Khoya / Mawa - Homemade

Khoya / Mawa is a milk cheese, made either from milk powder or traditionally by reducing whole milk in an open pan for long hours. It is one of the most famous and a classic ingredient in Indian cooking where it is used both for savory as well as sweet dishes. You will see a plethora of traditional sweets calling for this ingredient. The richness that it adds to the sweets is indescribable. For the little time/effort that you put in, the result with fresh home made Khoya far exceeded than from the one you get in sweet meat shops. It is not as hard as you might think. See these steps to realize what a simple process this whole Khoya making business is. Trust me - you will never buy store varieties ever again!

Homemade khoya is prepared in low budget and its also hygienic. This recipe of khoya used in mithai, desserts and cakes. If you live abroad then this homemade khoya recipe is a treasure for you because its not very common to get khoya from stores.

Ingredients2 Liters Full cream milk

Method

Bring the milk to boil in a pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes switch off the flame and keep aside. This step is necessary so that if there is any powder or anything else will settle to the bottom.

Pour this milk in a heavy bottom pan and let it simmer on medium flame.

Keep stirring occasionally, to avoid the milk to stick on the bottom of the pan.

Keep stirring till the milk  starts thickening.

When thicken/reduced let cool on room temperature, after cooling it will be more thick.

Ready to use, wrap with cling foil and freeze into small portions.

This Khoya / Mawa is simply delicious.  I got around 350 grams of Khoya.

Labels: Sweets & Desserts 

Rabri - Unsweetened - Homemade

This is the traditional cooking methodology to prepare nice and thick rabri that has delicious layes of solidified milk cream.

Ingredient

 5 Cups Full cream milk

Method

Bring the milk to boil in a pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes switch off the flame and keep aside.  This step is necessary so that if there is any powder or anything else will settle to the bottom.

Pour this milk in a heavy bottom pan and let it simmer on medium flame. When the cream forms on the surface gently push it to the edge of the pan and gently stir the milk so that it does not get burnt at the bottom. Keep pushing the cream to sides regularly till the milk reduces and form layers of cream.

 When done switch off the flame and keep to cool. The Rabri is ready store it in a airtight container and the freezer for further use. This is a unsweetened version of Rabri. If you want you add sugar and sweeten it. This can be used in many recipes. Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before using.

This take a hour or more to get done.  I got around 300 grams of Rabri.  The taste of homemade Rabri is simply delicious and worth the effort.

Labels: Sweets & Desserts

Jordanian Tomato Rice Soup

My wish to see Jordan, where Jesus was baptized, will be fulfilled God only knows when. But this month Mena's Cooking Club, I am travelling to Jordan, our host Evelyne from Cheap Ethnic Eatz choose this recipe.

Ingredients
1/3 Cup Rice - I used brown rice 

1 Tablespoon Butter
1  Onion - chopped
4  Tomatoes - peeled and chopped
1 Teaspoon Tomato paste
1  Cinnamon stick
A pinch of black pepper
1 Teaspoon salt

Method

Wash and soak the brown rice for at least an hour. Do not skip this step because brown rice takes a long to cook.  If you are using white rice then skip this soaking step.

In a pan, melt the butter and fry in it the onions over medium heat until tender.Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, black pepper, cinnamon stick and salt along with 2 liters of water.
When the mix begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour with lid on.

Add in the rice and check if you need to add more water. Leave to simmer for half an hour or so.  Serve hot.

We enjoyed this soup as our dinner, this was so warm and comforting.

Labels: Soup, Mena Cooking Club, Continental Cuisine, Jordan

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Bhadang (Puffed Rice Chivda)

This is a very common and tasty snack that is always prepared in every Maharashtrian house.It is very simple and requires little oil. Its a very good snack. When garnished with finely chopped onion,tomatoes, coriander leaves and lemon juice, sev its converted into  bhel. You can prepare this snack and store it in airtight box for a month.  We love this snack and is prepared often in my  house. When I prepared this Bhadang my beta could not stop eating, as he was watching TV he kept on eating it, he loved it so much. 

Ingredients
5 Cups Murmura / Puffed Rice
1/2 Cup Peanuts
1/4 Cup Dalia
1/4 Cup Dry Coconut pieces

1/2 Cup Mixed dry fruits ( Almonds, Cashewnuts, Raisins)

3 Sprigs Curry Leaves
1 Teaspoon Mustard seed

1/4 Teaspoon Asafoetida

1 Teaspoon  Citric acid crystals

 25 Grams Chivda Masala

1 Teaspoon Chilly powder

Salt to Taste

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/2 Cup Oil 

Method
Roast Puffed rice in a big pan till they crisp or microwave  it for a minute.

Heat oil in a big pan on medium flame  add the mustard seeds, when they crackle add the asafoetida then add the peanuts and fry till done , then add the coconut pieces and fry till brown. When they are fried, add the dry fruits, dalia , curry leaves and fry till the curry leaves are crisp. 

Add the chivda masala, chilly powder and fry well.  Add Puffed rice and mix well. Take off the heat. Add Salt, sugar and citric acid crystals mix well.  When it completely cools, store in an air tight container.  

This is my entry for the BM #48, theme Kid's Delight - Holiday Special Recipes. 
Labels: Festival Sweets, Kids delight, Blogging Marathon, Chivda  

Khari Biscuits or Puff Biscuits

As I was making these biscuits, all fond memories came to my mind. When I was young and stayed in a village in Mumbai which is now a concrete jungle, twice a week the biscuit man would come to our compound with a big aluminum box on his head and sell variety of biscuits. But the first thing we would tell our mother is to pick these biscuits for us. I simply loved these khari biscuits, as an accompaniment to afternoon chai.

These are all time favorite of my hubby and daughter too. If I buy a 1/2 kg packet these get over in 2 to 3 days.

Puffed salted biscuits often known as Khari biscuits,are a common hit as a tea-time snack. They are also known as namkeen biscuits as they are crispy, flaky, fluffy, salty and mouth-melting. They are baked calorie-rich biscuits, which are made using all purpose flour. Several layers of dough are kept on each other with a layer of ghee or vanaspati in between each layer.Then they are baked to perfection. These khari biscuits are perfect accompaniment for tea/coffee.

Ingredients
1 sheet Puff Pastry dough

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200° C and line a baking tray with butter paper.
Lay out the puff pastry sheet onto it a board.  Cut the dough into little rectangles about 2″x 1/2″ or so, using a pizza cutter. You can also twist the pastry rectangles to give them a different look.
Lay out the rectangles onto the lined tray.
Bake for about 15 to 17 minutes, until golden brown and flaky. Check them after 15 minutes or they will get too brown and the taste changes.  Enjoy them with a cup of chai.

This is my entry for the BM #48, theme Kid's Delight - Holiday Special Recipes. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#48.

Labels : Biscuits & Cookies, Blogging Marathon.