Carrot Halwa / Gajar Halwa | Indian Sweets Recipes

Happy Holi Everyone! Holi is not the only celebration today. It is also my father's birthday. He is turning 60 today. I am happy to post this delicious carrot halwa on this occasion and wish him a very happy birthday!
I have made carrot halwa only a couple of times. Though it takes a long time to make this sweet, all the work done will be very fruitful when you see your family enjoy it.
Carrot halwa tastes great on its own. But a must-try serving suggestion from me.. Top the warm carrot halwa with a scoop or two of vanilla icecream...bliss..

Ingredients:
Measurements in standard cups;
Preparation time - 15 mins; Cooking time - 45 minutes
Carrots - 6 medium sized (4 cups grated)
Low fat Milk - 3-1/2 cups 
Sugar - 1 cup (or a little less)
Ghee - 3 tsp
Cashew nuts - 5
Slivered almonds - 1 tsp

Method:
Grate the carrots in the grater with the bigger teeth. Heat a wide non-stick pan with 1 tsp of ghee. Fry the cashews and almonds for a minute or two. Remove and set aside. Heat 2 tsp of ghee in the same pan and fry the carrots for 4-5 minutes. Add the milk, mix well and cook in medium-high heat. Cook for about 25-30 minutes or until all but a little milk remains. Mix once every 5 minutes to help the carrots cook and allow the milk to evaporate faster. When most of the milk is evaporated, add the sugar and mix well. Continue to cook until the sugar is completely melted and the halwa gets a glossy look, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the fried nuts. Mix well and serve. This also tastes good chilled.
Notes: I strongly recommend using a non-stick pan for this recipe. It makes the cleanup so much easier with almost no or minimum wastage. Also I need not have to baby-sit this halwa. Just set the timer every 5 minutes and do something else.
Use whole milk if you like a richer texture. I have used low-fat milk and it works fine for me.

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Rava Kesari / Sooji Pudding | Indian Festival Recipes

Starting December with a Sweet note! DH asked for this sweet himself. You may say "So? big deal". Actually he is not a big fan of sweets but he asked me to make this sweet on my birthday. I was happy to make it because, firstly he asked for it, secondly, I get to satisfy my sweet tooth :D. I was making this one when MIL was on phone wishing me on my birthday. She asked what I was making and I replied "Rava Kesari". "Good, that is our family's traditional sweet made during celebrations" said she. No wonder he asked me to make it. It is an easy to make sweet which gets done is less than 30 minutes, which is pretty amazing for an Indian Sweet. What do you say? Rava Kesari, anyone?

Ingredients:
Serves - 4
Rava - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Orange food color - a pinch
Cashews - 6 - halved
Ghee - 4 tbsp + 2 tsp
Water - 3 cups

Method:
Heat 1 tsp of ghee in a non-stick kadai and fry the cashews. Remove and set aside. Add another tsp of ghee and roast the rava until it is warm to the touch. Remove and spread on a plate to cool. Heat 2 cups of water in the same pan covered. Heat 1 cup of water separately in a saucepan and keep it covered. When the water in the kadai starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium, add the roasted cooled rava and mix with a wooden spoon until most of the water is absorbed. If the rava is cooked through it would appear clear. If it still appears like white grains add the other cup of water in 1/4 cup increments and cook until the rava is cooked through. When it is done, add the sugar and food color. The mixture would thin out a little and may form lumps after adding sugar. Continue stirring until there are no lumps. Add ghee little by little and continue to cook in medium heat. When all the ghee is used up add the fried cashews. Remove from heat and serve warm.
Notes: You can substitute yellow food color instead of orange.
Linking these up to Kid's Delight - Festival Treats;

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Pasiparuppu Urundai / Moong Dhal Ladoo - Wish you a Happy Diwali | Diwali Sweets Recipes

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali! Hope you are having lots of fun celebrating the festival with friends and family. Last year during Diwali we were relocating cross country, so I coould not make any sweets. This time I made Murukku, Ribbon Murukku, Jangiri and this Pasiparuppu urundai. If you are someone who are pressed for time then you should definitely make this one. With just 6 ingredients, it gets ready in 30 minutes and tastes like you have put a lot of effort into making them.

