Kaju Katli Recipe | Cashew Barfi Recipe [Step by Step Pictures] | Diwali Sweets 2013

After the huge effort with the Boondi Ladoos, making Kaju Katlis seemed like a cake walk. It really did :). I just wished S was there when I actually attempted to cut diamond shaped pieces, you see hes the art guy in the family ;), I dont think I did a bad job but am sure S would have perfected it well. It is an easy sweet I think and something as rich as cashews suit the Diwali occasion really well. Kaju Katli needs no introduction but for the benefit of any non-Indian readers of this blog - Kaju katli is a sweet make by dissolving raw cashew powder into sugar syrup which is later allowed to set for a short while, then cut into diamond shaped pieces and served. Cashew powder and sugary syrup, just two ingredients make this hugely popular Indian sweet. Indian shops sell this sweet with a coating of the edible silver paper which is what attracted many of us to this sweet. I remember buying this sweet for this purpose alone and loved licking just the wrapper off it.

There are few sweets that you hold in a supreme position in your mind, sweets like boondi ladoo and kaju katli and many others which are normally not attempted by home-cooks, these sweets are always reserved to be bought from shops. When you actually end up making them at home and they turn out good, its a food-bloggers high I tell you. I thoroughly enjoyed making kaju katli and boondi ladoos this season and the last two days of sweet making has set the Diwali mood in my home. So what are you waiting for - get set, ready and go make these awesome sweets this Diwali

Ingredients

Serves - makes 25-30 pieces
Prep and Cook time - 45 min

Raw Cashew nuts [at room temperature] - 2 cups
Regular Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup
Water - 1.5 cups, or as much needed to make sugar syrup

How do you do it

1. First powder the cashews well. Now while you use the mixer for this purpose be careful, make sure the mixer jar is completely dry, free of any water/grease. Do not over-powder, as over-powdering will result in cashews emitting oil and it will become pasty. Pulse for 20 seconds and you should be done. Even if its slightly coarse, dont worry, it will becomes fine when you eventually make the kaju dough. Also make sure kajus are at room temperature, do not powder them right out of the refrigerator, they will let out moisture and it wont work well.

2. Now on to the making of sugar syrup. Take sugar in a pan and add water to it until the water is one inch above the sugar. Keep this pan on the stove, in medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Then let the sugar syrup boil until a "single string consistency" is formed. This takes a while, about 15-20 minutes i would say in medium heat. Once the sugar syrup starts boiling and bubbles are formed, its time to start paying attention to the syrup. After this stage the syrup becomes sticky at one point. Use a ladle and dip it into the sugar syrup. Touch the syrup on the ladle with your index finger. Now use your thumb finger too and bring the index finger in contact with the thumb and release slowly to see if a single string is formed. At the initial stage, you will find a string form but it will go off immediately - this is "half thread consistency". Once this happens within few more minutes of boiling the sugar syrup, you will get a single string which will hold when you use your index and thumb finger to test again. At this stage lower the flame and add in the cashew powder and mix well.

3. The above step is important because if you put in the kaju powder before the "single string consistency" of sugar syrup is formed, the mixture will become a sticky paste and the kaju dough will not come together. Also while the sugar syrup is happening, take a huge aluminium foil sheet and grease it with a tsp of ghee.

4. For about 2-3 minutes saute this mixture well until it forms a lump. To test if the mixture is ready to be taken off flame, take a tiny amount, blow it to cool the mixture and try forming a small ball, like shown below, if it holds well, your mixture is ready to go off the flame. This step usually takes only 2-3 minutes to get to that stage. If you let the mixture in flame for too long, the barfis will end up being hard. If you take them before the right consistent, they will not set. So be careful here.

5. Transfer this mixture to the greased sheet now. Once the mixture cools a bit, knead to form a dough. About 10 minutes of kneading. If needed you made add a tbsp or two of milk to this mixture and knead. I dint use milk, it worked fine without it. Using milk will reduce the shelf life of this sweet and in this case you may need to keep the sweet refrigerated.

