Carrot Halwa

Ingredients:
Carrot - 3
Milk - 1 glass
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/4th spoon
Cashews - 5
Almonds - 4
Kismis - 4
Ghee

Cooking time: 15 mins

Procedure:
Grate the carrots and pressure cook it with milk for 2 whistles.
Heat a pan and add the ghee. Roast the cashews, almonds, kismis and keep aside.
In the same pan add the cooked carrot and add sugar, cardamom powder.
Cook until the sugar dissolves completely. Before removing it from stove add the roasted dry fruits.
Serve it hot or chilled as dessert.

Dates modak

Ingredients:
Dates(seedless) - 25
Almonds - 1/2 cup
Cashews - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 spoon
Ghee - 2 spoons

Procedure:
Dry roast cashews, almonds and dates separately.
Grind them to fine paste.
Now add cardamom powder, ghee and mix well.
Take lemon size balls and make modak shape.
Repeat the same for remaining paste.

Moong dal payasam

Ingredients:
Moong dal - 1 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 spoon
Cashews - 5
Almonds - 5
Pista - 5
Ghee - 3 spoons

Procedure:
Dry roast the moong dal until golden brown color.
Now pressure cook the dal with 1 cup milk and keep aside.
Heat a pan and add 1 spoon ghee. Roast the dry fruits in ghee and keep aside.
In the same pan add the remaining ghee, cooked dal and remaining milk.
Add sugar after the dal is cooked properly or until milk is dissolved fully.
Once sugar completely melts add cardamom powder and roasted dry fruits.
Remove from heat and serve hot or cold.

Semiya payasam

Ingredients:
Semiya (Vermicelli) - 1 glass
Milk - 2.5 glass
Sugar - 3/4 glass
Cardamom powder - 1/2 spoon
Chopped Almonds - 1 spoon
Chopped Cashews - 1 spoon
Chopped Pista - 1 spoon
Ghee

Procedure:
Heat a pan, add ghee and vermicelli. Roast the semiya until light brown and keep aside.
In the same pan add milk, sugar and cardamom powder.
When the milk starts boiling add semiya into it.
Once the semiya is cooked remove from heat.
Roast the dry fruits in 1 spoon of ghee and garnish in semiya.

Gulab jamun

Ingredients:
MTR Gulab Jamun packet - 500 gms
Sugar - 250 gms
Cardamom powder - 1/2 spoon
Water - 21/2 cups
Milk
Ghee
Oil

Procedure:
Take a vessel and add water, cardamom powder and sugar to boil. When the sugar melts and water is boiled remove from heat. Keep aside.
Take a bowl add MTR gulab jamun powder, milk and ghee. Make a soft dough and keep aside for 10-15 mins.
Then make gooseberry size balls and fry over low flame. Drain the excess oil and keep them aside.
When you put the gulab jamun in sugar syrup, it must be quite warm.

Chocolate burfi

Ingredients
Maida - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 4 cups
Milk powder - 3 cups
Cashew nuts chopped - 3/4 cup
Coco powder - 3 spoons
Ghee
Butter - 300 gms

Procedure:
Fry maida and coco powder in 6 spoons of ghee.
Melt the sugar in 3/4 cup water and mix all items except the cashew nuts and keep stirring.
When the mixture thickens and starts to leave the sides, add the cashew nuts and mix well.
When the mixture starts frothing up remove from stove and pour into a greased plate.
After it is cooled cut into squares.

It was still not cooled completely so I didn't cut them into pieces.

