Whole wheat Halwa

Whole Wheat Halwa – Delicious halwa, made  from Aashirwaad atta. Recipe from  Vanitha Magazine ( July 1- 15, 2010 )

Makes:  Medium size  steel thali of  7 – inches in diameter (18 – 20 pieces)

Ingredients

Please use same measuring cup to measure atta, ghee,  sugar and water

1 cup / 200 ml / 8 oz  Aashirwad Atta ( Whole wheat  )

1/4 cup / 50 ml ghee

1 ¼ cup sugar ( As per Vanitha magazine, they recommends 1/2 cup sugar. But that's not enough ).

1 1/2 cup water

2 pinches cardamom powder

4 teaspoon extra ghee ( for final mixing and greasing )

2 tablespoon chopped cashew nuts or almonds

Method

In a kadai / non - stick pan, heat ghee. Add Aashirwad atta ( whole wheat flour ) and mix well. Fry on a low heat for 20 minutes. Stir continuously until it fragrant.

 Add sugar and water. Mix well. Stir continuously on a low heat for 30 minutes or till the mixture leaves from the side of the pan,  form a soft ball and there is a slight change in the color and one get a nice aroma. 

Sprinkle cardamom powder and mix well.

Add 2 teaspoon extra ghee and mix well.

In a steel thali, grease 1 teaspoon ghee. Spread halwa mixture evenly and sprinkle 1 teaspoon extra ghee on the top and apply evenly. Keep aside to cool. Cut the halwa into desired shape and size only after it fully cools to normal temperature or serve in small dessert bowls. Decorate with dry fruits.

Pachai Thengai Chutney (Green Coconut Chutney with Pottukadalai)

Pachai Thengai  Chutney (Green coconut chutney with Pottukadalai)

A tasty Tamil style  chutney goes well as a side dish with Idli, Dosa, Vada, Pakoda, Bonda .... New recipe from Samayal by Viji Varadarajan. This type of chutney is available at almost all the restaurants in Chennai.

Serves: 2 - 3

Ingredients

 6 tablespoon  coconut grated

2 tablespoon split roasted gram dal (pottukadalai)

3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

1 green chilli, chopped

Salt to taste ( or 1/2 teaspoon )

¼ teaspoon  asafoedia (hing)

2 tablespoon water

Method

Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste in a small mixer with  2 tablespoon  water. Adjust the thickness of the chutney with extra 1/4 cup (50 ml / 3 - 4 tablespoon) water if required. Chutney will be very  tasty if it’s thick in consistency.

For the seasoning (optional):

Ingredients

2 teaspoon oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon urad dal

1 red chilli, halved (optional)

3 curry leaves

Method

In a pan, heat 2 teaspoon oil. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter,  add remaining ingredients and stir well until crisp. Pour this over to coconut chutney.

Soft Omelette

How to make  Soft  Omelette?

Makes: 1

Ingredients

1 egg

1 tablespoon chopped onion

2 teaspoon milk

2 pinches salt (or to taste) or sprinkle salt when serving

2 pinches pepper powder (or to taste) or sprinkle pepper powder when serving

2 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves

1 teaspoon cooking oil

Method

In a bowl, beat egg well and mix with all the ingredients except oil.

In a non - stick frying pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add omelette mixture and spread it evenly. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 5 - 8 minutes.

Cook until the egg mixture has set on the bottom but the top is still a little moist. The underside should be a golden brown in color.

Take the lid off and remove the omelette from the pan carefully with a flat spatula.

Flip over omelette and cook the other side. Once it turn golden color, remove carefully remove with a flat spatula. Serve with whole wheat bread / milk / fruit juice.

Rumali Roti / Roomali Roti

Rumali Roti / Roomali Roti – A popular Indian bread. Best with any veg or non vegetarian gravy dishes !!

Makes: 8

Ingredients

Please use same measuring cup to measure flour, atta and water.

For the dough:

1 cup / 200 ml / 8 oz  maida ( plain flour )

1 cup / 200 ml / 8 oz whole wheat (Aashirwad atta)

1 tablespoon ghee

1/2 teaspoon salt

¾ cup + 3 tablespoon water

For rice flour and ghee:

 4 – 5 teaspoon  ghee

2 tablespoon rice flour

Method

In a wide bowl, mix maida, atta, ghee and salt  with finger tips until all the ingredients well combined. Then add ¾ cup water and make a dough. Sprinkle extra 1 – 2 tablespoon water and  make a soft dough (softer than chapatti dough).  Knead well for 5 – 7 minutes  until it’s very soft. Covered with a damp cloth for one hour or store it in an airtight container (store it in Tupperware container).

Make 8 lemon sized balls of the dough ( total 8 balls, rolled rotis 4 (2 rotis required for 1 rumali roti) & 8 rumali rotis  )

Roll out 1 ball to the size of medium size chapatti (about 5 - inches in diameter).

Spread 1/2 teaspoon of the ghee  on it. Keep aside in a plate.

Roll the second ball to the same size again. Spread ½ teaspoon ghee on it.

Sprinkle rice flour on top of the ghee evenly.

Place first roti on the second one (ghee - rice flour portion inside, like a sandwich).

Place the sandwiched rotis on the rolling board and roll out together to a large thin roti ( 8 - 9 - inches in diameter ) using a little flour for rolling ( If the roti is bigger than tawa / frying pan, divide into 2 pieces).Repeat this process for remaining rotis.

Heat a tawa on  medium  heat and cook this roti on both sides until light brown spots and it will puff slightly. Do not make it  dark brown spots.

Remove from the heat and immediately separate the 2 rotis stuck by the ghee – rice flour.

Fold each roti into a triangle and keep  it carefully in a casserole. Serve with any Punjabi / North Indian / Mughlai gravy dishes of your choice.