Happy Halloween

Halloween - The Eve of the Feast of "All Saints Day" a day for the Dead observed by the Christians World Wide. The Word Halloween means Hallowed Evening or Holy Evening.
The tradition of carving Pumpkin is associated with the Harvest time and also there are some stories of "Jack-O'-Lantern " which is placed outside houses at this time of the year to scare away any spirits if ever they come for a visit ;)

Anyways its kept as a Halloween decoration so I also carved some pumpkins.

Nadia wanted a happy face , so tried to carve a Happy Witch :)

Here's some goodies for Halloween Party.

Got some happy faced Worms too

Make some chocolate cup cakes , spread crushed chocolate cookies over the cake and place Jelly Worms on top

Make some Mummy Dogs -

Super easy if you have Crescent dough , may try making it with any dough , left over pizza dough should work perfect for these.
May use cheese while you wrap the sausages , make strips with the dough and wrap each sausages, may give some milk wash (Brush the top part with some milk) Bake in 370 Preheated oven for 10 Minutes or till done.

I had to explain what a "MUMMY" is to NA as she knew only one "MOMMY" till yesterday

And some Meringue Ghost I made the other day , had posted it here last week :)

Click Meringue Ghosts Cookies - Recipe

 And finally NA could wear her Halloween Costume, to her school , all excited :)

Happy Halloween !

Cheers

TN

Masala filled Bread Roll's / No fry Recipe

Bread when fried tastes just awesome , though I know its not a good idea,
as bread does absorb lot of oil, no-mater what all we do to lessen the oil content in it like - Dipping'em in water first then frying, wrapping fried bread's with paper towel to absorb excess oil , flour coating the bread before frying (Which I love the most) - these must be named snacks for kids or else once in 2 months snacks for Adults.

It is disappointing but its better if we try alternatives with Bread other than frying, and we can enjoy it guilt free :)
what do you think ??

This recipe came out just perfect for me as a  Bread based - less oil snack, am sure you'll love it too

Ingredients 

Any Bread - few pieces (I had some sandwich bread so used'em) 

Oil - few drops for each pieces (For toasting)

For Filling

Potatoes - 2 medium (Boiled and mashed lightly)
Grated Carrots - 1 Medium Sized Carrot Grated
           (Use vegetables of your choice, may add Peas, Beets etc)

Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few springs (Finely chopped)

Onion - 1 small (Finely chopped)

Red chili Powder/Paprika - 1/2 tsp (or more , as per your taste) 

Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp (Else use any Masala powder you like) 

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste 

Oil - 1 Tbsp 

 For Chutney (Optional)

Cilantro - 1/2 cup chopped 

Mint Leaves - 2 Tb Sp Chopped 

Coconut - 3 Tbsp grated 

Green chili's - 2 No's (or more as per your preference) 

Salt to taste

Method 

* Make chutney - Grind all ingredients given under chutney with just enough water to grind it till smooth (Do not add more water as then it will be difficult to spread'em on the bread pieces) 

* Make Filling - Heat Oil in a pan , add cumin seeds and let them sizzle, Add then onion and grated Carrot, saute till nicely done, add mashed potatoes and the powders (Masala powder and Red chili Powder) stir to combine, add salt and cilantro - a final mix and the filling is done. Keep aside.

* Using a rolling pin , roll each bread slices lightly to stretch'em.

* Spread the chutney over the bread, then spread some Masala filling ( 1 to 2 Tbsp)

   

* Roll these tightly. May toast them as it is or else cut in to pieces (using sharp knife) to get bite size pieces. 

   

* Heat a flat pan (I used Dosa Pan) sprinkle few drops of oil and toast these bread pieces, till all sides are nice and lightly crisp. 

* Serve with Tea or Coffee.

 Enjoy a filling and Nutritious Snacks !

Cheers
TN

Boondi Ladoo

Ladoo - the most popular Indian Sweet. Since all Indians are celebrating "Diwali" today - the most popular Indian Festival.

