Raw cashew curry recipe

Last week just happened to drop in one of the Mangalore stores in the city. They usually store and sell goodies which are popular in the Konkan belt. This store serves buns, goli bajji, pathrode etc. So while we were browsing through the snacks, sweets and savouries we spotted a pack of raw cashews. I have heard about raw cashew curry from a class mate of mine during my college years. Asked few tips from the store keeper as to how to wash and clean those cashews. Further I checked with my friend for the recipe. She was delighted to know that I still remember the curry after so many years. I happened to find a recipe on the internet too. But thought of going ahead with my friend’s recipe.

Hence the recipe follows

Ingredients

Raw cashew – 200 gm

Shallots – 1 cup (3/4 cup +1/4 cup)

Ginger – 1 inch

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Curry leaves

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp.

Coriander powder – 3 tsp.

Chilli powder – 1 tsp.

Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp.

Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp.

Fennel seeds – ¼ tsp.

For seasoning

Shallots

Mustard

Red chillies

Curry eaves

Method

• The raw cashews will have a brown outer skin, so soak these cashews in hot water and after sometime peel off the skin, wash it thoroughly a couple of times and keep aside.
• Now take a kadai or a thick bottom vessel, add few spoons of oil. When the oil is hot add chopped ginger, ¾ cup ofshallots and curry leaves and sauté until the shallots turns to a pale colour. Add the grated coconut and all the spices and keep stirring until the mixture turns dark brown in colour. Please be careful not to burn the mixture at this stage.
• Transfer this mixture into a grinder and once cooled grind the mixture to a fine paste adding required amount of water.
• Now take a thick bottom vessel and pour this mixture into it and add sufficient water to adjust the consistency of the gravy. Add the washed raw cashews at this stage and also add salt.
• Let it come to boil and let the cashews cook for about 15- 20 mins.
• Once done remove from the stove.
• Now take another pan and keep it on the stove and add oil, splutter mustard seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves and ¼ cup of finely chopped shallots. Pour it over the curry and it’s done.
• This curry can be served with rice, chappathi, appams etc

Note: you could also do the seasoning first as then pour the gravy paste and cashews and cook. 

Pressure cooker palpayasam recipe

Pressure cooker palpayasam recipe

Palpayasam is one of famous south indian delicacy and in north it’s called as kheer. Traditionally it is cooked on stove top, adding rice, sugar and milk and stirred for long time so that rice is well cooked in milk and the sweet and delicious dessert is made

My family loves palpayasam and its one of the kid’s favourites too... Over the years I have started to make it in the pressure cooker. I have many friends who do the same.

Ingredients

Rice – ¼ cup

Milk – 3 cups

Sugar - 1/3 cup

Saffron – few stands (optional)

Cardamom powder – a pinch (optional)

Method

• In a pressure cooker (I use a 2 litre stainless steel pressure cooker) add the rice, 2 cups of milk and sugar and  keep it on gas stove on low flame. Wait until you hear the first whistle and switch off the stove after 5 minutes.
• Open the lid once the pressure is released automatically.
• Use a potato masher and mash the rice randomly.
• Add the saffron and cardamom powder at this stage and mix well, also add a cup of hot milk to this. Mix well again.

Note: I sometimes grind few almonds (about 5-10) in the payasam.

you coudl also increase the sugar quantity depending on your taste.

Thanks and regards

Chaithanya

Kerala uniyappam recipe

Kerala uniyappam recipe

Kerala uniyappam is a very famous sweet snack of Kerala, it’s also an auspicious snack as it is prepared in temples and also on auspicious family occasions or just any other day too. I personally was not a fan of uniyappam though my mother makes it well during Vishu. But my darling son loves most of the traditional food and one is uniyappam. Usually my mother makes it whenever we visit her and it’s been a long desire of mine to make it by my selves. 

Over the years I have tried many recipes, various combinations and with various rice and flours. I tried with wheat, rava...all those came out good but I wasn’t satisfied with the taste, texture and authenticity.

One of my good friends is an expert in making uniyappam, few years back I tried her recipe too, that was yet another disaster and I just left it there.

Last week I gave another attempt with the same recipe. The taste was very close to what I wanted but the texture was close to a disaster.

So yet another trial with all the courage and prayers and it came out successful.  The taste and texture was just the exact way I wanted.

