Brown poha ( brown beaten rice) pancakes recipe

This may not be a typical pancake recipe; frankly speaking this has been made to make my daughter consume eggs. Yea she finds it difficult to consume eggs in any form. Sometimes I feel I should stop serving her eggs.  But still, yet another attempt. So this time I added poha and I was delighted to see her happily eating and hence this post.

I use brown poha in our diet and for this pancake I powdered the poha and sieved it. Mixed it with few eggs and milk and served it with honey, can’t wait to share the recipe.

Ingredients

Eggs ( I use small country eggs) – 3 no.s

Milk- ¾ cup

Water - ½ cup 

Sugar and salt - as required

Vanilla essence – a drop (optional)

Poha – ½ cup- finely powdered and sieved

Method

Mix in all the ingredients and leave it in a bowl, it will look watery but leave it for 20 minutes  to see the poha absorbing the liquid and batter turning out to be a thicker pancake batter.

Heat up your cast iron skillet and add a little butter/ghee and pour a ladle full of batter, once you see once side brown, flip it and remove from the skillet.

Serve it with any jam/syrup, I served with honey

Makhana chikki | Puffed lotus seed brittles recipe

It’s been few months that I have introduced makhana in our diet; it’s a very light and healthy snack which is mostly consumed during fasting days in various parts of our country. Today tried making brittles or chikki with makhana. Usually chikkis are made using sugar syrup or jaggery syrup. I used palm jaggery syrup for making chikkis. Was a little apprehensive about my experiment though the result was good. The consistency of the sweet syrup is very important to have good crunchy chikkis.

Alright let me get into the recipe 

Ingredients

Makhana/ puffed lotus seeds - 3 cups

Palm jaggery syrup - 1 cup

Cardamom powder - a pinch

Method

Take a kadai/wok and dry roast the makhana until it turns crisp and crunchy.

In the kadai/wok pour in the jaggery syrup and stir until it becomes thick, ideally when u feel its thick enough drop the syrup in a bowl of water  and it will turn solid which is the correct consistency of the syrup.

Once you get that consistency remove the kadai from the flame and mix in the roasted makhanas and mix well. Remove the contents and place on a greased plate. If possible spread it even and give it a shape. Else leave it and once it gets dried remove the chikkis from the plate and break it coarsely into pieces. 

Once cooled store in an airtight jar.

Notes: I melt 500 gms of palm jaggery in one cup of water, strain and use. Have used one cup of the strained liquid for this recipe.

You may use any other jaggery or sugar for the recipe.

Instant poha and makhana sweet snack

Just realized that its been a month that I have updated the blog.. yea been busy with kids and few health issues of parents. Now hopefully my brain will start working and would be able to develop some quick, nice and healthy recipes :)

Today I tried making this easy instant snack for the kids which got certified as 'epic; by dear son .. I guess its the way of saying very nice by their generation.

Its quite easy to make it easy to eat too.I used organic red poha ( beaten rice) and puffed fox nut seeds, both are quite rich in minerals and nutrients. 

Ingredients

Thin organic red beaten rice ( poha) - 1 cup

Puffed foxnut seeds ( makhana) - 1 cup

Coconut (grated)- 1/3 cup

Sugar/ grated jaggery - as needed

Method
In a mixer throw in all the ingredients and churn for a while to bring it together. Sprinkle few drops of milk if necessary.

Serve!!

Yes, As I said its just as simple as this and I found it yummy too :P
Enjoy!
Thanks
Chaithanya

Ice apple rose coconut milk shake recipe

I know I am getting carried away with these ice apples and the dried rose petals .. Been thinking of trying something new, refreshing and healthy with these ingredients and came up with this. This is one of the best drinks to be had in a summer afternoon, chilled or at room temperature.

Alright, following is the recipe

Ingredients

Ice apples/ nongu - 2

Dried rose petals - 1/4 cup ( may use rose syrup instead)

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Sugar 2-3 tsp

Water - 1 cup

Method

Blend the ice apples and coconut milk well, add the dried roses and let it soak for sometime. Add the water and strain.

Garnish with chopped nungus and dried rose petals and serve chilled.

Just as simple as it is !:)

Tips

I made fresh coconut milk at home, you could use store bought one.

May replace sugar with jaggery syrup.

Thanks 

Chaithanya

Misthi dahi - Thick sweetened yogurt

Misthi dahi has been made and eaten in our country and tradition since ages before the invasion of the flavoured yogurts we get in the market these days. Its not difficult to make these flavoured yogurts, not only that, once you get an idea of making this you can make a lot of variations of these. I tried this and is very happy with the outcome and hence sharing the recipe. Its nice to be served chilled in this summer as well!!!

Ingredients

Milk - 1 litre

Sugar - 1/3 cup

Saffron threads - a few

Yogurt - 2 tbspns

Method

Bring the milk to boil and leave it in low flame for about 20 minutes until the milk has reduced to half of the original volume. Then prop a strainer over a small metal bowl or earthen ware container and strain the condensed milk to remove any lumps. Allow the milk to stand until the temperature drop slightly.

Now remove the layer of skin from the surface of the milk. Whisk the sweetener, saffron, and yogurt into the milk. Cover the container and put it in a quiet warm place. The misthi dahi should be firm in 4-6 hours after that refrigerate it.

Serve it chilled and enjoy!

Thanks

Chaithanya