And the winner is ....

Firstly, thanks to all the participants for their lovely wishes and comments. I was away from my blog as my kids had exams... Hoping to post something this week :)

My Kids have selected 2 winners randomly ! They are Preety and Sharanya. Congratulations to you !

My Hearty Thanks to all of you and Cuponation for making the event a success!

Advance Ugadi wishes to all !

Gujiya and a Giveaway on my 6th blog Anniversary

Neivedyam is going to turn 6 in March and what else can be a better way to celebrate than a lovely giveaway to all my readers. First get a virtual taste of this delicacy Gijiya and later we can talk on the giveaway:)

Ingredients

For Outer Covering:

2 cups refined flour (Maida)
3 tablespoons oil + to deep-fry

For Filling

2 1/2 cups khoya/mawa, grated and roasted
3 1/4 teaspoons desiccated coconut
15 cashew nuts, chopped
15 almonds, balanced and chopped
20 raisins
A pinch of nutmeg powder
1/4 teaspoon green cardamom powder
10-12 saffron strands
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup grated choclate (optional)

Preparation

For preparing the covering, sift refined flour and rub in three tablespoons of ghee or oil.  Add cold water and knead into a stiff dough.  Cover it with a damp cloth and set aside.  Add powdered sugar and khoya in a pan. Heat it on low flame and mix the sugar and khoya well. Other way is to buy sweet Khoya and skip adding sugar. Add desiccated coconut, cashew nuts, almonds, raisins, nutmeg powder, saffron strands, sunflower seeds and green cardamom powder to khoya and mix well.  Add grated chocolate and mix properly. Remove from heat and let it cool.

With oiled hands divide dough into small balls.  Roll out dough balls into small puris(flat roundels).  Place the stuffing on one half of the puri.  lightly dampen edges and fold the other half over the stuffing and press edges firmly. I did the sealing with my hands. You can do it with fork too.  Keep gujiyas covered with a damp cloth.  Similarly use up all the dough and stuffing. You can do it with a mould too or roll out puris, cut with a katori(metal bowl of four-five inch diameter) to get a proper round shape. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai(wok) and deep-fry gujiyas on medium heat till golden brown.  Drain and place on an absorbent paper.  Let them cool slightly before serving, as the stuffing inside may be very hot.

This recipe is adapted from Chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

Now lets get into the details of the Giveaway.
Here you have a chance to win 2 gift vouchers one is a flipkart e-gift voucher for Rs 700 for the readers in India and the other is Amazon gift card for 15USD for the viewers of USA.

You can post your comments form 1st March to 31st March. The winner will be declared in the first week of April.

Yam n flat Beans Subzi

Ingredients

2 cups yam (cleaned, washed and cubed)
1 cup flat beans cut into 2 inch size
1 inch ginger
2-3 tbsp tamarind pulp
1tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp dry coconut powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

for tempering
2 tsp oil
1/2 mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp chana dal
2 dry red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
roasted cashewnut for garnish (optional)

Preparation

After cleaning the yam and cutting into cubes add 2 cups water to it. Pressure cook yam and broad beans separately in the cooker for 2 whitles. Do not add water to the broad beans. Once the veggies cool down, drain the extra water from the yam. In a pan add 2 tbsp oil and fry the yam pieces till slightly brown and crisp. Set aside.
In a pan add the tempering ingredients in the given order and let them splutter. To this add finely chopped ginger, the beans and fry for 2 minutes. Add tamarind pulp, dry coconut, coriander powder, tumeric powder and mix well. To this mixture add yam pieces and salt. Mix well and cook for few more minutes.
Garnish with cashewnuts or coriander leaves and serve warm with roti or rice.

Sweet Pongal with Brown Rice Poha

Ingredients

2 cups brown rice poha (Flattened rice)
1 cup moong dal
1 cup Jaggery
3-4 tbsp ghee
3 tsp cashewnuts
3 tsp raisins
3 tsp grated fresh coconut
almonds and walnuts to garnish

Preparation

Wash the poha, drain and set aside. Wash moong dal and Pressure cook it adding 3 cups of water for 3 whistles.
Melt the Jaggery in a pan with very little water (1/2 cup ) and strain it to remove the impurities.
In a pan add 1 tsp ghee and fry the nuts and raisins till golden. Set aside.
In a bowl add poha, dal and jaggery and mix well. Heat a heavy bottomed pan with remaining ghee and add the poha mixture. If you like you can add 1/2 cup milk. I did not do that. If you feel the pongal is too dry you can add 1/2 cup of water. Add the dry fruits and  grated coconut. Serve hot.

