Kheer (Rice Pudding)

Wish you all a very Happy Dushera! Dushera being a celebration of the triumph of Good over evil, it is celebrated across India with a lot of enthusiasm. The day before Dushera is the ninth day of Navaratri. Traditionally in my home, we have special pooja and we worship Goddess Durga with lot of love and faith. That day we make couple of traditional dishes to offer Goddess Durga as prasad. And one of them is Kheer or Rice Pudding. There are many different traditional ways to make Rice Pudding. I am sharing my version for making Rice Pudding, that I find to be quick and instant. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice

1-2 tsp. Ghee

4-5 cup Milk

1-1/4 cup Sugar / 1 6oz-8oz can condensed milk

1 tsp. Cardamom Powder

1 tsp. Nutmeg

10-15 pcs of Almonds & Pistachios

10-12 pcs of Raisins

8-10 pcs of Saffron Strings

Recipe:

• Soak 1 cup of Rice in water for 15-20mins. 
• Once the rice is soaked well, strain the water out of rice and add 1tsp. of ghee to grease it.
• In a pressure cooker add 1-1/2 cup of milk and heat it. 
• When the milk comes to a boil, add the greased rice into it and pressure cook it for 2 whistles at medium heat. 
• Meanwhile in another cooking pan, add 4 cups of milk and let it boil for 20 mins until it is reduced to 3 cups. 
• Stir the milk at short intervals so it does not stick to the bottom.
• Your rice must have been cooked by now. Let the pressure cooker get simmered completely.
• Open the pressure cooker and shift cooked rice in milk into the boiling milk.
• Stir well and let it boil for 2 mins.
• Let the pudding boil for 10-15mins or until the milk is blended well with rice and the consistency is changed to thick. 
• As you see that the Kheer or Rice pudding is almost done, add Cardamom Powder, Nutmeg Powder, Saffron to it. Mix Well.
• Garnish it with Almonds & Pistachios while serving it warm or Cold.

Note: 

1. Here you can add sugar or condensed milk. I used sugar as I was making it authentically for pooja.
2. You can add or decrease the amount of Sugar or Condensed milk as per your taste. The measurement given is according to my family taste and we don't like anything too sweet.
3. Make sure to keep stiring after adding sugar or condensed milk to it. 

Enjoy!

Wheat Flour Semolina Ladoo made from Gudd (jaggery)… Gujju Style;)

Ganapati Bapa Moriya! Ladoo's for Ganpati Bappa on Viserjan!

One more sweet dish / bhog dish. One of the family favorite.  Ladoo / Ladu (in gujarati) made from a wheat flour semolina, Jaggery, nuts, and clarified butter (ghee). From my childhood I remember this dish made by my mom during Ganesh Utsav and many other occasions. This dish isnot only made in my family. But it's made by hundreds of families in Gujarat. 

As they say Ganapati Bapa loves Modak / Ladoo….so do I and my family. The moment I get a thought to make them, my mouth starts watering. They are so easy & simple to make. As a child, I always felt, while helping my mom in kitchen, that rolling Ladoo is the most easy work. But before rolling them we have to do little process ahead.

As you all might be thinking Wheat Flour Semolina must be something we can buy from market. But that's not true. Actually one has to buy coarse wheat flour from the market and after a process you can make semolina out of it. My step by step recipe will explain you how to make "Semolina" out of wheat flour. 

In a bowl add oil and mix Coarse wheat flour by rubbing with your palm so that the oil is evenly spread into the flour. Now add milk or water (I have used milk) slowly into to the flour as required and form it into a dough. The dough should be not too soft or not too hard….it should be like a paratha / cookie dough. You can use food processor or dough maker to form the dough. Once the dough is formed make even parts of it and roll them in your fist. So the dough will be shaped in a fist form or balls. Now heat Ghee / Clarified butter in a frying pan and shallow fry the dough parts in it at medium heat until they turn into golden red color. Once all the fist shaped / rolled dough is cooked, break it into two pieces and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then put them into a dry mixing blender or food processor and grind it until it become even and fine like a Semolina.

Now as your Semolina is ready from wheat flour, remove it in a mixing bowl from the blender. Heat the ghee again and add jaggery(Gudd) to it. As the jaggery (Gudd) starts melting add Raisins, broken cashews into it. As the jaggery (Gudd) melts, it will start rising. Shut the heat off as soon as you see the jaggery (Gudd) rising. Let the mixture cool for 2-3mins and then add it into the Semolina flour. Add Cardamom powder & nutmeg powder into it. Start forming round even size ball or ladoo out of it. Garnish it with dry shredded coconut and saffron. 

Enjoy this delicious mouthwatering Ladoo:)

STEP BY STEP RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 cup Coarse Wheat Flour

1 tbsp. Oil

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. milk / water

3-4 tbsp. Ghee / Clarified Butter

1 cup + 1 tbsp. shredded or crushed Jaggery (Gudd)

 1/4 tsp. Cardamom powder

1/4 tsp. nutmeg powder

1 tbsp. Raisins (Optional)

1 tbsp. Broken Cashews (Optional)

1 tbsp. chopped Almonds (Optional)

1 tbsp. of Shredded dry / fresh coconut for garnish (Optional)

1 pinch of Saffron for garnish (Optional)

Instructions: 

• In Coarse wheat flour add oil and rub it with palm to spread oil evenly in flour
• Add milk / water as required to form the dough
• Make even parts of dough and form them into fist shape
• Heat Ghee or clarified butter / oil in a pan and shallow fry the fist shape dough
• Fry them till golden and red in color
• Once fried…Cool them to room temperature for 5-10 mins
• Blend them into a mixer / food process till fine semolina is formed
• Heat the leftover clarified ghee as required and add jaggery(Gudd) into it
• Add Raisings, Cashews and almonds into the jaggery mixture
• Heat them until the jaggery(Gudd) is raised and separated from Ghee.
• Cool it for 5-7mins.
• Add the jiggery(Gudd) mixture into Wheat Semolina 
• Add Cardamom & Nutmeg powder into it.
• Mix well and form round balls / Ladoo out of it
• Garnish them with shredded coconut powder & Saffron
• Enjoy!

