Sunday, January 9, 2011

Rasam vadai, Bonda Soup

This is one of my granny's recipes...A very traditional one.

Things we need

For Vada
Urad dal  - 1 1/2
Pepper
Oil to fry
Salt


For Rasam
Moong dal 1/2 cup
Urad Dal - 1 Spoon
Pepper - 10/15 corns
Asafoetida - a pinch
Cumin seeds - 1 spoon
Red chillies - 3
Salt
Tamarind paste - 3 1/2 spoons
Mustard seeds
Curry Leaves.

Vada
This recipe is meant for 4 people. You can alter according to your needs.
Soak 1 1/2 cups of urad dal  for 2 hrs. Then grind it with pepper & salt. I use an Indian mixer. So I just sprinkle water on & off while grinding in order to get a thick batter. I keep the batter in the fridge for an hour so that the batter thickens up a bit more.


Make it into flat vadas & Fry them. If this doesn't work, just make tiny balls & fry them.  (I was unable to make them into flat vada shaped ones, so i made small balls & they taste great too) . Keep them on a tissue paper to have the oil absorbed.

 Rasam
 Pressure cook the moong dal with water for 4 whistles. once done, mash the dal well & make it a little watery & set it aside.

With a little oil, roast the pepper corns, urad dal, cumin seeds, asafoetida, red chillies. Then grind them to a paste.
In a vessel take the tamarind paste add water & salt to it & allow it to boil. Then add the above masala to it & bring it to a boil till it froths. then add the dal water & allow it to boil. For the seasoning, in a kadai, take a little oil, add mustard seeds, little cumin seeds & curry leaves & add it to the rasam.

Rasam is done. Add the vadas to the rasam & allow it to soak for an hour. Well rasam vada is done.
The flavor of pepper should be on the higher side, as it gives taste to the rasam & the vada.
Pepper is very good for health & if you have noticed, for this rasam  we haven;t used toor dal. So its totally a different taste to experiment on.

Bon apétit!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Carrot Halwa/ Gajar Halwa/ Sweet Carrot pudding

Things we need



Carrot   2 lbs
Sweetened Condensed Milk  14oz
Unsalted Butter 6oz
Cashew & Almonds shriveled
Cardamon 




Peel & Grate the carrots in a food processor.In a big thick bottomed skillet, melt the butter, fry the nuts & Keep them aside.
Add the shredded carrots & saute them until they are soft (2 to 3 mins). Add the nuts to the mixture, then the  sweetened condensed milk. Mix them well and close it with a lid & allow it to cook on low flame for around 30 mins. stirring it occasionally . By then, everything is absorbed well & the butter starts oozing out. Ts done.

Serving tips

Heat the halwa a bit & serve it with ice cream. Its very yummy that way.

Its not a healthy dish for sure. But a bit of indulgence is no harm.