Maida Halwa

Maida - 2 cups
Sugar - 3.5 - 4 cups
Ghee - 1.5 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp.
Food color orange - 1/4 tsp.
Cashews - 20 chopped into half inch pieces

1. Dissolve 2 cups maida in 3-4 cups of water to form a lump free batter. Strain if required to remove any lumps.
2. Add the food color to a tsp. of water and dissolve well into the maida batter.
3. Roast cashews in 1 tsp. of ghee till they turn golden. Keep aside.
4. In a pan ( I used nonstick) add sugar and 1/2 cup water and start boiling while stirring continuously to form a syrup of 1 string consistency. This takes 7-10 mins on medium flame. Don't bother about exact one string consistency. A thick , lightly sticky syrup should do.
5. Pour in the maida mixture and keep stirring continuously to blend the sugar and maida without lumps. Use medium flame.
6. At one point it will form a single large orange blob and come out of the pan.At this point start adding ghee 1 tsp. at a time and continuing to stir.
7. The ghee will get absorbed readily by the blob as you add. Use the ladle (wooden spatula) to mash the blob and expose maximum surface area of the halwa to the added ghee.
8. At one point the ghee will stop getting absorbed and remain on the sides. Add in the roasted cashews, cardamom powder and stir once.
9. Remove from fire.

You can pour this onto a greased plate while it is hot and cut into slabs like barfi, or store it as is and ladle out with a spoon while serving.
Tastes better when allowed to set for longer time ( around 12 hours)

Variations to be tried:
Add a tbsp. of corn starch to the maida for a glossier texture. Maida can be reduced by 1 tbsp. in that case.
Use yellow food color instead of orange, pineapple essence instead of cardamom powder and tutti fruiti instead of cashews to get a Kerala halwa look.

Tomato Oats Upma

Ingredients:

1. Quaker Oats - 3 tbsp.
2. Tomato - 1 large or 2 small chopped finely
3. Onion - 1 medium chopped finely
4. Green chilli - 1 finely chopped
5. Chilli powder (optional) - 1/2 tsp.
6. Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
7. Oil - 2 -3 tsp.
8. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.
9. Ginger-garlic paste (optional) - 1/2 tsp.
10. Curry leaves - 5-6
11. Salt - to taste.

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a kadhai and splutter the mustard seeds. Add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, curry leaves and saute.
2. Add onions and lightly fry till golden brown.
3. Add tomatoes and stir fry till the tomato becomes pulpy.
4. Add chilli powder, dhania powder and salt.
5. Add oats and stir in. Add around 1 cup of water and boil as you keep stirring.
6. When it reaches the required consistency ( like saffola masala oats), switch off and enjoy it while it is hot.
7.  

Pudina Raita

I made this as a side for the tomato pulao I made today. Just plucked a few sprigs of pudina from the backyard and whipped this up. It is very simple to prepare and has a soothing taste.

Ingredients:

1. Pudina - around 10-15 sprigs
2. Curds - 200 ml
3. Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Chilli powder - 1/ tsp.
5. Salt/Black salt - to taste 

Procedure:

1. Separate out the leaves of the pudina, wash thoroughly.
2. Grind them to a paste with a tbsp. of curd,  jeera powder and chilli powder in a mixie.
3. Add this paste to the remaining curd and serve as a side with Biryani/Pulao.

If you do not have jeera powder, dry roast jeera and dry grind it in a mixie first. Add the remaining ingredients to this and continue as per step 2.

Tomato bhath using Red rice

Ingredients:

1. Red Rice - 1.5 cups
2. Tomatoes - 2 large (chopped)
3. Onion - 1 large (chopped long)
4. Oil - 3-4 tsp.
5. Jeera - 1/2 tsp.
6. Bay leaf - 1
7. Cinnamon bark - 1 inch piece broken into 2
8. Cloves - 2
9. Ginger- garlic paste - 1 tsp.
10. Green chillies - 2
11. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a pressure pan. Add the cumin seeds, bay-leaf, cloves, cinnamon, ginger-garlic paste, and saute.
2. Add the chopped onions and green chillies and fry for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute further for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the red rice and stir well.
5. Add around 3 cups of water and salt as per taste.
6. Cover with lid, put the weight on and wait for 2 whistles and switch off.
7. Serve with raita.