Ingredients:
Measurements in standard cup/spoon measurements; Makes about 16-18 lime sized ladoos
Yellow Moong dhal / Pasi paruppu - 1 cup
Raw Rice - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 1/4 - 1/3 cup (as needed)
Cardamom - a pinch
Cashews - 10 - broken into little pieces

Method:
Dry roast the moong dhal and rice in medium heat until light brown. Transfer to a plate and allow to cool completely. Meanwhile powder the sugar and fry the broken cashews in a teaspoon of ghee. Process the moong dhal-rice to a fine powder. In a mixing bowl, add the moong dhal-rice powder, powdered sugar, cardamom and fried cashews. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Warm ghee in the same kadai which was used to fry cashews. When fully melted (should not boil, just warm), turn the heat off. Take about one-fourth of the dhal mixture and add 1-2 tsp of ghee or as required. Mix well with your fingers and try to make little lime sized balls, pressing tightly in your palm and fingers. If the mixture crumbles, add little more ghee and make ladoos. Super tasty moong dhal ladoos are done!

Linking this up to Spotlight - Festive Treats; Vardhini's Diwali Bash; Only - Diwali Treats by Pari.

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Ribbon Murukku / Ottu Pakoda | Indian Festival Recipes

Ribbon Pakoda aka Ribbon murukku are these super addictive crispy snacks grandma makes for Diwali. These lacy crunchies hold good for the saying "no one can eat just one" and we would have stuffed us well before even she finishes making these. This recipe here is for a spicy ribbon pakoda. Just skip the chillies part for a non-spicy one.

Ingredients:
Measurements in standard cup (240 ml) measurements; 
Soaking time - 4 hours; Preparation time - 15 mins; Cooking time - 90 mins
Parboiled Rice / Idli Rice - 2 cups
Roasted Gram dhal flour / Dalia / Pottukadalai maavu - 2 cups (see notes below)
Asafoetida / Hing / Perungayam - a big pinch
Butter - 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - for deep frying
Grind to a paste:
Green chillies - 6
Cinnamon - a mall piece
Cloves - 5
Ginger - 1/4" piece
Garlic - 6 cloves
Fennel Seeds /Saunf - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Wash and soak the rice for 4 hours. Grind to a smooth batter with salt with a pouring consistency. Grind the chillies and spices with about 1/4 cup of water. Filter this spice mixture to extract the juice. Add the butter to the gram dhal flour and rub to incorporate well. Add the rice batter to gram dhal flour and mix well. The mixture would be little dry. Now add asafoetida and sprinkle the chilli juice and knead well to form a smooth dough. Heat oil for deep frying. Prepare the murukku press by placing the ribbon murukku attachment. Fill with dough and pipe directly into the hot oil. Flip over midway and fry until the bubbles around the murukku in the oil subside. Remove and drain into a paper towel. When cool store in an air-tight container.
Notes:
Process 2 cups of roasted gram dhal to a fine powder. Pass it through a sieve and remove the bigger pieces. Measure out 2 cups of the flour.
You could also use about 1 tbsp of chiili powder instead of the green chilli juice. Use water to make the dough if using chilli powder. These murukkus will be darker than the ones in the picture.

Linking these up to Only - Diwali Snacks event by Pari and Sowmya; Taste of Tropics - Chiles and Vardhini's Diwali Bash; Spotlight - Festive Treats.

