Happy Ugadi

Wishing all my readers a very happy and prosperous New Year! Happy Ugadi :)

Here is the recipe for quick and easy doodh (milk) pedas sans the long process of reducing milk for hours!


Ingredients -


2 cups of Powdered milk
1 can (14oz) of Condensed milk
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/3 tsp of Cardamom powder
A few Pistachios and Raisins to decorate


I have here 2 different methods, please feel free to follow anything you are comfortable with. They yield the same result :)


Method 1 -
1. Melt the butter in a bowl on a double boiler and add the powdered milk and condensed milk to it. Do not put the mixture over direct heat, since it burns very easily. 
2. Keep stirring the mixture continuously for about 4-5 mins until the condensed milk is absorbed completely, with no lumps. 
3. Cook this mixture for another 5-6 mins until the mixture leaves the sides of the bowl and starts coming together. It changes to a slightly darker color than you started.
4. Remove it from heat and add the cardamom powder, stir well.
5. Allow the mixture to cool, but still warm enough to handle. 
6. Apply a little ghee on you palms and take a little less than golf-ball size mixture and start rolling them in your hands to form a nice smooth ball. Lightly flatten them and place a pistachio or raisin on top to make them look pretty. 


Method 2 -
1. In a microwave safe dish, add butter and microwave until it just melts.
2. Add in powdered milk, condensed milk and mix well.
3. Microwave the mixture for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring it well after every minute.
4. After the 3-4 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave, or when it slightly changes to a darker color, and starts leaving the sides of the bowl, stop cooking.
5. Once the mixture has warm enough to handle, grease your hands with a little ghee and make balls.
6. Gently press the balls and flatten them.
7. Place a pistachio or raisin in the middle.


Enjoy them once it is completely cooled down. You can store it at room temperature for 4-5 days. 


Note - Method 1 above takes a little longer than Method 2, but it is good alternative if you do not have a microwave. 

Garlic bread rolls

Garlic bread rolls are cute little packets full of flavor and super easy to make. They can be served as appetizers or with some soup or pasta.

Recipe adapted from here. Thanks Prathibha!

Ingredients -
2 cups All purpose flour/Maida
1 Tbsp rapid rise Yeast
3-4 Garlic pods minced
3-4 green chillies minced
1 teaspoon of Red chilli flakes (optional)
Few sprigs of Cilantro finely chopped
3 Tbsp unsalted Butter
Salt to taste
1 tsp Sugar
Olive oil
1 Tbsp Sesame seeds for garnishing


Method -
1. Add the flour, salt in a mixing bowl along with 2 tsps of olive oil. Mix well so that the oil incorporates well into the flour.
2. Add couple of tablespoons of warm water in a small bowl and mix in the rapid rise yeast. Add sugar and stir. Allow the mixture to be frothy. Leave it aside for 10 minutes.
3. When the yeast mixture is frothy, add it to the flour and knead it into a smooth dough. It should be of chapati dough consistency.
4. Cover the dough with a wet towel and keep it aside inside the oven (switched off) for atleast about an hour.
5. Meanwhile, mix the minced garlic, green chillies, red chilly flakes, cilantro into unsalted butter (at room temperature). Add a little salt to taste.
6. After an hour, check if the dough resting has doubled in size. Give the dough a knead and start rolling out into about 8 inch discs/rotis, half an inch thick.

7. Smear the flavored butter evenly over the rotis. Roll them tightly to make a cylinder starting with one end.
8. Cut them into 2 inch pieces. Brush the outside with olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds on top.
9. Lay these on a greased baking sheet, and bake them at 350 F for about 20 mins, until the outer crust is golden and crispy.

10. Once done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve them all by themselves or with some soup and pasta.

Orange Basundhi

This is a creamy mouth watering recipe which you will make over and over again. Basundhi is a very common sweet during festivals, weddings and many other celebrations in India. Added a little twist of orange to make it look more appealing and give a kick of new flavor. Here is the recipe -

Ingredients:
1 litre whole milk
11/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
1 tbsp chopped almonds
1 tbsp chopped pistachios
1 Orange peeled and de-seeded
1 big tbsp Orange zest


Method -
1. Bring milk to a boil, until the milk thickens and reduces to half with constant stirring.
2. Reduce the flame and stir the milk regularly until you get a thick creamy milk.
3. Add sugar and mix until it dissolves and then add cardamom powder.
4. The cream layer formed on top of milk, after boiling it over and over again gives a nice texture to the milk.
5. Turn off the flame and let the milk cool down completely. 
6. Add chopped nuts and mix.
7. Once it cools down, pop it into the fridge overnight or for atleast 5-6 hrs. Cooling down also helps thickening of milk and forms a nice creamy layer on top.
8. Just before serving, afloat the orange slices on top and add fresh orange zest on top. The zest adds a nice sweet fragrance to the dish.


Serve it cold with extra chopped almonds,pistachios and devour!

Paddu

Paddu or Paniyaram as it is called in different regions is one quick fix which can be made as a evening snack or for breakfast. I made it for a potluck party as appetizer once. I remember mom used to make these with evening tea on the days dosas were for breakfast. It tastes even better with sour dosa batter! (fermented for more than a day). Gorge on them right out of the pan!

Here are the ingredients -
3 cups Left over Dosa batter 
1 big Onion, finely chopped
3-4 Green chillies chopped
1/2 cup of chopped Coconut pieces 
(substitute with a tbsp of grated fresh coconut)
1 tsp Rice flour
5 sprigs of Cilantro chopped
A few Curry leaves chopped 
Oil


Method -
1. Mix all the ingredients to the dosa batter. Make sure the rice flour is mixed well into the batter with no lumps. This is added to give a nice golden colour to the paddus. 
2. Heat the Paddu pan, and add a couple drops of oil in all holes.
3. Spoon the batter into each one of those about 3/4ths full. 
4. Add a few drops of oil on the batter in each hole and cover the pan with a lid.
5. Make sure the heat is on medium-high. 
6. After 2 mins or when they have a beautiful golden colour on them, turn the paddus over with a fork and let the other side cook, this time uncovered.
7. Once the other side is brown and crisp, take them out on paper towels.
8. Serve hot with coconut chutney or tomato chutney.