Peanut Chikki/ Peanut Brittle/ Kadala Muttai

Chikki/ Peanut Brittle is a traditional Indian candy made with jaggery and peanuts. This one is loved by everyone in my family. My mom used to make this when we were kids but I never tried as I was not sure of the syrup consistency.

We buy this when we go shopping at Indian store, but nowadays we are not getting good quality ones and so I gathered courage and made this by asking my mom and watching some channels regarding the syrup consistency. It came out perfect. You can cut them into pieces by spreading them on a greased surface. This is a very healthy snack, rich in protein and iron.

Jaggery is an important ingredient for perfect chikkis. Also make sure the syrup reaches the right consistency by dropping a little bit in water and checking whether it turned into candy consistency. Act fast while rolling. Hope my friends will try this and please let me know how it turned.

Ingredients:

1. Peanuts- 2.5cups
2. Jaggery- 1cup
3. Water-1/4 Cups

Method:

1. Roast the Peanuts till nice aroma comes and till it starts to change golden in color. Keep this aside and ones it is cooled remove the skin by crushing gently. Separate the skin and keep the peanuts aside till the jaggery syrup is ready.
2. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and add the jaggery along with water. Let it dissolve on low heat.
3. Begin to boil and keep stirring until it thickens well. Check the consistency by dropping few drops into water. When it reaches the right consistency the jaggery syrup will harden immediately and it forms brittle.
4. If you are unable to get the syrup brittle then cook for few more minutes.
5. Turn off the stove and add the roasted peanuts, be quick and stir the peanuts well till everything gets well incorporated.
6. Grease your hands with ghee and roll them into balls. Ones it gets harder place it in an airtight container. and enjoy.

Coconut- Jaggery Bars- A Festive Delicacy...

Festive season, everyone is busy cleaning their houses, bringing new furniture, making sweets, gifts, meeting family and friends. Festivals serve to unite people in celebrations and understanding. In India, food is associated with many festivals and Diwali is Festival of lights, fun, frolics and feasts.

As I spent my childhood in Andhra Pradesh, I remember my neighbors and friends sending the homemade festive delicacies, which we all enjoyed. Popular sweets like laddoos, halwas, jilebi, mysore pak and so on. Most importantly gujjiyas.

Festival is the time which reminds me of wanting to make something sweet and here I am today with one of my favorite, which my mom makes in the form of laddoos. This recipe, I saw in a blog which sounded like exactly the bars which I get from Bangalore, Nilgiri's supermarket. They are so firm and delicious. I am so excited that the bars turned out to be exactly like them.

Mix all the ingredients listed below in a low flame and within seconds a mouthwatering delicacy will be ready to eat. Just make sure, you don't burn the coconut while cooking it along with jaggery. In my house, everybody likes this. You can make ahead and pack and gift them to your family or friends. This will be a perfect Diwali sweet to make as it won't take much time and can be made ahead and stored.

Today, I am posting this delicious recipe of coconut- jaggery bars, which I am sure that everybody will like it. It is so delicious and yummy that you won't stop eating once you start.

Ingredients:

1. Desiccated Coconut- 2 Cups
2. Jagger Powder- 2 Cups
3. Milk- 4 Cups
4. Ghee- 3 tbsp
5. Cardamom Powder- 1 tsp

Method:

1. Combine the coconut and jaggery in a non stick pan and mix them using a wooden spatula on a low flame till it gets combined. 
2. Pour the milk and stir well gradually add the ghee and cardamom powder. Mix well till everything gets mixed well.
3. When it starts to leave the sides, switch off the flame. Grease a steel pan with some butter and pour this mixture into that. let it cool and keep refrigerated for 4-5 hours or overnight.
4. Cut into desired shape and enjoy with your friends.

Carrot Laddoo/ Gajar ke Ladoo

                      Happy New Year To All!!!
Carrot laddoos are the most popular Indian sweets made for festive occasions. This is one of the easiest desserts which can be prepared within no time. Usually, sugar is added in this, but compared to sugar I prefer jaggery which is a healthy option. These laddoos are a perfect to gift to friends and family.

