Badam Burfi

Deepavali is the festival of lights. A festival, that fills light, inspiration, hope and joy in every household. Among the popular Deepavali festivities is distributing sweets to friends and family, thus sharing and spreading prosperity. Almond burfi or badam burfi is the perfect sweets for Deepavali. Simple to make, rich to present and sweet to savour, it completes the meaning of a celebration, a Deepavali.

Preparation time: 30-45 mins.


Ingredients:

Almonds (Badam) 200 gms
Sugar 100gms
Cardamom powder (Elaichi) 1tsp
Ghee 3tsp
Silver paper 1 sheet

Method:

Soak almonds for 4-5hours. Dry and peel them. Grind the almonds into a fine powder.Fry for 2 mins in a tsp of ghee.

In a kadai/pan(Bandli/mookudu), melt the sugar. Once the sugar melts, add the almond powder, a tsp of cardamom powder and ghee to make a thick paste of batter consistency.

Pour the mix into a flat vessel or plate and spread uniform and smooth. Cover with silver sheet. Cut into diamond shaped cakes.

Badam burfi or almond burfi is an amazing sweet that goes well in a lunch/dinner menu and can also be served along with evening snacks and tea. Of course it can also be had whenever the heart is happy as that’s a reason enough for celebration..

Wishing everyone a very Happy and sweet Deepavali that brings prosperity and success to all

Gatte ki Sabji

Rajasthani cuisine has a distinctive flavor, different form other Indian cuisines and that is what makes it so special. One of the well known Rajasthani sabjis is gatte ki sabji, a simple, delicious and filling preparation. We would like to thank Shraddha Siroya for the wonderful recipe and pictures.

Preparation time: 20-30 minutes

Serves: 4



Ingredients:

For Gatta preparation:

Chickpeaflour/gramflour(Senagapindi/Kadlehittu/Besan) 2 ½ cups
Red chilly powder 1 ½ tsp
Turmeric powder (Pasupu/Haldi) ½ tsp
Asafoetida( Inguva/Hing) ¼ tsp
Refined cooking oil 3 tsp
Water ½ cup
Salt to taste

For seasoning the gattas:

Refined cooking oil 1 ½ tsp
Cumin seed(Jeelakarra/Jeera) 1 tsp
Asafoetida(Inguva/Hing) ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder (pasupu/Haldi) ½ tsp
Finely chopped green chillies 2
Finely chopped onion (optional) ½
Ginger paste (optional) 1 tsp
Curry leaves (optional) 3-4
Coriander power (Dhania powder) 1 tbsp
Mango powder ( Amchur) 2 tbsp
Garam masala ½ tbsp
Water ½ cup
Curd 1 cup

Fresh and finely chopped coriander to garnish


Method:

Gattas:

Mix all ingredients together and make dough. Add more water to make it softer and easier to beat the dough.

Take small amounts of dough (as much as equal to 2 rotis dough) and prepare thin pipe like rolls by hand (the thinner, the better but again not too thin).

Once the rolls are done, boil water in kadai/pan ( Bandli/mookudu). When water begins to boil, put the rolls into the water. Let them boil for 20 minutes.

Check if the gattas are cooked. Now, switch the stove off, remove from water and keep aside to cool. Cut the gattas into average sized round pieces.

Seasoning:

Heat the oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, asafoetida, green chillies and turmeric powder.

Add chopped onions, ginger paste and curry leaves if preferred and cook until onion turns golden. (This step is optional)

Add coriander powder, mango powder and garam masala and add water. Leave to cook for 2 minutes and add the gattas into it. Allow to cook for 5-10 minutes.

Serve it dry at this stage or add curds and cook for 5 more minutes to make a gravy curry. Garnish with fresh and chopped coriander.

Gatte ki sabji is done. When served dry, gatte ki sabji tastes heavenly with rotis and other Indian bread. When served with the gravy, it goes well with any of the Indian bread or rice.

Brinjal fry/Vankaya vepudu

Brinjals are our most favourite veggies and we have seen amma make so many variety dishes with them. Brinjal fry or vankaya vepudu in telugu is one of these. It is a quick recipe and easy to make.

Preparation time: 10 mins

Serves 2



Ingredients:

Round medium sized Brinjals (Vankaya/baingan/badnekayi) ½ kg
Refined cooking oil 1 cup
Chilli powder 1tsp
Curry leaves 4-5
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash, wipe and chop the stems. Make a plus shaped cut on the bottom of the brinjals. Please look into the brinjal and throw off any spoilt ones. Keep the cut brinjals in water or they turn black.

Heat oil in a kadai/pan(bandli/mookudu). Once hot, wipe the brinjals to remove any moisture/water and fry in the oil till they turn dark purple. Please be careful to ensure that there is no water in the oil else it shall result in oil spluttering all over. Place the brinjals on tissues to remove any extra oil.

Add a tsp of chilli powder and salt to taste and mix well so that the brinjals, by now dry absorb the spice and taste. Garnish with curry leaves shallow fried in a tsp of oil.

Brinjal fry or vankaya vepudu is done. Brinjal fry goes well with plain rice and phulkas. It is advisable not to have them with pooris though as the brinjals are already fried.