Avocado Parata

Ingredients:

Ripe Avocados – 2 
Wheat Flour– 2 cups
Lime Juice – 2 tbsp
Garlic – 2 tbsp, minced
Green Chillies – 3, minced
Cilantro – 1/2 cup, chopped
Roasted Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Salt  to taste
Oil /Ghee – 2 tsp

Preparation:

• Peel the Avocados and mash them to a smooth paste .
• Mix in Lime Juice, Salt, Garlic, Green Chillies, Cilantro, Roasted Cumin seeds and 1tsp Oil/ghee. 
• Mix the paste properly and add flour in little at a time and keep mixing.
• Once the dough comes together, knead for an additional minute.
• Drizzle few drops of Oil over the dough to coat. Cover and allow the dough to rest for 15-20 minutes.
• Once you are ready to make the paratas, give the dough one more quick knead.
• Heat up a tawa on medium heat and start dividing the dough and make balls.
• Take a dough ball and flatten between the palms of your hand.
• Dip in additional dry flour and start rolling with a rolling pin using Flour to dust.
• Once the Parata is rolled out and the tawa is hot, place it on the tawa.
• Add 1tsp Ghee/Oil  and roast the parata for a min on either side.
• Take off the parata from Tawa and place in a hot case till ready to serve.
• Serve hot avocado parata with yogurt and pickle or have it as a chapathi.

Happy Diwali 2012

Deepawali or Diwali is certainly the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. This festival marks the victory of good over evil.It's the festival of lights.

Floral rangoli is an art of decorating the floor with flowers, petals in beautiful patterns.This year i made beautiful floral rangoli designs inside the house.I used mums and lights to create this floral rangoli.

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali !!!

Bombay Halwa

Diwali is festival of lights and sweets,for this Diwali i tried new sweet  Bombay Halwa.

Ingredients:
Cornflour/ Cornstarch--1 cup 
Sugar -- 2 cups
Water -- 3 cups 
Cardamom powder -- 1/2 tsp 
Ghee -- 3 tbsp
Pinch  of yellow food color
Cashew nuts -- 10-15

Procedure:

• Boil water and sugar together in a pan, until sugar dissolves and it becomes bubbly. Turn heat down to keep it bubbling gently.
• When the sugar syrup becomes sticky add 3-4 drops of lemon juice and keep it aside.
• Break the cashew nuts into small pieces and fry them in 1 tablespoon ghee. 
• In a bowl mix cornflour and water with out lumps.
• In a heavy bottomed pan,add  1 tbsp ghee and cornflour water mixture and switch on the stove.On very low flame cook the mixture keep stirring.
• To this mixture add sugar syrup spoon by spoon and mix properly. Ensure that there are no lumps. 
• On low flame keep on stirring the mixture continuously. After 5 minutes add the yellow food colour and cardamom powder and continue stirring.
• Now you will notice that the mixture has started thickening and looks transparent. At this point, lower the gas flame.
• Now add 1 tbsp ghee and keep stirring. Add the nuts and continue stirring till the mixture thickens and starts separating from the edges of the pan. 
• Grease a deep plate with ghee and pour the halwa on it. 
• Let it cool down completely for an hour and then cut into cubes .
• Serve and enjoy Bombay halwa .

Jangri

Ingredients:

Urad dal – 1 cup

Corn flour or rice flour – 3 tbsp

Sugar – 3 cups

Rose essence – 1/2 tsp 

Cardamom  powder– 1/2 tsp

Orange food color – 1/4 tsp
lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

Oil for frying

Preparation:

• Soak urad dal for 3-4 hours.
• Drain excess water and grind urad dal to a fine thick batter. Add  few drops of water slowly while grinding. 
• Dissolve the food color in 2 tbsp of water.
• Transfer the ground urad dal batter in to a bowl add corn flour or rice flour and mix them well to a smooth batter.Now add food color and mix well.

Sugar Syrup:

• In a wide pan boil 1/2 cup water and sugar , until sugar dissolves and it becomes bubbly. Turn heat down to keep it bubbling gently.
• When the sugar syrup becomes one string consistency sugar syrup add 1/2 tsp lemon juice and keep it aside.

Piping:

• Piping jangri is an important part.
• You can use ziplock bag or pastry bag,I used a pastry bag with long thin tip.
• Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. 
• Fill the pastry bag with batter and start piping. 
• Always try piping on a plastic sheet before piping in hot oil.
• Oil should not be too hot ,always maintain temperature .
• When oil is hot, pipe the jangri by starting off with a circle and pipe small rings around the circle.
• Turn both the sides and cook for a min.
• Sugar syrup must be ready and hot. Add powdered cardamom and rose essence and give it a stir.
• Remove the cooked jangri from oil and drain the oil completely and add it to the  sugar syrup immediately.
• Let the jangri stay in the sugar syrup for 1 or 2 minutes and then remove from syrup and keep it on a plate.
• Continue the same procedure with the rest of the batter and enjoy hot or cool jangris.

Note : 

• I used cupcake filling tip ( Wilton 240) to pipe jangri.
• If you are using a ziplock bag, make a small hole in the middle of the bag.
• If the pan is wide enough you can pipe more jangris in a batch.
• Do not rest the batter for long time since it will become sour.
• Syrup for janris should be little thicker.

Chekka Garelu ( Telangana Special Appalu )

Chekka Garelu /Appaalu is a traditional Telangana snack usually made during festival season. It is also called  as Chekkalu' .Its a simple and savory version of rice crackers. 

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 4 cups

Channa dal - 1/4 cup

Crushed peanuts - 1/2 cup

Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp

Red chilly powder - 3 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Spring onion - 1 bunch

Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

Water -- to make the dough 

Oil -- for deep frying

Preparation:

• Soak the raw Channa dal in water for 10-15 mins,chop the spring onion.
• In a large bowl, take the rice flour, add the red chilly powder, salt, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, chopped curry leaves, soaked Channa dal and the crushed peanuts,spring onion. Mix them well crushing with your fingers till all the peanuts and the Channa dal is coated with the dry flour.
• Now heat 3 tbsp oil till its warm  enough. Add this oil to the  flour mixture. Carefully mix all the ingredients well. 
• Now add lukewarm water to the above mixture slowly as you keep mixing it with a spoon. When mixed well the dough should be of a chapati dough consistency.
• Cover it with a damp cloth and let the dough rest for 25-30 minutes.
• In a kadhai, heat the oil to deep fry the appaalu.
• Take a small golf-ball size dough, while pressing between your palms, make it into round disc. 
• In a small bowl take some oil, apply oil on this disc. 
• To make the pooris you need a Poori-press or Tortilla Press.
• Place a plastic sheet inside the poori-press  and apply some oil to the sheet to avoid the dough from sticking to the poori press. 
• Place the dough disc inside the poori-press and press it till its thin like poori . 
• If the poori tears, press it with your fingers to cover any imperfections. 
• Deep fry it in the oil on a low flame till golden brown and crispy.
• Appaalu goes excellent with a hot cup of Indian tea. One crunchy bite of appaalu and a sip of hot tea is a tea lovers delight.

Note:

• Poori press is sold as Tortilla Press in US. I got mine from bed bath & beyond for $19.99.

Contributed by 

Prathima Juvvadi