Wish you a very Happy Ugadi/ Gudi Padwa

Hearty Ugadi greetings to all!
After long time celebrating Ugadi in India. I made Ugadi pachadi with fresh Neem flowers, Mango, Tamarind, Jaggery, salt and chilli powder! Recipe here

This is picture of fresh neem flowers!

Enjoy!

Beetroot Halwa for our men in blue!

Yesterday all the blog buddies watched the India/Pakistan match together via FB and it was true fun. It seemed as if I became a kid again:)
This Halwa is to celebrate:)

Ingredients

2 cups boiled and grated beetroot
1 cup sugar
2 tsp raisins
2 tsp cashewnuts
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp khoya (mawa) optional
2 tbsp ghee

Preparation

Boil 2 medium size beetroots and finely grate it to make 2 cups. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, add 1 tsp ghee. Fry the cashewnuts and raisins till golden and set aside. In the same pan add the remaining ghee, grated beets and saute for 2 minutes. To the beets add sugar and cardamom powder and cook for 10-12 minutes till the moisture evaporates and fragrance fills the kitchen. For additional richness add khoya or milk (its purely optional). Once the halwa leaves the sides of the pan remove from heat. Finally add the dry fruits and serve warm!

My Hearty thanks to Smitha for the lovely gesture, cute magnets and a warm note!

Amaranth leaves-shallots stir fry

Amaranth leaves called as Thotakura in telugu or Mulai keerai in tamil is used in different ways in the southindian kitchen. It can be used to make dals and curries too.

Ingredients

2 cups of Amaranth leaves (cleaned and chopped finely)
1 cup shallots (chopped)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
2 green chillies (slit lengthwise)
salt to taste

For tempering
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp split urad dal
2 tbsp curry leaves
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder

Preparation

Heat a pan, add oil and temper with the given ingredients. Once the tempering is done, add the shallots and saute for a minute. To the shallots add green chillies, chopped amaranth leaves, grated coconut, salt and saute on medium heat. Cover with lid and cook for five minutes till the leaves are soft and moisture has dried up. Serve warm with rice and dal:)