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Jangiri / Jhangri | Indian Festival Recipes

Jangiri is DH's favorite sweet. It is true that he is not a great fan of sweets, but turns out he just loves this one. So I set out to make this one at home for Diwali. Honestly, I wasn't comfortable making jangiri at home. Ok, I know that is not a good line for any self-respecting food blogger to say. But hey, I am a regular home-cook first and then comes food blogging. But being a food blogger has its own perks. I dare to try new recipes with loads of inspiration from my fellow bloggers and I am happy I tried this one. At the end of the day, the thing that made me happy was a thumbs-up from my DH.
Also I have compiled a list of FAQs at the end, for newbies at Jangiri-making like me.

Ingredients:
Recipe Source - Grandma;
Makes - about 40 medium sized jangiris; Measurements in standard (240 ml) cups
Whole Urad Dhal (Gota) - 1 cup
Raw rice - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Lemon juice - a few drops
Orange food color - a pinch 
Oil - for deep frying

Method:
The batter:
Wash and soak urad dhal and rice in water for 2 hours. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of water. Use a wet grinder and grind the drained urad dhal to a smooth paste, sprinkling about few tbsps of the reserved water for about 3-4 times. The whole batter should be ready in about 30-40 minutes. The batter would be fluffy and should float to top when dropped in a bowl of water.
The sugar syrup:
Melt the sugar and water over medium heat in a wide bowl. When the sugar dissolves completely and starts to bubble up, remove from heat and add a few drops of lemon juice and orange food color. Mix and set aside.
The piping:
Line a plate with parchment paper. Fill a plastic bag (ziptop) with the batter and make a small slit in one of the corners for piping.
Remove the batter from the grinder to a bowl and mix the orange food color. Take a plate and try piping jangiri patterns on it for practice. Unlike murukku you would have to pipe jangiris directly into the oil. Do not worry if you do not get the patterns right, just go for a mini jangiri version which is just a free form pattern.
The frying:
Heat oil in a wide shallow fry pan for deep frying. The oil should only be an inch in depth in the pan. When the oil starts to emit small bubbles, pipe the jangiris into the oil. Always have the oil in medium heat. Flip and continue to fry until the bubbles around the jangiris are almost gone.
The Sweetening:
When the jangiris are fried and crispy, drain completely with a slotted spoon and transfer to the sugar syrup. Use a wooden spoon and press them slightly for about a few seconds, then flip over. Remove after 2 minutes and plate in the parchment lined plate. Allow a standing time of 1 hour for best taste.

FAQs on Jangiri:
Why is rice added when making jangiri?
Rice is added to give body and a slight crispness to the jangiri.
Why is lemon juice added to the sugar syrup?
Lemon juice is added to prevent the sugar from crystallising.
What is the best way to pipe a jangiri?
Traditionally a thick cloth is used with a hole in the center. This hole is generally secured with an overlock stitch to prevent further tearing. For one time use you could use a ziploc bag with a corner cut, like mehndi cone or a ketchup bottle. Personally the ketchup bottle squeezing did not work for me since the air filled in the ketchup bottle while squeezing does not have a means to escape.
Why is my jangiri light in color?
Not enough food color or not properly fried.
Why is my jangiri soggy/floppy?
Not properly fried. Though the frying temperature of the oil should be low it should not be too low. Like any other fried food, low temperature of the oil makes the food absorb more oil and become soggy.
Another reason the jangri turns out soggy is because the dough is watery. Add couple of teaspoons of rice flour and try again.
Why is my jangiri too crispy?
There could be two possible reasons. One, the jangiri is too thin, meaning the pipe thickness is too thin. Or, It hasn't soaked enough time in the syrup to become soft.

Linking this up to Vegan Thursdays.

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Mini Medhu Vada / Ulundhu Vada | Indian Festival Recipes

Vadas are the deep fried delicacies which are capable of making a regular day to a festive one. These little beauties are good for entertaining or perfect for offering to god as prasadam. It is not difficult to make crispy-on-the-outside-fluffy-on-the-inside vadas. Just a few key points to follow and you will have super tasty vadas. 