Teepi gavvalu (Sweet shells)

Ingredients:
Maida flour - 1 cup
Rava - 2 spoons
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 spoon
Ghee/oil - 2 spoons
Water
Salt a pinch
Water
Oil for deep fry

Procedure:
Mix the flour, rava, salt and water thoroughly. Make a soft dough and keep aside for 15-20 mins.
Take a thick bottom pan and add water, sugar and cardamom powder. Bring it to boil and prepare thin syrup and keep aside
Now take the flour and make small marble size balls.
For preparing this shells we have a wooden tool with tiny grooves. When the dough is pressed on it and rolled you get the shape of shell.
But here I don't have that tool. So this can also be made by hair comb (but yeah it should be unused new one ofcourse :D )
So take one ball press it on the hair comb and roll. Prepare in the same way for rest of the balls.
Mean while take a pan and add oil into it. Deep fry the shells and dip them into the sugar syrup.
After 2-3 mins remove from the sugar syrup and let them dry.

Its Nandita who is ready to attack the sweets before I could capture them in cam :D

Bread fruit mix

Ingredients:
Milk - 1 cup
Bread slices - 10 -15
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Apple - 1
Banana - 1
Grapes - 15
Cardamom powder - a pinch

Procedure:
Boil the milk and allow it for cooling.
Grind the bread slices into coarse powder along with milk and sugar.
Now take the mixture into a bowl and add the chopped fruits into it.
Add the cardamom powder and mix well.

Beetroot kheer

Ingredients:
Beetroot - 1
Milk - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Almonds - 4
Kaju - 4
Ghee - 1 spoon

Procedure:
Grate the beetroot and keep aside.
Heat a vessel and add the ghee. Once ghee is heated add the beetroot.
Once the raw smell of it is gone add the milk.
When the milk starts boiling add sugar and cardamom powder.
Remove from heat once it is done.
Roast the dry fruits in ghee and serve it with kheer.

Phirni

Ingredients:

Soaked rice - 5 spoons

Milk - 1 litre

Saffron – a pinch

Sugar - 3/4^th cup

Cardamom powder- ½ spoon

Pista sliced 10 - 15

Procedure:

Drain and grind the rice to a coarse paste.

Take a vessel and add milk into it. Bring milk to a boil.

Add rice paste dissolved in a little water or cold milk.

Cook till rice is completely cooked, stirring constantly. Add saffron and mix well.

Add sugar and cardamom powder and cook till sugar is completely dissolved.

Pour into a bowl and garnish with pista.

I didn't garnish with pista in this pics as I was in a hurry to go to office in the morning :D

Purnam Boorelu

Ingredients:

Urad dal - ½ cup

Rice - 1 cup

Chana dal – 1 cup

Jaggery - 1 cup

Cardamom powder – ½ spoon

Salt

Oil for deep frying

Procedure:

Drain water from the black gram dal and rice and grind to fine paste adding very little water. It should be like a thick dosa batter. Add a pinch of salt and mix well.

Pressure cook the chana dal with enough water. Drain any left over water from the dal after its cooked.

Take a heavy-bottomed vessel and add the ground dal paste and jaggery. Cook until the mixture becomes a thick paste. Remove from heat and allow them it to cool.

Prepare small lemon size balls with mixture of chana dal and keep aside.

Heat enough oil in a wide heavy bottomed vessel for deep frying the balls. Dip each ball in the batter and let it coat evenly and place in the oil and deep fry till golden brown.

Bobbatlu (Puran poli)

Ingredients:

Chana dal – 1 cup (soaked for an hour and drained)

Jaggery – 1 cup

Maida – 1.5 cups

Cardamom powder – ½ spoon

Salt – a pinch

Water

Procedure:

Pressure cook chana dal till the dal turns very soft. Grind to a fine paste.

Heat a cooking vessel, add the ground dal paste and jaggery and cook till they blend and form a thick lump like paste with no moisture left. Keep stirring on slow flame. Add cardamom pwd and salt and combine.

Combine maida, pinch of salt, oil and enough water to make a very soft dough. Knead well and keep aside for one or two hours.

Take small portion of dough and flatten it to little chapati. Place a lemon size of chana dal stuffing in the centre and draw the edges of the dough from all sides to cover the stuffing completely.

Take a plastic sheet gently flatten each ball carefully with your fingers to a flat circular roti.

Heat a tawa and fry it on low flame such that it’s roasted on both sides till light brown.