In this, the carrots are cooked well in milk and jaggery till combined and shaped in the form of laddoos. Every bite is a melt in the mouth. This will be an instant hit among kids as well as adults. Next time when thinking about making a dessert, this carrot laddoo is the best to prefer as it is very easy to make and with fewer ingredients.

Ingredients:

1. Carrots (grated)- 2 Cups
2. Milk- 1/2 Cup
3. Jaggery- 1 1/2 Cups
4. Cardamom Powder- 1 Tsp
5. Cashews (chopped)- 2 tbsp
6. Ghee/ Clarified Butter- 2tbsp

Method:

1. Heat the ghee in a nonstick pan, roast the cashews and when they turn golden brown keep this aside.
2. In the same pan start roasting the grated carrots till they start changing color. Add milk and cardamom powder, over a medium flame stir well till all the milk gets absorbed.
3. Add the powdered jaggery and mix well till everything gets well blended. This takes almost about 10- 15 minutes on a medium flame.
4. At this stage, all the jaggery melts and mixes well with carrots, add the roasted cashews. All the water evaporates and the mixture thickens.
5. Switch off the flame. After sometime when the mixture becomes warm, shape them in the form of round balls using hands.  Store in airtight containers and enjoy when needed.

Kerala Unniappam

Unniappam is a popular traditional snack in Kerala. Unni means “small” and appam means “rice cake”. This dish is made of almost all the houses in Kerala. These unniappams will be liked by all. I like to call these “cuteness overloaded” appams. They are so soft and scrumptious that you will end up eating a whole lot.

This is prepared using rice, jaggery, and banana. Traditionally this is made using clarified butter.

We can also add some roasted coconut pieces in the batter but I like it this way.

From so long I badly wanted to try this dish, but without the pan it was impossible. This time when

my in-laws came from India they bought the pan and I made them for the first time, which came out super yummy and soft.

These unniappams can be made using raw rice, but as I didn’t have so much of patience to soak the rice, I used rice flour. This is an oily dish, but once in awhile, it is fine to have these delicious and traditional snacks. Hope you will also try this dish and let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Banana- 1 no
2. Rice Flour- 2 Cups
3. Jaggery- 1 ½ Cups
4. Cardamom powder - 1 Tsp
5. Dry Ginger Powder- 1 Tsp
6. Baking Soda- ½ tsp
7. Oil- for frying
8. Water- ¼ Cup

Method:

1. Grind the bananas to a nice paste. Melt the jaggery using little water over a medium heat. When the jaggery completely melts, strain and keep this aside.
2. Drop the rice flour along with the melted jaggery into the ground banana and give it a nice blend.
3. Add little water till they form a pouring consistency.
4. Transfer this to a bowl. In this add the cardamom powder, dry ginger powder, and baking soda. Give it a nice stir. Keep this batter for about 3- 4 hours.
5. If you find the batter too runny just add little rice flour and if the batter is thick add little water.
6. Heat the non-stick unniappam pan. Pour 1 tbsp of oil in all the rounds. Drop a small ladle full of batter into each round and let it fry for sometime. After about 5-7 minutes, flip it to the other side and let it fry until golden brown.
7. Once they are done, remove them using fork onto a kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining batter and enjoy delicious unniappams.

Lentils Stuffed Sweet Flatbreads/ Puran Poli/ Bobbatlu

These classic lentil stuffed flatbreads are popular Indian sweet which is made during festivals. They have different names in different parts of India, like the Puran Poli, bobbatlu, obbattu, holige, boli, poli and so on.

In this, the stuffing is filled with jaggery and gram dal which is boiled and then blended well till it thickens. The outer layer is either a wheat dough or a plain flour dough or we can mix both the wheat flour and plain flour and make dough out of it.

stuffed and rolled puran poli 

This is liked by my kids which are also very healthy and nutritious. This will be a good after school snack. You can roll and freeze them. When required thaw and cook.