6. Using the roti rod, roll the dough into a square if possible of medium thickness. I made into a round. You can see below. Once done, use a toothpick to make lines so its easier to cut. Give it about 10-15 minutes to set after which you may cut it into diamond shaped pieces and there kaju katlis are done :).

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Boondi Ladoo Recipe | How to make boondi ladoo [Step by Step picture Recipe] | Diwali Recipes 2013

Boondi Ladoo is one of our favourite sweets and it instantly reminds me of Diwali. Deepavali or Diwali, is a very grand festival of lights celebrated with huge pomp and show throughout India and it has two important events associated with it - One being the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile and the other is the killing of Demon Narakasura. When Rama returned to Ayodhya, the people of that place celebrated this occassion by lighting the entire city with lamps which is what is celebrated as Diwali now. Diwali usually falls on the 18th day after Dusshera.

It is a season of enthusiasm and happiness. Lamps decorate all Indian homes in this season and a huge effort goes into preparation of yummy sweets and savories in large quantities. Extensive use of  fireworks, sparklers and lights color the sky that evening. It is also a time for families to visit their near and dear ones and share all the happiness and of-course the sweets too. Words can do no justice to the way Diwali is celebrated in India, you have to be there to feel the joy in the country during this day.

Deepavali brings out the child in me. There is some kind of special energy that comes from nowhere at the thought of this festival and it is my most favorite festival. So usually I attempt tough recipes during this period and  Diwali brings in that lucky charm where even the really difficult recipes turn out alright :). So What better occasion for the boondi ladoos to be made than this day? :)


Ingredients

Serves - Makes 30 small ladoos
Prep and Cook time - 2-3 hrs


Besan flour/Kadalai Maavu - 2 1/2 cups
Baking soda - a pinch
Salt - a pinch
Lemon yell food color - 2-3 drops
Water - as need to make besan batter
Ghee Roasted Cashews - 10 [roughly broken]
Golden Raisins - 10
Elachi Powder - 1 Tsp
Oil - for deep frying the boondis

Sugar Syrup

Sugar - 2 cups
Water - as much needed to make sugar syrup

How do you do it

1. Prepare the besan batter by first mixing the flour, baking soda, salt. Mix well and sieve it once. Keep aside.

2. Add water to this slowly and make a batter of flowing consistency - like dosa batter. See picture below. Whisk well without lumps. Add lemon food yellow color to this. Meanwhile heat oil for frying the boondis

3. The consistency of the boondi batter is important. If the batter is too thick, the batter will form tails and not flow out of the boondi ladle, if the batter is thin, the boondis will fall flat into the oil. So make sure you have the right consistency of the besan batter. To check if the consistency is right, dip the tail end of the spoon into the batter and hold it on top of the heated oil, if it drops a nice small round ball, you are good. Otherwise adjust batter consistency accordingly.

4. Collect all your boondi-making quipments. The boondi [huge perforated] ladle for pouring the batter on. One [medium perforated] ladle to take the boondis from the oil. And one deep ladle to scoop the besan batter and put it on the boondi ladle.

5. Once the oil is heated, pour the batter on to the boondi ladle and draw circle on the boondi ladle with the deep ladle until all the boondis fall in. Do this quickly, you do not want to over-cook the boondis. Now strain the boondis from the oil and put it into a paper towel lined bowl. See pics below for reference.  The boondis get cooked quickly, about 20-30 seconds is all it takes. The boondis should be soft and not crisp for making ladoos.

