Snake gourd Payasam / Pudalangai Paayasam

Have you ever licked your spoon or even the bowl after a dessert??!!!! I did for this one!! :P

Making sweets with vegetables is a classic touch to our Indian cooking. We have the pumpkin halwa, Carrot Halwa, Carrot kheer etc.. The list goes on. 

One of such classic delicious dessert is the snake gourd payasam. This payasam is so creamy and rich with ingredients that it doesn't just get boring. Snake gourd and bottle gourd being subtle watery vegetables can be used to make this delicious dessert and I am sure you and your family would love it just as much as we did :)

Ingredients:

Snake gourd (Diced) - 2 cups

Poppy seeds - 2 tblsp

Coconut (scrapped) - 1/2 cup

Rice - 2 tblsp

Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup

Milk - 3 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

Ghee - 2 tblsp

Method:

Soak cashew nuts and rice in water for one hour. 

Grind into smooth paste along with coconut and poppy seeds by adding adequate water. Keep this aside. 

Dice snake gourd into small pieces. Take two tblsp of ghee in a pan and fry the snake gourd until soft and tender. Sprinkle some water, close and allow it to cook. 

Now add the ground paste and cook until raw smell goes. 

Finally add the milk and sugar and boil until the milk thickens and becomes creamy. 

Serve hot or cold :)

Enjoy eating a delicious Indian dessert :)

Written by: Nithya

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Eggless Banana Pancake

Pancakes are the fancies of the foreign but have gained popularity in India lately. They are more or less our own Dosa in a sweet version served soaked in syrup :) 

I made a simple eggless banana flavored pancake last week and it was really really delicious :) All of us at home enjoyed it and so it is for my blogger buddies here :)

Simple and delicious, apt for a Sunday breakfast.

Ingredients:

Banana - 1

Maida - 1 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Sugar - 3 tblsp

Cooking soda - A pinch

Salt - A pinch

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Grind the banana into a smooth paste. 

Sift maida, salt and cooking soda in a bowl. Mix the milk with it to form smooth paste like dosa batter. Now add the banana paste and sugar and mix well. Keep this untouched for 1/2 an hour. 

Heat a skillet and drop like butter on it. Now pour a little of batter in the center and make small pancakes. 

Turn over and roast on both the sides evenly. 

Serve hot. You can eat it as it is or with a dollop of honey or maple syrup :)

Enjoy the eggless banana pancakes :)

Written by: Nithya

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Pongal Celebration 2014 - Oats & Soy Milk Pongal

 

Wish all my readers a very happy Pongal :)

Pongal went on great with celebrations at home with rich version of pongal with milk by my mom (Check pongal post 2010 and 2011 here)

This year there was one additional recipe which I made. Came up with a healthy version with Oats and Soy Milk :) It came out really well and we all enjoyed :) Please excuse the pic, since my cam took a break and has gone for service, this is a quick version of pic with my iphone :)

Ingredients:

Oats - 3/4 cup
Soy milk - 400 ml
Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 1 tblsp
Dried figs - 3
Almonds - 5
Cashews - 5

Method:

Chop the nuts into small pieces and fry them in ghee and keep it aside. 

Cut the dried figs into small pieces. Take it in a microwave safe bowl and add few drops of water to it and microwave for 30 seconds. This will make the figs soft. 

Take a tsp of ghee in a pan and fry the oats too for few minutes and keep it aside. 

Take the soy milk in a thick bottomed vessel and allow it boil in low flame until it boils and raises. 

Reduce the flame and add the oats to the soy milk. Now simmer the flame and allow the oats to get completely cooked. Once the oats gets cooked and thickens, add the jaggery to it and mix well. In a few minutes the entire jaggery will melt and blend well with the oats. Finally add the nuts and the figs to the pongal and mix well. 

Serve hot and enjoy :) 

Wish you a very happy pongal again :) 

Written by: Nithya

Send in your queries by clicking here. 

Sweet Corn Fritters

The best part of being a food blogger is that you get friends from all over the world. It doesn't just happen on day one, but people who start as readers, then comment on the posts mutually, write mails and have a chat or two and one fine day meet up too :) That too when its people with similar interests like food and food photography, then the fun is all the more doubled. 