I remember as a kid, when we were in Andhra, my neighbor's used to share us the festive dishes which were very delicious. Among them, I liked this Puran Poli a lot as it looked like a chapati and it tasted sweet. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1. Wheat flour- 2 Cups
2. Homemade Ghee- 1 tbsp+ 3 tbsp for smearing while cooking
3. Salt- a pinch
4. Water- required to knead the dough
5. For the stuffing:
6. Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram- 1 cup
7. Jaggery- 1 Cup
8. Cardamom powder- 1 tsp
9. Ghee- 1tbsp

Method:

1. Mix 1 tbsp of ghee, water, salt and the whole wheat flour together till it forms a soft, bouncy dough. Keep this aside till the stuffing is ready by covering the dough with a damp cloth.
2. Meanwhile, for the stuffing, cook the washed and drained chana dal in a pressure cooker till it becomes soft and mushy.
3. Strain the dal and let this cool for some time. Grind the cooled dal along with powdered jaggery and cardamom powder to a smooth consistency.
4. Heat the ghee in a pan, add the ground dal- jaggery mixture. Stir well continuously on low flame, till the mixture starts leaving the edges of the pan and slowly it thickens.
5. Switch off the pan and let this mixture cool. Make some medium sized balls from the mixture and keep this aside.
6. Make balls out of the wheat dough and take a ball flatten it with your fingers and place dal- jaggery balls in the middle and close the dough to cover the stuffing.
7. Gently roll this using a rolling pin, do not use pressure while rolling, or else the stuffing will come out.
8. Heat a tawa and cook the above made Puran Poli y smearing little ghee in between. Flip on both the sides and when they are equally cooked and golden brown in color remove from stove and repeat with the remaining dough and the stuffing. Serve hot.

Thirattupaal/ Thickened Milk Sweet

When we were in india, saw a cookery show in which they prepared this milk based dessert which is a very popular sweet in Tamil Nadu. When we went to Chennai, I wanted to try this popular sweet from the shop which they showed in the cookery show. But couldn’t make it and we returned back.  

I never thought that this would be so easy to make till I stumbled upon Kannamma’s Blog which is full of traditional Tamil Nadu recipes and thought of giving it a try. Only time consuming part is of continuously stirring the milk till it thickens. Using two ingredients we can prepare a mouthwatering dessert that would be loved by all. Make sure that the jaggery is added only when the milk thickens or else it will curdle.

This is usually sold wrapped in tiny packets. In some Tamil marriages, this is distributed among the guests. A very luscious and scrumptious dessert, but can be had little at a time as it is very filling.

Adapted from Kannamma Cooks:

Ingredients:

1. Whole Milk- 2 ½ Cups
2. Jaggery- ¼ Cup

Method:

1. Pour milk in a deep bottomed pan and on a medium flame stir using a wooden spoon continuously. Reduce the flame, if the milk starts foaming. Keep scraping the sides while stirring.
2. After about 20-25 minutes, the milk gets reduced and thickens. When it resembles a creamy texture, add the powdered jaggery.
3. Lower the flame and stir well for about 5 minutes and thickens. Switch off the flame and mix well. It will resemble a sandy texture. Grease a steel plate with ghee and spread the above made mixture evenly using a spoon. Cut into desired shape and serve when cooled.

Rice Laddus/ Ari Unda

There are so many traditional snacks of Kerala and one among them is this ari unda/ Rice laddus which is a simple and an easy sweet which can be prepared in no time. This can be enjoyed when going for long trips, mostly kids will love this. After making these laddus we must keep this in airtight containers in refrigerator or else it turns rancid in just 2- 3 days as fresh coconut is used.

I never heard about this sweet till my SIL was asking my neighbours to bring this from their native. She had it once when she was travelling in train through Kannur, north Malabar region of Kerala. While sitting at home, thinking about Kerala, these things will automatically pop up in mind and so  I thought of giving it a try and was surprised that this requires very less ingredients. My daughter loves this a lot and finishes one after the other, so I hid it from her….

Traditionally this is prepared using parboiled rice, but as I was having sona masoori rice, I used that. Just try this out and I bet you won’t stop eating one or two….