Ingredients:
Makes 10-12 mini vadas; Serves - 2
Whole Urad dhal - 1/2 cup
Peppercorns - 1/4 tsp - crushed
Salt - 1/4 tsp or to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Method:
Rinse the whole urad dhal 3 times and soak in water for 2 hours. Drain well. Use the small jar of the mixie/blender and grind into a smooth paste. Mostly it wouldn't need water, but if it doesn't budge, 2 to 3 tbsps of water can be added to grind. The batter would be fairly thick, more like cookie dough consistency. That is fine and it is what we are looking for. When ready to make vadas, transfer to a wide bowl with crushed peppercorns. Beat with a spoon for about 5 minutes. This step is to make the batter soft and fluffy. Add salt just before frying. Heat oil for deep frying. Line a plate with paper towels. Have a bowl of water by the side of the batter bowl. Dip your hands in the water and take lemon sized batter and toss gently as you would with a ball. Dip your thumb again in water and make a hole in the center of the ball. Gently slide into the hot oil. Fry for about 1-2 minutes and flip over with a slotted spoon. Continue to cook and remove from the oil and place on the paper lined plate. Do not put more than 3-4 vadas in a batch. Remove the vadas when it turns golden brown. Serve hot with Coconut Chutney.
Notes:
1. This ground batter mixture can be refrigerated if needed for about a day. If using refrigerated batter let it sit in room temperature before whipping. Add salt only just before frying. 
2. Curry leaves, chopped onions, coriander leaves, chopped green chillies can also be added as desired. I had decided to keep it simple for neivedyam.

Linking up to the following events - Kid's Delight - After school bites; Whats with my Cuppa by Nupur; Spotlight - Raksha Bandhan;

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Pasi Paruppu Payasam / Moong Dhal Kheer | Indian Festival Recipes

DH is not a sweet lover but still he can't say no to few of them. Gulab jamun, Carrot Halwa and this Pasiparuppu payasam are the very few sweets which he likes. I made this Pasi paruppu payasam for Tamil New Year this year. I wanted to reserve it to celebrate my 250th post. I didn't think I could make it this far but I am happy and thankful to my lovely readers. And of course my family and friends for the continued support and encouragement. This paruppu payasam has no milk or coconut milk and keeps good for a couple of days in the fridge. 

Ingredients:
Serves - 2 to 3
Split Yellow Moong dhal / Pasi Paruppu / Hesaru Bele - 1 cup
Grated Jaggery - tightly packed - 1/2 cup
Water - 3 cups + 1.5 cups (see notes below)
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Ghee / Oil - 1 tsp
Cashew nuts - 5 - broken into little pieces
Grated Coconut - 1 tbsp

Method:
Dry roast the moong dhal in medium heat until it turns light brown in color. Pressure cook with 3 cups of water for 2 whistles (see notes below for stovetop method). Meanwhile dissolve the jaggery in the remaining water and filter. Heat with cardamom powder in a saucepan. When the dhal is done, mash slightly with the back of a spoon and mix with the heated jaggery water. Cook this dhal-jaggery mixture in medium heat. When the mixture comes to a boil remove from heat. Heat ghee in a pan and roast the cashew nuts. Remove and set aside. In the same pan roast the grated coconut in low heat until light brown. Add the roasted cashews and coconut to the dhal and serve hot. This kheer can also be served chilled.
Notes:
1. If serving chill, allow the payasam to come to room temperature and then pop in the refridgerator. Chill for a minimum of 2 hours and serve.
2. The 3 cups of water I used for cooking the dhal got absorbed fully when I pressure cooked the dhal. So I had to use 1.5 cups of water to the jaggery to bring to the desired consistency. You may need more or less water.
3. The dhal can also be cooked without a pressure cooker. In a medium saucepan, boil 3 cups of water and add the roasted moong dhal. Cook in medium-high heat until the dhal is cooked through. The moong dhal tends to be frothy and boil over. So keep a close eye and stir often.The dhal should be mashable with the fingers but still hold the shape.
Check out what I made for other milestone celebrations.
100th day of blogging - Honey Brownies
100th post - Carrot Kheer
2nd blog anniversary - Paal Kozhukattai
5 lakh hits - Mocha Chocolate Ricotta Creme

Sending this to Srivalli’sKid’s Delight event hosted by Pavani.

