Badam Halwa- an Indian dessert

This halwa brings back memories of my childhood days which I spent in Andhra, whenever I visited my friends house on any occasion, this halwa was always the main attraction. This is a common sweet in almost all the households, which is made with loads and loads of ghee.

In this recipe, the almonds are soaked in water and then ground to a fine paste. Some will grind it coarsely to get the nutty feeling while eating the halwa, but I like it this way. This paste is added in the sugar syrup and mixed till it turns thick. We can shape it in whichever way we want. We find this mostly in the shape of diamond.

So since I saw quite a bit of almonds lying in my pantry, the first thing that clicked to me was this recipe and so I referred to some sites and got an idea of how to make it and started the process and result is before you. Do try this special, rich dessert for any occasion. I am sure that all will love this.

Ingredients:

1. Badam / Almonds- 1 cup
2. Sugar- 1 Cup
3. Water- 1cup
4. Ghee / Clarified Butter- ½  cup
5. Yellow food colour- a pinch
6. Cardamom powder- 1tsp

Method:

1. Soak the almonds in water for few hours and peel off the skin. Grind it to a fine paste and keep this aside.
2. Take a thick bottomed pan or a non stick kadai. Add sugar and water and  let the water boil and the sugar should dissolve well.
3. Lower the flame and add the badam paste, mix well to avoid lumps. Add the yellow food colour and cardamom powder and stir it well for some more minutes.
4. Add ghee in regular intervals and keep stirring until the halwa starts to leave the sides of the pan.
5. Slowly the halwa stops sticking to the kadai, stir well. At this point remove from fire and pour it into greased plate and let it cool.
6. Once it is completely cooled keep this in refrigerator. The next day we can shape them as needed. This can be stored in refrigerator for a week. Yummy dessert is ready.

Indianised Chicken Spring Rolls

This is an amazing snack item which can be prepared and can be ate at any time of the day. The first item which we order in a chinese restaurant are these spring rolls. My little one’s all time favorite.

I have Indianised this by adding the Indian spice powders along with sauces. I have made vegetable spring rolls before, but this one I made for Iftar during fasting by using leftover chicken pieces. This is very easy to make and can be made in advance and store in fridge. Whenever we want we can deep fry them in oil.

This is a perfect snack for party menu.
Ingredients:
For the dough:

1. Maida / All purpose flour- 1 cup
2. Egg- 1 no
3. Salt- as required
4. Water- required to knead
5. Oil- 1 tbsp

For the filling:

1. Boneless Chicken- 250gms
2. Onions (chopped)- 2 nos
3. Green Chillies- 3 nos
4. Ginger (grated)- 1 tbsp
5. Garlic (chopped)- 1 tbsp
6. Red chilli powder- 1 tbsp
7. Turmeric powder- 1tsp
8. Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
9. Soya sauce- 1 ½ tbsp
10. Tomato Sauce- 2 tbsp
11. Salt- as required
12. Pepper powder- 2 tsp
13. Oil- for deep frying

Method:

1. Mix the ingredients for dough with required amount of water and keep it aside.
2. Boil the boneless chicken using little turmeric powder and salt and blend it well in a hand mixer.
3. Meanwhile heat oil in a  pan, add the chopped onions, green chillies, salt, ginger and garlic. Mix till they turn golden brown in colour.
4. Add the blended boiled chicken, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and mix well.
5. In this add the soya sauce and tomato sauce. Mix till all the ingredients are blended well.
6. Switch off the flame and at last add the pepper powder.

For assembling:

• Make small sized balls and roll it in the form of small chapatis.
• In each chapati, spread a spoonful of the filling and pack it tightly and seal the edges using a mixture of flour and water.
• Repeat this process till the remaining chapatis and filling gets finished.
• Deep fry these in oil and serve hot along with tomato ketchup.

Inji Puli- Ginger- Tamarind Mix

Hope all the Keralites must have celebrated Onam and ate a heartful onam sadhya. I know I am posting this very late, but because of some other work I couldn’t put this post at the time of onam.

Puli inji is also called as inji puli, inji curry. This dish plays an essential role in Onam sadhya. This is a sour and sweet ginger pickle mixed with jaggery and tamarind. My mom used to make this frequently but I was not very fond of this pickle, but gradually as the time passed I fell in love with this amazing delicacy of Kerala. And so when I thought of making Onam sadhya this time, the first dish that came to my mind was this inji puli.Just hot steaming rice and puli inji is a fabulous combination. This can be stored in refrigerator for weeks.

Ingredients:

1. Ginger- 250gms
2. Green Chillies (chopped)- 4 nos
3. Oil- ¼ cup
4. Mustard Seeds- 2 tsp
5. Fenugreek Seeds- 1 tsp
6. Asafoetida Powder- ½ tsp
7. Red Chilli Powder- 1tsp
8. Jaggery- 3 tbsp
9. Tamarind- ½ cup
10. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind in ½ cup water and take out the pulp.
2. Fry the grated ginger and chopped green chillies in hot oil till brown in colour. Grind this to a paste when it is cooled.
3. In a pan add 1 tbsp of oil and add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves.
4. Add the ground ginger, asafoetida, red chilli powder, jaggery, salt and tamarind pulp. Mix everything well and simmer for about 10- 12 minutes till the oil separates. Remove from fire and serve it cool.