6. I washed the boondi ladle each time and did the step 4 again until all the batter was over.

7. Now on to the making of sugar syrup. Take sugar in a pan and add water to it until the water is one inch above the sugar. Keep this pan on the stove, in medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Then let the sugar syrup boil until a "single string consistency" is formed. This takes a while, about 20 minutes i would say in medium heat. Once the sugar syrup starts boiling and bubbles are formed, its time to start paying attention to the syrup. After this stage the syrup becomes sticky at one point. Use a ladle and dip it into the sugar syrup. Touch the syrup on the ladle with your index finger. Now use your thumb finger too and bring the index finger in contact with the thumb and release slowly to see if a single string is formed. At the initial stage, you will find a string form but it will go off immediately - this is "half thread consistency". Once this happens within few more minutes of boiling the sugar syrup, you will get a single string which will hold when you use your index and thumb finger to test again. At this stage switch off the flame immediately, add elachi powder to it and pour the syrup into the boondi bowl.

5. Now add the raisins and cashews to the boondi bowl and give it a good mix.

6. When the mixture is warm enough that you can handle, add 2 tsp of ghee mix well, and make balls. Take a little in your palm and use the sugar syrup in the boondis to bind the boondis together and press them into a round ball. If you let the mixture cool completely the suagr syrup will crystallize and you will not be able to shape the ladoos. I used a glove to shape ladoos and it worked pretty well. If at all sugar crystallization happens, reheat the boondi mixture in a pan until it warms a little and try shaping them again.

I tried making ladoos with "two string consistency" of sugar syrup initially and realized that sugar syrup was getting crystallized very soon and shaping them was very difficult. For the second trial I used " one string consistency" and they worked perfectly well.

Also when you shape ladoos, once they stick together like a ball, dont stop, give a few more tight presses to make them really bind them well. I did that mistake of stopping to give pressure on the ladoos as soon as they bound together for a few pieces and those pieces after some time, once they set completely looked like they weren't pressed well properly, its like the boondis will pop out any minute look ;).

Hope I have explained as much as possible on how to make this daunting Indian sweet. Its quite a huge task I admit, Oh! but the happiness of making boondi ladoos which turn out well - Awesome I must say :)

Wish you readers a very happy and safe Diwali 2013. Have loads of fun with friends and family and may God shower all his blessing this season.

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OKRA FRY

There are a few veggies that I like to eat but would prefer it was served cooked to me. I don't like chopping okra because of its sliminess and the fact that you have to wash everything - the chopping board, knife, the bowl in which okra was kept in, before using it for anything else. So if somebody could do all the prep work and put everything in the cooking pan and then hand it over to me I can take on from there :). Having said all that I do love okra especially the fried version. Fried okra tastes so delicious and goes with anything - curd rice, rasam rice, sambar rice or even just as a snack. Also it is a very popular health food high in fiber, Vit C and it is a good source of calcium and potassium.

I usually make okra fry or these other two dishes - bhindi-masala or vendakai-pachadi. This recipe does take some time and patience to get the crispy texture, but its all worth it :)

Ingredients

Serves - 2
Prep Time - 15 min
cook time - 45 min
Spice Level - Moderate

Okra/Bhindi/Ladies Finger - 1 Lb, chopped in long pieces
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Mustard - 1 Tsp
Plain red chilli powder - 1 Tbsp
Salt - as per need
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 3-4 Tbsp
Yoghurt - 1 Tbsp
Sugar - 1 pinch
Onion - 1 small sized, sliced into thin slices

How do you do it

1. Wash the okra pieces well, dry them and chop each into 2-3 long pieces. Keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a wide pan. Add hing, then mustard seeds - let them pop. Add the curry leaves now to roast.

3. Throw in the okra pieces now and wrap well with oil. Saute for a couple of minutes. When it starts getting slimy, add sugar and yogurt, mix well and continue to saute-stir periodically until the sliminess arrives - about 10-15 minutes.

4. Once the sliminess is almost gone, add the salt and chilli powder and mix well. Saute, Saute and Saute until okra becomes crispy. This takes a while - another 20 minutes. If you pan becomes dry add a tsp or two of oil in between.

5. Meanwhile take another small pan and add 2 tsp of oil. Add the thinly sliced onions and saute until it turns semi-crispy. Keep aside.