Uniyappam is generally made using rice flour but here I have soaked and ground the rice to make the appams. Small well ripe banana is an essentially ingredient for making delicious apam. And a few spices mixed in the batter makes beautiful and tasty uniyappams

The recipe follows

Ingredients  

Ponny raw rice or Dosa rice – 1 cup ( note below)

Small well ripe bananas ( elakki )- 3

Jaggery syrup – one cup ( note below)

Water - ½ cup

Cardamom powder – a pinch

Jeera powder – a pinch

Dry ginger powder – a pinch

Coconut pieces - few

White/black sesame seeds – 1 tbspn

Ghee – 2 tsp

Oil for deep frying ( to your preference)

Method

• Wash and Soak the rice for a minimum of 2 hours.
• Grind the rice using sufficient jaggery syrup and water alternatively so that the rice is well ground. Add the bananas and grind again until the rice and banana is blended well. Make sure the batter is finely ground and well mixed. That’s a very important step to get the batter right.
• Add the spices and fry the coconut pieces in ghee and add to the batter. Mix the batter well with remaining jaggery pieces and water, cover and let it rest for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Take and appam pan and keep on flame and add oil (we use coconut oil) once the oil is hot enough reduce the flame and bring it to medium flame.
• If the flame is too high the appam will burn and the centre will remain uncooked and the flame is too low the appam will soak a lot of oil, hence medium flame is advised.
• So when the batter is poured, ideally the appam will rise over, and after few minutes flip the appam once and then drain from oil to a kitchen towel.
• Repeat the same process with the remaining batter and once cooled store in an airtight container.

This quantity will yield about 20 – 25 med sized appams.

Note:

Regarding jaggery syrup, I usually melt one kg jaggery in one cup of water, sieve and store. Used one cup from this syrup.

Regarding appam chatti , you need paniyaram pan/appam chatti for deep frying the appam

I use a cast iron appam pan hence make sure the pan is well seasoned, else chances of the batter sticking to the bottom pf the pan is high and it will spoil the show

Tip: smear the oil and leave the pan for few days before you plan to make appams or if your pan is already seasoned well and good

Regarding rice: Raw rice preferred

If by chance you find the batter is too water add a tbpsn of chirooti rava to the batter.

Thanks regards

Chaithanya

Egg biriyani recipe

Egg biriyani

Biriyani is one dish which the majority of the population look forward for, for its taste simplicity, variance and a bag full of flavours.Each region has a recipe of its own with various combinations of spices. Also its one dish which is one pot and yet full of flavors due to the various spices used in its preparation. For some, preparing biriyani is very easy and quick but I confess its not so for me. I have to concentrate a lot while making biryani than other regular dishes. More than effort biriyani has a sequence of process to be followed else the taste gets altered. You have to be careful from the right level of cooking of the rice, mixing and flavouring of the dish at every possible level.

I have been doing this recipe for quite some time but every time i make I forget to click a pic... So today decided to click and blog it.

The recipe follows

Ingredients

Onions – 3-4 med ones

Saffron – a pinch

Milk – ¼ cup

Eggs – 4-6 no.s (I use small country eggs)

Ginger, garlic, green chilli – 2-3 tsp. (crushed)

Mint leaves and coriander leaves – 2-3 tbsp. (chopped

Pepper powder – ½ tsp.

Chilli powder – 1 tsp.

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp.

Coriander powder – 1 tbsp.

Whole cumin (jeera) - ½ tsp.

Fennel seeds (saunf) – ½ tsp.

Cloves – 2-3 no.s

Cinnamon - 1 small stick

Cardamom – 2-3 no.s

Bay leaves – 2

Curd – 1 cup

Salt - as required.

Method

• Finely chop onions and fry and keep aside (you could deep fry or shallow fry to your preference).
• Soak the saffron in ¼ cup of warm milk and keep aside.
• Boil eggs and keep aside, for boiling eggs you can wash and put the eggs in a pressure cooker, add water until the eggs are half emerged, switch off the stove after one whistle, and open the cooker once the pressure is released on its own.
• Using a knife make slits on the eggs or you could simply cut each egg to half, add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and pepper powder and mix well. 
• Add the crushed ginger garlic and green chilli to it. Make a powder of cumin, fennel, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and add to the egg mixture, add salt too… finally add the curd and the coriander and mint leaves and also half of the fried onion. Mix all this well and keep aside for 30 minutes.

For cooking rice

Basmati Rice – 2 cups

Hot water – 4 cups

Ghee – 2 tbsp.