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Kayi Obbattu / Thengai Poli - Ugadi Wishes!

Happy Ugadi to everyone.. In our house Ugadhi is celebrated in a simple way with decorating the main entrance of the house with mango leaves, preparing ugadi pachadi, making this obbattu and like in all other Indian festivals, worshipping God for health and wellness. Being in US though I do not have access to mango leaves or neem flowers to make ugadi pachadi, I thought why not try the obbattu part.. This is a very simple recipe to make and takes much less time to make unlike most other Indian Sweets.

Ingredients:
Yields 12 pieces of 4" obbattus
Maida / All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tbsp + more for spreading out the obbattu
Grated Coconut (unsweetened) - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup (Jaggery can be substituted, but this is how it is made at my home)
Water - 1/3 cup + more for kneading dough
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch

Method:
Mix the maida with salt and add water little by little to make a loose dough. Knead until the dough becomes non-sticky. Coat with 1 tbsp of oil, cover and set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the coconut filling. In a non-stick kadai, heat water and sugar with cardamom powder until all of the sugar dissolves. Add the grated coconut and mix in medium heat until most of the water evaporates and the mixture becomes sticky. Remove from heat and allow it to cool. When it is cool enough to handle, make 12 lime-sized balls. Divide the dough also into 12 portions. In a flat surface, spread a plastic sheet (cling film works good here) and apply little oil. Place a dough ball and spread into a circle (trust me it would be irregular, but no worries) of 4" wide using fingers. Place the pooranam-coconut filling in the center and cover with the edges of the dough to close the filling completely. Press and spread again with fingers to make obbittus(poli). Heat a tawa and carefully place the spread out polis and allow to cook. Flip over and cook for another couple of minutes until done. 
Notes:
1. Kneading well and setting aside the dough for 30 minutes ensures formation of gluten which enables the elasticity of the dough for easy stretching while spreading.
2. The filling has to be moist, frying it too much would dry it out and result in hard filling. It is impossible to use it as a stuffing then.
3. Oil/Ghee can be used while cooking. I did not use any.
4. I halved the above recipe to make 6 pieces just right for the 2 of us for a couple of days.
5. This stays good in room temperature for upto 3 days.

Linking this up to Celebrating Ugadi event of Madhu.

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Thengai Burfi / Coconut Fudge - Wish you a Happy Diwali!! | Diwali Sweets Recipes

First things First!! Wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali!! Believe you are celebrating this day with high spirits. Though it is not a holiday here in US we are celebrating with friends (miss family very much). I made this Coconut Burfi as a part of my Diwali Sweets and Snacks. This is again a recipe from Grandma. I never knew this burfi was so easy to make with only 5 ingredients and can be done with less effort compared to other Indian Sweets.
I think this is the first time I am posting in my blog 3 days in a row..Hmm.. Festival Spirit!!

Ingredients:
Cooking time - 35-40 mins; Gives 12-14 2" squares
Coconut grated (just the white part) - 3 1/2 cups - loosely packed 
Sugar - 2 1/2 cups
Water - 1 1/4 cups
All-purpose flour / Maida - 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp or less
Ghee - 1 tbsp + more to grease the pan.

