Banana Halwa

     Whenever i buy banana, definitely there will be some poor well-ripe banana with no helping hands. So i use to trash it but suddenly this recipe flashed my mind and i started freezing it and tried this dish 2 days back.

ALL YOU NEED:

Ripe Banana	10 Nos.
Cardomon Powder	1 spoon
Roasted Nuts	3 spoons
Brown Sugar	1 cup
Ghee	6 spoons
Salt	Pinch

METHOD:
     Blend the ripe banana to a smooth paste. Heat 6 spoons of ghee in a nonstick pan. Roast the mixed nuts and keep it separately. Pour the banana puree, keep stirring until it reduce to half (it will start bubbling up, so be careful) and add the powdered sugar, cardamon powder, and pinch of salt. Reduce the flame to medium and keep stirring it until the mixture leaves it sides. Add roasted nuts and give a quick mix. Then take a plate or glass container and grease it with ghee and pour the halwa mixture and garnish with grated nuts. Let it cool for more than an hour and cut it to desired shape.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Ulunthu/Urad dhall Kali

     Ulunthu Kali, the best healthy sweet specially for girls/women which is recommended during puberty days. Its my long time wish to taste it once but never tasted. After many years, yesterday it tickled my taste buds so decided to prepare it at home as the ingredients are very basic which is all time available in every houses. Without further delay here come my tried and tasted (finally) dish for your review.

ALL YOU NEED:

Urad Dhall	3/4 cup
Raw Rice	2 tblsp
Gingelly Oil	1/4 cup
Jaggery	2 cups
Cardamon	2 Nos.

METHOD:
     Dry roast urad dhall in a pan until the aroma comes. Transfer it into a bowl. Add rice and dry roast for 3 mins. Let both cool for some time. Meantime, heat 3/4 cup of water in the pan, add 2 cardamon, when the water starts to boil, add 2 cups of jaggery powder. Let it boil until the jaggery dissolves in the water completely. Switch off the flame once done. Once the dry mixture is cool down, make it as fine powder in the mixie.

Add the powder in a nonstick pan, add 2 cups of water, mix it with powder without any lumps. Once done, place the pan in the stove and pour the jaggery syrup. Keep stirring in medium, make sure there are no lumps. Add 1/4 cup of gingelly oil, keep stirring until it leaves the sides of the pan. Add the remaining oil and give a quick stir as a final touch. Transfer it to the bowl and taste it.

Note: If you dont like the smell of gingelly oil, try adding ghee. I used only gingelly oil and didn't tried with ghee.

- Sangeetha Nambi

Ashoka/Moong Dhall Halwa

     Ashoka/Moondhall Halwa, am a crazy fan of all types of halwa. This i came to know through my office colleague, who bought this after his native trip. From then on i got attracted towards this soft texture and not much chewy when compare to other halwas. Thanks to Raks Kitchen for this wonderful recipe. Now let’s see my tasted and tried version.

ALL YOU NEED:

Moong dhall	1/2 cup
Chopped Nuts	3 spoons
Wheat Flour	2 1/2 spoons
Food color	Pinch
Cardamon	2 Nos.
Sugar	1 cup
Water	1 1/4 cup
Ghee	1/2 cup
Salt	Pinch

METHOD:
     Soak moong dhall for 30 mins. Powder sugar in mixie with 2 cardamons*. Pressure cook 1/2 cup moong dhall with 1 cup and little more water. Let it cool and mash it with masher or do a quick whip in mixie. Now heat 3 spoons of ghee in a nonstick pan. Add required chopped nuts and roast it for a while and separate it. Now pour cooked moong dhall, powdered sugar and food color. Mix well and add ghee with some intervals until it separates from the sides of the pan. When its not sticky to the pan, add ghee roasted nuts and mix well for 2 minutes. Once done, grease a bowl and pour the halwa. Allow it cool and enjoy it.

Note: * You can also add a 3/4 spoon of Cardamon powder if you have.