This recipe can be made very quickly especially during festivals like Sankranti, Vasant panchami etc. and can be offered to God.

Baghare Baingan

Ingredients

250 grams small brinjals
2 medium onions, quartered
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp peanuts
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 tsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp grated dried coconut
a pinch of fenugreek seeds
1 inch ginger, roughly chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
salt to taste
a pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp grated jaggery or sugar
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
1/2 cup olive oil
1 sprig curry leaves
fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation
Wash brinjals and wipe them clean with dry cloth. Make slit along the length taking care that the brinjal is held together at the stem. In a wide pan, add 2-4 tbsp oil and fry the brinjals till half cooked and soft from inside. Take care not to toss them too much as they tend to break. Set aside. In a pan add 1 tsp oil and roast the onions till they turn light brown and soften. Set aside. Dry roast coriander seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, dried coconut and fenugreek seeds separately, till they begin to change colour and give out a nice aroma. Grind together roasted onions, roasted spices, ginger, garlic, salt turmeric powder, chilli powder and jaggery to a fine paste (2-3 tbsp water can be added to make the paste). Add tamarind pulp and mix well.

In a pan add 2-3 tbsp oil , add curry leaves and saute. Add the gravy to the pan and slighty bring to boil till the oil comes out of the gravy. Add the brinjals to this and simmer. If the gravy is too thick, water can be added as desired. Cook till the oil comes to the surface, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot. If you feel the gravy is too sweet, you can add some more red chilli powder or green chillies and some extra tamarind pulp!

This recipe is inspired from Chef Sanjeev Kapoor.
When ever I cook brinjals directly in any gravy base they never get cooked from inside. So I made some changes and precooked the brinjals and added them to the gravy.
Sending this recipe to "I must make that " Contest hosted by my very dear friend Pallavi of "A cook at Heart". She also has an amazing giveaway from Cuponation!

Britannia Masala Buttermilk (Chaas) Review

To replicate the experience of homemade chaas, Britannia Masala Chaas has natural ingredients like Jeera, Curry Leaves and Ginger added to it giving it the authentic homemade taste and feel.
It is best had chilled and leaves you with a “cool ehsaas”. I just garnished it with some pistachios, fresh mint, coriander leaves and some crushed ginger. When kids came from school they felt very refreshing and enjoyed drinking it. It can also be packed along with snack to school for kids. Its a great product as summer is approaching. I would definitely keep one in my handbag too....

About Britannia Masala Chaas Launch

Speaking at the launch , Mr. Ashok Namboodiri, Head – Dairy Business, Britannia Industries Ltd., said “ Chaas has been an integral part of India’s cuisine, no meal is complete without a glass of buttermilk. Packaged Chaas has emerged as a fast growing category driven by convenience, consistent taste and new age lifestyle. There is a strong preference and shift seen towards usage of convenient, ready to use, foods as people do not want to invest time in preparing them. Britannia Masala Chaas offers the same experience without the “ jhanjhat” of preparing it. Secondly, there is also a trend emerging of substituting carbonated high calorie drinks with low calorie healthy drinks and Dairy Drinks, which Britannia is targeting.
“Britannia Masala Chaas” also marks the extension of Britannia into F&B outlets where a large part of “Out of Home” consumption happens."
The “Masala Chaas” comes in attractive and convenient packaging which is easy to carry and can be had on the go as compared to other existing formats.  The shelf life is 4 months before opening and can be stored in an ambient environment. Britannia Masala Chaas will be priced at Rs 15/- per 150 ml pack.
This launch further enhances Britannia’s active foray into healthy milk based products. and adds to building the Britannia credo of “Drink Healthy, Think Better”.
Britannia Masala Chaas will be initially launched across Modern Trade outlets across major Cities in India.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a paid review. The opinions and thoughts mentioned in the post are purely mine and done by tasting the sample sent.

Sesame and Peanut Praline (chikki)

 

Sankranti was very busy and beautiful for us. My mom and mom-in-law were with us making lots of traditional Sankranti recipes:) I never knew Chikki was such an easy recipe to make. I wanted to try my hands on almond, cashew nuts, pistachios, melon seeds and many more!