Ingredients:

1. Rice- 2 Cups
2. Grated Coconut- 1 Cup
3. Grated Jaggery- 1 Cup
4. Cardamom Powder- 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and drain the rice over a kitchen towel. When the rice is completely drained off, heat a skillet and roast the rice on a low flame till it crackles and changes it colour to light brown.
2. When it is still warm grind to a powder, not fine powder but coarse.
3. In a mixing bowl take grated jaggery, grated coconut and cardamom powder. Mix well with hands.
4. Add the above made rice powder, mix well. Take small portions and roll it into round balls.
5. Enjoy this along with hot tea.

Ragda Patties

Different varieties of chaats are available all over India.Chaat is a savory snack that contain four flavors like sour, sweet, spicy and tangy in one plate, which is loved by all.

In my family these chaats have a special place.In India, when we used to roam around, we used to have unlimited pani puri. I ended up having 20- 25 in one go and my daughter’s was the record. She likes these chaats a lot and will eat how much ever is possible.

Today I made ragda patties, which I tasted once and loved the flavors and texture that got blended well with each other.

In this ragda patties the potato patties are topped with dried green peas gravy along with sweet chutney, green chutney , curd, onions and sev. Here I didn’t use green chutney, as my husband is not a big fan of coriander leaves.

In Kerala, chaats are not so famous. They have their own delicacies. Now a days this chaat business is growing up slowly. As I grew up in Andhra, I love all different varieties of food and so chaat is one of them.

After coming here I have started preparing these different variety of chaats at home and enjoying a flavorful, healthy savory. The process of preparing this ragda patties look time consuming, but if you have all the ingredients handy then it is very simple and easy to make.Just try this out and you will come to know how easy it is to prepare them at home.

Ingredients for the Patties:

1. Boiled Potatoes- 3 nos
2. Corn Flour- 3- 4 tbsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
5. Oil- for frying

Method for Potato patties:

1. Mash the boiled potatoes, add the corn flour and salt. Mix well. If the mixture looks loose, add little more corn flour and mix.
2. Make medium sized balls, flatten them into round patties. Keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a skillet for shallow frying and fry the above made potato patties till it becomes golden brown in colour and crisp. Remove on a kitchen towel.

Ingredients for Ragda:

1. Dried green Peas- 1 cup
2. Salt- as required
3. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
4. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
5. Asafoetida- a pinch

Method for Ragda:

1. Soak the dried green peas overnight, drain and cook  this dried peas along with turmeric powder, red chilli powder and required amount of salt in a pressure cooker along with water.
2. After about 10- 15 minutes switch off the cooker and open the lid when the pressure falls.
3. The ragda should not be very thick or too watery. Keep this aside.

Sweet Chaat Chutney/ Tamarind Date Chutney:

1. Tamarind- 2 big lemon size
2. Dates- ¼ Cup
3. Jaggery- ¼ Cup
4. Water- 1 Cup
5. Cumin Powder- ½ tsp
6. Coriander Powder- ½ tsp
7. Salt- a pinch
8. Red Chilli Powder- ½ Cup

Method:

1. Boil tamarind and dates in 1 cup water for about 10 min.
2. Add jaggery, mix and let it thicken a bit.
3. Add all the spice powders and cook for about 2-3 min. Switch off the flame.
4. When it gets cooled grind this mixture to a fine paste and store this tamarind- date chutney in an airtight bowl and store this in refrigerator. Use this when required.

Remaining Ingredients for garnishing Ragda Patties:

1. Onions( finely chopped)- 2 nos
2. Tomatoes( chopped)- 1 no
3. Coriander Leaves( chopped)- ¼ Cup( optional)
4. Curd- 1 Cup (with a little sugar mixed)
5. Sev/ Mixture- 1 Cup
6. Cumin Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Chaat Masala- 1 tbsp
8. Lemon Juice- as required

Method for assembling:

1. In a small bowl place two potato patties. Top it with 2 -3 tbsps of ragdas.

1. Over this add the tamarind- date chutney.

1. Top this with sweet curd then with chopped onions, chopped tomatoes.

1. Sprinkle with cumin powder, chaat masala and a few drops of lemon.
2. Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and end this amazing chaat by sprinkling the sev/ mixture.