Firni / Phirni

Firni / Phirni is a sweet pudding, made by boiling milk, sugar and rice, it's popular sweet dish of India, made for festivals or important occasions/celebrations. The rice used in this sweet dish is coarsely powdered, so its without the individual grains of rice and with extra goodies of dry fruits and creamy. I am, sure you will loved it.

Ingredients  

500 ML Milk
2 Tablespoons Heaped Basmati Rice 

½ Cup Fresh Cream  

¼ Cup Sugar  

2 Tablespoons Each Almonds & Pistachio - silvered 

½  Teaspoon Cardamom powder
Method 

Wash the rice and soak it for 2 hours.  After that drain all the water in a fine mesh colander and then dry it on a clean cloth  for  an hour or so ( it should be slightly wet not completely dry).  After that grind it to a coarse powder. 

Boil milk, add  rice, bring it to boil, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Reduce the flame on medium low and stir continuously. Add more milk if starts to thicken and cook till the rice is done. 

Now add the sugar and again stir till the sugar melts.   Now add the fresh cream stir it and take it off flame. Add half of the pistachio and almond slivers, cardamom powder and stir well.   Chill it for few hours.  

Serve  this cold in kullad pots (terracotta clay pots) garnished with pistachio and almond slivers.

Enjoy!!!

Labels : Sweets & Desserts, Firni, Pudding, Rice, Almond, Pistachios, Milk, Festival Sweets, Kullad

Roasted Tomato Salsa Sauce - Vegan & Gluten Free

This chunky, smoky,  quite spicy salsa tastes amazing, use this as a dip, with tortilla chips, for wraps, salad or to make burrito's.

Makes  1½ Cup 

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
A Handful of chopped Basil leaves
3 Large Tomatoes - Roasted
2 Small Tomatoes - finely chopped
1 Medium Onion - finely  chopped
1 Medium Green or Red bell pepper - finely chopped
3 Big Cloves Garlic  - finely chopped
1 Teaspoon Ginger - finely chopped
3 Green chillies - finely chopped
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Tomato puree - I used tetra pack
1 Tablespoons Kashmiri Red Chilly paste or Kashmiri red chilly powder as per your taste -  I used paste

Salt to taste

Method

Roast the tomatoes on the gas flame till charred.  Peel the skin and wash them clean.  Then blend them, keep aside

Grind the ginger, garlic and green chilly to a fine paste.

In a pan, heat oil, add chopped onion,  ginger garlic- and green chilly paste.  Saute for a minute or two now add   or green bell pepper and  blended tomatoes, kashmiri red chilly paste, finely chopped tomatoes and blended roasted tomato puree, mix well and let it cook till it become a thick sauce.  Turn off the flame add lemon juice  and chopped  basil. 

Mix well and the Roasted Tomato Salsa Sauce is ready to use.

This is a spicy and a deliciously vibrant, earthy, and smoky-tasting salsa sauce you will definitely enjoy.

Labels : Salsa Sauce, Roasted Tomato, Spicy, Mexican, Basil, Homemade, Vegan, Gluten free

Vegan & Gluten Free Barnyard Millet Pulao / Kuthiraivali Vegetable Pulao

This is a simple pulao which is made using barnyard / kuthiraivali, a gluten free millet. It's very healthy, easy to make as well, made it in a pressure cooker.

Serves : 2
Ingredients 
½ Cup Heaped Barnyard Millet / Kuthiraivali – See Notes
1 Tablespoon Oil
1 Small Onion – chopped
1 Green Chilly – finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Level Ginger Garlic Paste
¼ Cup Mint Leaves
Coriander Leaves – 1/4 cup chopped finely
½ Cup Mixed Vegetable - I used frozen
1 Tablespoon Capsicum - chopped
Salt to taste
1¼ Cup Hot Water
Whole Spices
1 Bay Leaf
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 Small Stick Cinnamon
1 Cardamom
2 Cloves
6 -8 Black Peppercorns

Method

Clean the millet, to remove any fine stones or dirt. 

Wash millet really well and soak it for 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add in all the whole spices and let them sizzle. 

