Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Beetroot Halwa - Beet Root Fondant

BEET ROOT HALWA

I felt as if I was on cloud 9 when I reached Sydney, after a lot of Aussie visa confusion, anxiety and delay , just in time to receive the new bud which was about to bloom in our family tree. We had of course raced out the baby, but just by two nights, and before we could say “BINGO!” she arrived smoothly, plunging all of us in a flood of great relief and bliss.
I wanted to prepare a quick and simple sweet to celebrate, and here comes my first dish from my Sydney kitchen – BEET ROOT HALWA. INGREDIENTS:
Beet root (moderate size) – 4
Sugar - 4 tbsps
Ghee – 2tbsps
Evaporated milk- ½ cup
(One cup of whole milk can be boiled and reduced to ½ cup.)
Cardamom powder – 1 pinch
Cashew nuts – 4 (finely chopped)
METHOD:
1. Wash and remove the top and tail portion of beet roots and pressure cook them whole.
2. Allow to cool and then peel off the skin, which comes out easily.
3. Grate the beetroot and keep aside.
4. Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a thick bottomed pan, add the cooked and grated beet root, and fry till it gives out a pleasant aroma.
5. Add the evaporated milk and cook till the vegetable and milk blend and become thicker.
6. Add sugar and cook till all the sugar syrup is absorbed.
7. Add the remaining ghee and cook till the halwa leaves the sides of the pan.
8. Mix in the cardamom powder and decorate with the chopped nuts.

Enjoy halwa hot or cold, with a slice of your favourite ice cream if you like.

Baingan Bartha



Baingan bartha is a North Indian dish made by roasting brinjal on direct heat and cooking it's flesh with onions, tomatoes and spices to give a smoky flavor. Give it a try even if you are not a brinjal fan and thank me for the recipe ;)

Serves:2

Ingredients:
Brinjals-2 medium
Onion chopped-1 small
Tomatoes chopped-2 small
Green chilli-1
Ginger chopped-1 tsp
Garlic chopped-2 pods
 Jeera-1 tsp
Oil-1 tbsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Chilli powder-as required
Coriander leaves-to garnish

Method:
Rub oil all over the brinjals. Roast one by one on direct flame  till the skin turns black and brittle. It takes about 15 minutes on medium flame. Turn it regularly so that it cooks evenly. Set aside and cool.
Heat oil in a pan. Add jeera, ginger, garlic, green chilli, onions and fry till onions turn golden brown.
Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder and tomatoes. Cook till tomatoes turn soft.
Peel the skin of roasted brinjals and add the flesh to the veggies. Mash well with a ladle. Cook for a couple of minutes.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis/pooris

Peanut Jamuns

After Black-eyed bean sundal, comes peanut jamuns!!!! Got this recipe from Aval Vikatan. If i dont make jamuns, my son will be left out without any sweets, he doesnt favour those urundai's. These peanut jamuns are very easy to make and turned out great!!!

Ingredients
Peanuts/Groundnuts - 1 cup (skinless)
Sugar - 3/4 cup
one riped banana
oil for frying the jamuns



Method
Soak Peanuts for 2 hours. Grind it to a fine batter along with the banana. Dont add water. Make small balls of the batter and deep fry, until golden brown.

Sugar syrup
In a heavy botton pan, take sugar and add enough water to just immerse the sugar. Let it boil, and Sugar dissolve. Take it off the flame.

Soak the fried jamuns in the sugar syrup. Serve after an hour or two. Tasted Yummy!!!!

Sending these jamuns to MLLA - 18 hosted by Srivalli, Event created by Susan
And also to Food for 7 Stages of Life - Kids Special Event hosted by Radhika and Sudheshna