Cinnamon – 1 stick

Cardamom – 2-3

Clove – 2-3

Bay leaves - 2

Cashews and raisins – as per your preference.

Salt.

Method

• Take a pan and add the ghee, fry the cashews and raisins and remove from the pan.
•  Add the rice to the pan and sauté well for about 5 mins (this is to keep the rice separate and not leaving it sticky once cooked). 
• Once the rice is well sautéed add the whole spices and salt. 
• Slowly add the hot water to the rice and close the pan with a lid and let it cook in med flame. Open and check after few minutes and let it cook until the water is absorbed by the rice and rice is almost cooked.  
• Remove the pan from the flame.

Assembling

• Keep another pan (I used a wide cast iron pan/skillet) on the flame and add a teaspoon or two of ghee/oil. 
• Bring your egg mixture and remove the eggs and keep it upside down (the yolks touching the base of the pan. 
• Once all the eggs are arranged along with a bit of masala mixture spread half a portion of the cooked rice. Spread the remaining masalas on top along with a quarter portions of the fried onions and also the saffron and milk mixture. 
• Spread the remaining rice and level the rice out and sprinkle the left over fried onions.

Let it sit covered on the low flame for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes sprinkle the fried cashews and raisins on top and gently mix well. You don’t want to make a mess of the biriyani, mix gently so that the colour stands out yet there is a mix of flavours J

Serve hot with raita, pickle and papad.

Note: You could any other deep thick bottom pan for assembling the rice and egg mixture.

Enjoy!!

Cabbage thoran ( cabbage stiry fry in Kerala style )

One of my good north Indian friends was curious about our cabbage thoran (in other words cabbage stir fry in Kerala style) recipe a couple of days backs, from then I have been thinking of blogging about it. Cabbage thoran is a must have dish in the menu of kerala sadya as well.

and also one of the favourite dishes of my family too

Ingredients

Cabbage – 250 gms

Onion (chopped) – one medium sized

Green chillies (finely chopped) – 2

Turmeric powder - ½ tsp

Salt – as required

Grated coconut – ¼ cup

For seasoning

Oil - 1- 2 tbsp.

Mustard - 1/2 tsp.

Urad dal - 1 tsp.

Curry leaves – one or two sprigs

Dried red chilies – one or two

Ginger (optional) – ½ inch ( finely chopped)

Method

• Chop the cabbage fine (cut the cabbage vertically and slice using an adjustable slicer, I find this way easier).
• Please make sure the cabbage is not very wet (that will make the thoran soggy).
• Mix the chopped onion, cabbage, ginger and green chilies in a big bowl.
• Add the turmeric powder and salt to the above vegs and mix gently.
• Now keep a kadai/wok/pan on the stove, add oil and when the oil is hot add the mustard seeds, and wait to splutter, add the urad dal, dried red chillies and curry leaves, once it’s all crackled well add the chopped and mixed vegetable mixture into the seasoning. 
• Mix well again and let it cook.
• So at this stage if you find your vegetable mixture have very less moisture cover and cook and if you feel the vegetable has more moisture let the lid be open. We don’t want a sogy thoran anyway.
• Stir once in a while, it won’t take much time to cook (also depends on how fine or thick you have chopped the cabbage)
• Once cooked, sprinkle the grated coconut on top and mix well again (or you can mix just before serving)
• Serve hot with a bowl of rice, sambhar and curd.

My husband and kids loves this with plain rotis ;)

Thanks

Chaithanya

Appam and Kadala curry recipe

Thought of enjoying the long weekend with a typical Kerala breakfast of appam and kadala curry, its been long that I have made this. 

I have another  recipe  of appam in my blog which has no yeast this one is a recipe with yeast and then of course the recipe of the kadala curry in the pic will also be posted.

Ingredients for appam

Rice (good quality – sona masuri, basmati) – 2 cups

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Paper poha (thin beaten rice) – ¾ cup

Yeast – a pinch (yes, just a pinch)

Sugar – 2 tbsp.