Serve warm with ghee.

Sheer kurma

Ingredients:

Roasted thin vermicelli – 2 cups

Almonds – 2 spoons

Cashews – 2 spoons

Pista – 2 spoons

Raisins - 10

Cardamom powder – 1/4^th spoon

Milk – 4 cups

Sugar – 1 cup

Ghee

Procedure:

Heat a pan and add 1 spoon ghee.

When ghee is heated add finely chopped almonds, cashews, pista and raisins.

Fry until they are light brown and remove once they are done.

Heat a think bottomed pan and add the milk.

Once the milk starts boiling add sugar and cardamom powder.

When the sugar is dissolved add the roasted vermicelli.

Cook for 5-10 mins and then add the roasted dry fuits.

Remove from heat after 5mins.

Dry fruit laddu

Ingredients:
Almonds - 1/2 cup
Cashews - 1/2 cup
Pista - 1/2 cup
Poppy seeds - 2 spoons
Walnuts - 1/2 cup
Raisins - 1 spoon
Dates - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 spoons
Grated dry coconut - 2 spoons

Procedure:
Chop the almonds, cashews, pista and walnuts.
Heat a pan and add 1 spoon ghee.
Roast the chopped almonds, cashews, pista, walnuts, dry coconut and keep aside.
Now add the dates in pan and cook until they are soft.
Remove from heat once they are done and allow them for cooling.
Now take a bowl and mix all the ingredients with left over 1 spoon ghee.
Now try to make lemon size balls with the mixture.

Ladies day out at my place

On demand as everyone is interested to know the recipies I thought this would be the best way to keep posted with all my experiments :)

So here is the menu of our lunch with Hyderabadi specials:

Mirchi bajji
Kaju pakodi
Puri
Aloo curry
Bagara rice
Gutti Vankaya
Kubani ka meeta

Mirchi Bajji
Ingredients:
Green long chilli - 10
Besan - 1 cup
Red chilli powder - 1 spoon
Salt - as per taste
Coriander powder - 1 spoon
Garam masala powder - 1/2 spoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1 spoon
Water - as required
Oil - as required for deep frying
For Stuffing:
Ajwain - 2 spoons
Peanuts - 3 spoons
Salt -  as per taste
Tamarind pupl - 2 spoons

Procedure:
Dry roast the peanuts and allow them for cooling. Remove the skin after it is cooled.
Grind ajwain, peanuts, tamarind and salt together and keep aside.
Now mix all the ingredients except green chilli with water. The batter consistency should be little thicker than dosa.
Now slit the green chillies and remove all the seeds from inside.
Stuff the green chillies with the ground paste.
Heat the oil in the pan for deep frying.
Once the oil is heated dip the green chillies in the batter and keep in the oil.
When the chilli turns light brown remove from oil and place in a tissue paper.
Proceed the same for remaining chillies.

Kaju Pakodi
Ingredients:
Kaju (Cashews) - 1 cup
Besan - 3 spoons
Rice flour - 1 spoon
Corn flour - 1 spoon
Red chilli powder - 1 spoon
Salt - as per taste
Coriander powder - 1 spoon
Garam masala powder - 1/2 spoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1 spoon
Water - as required
Oil - as required for deep frying

Procedure:
Mix all the ingredients with water. The batter consistency should be thicker than chapati dough.
Heat the oil in the pan for deep frying.
Once the oil is heated keep the kajus in oil like pakodi by separating them using your fingers.
When the kajus turns light brown remove from oil and place in a tissue paper.

Puri
Ingredients:
Wheat flour - 2 cup
Oil - 2 spoons
Salt - as per taste
Water - as required
Oil - as required for deep frying

Procedure:
Mix all the ingredients with water. The dough should be little thicker than chapati dough. If it is too soft oil consumption will be more when you fry puris.
Leave the dough for 15-30 mins.
Heat the oil in the pan for deep frying.
Take the dough and make lemon size balls.
Roll them using roller pin.
Once the oil is heated keep the puri in oil.
Immediately after placing the puri in oil press them using the slotted spoon. By doing this the puris pluffs.
Then turn the other side and wait for few seconds and remove from oil.
While making puris the oil should be very hot and flame should be on high.
Each puri should be deep fried less than a miute.

