Home-made Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun is a popular Indian dessert served at festivals and major celebrations like marriages. I got this recipe from my very good friend Janaki who got it from one other common friend of us Nitai Prem. Janaki often says that "Nobody can go wrong with this recipe" and I ackwoledge her statement that its very very simple and easy to make it. We often make this for our spiritual gathering and I assure that "no one can eat just one".

Ingredients
gulab jamun
2 cups-  milk powder 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
oil for deep frying


 syrup
2 1/2 Cups sugar
4 cups water
few strands of saffron
cardamom powder 1/4 tsp (optional)

Method:
In a bowl mix the ingredients of gulab jamun and make it into a dough and leave it for an hour. Grease your hands with ghee and and make small balls out of the dough. Heat oil in a pan in high flame and then reduce it to medium flame and fry the balls in a medium flame until the balls become evenly brown. The balls doubles its size once dropped into the hot oil so give enough space for the balls to fry. In the meantime, dissolve the sugar in water and boil them. Keep stirring until it dissolves. Add cardamom powder and safforn strands. Allow the syrup to boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Drop the fried gulab jamuns in the syrup and let them rest for 15-20 minutes prior to serving. 


Note: Adding whipping cream makes the gulab jamuns soft. But be careful not to add too much as this might make the gulab jamun so soft that it might not be a firm ball.

Quick Tomato Briyani

As the name goes, you can get this done real quick. On the days when you have not been home for a few days and you don’t have any specific vegetable available you can opt for this. The Baby Corn Potato Fry that I had posted earlier along with this Tomato Briyani is an awesome combination. Please try it and you’ll like it too. I was in a hurry so once again please excuse me for the picture.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Capsicum - 1 (sliced into small pieces)
Ginger – 1 inch
Green Chillies - 2
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
Gram Masala powder – ½ tsp
Carom seeds - 1/4 tsp
Tomato – 5
Coconut Milk – 1 cup
Salt according to taste
Bay leaf - 1
Mint leaves – a small handful
Cliantro – for garnishing
Oil/Ghee – 2 tbsps

Method:

Cut the tomato into small cubes. Slice the capsicum into half finger length pieces. Silt the green chillies vertically into two. Peel the skin and grind the ginger to a fine paste. In a pan, add the oil/ghee. When the ghee is hot add the carom seeds and bay leaf. Next add the ginger paste, green chillies, capsicum and fry well. After a few minutes add the tomatoes and allow it to cook well for a few minutes. Next add the red chilli powder, gram masala powder, mint leaves and salt. Cook until the tomato becomes soft. Transfer the contents to a rice cooker. Wash the basmathi rice and add it. Next add the coconut milk. Mix salt as per taste. Then add required amount of water. The tomatoes will already have some water so add based on that. For one cup basmathi rice I add two cups water, here we have added one cup coconut milk, the tomatoes will have a little more than quarter cup water, so I generally add another ¾th cup water. Mix well and allow it to cook. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with raita.

Vegetable Kurma

This is recipe is from my mom and can be made very quick and easy. We can make this kurma for ekadesi also, just make sure you don’t add kuskus and instead of coriander powder use whole coriander. We at home call this kurma as Vaishnava Kurma as its without onion and garlic. You must have heard from people that kurma will not taste good without onion and garlic. But just give this a try and you will prove that statement wrong.

Ingredients :
For Masala :
Green chilies - 4
Ginger – thumb finger size
Cardamom - 2
Cloves – 2
Cinnamon - 1 piece
Corriander powder – 3 tbsp
Coconut - half
Cashew nuts - 12
Kuskus – 2 tsp
Fennel seeds(Sombu) – 3 tsp
Others :
Cut Vegetables - 2 cups(You can use Carrot, Beans, Paneer, Peas, Potato, Cauliflower, Tofu, Capsicum, Soya)
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Tomato - 2
Corriander leaves – a small bunch
Salt as per taste

Method :

Add all the ingredients listed under the masala section to a mixer and grind it to a fine paste. In a pan add the ghee, heat it and add the bay leaf. Next add the tomato and the vegetables and fry well. Next add the ground paste and fry for a minute. Then add needed quantity of water and salt and allow the kurma to cook, until the raw smell goes and the vegetables are cooked. You have to keep stirring every 5 minutes to make sure the gravy doesn’t stick to the bottom of the vessel. Once ready garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis or parotas. If you want to have it with rice make it a little more watery.

Spicy Pasta - Indian style

Pasta is an Italian food which is usually served with a sauce which contains italian spices like basil, oregano. I have experimented my pasta with Indian spices.

Ingredients:
Pasta - 1/2 pound

Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

Pav bhaji masala - 1 tsp
Maggi seasoning - 2 drops (optional)
black pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
oil - 2 tbsp
water - 5 cups

Preparation:

Boil 5 cups of water in a pan and and add pasta. Boil it for 11 mins. Strain the pasta and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and add the boiled pasta, tomato sauce, Maggi seasoning, Pav Bhaji masala, black pepper, salt and saute it for 3 minutes and serve hot with tomato sauce.

Suggestion: 

To make it more healthy you can add vegetables like cabbage, capsicum, green peas and sweet corn. Instead of Pav bhajji masala even garam masala can be used.