Method

• Soak the rice for about 3 hours.
• Grind all the ingredients for the appam together well, smoother the better; the batter has to be slightly thinner than dosa batter.
• Keep the batter to ferment for few hours or overnight.
• After fermentation add salt and mix well and leave it to rest for another 15 mins. The batter will puff up again, yes and that very important for good appams.
• Meanwhile take the appa chatti (I use the cast iron chatti) on the stove and heat on lower medium flame.
• Sprinkle few drops of sesame oil and then sprinkle little water so that the oil is dispersed and also the heat of the chatti is maintained. (My personal trick and suggestion)
• Take a ladle of batter and pour in the centre of the chatti and without waiting or wasting time hold the handle of the pan and swirl so that the batter spreads around the edges of the pan and the excess batter accumulates at the centre, cover the appam with a lid.
• Open the lid after few seconds .
• Wait for few seconds before you remove the appam for the pan. You needn’t flip the appam.

Recipe for kadala curry

Ingredients

Brown chana – ½ cup

Onion- one med sized

Green chillies – one or two

Ginger – about an inch

Grated coconut - half a cup

Jeera (cumin)- ½ tsp

Saunf ( fennel seeds) – ½ tsp

Pepper powder – ½ tsp

Chilli powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 2 tsp

Cardamom – 1 or 2

Cloves – 1-2

For seasoning

Oil

Mustard

Dried red chillies

Curry leaves.

Method

• Soak chana overnight.
• Cook the chana with sufficient water, onions, ginger and green chillies.
• Take a pan, add little oil and add the grated coconut, sauté until golden brown and then add all the remaining spices and spice powders.
• Once cooled grind the coconut mixture to a fine paste (as fine as possible).
• Add the ground coconut spice mixture and salt into the chana and mix well and bring it to boil.
• Season with mustard, dried red chillies, curry leaves

Notes

I used one cup of unpolished red rice and one cup of ordinary sona masuri rice.

I used thin red poha instead of white poha.

Thanks 

Chaithanya

Puttu with homemade puttu podi and kadala curry

Puttu and kadala curry is a typical Kerala breakfast. The beauty of it is it has carbs, proteins, minerals and other nutrients and is tasty too. Keralites  can’t avoid this sumptuous breakfast hence we make it once in a while. 

Before, I used to buy the flour for making puttu but recently started making the flour at home. So in this blog post I will include the recipe to make the puttu flour, recipe to make puttu and the recipe to make kadala curry. Kadala curry recipe is of my mother-in-law

Ingredients for homemade puttu podi

Red rice ( I use a variety called jolaga)- 1 cup ( you could use any other variety brown or red raw rice too)

White rice – 1 cup (I use sona masuri)

Basically the rice should be raw rice and not boiled rice  ( I am not talking about cooked rice here : )

Method

• Wash, clean and soak both the rice together for about 4-5 hours.
• Drain the water and spread the rice in a clean cotton cloth, so that it becomes fairly dry but still retains little moisture. That’s for about an hour.
• Now take the rice and grind in the mixer, remove the jar from the mixer and shake it often so that all the rice is ground (I do it, hence).
• Rice will not be finely powdered, but that’s ok, ignore.
• Repeat this process with the remaining rice.
• Now keep a huge skillet or a kadai or a wok on the stove and put this rice flour into it. Take a huge turner (the biggest you have) and tart stirring the flour. If you see lumps forming try breaking it as soon as possible. Else it gets hardens, but worry not it can be broken while making puttu too.
• Now while you keep stirring it, you will see the moisture starting to vaporise and a nice aroma of roasted rice flour starts to come. Keep doing this for a minimum of 15 – 20 mins. Remove the wok from the stove and empty the flour to another big plate to let it cool.
• Now this flour stays good outside the refrigerator for weeks. But make sure the moisture is completely gone.
• So here your rice flour is ready

Puttu recipe

Rice flour – 2 cups (for the about homemade puttu podi recipe you will get two cups of roasted rice flour)

Water – About 1.5 cups

Salt – 1 tsp

Method

Now take a huge bowl and put the flour into it, mix well with the salt. Add water to it.

Mix the flour and water with your fingers just until the flour is damp.

Test: when you gather the flour it should form a ball in your fist and when you break it should fall back as powder ( I am trying my best to explain this  J )

We have a different appliance to make puttu, lower portion i filled with water and in the top portion we fill this damp rice flour layered with grated coconut.