- Sangeetha Nambi

Fried Gram Ladoo

     It was a day, where my sweet bud was tickling me badly. Planned to prepare some healthy(!) sweet dish in minimal time. After a big surfing, ended up making this easy, ghee-ish, flavorful "Fried Gram" or "Pottukadalai Ladoo".

ALL YOU NEED:

Fried Gram	2 cups
Elachi	2 Nos.
Sugar	1 cup
Ghee	1/2 cup

METHOD:
     In a mixie jar, add 2 cups of fried gram, 2 elachies and sugar 1 cup. Powder it finely. Once done, heat 1/2 cups of ghee in a pan, add the powdered mixture and let the powder mix well with the ghee. Let it be in flame until the mixture becomes warm. Put off the flame. Make it as lemon sized roundels.

Note: You can also chopped nuts and raisins.

- Sangeetha Nambi

Paan Ladoo

     Paan leaf or betel leaf is considered as the nature’s best gift for digestion and as mouth freshener. This is served mandatorily after every feast ! So being a big of sweet paan, whenever i see paan stall will immediately buy without any second thought. So being crazy paan girl, this is the current trending dessert which am came/coming across from in all my fellow bloggers blog and even in the all the FB food groups. Now, it comes for your views as well.

ALL YOU NEED:

Betel Leaf	7 Nos.
Dessicated Coconut	1 cup
Condensed Milk	1/2 cup
Gulkand	To fill
Salt	Pinch
Ghee	1 spoon

METHOD:
     Clean and wash betel leaf and drain the water completely. Grind betel leaf along with required condensed milk (as per your sweet bud) in mixie. Heat a spoon of spoon of ghee in a pan. In a very medium flame, pour the grinded mixture, pinch of salt (just to enhance the sweet), add 1/2 cup of desiccated coconut, add more until the mixture becomes thick stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure to retain the green color. Let it cool. Grease your hand with ghee, take some betel leaf mixture (as we take for poori) flatten it and make a hole inbetween and add 1/4 sp of gulkand as filling and close it. Make it as roundels. Roll it in desiccated coconut. Keep repeating the process to make ladoo. Once done, refrigerate atleast for 2 hours.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Broken Wheat Kheer

     Even though am an non-sweet lover, there will be a day which will tempt me badly to have some sweet after my lunch time especially after taking non-veg meals. So, this was the dish which i prepared during my those tempted days. Now sharing this for your views.

ALL YOU NEED:

Broken Wheat	1/2 cup
Grated Coconut	2 tsps
Mixed Nuts	1/4 cup
Elachi	1 No.
Sugar	1/2 cup
Milk	3/4 cup
Ghee	2 spoons
Salt	Pinch

METHOD:
     Dry roast broken wheat rava for 3 mins. Let it cool down, take a thick bottomed pan, pour the milk, add dry roasted broken wheat and elachi. Let it be in flame until it gets cooked, add pinch of salt, just to enhance the sweetness. Meantime, in a pan, heat 2 spoons of oil, roast the mixed nuts and put off the flame. Once the broken wheat gets cooked, pour the roasted nuts and 2 spoons of grated coconut. All done now.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Kalkandu/Sugar Candy Pongal

     Before going to today's recipe, i would like to wish all my friends, co-bloggers, viewers and family on this auspicious "Tamilnadu Thanksgiving day  to Sun god, Farmers and Family"
                                       "இனிய பொங்கல் நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் "

     If this is Pongal festival, i would like to do a post related to this festival. Any guess ???!!! Yes, you guessed it right, obviously its a Pongal dish using "Sugar Candy or Kalkandu". Since i got a pack full of Sugar candy, i decided to empty it as soon as possible. When i was searching this i got a dish called "Kalkandu Rice". Suddenly flashed an idea and decided to make Kalkandu Pongal instead of Kalkandu rice. Now, its show time for your comments/feedback.