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup sugar

1 cup roasted peanuts or roasted sesame seeds (any nuts desired) 

1 tsp ghee

 

Preparation

Heat a pan and add 1 tsp ghee, to this add sugar. Keep tossing the sugar on medium heat.



 The sugar melts this way as shown in the picture and changes colour.

 As soon as all the sugar melts add the crushed peanuts. Peanuts should be slightly crushed to give thick texture. Mix quickly turn off the heat immediately  and transfer it to a clean surface in the kitchen which is slightly oiled. The whole process should be done very quickly.

After pouring the mixture on a flat surface quickly roll it with rolling pin to make it flat.

 

Cut them into pieces and let it cool.

 After it cools down break them to pieces and enjoy.

Kids will enjoy the home made Chikkis!

Camp Fire Mini Cake made with Choco Sticks

This is what I tried to create with the choco sticks:) Camp Fire Mini Cakes!

 

 

 I got these Gone Mad Choco Sticks for Product review and frankly speaking my kids did the review of these chololate filled goodies! The verdict is YUMMMMMYYYY.....

The wrapper of the choco sticks is designed by school kids very beautifully. The wafer is crunchy and the chocolate filled inside is very moist.

 



Diya enjoying chocosticks!

About Gone Mad Choco sticks!

 

Ingredients

Mini chocolate Cookies (I used Lotte choco pie) Small chocolate muffins or cupcakes can be used.

Choco Sticks Cut into desired length

Candies of red, yellow, orange colours

 

Preparation

Break all the candies into pieces with hammer after putting them into a ziploc plastic bag.



 

 

Place them in a foil and bake it for 5 minutes!

 

After the melted candies cool down break them into pieces.



 

Assemble them like a camp fire on the chocolate cake or cookie! It makes a great treat for the kids parties and birthdays



 



DISCLAIMER: This is not a paid review. The opinions and thoughts mentioned in the post are purely mine and done by tasting the sample sent by Garuda Foods.

Happy Makar Sankranti Wishes!

Pongal and Boorelu

Lilva Thuvar Aloo Subzi (pigeon pea gravy)

 

Ingredients
1 cup fresh green Thuvar
1 cup baby potatoes
1 large onion
2 medium tomatoes
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 large green chillies (slit)
2 tbsp Poppy seeds
1 tbsp fresh methi leaves
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves to garnish
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp kitchen king masala
1 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
a dash of asafoetida
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Preparation

Soak poppy seeds in 2-3 tbsp water for 1 hour. Grind poppy and tomato to make paste. Pressure cook Green thuvar and potatoes separately in cooker for 2 whistles. In a pan add 2 tbsp oil and add the baby potatoes after removing the skin. Fry them till golden and crisp along with few methi leaves. Set aside. Heat a pan, add oil, cumin seeds and let it splutter. To this add asafoetida, onions, ginger-garlic paste, chillies and saute. When onion turns slight golden add the tomato- poppy paste, all the masalas except garam masala. Let it cook on medium till the mixture leaves oil. Add the thuvar and bring to boil. Simmer the heat,  add potatoes, Garam masala, mix and turn off the heat. Garnish and serve hot with Rotis!

Tangy plantain curry/ Aratikaya Kura

This recipe is my mom-in-laws speciality. It tastes very good with rice and rotis!

Ingredients
4 medium size Plantains cut in cubes
2-3 medium tomatoes pureed
2 tsp tamarind pulp (optional if you do not prefer lot of tangy flavour)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste

For Tempering
2-3 red chillies
sprig of curry leaves
1/3 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp split urad dal
1/2 tsp chana dal
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
a dash of asafoetida
4 tbsp oil

Preparation

Heat a wide pan with 2 tbsp oil, add the plantain cubes and fry on high heat for 2 minutes.
To the Plantain add salt, turmeric, chilli powder, tomato puree, mix well and cover with lid. Cook on medium to low heat till the plantain absorbs all the moisture and becomes soft. This might take about 5- 7 minutes.
Open the lid, add tamarind pulp and cook on  high heat for 2 minutes till crisp. Turn off the heat.
For tempering in a pan heat 2 tbsp oil, mustard seeds. After they splutter, add urad, chana, fenugreek , asafoetida, red chillies and curry leaves in the given order! Add this tempering to the plantain and toss. Serve warm with rice or roti!