5. Once okra turns crispy, transfer to the serving bowl. Garnish with the crispy onions.

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Aloo Paratha Recipe - With Step by Step Pictures

Stuffed Parathas are always a huge task for me, irrespective of whether I know how to make them or not. The only difference now that I know how to make them is that I don't spill the filling when rolling the parathas. It still takes the same amount of time as before and somehow end up feeling stressed about the whole process. So as much as possible I try to avoid making them at home, but once in a while when I am in the mood to spend more time in the kitchen I don't mind making yummy stuffed Parathas. And sometimes the tasty parathas do make up for all the hard work :).

The trick while making parathas is to keep the filling completely water free and cold, so it never oozes out while rolling them. Be gentle while rolling them, and remember to use 1 part filling, 2 parts dough so its easier to roll.

Ingredients

Serves - Makes 6 parathas
Spice Level - Moderate
Prep time - 30 min
Cook time 15 min

For the filling

Potatoes - 2 large
Salt -as per need
Chilli powder - 1 Tsp
Garam Masala - 1 Tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Coriander leaves - 2 Tsp, finely chopped

For the dough

Wheat Flour/Atta - 1.5 cups
Maida/All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Oil - 2 Tsp
Salt - 1 Tsp
Water - as per need

How do you do it

1. First to make the dough, mix the atta, maida, salt and oil together. Add water slowly and knead well to make a smooth dough. I use my food processor for this and my job gets done in minutes :). I use about 3/4 to 1 cup water to get a really soft and smooth dough.

2. Boil the potatoes well, cool them and mash well. If you have time, refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Take it out, mix in the salt, chilli powder, garam masala, coriander leaves, turmeric and mix well.

3. Make balls of the dough and potato mixture as below and keep aside.

4. Take a dough ball, roll it to a small circle as shown below, dust it with little flour and then and place the potato filling inside it.

5. Bring the edges of the paratha together and cover the potato filling and gently flatten it using your fingers.

6. Dust with flour as and when necessary while rolling. Gently roll the paratha into medium sized circle without the filling oozing. Parathas are usually on the thicker side, so dont make them very thin

7. Place the rolled paratha on a heated tava. Once tiny spots occur on both sides of the paratha, drizzle oil on both sides and cook them until they have dark brown spots on them. Here is a puffed up paratha ready to go into the hot pack :).

Serve with curd and pickle for a delicious dinner.

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Chettinadu style No-Oil Keerai Kootu [ No-oil South-Indian Spinach Dal]

Though I cook more of this onion-tomato style keerai-masiyal, once in a while I prefer this comforting no-oil keerai kootu which is what is usually made in chettinadu homes. Its an extremely simple and delicious quick kootu that you might be tempted to make because its completely oil-free. All it needs is a few healthy ingredients into a pressure cooker, cook for 10 minutes and your done :). Isnt that reason enough to try and see if this can become a staple at your home?

Ingredients

Serves - 2
Spice Level - Low
Prep Time - 15 min
Cook time - 15 min

Spinach - 200 gms, washed well and chopped finely
Moong dal - 1/3 cup
Shallots - 4-5, minced finely
Garlic - 3 cloves, minced finely
Green chilli - 2, slit lengthwise
Cumin/Jeera seeds - 1/2 Tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt - as per need
Water - 1.5 cups [ or as per need]

How do you do it

1. Bring to boil a cup of water in a  pressure cooker, add turmeric and moong dal and let the moong dal get cooked.

2. Once the dal is almost cooked, add in the chopped spinach leaves, shallots, green chilli, garlic, cumin seeds, 3/4 cup water and required salt.

3. Mix well and let the spinach leaves get cooked and become soft - about 5 minutes.

4. Now close the pressure cooker lid and  cook for one whistle, switch off flame and let the pressure release naturally.

5. Open the lid, bring to boil again and once the kootu is in a semi solid consistency remove it from stove and kootu is ready to serve


This could be eaten as such, I do that sometimes, just eat keerai kootu right out of the bowl like a thick soup, or if you want a big meal - my best serving suggestion would be to have it with white rice and this yummy murungakai-puzhi-kuzhambu.

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