Carrot Halwa/ Gaajar ka Halwa; quick and healthy version

Happy New Year to all of you. To start off the year on a sweet note, I rustled up together some carrot Halwa or gaajar ka Halwa as it is popularly known. This is akin to a pudding where in shredded carrot is cooked with milk or milk solids, sugar and clarified butter. This is a winter delicacy. I remember the last time which was basically my first time making carrot halwa. It was almost 25 years ago on New Year’s eve, where I spent half the night cooking the carrots, waiting for it to reduce. You guys know that I am not a person for long drawn process. I never ventured to make it again until now. This time I used a quick technique which was basically a trial and error which worked out well. I bought shredded carrots which I pressure cooked with condensed milk which I then cooked on stovetop for a few minutes and reduced the liquid. Add in some raisins , nuts and clarified butter and Viola! Gaajar ka Halwa is ready!

You must try this technique to see the ease of making it. You will never use any other methods.

Servings: 3-4

Prep time: 5 minutesCook time: 45 minutesTotal time: 50-60 minutes

Ingredients:

Shredded carrots: 4 cups

Condensed milk: 1 can

Clarified butter/ghee: 2 tbsp 

Cardamom powder: 1/8 tsp

Raisins: 2 tbsp

Nuts: 2 tbsp, chopped. ( I used slivered almonds)

Method:

In a pot take the shredded carrots and condensed milk. Cook this in a pressure cooker. It takes about 15-20 minutes. Turn off the pressure cooker. Open only after the steam is completely released.

Now cook on medium high on stove top, stirring intermittently until the liquid is almost gone. Reduce flame to low. 

When the carrots are cooking, lightly toast the raisins and nuts in 1 tsp clarified butter. Add this to the above pot with the remaining clarified butter. Mix well. Add the cardamom powder. Stir. Turn off the flame. 

Garnish with pieces of nuts. 

Stays fresh for upto 1 week in the refrigerator.

Serve warm as is or with ice cream!

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

Regular milk/evaporated milk or heavy cream can also be used. You can also pressure cook using water and then add milk solids such as mava.

Tip for healthy living:

Desserts are best eaten in small quantities just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth and prevent you from craving it.

Food for thought:

We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, to have the life that is waiting for us. E.M. Foster

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Gulab Jamun with gulkand.

Happy Diwali to all of you!!

 I wanted to make something my kids liked. My daughter loves gulab Jamun. This was also one of the first desserts that I made growing up. Gulab Jamun is nothing but dumplings in rose flavored sugar syrup. There are several ways gulab Jamun is made: using milk solids ( mawa/Chenna), using paneer, using flour, using milk powder, using potato or sweet potato too... I like the one with the milk solids the best.

 Today to make it quick and to use what is readily available, I have used milk powder and pancake mix!! Yes, most households have both of these in their pantry. I have made this interesting by adding more gulkand( a paste made from rose petals) and a little pink food color into the batter. It is festive season after all!! My daughter loved it!

I am sure you will like this easy recipe too.

Servings: 6-8 ( serving size: one per person) 

Ingredients: 

For the dumpling ( Jamun): 

Pancake mix: 1 cup

Milk powder: 1 cup 

Milk: 2 tbsp 

Gulkand: 2 tbsp ( optional)

Pink food color: 1-2 drops ( optional)

Ghee or oil: for frying and greasing hand. 

For the syrup:

Sugar: 2 cups

Water: 1 cup

Lemon juice: 1/2 tsp 

Rose essence: few drops ( optional)

Cardamom : 1-2 pods, peeled and seeds crushed.

Recipe: 

Syrup: 

Add water, lemon juice and sugar to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Continue boiling until it reaches 1-string consistency. This is checked by taking a little syrup in a spoon. Now touch the pad of your index finger to the syrup. Make a pinch with the thumb. While trying to separate the thumb and index finger, you should see a string formed by the sugar syrup. Then the sugar syrup is ready. Turn off the flame. Add rose essence and cardamom powder. 

The dumpling( Jamun): 

Add the pancake mix, milk powder, gulkand and food color to a bowl. Using few drops of milk at a time, make a soft dough but enough to roll into a ball. The dough shouldn't be too soft or too hard. Do not overknead. Pinch a teaspoon of the dough and roll it between grease palms into small oval shaped ball. Do this with all the available dough. 

Heat ghee/oil in a kadai/wok until just hot. Do not make it very hot as the Jamun will burn. If the oil is cold, it will become very oily. Deep fry all the jamuns. The jamuns should puff up a little upon frying. Drain on paper towels. Immediately add it to the hot syrup. 

Let the Jamun sit in the syrup for atleast an hour. They will atleast double in size. If they don't then something was wrong with your batter.

Can be served cold or at room temperature. 

Refrigerate for later use.

Enjoy! I am bringing this to Angie's Fiesta Friday #194. Her cohosts this week are Petra @ Food Eat Love and Vanitha @ Curry and Vanilla.