Method:
Get all the ingredients ready and grease base and sides of a square pan with ghee. Pulse the grated coconut in a blender for a few seconds. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and mix the sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Continue boiling the sugar syrup for about 15 minutes in medium to med-high flame. Have a bowl of cold water by the side. After 15 minutes of boiling the syrup put about a drop of it to the bowl of water. If the syrup dissolves in the water continue the boil. Check with water drop method once every 2 minutes to see if the dropped sugar syrup can be made to a soft ball. At this stage add the coconut and mix well. Continue cooking in medium heat. Take caution as the mix splatters at this stage. After about 5 mins add the maida, it helps thickening of the burfi and gives the bright white color. Keep folding and stirring until it comes together. Add the cardamom powder and ghee and keep stirring till it becomes a big mass. Pour it to the greased pan and smoothen and spread the top based on desired thickness. Allow it to set for about 15 mins and cut into desired shapes. Cool completely and store in air-tight box for a couple of days. Can be stored for a week in the refrigerator.
Note: Freshly grated white part of the coconut is preferred, but frozen works perfectly fine. I used frozen 340g bag which I thawed to room temperature and measured to about 3 1/2 cups. Reduce the sugar by couple of tablespoons if you want it subtly sweetened.

I am sending this scrumptious sinful sweet delight to
Diwali Special - Sweets & Savories event by Radhika

Serve It - Festival Potluck event by me & Denny
Healing Foods - Coconut event by Siri & Sukanya
Only Sweets & Desserts event by Pari & Gayathri
My Diwali My way event by Khushi
Diwali - Festival of Lights event by Anu.

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Spicy Murukku / Chakali for Diwali with Step-by-Step pictures

Diwali!! The name brings memories of holidays, celebrations, firecrackers and Sweets and Savories. Though residing outside India has made us forget the holidays and miss the firecrackers, we still do not miss out on the celebrations and sweets part. The first and foremost snack prepared in our house is these murukkus. And this one in grandma's foolproof recipe. If you are a beginner in making murukkus, you can follow this recipe and method to the T (like I did) and I bet you would be happy with the outcome.
I started my diwali preparations yesterday with Seepu Murukku and made this Spicy Murukku today.

Ingredients:
Makes about 50 medium sized murukkus with standard cup measurements
Rice flour - 2 cups
Bengal Gram flour / Urad dhal flour - 1/2 cup 
Roasted Gram Dhal flour/ Pottukadalai maavu - 1/4 cup
Ajwain Seeds / Carom Seeds / Omam - 1/4 tsp 
Butter - 2 tsp - Do not compromise or substitute 
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Water - 1 1/4 cups - 1 1/2 cups (as needed to make the dough)
Oil - for deep frying

Method:
Mix the flours, chilli powder, salt and carom seeds well. Add butter and mix with your fingers so that it gets well incorporated into the flour mixture. Add water and make a soft dough. Cover with a wet cloth and set aside. Heat oil for deep frying. Prepare the murukku press by placing the star (chakali) attachment. Fill with dough. Press into a spiral murukku to a back of a big spoon. Gently place the pressed murukku in the oil. Fry until both sides are done and the bubbles around the murukku in the oil subside. Remove and place in a tissue paper to drain excess oil. Allow to cool and store in an air-tight container.
Note:
I used home-made urad dhal flour. Dry roast 1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp of split urad dhal until it turns light brown. Process in a mixer to a fine powder. Sieve to remove grits if any. If using store bought urad dhal flour, dry roast until it is just warm. This is to remove the raw smell of the flour. 
You can replace ajwain seeds with 1 tbsp of sesame seeds for a variation.

And now I have a long list of events I want to send this Murukku to...

Diwali Special - Sweets & Savories event by Radhika

CWS - Rice event by Priya & Reva

Serve It - Festival Potluck event by me & Denny

My Diwali My way event by Khushi

Diwali - Festival of Lights event by Anu.

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Seepu Murukku / Seepu Seedai for Diwali

I believe everyone is busy making sweets and savories for Diwali. Well, I just started with this seepu murukku. Seepu murukku as the name implies resembles the ridges of a comb (seepu is comb in tamil). Though the process is little more time-consuming than the other murukku, it is worth the effort. It has moong dhal flour unlike other murukku which uses urad dhal flour. And it is subtly sweetened with coconut milk which gives it a rich and delicate flavor. Although I have used a murukku press for making this, we can also make this without one. 

