Aval Payasam | Poha Kheer - vegan version

Most often the terms Vegan and Vegetarianism are confused to be one and the same. However, there is a minute difference even though the underlying principle is the same i.e. staying away from consuming meat and animal products.
Veganism goes up  one level further and restricts the use of Diary and Diary products as well . Milk, curd, yogurt, paneer/cottage cheese, ghee, butter, cheese etc are not consumed by those who follow the Vegan Diet.
When someone says they are strict Vegans the immediate questions that arise in people mind is Don't you eat sweets ? How boring, no desserts for you ?
The answer is use of coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk in place of diary milk . Trust me ,our Indian sweets can easily be made using coconut milk and almond milk which makes it taste all the more tastier and richer.

Today's kheer/payasam is one such variant which make use of coconut milk in place of regular milk and the cashews are fried in coconut oil as against ghee.

Preparation Time : 5mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Serves : 2-3
Complexity : Easy

Ginger Cardamom Tea

Morning cup of tea or coffee is the main energy booster for most of us. A perfectly brewed cup of tea or coffee can really make our day .
South Indians like to  begin their day with a strong cup of filter coffee while most North Indians prefer to sip on a cup hot tea . If the tea is infused with some flavors of herbs and spices it adds more taste instead of the plain tea .
Ginger and cardamom both have a lot of medicinal effects on the human body if consumed regularly and in moderation . Helps aid digestion, boosts immunity , helps combat cold/ cough and body aches due to erratic weather condition.

Preparation Time : 2mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins
Serves : 2
Complexity : Simple

GopalKaala | Thayir Aval

GopalKaala is one of the many offerings made to Lord Sri Krishna for Krishna Janmashtami .
A very yummy prasad made using Aval/Poha/ Pressed Rice, thick yogurt/ dahi , fresh corriander, chillies and a mild tempering of mustard . Some people even add a few pieces of finely chopped fresh cucumber.
This recipe is basically a "Oil Free & No Cook" recipe as we use the gas only for preparing the tempering with a few mustard seeds. This preparation can be used to satiate the mid morning hunger pangs or a light dinner too if we are not in a mood for an elaborate cooking.

Preparation Time : 10 min
Cooking Time : Nil
Serves : 2
Complexity : Simple

Sabudana Chivda - Vrat ka chiwda (Upwas Special)

Sabudana Chivda is a famous Maharashtrian snack prepared using Sago Pearls / Jawwarsi  .
A snack prepared primarily during the days of fast like Navratri , Ekadashi , Shivratri and the likes.

Faraali Pattice  and Sabudana Vada are other popular snacks which are also a Vrat Special Menu

 Special fasting snacks also known as faraali naastha  use Rock Salt / Shendha Namak and Green chillies  . Most of the families donot use the regular table salt .

If preparing sabudana chiwda on normal days we can use regular table salt and also red chilly powder for extra spiceness.

We use Nylon Sabudana for this chivda which is different from the usual Sabudana that is used for preparing Sabudana Vada / Sabudana Khichdi.  

• Nylon sabudana appears translucent and is hard in texture ,making it perfect for deep frying.
• Nylon sabudana is parboiled or par cooked in steaming water while the regular sabudana is sun dried or roasted and the pearls are smaller in size .
• Nylon sabudana turns opaque and increases in size on frying. 

Nylon Sabudana

Preparation Time : 5 mins

Cooking Time : 20-25 mins

Complexity : Medium

Ingredients
100gms nylon sabudana
handful of groundnuts
2-3 green chillies (finely chopped)
handful of curry leaves
rock salt / table salt as needed
1 tsp powdered sugar
oil for deep frying

Method

Heat oil in a kadai ,and carefully drop a handful of sabudana into the hot oil . The pearls will tend to splutter and burst as it begins to fry , so close the frying pan with a lid and leave a gap for steam to escape.
As the spluttering stops, you can see that the pearls have swollen up well and appear crispy like popcorns. Drain and keep it in a wide bowl.

Fry the groundnuts until crisp followed by the curry leaves and green chillies . Mix it with the fried sabudana . Add required amount of salt and sugar and toss it well. Store in an airtight container and use a dry spoon for serving.

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Wheat Halwa | Godhumai Halwa ( आटे का हलवा) - Instant halwa

The moment we hear the name Godhumai Halwa/ Wheat halwa , we can visualise a nice glossy spoonful with dripping ghee that will slide down our throat giving us a sense off eternal bliss and happiness :)

Traditionally , this halwa is made by soaking whole wheat grains for about 6-7 hours and then grinding and extracting the wheat milk, which is further cooked in ghee and sugar mixture with continuous stirring until it gets to the halwa consistency. Trust me the end result is worth all the effort and labour involved in preparing it.

Now a days in this fast paced lifestyle ,not many have the patience to make it the traditional way and resort to buying it from the shops .
Today, I shall tell you how to make this halwa at home with whole wheat flour and achieve the same taste without much exertion and strain.

Preparation Time : 5 mins
Cooking Time : 15-20 mins
Serves : 2

Ingredients

1 cup/whole wheat flour

1-1.5 cups sugar
4 cups boiling water
3-4 cardamom pods
3/4 - 1 cup ghee

Method

• Powder the sugar and cardamom powder in a blender and keep aside
• In a deep pan, heat 1/4 cup ghee and roast the whole wheat flour until it turns brown and you can feel a good aroma of roasted wheat flour.
• Carefully pour the boiling water into the roasted wheat flour and stir quickly to prevent lumps.
• Add the powdered sugar and keep stirring by adding ghee little by little .
• After 5-6 mins the entire mixture will look glossy and ghee will start oozing from the sides and the mixture will leave the sides of the pan. This is the perfect consistency .

Notes:

• You can also use more ghee if you want the dripping effect as available in stores, I dint use much and restricted to using less than 3/4 cup.
• Continuous stirring is the key to get a seamless ,glossy and lump free texture.
• The water has to be boiling when pouring else, the wheat flour will form lumps.
• The halwa can be poured on a greased tray and cut into squares also like how we do for barfis.
• preferable to use a non stick vessel as it will help in cleaning later.

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Aloo Matar Tikki | Potato Peas Patty

Potatoes are versatile and can be used anywhere and everywhere . Most of the fast food items or Indian Chaats / Street food are potato based . Today I am going to share another popular Indian Snack, Aloo Mutter Tikki. Tikkis are nothing but patty or cutlets which are shallow fried on a griddle and served with some tamarind dates sauce or corriander chilly dip.

Makes for a very good  starter at any party or dinner / lunch get togethers .You could make the tikkis well ahead of time and freeze them and just before serving , thaw them for about 5-10 mins and then shallow fry to serve them hot. This way you can save a lot of time
The same tikki can be used as base to make Ragada Pattice or Aloo tikki chaat.

Preparation Time : 30 mins
Cooking Time : 10-15 mins
Complexity : Easy
Serves : 2-3