BENGALURU : Flax Seeds (Alsi) laddoos
Ingredients
Roasted gram dal - 1cup
Jaggery - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Flax seed powder,
(freshly ground seeds)- 1/4 cup
Almond powder- 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Method
Dry roast the already roasted chana dal until it releases the roasted aroma and slightly changes its colour.
Til
Gud Chikki
Ingredients
Sesame / white til - 1 cup
Jaggery / gud- 1 cup
Handful of dry rose petals
Baking soda- 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Method
Grease the platform with ghee where you want to roll the chikki. Also grease the bottom of a steel bowl to help spread the hot mixture. And grease the rolling pin too.
In a nonstick pan, dryroast 1 cup sesame on low flame till it splutters.
Add crushed dry rosepetals and give it a minute to dry on the pan.
Transfer it on to aplate and spread it.
In the same pan add 1 cup jaggery, stir on mediumflame till it melts
Boil the jaggery syrup on low flame till the syrup turns bubbly. Keep stirring continuously.
To check if the jaggery has reached the right consistency, drop a few drops of the syrup into a bowl of water and let it sit for 10 seconds.
It should form a hard ball and cut with a snap sound. If not, boil for another minute and check.
Add ghee to it and give it a good mix. Adding ghee gives the chikki a good gloss.
Now add the baking soda and give it a quick mix and switch off the flame.
As soon as you switch off the flame, add roasted sesame seeds and give it a good quick mix making sure the jaggery syrup coats well.
Immediately pour the mixture on the platform greased with ghee. Be quick,but don’t panic.
Using the greased bowl, flatten the mixture and try and keep the shape as squarish as possible.
Now using a greased rolling pin, roll the mixture as thin as possible.
Using a good long knife, make deep marks depending on how you want to cut it.
You will have to do this before the chikki sets.
Let it cool for 10mins. Break them into pieces and store in an airtight container.
Note: Roll the chikki as thin as possible to keep it thin and crispy. And work fast after the jaggery mixture reaches the right consistency.
Recipe courtesy: Madhuri Anand Kumar, food blogger (madaboutkitchen.in)
Gajar ka Achar
Ingredients
Carrots 2-3
Turnip
Green chillies-6-8
Garlic pods (optional)
Lemon (optional)
Ginger (Oprional)
Red Chilli Powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Amchur (Dry Mango Powder)- 1/2 tsp
Haldi (Turmeric Powder) - 1/3 tsp
Saunf (Fennel Seeds)- 1 tsp
Rai (Mustard Seeds)- 1 tsp
Heeng (Asafoetida)- pinch
Mustard Oil - 3 tbsp
Method
Wash and peel the carrots, and turnip and dry them completely. Cut the carrots into long thick slices,
about the size of a finger.
Grind a teaspoon of mustard seeds. Add it to the mixture.
Add red chilli powder, salt, amchur (mango powder), haldi (turmeric powder), saunf (fennel seeds) and heeng. Then add mustard oil. If you do not have mustard oil you can add any other cooking oil.
Mix all the ingredients well. If the mixture seems dry then add more oil. Transfer the mixture to an airtight glass bottle.
Store it at room temperature for 3-4 days. Mix it occasionally, around once a day.
Refrigerate after 4 days.
Gajar Ka Achar is ready.
Recipe courtesy:Neel Sharma, homechef
Thalassery kozhikkaal
Ingredients
Tapioca- 500g
Gram flour - 3/4 cup
Rice flour- 3/4 cup
Ginger chopped- 1 tsp
Green chillies chopped - 2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Chilli powder- 4 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida- 2 pinch
Salt, as required
Oil for deep frying
Method
Clean and cut the tapioca into sticks. Soak it in salt water.
Make a batter with the gram flour, rice flour, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, chilli powder, turmeric, asafoetida and salt.
Strain and add the tapioca sticks to the batter and mix well. Take a bunch of the tapioca sticks, press it together to a bundle and deep fry till it turns golden and crispy. Serve hot
Recipe courtesy: Rati Dhananjayan, homechef at
Rati_ratatouille_homecooking
Tambittu
Ingredients
Rice- 1 cup
Jaggery- 1 cup
Peanuts- 3/4 cup
Dry coconut- 3/4 cup
White Sesame- 1 Tbsp
Fried gram- 1 Tbsp
Elaichi to taste
Method
Soak rice for two hours, drain it and spread it on a muslin cloth and air dry it for an hour.
Grind it into fine powder along with elaichi in a dry grinder jar.
Dry roast peanuts in a wok and remove the peel.
Pound them in a mortar pestle to coarse powder. Not too fine.
Grate the dry coconut finely.
Dry roast sesame lightly.
Pound the fried gram into coarse powder.
Add grated coconut, peanut powder, sesame, fried gram and rice powder and mix well.
In a heavy bottom add jaggery to half a cup of water and get it to 2 string consistency.
Add the rice mixture to the syrup and on a low flame cook till the mixtures starts leaving the sides of the pan.
Grease your palms with ghee, take a tbsp of the dough and roll them into small balls.
To make the lamps, press the balls with your thumb to make a depression in the centre.
Fill it with ghee and place a ghee soaked wick.
Light it and let the light burn completely.
Remove the remaining wick and discard. Take the lamps between your palms and roll them into balls and serve.
The burnt part of the dough along with the ghee gives it a very toasty flavour to tambittu.
Recipe courtesy: Madhuri Anand Kumar, food blogger (madaboutkitchen.in)
Pazham Pori
Ingredients
Ripe bananas- 3-4
Maida(all purpose flour) - ½ cup
Rice flour- 1 tbsp
Baking soda - pinch
Turmeric-pinch
Elachi- crushed
Sugar-1 tbsp
Method
Mix the dry ingredients well.
Add water to the mix, making sure the batter is not very thin
Peel two large bananas or 3 medium-sized bananas. Slice them horizontally in half or quarters. Then slice each piece vertically in two equal parts.
Dip the banana in the batter and deep fry it
Keep the fried banana fritters on kitchen paper towels and serve hot.
Recipe courtesy: Abhilash Chalil, executive chef, URU Brewpark
Nuggets
New Japanese restaurant in town
Uno, popularly known as Bar Uno, has a new identity. Uno brings a medley of Asian flavours with chef Joel. It is located at JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru. Gaurav Sinha, Director of Operations, says, the new menu celebrates various culinary forms from the land of the rising sun.
The menu is an ode to street style delicacies from Japan showcasing an array of cold and hot appetizers, soups, tempura, Joel’s Makimuono, Sashimi/Nigiri, Sushi Platter, Sashimi Platter, Joel’s Platter and ending with desserts. Some dishes from the menu are Soft Tofu Carpaccio, Big Eye Tuna Pizza, Yasha Scallops, Edamame, Wasabi Prawn, Miso Black Cod, Yasai, Ebi Ae, Green California, etc.
Swap red meat with plant foods to reduce heart disease risk: Study
Replacing red meat with high-quality plant foods such as beans, nuts, or soy may be linked to a modestly reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), say researchers. The study, published in the journal the BMJ, suggests that substituting whole grains and dairy products for total red meat, and eggs for processed red meat, might also reduce this risk. - IANS
Vegan store launches mock meats, plant-based sweets
Vegandukan, a vegan online store, has come up with plant-based sweets and other food products. The brand has reported sales going up by 50 per cent in the festive gifting category. These sweets are made from nut milks, vegan ghee alternative, dry fruits, gulkand, raw sugar etc. Their mock meats are made from soya bean and jackfruit and cheese is made from potato, coconut oil, nuts, etc.