Foxtail millet Khichdi

Ingredients:

1. Foxtail millet - 1 cup
2. Moong dal - 3/4 cup
3. Ghee - 2 tsp.
4. Jeera - 1/2 tsp.
5. Kalonji - 1/4 tsp.
6. Bay leaf - 1 leaf
7. Green chilli - 1
8. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp.
9. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. In a pressure pan, heat ghee, add jeera, kalonji and bayleaf. Add the chopped green chilli.
2. Add moong dal and roast for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add foxtail millet and roast for another minute.
4. Add around 4-5 cups of water, salt and turmeric powder.
5. Close the lid and wait for 3-4 whistles.
6. Stir well and serve.

Kootu

Kootu is a basic TamBrahm dish made with lentils and vegetables.
It contains almost no oil (except for the seasoning), the lentils provide protein and the vegetables provide vitamins, minerals and fiber. All in all, it is one of the healthiest side-dishes to vote for.
It can be eaten as a side dish for chapatti, or eaten with rasam rice. You can even mix it directly with rice and eat it. With the versatility it offers, and the variety of vegetables that can be used in it, we can consider making this almost every alternate day.

The most common vegetables used for kootu are ridge-gourd, chow-chow, cabbage, bottle-gourd, ash-gourd, green leaves ( palak or dhante or any other keerai).

Ingredients:

1. Vegetable of your choice (chopped into 1/2 inch pieces) - 3 cups
2. Moong dal - 1 cup
3. Green chillies - 3 or 4
4. Jeera - 1 tsp.
5. Coconut - 1/4th cup.
6. Oil - 1-2 tsp.
7. Mustard - 1 tsp.
8. Red chilly - 1
9. Urad dal - 1 tsp.
10. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Wash the chopped vegetables and moong dal and cook them together in a pressure cooker, with enough water to cover them. Cook for 2-3 whistles until the dal is soft enough to be mashed.
2. In a mixie, grind together the green chillies, jeera and coconut, with a little water to make a paste.
3. Add this to the cooked vegetable and dal and stir well. Turn on the flame and bring to boil.
4. Add salt as needed.
5. In a skillet, add oil, temper with mustard seeds, red chilly and urad dal, till the urad dal turns slightly brown.
6. Add this to the kootu and turn off the flame.

Fruitcake

Fruitcakes are my favourite among cakes and my whole purpose of learning to bake is to make fruitcakes and savour them.
I modified my previous cake recipe for banana cake a little and ended up with this delicacy that can be a great tea-time snack.


Ingredients:

1. Maida - 1 cup (125 ml)
2. Oil - 3/4 cup (around 90 ml)
3. Sugar - 1 cup (125 ml or 125 grams)
4. Eggs - 3
5. Pineapple essence - 1 tsp.
6. Baking powder - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp.
7. Tutti Fruiti (Red and green)- 50-75 grams
8. Extra flour and oil for greasing and dusting.

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Grease and dust a cake mould (I used olive oil and maida)
3. Sieve the flour and sift it together with baking powder.
4. Take the tutti fruiti in a small bowl, add a little extra flour and toss it to dust the tutti fruiti completely. This is to make sure that the tutti fruiti pieces don't sink to the bottom of the cake while baking.
5. In a mixie, powder the sugar, then add oil to this powdered sugar in the mixie and cream them together to form a runny paste.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time and quickly whisk each time for a few seconds to make sure he eggs are beaten well.
7. Add the pineapple essence and blend it again.
8. Now add the flour to this mixture little by little and fold in using a ladle. You can blend it in the mixie too, but the air trapped into the batter that way will be less.
9. Add the tutti fruiti to this mixture and fold in gently.
10. Pour this batter into the cake mould and bake for around 35-45 minutes, till a knife inserted comes out clean and the crust is slightly browned. (I baked for 45 minutes)
11. Cool it for around half an hour, cut it into slices and store in a container.

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