Ingredients

Gram Flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 1.5 cups
Water - 1 cup (For Sugar Syrup)
Cardamom - few no's crushed (3 to 6 No's)
Any Dry fruits - few or one each for each Ladoo's (I used Raisins, May use Cashew nuts/Pistachios)
Oil - For Frying
Ghee - 2 to 4 Tsp (To rub your palm while shaping  Ladoo's )
Melon Seeds - 1 Tb Sp (Optional - I didn't use)

Important Utensil - A Ladle or Sieve with perforations - to make Boondi's. Droplets of batter when fried retains that small round shape called "Boondi " which in Hindi means Droplets.

Method

* Stir in little water (Little at a time) to the Gram flour, stir nicely to make the batter thick and Lump-free. Whisk this batter rigorously, Make it lightly pouring consistency. Keep Aside.

* Heat sugar with 1 cup water for the sugar syrup, boil till it reaches -one thread Consistency. (Little thick sugar syrup) - rub and try stretching a drop of syrup within your thump and forefinger to check if its one thread consistency, if not allow to boil for some more time then add crushed Cardamom, then keep the heat to low.

* Heat oil in an other pan ( before starting to fry, drop few drops of the batter to the oil , it should come up once dropped in to the oil if then Oil is ready) then reduce the heat to medium.

* Take the ladle with perforation hold it little up from the heated oil , using another spoon pour the batter over it , the batter should drop down from the holes of the ladle only when you slightly shake it up and down or else use another spoon to lightly spread to make its flow easy.
(Before directly frying it, make sure the batter is in right consistency - it shouldn't easily drop down from the holes of the ladle nor should they get blocked) adjust consistency accordingly.

* Fry the Boondi's till nicely cooked but not too crispy (Temperature is important , keep the heat to medium only) , drain and transfer these boondi's strait away to the sugar syrup. Then fry the next batch of Boondi's simultaneously, by that time the boondi's absorb the syrup and its ready to be drained.

* Drain again the first batch of boondi's from the Sugar syrup, transfer to a paper towel (use paper towel only if you think the boondi's are very soggy if not transfer and spread these boondi's to a flat plate)

*  Add the dry fruits and Melon seeds (If using) , apply little ghee to your palms and start shaping the Ladoo's (Size depending on your preference)  If more soggy use a paper towel to wipe the boondi's once and then mix little powdered sugar(About 1 Tbsp)  to help shape'em - though your ladoo's will turn super sweet ;)

* Shape all the Ladoo's accordingly .May skip your daily routine of "Yoga" for Patience ;)
   No wonder our ancestors took it light to have more than a dozen kids, making stuffs like these slowly helps built patience , I now know :P

 Sweet People should be fine spending some time for making sweets ;)

Notes

          : If the Laddo's look soggy , wipe the Boondi's once with a paper towel and then add few Tbsp's of Powdered sugar - this helps to shape'em easier.

          : If the Boondi's looks crispy and less soggy - mix few Tsp's of thick sugar syrup to the boondi's - it may help.

         : I added a pinch of Baking Powder to the batter ;) Hope those who are experts would forgive, as I felt the boondi's do fluff up nicely, making them nice and round shaped.

          :  If at all you are finding it difficult to shape the Ladoo's, please don't get disappointed as these are "Yummy" even if not in shape  :)

Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali !


Cheers
TN

Mysore Pak

" Diwali "one of the popular festival of India  is around the corner.  A festival signifying the victory of light over darkness , hence also called the The  Festival of Lights.
I don't have much Diwali - Fun memories as its not celebrated much in Kerala, only thing  I remember about the same are the Diwali Sweet Box's my Achachen (Dad) used to bring home.
And on that day my Mummy re-plays - narrating her childhood memories, the celebration and fun they used to have, as she was brought up in North India.
In-fact my elder brother was born on a Diwali day , so he was named "Deepak" - which in Hindi means "Diya or Light"

My neighbor friend who is from North India is busy cleaning her house, which is usually done in every houses before Diwali, then they start lighting up Diyas (Lamps and Candles) and decorate entrances of their house with "Rangoli" - Colorful floor designs.

Thanks to my friend who inspired me to make Mysore Pak first time almost a year ago,  never thought it was this easy to make :)
These are my favorite and I make it often at home as it can be made within 1/2 an hour time,

Ingredients

Gram Flour - 1/2 cup (Heaped)
Sugar - 1 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup(Optional , or else use water 3/4 cup)
water - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1/2 cup Approx (Use more or little less as per your preference)

Method

* Pour water to sugar and heat it to melt the same, when it starts to melt pour milk and allow to melt completely and thicken up. (Strain away any foam which might float over the syrup - this happens only if you use milk)

* Dry roast Gram flour in a heavy bottom pan till the raw smell of the flour is gone (Keep the heat in low heat ,do keep stirring )

* When the gram flour is almost done (about 3 to 5 minutes) , pour the thickened sugar -Milk syrup to this and stir vigorously.

