Boondhi Laddu Recipe

     Boondhi laddu is one of the sweets that we usually make with ease for Diwali. I had been looking forward to try this sweet on my own. Had taken the final pics one day and the step wise pics the other time, as making the sweet + taking the pics makes it very tiresome !!! Apart from shaping the sweetened boondhis as laddus, we also have a practice of filling them in metallic cones which is traditionally called Parupu Thengai, finding its place in TamBrahm marriages and other auspicious functions. Though the Paruppu thengai is popular with sweet boondhi, it can also be made with many other fillings like, sweetened cashews, jaggery coated groundnuts, manoharam (jaggery coated thenkuzhal) etc.

     My mom is an expert in making laddus. She made big laddus in 3 batces for my engagement :) (I helped her a little in holding the laddle firmly, measuring the raw materials etc :P and then gobbling 2 or 3 laddus at every stage in return for my help !!)

     Also one special mention about these laddus is that they are adorning my blog as the 50th post in the completion of a 6 month old blogging journey !!! 

Prep Time: 20 mins || Cook Time: 50 mins + 20 mins for shaping laddus || Yields: 35 to 40 laddus || Category: Sweet

Ingredients:

1. Gram flour (Besan flour) - 3 cups

2. Sugar - 3 cups

3. Cooking soda (Sodium Bi-carbonate) - a pinch

4. Salt - a pinch

5. Food colour (red) - a pinch

6. Oil - as required to fry

7. Ghee - 4tbsp

8. Cardamom powder - 2 tsp

9. Sugar candy (diamond kalkandu) - 3 tbsp

10. Cashews - 10 to 15

11. Cloves - 8 to 10

Method:

1. Measure equal parts of besan flour and sugar separately and keep aside. For sugar syrup, dissolve the measured sugar in water (just needed for immersing the sugar in) and then switch on the stove. 

Add a pinch of sodium bi carbonate and a pinch of salt to the measured besan flour and mix well. Slowly add water and make a batter of slightly thick consistency. 

 2. Allow the sugar syrup to boil and reach a single string consistency. Switch off the flame. After 2-3 mins, add food colour and mix well. (I added a few drops of water to a pinch of food colour and mixed well and then transferred it slowly to the sugar syrup with constant stirring). Parallely heat required amount of oil in a kadai for making boondhi.

 3. Check the hotness of oil by dropping a little amount of the batter. If the batter rises and comes to the surface, the hotness of the oil is sufficient. Take a boondhi laddle and pour some batter on it and spread with a laddle quickly. Once the boondhis have occupied the space in the kadai, stop spreading with the laddle and clear the batter from the boondhi laddle into the batter container.

 4. Stir and turn the boondhis to their other side, to ensure uniform heat during the cooking process. After 2-3 mins, take the boondhi using a perforated laddle and transfer to the hot sugar syrup.

 5. Repeat the above process until all the batter is over. Finally, fry the cashews in ghee, cloves in oil (the cloves will splutter, so make sure to stand away from the hot oil) and add to the boonhis added to the sugar syrup. Also add cardamom powder and sugar candy and hot ghee and mix well. When it is warm enough to handle, make small rounds and set them aside for cooling.

Suggestions:

•  If the batter is made to rest for a while, it slightly ferments. So, the batter for boondhi,  sugar syrup should be made parallely. As the sugar syrup gets done, say about 75% done, oil should be heated parallely for frying the boondhis. 
• While making the sugar syrup, do not switch on the flame, until all the sugar has dissolved completely in normal water. If the sugar solution is heated, even before the sugar dissolves, it will lead to a brown syrup with caramelised sugar.
• After adding the fried boondhis to the sugar syrup, if the stickiness of sugar is found to be less, then heat ghee and add to the boondhi in syrup which will make the sugar syrup become loose in the hotness of the ghee.
• Also, boondhis can be added from hot oil directly into the sugar syrup, which will retain the sticky nature of the sugar syrup making it easy to shape them into laddus.

Yummy home-made boondhi laddus are ready !! They stay good for 8-10 days unrefrigerated.

Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe

     Broccoli Stir Fry is the simplest recipe that I had tried with Broccoli to start with. Though not so much tasty as the Broccoli Bharta, this is a dish loaded with nutrients and can be made easily and quickly, to accompany a roti/phulka or for normal rice and sambar combo.
Without much to talk about the dish, let us head to the recipe directly :P

Prep Time: 10 mins || Cook Time: 25 mins || Serves: 2 || Category: Side-dish for rice/roti

Ingredients:
1. Broccoli - 1 small crown
2. Olive oil - 1 tbsp
3. Onion - 1 small
4. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
5. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
6. Urad dal - 2 tsp
7. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
8. Hing - 2 tsp
9. Salt - as required
10. Pepper powder - 1 tsp
11. Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Method:
1. Cut broccoli into small florets, wash them and then cook them in water, adding a tsp of salt. Cook covered for about 5-7 mins or until the broccoli pieces turn soft. 

