutes. Grind it in a mixie. Squeeze firmly using your hand and strain it in a clean muslin cloth or a strainer with two fine layers. This is the first extract of coconut milk, which will be thick. Keep aside. Repeat the procedure two more times. Keep the second extract in a separate vessel and third extract separately in another vessel.

Crush the jaggery and dissolve in a ladle of water. Strain the mud, dust and impurities. Allow it to boil till the raw smell is diffused.

Pressure cook rice.(Rice : water ratio = 1 : 3). Mash well. Keep aside.

Fry the cashews in a teaspoon of ghee. Powder the cardamoms. Keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed kadai or uruli, pour the 3rd coconut milk extract and add the mashed rice, mix well without any lumps, add the jaggery solution and allow it to boil till everything is blended well. Now add the 2nd extract and allow it to boil for 3 more minutes. Add the cardamom powder and ghee-fried cashews. SWITCH OFF THE STOVE, REMOVE FROM FIRE. Add the 1st thick extract. Stir well. Add the remaining ghee. Serve warm or bearable hot. Kerala special sadasadayam is ready.

JAVVARISI PAYASAM / SAGO KHEER & A CELEBRATION

Javvarisi Payasam is one of the easiest desserts to make.

Thank you all for your continuous support. My blog has crossed 5 lakh hits. A majority of the recipes here, being traditional, wouldnt it be apt to celebrate it with a payasam?

 

INGREDIENTS:

• Javvarisi (Sago) - 2 tablespoons
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Milk - 1 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Powdered cardamom - 1/4 tsp.
• Ghee fried cashews - 6
• Ghee fried raisins - 10
• Pachai karpooram (edible camphor) - a pinch
• Ghee - 1 tsp.

METHOD:

Heat a heavy bottomed pan and fry the javvarisi till it turns to pure white. Now add 1/2 cup water, stir well and frequently. Cook till its opaque (like glass). Now, add sugar and cook till it dissolves. Allow it a boil. Switch off the stove, add milk, powdered cardamom, pachai karpooram, cashews and raisins. Mix well and serve hot.

Corn flour halwa / Karachi Halwa

After quite a long time, I looked upon my blog hits statistics and WOW!!!!! I am really happy that my blog has reached about 4,13,684 hits as of now.

Some statistics of my cookery blog:

No:of posts posted - 423
No: of invaluable friends - 469
No: of hits - 4,13,684

Thanks a lot for your loving and continuous support and invaluable friendship. Its you all who have made it a real success. Thanks for your prayers and suggestions as well, which helps me to be more committed and dedicated in my work.

Coming to the recipe, I have posted a pointwise instruction as numbered in the pictures.

INGREDIENTS:

Corn flour - 1 cup
Water - 3 cups
Sugar - 3 cups
Ghee - 1/2 - 3/4 cup
Almond & Cashews - 1/4 cup
Powdered cardamom - 1/2 tsp.
Red food colour - a generous pinch

METHOD:

1. Dry roast corn flour till the raw smell is diffused but the colour should be white.
2. Crush almonds and cashews and fry it till golden brown in a spoon of ghee. Grease a plate (preferable 2" depth) with ghee and spread the fried nuts and cardamom powder. Keep aside.
3. Mix corn flour with water. Add the food colour. Make a liquid without any lumps.
4. Heat a pan, add sugar and 1/4 cup of water.
5. Stir till the sugar is dissolved.
6. Allow the sugar syrup to boil until one string consistency.
7. Pour in the corn flour mixture to the sugar syrup.
8. Stir continuously.
9. When the mixture is like jelly add the ghee little by little.
(Note : Do not pour in the entire ghee).
10. Stir continuously till the ghee leaves the sides of the pan, and a little more.

11. Take the greased plate.
12. Transfer the mixture quickly into the plate and pat it to get a uniform surface.
13. When slightly warm transfer it upside down into a serving tray.
14. Allow it to cool.
15. Grease a knife with ghee and cut into desired shapes.
16. Delicious home made corn flour halwa is ready.

Rasgulla / Kesar rasgulla

I tried this from a very old woman's era magazine. I have been preserving the torn sheet of paper for more than 30 years. Rasagulla, rasgolla or rasgulla, however we call it, is a melt-in- mouth sweet in sugar syrup, preferred by everyone. I celebrate my 400th post with these rasgullas as these are favourite of mine.

