Tried and tasted by Nivedita
Hi All,
July month is going to end... Festivals are in queue! All will be busy in making sweets for the festivals. Its really a good idea to think of the sweets we will make for each festival and keep the recipe in hand. Most of the times, each festival has a particular sweet to prepare. Check this site for details. Good collection of recipes for each festival.. blessingsonthenet
I am reposting two of my sweet preparations and one savory item for the event EFM - Sweets and Savories for Diwali Series! held by Sri of Me and My Kitchen
The First one is, Peanut Gujiya
Here is a sweet, which is usually prepared during Diwali. Gujiya or Karchikai is very common sweet in India. And the stuffing differs in each state and each region.
Giving you the recipe,
All purpose flour - 250 gm
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Milk - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1tbsp
Mix all with little water to make into soft dough, cover it with moist cloth. Keep it aside for an hour.
For stuffing,
Peanut - 1 cup, roasted. Remove the skin and clean it
Jaggery - 1 cup or less, depending on the sweetness of the jaggery
Dry Coconut, grated - 2 tbsp, roasted
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Oil to fry
First, dry grind the peanuts for one round to make it coarse powder. Then add the jaggery, cardamom powder and coconut. Grind it again to make smooth powder. Transfer it into a bowl and add salt, mix it nicely.
Divide all purpose flour in to equal small lemon size balls. Roll into oval shape of palm size. Take one tbsp of ready peanut powder mix and put it slowly in the middle of rolled puri. Close it to neatly and bind it with water to give gujia shape. Repeat with other balls.
Heat the oil in a kadai. When its hot, keep it on medium flame and fry all the gujiyas in batches.
You can store it for a week or 10 days.
The second one is, Sweet Coconut Rice
Coming to the recipe,
Rice(any variety which stays firm after cooking,) - 1 bowl (cooked)
Sugar - 3/4th bowl
Fresh coconut - 1 bowl(grated)
Ghee - 3/4th bowl
Cashew nuts and raisins - 6 each cut into pieces
Salt - a pinch
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Heat 1 tbsp ghee in thick bottomed pan. Fry the nuts and keep aside. In the same pan, add coconut. Fry for a minute. Add sugar. Mix well and let it cook till the sugar is dissolved with coconut. Add half of the ghee.Do not let it boil. Once, both are mixed properly, add the cooked rice immediately. You should be always with the dish, stirring it always on medium flame. Now add some more ghee, salt and cardamom powder. Cook it only for one minute. Remove it from the fire. Add fried nuts. Mix it nicely and transfer in to serving bowl. If you delay, then it will become hard.
The sweet coconut rice is ready to serve.
The savory item is, Green chilly crispy poha
It is a must in our house to serve with other dry sweets.
Thin poha - 250gm
Oil - 1/4 cup or less
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Peanut - 1/4cup
Dalia - 1/4 cup
Curry leaves - 15 to 20
Green chilly - 3 to 4, slit and cut in to two
Hing - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Add oil in a kadai.Wait till the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When splutter add cumin seds, peanut and curry leaves. Fry for sometime till peanut changes its color to golden color. Be careful as it may burn of if you delay or move away from kadai.
Now add green chilly and hing. Fry for half a minute. Add dalia and sesame seeds. Fry for half a minute. Off the heat. Keep on stirring. Now add Salt, turmeric powder. Let it cool.
Add the cleaned poha and sugar. Mix it properly.
Take little quantity and transfer it into microwave safe bowl. (If you take more quantity, all the poha will not become crispy) Keep it on HIGH or 100% and run it for 30 seconds to one minute. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining poha. You will get crispy poha to eat.
Keep Smiling,