ALL YOU NEED:

Raw Rice	1 cup
Moong Dhall	1/4 cup
Sugar Candy/Kalkandu`	1 cup
Ghee	1/2 cup
Cashews	10 Nos.
Raisins	10 Nos.
Cardamom	2 Nos.
Salt	Pinch
Milk	1/2 cup
Water	3 cups

METHOD:
     Soak raw rice and Moong dhall for 30 mins in water. Drain it. Now take pressure cooker, add soaked raw rice and moong dhall. Pour 1/2 cup of milk, 3 cups of water, a tsp of ghee and 1 broken cardamom (u can also add 1/4 tsp of cardamom powder, instead of whole one) Cook it for 4 whistles. Meantime, heat a pan with less than quater cup of water, when it boils, add a cup of sugar candy and cardamom again, and stir it until all the sugar candy melts. Put off the flame. Make sure you do this syrup in medium flame. Once the pressure gets released, mash it well. If you see the full grains, add warm milk to bring it to pongal consistency. Now pour the sugar syrup, keep stir well by adding ghee. Once done, add ghee fried, raisins and cashews. Mix well. All done, its serving time.

Note: If you feel, melting down the sugarcandy it cumbersome process, you can powder the sugar candy and start mixing with the boiled rice mixture.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Rava Kesari

     Being a food blogger, most of the time, i feel guilty to tell this. Yes, generally horoscope match between me and rava/sooji, wont be soooo good. Till date, many rava recipes were went in a disaster during my first try. But, i can proudly say (!) this is the first recipe which came out with perfection in my first try. Here proudly presenting my first try of Rava Kesari

ALL YOU NEED:

Rava/Sooji	1 cup
Food Color	Pinch
Mixed nuts	1/4 cup
Cardamom	2 Nos.
Sugar	1 1/2 cup
Water	2 1/4 cups
Ghee	5 tsps
Salt	Pinch

METHOD:
     Take heavy bottomed pan. Dry roast the sooji. Let it cool down. Once done, add 2 spoons of ghee in the same pan, add mixed nuts, roast it for 2 mins. Take out from the pan. Now add the water to the pan, add pinch of salt (just to enhance the sweeetness), food color and broken cardamom. When it starts boiling, add roasted rava, keep on stirring, just to avoid lump formation, now add the sugar, give hard stir in medium flame, until the sugar mix up well. When its not sticking to the pan, switch off the flame and add the ghee roasted nuts. Serve hot. If required, you can transfer it to the ghee greased plate and cut into desired shape and you can serve.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Cashew Burfi

     Actually i should name this post as "Kaju Katli" unfortunately named it as "Cashew Burfi". You like to know the reason, keep reading :) Recently bought a big tin of cashews from wholesale store. It looks sooooo fresh and with decent shape. Each time i see that, it was calling me to prepare Kaju Katli :P Being a NOT lover person of sweets, i was keep on hesitating its call. Finally, it was diwali season last week, thought of trying it. Even i tried but the outcome became burfi, instead of kaju katli, its all because of i missed a minute to put off the flame :( Eventhough there was a small disaster, taste was too gud !

ALL YOU NEED:

Cashewnuts	1 cup
Sugar	1/2 cup
Water	1/4 cup
Salt	Pinch
Ghee	To grease

METHOD:
     Take a dry mixer, add the cashews (should be in room temperature for a while) and grind it to a fine powder in a single shot i.e. without opening the lid of the mixer. Its because, if you give a gap, the powder will stick to the mixer. So, please take a care on that. Suppose, if it is sticky, not a problem but it will take some time to mix up with sugar syrup by forming lumps. Once grinding the cashew, now take a heavy bottomed, add sugar and water. Keep stirring until it reaches syrup consistency. To check that, take some water in a small bowl, add a drop of sugar syrup, when it form a string shape, its the perfect consistency. Now add the cashew powder, give a hard stir until it mix up with the sugar syrup. Let it be in flame for 5 mins and put off the flame. Grease a plate with a spoon of ghee, now pour the cashew mixture to the plate and cut as per your desired shape. Same procedure to be followed for "Kaju Katli" but you should put off the flame, when you can make it as small round balls.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Apple Halwa

    As i already told in all my previous sweet posts, we all don't like sweet much. But still, will try sweets once in a while. Its one among them. Few days back i got a dozen of apples sitting untouched. I don't know how to empty that,at the same i don't feel like eating it as plain fruit and even as juice. Suddenly this got flashed my mind and here comes for ur views.