Pic courtesy :http://www.hotdishes.net/Indian_kitchen_Appliances/Stainless_Steel_Products/Puttu_Maker/Puttu_Maker_*Puttu_Kudam~/

• Fill water half way in the bottom portion( the vessel shaped )and place it on the stove.
• Take the upper portion or the cylindrical portion it will have a small circular plate with lots of holes as the base, sprinkle some grated coconut, add a portion of rice (approximately that much you can hold in your palm) then layer with coconut and repeat until the cylinder is full. Top and bottom layer with grated coconut (preferably).
• By then the steam would start coming from the vessel in the stove, place the cylinder on the mouth of the steamer. Let it cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from stove, wait for about 5 minutes before you push the puttu from the cylinder. Use a ladle to push out the puttu ( recipe might sound funny, trust me its fun ;) )

So puttu is done.

Ingredients for kadala curry

Brown chana/brown gram  - 1 cup

Onion – 1 medium

Ginger – one inch

Green chillies – 1- 2

Coconut – ½ cup grated

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Chilli powder – ½ tsp

Coriander power – 2 tsp

Pepper power – ½ tsp

Garam masla – ½ tsp

salt

For the seasoning

Coconut oil  - 1 tbsp

Mustard- 1 tp

Dried red chillies – 2-3

Curry leaves –

Cried coconut pieces

Method

• Soak the chana/ gram overnight.
• Make a paste of coconut and keep aside.
• Wash the chana well and cook in the pressure cooker along with onion and ginger.  After the first whistle keep it in sim for about 20 minutes to let it cook well.
• Once the chana is cooked add all the spices and salt and coconut paste and let it boil.
• Remove the curry from the stove.
• Season it by keeping a small kadai on the stove, add oil and then add the mustard to splutter, add the curry leaves, red chillies and coconut and pour it over the curry  also  sprinkle some garam masala on top.

Thus you platter is ready J

 Serve it hot. 

You could also serve with green gram curry, banana, sugar and pappadam.

thanks 

Chaithanya

Raagi ilayada recipe (ilayada using finger millet )

Raagi Ilayada recipe

Whenever I get banana leaves I made ilayada, as my son loves eating it. Ila means leaf and ada means a flattened rice dumpling( tried my best in explaining). It’s usually made using fine rice flour but today gave it a twist by adding raagi flour (finger millet flour). My daughter loves raagi in any forms and since its healthy and rich in nutrients I thought of giving it a go. Hence the experiment and product was yummy and as soon as I finished making the adas it just got vanished.

Alright,  so when it comes to the recipe

Ingredients for the outer covering

Fine roasted rice flour – 1 cup

Fine roasted raagi flour- 1 cup

Hot water – 2 cups

Salt – 1.5 tsp

Oil – 2 tspn

Method

Mix all the ingredients with a fork and cover it and let it to come to room temperature so that you can knead well. Once a little warm knead well until soft dough is formed.

For the filling

Grated coconut – 2 cups

Jaggery syrup – ½ cup

Cardamom powder – a pinch

Method

In a thick bottom kadai or wok add the ingredients for the filling and stir well until it reduces to a thick consistency. You don’t have to stir for too long either.

Assembling 

Once the rice- raagi dough and filing is ready you could proceed with making adas.

Take a small square portion from the plantain /banana leaf and take a small portion ( size of a big lemon) of the dough and flatten it to a circle on the leaf by wetting your fingers in between, once well spread put the filling in the centre and cover the leaf midway. Slightly press on the sides so that the semicircle is sealed well.

Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.

Keep the steamer on the stove and steam these adas for about 15 mins. If you steam for longer time, the adas dries out and breaks. Hence just keep a check of time.

That’s it; serve it hot or room temperature.

No words to describe the aroma of the ada as it gets steamed in banana leaves and the sweet filling adds to it grace.

You could use turmeric leaves for the same.

Thanks

Chaithanya

Banana flower stir fry |koombu thoran/mezhukkupuratti recipe

Banana flower stir fry |koombu thoran/mezhukkupuratti recipe

This is one of my favourite dishes. In Kerala my mother used to just pluck out the flower from the back yard and make this dish and it has that mild sweetness and tastes so yum! I used to still buy this vegetable from Bangalore but mother in law stopped me from buying this, she said they inject the chemicals/pesticide to the flower.

Recently when I saw the organic banana flower I couldn’t stop my selves from buying it...Made it for a weekend lunch and we loved it!! ..Happy hearts! 

The recipe as follows

Ingredients

Banana flower – one

Chilli powder- ½ tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2tsp

Salt- as reqd

Oil- 2tspn

Garlic - few

For the seasoning

Red chillies- 2-3 no.s

Curry leaves- few sprigs

Rice (uncooked)- 2 tbsp

Method

Chop the banana flower fine and then throw in a big bowl, add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder , salt and a few spoons of oil ( we use coconut oil) and mix it well using your hands.. Use pressure while mixing.