INGREDIENTS:

Chenna from 1 litre milk
(ALWAYS USE FRESH CHENNA FOR MAKING RASGULLAS.)
Sugar - 4 cups
Water - 2 cups + 1 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Maida - 2 tsp. + 1 tsp.
Rose essence

METHOD:

A detailed description of making paneer / chenna for rasgullas can be seen here. However, a quick description.

Boil milk and curdle it with lime juice. When the whey separates from the milk, drain completely. (This whey can be stored in a bottle and refrigerated. It can be used for future curdling of milk for rasagullas). Drain completely till all the whey is dripped. Wash in running water, transfer it to a muslin cloth and tie with the twine. Twist and squeeze the cloth to remove the water completely. Allow it to hang for an hour. Now your chenna (crumbled paneer) is ready.

Knead chenna alongwith 2 tsp. maida to a smooth dough. Knead well without any cracks on the surface. Divide the chenna into equal sized balls. I got about 28 - 30 chenna balls from 2 litres of milk. (The balls will double in size while cooking in the sugar syrup).

Make a light solution of 1 tsp. maida and 1/2 cup of water.

Combine sugar and 2 cups of water in a large vessel. Heat the solution till the sugar dissolves. When the syrup starts boiling, add in the milk and the dirt and impurities in the syrup will float on top. Simmer the stove and carefully remove the dirted layer with a ladle. Slowly pour the 1 cup of water THROUGH THE SIDES OF THE VESSEL and again remove the impurities if any. By doing this way, you are assured of a perfect clear sugar syrup.

Heat the sugar syrup add little maida solution and gently add the chenna balls to the syrup. The sugar syrup becomes frothy while adding the maida solution. Sprinkle the maida solution on and off, when the froth subsides.

Cook the rasgullas in sugar syrup for about 15 minutes partially covered with a lid. DO NOT COOK IT COVERED FULLY.

HOW TO CHEK IF THE RASGULLAS ARE DONE?: Press the rasgullas with your index and forefinger. If its soft without losing its shape, then it is done.

Transfer it to a container. When cool add the rose essence. Serve chilled.

VARIATION: SAFFRON DISSOLVED IN A SPOON OF HOT WATER CAN BE ADDED FINALLY TO GET KESAR RASGOLLAS. THE COLOUR OF THE SYRUP AND RASAGULLAS CHANGES TO A LIGHT YELLOW COLOUR WHEN SAFFRON WATER IS ADDED.

BLOG'S 2nd ANNIVERSARY & A NO-COOKING RECIPE

I started blogging from December 28th 2008 on my other blog http://tiruppati.blogspot.com/ with five posts that month. And it was on February 9th 2009 I started this cooking blog. My blog has completed 2 years today and is stepping into the 3rd year.

Trying to find a child's talent at young age is possible. But things change while we (especially ladies) get older......with different cultures, activities, family's interests and too many other chores. Everyone is born with an inherent talent and are outstanding in their own way. But the thing is... WE FORGET OUR STRENGTHS AND INTERESTS. Searching this wouldn’t be easy. Thinking back.. as far as we can...searching our skills, talents and aptitude is not that easy. But if you search, you can find a passion of yours.. It requires a lot of soul-searching, then a lot of courage, learning, experimentation and finally a lot of commitment.

I was not a computer savvy person. I learnt everything myself out of my own interest and passion to do something useful in my free time. Gradually I started learning new things in my computer, improved my photography skills, made new friends, and learned so many things.....and still learning....As traditional food & cooking are forgotten these days, I concentrated more on that. A little routine of my job.. cooking... makes me feel excited.

Blogging has given me a reputation in "Traditional way of cooking" & "Iyengar cuisine". As I told you already, its not that easy to blog. The ingredients, measurements & method should be authentic and perfect. It requires a lot of commitment, patience and passion. But its worth it. Novice cooks are interested in learning things from me and also appreciate my efforts. Youngsters inside and outside India ask me lots of guidances & tips right from puberty to postpartum. And I am happy to share my knowledge with them. My online friends & readers inspire and encourage me. THANK YOU ALL FOR ENCOURAGING ME TO REACH THIS MILESTONE. And a special thanks to all the "400" friends through friends connect.