ALL YOU NEED:

Grated Apples	1 cups
Thick Milk	2 cups
Food Color	Pinch
Mixed nuts	1/4 cup
Sugar	To Taste
Ghee	5 spoons

METHOD:
     Peel the skin of apples. Grate it well and squeeze it by hand to take off the water. Its not mandatory to squeeze all the water. Now take heavy bottomed pan, add a spoon of ghee, now fry cashews, raisins, badam etc. Transfer it to another bowl. Now add grated apples with a cardamom and food color. Now pour 2 cups of milk with required sugar. Keep stiring until the apple gets cooked. Now add a spoon of ghee, keep on stirring until it reaches halwa consitency and add on the fried nuts and garnish with nuts if required.

I am sending this recipe to Lets cook with apples event by "Simplyfood"

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Semiya Kheer

    Can you think of any kheer/payasam without ghee ?! This is one among them. All time, infact till now, i was bit sceptical to try any dishes with Semiya/Vermicelli and Rava/Sooji. Yes, for sure it will end up as disaster mission. Actually this is my second try. Click here for traditional version. This version is very simple without any garnishing work. Its very easy and at the same time aroma and taste will be like yum yum ! Do try this and let me know your comments. With this note, i would like to convey this is my 3000th post..... Hurrrrrrraaaaayyyyyyy !

ALL YOU NEED:

Roasted Semiya	1 cup
Thick Milk	2 cups
Mixed Nuts	1/2 cup
Cardamom	1 No.
Sugar	To Taste

METHOD:
    Take heave bottomed pan. Heat 2 cups of milk along with sugar and cardamom. Let it boil well, until it become much thicker. Now add on all the nuts and stir well. Let it boil for 5 mins. Now add roasted semiya, put the flame in simmer. Stir it well. Since we are using thick milk, keep an eye on milk i.e. it should not get burnt. Let it be in flame, until the semiya gets cooked. Once done, adjust with salt if required and transfer to serving bowl and enjoy !

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Shahi Tukda

     Main reason which forced me to prepare this recipe was, i got some left over homemade sugar syrup at home. Yes, couple of weeks back i prepared Gulab jamun. Jamun got vanished on the same day but the poor sugar syrup was still there silently. I dont want to waste it so while i was searching google to empty the sugar syrup, i got this recipe. On seeing the NAME in my co-bloggers space, i thought for sure its a complicated recipe but when i was checking the method, then i realized how easy it is. Even-though am not a sweet lover i tried this immediately for our evening snack.

ALL YOU NEED:

Bread slices	3 Nos.
Ghee	2 spoon
Sugar Syrup	1 cup
Dry Fruits	1/4 cup
Sugar	1 spoon
Nuts	1/4 cup

METHOD:
     Take a wide pan, pour 2 cups of milk and sugar. Stir well and let it boil for 5 mins and add the nuts and dry fruits. Simmer it and allow it to reduce. Meantime, cut all the bread slices diagonally. Heat a tawa with 2 spoons of ghee, once done, toast the slices on both sides. Immediately put the toasted slices in the sugar syrup for 5 seconds. Place it in a wide plate. Once the milk gets reduced allow it cool well and pour it over the bread slices and enjoy !

