Month: September 2015

7 CUPS BARFI

| sarapaka
A dessert that tempts you to devour, yet sweet signals sent from its bits simply say “Taste me… just a bite and I shall see you savour me bits by bit by wee bit”. 7 ingredients coming together to submerge in a syrup prepared “with no strings (consistencies) attached” and lo! watch those diamonds emerge flat on a plate, glittering. Oh my….I see you scaling up to seventh heaven already!

 Dish Type:  South Indian Dessert 7 cups barfi 2 copy

Preparation Time:  10 min

Cooking time:  30  min

Cooling time: 60 min

Yield:  16 pcs (approx.)

Ingredients

Besan / Gram flour          1 cup

Chiroti Rava                    1 cup (Semolina fine quality)

Sugar                              2 cups

Ghee                               1 cup

Milk                                  1 cup

Raw Coconut                   1 cup (grated)

Cardamom                       2 pcs.

Directions

Keep all the ingredients ready in cups, all of same size.

Start by preparing sugar syrup. For this add sugar to milk and boil till sugar melts. Keep stirring frequently. Else milk will “break”.

While this is boiling….

Dry fry chiroti rava in a kadai. Keep it aside. Fry besan along with ½ cup ghee. Make sure besan does not turn brown. When you smell the scent of the fried flour, add raw, fresh grated coconut, dry fried rava and continue frying for about 5 min. Add rest of the ghee left in the cup. Keep stirring for 5 more min. By now sugar syrup will be ready. Add this to the kadai and mix the contents well. Ensure no lumps are formed at any point of time. Continue stirring till ghee oozes out and starts flowing on the sides of the kadai. Keep mixing….oh can’t mix any more? Well, that’s a good sign to transfer contents from pan to plate! Before you do it, keep a clean, flat plate or tray ready. Grease it by smearing ghee uniformly all over including the sides.

Pour the contents in the kadai on to the greased plate. Spread the mixture evenly on the plate. Slowly and gently flatten and smoothen the top surface with a spatula. After a minute or two, using a sharp knife, mark lines to divide them. Mark either diagonally into diamonds or straight to from squares or rectangles. When it is warm, run the knife deep over the marked lines to slit them to pieces. Let it stand uncovered till it reaches room temperature (takes about an hour). Remove the pieces carefully and stack them on a plate. 7 cups barfi is now ready. Serve them rightaway.

Store them in an air tight container. Store in fridge if it is used next day or later.

Chefs’Chat

Wheat flour and/ or refined flour may also be used in addition to besan which is a must.

While stirring, every time make sure spatula reaches right down to the bottom of the kadai and all round the sides for uniform frying.

Texture of the mixture is perfect when it appears smooth and shiny sans any bubbles.

For added flavour, cashewnuts can be powdered and added towards the end while frying.

We used cup size that holds 100 gms and treated ourselves to atleast 16 diamonds!

Shelf life if stored in fridge is around 5 days.

CORIANDER RICE

| sarapaka
One of the most common culinary plants of India, its seeds roasted and crushed or just left raw to use as spice, its leaves chopped and used to dress salads and soups, curries and cuisines of many kinds, its medicinal uses are many…be it a thrush of the mouth when we rush to mix it with warm water and use as gargle or take the case of conjunctivitis when it is mixed with cold water and used as eye lotion. Called by the name of Coriander or Cilantro, its seeds and leaves are both indispensable to spice and dress our cooking or to cure the ones who are ailing.

Extract from The Herbarius Litnus:  “Mark that the juice of coriander blown up the nostrils restrains nosebleeds. . . And coriander is effective in tremors of the heart when its powder is given with borage water.”

 Dish Type:  South Indian Rice Variety Coriander Rice 1 copy

Preparation Time:  10 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

Basmati Rice       1 cup (250 gms)

For grinding:

Raw coconut grated        2 tbsp

Green chilli                      3 nos. chopped

Ginger                             1/2” pc

Cumin seeds                     ½ tsp

Saunf (Fennel seeds)     ½ tsp

Fresh coriander leaves  ½ cup packed

For seasoning:

Oil                           2 tbsp

Bay leaf                   1 (break it to slightly smaller size)

Cinnamon               ½” pc

Clove                     2 nos.

Pepper                  6 to 8 corns

Cashewnuts          10 to 12 nos. (optional)

Onion                    1 no. (medium size, thinly sliced)

Turmeric               A pinch

Salt to taste         2 tsps approx.

Ground Masala  (transfer from mixie)

Peas                      50 gms

Soaked Basmati Rice

Water                   2 cups (use same size cup that you used for measuring rice)

Directions:

Wash basmati rice in running cold water. Soak it in water. Let it stand for about half an hour. Also wash coriander leaves (roots removed), green chillies and ginger thoroughly with water. Drain out the water. Meanwhile….