RECIPE FOR THE DISH "FRIENDSHIP"

INGREDIENTS:

Understanding - 1 tablespoon
Support - 1 heaped tablespoon
Honesty - 3 cups
Sharing - 2 scoops
Courtesy - 1 tsp.
Praise - a pinch

METHOD: Combine all the ingredients over a period of time, ensure a generous dash of laughter. Mix well till the lumps and bumps are dissolved. Toss with love. Garnish with cheer. Serve generous portions. The number of servings depends on you. It can serve the whole world, if you really want to. NOTE : Don't ever use the hot spice "plagiarism" because they spoil the friendship recipe forever!!

Paal payasam

My blog has crossed 2 lakh hits today. I feel very excited. A crore thanks to all the visitors of my blog. My online friends inspire & encourage me a lot. THANK YOU ALL,ONCE AGAIN FOR ENCOURAGING ME.

INGREDIENTS:

Raw rice or red rice - 1 ladle
Milk - 1 ltr.
Cardamom powdered - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 2 1/2 ladles
Cashews(optional)
Saffron (optional)
Ghee - 1 tsp.

METHOD:

Wash the rice well and drain out the water. If using red rice, the payasam will be in a lovely light pinkish colour.

Boil milk in a heavy- bottomed pan. (I used pressure cooker). Simmer and add the rice into the milk. Allow the rice to get cooked in the milk.

Stir frequently till the milk reduces to half. By this time, the rice will be cooked and soft. Now add sugar and stir continuously till the milk is thick. Add the powdered cardamoms and ghee. Garnish with ghee-fried cashews and saffron. Serve hot or cold. Both will taste good.

VARIATION : Pressure cook rice, mash well without any lumps and add to the boiled milk. Stir frequently till the milk reduces to half. Add sugar and stir continuously till the milk is thick. Add the powdered cardamoms and ghee. Garnish with ghee-fried cashews and saffron. Serve hot or cold. Both will taste good.

BOILED PEANUTS / AVICHA VERKADALAI

Who would not love to snack on this? Its hard to stop eating them. An awesome snack, especially on rainy days with a hot cup of tea. This is my 350th post.

INGREDIENTS:

Raw peanuts - 1/4 kg.
OR groundnuts with shells - 1/2 kg.
Salt - as per taste

NOTE: Generally a fistful of rock salt for 1 kg. is wise. In this case, it is 1/4th of a fistful. Some like it salty and some like it with less salt. Calculate according to your requirements. 1/4 kg. of peanuts will cater two persons.

Soak the peanuts(either raw or with shell) in water for 1 1/2 hours. Pressure cook for 3 whistles alongwith salt and the soaked water. Let them sit in the salt water even after it is cooked. Drain the desired amount of peanuts from the salt water and eat it one by one, with hot tea. It will become more tastier when staying in salt water.

CARROT HALWA (MICROWAVE VERSION)

Celebrating my 300th post with a Carrot halwa.

INGREDIENTS:

Grated Carrot - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 3 tablespoons
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Cashews - 6
Dry grapes - 6

METHOD:

Transfer the grated carrot to a micro-safe bowl, cover and micro high for 5 minutes.

Add sugar, mix well and again micro-wave high for another 5 minutes. Do not cover now.

Add ghee and cardamom powder, mix well and micro- high for another 3 minutes. Take out after allowing a standing time for 2 minutes.

Decorate with ghee-fried cashews and dry grapes. Serve hot or chilled.

Amrakhand

It's my Blog Baby's Birthday.

Turn on your headphones, put your speakers on full volume and tap your feet to the happy beats.

Dear baby,
Like a cheerful little tune, you add a beautiful rhythm to my life. Keep growing and rocking on your big day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!

Shrikhand is a popular Gujarati cuisine made with thick yoghurt. This Amrakhand is a variation in it, by mixing mango pulp with shrikhand. Let us celebrate my blog birthday with Amrakhand.

INGREDIENTS:

Thick curd - 3 cups
Mango pulp - 1 1/2 cupsPowdered sugar - 1/2 cup
Saffron - few strands
Warm milk - 1 tsp.
Cardamom - 2

METHOD:

Tie & hang the curd in a clean muslin cloth till all the water drips from it.

Powder the cardamoms. Dissolve saffron in warm milk. Powder sugar.

When the water is completely dripped, the curds will become thick. Transfer it to a bowl. Add mango pulp and powdered sugar. Mix well. Add in saffron and cardamom powder . Churn well and serve chilled. You can garnish with any nuts of your choice.