Note: You can also add saffron into the milk just to give the rich look.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Orange Cauliflower

     "Orange Cauliflower", is the "Orange" denotes the color or fruit ??!! Any guess !!! Ok, Ok, will tell you :) Name is due to the addition of Orange fruit juice to this recipe. Guess, its very unique dish. Hope even you will agree to this, If not, please agree to the FACT :P Fine without wasting/pulling your time, this is the new recipe which came from a chicken dish. Since i want to try it at home, i tried with cauliflower and here comes it for your views.

            

ALL YOU NEED:

Chopped Garlic	6 Nos.
Chopped Ginger	1/2 inch
Chilly Flakes	1 spoon
Spring Onion	1/4 cup
Orange Juice	1 cup
Honey	1 spoon
Oil	2 spoons

To Marinate:

Cauliflower	8 Florets
Pepper powder	1/2 spoon
Maida	2 spoon
Corn Flour	1 spoon
Food Color	Pinch
Water	To Marinate
Salt	Pinch
Oil	Deep Fry

METHOD:
     Take a cauliflower florets in a wide bowl, add maida, corn flour, pepper powder, food color, pinch of salt and marinate by adding required water. Let it sit for a while. Meantime, heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Once done, deep fry all the florets.

     Heat a spoon of oil in a pan, add chopped garlic and ginger, saute it for 2 mins and now pour a cup of orange juice and a spoon of sugar, let it get reduced. Make sure, it should not get caramelized. Now add the deep fried florets, do fine sauting until it get mixed with the juice mixture and as a final touch add honey and spring onion. Toss it and serve hot. Since it is a sweet dish, u can eat it for your evening snack.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Rava Paniyaram

     Rava Paniyaram/Kachayam, its our very own salem special snack which can be prepared in very minimal time. If there is any feast day, this will be available by default. Also, if i feel like munching any sweet snack immediately, this will be my immediate recipe. Though its very simple to make, there wont e any compromise in the taste. Yes, it will have heavenly taste. So, here comes the nativity snack for your views.

                     

                       

ALL YOU NEED:

Maida	1 cup
Rava	1/2 cup
Banana	1 No.
Sugar	To Taste
Milk	1 cup
Cardamom Powder	1/4 spoon
Grated coconut	handful
Cooking Soda	Pinch
Water	Required
Oil	To deep fry

METHOD:
     Take a wide bowl, add maida, rava, cardamom powder, cooking soda, milk and required sugar. Give hard stir. Let it sit down for 20 mins. Heat oil in a pan. Meantime give hard stir to the batter, if it is not in bonda mixture consistency add required water. Add grated coconut. Adjust with sugar if required. Once the oil gets heated, take a small ladle full of batter and put it into the oil. Fry until it gets cooked

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Rava Ladoo

     I should say this is We are not sweet lovers so its very rare to see sweet post in my blog. Once in a while i use to prepare sweet at home, think today is that "Once in a while" day, that too its "Hot from the stove" post :P Yes, am posting this immediately i prepared the ladoo ! so that i'll not forget the preparation method :D Here's my method !

ALL YOU NEED:

Rava/Sooji	1 cup
Sugar	1/2 cup+2sp
Chopped Cashew	3 tbsp
Elachi	2 nos.
Ghee	1/4 cup
Milk	1/4 cup
Raisins	2 tbsp

METHOD:
     Take a wide tawa, add 2 spoon of oil, roast chopped cashew and raisin (i used dried cranberries) Once done, take off from the stove. Now add the rava, fry it until nice aroma comes.DONT BURN IT. Once done, allow it too cool. Now add sugar, mix well. Powder the rava mixture coarsely along with elachi in mixer. Now place the powdered mixer in a wide pan, add roasted nuts, raisins and ghee. If the mixture is still seperating, sprinkle required milk, mix well and make round balls by pressing tightly. Once all done, taste your yummilicious ladoo. :-)

Note: You can also substitute milk with ghee, which will help you to keep ladoo stocked for a week.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Pumpkin halwa