Ingredients:
Makes about 14-15 cups of seepu murukku, using standard cup measurements
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Moong dhal flour - 1 cup
Butter - 2 tsp
Thin Coconut milk - 1 1/2 - 2 cups - as needed - See notes below for canned coconut milk usage
Sugar - 2-3 tbsps (heaped)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp (optional - I did not add)

Method:

Lightly dry roast the rice flour in medium heat until it is warm. Take the rice flour, moong dhal flour, sesame seeds (if using) and butter in a bowl. Scramble the mixture with your fingers so that te butter is evenly distributed. Heat the coconut milk with sugar and salt until hot. Do not make it to boil over. Add this to the flour and knead together to form a soft pliable dough. The rice flour tends to absorb more liquid. So you can add the coconut milk as needed. Keep the dough covered in a wet cloth at all times since it tends to dry out. Heat oil for deep-frying. Take the seepu murukku achu (attachment), one side plain and one side zigzag (like a comb). Fix it in the murukku press and fill with dough. Press out line of dough in a oiled cutting board. Cut into 3 inch pieces. Take the strip and roll it around the index finger and press the end to seal. Place the rolled murukkus in a plate until ready to deep fry. Drop in hot oil about 6 or 7 at a time. Deep fry the murukkus until the bubbling stops and it takes a shade of light brown. Remove using a slotted spoon and place in a kitchen tissue to absorb excess oil. It tends to become darker after removing from oil, so calculate the timing accordingly. Store in an air-tight container lined with paper.
Note:
I made the moong dhal powder at home. Dry roast 1 cup minus 2 tbsp of split yellow moong dhal in medium heat until light brown. Process in a mixer until fine powder. Sieve to remove extra grits. You could use the store-bought one as well. If using store bought one dry roast in medium flame until warm to touch. Cool and use.
If using canned coconut milk (cream) mix 1 cup of canned thick coconut milk with 1 cup of water to use.

And now I have a list of events I want to send this Murukku to...
Diwali Special - Sweets & Savories event by Radhika
CWS - Rice event by Priya & Reva
Serve It - Festival Potluck event by me & Denny
Healing Foods - Coconut event by Siri & Sukanya
Only Sweets & Desserts event by Pari & Gayathri
My Diwali My way event by Khushi
Diwali - Festival of Lights event by Anu.

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Bridal Shower for Nithya - Badam Kheer / Almond Milk

What is a celebration without a traditional drink. Badam Kheer!! This is an easy to make Almond drink which tastes great when warm and still better when served chilled. And what are we celebrating?? Nithya's (virtual) Bridal Shower. I bet you would very well know Nithya of 4thsensecooking. For those of you who don't, Nithya is a lovely blogger and an excellent photographer. Do check out her space for some beautiful food clicks. 
We are celebrating this joyous occasion by having a bridal shower. And what better way to celebrate than to cook up, and by cook up we mean literally with food our common interest. To make it even more interesting we decided to make dishes from her space itself. I am bringing Badam Kheer and Tollhouse Cookies. Do check out Nithya's recipe here.
Also do check out who else are participating in the celebration. And for you come join the fun!!

Ingredients:
Serves - 4
Milk - 500 ml (approx 2 cups)
Almonds/Badam - 20 to 25
Sugar - 4 tbsp
Saffron strands - 5-6
Hot water - 1 cup

Method:
Soak the almonds in hot water for an hour. Peel the almonds by just pressing hard with the thumb and index finger. The skin would just come off easily. Puree the almonds in a mixer using little water until it becomes a smooth paste. Heat the milk and sugar until it boils. Take about a tbsp of hot milk and add the saffron strands. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the ground almond paste and allow it to boil for another 5 mins. Remove from heat and add the saffron milk. Serve warm. You can also refrigerate for 2-4 hrs and serve chilled. 