Aloo curry
Ingredients:
Aloo - 4 large
Green chillies - 5
Onion - 1
Curry leaves - 15
Cumin seeds - 1 spoon
Mustar seeds - 1 spoon
Salt - as per taste
Dry mango powder - 1 spoon
Asafoetida - a pinch
Chana dal - 1 spoon
Turmeric - 1/2 spoon
Oil - 2 spoons

Procedure:
Boil the aloo in pressure cooker for 2 wishtles, cut them into pieces.
Heat pan and pour the oil into it.
Once the oil is heated add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and chana dal.
When they start to splutter add chana dal, green chillies, asafoetida, onions, turmeric and curry leaves.
After they are fried a little add the aloo and salt according to taste.

Bagara rice
Ingredients:
Rice - 2 cups
Water - 3.5 cup
Coriander leaves - for garnishing
Cloves - 2
Cinamom stick - 1
Aniseed - 1
Cardamom - 1
Green chillies - 3
Onion - 1
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 3 spoons
Shahi jeera - 1 spoon
Salt - as per taste

Procedure:
Heat a pan and add ghee.
Add jeera and once they start to splutter add onions, green chillies.
Once onion turns light brown add mint leaves, cloves, cinamom, cardamom and aniseed.
Once you get the aroma add water.
After water is boiled add rice.
Cook on medium flame. After rice is cooked remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Gutti Vankaya
Ingredients:
Peanuts - 1 cup (remove the skin)
Sesame seeds - 2 spoons
Dried red chillies - 8-10
Coriander seeds - 1 spoon
Cumin - 1/2 spoon
Cinnamon stick - 1
Cloves - 4
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 spoon
Salt - 1 spoon
Tamarind - lime size
Dry coconut - 2 spoons
Poppy seeds - 1 spoon
Chana dal - 1 spoon
Urad dal - 1 spoon
Brinjal - 10
For seasoning:
Oil - 3 spoons
Cumin seeds - 1 spoon
Onion - 1 spoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1 spoon
Turmeric - 1/2 spoon

Procedure:
Dry roast all the ingredients and grind it to powder excluding brinjal and tamarind.
Cut the Brinjals in + shape leaving the stem on top.
Now stuff the brinjal with the ground paste.
Heat a pan and add oil.
Once oil is heated add cumin seeds. Once they start to splutter add onions, turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste.
When onion turns light brown add the remaining ground powder.
Cook for sometime and when oil separates add the stuffed brinjal in it.
After brinjal is half cooked add the tamarind pulp and salt according to taste.
Keep until brinjals are fully cooked and oil separates.
Remove from heat once they are cooked.

Kubani ka meeta
Ingredients:
Dried apricots - 500 gms
water - as requried
Sugar - 100 gms (or as per taste)
Custard powder -2 spoons
Vanilla essence - 1 spoon
Milk - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 spoons
Almonds - 1 spoon
Cashew - 1 spoon
Pista - 1 spoon

Procedure:
Soak the dried apricots in water for over night with the water level covered with apricots fully.
Grind the soaked apricots into coarse paste.
Heat a thick bottomed pan and add 1 spoon of ghee.
Once ghee is heated add the apricots paste.
After the paste is cooked for a while add the sugar.
Cook for 10-15mins on low flame and remove from heat once done.
Take 3 spoons of milk with custard powder and vanilla essence.
Heat another pan and add the milk with 4 spoons of sugar.
Once the milk is boiled slowly add custard mix with constantly mixing the milk. And remove from heat.
Allow milk and apricot to be cooled.
Roast the almonds, cashew and pista in ghee and keep aside.
While serving add apricot, on top of it custard and roasted dry fruits.