Rasgulla

This is the second dessert recipe from the given list for this month's Marathon.

Loved by all, the traditional Bengali sweet, the Rasgulla. Soft and spongy balls made of fresh paneer and dipped in sugar syrup. You just cannot stop at having only one! My daughter love these soft spongy balls and regularly request me to prepare them. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
For The Chenna / Soft Paneer

5 Cups Full Cream Milk
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice

Other Ingredients for the Syrup

1 cup Sugar
5 Cups Water

Method

For the chenna

In a broad and deep  pan and bring the milk to a boil. Reduce the flame and wait for a minute, while stirring occasionally. Add the lemon juice gradually by take little of the milk in a curry spoon and mixing it, then add this to the remaining milk and keep stirring gently. Allow it to stand for a minute to curdle. Keep adding the lemon juice in the same way till it is completely curdled,i.e. when the chenna and the whey (greenish water) separate out.
Strain using a muslin cloth. Discard or store the whey.
Place the muslin cloth with the chenna in a bowl of fresh water and wash it 2 to 3 times.
Tie and hang for 30 minutes for the extra water to drain out.

How to proceed for the syrup
Put water in a a large deep vessel, add the sugar and bring to a boil, while stirring occasionally so that the sugar dissolves completely.

Meanwhile, squeeze the muslin cloth to drain any more water remaining.

Place the muslin cloth on a flat plate, open it and knead the chenna very well using your palms for 3 to 4 minutes or till the chenna is smooth and free of lumps.

Divide the chenna into equal portions and roll each portion into small balls between your palms using light pressure. Ensure that the balls are smooth and no cracks appears.

Bring the sugar syrup to rolling boil.

Put the balls into the sugar water, cover.

Steam on full flame for 7 to 8 minutes till all the Rasgullas start to float at the surface and double in size.

Switch off the flame and allow it to stand in it for 15 minutes.

Remove gently into a bowl along with the water enough for the balls to remain soft and spongy, refrigerate and serve chilled.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#49

Lables : Sweets & Desserts, Blogging Marathon

Badam Elachie Shrikand

This month marathon begins with desserts chosen from a given list. This list has so many desserts that it was really difficult to choose exactly what I wanted to do. I have already posted a Shrikand recipe Mango Shrikand/ Amarkand. But when this was there on list I instantly first choose this as this is my hubby's favorite.

Shrikand is classic Indian desert and also a part of the Gujarati thali. It is generally served with the puri or khajli. It is one of the prime sweet delicacies from the Gujarati and Maharastrian Cuisines. It's a semi solid softy Shrikand. Shrikand is eaten as a side-dish or as a dessert.

Made using whole milk hung curd, cream and sugar. Shrikand has a sweet flavour with a rich, creamy texture.

Ingredients

500 ML Full Cream Milk
1 Tablespoon Curds
1/2 Teaspoon Cardamon powder

A pinch of nutmeg powder
3 Tablespoons Sugar powdered
2 Tablespoons Badam/Almond -  finely chopped

Method

Heat the milk till just lightly warm. Remove from heat add the curds and mix well, keep this to set. When set take a cheese cloth, pour the curds into it and strain the curds. Keep this cloth in the fridge in a sieve for all the excess water to drain or else the curds will turn sour. You can keep it for 3 - 4 hours or even overnight.

Place this in a blender with the sugar and pulse it 3 times add the elachie and nutmeg powder and again pulse it 3 times. Remove it in a serving bowl, add the badam/ almond pieces and keep to it the fridge till cold ( 3 hours). Serve chilled and enjoy !!!.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#49


Labels: Sweets & Desserts, Blogging Marathon 

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Mango Shrikand/ Amarkand

Kacche Mutton Dum Biryani - Bangalore Style

This biryani does not have much spices, just chopprized green masala and rest is prepared in a breeze. My guest were surprised to know that this does not have spices which is a must for biryani. This biryani has an awesome taste and is ready in flat 30 minutes.

Ingredients

750 Grams Mutton - biryani cut
1 Tablespoon Papaya paste or Meat Tenderizer
1 Tablespoon + 2 Tablespoon Ginger-Garlic paste
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 Cup Coriander leaves - chopprized
8-10 Green chilies - chopprized
Mint leaves / Podina a handful - chopprized
500 Grams Yogurt
1 Cup Milk
¼ Teaspoon Saffron
½ Cup Oil
1 Cup Fried Onions
4 Nos Potatoes - Chopped into fours
A pinch Turmeric
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg powder
1 Tablespoon Roasted Cumin powder

Juice of a lemon
500 Grams Basmati Rice - washed and soaked
Whole Spices:

6 Cloves
2 sticks Cinnamon
2 Badi Elachie / Brown Cardamon
2 Green Cardamon
8 Peppercorns

Method

Marinate mutton with a tablespoon ginger garlic, 2 tablespoons curd, salt and papaya, mix well,  leave it over night in fridge.