I have a lot of such blog friends and I am so glad and happy for it :) One such amazing friend is Raji of Rakskitchen. She is super cool and cute lady who stays at Singapore. I have admired her super popular blog lot of times and appreciate her patience in doing step wise pictures always. I have met her a couple of times in Chennai but the best time was when I went to Singapore a couple of moths back we made it a point to meet up and the sweetest Jayeshree also joined us. We had a great time together for a day :) Thanks buddies for hosting and spending time with me for a day! Big hugs! Isn't it great to make friends virtually and meet them up abroad!! I am still so thrilled thinking of it :)

Today I am posting a recipe from her blog. Ever since she posted this corn fritters in her blog I was wanting to try it out. Hence here it is :) 

Ingredients:

Sweet corn kernels - 2 cups

All purpose flour - 5 tblsp

Rice flour - 2 tblsp

Shallots or Small onions - 5

Green chilly - 2

Garlic pods - 4

Coriander leaves (optional) - hand full

Black pepper powder - 1 tsp

Salt - for taste

Oil - for frying

Method:

Pressure cook the corn kernels by adding some water and rock salt to it. Once cooked drain and keep it aside. 

Grind shallots, green chillies, garlic pods and coriander leaves together into a coarse paste by adding two tsp of water to it. 

Now take the cooked corn kernels in mixing bowl and add the ground paste to it. Now add the maida, rice flour, salt and black pepper to it and mix well. Add a little water to bring it all together. 

Heat oil in a kadai. Wet your hands slightly and take a small portion of the mixed dough and make small patties. 

Drop 3 to 4 of them in oil and fry until roasted on both the sides and golden brown in color. Keep the flame constantly in medium heat and flip the patties until well cooked. 

Pat dry with tissues and serve hot with ketchup :)

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here. 

Fruit & Rum Cake

Wish you all a FUNtastic New Year!!

First of Jan!! Loads of dreams opening up for the coming year and that's the day all folks enjoy by partying hard. 

My way of celebration was sitting back at home, awake until 12,wishing all at home, going to a temple, visiting an orphanage and of course baking for my family :) It definitely was a picture perfect day :)

Though I don't drink alcohol, the sound of it in any dish like 'Rum and raisin icecream' would definitely excite me a bit. Hence I soaked my fruits in Rum and tatadaaaaa my delicious Fruit and Rum cake was the best cake I have ever baked :) Collars up when my family approved and loved it :P

That's a beautiful beginning and wish its happily ever after! :P

Ingredients:

Cherries - 1/4 cup
Tutty Fruity - 1/4 cup
Raisins - 1/4 cup
Candied orange peel - 4 peels
Dried and Candied berries and mango strips - 1/4 cup
Dried Black currants - 1/4 cup
Dark Rum - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1 cup
Brown sugar - 1 cup
Eggs - 2
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Caramelized sugar syrup - 3 tblsp
Milk - 1/4 cup
All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 cup
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Cooking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Macadamia nuts - 1/4 cup
Walnuts - 1/4 cup

Method:

Chop all the fruits and candied berries into small pieces and soak it in rum for a day or more. I soaked mine in a bottle for a week. :) Rum can be replaced by apple juice for people who do not prefer alcohol. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. 

Chop all the nuts coarsely.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add one egg at a time and beat well. Mix in the vanilla essence. 

Sift maida, cinnamon powder, garam masala powder, salt and cooking soda together. 

Fold in the sifted flour by 3 parts into the butter sugar mixture. 

Now take sugar in a dry pan and add just few drops of water. Allow the sugar to melt and caramelize into dark caramel. 

Add the caramel and milk alternatively to the batter and mix well. 

Finally mix in the chopped nuts and soaked fruits along with the rum to the batter. 

Grease and flour a 8 inch round pan. 

Transfer the batter to the baking pan and bake at 180°C for 45 - 50 mins or until wooden tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack for 15 mins.

Slice, serve and enjoy :)

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here.