Friday 21 March 2014

Malapua/Sweet Pancake - Holi special

Malapua is basically a deep fried sweet pancake.This is a famous Indian dessert which is common in the states of WestBengal,Bihar and Orissa.It is served as prasad for lord Jagannath.Malapuas are common during Holi in many bengali homes.Sorry for posting it a bit late :) 

Ingredients -
all purpose flour/maida(2cups)
sooji/rava/semolina(1cup)
milk(1.5cup approx)
sugar(1.5cup approx)
saunf/fennel seeds/badishep(1 tspn)
banana(1)
freshly grated coconut(2-3 tspns)
oil for deep frying

Method -
Take maida and sooji in a bowl.
Mix them together.
Add sugar,mashed banana,saunf and coconut to it.
You can use caster/powdered sugar.Adjust the sugar according to your taste.
Now add milk to this mixture.The milk should not be hot.
The batter should be like dosa batter(not very thick or very thin).
Let it stand for sometime maybe an hour or so.
If required add more milk, since milk will get absorbed when you keep it.
Heat oil in a non-stick kadai/pan.
Pour laddle full of batter into the oil and fry the malapuas till golden brown.
Fry them on medium heat.
Typically after deep frying, they are soaked in sugar syrup.
I avoided that step,anyways it tastes equally yummy in this way too :)




Saturday 8 March 2014

Plum/amra sweet chutney/Ambadyache raite

The english name of this fruit is "hog plum".It is known as "ambado" in konkani,"amra" in bengali and "junglee aam" in hindi.This is a rare fruit which is used only in some parts of India.It has got a tangy taste.So a combination of khatta-meetha makes it taste yummy.This dish is known as ambadyache raite in konkani..

Ingredients -
hog plum/ambado/amra(4)
freshly grated coconut(1cup)
green chillies(2-3)
jaggery as per taste
mustard seeds
asafoetida/hing
salt
oil or ghee
 

Method -
Wash the plums and peel them.
Boil water in a pot and put in the plums.Cook them till they are soft.Dont discard the water, as you can use it for grinding in the next step.
Grind together grated coconut,green chillies with the above remaining water.
Heat a pan and transfer the ground mixture to it.
Add jaggery and salt to this mixture.
Put in the cooked plums and let them simmer in the mixture for about 2min.
Give a tadka/fodni of hing and mustard seeds in 1tspn of oil/ghee to the above mix.
Plum raita/chutney is ready to serve :)

Friday 7 March 2014

Sabudana sheera/Sago sweetdish

Whenever we hear the word "Sabudana" the first thing what comes to our mind is sabudana khichdi(atleast it happens with most of the people).This sabudana sheera is a nice variation to the savoury khichdi.People who have a sweet tooth will definitely like it.It is literally very simple.The only thing you have to keep in mind is to soak the sabudana :) 

Ingredients -
sabudana/sago(1 cup)
sugar(3/4th cup)
freshly grated coconut(2tbspn)
cardamom/elaichi powder(1/2 tspn)
salt(a pinch)
ghee/tup(2tbspn)

Method -
Wash the sabudana(lightly) once and keep it covered for 5-6hours(till it becomes soft).
Sprinkle some water drops in between if it becomes too dry.
Do not soak it in water as it may get mushy.
Heat a non-stick pan.
Put in the ghee and soaked sabudana.
Toss it lightly.
Add sugar as per taste.Put in fresh coconut(this is optional).
Add a pinch of salt.
Remove it from the flame and sprinkle elaichi powder.
Yummy sabudana sheera is ready to serve :-)