Cooking made easy: 

Upon frying if the Jamun is too hard, just steam it for a few minutes and add it to the hot syrup. 

Tip for healthy living: 

Deep frying in ghee/clarified butter is a healthier option than in oil as the ghee takes longer to smoke or chemically disintegrate when compared to the oil. 

Food for thought: 

The actions of men is the best interpreters of their thoughts. James Joyce 

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Mango Lassi, cardamom-flavored ( Mango Smoothie)

Lassi is a traditional North-Indian thirst-quencher and energy booster. It is basically yogurt/buttermilk that has been churned and sweetened with sugar. Sometimes it is flavored with cardamom. It is an age old drink made in all homes to beat the heat. Everything is natural with this drink: it is freshly made and there are only 2-4 ingredients: yogurt/buttermilk, sugar, water and may be cardamom. 

You will find this in most Indian restaurants. One popular version of Lassi is mango lassi when it is whipped with fresh mango pulp. I love this version more than the plain. During mango season, I love to make this and relish it instead of the store-bought ones. If the mango is sweet and the yogurt is not sour, you don't need to add any sugar. If you wish you can add a dash of honey. I like to use yogurt and mango pulp in the ratio of 1:1 . You can vary it based on your individual preference. You can substitute other fruits instead of mango. There you have the recipe! It is that simple and easy! You can use it for breakfast, mid-day meal or to wake you up from the afternoon slump. 

Do give this a try. You will love it. I just blend it in my magic bullet in the morning and take it with me to work.

Servings: 2

Prep time: 5-8 minsCook time: 0 minsTotal time: 5-8 mins

Ingredients:

Ripe Mango pulp :2 cups ( from 1- medium sized mango)

Plain yogurt/curd: 2 cups

Honey : 1 tbsp ( you can use sugar too)

Cardamom: seeds from 1 pod

Ice: 1 cup

Method: 

Add all the above ingredients to a blender. Pulse and blend until well mixed , around 1 minute. 

Serve chilled. Can add more ice if needed.

Enjoy!

I am bringing this delicious Lassi to Fiesta Friday #182 so that all our friends can cool down in this heat! Angie's cohosts this week are Liz @ spades, spatulas & spoonsand Jenny @ Jenny Is Baking.

Cooking made easy:

If the yogurt/curd is sour, substitute 50%of it with milk. 

Depending on the desired thickness you can add water or milk. 

If you are vegan use almond, coconut or soy milk instead of yogurt.

Tip for healthy living:

During summer, to combat the heat we tend to drink more than eat. The sad part however is that we end up drinking more calories than when we would have eaten. The reason being all the juices, smoothies and beverages that we buy and consume. Either drink water to quench thirst or make the juices freshly at home so that you know exactly how much sugar you are adding. 

Food for thought: 

Self-preservation is the first law of nature. Samuel Butler

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Rawa Fish Fry/ Rawa masala : Fish coated with cream of wheat and shallow fried.

We Mangaloreans love our fish! May be because we live in a coastal region. 😊 I am specially partial to fried fish. We fry our fish several different ways. We fry it plain with just the spicy marination, or coat it with a spicy masala and dip it in rice flour and fry it. We also dip the marinated fish in rava or cream of wheat and fry it when it is called Rawa fry!! I love the texture that you get with rawa fry. If you are gluten free, you can use corn meal instead of rawa. You get the same result.

The rawa fry can be a tawa fry ( pan fried), can be deep fried or shallow fried! I like to tawa fry it or shallow fry it for 2 reasons: a) it is healthier than deep-fried. b) the rawa does not drop off into the oil and get burnt.

Either ways, it is very easy to make. You can do this with any kind of fish. I have used tilapia. It works great with King fish, mackerel, porgy, pretty much any fish! You can use fillets it steaks. It makes a great combination with rice and Dali thoy ( dal) or rasam or with just plain rice kanji ( rice porridge).
Try it for yourself!!

Prep time: 10 mins + atleast 15 mins marination timeCook time: 10 mins
Total time: 35 mins

Servings : 2

Ingredients:

Tilapia pieces : 2 big ones

1/4 cup Oil: for frying ( can use more if needed).
Onion rings: 6-8,for garnish
Lemon wedges: 2, for garnish

For marination:

Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp ( I use Kashmiri chilli powder as it is not too spicy and give a nice red color).
Turmeric powder ( haldi): 1 tbsp
Asofoetida ( hing)powder: a pinch
Salt: to taste
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
Water: to make a paste
Rawa /sooji( cream of wheat) or cornmeal: 4 tbsp

Method:

Clean the fish pieces and keep aside.

In a bowl mix together red chilli powder, salt, haldi, hing, lemon juice and water to make a nice thick paste.

Apply this liberally to the fish pieces and keep aside for atleast 20-30 minutes.

Heat  oil in a frying pan on medium flame.

Take the rawa/sooji in a plate. Dip the fish in it so that the rawa coats it completely on all sides.

