Bread Puttu

I love puttu. But I don't have a puttu maker :( I came across this instant puttu recipe from Priya's blog. It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare. This is how I made it...

Ingredients:
Bread slices(I used whole wheat)-3
Sugar-according to taste
Cardamom-1/4 tsp
Coconut grated-2 tbsp
Ghee-1 tsp
Chopped almonds-4

Method:
Heat ghee in a pan. Fry almonds for a few seconds. Add coarsely ground bread pieces and fry for a minute.
Add coconut, cardamom and sugar to the pan and fry for a minute.
Voila! It's done. Yummy low fat snack is ready.

Theratti Pal - Milk Sweet

Theratti Pal - Milk Sweet

The first sweet which comes to mind before starting any happy occasion is Theratti Pal. Be it an engagement or a wedding, a baby shower or the first birth day of a baby, or an upanayanam (thread ceremony), Theratti Pal is the first sweet to be prepared amidst great merriment. When the groom’s party arrives for the wedding, the bride’s mother welcomes them by handing over Theratti Pal to the groom’s mother. This is an age old custom. Theratti Pal plays an integral part in weaving and bonding relationships old and new. This sweet is prepared only with whole milk and sugar. Here is Theratti Pal for a happy bonding. This is sent with best wishes and many happy returns for Aparna's blog birthday. Sweet Celebrations are on at My Diverse Kitchen!


INGREDIENTS:
Whole full cream milk – 4 cups (1 litre)
Sugar – 1 cup (250 gms)
METHOD:
1. Choose a large wide mouthed thick bottomed wide vessel, as it should sustain boiling milk, without overflowing.
2. Bring milk to a boil.
3.Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to prevent overflow, stirr and continue boiling.
4. Keep stirring frequently to prevent burning.
5. The milk will reduce considerably, and after about 30 minutes, it will become thick and slushy. 6. At this point add the sugar and continue to cook and stir. In another 15 minutes or so the the Theratti Pal leaves the sides of the vessel and come together with a coarse consistency.

The sweet gets its reddish colour due to evaporation of the milk, and slight caramelising of the sugar. The whole area gets filled with aroma when stirring this sweet. The lovely flavour of full cream milk, is in itself very pleasant. Hence, the addition of saffron strands or cardamom powder is only optional.

Bisi Bele Bath

Sagari's Bisi bele bath pictures were so tempting that I made this dish today. I quickly glanced at the ingredients she had used and prepared it in a different way.

Ingredients:
1. To pressure cook:
Rice-1/2 cup
Thur dhal-1/4 cup
Water-2.5 cups(or adjust according to how mushy you want the rice to get)

2. To roast in a drop of oil and grind(roast everything except coconut till golden brown and finally add coconut and fry for another minute):
Coriander seeds-1 tbsp
Channa dal-1 tbsp
Red chillis-4
Cloves-2
Cinnamon-1 inch stick
Coconut grated-2 tbsp

3. Seasonings:
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Jeera-1 tsp
Hing-a pinch
Curry leaves-a few
Cashews-10
Raisins-1 tsp(optional)

4. Other ingredients:
2 cups of Veggies(like onions, potatoes, carrots, peas, corn)
Garlic finely chopped-2 pods
Salt
Turmeric powder-a pinch
Oil-1 tbsp
Ghee-2 tbsp
Tamarind-small lime size
Coriander leaves- to garnish

Method:
Pressure cook rice and dhal together with water till they turn soft and mushy.
Roast the ingredients listed in 2 and grind it to a fine powder.
Soak tamarind in warm water and extract 2 cups of tamarind water and set aside. Heat oil in a pan, fry chopped veggies and garlic for 5 minutes. Add salt, turmeric powder and tamarind extract. Let the mixture boil for 10 minutes till the veggies are cooked and raw smell of tamarind goes off. Add the ground masala powder, cooked rice and dhal, salt if necessary. Mix well and turn off the heat. Do the seasoning with ghee and pour on top of the mixture. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Some of you know that I won the diet food event hosted by Divya. I thank her for sending me a sweet gift card! It was so nice to receive it!! My special thanks to all those who voted for me :)

I managed to prepare Bisi bele bath without a drop of ghee :-) I used only oil in this recipe. Of course, it will taste best with ghee.