* Add ghee little at a time and keep on stirring (keep heat in medium to low) , stir till it begins to solidify and lightly becomes frothy.

* Transfer this to a greased plate (Apply ghee to the base of the plate) and level with a spoon.
 Once cooled cut in to desired shapes.

Super tasty Mysore Pak :)

Watch Youtube Video - Soft Mysore Pak - I adapted the exact same recipe here but with half the quantity (and with little less Ghee) comes our really well.


Cheers
TN

Egg Roast

We enjoyed our long weekend siting at home this time,

but  one day I woke up very early in the morning after a frightening dream of "Snakes"

may be because the day before I had discussed about Snakes to my Sister in Law who just delivered a baby and now having her Postpartum care , which in Kerala is usually 28 days of massage - bath with combination of Ayurvedic medicines for rejuvenation. 

Usually the massage and bath happens in a shed / temporary bathroom set-up in the back yard. 

A Massage bath enjoying the nature, is no doubt a beautiful experience,but sometimes the nature is so close to us as these scary living beings like "Snakes" interferes  ;) 

Worst part  of it is the wait period when we have to sit with all the Ayurvedic -Oil applied, 

I remember when I had the same, I had much stress looking around every nook and corner of that bathroom watching for these creepy living beings as "Running out" is not possible in that situation, you can imagine why :) 

And on the last day, what I feared the most happened, got out to see a Snake just outside the bathroom,  one among those instances in my life when " My Heart came in to my Mouth "  

Glad that I saw it after my bath or else it would have turned out to be a dramatic seen ;)

as we have neighbors living very close to us :)  

So that's how I woke up very early in the morning last weekend, thought to start the day bright with some Egg Roast .

Was wanting to post these spicy Egg Roast Recipe in this blog from the time I started it

 Hence made Egg Roast first then sat to think what to have with it, usually its enjoyed with  "Puttu" / "Idiyappom" / Ari Pathiri / Malabar Pathiri / Kerala Appom or any Rice based main dish.

 

& we had it with Idiyappom / Kerala Style Rice Noodles. 

Ingredients 

Eggs - 3 (because I have only 3 members in my family, use more as per need ) 

Onion - 1 Large, sliced

Tomato - 2 Medium ,finely chopped 

Curry Leaves - 1 to 2 springs 

Ginger and Garlic - 2 tsp each finely chopped or crushed 

Green Chili's - 1 (Optional)

Fennel Seeds - 2 tsp 

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chili Powder Or Paprika - 2 tsp (Adjust as per your reference)

Coriander Powder - 2 Tsp 

Coconut Oil - 2 Tb Sp 

Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp ,I used freshly ground Spices(Recipe Follows) , 

                                                  may use Store-bought Masala Powder.

For Garam Masala (Kerala Style)

Dry roast till warm - Fennel seeds - 2 TB Sp 

                                  Black Pepper Corns - 1 tsp 

                                  Cardamom - 4 to 6 No's 

                                  Cinnamon Stick - 1 Inch Size Stick 

                                  Cloves - 3 to 5 No's 

Use a Coffee Grinder/Small Grinder to powder it and store in an air tight container.

Method 

* Boil Eggs, peel and keep aside.

* Heat Oil in a pan , add fennel seeds, when it starts to crackle, add Ginger , Garlic crushed and sliced Onion , Saute till the onions looks lightly brown , then add finely chopped tomatoes and curry leaves and saute again , cook till the oil starts to separate. 

* Add then the powders (turmeric powder , coriander Powder , Red Chili Powder or Paprika) and saute well 

* Add about 1/2 cup , allow the curry to thicken up a bit (Its a dry dish hence I made it with less water , if you like it watery add more water or else add Coconut Milk) 

*When it reaches the required consistency, sprinkle Garam Masala and place the the boiled Eggs in to the gravy.

Enjoy Spicy Egg Roast.

 

Cheers

TN