Banana Peel Halwa

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Today I am hitting(not killing) 2 birds with one stone!!! Here is the recipe for two events!

Banana is a favorite fruit of everyone, including God! Banana is the first fruit we offer to God in any Puja. Banana is a rich source of potassium and fibres. I am Not going into the details, as I am using only the peel here. But even the peel is as good as the whole banana.

We get different variety of bananas.I usually use the small or Elaichi bananas. Here in this recipe also, I have used eliachi banana peel. You can use any variety available to you.

Here goes the recipe to make a small cup of halwa. You can increase the quantity to make it more. Only to take care is the quantity of sugar and to be very quick in making or else the peels will turn into black and halwa also turns brown.

Banana peel - 4 to 6, depends on the size of banana 

Sugar - 3 tbsp or less 

(depending on the sweetness of banana and your taste)

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Cashew nuts - 4 to 6

Cardamom - 1/8th tsp

Milk powder - 1/2 tsp(optional), 

I was not sure about the taste of the boiled peel, so thought of adding little of milk powder.  I think it tastes fine without milk powder also. Let me try next time. And I will let you know about the taste. 

Wash and clean the bananas properly. Peel the banana, peel the skins. Clean the ends and keep in water for few minutes. Remove it and clean once again with clean cloth to remove any dirt if in case.

Put the peel in a bowl. Add water just to cover the peel and boil for 5 minutes or till the skin becomes tender. Remove and keep to cool.

Puree it.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the cashew nuts. Keep aside.

Add Sugar and keep it to boil. Keep on stirring. Once the sugar melts, add the puree,milk powder, cardamom powder and ghee. 

Once it starts leaving the sides, add one more tbsp of ghee. Remove it from fire. 

Keep it to cool.

Banana peel halwa is ready to eat. It really tastes good and I think it is good for toddlers!! Am I right???

Sending this to,

 1.the event hosted by Nithu at Nithu's Kitchen on 

Best out of Waste

 and

2. My event  "EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT - CELEBRATE SWEETS~HALWA!!!!"

Keep Smiling,

Pepper Fish Fry

Tried and tasted by Nivedita 

Hi All,

Out of blue moon my blog gets the taste of Non-vegetarian food.!! Fish!!!!! I love only King fish and Pomfret in sea food and that too fried ones. We do not like curry so much other than the way my Laxmi aunty prepared in her South Indian style!! I miss her a lot!!

My family loves Fried Fish. When I was in UAE, every alternative weekend, I used to prepare fish fry and fish kheema. It was a feast for my daughter. She used to wait for her pappa to come home. They both used to wash, clean and cut the salad and keep ready. I used to keep the fish fry ready. Thats all was our dinner!! We three used to enjoy a big bowl of salad and Hot Fish fry directly from the pan. It was a heaven. I miss the days.  

My regular fish fry was with red chilly powder and other masalas. I will try to post the recipe soon. Check the photo here.

But sometimes, I used to make this Pepper fish fry which was my favorite. My daughter never liked it as the pepper taste was very strong for her. These photos were taken in UAE only. But posting the recipe now!! Good I clicked the photos!!! 

Coming to the recipe,

King fish - 5 to 6 big pieces

To Marinate

Pepper corns - 1 tbsp or little more

Salt to taste

Ginger paste - 1 tbsp

Lime juice - 2 tbsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Just check the paste is enough for all the fish pieces. If you feel its less, prepare some more again. The taste depends on your taste buds!! 

to fry

Oil 

1. Clean the fish pieces. 
2. Crush the pepper powder to almost powder but not fine powder.
3. Mix all other ingredients with the pepper powder. 
4. Prick the fish all around so that the masala goes into it.
5. Marinate the pieces with the ready paste and keep it for 4 to 6 hours at least if you want to get that real pepper taste in the mouth. Or even one hour will do for fast cooking.
6.  Heat tawa on high flame till its very hot with 2 tbsp of oil and spread it with spatula.
7. Reduce the flame and spread the fish pieces carefully on tawa. 
8. Cover with the lid and cook for 2 minutes. 
9. Open the cover and turn the pieces.
10. Drizzle some more oil.
11. Fry on the other side with lid open.
12. Cook till the fish is fried and changes its color.

Sorry! I have not decorated this fish plate! 

Sending this to Padma of Padma's Recipes  ongoing event cooking with seeds-pepper   and I am linking this to Priya's Priyas event announcement

Keep Smiling,

Tri Colored Chapatis and Tomato Chutney!