2. Once the broccoli is cooked, drain the water completely.

3.  In a pan/kadai, heat some olive oil and splutter the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fry urad dal. Add roughly chopped onions, turmeric powder, hing and saute for 2 mins until the onions turn translucent. Add pepper powder and chilli powder and saute for 2 more mins.

4. Then add the steamed/cooked broccoli and give a quick stir. Cook covered for 3-5 mins and then switch off the flame.

I had it with the usual rice-sambar combo for lunch..

Broccoli Bharta Recipe

     I am a fan of Baingan Bharta (Brinjal gravy) as a side-dish for roti/phulka etc. Few days back I came across a twist of the recipe with Broccoli in the place of brinjal, in my friend Sreeraksha's blog here . Immediately I bookmarked it to try it some day. 

Had 2 crowns of Broccoli lying in the fridge. I made a stir fry with one and Broccoli Bharta with the other one. Was so happy and satisfied with the dish, as even broccoli could be given a tasty, inviting-to-eat form :P

Now, over to the recipe.........

Prep Time: 5 mins || Cook Time: 30 mins || Serves: 3 || Category: Side-dish for chappathi/roti

Ingredients:

1. Onion - 1 (medium size)

2. Tomato - 1 (medium size)

3. Broccoli - 1 small crown

4. Oil - 2 tbsp

5. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp

6. Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

7. Green chili - 1

8. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

9. Hing - 2 tsp

10. Garam masala - 2tsp

11. Coriander powder - 2 tsp

12. Salt - as required

13. Boiled Rajma - handful (optional)

14. Lemon juice - from 1/2 lemon

15. Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Cut broccoli into small florets, wash them and then cook them in water, adding a tsp of salt. Cook covered for about 5-7 mins or until the broccoli pieces turn soft. 

 2. Once the broccoli is cooked, drain the water completely and mash it well using a laddle or a potato masher. (mashed broccoli is not shown here)

3. In the same pan, add oil and fry cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, green chilli, onion and turmeric powder, hing. Saute till the onions turn translucent. Add chopped tomatoes, garam masala, coriander powder and mix well. Keep covered and cook for about 5-8 mins or until the tomatoes turn mushy.

4. Now add the mashed broccoli and mashed rajma (red kidney bean) and mix well. Add little water for the veggies to blend well and cook covered for 2 mins. Add required amount of salt and stir well. Cook for 2 mins and switch off. After the gravy has slightly cooled down, add some lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves.

Suggestions:

• Steamed/cooked broccoli can also be run in a food processor/mixie instead of mashing it manually.
• Adding Rajma is optional. I added it as I had a lot of them soaked for some other gravy.
• Garam masala can also be substituted with normal sambar powder.

I enjoyed the warm Broccoli Bharta with soft phulkas for breakfast !!!

Akki Roti Recipe (Rice flour roti)

     A famous breakfast dish from Karnataka's cuisine. Apart from this one-liner intro, for me personally, it carries good memories of my college days. In college, I had a kannadiga friend from whom I got to taste this roti during lunch. With the few rotis she brings for herself, she would also share a piece with us, the other 3 second benchers :)  Thats when I got hooked to its taste and aroma. Few months back I got this recipe from her over whatsapp. And I tried it out yesterday evening. Thanks Apoorva !! It turned out good and we enjoyed a new dish :)
     In a way it reminded me of the verum arisi adai (plain rice flour adai) that we make with a more liquid form of batter with murungai keerai. I can now add this dish, to the group of quick fix tiffins that can be made without a conventional dosa/idli batter.

Prep Time: 10 mins || Cook Time: 25 mins || Yields: 4 || Category: Breakfast/Tiffin

Ingredients:
1. Rice flour - 250gm
2. Onion - 1 (small)
3. Green chillies - 1 or 2
4. Hing - 2 tsp
5. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
6. Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
7. Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
8. Ginger - 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
9. Salt - as required
10. Oil - as required

Method:
1. Mix the rice flour with finely chopped onion, green chillies, grated coconut ginger, hing, cumin seeds, coriander leaves and salt. 

2.  Add warm water little by little and make it a soft dough. Divide the dough into equal sized balls. Take a ball and spread it evenly on a butter paper/aluminium foil/banana leaf, greasing the hand with oil, slightly.

 3. Meanwhile heat a dosa pan or a wok. Carefully transfer the roti to the hot pan and cook in medium flame. Make a small hole in the middle, for the roti to get cooked. Cook covered for a min.

 4. Flip the roti to the other side drizzling enough oil. Cook the roti until it is slightly golden. Enjoy it hot with tomato chutney or any tangy dip of your choice.

Suggestions:

• For a crunchy texture, add 2 tbsp of bengal gram (soaked for 30 mins in water & drained) or hyacinth bean (broad bean/avaraikkai).
• Can also add finely chopped dill leaves for added flavour.
• Always have the flame in medium for getting uniform well cooked rotis.

I had the roti with a tangy Amla pachadi..