Also do check out the virtual bridal shower party also being hosted at:

Anamika - Taste Junction
Archana - Mad Scientist's Kitchen
Priya Mitharwal - Mharo Rajasthan Recipes
Priya Mahadevan - Priyas Now Serving
Priya Suresh - Priya Easy n Tasty Recipes
Priya Sreeram - Bon Appetit
Radhika - Tickling Palates
Radhika Vasanth - Food for 7 stages of life
Reva - Kaarasaaram
Rupali - Recipe Grab Bag
Sanjeeta - Different Strokes
Vardhini - Zesty Palette

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Cholafali for Indian Cooking Challenge / Chorafali Step-by-step with pictures

The chosen recipe for this month's Indian Cooking Challenge is Chorafali - A Gujarati snack. Having not seen or tasted Chorafali is not much of an issue when I have not even heard of the name before now. But that aspect of trying out an unknown snack was the challenge really. Lataji's step-wise recipe was very helpful for a newbie like me. The recipe called for besan and mathia flour. When I tried googling I came to know that mathia flour was the one used to make papad like deep fried crispy snack (Nasto) popular in Gujarat. However I used the mathia flour substitution given by Lataji. I halved the original recipe and here is my recipe and notes.

Ingredients:
Using Standard cup measurements
Besan/Chick pea/ Garbanzo beans flour - 1 cup
Urad dhal/Black gram dhal flour - 1/2 cup
Moong dhal flour - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Soda Bi-carb - a big pinch
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Lukewarm Water - To make the dough
Oil - as required to pound the dough and to grease while rolling
To sprinkle on the fried cholafalis
Salt - 2 tsp (Original recipe calls for black salt, but regular table salt worked fine for me)
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp

Method:
Making the dough:
Sieve the flours and the soda bi-carb together. In a small pan heat the 1/4 tsp of salt until warm and add to the sifted flours. Add the ghee and mix well. Now add the warm water slowly and mix well to form a stiff dough. The dough should be tight and not pliable.

Softening the dough:
Now comes the challenging part (well, for me). Oil a flat surface, I used a cutting board. Take lemon sized portion of the dough and place it on the oiled surface and beat with a wooden rolling pin. When all the dough (of the small portion) is flattened, apply oil over it and fold (or roll) it. Beat again with the rolling pin. Repeat the oil, fold and beat process until the dough becomes soft, pliable and lighter in color. Repeat with the rest of the dough in parts.

Rolling out:
Take a small lemon sized portion of the dough and roll it very thin. Cut into rectangles of size 1 in x 3 in (approx). It should be so thin that you should be able to see the surface (cutting board n my case). If you are not able to roll out thin then the dough needs more pounding.

Fry and Serve:
Heat the oil for deep frying in medium-high heat. Too much heat will make the cholafalis turn brown faster. Drop the cut out pieces in the oil and try to hold in down in the hot oil with the slotted spoon. This way the the cholafalis will try to puff up. (Remember making pooris, same concept). Turn over once and fry for few more seconds. Drain and remove with the slotted spoon to a plate lined with tissue paper to remove extra grease. Sprinkle the salt and chilli powder mixture as soon as it is out of the oil. Allow to cool and start munching. Can be stored in an air-tight container for a couple of days.

Notes:
1. If you do not have a wooden rolling pin use any hard object that would pound the dough well.
2. Always keep the dough covered to prevent drying out.
3. The thinner the dough is rolled and cut, the crispier your chorafalis would be.
4. I used homemade urad dhal flour and moong dhal flour. I dry roasted both lightly until it changed color. Allowed it to cool and used a mixer grinder to make fine flour.
5. Make sure the besan used is free of lumps.

Do check out all my fellow participators in the Challenge for this month in Srivalli's page.

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