Tried and tasted by Nivedita 

Hi All,

Colorful food!!! We all get attracted towards colorful food. Here is the recipe for colorful chapati! My mom and me prepared it together. She loves to try new food and always supports me with my cooking ideas. 

She prepares it for kids parties or some get together functions. 

I will directly go to the recipe as the procedure is long. But I have taken the step by step photos. It will be easy for me to write the recipe and easy for you to follow it to make.

Step 1 :

Ingredients required :

Wheat flour - 1 bowl each for 3 vegetables.

Spinach - 2 big bunch

(I used only one, as I had only one with me)

Carrot - 2 big

Beet root - 1 big

Salt to taste for each dough

Oil for each dough

Be careful about using chilly as it is mainly served for kids. 

Green chilly - 1 for spinach

Red chilly powder - 1 tsp for beet root

Orange color chilly - 1 (optional if you have) 

or skip it.

Oil to fry chapatis.

Step 2:

1. Wash, clean, chop and boil the spinach for few minutes. Remove and put in the cold water for a minute. Strain and puree it with the hands. Do not use blender as it will be watery and needs more flour.

2. Wash, clean and boil the carrot and beetroot separately. (I cooked in the cooker for 2 whistles.)

Mash the carrot and puree it again with the hands. 

3. Grate the beetroot with small grater and keep it aside.

Step 3 :

Take 3 plates or big bowls.

1. Take one cup of wheat flour. Add pureed spinach, crushed green chilly, salt and oil. Knead it into dough.

2. Take another cup of wheat flour in one more plate. Add mashed carrot, crushed orange chilly(if using), salt and oil. Knead it into dough.

3 . Take 3rd cup of wheat flour in third plate. Add Grated beetroot, Red chilly powder, salt and oil. Knead it into dough.

Be careful about adding water  when making the dough. 

Keep aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 4 :

Make long rolls with each dough. Like this :

Step 5 :

Follow the photo to keep the rolls on each other :

Step 6 :

Slowly cut the roll into equal pieces :

Step 7 :

Gently press the pieces.

Step 8 :

Roll each piece into chapatis.

Step 9 :

Fry each chapati with little oil.  And chapatis are ready to eat.

 

Now for the Tomato chutney :

Raw or green tomato - 3 medium, cleaned, chopped

Green chilly - 2 or less if for kids

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Curry leaves -few

Garlic - 6 cloves

Jaggery - 1 tbsp or more depending on the sourness of tomato

Fry all the ingredients together for 5 minutes and keep it to cool.

Fresh coconut - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Fresh coriander - 1 tbsp

Add the fried ingredients with fresh coconut, salt, fresh coriander and put it into blender to make into fine paste. 

Tomato chutney is ready.

Sending this to Srivalli's monthly event "Kid's Delight,". And this month's theme is 

Announcing Kid's Delight ~ Colouring your Kid's Delight!

I am sending this to 

Announcing Global Kadai - Indian flavoured flatbreads ! by Sandhya of Sandhya's Kitchen

Providing the link back to Cilantro's page as per the rule.

Keep Smiling,

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT - CELEBRATE SWEETS~HALWA!!!!!

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

"If you fail in something in the Life, that is the time to learn from your mistake!!" I have read these lines in many books. Often  I follow it too. Again I am going to follow it and going to check my ability or capacity in managing the event. 

Last one was a flop! I do not know the reason or may be the theme was complicated or more people were not aware about it!! And it was non-cooking event. But I am thankful to many of blogger friends who were so supportive to make me feel good. A chat between me and Srivalli at that moment gave me little relief. 

This time I am planning to hold an event on cooking. And the theme is Halwa!! Yesterday, when I saw 5 halwa posts in my blogger friends at a time in 24 hours of span, this idea came into my mind. I was scared of the failure again and just put it in my FB status. And then I got the message from Jagruti જાગૃતિ  of Joy of Cooking. She encouraged me to go ahead with the event announcement. Thanks Jagruti for so much support and encouragement.

So here comes the theme of the event :

Come, Lets

 "CELEBRATE SWEETS~HALWA" 

                                                        : image link

Halwa is a common desert and is usually prepared at home.  It is the quickest and easiest desert to make. The best part of Halwa is you can make Halwa with anything!! (I remember the last dialog in the movie "CAT IN THE HAT" where the mother asks the kids "with what you made the cookies" and the girl will answer " you can make cookies out of anything mom"!!!)

You can make halwa out of most of the vegetables. You can make halwa with powdered pulses, grains, fruits, dry fruits, nuts and......, I will leave the imagination and creativity with you all!!

Here you can read more about Halwa.

I am inviting all of you to prepare Halwa.  