Once it is mixed well. Keep the kadai on the stove and put this mixture and add the garlic… Close the kadai with a lid and let it cook in medium flame.

For the seasoning keep a small kadai on the stove and pour a spoon or two of oil. When the oil is medium hot add the rice, dried red chillies and curry leaves. Once the rice splutters and becomes crisp, put the seasoning over the banana flower thoran, mix well and serve.

Tips:

Vertically shop the flower into half, then put lot of slits vertically on one half and then chop it horizontally, your get it finely chopped.

Mixing with hand is a technique used my husband’s grandmother; it helps in releasing and mixing of the flavours.

Measurements of the spices can be changed according to the taste of your palate and the size of the banana flower.
Also its will be good if you season this dish just before serving as I like my rice to remain crisp :)

Thanks

 Chaithanya

Recipe for quail eggs in roasted coconut gravy

Quail eggs and duck eggs contain good cholesterol than chicken eggs.. so they say and after sometime they will say the reverse. I dint research much but would be happy to know anything about these. Me and my family loves quail eggs for its size, taste and convenience in eating. It can be consumed in many forms and is actually healthy, this I say based on what I have heard from folks in my native place. 

Anyway I was planning to cook ghee rice and thought of making this dish as an accompaniment.

Unlike baking this dish does consume some of our time in the kitchen, saute, saute, saute is the formula for this curry ( warning :)  )

Let me get into the recipe

Ingredients

Quail eggs- 8-10
Med sized onion - 3
Med sized tomato - 2 
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch 
Green chilli - 2-3 
Coconut ( grated) - 1 cup
Coriander powder - 3 tspn
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
Chilli powder - 1 tspn
Pepper corns - 5- 10 ( depending on the spice level)
Garam masala - a pinch
Cooking oil - 4 tspn
Curry leaves- one sprig

Method

• Boil the eggs, peel and keep aside ( I pressure cook eggs for one whistle).
• Take the kadai add 2 spoons of oil and add the grated coconut, roast, roast, roast until the coconut turns golden brown in colour, add the coriander powder and the pepper corns and roast again.
• Remove the coconut mixture and put in a mixer jar and let it cool.
• Place the kadai again back to the stove and add 2 spoons of oil and add the finely sliced onions, saute, saute, saute until it becomes golden brown, add the green chillis, ginger, garlic, and saute again.
• Add the tomatoes and saute again, 
• Once the tomatoes are soft and oil separates from the sides add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and saute well.
• Meanwhile grind the coconut mixture into a soft paste and add it to the onion tomato gravy.
• Add more water if required and let the mixture comes to boil.
• Add in the garam masala and curry leaves and also throw in the eggs.
• Stir well and remove from flame.
• Serve hot with rotis or rice.

Note : This gravy can be made using any other eggs and veg, also sea food.

Thanks
Chaithanya

Recipe for rose flavoured palpayasam

Recipe for rose flavoured palpayasam

I know what you guys must be thinking, again dried rose petals recipe...yea, I have been smitten by it and what better occasion than Holi to use it up :)

I saw ample recipes using dried rose petals but finally thought of infusing it in my palpayasam recipe. I have a recipe of palpayasam which I usually make in pressure cooker. Did the same recipe but with a twist. So here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Rice - 1/3 cup ( I use jeera rice)

Ghee - 1 tspn

Milk - 500 ml

Sugar - 1/3 cup

Milk powder - 1/2 cup

Dried rose petals - 2 tbspn

Chopped dry fruits for garnish.

Method

Wash and drain the rice

Keep the pressure pan on stove, add ghee and roast the rice in the ghee for about 1-2 minutes.

Pour in the milk, add the sugar and close the lid of the pressure cooker and pressure cook for about 1-2 whistles.

Open the lid once pressure is released and add the rose petals, stir in the milk powder and stir for another few minutes.

Serve hot or cold and garnish with finely chopped nuts.

Note: 

• Adding milk powder is optional, you may return the pressure cooker on stove and cook for sometime to make the payasam thick.
• You may tie the rose petals in a small potli and add to the payasam and remove it off once its flavour has entered the payasam . I did that since I was afraid my kids would make a big fuss on seeing the petals.

Cook and enjoy :)

thanks

Chaithanya