Soak rice for 30 minutes, then boil rice with salt, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamons and badi elachie till half (50%) done and keep aside.
Heat oil,  fry potatoes and keep aside.

Heat oil in thick bottomed vessel and add marinated mutton, chopprized  green masala and garam masala, remaining ginger garlic and yogurt with haldi and cumin powder, and bring it to a slight boil, stir lightly. Sprinkle on top, ½ fried onions and arrange the fried potatoes ( see that this point you to do stir the mixture ).  Cover with a lid and leave it on high flame for 5 minutes.  Then without stirring gently place on the top boiled rice.   Sprinkle milk with saffron, juice of lemon, nutmeg powder and the remaining fried onions, chopped coriander and mint leaves on top.

Seal with aluminium foil and keep it on a heated griddle / tawa.  Leave it on high flame for 10 minutes and then put it on dum / low flame for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes your biryani is ready.

This is my entry for the BM #48, theme Biryani.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#48


Labels: Biryani, Blogging Marathon, Rice

Making Crispy Deep-Fried Onions / Birista

If you are familiar with Indian food, you have eaten their birista (bah-REES-tah): thinly-sliced crispy, golden, deep-fried onions. They are eaten as a snack and used as an additive to, or a topper for, delectable dishes like biryani, curries, steamed rice, mashed potato filling, soups, salads, sandwiches, grilled meats, meat patties and savory breads.
These onions are full of flavor and enhance the dish to a great extent.   So lets make it ......

Ingredients

4 Large Onions - peeled

Oil for deep frying

Method

Cut onions into thin slices, and keep them to dry spread on a sheet for an hour at least.  Then using your fingertips just separate them.

After an hour,  heat oil  deep fry pan or kadai, heat it on medium flame, place a handful of them at a time in it.

Using your fingertips, sprinkle a little, don't dump all at once the sliced onions into the hot oil.

Using a long-handled fork,  give the onions a quick stir to make sure they are separated.

After three minutes, during the cooking process, they will look like this, just beginning to show signs of browning.

Give the onions another quick stir with the fork to, once again, make sure they are staying separated.

Continue to fry, another 3 minutes.  They will look like this photo: golden brown with white centers.

Stir onions one last time and when you find this light golden brown color remove them with a slotted spoon on to a absorbent paper ( do wait till they are very dark brown or else they will have a burnt taste). Repeat the process until all onions are deep-fried. 

Cool at least 1 hour before serving.

They stay good if kept in the deep freezer for months.

Labels : Rice, Vegetarian, Onion, Fried Onions, Biryani, Birista

Nauratan Biryani

This called Nauratan Biryani because there are nine vegetables and all full of nutrition. Even though in this Biryani there are leafy veggies, it taste awesome. My hubby and daughter do not like to eat leafy veggies, so I did not tell them any thing till they finished their lunch. When I, revealed that this has more of leafy veggies they were surprised and said that this taste really awesome. We had this for our dinner too and really enjoyed it.

Ingredients
1/2 Kg  Basmati Rice 

4 Cloves

4 Peppercorns

2 Sticks Cinnamon

2 Badi Elachie
1 Cup Spinach - finely chopped
1 Cup Methi - finely chopped
1/2 Cup Lal Math / Red Chawli leves - chopped
1/2 Cup Soya / Dill Leaves - finely chopped
1/2 Cup Barik Methi - finely chopped
1 Cup Peas
2 Carrots - cubed
12 French beans - cut in big bits
4 Large Tomatoes - sliced
2 Large Onion - Finely sliced
2 Teaspoons heaped Ginger - Garlic paste
3 Teaspoons Chilly powder
1.1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon heaped Roasted Cumin powder
2 Teaspoon heaped Coriander powder
1 Teaspoon Kewra water
1/2 Cup Milk
A pinch yellow color
1/2 Cup Oil

Method

Soak rice for 30 minutes, then boil rice with salt, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon and badi elachie till 80% done and keep aside.

Mix the yellow color and kewra water in the milk, keep aside
In a vessel heat oil add the barik methi and fry for 2 minutes.  Then add the onions, fry till light brown.  Add the sliced tomatoes and when soft then add ginger-garlic paste and all powder masalas,  salt and little water and let it cook till oil leaves then add all the veggies and fry well.  Cover and cook till they are done. Switch off the flame.

Grease another thick bottom vessel add 1/2  the quantity of rice, then add the veggies,  then  the remaining rice, Sprinkle the milk, about 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee , seal this with an aluminium foil or a tight lid.  Place this on a heated girdle or tawa first 5 minutes on high flame, then reduce the flame to low and keep it for 15 minutes. The Biryani is ready, serve this Boondhi Raita.

This is my entry for the BM #48, theme Biryani.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#48.

Labels: Biryani, Blogging Marathon, Rice