Add in onions, chillies and 

fry  till onion is golden.  Add in ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute. 

Add in the mixed vegetables, capsicum and saute for a minute.

Add in the drained millet and toss well  

give it a good stir.  

Add in the hot water, salt and mint leaves, mix well. Cover  with the lid and take 2 whistles on high flame .  Turn off the flame and let the steam go all by itself. 

Open the cooker and fluff it with a fork.

Serve hot. 

Enjoy this with Vegan Cashew Yogurt.My Notes

Barnyard Millet / Kuthiraivali has fine stones, so please clean the millet and wash it well. If you do not clean  this well, be  sure,  that you are not going to enjoy this pulao.

Labels :  Barnyard Millet, Gluten free, Healthy, Kuthiraivali, Main course, Mixed Vegetable, Rice, Vegan 

Vegan Homemade Cashew Yogurt

How to make unsweetened yogurt (curd/dahi) with cashewnuts.

Ingredients
1 Cup Cashewnuts
12 Chilly Crowns
Warm Water as required
Method

Soak the cashewnuts in warm water overnight. 

Wash the chillies and pat them dry completely before separating the crowns.

 Do not wash the crowns again after separating them from the chillies. 

Next morning drain, rinse the cashewnuts in fresh water. Then blend with a cup of plain warm water till very smooth. 

Take half of  this thick cashew milk in a bowl and topped with the crowns of fresh chilly crowns. Do do worry this will not make the yogurt spicy.  The remaining cashew milk, store it in a airtight container in the refrigerator (just before you want to set yogurt, microwave it for 10 to 15 seconds, the cashew milk should be just luke warm).

By evening the curds will be perfectly set .. cashew yogurt is ready. This batch which is the starter culture will have a very faint aroma of chillies that will not affect the taste. 

Remove / discard the crowns from this and add in the remaining cashew milk and mix it well. Pour this into two bowls and leave it to set.

The second batch made with this culture will not have any chilly aroma. It tasted exactly like the one made of dairy milk! You would not have made out the difference, believe me! Only it's too heavy to finish a full small bowl. 

Reserve 2 tablespoons in the refrigerator before serving so that you have a starter every time you want to set vegan yogurt. 

Labels : Vegan, Homemade, Cashewnuts, Yogurt, Gluten free, Delicious, Chilly Crowns

A Side Dish With Baby Potatoes- No Onion No Garlic

An Easy Side Dish With Baby Potatoes , so tasty and delicious. This has no onion no garlic and no red chilly powder, prefect Vrat Ka Khanna.   The masala paste coated on the fried potatoes taste awesome. 

Ingredients

½ kg Baby Potatoes - boiled
3 Tablespoons Butter or Ghee
3 Tablespoons Oil
1 Teaspoon Fennel seeds
½ Teaspoon Cumin powder
1 Teaspoon Coriander powder
½ Teaspoon Turmeric powder
½ Teaspoon Level Black pepper powder
1 Teaspoon Ginger paste
125 Grams Yogurt - whisked
½ Teaspoon Garam Masala / All Spice Powder
2 Tablespoons Chopped Coriander leaves
2–3 Green chilies - finely chopped

Salt to taste

Method

Boil ½ kg potatoes and skin them then prick using toothpick.
Heat oil and butter or ghee in a wok, add in boiled potatoes and fry till golden brown.

Now remove the potatoes and keep aside. In the same pan add the fennel seeds saute till it releases an aroma, add the green chilly,  ginger paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, black pepper and turmeric  powder, mix well . Fry for 2 minutes on medium low flame, now add the fried potatoes , saute well  till it coated with the spices.  

Now add the whisked yogurt, salt to taste . Mix well, stirring continuously till the potatoes are coated with the yogurt.  Simmer on low flame for 2 to 3 minutes or till the moisture/ gravy dries.  Add the garam masala powder and give it a stir.

 Take it  out,  on to a serving dish , sprinkle with dash of garam masala powder, fried green chilly and chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot...

Labels:  Vegetarian, Vegetables, No Onion No Garlic, Baby Potatoes, Vrat, Side Dish, Main course