     Nowadays i feel like am a long mile away from yhis blogging world. Eventhough i have quit my job, its very difficult to manage my blog with my kid. Actually she is letting me to touch my laptop, all time she is owning that :-( but still i dont want to leave my space just like that. So finally got my laptop free'd and planned to post a sweet which i prepared/tried on diwali :-)

ALL YOU NEED:

Grated pumpkin	5 cups
Elachi powder	Pinch
Food color	Pinch
Ghee	4 tbsps.
Sugar	To taste
Nuts	1/2 cup

METHOD:
     Take a wide tawa, add 2 spoons of ghee, fry the required nuts and keep aside. Now, add grated pumpkin, let it boil until it gets raw smell goes off. Add a pinch of food color and the required sugar. Keep on stiring it by adfing ghee inbetween, make sure it should not get burnt or stick to the pan. Quantity of the added pumpkin will get reduced. Though i added 5 cups, got only a small cup of halwa :-( Once you are reached halwa consistency, add the roasted nuts and put off the flame.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Kollukattai

     Being a lazy girl, always i'll be very sceptical to take up sweet for preparation. I got 2 reasons behind that 1. We are not sweet loving family. 2. I need lot of patience to prepare the sweets. That too Kozhukattai, OMG!!!!! to be frank, this was the first time i prepared in my life time, that too because of Vinayagar Chathurthi fest. Usually if this occassion comes, will immediately run to my mom or in-laws place just to get free'd from this preparation but this time Vinayagar loved to taste my Kozhukattai and Sundal it seems :( due to some reason, we celebrated in our home :( So, i(Myself !!!) prepared this Kozhukatti and Sundal for Pooja. Finally, everything came out well and my lil one enjoyed thorougly and even the vinayagar too.... :P

P.S: My cam had some problem then. so here am sharing my procedure and the clicks with very bad clarity :(

ALL YOU NEED:

Rice Flour	1 cup
Salt	Pinch
Water	Required

For Stuffing:

Raosted Groundnut	1/2 cup
Powdered Jaggery	1/3 cup

METHOD:
     Do a whipper in mixie with unskined roasted groundnut and jaggery powder. Keep it aside. Take a wide bowl, add Rice flour, pinch of salt and make it as a dough without any lumps and it SHOULD NOT watery. Make even sized balls out of it. Take a polytene cover, grease it with oil, take a dough ball and flatten it using your finger until it comes thin. Now add a spoon of powdered groundnut + Jaggery mixture and close the both ends. Repeat the process. Now place all the kozhukattai in an idly plates and steam it for 10 minutes. Once done, allow it to cool down and Enjoy with Sundal !!!

Note: You can substitute groundnut with white/black roasted sessame seeds too.

    Sending to the event CWS-Peanuts hosted by Priya.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬

Sweet Paniyaram

     As most of my bloggers know that my family will always say Big NO to sweet dishes. So, mostly will think twice or thrice before i do any sweet dishes. At the same time, just want to give a try on this sweet paniyaram dish atleast once in my life time(!). Finally thought of preparing it one day with minimal batter. Am damn sure my husband will not even taste 1, but i had full hope on my lil one who will enjoy the dish for sure. Thank my God kid, she didnt spoil my hope ! who really loved the crispy, tasty sweet paniyaram and also emptied a full bowl.

ALL YOU NEED:

Dosa Batter	1 cup
Sliced Coconut	1/4 cup
Jaggery	1 cup
Elachi	2 Nos.
Water	3/4 cup
Ghee	Required

METHOD:
     Heat 3/4 cup of water in pan, allow it to get boiled. Now add the jaggery, sliced coconut pieces, powdered elachi and stir it until it dissolve properly and comes to a syrup consistency. Allow it to cool well, make sure it should not get harden. Once done, pour the syrup into the dosa batter and give hard stir. Paralley heat paniyaram tawa by greasing each hollows with 1/2 spoon of ghee. Once it gets heated, pour batter in each hollows and add ghee over it. Flip it, until it gets cooked. Now serve hot.

♬ Sangeetha♡Nambi ♬