Tag: cardamom

Carrot Halwa (South Indian Style):

February 13, 2018

Carrot Halwa or Gajar ka halwa is a very popular Indian dessert. This halwa is everyone’s favorite in my place. They love it hot directly from the stove top as it is or with vanilla ice-cream.

It is a south Indian style preparation, which we follow in our homes. i.e. Without khoya/milk solids and it is cooked in whole milk.

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Now we will see my style of preparation,

Ingredients:

Red Delhi carrot – 1 kg

Regular carrot – ½ kg

Milk – ½ litre

Sugar – ¾  to  1 cup (according to your taste)

Ghee – ¼ cup  

Roasted Slivered almonds – 1  to2 tablespoon

Roasted cashew bits – 1 to 2 tablespoon

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp.

Method:

-Wash and peel the outer skin and grate the carrots.

carrot halwa 1

-Take one thick bottomed pan, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and fry grated carrots for 10 min, till it completely wilts.

-now add milk, cook until milk evaporates and carrot cooks.

Ribbet collage 1

-now add sugar (here we must check for required sweetness, we usually prefer a little less sweet), and mix nicely by adding the remaining ghee until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

-now garnish this with cardamom powder, roasted slivered almonds and 1 tablespoon ghee. Mix this nicely.

Serve hot as it is or with vanilla ice cream and enjoy your winter treat.

Protein rich Millet Health Mix:

January 25, 2018

Millet health mix is a wholesome breakfast solution for people who leave their home very early in the morning and yet they can get goodness of wholefood by preparing quick porridge. Once the powder is ready, it is super easy and quick to prepare and consume. One can even prepare this drink and carry it in their bag and have it at their convenience as well.

Health benefits of millets and sprouts are numerous. They are filled with nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It really boosts immune system and overall health of human body.

I prepare this porridge specially for my husband, who started following Naturopathic diet after staying and enjoying this simple diet in a Naturopathic centre. Gradually my niece who leaves home by 6:45 AM from home, started carrying this drink as her mid-morning “meal”. It is very tasty, and at the same time, healthy, filling and nutritious too.

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At first, we will prepare the powder and the procedure goes like this-

Ingredients to sprouts and Roast:

Whole wheat – 500 grams

Finger millet / Ragi – 500 grams

Pearl millet/ Bajra – 100 to 150 grams

Green gram / whole moong – 250 grams

Black Chana – 250 grams

Ingredients Only to roast:

Fox tail millet – 50 grams

Sorghum / Jowar – 50 grams

Organic Red rice – 50 – 100 grams

Sago – 100 grams

Roasted Chana – 50 to 100 grams

Almonds – 100 grams

Flax seed – 25 grams

Other ingredients:

Cardamom – 10 (whole)

Method:

-First wash all the ingredients under “Ingredients to sprouts” one by one.

Ribbet collage 1

-Soak all these for 6 to 8 hours or Overnight.

-Drain and keep it covered to germinate.

-Next day morning, spread these on a clean cloth separately, and dry under partial or direct sunlight.

-It takes 2 to 3 days to perfectly dry.

-Now you can start roasting all these dried items one by one, as well as ingredients under “Only to roast”.

-After roasting each ingredient, spread this on a newspaper or clean cloth and cool.

-Add cardamom.

– Powder this mixture in a flour mill.

Ribbet collage 2

-Store this ready flour in an air tight container and use as needed.

How to make the porridge:

I make it in two ways. One is plain and another one is with oats.

For the plain one:

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Take 4 spoons of porridge powder, add 450 ml of water, or as much as you want, according to the required consistency, and boil until it is cooked properly.

At that time, mixture will become glossy.

My husband likes this porridge with a little rock salt and a tinge of sweet (usually I add sugar free Natura)

You can either add plain sugar or Jaggery or brown unrefined sugar as well.

With Oats:

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Take 2 spoons of porridge powder, 2 spoons of Oats and proceed with the above procedure.

Bamboo Rice Payasam

November 21, 2016

Hey, it is my first post and I am super excited!!!

Want this to dedicate all my near and dears who have inspired me to start my own space and pestered me throughout. When I was thinking what to post as a first step, I remembered this recipe!

Bamboo rice is very famous in western ghat region, especially in Wayanad and Munnar region of Kerala state. It is locally known as Mulayari. Usually tribal folks will collect this and supply to the local societies. Now a day I have seen this rice in so many organic exhibitions at Bangalore as well.  I had received this unknown ingredient as a gift from my sister, who bought it from her Munnar trip, as a “new item to try” who always encouraged me to try out new recipes and appreciated my preparation throughout.

Ingredients:

Bamboo rice – 1 cup

Jaggery – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups (if you are using tinned coconut milk)

-OR-

Thin coconut milk – 2 cups

Thick coconut milk – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Coconut bits – 1 table spoon

Cashew bits – 1 table spoon

Ghee /clarified butter – 1 table spoon.

Salt – ¼ tea spoon.

Method:

-Wash Bamboo rice twice and soak this for half an hour.

– Cook this soaked rice in a cooker for 3 to 4 whistles with sufficient water.

– When it is cooked, it will be soft and you can crush it easily.

-Now add jaggery and thin coconut milk and boil this until raw smell of the jaggery vanishes.

-If you are using tinned coconut milk, add water after adding jaggery.

-When it is done, add thick coconut milk, cardamom, salt. Don’t boil much, give only one boil. Remove from the heat.

-Now take one small tawa, add little ghee, fry coconut bits and cashew separately and add this to payasam.

Enjoy this when it is hot. Don’t cool this in a fridge, outer cover of the rice tends to become hard and chewy.