Taking a Break!

Hi Friends, We are moving to Chicago in 2 weeks so will not be blogging for I don't know how long. Will truly miss blogging and talking to you all. My Brain has constantly been thinking on Packing, cleaning, my son's new school, new place, new people, cleaning up the fridge and getting rid of frozen stuff and so much more. I am going to miss New Jersey so badly. Will miss all my friends here.

I wish you all a very Happy and prosperous Diwali! I wanted to cook and post so many different sweets for Diwali but now it is not possible. Will check all your posts once I am settled.
I will miss a lot of events too:(

Take Care and Enjoy the festivities!

Peach Tart, Sago Pudding and Navratri Neivedyam

I had to make something out of peach as Mansi was sweetly threatening me to participate in her event AFAM-Peach:) I made some mini tarts with peach and other fruits.
I also made sago pudding for Durga pooja which is my entry for Think Spice-Saffron.

Peach Tarts



Ingredients

2 tbsp Custard Powder
1 cup whole milk
2-3 tsp sugar
4 Mini pie crusts (I used ready made pie crust)
1 tbsp butter
Peach slices
cherries, grapes and pomegranate





Preparation

You can use any kind of fruits to create a tart. I also used custard for filling instead of cream cheese. Prepare a thick custard by mixing up custard powder, sugar and whole milk.
The mini pie crusts I bought are made of gram crackers so I brushed them with melted butter and baked them for 5 minutes at 375 degrees. This way the crust becomes crisp. Cool the custard by refrigerating it for 30 minutes.
Fill the custard after it gets cooled and arrange the fruits. Quick dessert is ready.



Durga Pooja

I made Sago pudding, Black channa, green gram/Moong dal and Sabudana/Sago wada for Durga pooja.
The Green gram is inspired from Viji's blog. The Sabudana wada recipe will be posted later.



Sago Pudding


Ingredients

1/2 cup Sago
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
a pinch of Saffron Strand
1/2 tsp Crushed cardamom
1 tbsp Cashew nuts
1 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp Clarified butter/ghee


Preparation

Soak sago for 3 to 4 hours in water. Strain the water. Warm up the milk and add the sago to it. Also add crushed cardamom. In a tbsp of milk soak saffron separately.
Once the sago appears transparent that means it is cooked. Add sugar and bring to boil. Turn off the heat and add saffron soaked milk to it.
In a pan add ghee and fry the cashews and raisins till golden. Add this to the pudding. Delicious Sago pudding is ready.


This one also goes to RCI Tamil Festivals and JFS:Dassera



The recipes for green gram and black channa can be obtained from Viji's blog

Eggplant Gravy / kathirikai kulambu / Baingan ki subzi

This is a delicious gravy made onions and cashew nut paste. Baby eggplants are fried and then dropped in this rich gravy.
I am not able to post regularly because my little one is suffering from cold and chest congestion. When kids fall sick the house and schedule becomes a big mess.
I am not able to keep up with the event list too. If I am not able to leave comments in your blog please do bear with me.



Here is the recipe:
Ingredients

For the paste:

2 large medium chopped red onions
1 tbsp cashew nuts
2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
3-4 Green chillies

For the gravy

10-12 baby eggplants
1 tsp Coriander/ dhaniya powder
1/3 cup of thick tomato puree
1 cup Tamarind water
1tsp turmeric powder
Salt

For tempering:

1/3 tsp Mustard seeds
5-7 curry leaves
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
a dash of asafoetida


Preparation

Slit the eggplants in to four with out cutting them apart in to pieces. In a pan fry the eggplants by adding 2-3 tbsp oil. Fry them on medium heat till they become soft from all the sides and get cooked from inside. Handle them gently so that they don't break. Remove it from the pan and keep aside.
In the same pan add onions and a tsp oil. Fry till slightly soft. Grind the onions along with the rest of the ingredients given to make a paste.
In a pan temper the given ingredients and add the tamarind water, turmeric, salt and coriander powder. Once it comes to boil, add tomato puree and the ground paste. Let it come to a boil. If the gravy gets too thick you can add water. Once the gravy comes to a good boil, add the eggplants. Leave it for 5 minutes and remove from fire. Rich and thick gravy goes great with hot rice, dosas or even rotis.