When the oil is slightly sizzling,  place the fish steaks in the oil and let it cook on medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes on one side. 

Now flip it and cook for 5-6 more minutes on low heat.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot with onion rings and lemon wedges. 

You can also serve it as a side with rice, dal and other accompaniments to make a complete meal.

Enjoy!

I am bringing this to Angie's Fiesta Friday #179! Her cohosts this week are Petra @ Food Eat Love and Laura @ Feast Wisely. If you have never been to one of her fiesta's, you should..it is tons of fun!

Cooking made easy:

Whenever you fry something, make sure that the oil is not too hot or cold when you drop the fish in it. If the oil is too hot, the fish will get burnt and if the oil is not hot enough, the fish will absorb too much oil and become oily! To check the temperature of the oil, drop into oil a drop of the marinade or batter. It should float right up to the surface of the oil. If it sinks, the oil is not hot enough.

Tip for healthy living:

Using minimal oil while cooking greatly reduces the total fat ingested by the body on a given day. Also using healthier oils that are meant to sustain high heats like coconut oil, mustard oil, sesame oil is healthier.
Some oils are not meant to be heated! They lose their nutritional value upon heating!

Food for thought:

If a plan doesn't work, change it. Don't change the goal. Unknown

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Spicy Karela ( Bitter gourd cooked with spices)

Most people shy away from Karela (bitter gourd or bitter melon in English). I for some reason love it. Every time I go get my groceries, if I see bitter gourd I will surely buy it. May be because I am aware of the immense health benefits and  the nutritional value of bitter gourd, especially for diabetics. People don't like it because of it's bitterness. I am of the opinion that either they have eaten a bitter gourd dish that has not been cooked properly. If a bitter gourd is cooked in the correct manner, there is little to no bitterness in the dish. Check my fried bitter gourd and the Masala Karela recipes.

Today I am bringing to you another of my favorite, easy to make bitter gourd recipes that does not leave the Karela tasting bitter! This recipe was shared by my sister.  I have modified it to make it tastier and more convenient.  Do try it.. You may like it!! 

Servings: 4-6

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 15-20 minsTotal time: 35-40 mins

Ingredients: 

Bitter gourd/ Karela: 2 medium sized

Turmeric powder/ haldi: 1 tsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Water: 4 cups

Tamarind pulp: 1/2 tsp

Jaggery/brown sugar: 1 tsp

Coconut oil: 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Curry leaves: 1 sprig

Garlic : 4-6 cloves, chopped 

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Freshly grated coconut: 2 tbsp

Method:

Chop the Karela either in circles or in pieces. Take this in a bowl. 
Add turmeric powder, salt and keep aside for atleast 15 mins. I usually leave it overnight like that in the fridge ( for convenience). 

After 15 mins ( or whenever you are ready to cook it), squeeze the Karela a fistful at a time and keep aside. Do this with all the available bitter gourd. Discard the remaining water. 

Take this squeezed bitter gourd in a sauce pan or pot. 
Add 4 cups water, jaggery and tamarind pulp. 
Bring this to a boil, reduce the flame and cook it until the Karela is just tender. Turn off the flame and let it cool down slightly.  
When it has cooled down enough to handle it, drain the water completely. Discard the water. Keep the cooked Karela aside. 

In a sauté pan or frying pan, heat 1 tbsp coconut oil.
Add the mustard seeds. 
Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and chopped garlic. Sauté for few seconds until the garlic is fragrant. 
Add the red chilli powder. Sauté for 10 seconds.
Now add the cooked Karela, freshly grated coconut and if needed a pinch of salt( I usually don't add salt as we already added it earlier during marination). Mix and let it all come together for 2 mins. Turn off the flame.

Serve hot. 

Goes well with rice and dal, yogurt rice or roti.

I am bringing this to my dear friend Angie's Fiesta Friday#175. I bet they have not heard of this dish. Her cohosts this week are Monika @ Everyday Healthy Recipes and Suzanne @ A Pug in the Kitchen. Both are very talented bloggers.

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy: 

The key to ensuring that Karela is not bitter is either to marinate it with salt and turmeric powder, squeeze it out and discard the water or to boil it in water, squeeze and remove and discard the water. 

Tip for healthy living:

Since time immemorial, bitter gourd had known for its health benefits in diabetics. The most significant being the insulin like properties of it's juice which is used in diabetics to keep their blood sugar levels under control. Research however has shown inconclusive results. Karela is also used as a blood purifier. It is supposedly helpful in people with toxemia, and helps boost the immune system. There have been also other claims like its use in people with gout, piles etc, but there has been no scientific evidence to support it.

References:

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-795-BITTER%20MELON.aspxactiveIngredientId=795&activeIngredientName=BITTER%20MELON
http://www.bitter-gourd.org/health-benefits/
http://juicing-for-health.com/basic-nutrition/healing-vegetables/health-benefits-of-bitter-gourd.html

Food for thought: 

Fortitude is the guard and support of other virtues. John Locke

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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