Peel the skin of ginger and onion. Chop ginger and green chillies to smaller bits (for faster grinding). Chop the onions into thin slices. Grate fresh raw coconut and keep aside. If the stalks of coriander leaves are tender, use them too along with the leaves for grinding. You are now ready for grinding.

Grind all the ingredients listed above “For grinding” to make a smooth paste.  Get ready for seasoning….

Heat oil in a pressure pan in low flame.  Add ingredients listed above “For seasoning” in the same order. When cashews turn golden brown add sliced onions immediately followed by salt and turmeric. When onions turn transparent, add the ground masala. Fry for about 5 min. Now drain the water in basmati rice, keep aside this water to use it a while later for cooking. Transfer rice to the pan and continue frying for another 5 min. Now add the drained water, mix them well, cover with a lid and weight on, turn the flame towards high and pressure cook for up to 2 whistles. Switch off the flame. Let it cool completely.  Fluff up the rice slowly and gently using a fork or spatula. Garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves if you wish.

Coriander Rice is now ready. Serve it with plain curd, spicy raitha, pickle and/or roasted/fried papad or side it with spicy potato curry or cauliflower curry.

Also view in this website, recipes of other rice varieties “Ellina Chitra Anna” “Greens Pulao” “Vegetable Biryani” “Raw Mango Rice” “Bisi Bele Bhaath” and “Veg Fried Rice”

ChefsChat:

Green beans, Potatoes, Carrots, Cauliflower may also be used.

Onions can be skipped if you wish.

Adjust quantity of green chillies, pepper corns and ginger to suit your choice.

Using Coconut milk (as against just grated coconut) adds to the flavour and taste.

 

MOSARU AVALAKKI (Curd Poha)

| sarapaka
Wanna celebrate “No Rice Day”… think of Lord Krishna’s favourite…homely, humble Avalakki (Poha). Soak it in a bowl of curd. Garnish it, taste it….hmmm…find yourself soaking in bliss. Cool dish this….for there is nothing warm about it. Consumed best in a mildly chilled and slightly sweet state, “Mosaru Avalakki” is a fitting substitute for curd rice. Typically served at the fag end of a meal, it is known to soothe the stomach, acting as a coolant especially after eating hot n spicy stuff or rich fat food.

Dish Type:  South Indian Vegetarian Rice VarietyMosaru Avalakki Brass 2 copy

Preparation Time:  10 min

Cooking time:  2 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

For soaking:

Poha                            1 cup (paper thin variety)

Curd/Yogurt                ½ cup

Salt to taste                 ½ tsp approx.

For seasoning:

Oil                               ½ tsp

Mustard seeds            ½ tsp

Bengal gram dal         ½ tsp

Black gram dal            ½ tsp

Green chilli                 1 no. chopped to circular pieces

Red chilli                     2 nos.

Curry leaves                few

Cashew nuts                2 nos. (broken to smaller pieces)

Asafoetida                   A pinch

Optional Ingredients for garnish, nutrition and taste: (Add all, some or none of these. It’s your choice alone!)

Onion                          1 tbsp. fine chopped

Carrot                          1 tbsp. grated

Cucumber                   1 tbsp. fine chopped

Ginger                         ¼” pc grated

Coriander leaves         1 tbsp fresh and fine chopped

Raisins                         1 tsp

Pomegranate seeds    1 tbsp

Fresh green grapes     1 tbsp (big size grapes can be sliced to half)

Cumin powder              A pinch

Black salt powder         A pinch

Raw grated coconut    2 tbsps (fresh)

Directions:

Wash poha thoroughly in water – preferably twice. Drain out the water. Whisk curd well with salt. Add this to the washed poha. Mix them gently. Keep aside for just 5 min. Get ready to season it….

Heat oil in a small skillet. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add bengal gram dal and black gram dal. When they turn golden brown, add chopped green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves and cashew nuts. Switch off and add asafoetida. Let it cool.

Now add any or all of the ingredients listed above for garnish, to suit your taste and convenience. Finally add the seasoning that you just prepared. Mix them well and yes, gently.

Mosaru Avalakki is now ready. Serve it straight (with / without accompaniment) or chill n serve.

Chefs’Chat:

Thick variety of poha may also be used. It needs more soaking time and comparatively greater quantity of water. When kept soaked for a longer time, poha mix thickens. You may have to add more curd and also water if required. Also remember to check the taste for this revised quantity. A bit more of salt….sure you can add.

Adding veggies and fruits like onion, cucumber, grapes, pomegranate not only enhances nutrition n taste, but also prevents the mixture from becoming thick.

Store it in refrigerator if needed for later use. Add milk if curd turns sour.

If you wish to pack it for travel, mix all ingredients except curd. Store boiled and cooled milk separately with just a spoon of curd added to it. Mix it well with rest of the ingredients just before serving.

Same recipe holds good for Curd Rice too. Here, in place of poha, use cooked rice. Cook rice with rice: water ratio of 1:3. Let rice cool completely before adding curd, salt, seasoning and garnish.