Go through the rules :

• Post the recipe in your blog from Today till July 25, 2010.
• Send it to my email id nivedita.mt@gmail.com with "CELEBRATE SWEETS~HALWA"  as a subject.
• You can send as many entries as you wish.
• For archived posts, 

         If the recipe is posted within two months, just update the post and link back to my event.

         If the recipe  is posted earlier, please update, repost and link bank it to my event.

• Placing the logo will be highly appreciated as it will be easy to spread the news about this event.
• Non bloggers can send their entries to my email. 

This time, I expect all of you to participate in this sweet event.  This is a self test trial for me!!

I hope you all will not allow me to fail.

Waiting for more entries.

(Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm - Sir Winston Churchill)

And one more announcement :

If this event goes well, I want to continue the series with other sweets. Thats why I have named the event as "Celebrate sweets ~        "

Keep Smiling,

Onion Paratha

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

A very quick, healthy and tasty breakfast.

I think I will directly come to the recipe 

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Soya flour - 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

Oil -1 tsp

Water to make dough

Mix everything slowly to make it into soft dough.

Oil - to spread it on paratha

For Filling

Onion - 2 big, peeled, cleaned and finely chopped

Salt to taste

Curry leaves few

Fresh coriander - handful, washed, cleaned and chopped

Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Ajwain - 1/2 tsp(Optional)

Dry fruit powder - 1 tsp(better to add if preparing it for kids)

(I always keep the homemade dry powder of Almonds and Pista)

Mix all the ingredients nicely. Keep it ready in a bowl.

Divide the dough into lemon sized balls. Take one ball and roll into a puri size. Repeat with one more. Keep one puri on a board. Take one tbsp ready onion masala and spread it on the puri. Keep another puri on it. Seal the sides properly and roll it slowly to make it into a paratha. 

Heat tawa and drizzle little oil. Put the paratha to roast. Turn after half a minute. Roast the other side also. 

It makes 5 or 6 parathas.

Serve hot with Pickle, curds or any chutney of your choice. 

Sending this to Priya's (of   Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes )current event

 "Announcing Healing Foods-Onions"

Linking this to  Siri'sAnnouncement Page.. as per the rule.

Again this is going to 

Announcing Global Kadai - Indian flavoured flatbreads ! by Sandhya of Sandhya's Kitchen

Providing the link back to Cilantro's page as per the rule.

Keep Smiling,

Carrot and Orange Halwa

Tried and tasted by Nivedita 

Hi All,

I think today we can celebrate "Halwa Day"!!! There are 5 recipes in FB from my blogger friends in one day!!! Here is mine too!!

Actually, I was thinking to do something different with carrot as I wanted to participate in PJ's on going event. Even though I have few recipes in my draft, they are usual ones and are spicy foods.I thought of making some sweet with Carrot and could not think anything else other than this Halwa. But Carrot halwa is a very common sweet. There are many methods to make a simple carrot halwa. And I thought of giving it a twist by adding Orange to it. 

First, I was not sure how it will come out!!! As I never cooked orange directly on heat! I started with little hesitation.

I thought of the ingredients : the normal things which we use for other halwas.

And here it is :

Carrot - 1 big

Washed, peeled, cubed and put into a blender to take the juice. Seive the juice and keep the pulp aside.My juicer is under repair, so these many steps I followed. You can make the juice using juicer.

Carrot pulp - which remained after the juice is sieved.

Orange - 1 big, Take out the juice.

Now measure the juices.

I got half cup juice from both.

Sugar - 1/4 cup or little more if Orange is sour. 

Ghee - 1 tsp

Crushed Almonds and cashew nuts - 1 tbsp

Cornflour - 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp as per the texture of halwa

Salt a pinch

Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp

ACTUALLY I WANTED TO USE ONLY JUICE AND MORE CORNFLOUR. BUT THEN I THOUGHT WHY TO WASTE THE CARROT PULP OR EXTRACT. May be next time I will try only with juice and cornflour and check.

Now, Mix both the juices and pour in a thick bottomed kadai on a heat. When it starts boiling add sugar and carrot extract. Stir and allow it to boil till it thickens. It may take 15 minutes. Now add cornflour and salt. Add cinnamon powder and Crushed dry fruits. Cook till it starts leaving its sides. Transfer it in to a greased plate and allow it set. 

                               

Carrot and Orange Halwa it ready to eat! Have it hot or chilled!!

Sending this to PJ's ongoing event "Vegetable Marathon"

                                                  

Sending it to 

Food palette series event giveaway

                                                     

Keep Smiling,