Variation: You can make same Ladoo out of Sugar instead of Gudd (Jaggery). For Sugar Ladoo, do not heat the Ghee (clarified butter)....Recipe coming soon.

Also, You can also bake the dough like a cookie in oven at 180degree C for 25 mins or until the cookie dough is baked from inside and turns golden brown from outside. 

Vegetable Kadai Paneer Paratha...a treat for Paratha (Indian Bread) Lovers!

Vegetable Kadai Paneer Paratha...a treat for Paratha (Indian Bread) Lovers...........full of Low Calorie, Low Carb, Full of Fiber & Nutrients!

We all are familiar with Veg Kadai or Kadai Paneeer as a popular Curry entree in Indian Cusine. I have seen one of the two in almost every fine dining menu. Kadai Paneer or Veg Kadai is not only made in Kadai but also made with the flavorful and aroma-full KADAI MASALA. We love the dishes made out of Kadai Masala. So I have come up with a new dish which has Veggies, Paneer, Kadai Masala and it's also Paratha (some bread). I made this as a first meal of the day and so I was very careful to balance nutrients along with flavor. These Paratha's are Low in Calories, Full of Fiber with lots of nutrients and are also low fat and low carb. 

And to make them quick & reduce the labor I have used a food processor to chop all the vegetables, paneer & for binding the dough. It reduces not only your cooking time but more importantly, the efforts you need to put in to make healthy homemade Veg Kadai Paneer Parathas.

I have used homemade Kadai Masala and will share the quick recipe soon. But, you can also use the one you get in market. 

You can have Veg Kadai Paratha with Pickle, Salad or Raita. We had them with Strawberry Raita.

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Wheat Barn Flour

1/2 cup Coarse Yellow Corn Flour

1 cup finely chopped Onions

1 cup finely chopped Bellpeper

1 cup finely chopped Cauliflower

1 cup finely chopped Carrots

1 inch Ginger

2-3 Green Chillies (as per taste....more if you like spicy)

1 cup Spinach and Tomato Puree (1 piece of plum tomato, ginger, green chillies & handful of clean spinach leaves)

3 tbsp of Kadai Masala (Recipe coming soon)

1 tbsp of yogurt / Amchur (Dry Mango) Powder / Anar Dana Powder (you can use any one of it for tanginess) 

1/2 tsp. Jeera (Cumin Seeds)

1/4 tsp. Ajwain (Carom Seeds / Thyme)

1 tbsp. chat masala powder

4 tbsp of Oil

Salt to taste

Recipe:

• In a bowl take Whole Wheat Barn flour & add 1 tbsp of oil to it. 
• Mix the oil in the flour and add coarse yellow corn flour to it. 
• Add Salt, Jeera (cumin seeds), Ajwain (carom seeds) to it. 
• Now start adding finely chopped onion, bell peppers, carrots & cauliflower to it. 
• Mix well and add a tbsp. of plain yogurt or amchur powder and chat masala powder to it. Start binding dough, adding ginger, garlic, tomato and spinach puree in the process. 
• Once the dough is formed grease your hands. 
• Make round balls of the dough. Duster the dough balls with whole wheat flour and roll the parathas with a rolling pin. 
• Heat a pan on stove and add a drop of oil to pan before placing the rolled paratha. 
• Cook paratha on one side and then flip it over. 
• Again cook it on other side. 
• Once it's cooked on both the side you can add couple drops of Oil or butter and roast them on both the ends by pressing with a spatula. 
• Adding oil or butter is optional. 
• You can also make oil free paratha by just pressing the paratha with spetula and roasting them tell they get crispy and red in color. 

Note: You can bind the dough with hands or use a dough maker or a food processor. I normally use food processor to bind the paratha or roti dough.

Also I roll the parathas medium sized and not too thick or thin. Rolling them thick makes them take longer to cook, while leaving them thin risks getting them burnt. 

I served them hot with green chilly, Salad and Strawberry Raita. (Recipe coming soon)

      

 

 

Dates, Almond & Cashew Ladoo (Diet: Sugar Free & Trans Fat free)

Quick Recipe - Dates, Almond & Cashew Ladoo (Diet: Sugar Free & Trans Fat free)

Hey Friends,

Bonapetitfoodies welcomes you all with a diet bite for people with a sweet tooth. I love sweets. But, don't eat them because of the calories. So I tried my mom's recipe for my sweet tooth. Its quick and easy to be made by anyone. If you don't like to spend hours in kitchen then this is one for you. They can be made in 10 mins, enjoyed in bite portions and yet satisfy your sweet tooth. Also, you can eat them while fasting during Ramzan & Navratri. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Pitted Dates

1/2 cup almonds and cashews (I have used more almonds and less cashews to avoid calories)

2-3 drops of Clarified butter (ghee) or Butter to grease your hand

Recipe:

In a blender or food processor blend Dates, Almonds & Cashew coarse. Do not blend them very fine. You would love its crunchy bites in your mouth. Remove them in a bowl and grease your hand with clarified butter or butter and make small mouth-melting size of balls or Ladoo's.

They are ready to serve your guest for Eid or eat them anytime.

Enjoy:)