Avocado rava kheer

No, I am not growing avocados in the  backyard ( I live in a flat ), nor I have any estate of avocados anywhere :) , I just love this fruit and its versatility and above all it is so nutritious and is very rich in anti oxidants that you find it hard to avoid this fruit.. I wanted to incorporate this fruit in my diet few years ago , but always got it wrong and now I have almost learnt to get the good ones. Those who have never tried this fruit even till now will tel you it is otherwise called as butter fruit since its texture and taste is like butter.. so soft, smooth and silky.

For this evening I tried kheer with it .. Ok now dont get into thinking that I cooked avocados in milk .. Nah! I did something which a kid can do , in fact these days kids can do much better! I made rava  or sooji or semolina kheer and added avocados into it and mixed well. Its quick , easy and simple and not to forget healthy. So here goes the recipe..

Ingredients

Medium rava - 4 tbspn

Milk 2 cups

Sugar candy ( kalkandam) - a handful

Avocado - 1

Cardamom powder - a pinch

Method

Mix the rava and one and half cups of milk and cook till the rava thickens, it takes less than 10 minutes. Remove from flame and then scoop in the avocado pulp to the kheer. Add in the remaining half cup of milk and stir well till the pulp gets well incorporated in the kheer. You can also use a hand blender for this!

Add a pinch of cardamom powder and serve !

Rawa dhoklas

Quick rawa dhoklas


Ingredients

1 1/4 cup semolina
2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp fruit salt (ENO)
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste
oil for greasing

for the tempering

1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
a pinch asafoetida
1 tbsp oil
coriander leaves for garnishing

Mix the semolina, buttermilk, oil, salt in a bowl to make a smooth batter. keep aside for 30 minutes - 1 hr
Add the fruit salt, mix well and pour in to a greased 200mm diameter thali, cover and steam for 20-30 minutes until the knife inserted comes out clean.
Prepare the tempering by heating the oil, adding the mustard seeds, sesame seeds and asafoetida and frying until the seeds crackle. Pour the tempering over the prepared dhoklas. garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

cut into pieces and serve hot with green chutney or tamarind chutney. 

Spicy green oats dosa

Spicy green oats dosa

Ingredients

Oats- 1 cup

Semolina -1/3 cup

Spinach - One bunch

Green chillies- 2

Onion - I med size

Tomato - 1 med size

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tspn

salt

Method

Soak oats and other ingredients in a mixie jar /blender with required amount of water. Grind/blend well the ingredients to a smooth batter . Being a very short and simple recipe make dosa instantly with this batter and enjoy the tasty spicy green dosa. 

Oats cucumber dosa

Oats Cucumber dosa


Ingredients


Oats- 1 cup
Semolina (Chirooty rava) 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup
Cucumber - 1 large 
Green Chillies and Coriander leaves- to your taste
Salt


Method


Soak the oats and semolina in just enough water in a mixie jar for 10 minutes. Finely chop or grate the cucumber to it. Blend it nicely along with the chillies and coriander leaves and add salt. Make sure that the batter is not too thick or thin.
Make dosa instantly with this batter. Healthy and nutritious too and can be made in a jiffy. 

Chocolate nankatai

Chocolate nankatai


Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rava ( semolina)
1/4 cup almonds (powdered)
1 tbspn flaxseed (powdered)
Cocoa powder- 2 -3 tbspn ( 2 tbspn will also be enough)
Sugar- 1/2 cup ( powdered)
Ghee- 1/2 cup
1/4 tspn baking powder

Method
Mix all the ingredients and knead it to make a super soft dough. Make balls, flatten it with a fork and bake it in a preheated oven at 150 degress Celsius for about 10- 12 minutes 

Pretzels

Laugenbrezel (German Style Soft Pretzels) With Sesame Seeds

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp dried active yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup warm milk
3 cups + 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
6 cups water
2 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp cornmeal or semolina
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
2 tbsp black sesame seeds

Method:


In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm milk and allow that to stand for about 5 minutes.

Add the 3 cups flour and salt to the proofed yeast and stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. The dough will feel slightly sticky, so add a bit of flour as and when necessary while kneading. This should take about 8 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl, turning to coat the dough with oil. Cover and allow the dough to rise for about 40 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)

Deflate the dough, cover and let it rest 5 minutes. Divide dough into 12 equal portions.

Work with one portion at a time and cover remaining dough to prevent it drying. Roll each portion into an 18-inch-long rope with tapered ends. Cross one end of rope over the other to form a circle, leaving about 4 inches at end of each rope. Twist the rope at the base of the circle. Fold the ends over the circle and into a traditional pretzel shape, pinching gently to seal. Place pretzels on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise 10 minutes (pretzels will rise only slightly).

Put the 6 cups of water and baking soda in a non-aluminium pan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer. Gently lower a pretzel into the simmering water. Cook on each side for about 15 seconds. The pretzel will swell/ puff up a bit. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a greased wire rack. This will prevent the pretzel from sticking to the rack. Repeat with the remaining pretzels.

Place the pretzels on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 220C (425F) for 12 minutes or until pretzels are deep golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serve warm with a dip of your choice or just plain. They’re best eaten fresh, and on the same day. This recipe makes 12 Pretzels.