Kheer - chawal ki

Happy Sankranti to you all ! I don't know how to make Til Ke Ladoo which are made specially on Sankranti but I knew something that uses Jaggery as ingredient and made that combination- Puran Poli and Kheer.

My kheer is very popular in my friends circle and that's the only sweet I can make confidentally. When I invite people for dinner, they know that the dessert is going to be either my famous kheer ( hehehehe..) or something store bought !!

This serves about 8 people:

Soak about two handfuls of basmati rice in a bowl and keep aside. In a big heavy-base pan, add a little ghee ( about 1tbsp). when it starts melting add 2-3tbsp of chopped cashews, a handful of makhanas ( optional)almonds or any other dry fruits you like. when the cashews turn pink, add the milk and let it come to boil. Keep stirring to make sure the milk doesn't burn at the bottom.

Drain the rice and crush the rice a little with your hands amd put it in the boiling milk. add a tbsp raisins and a few strands of saffron. Keep boiling it untill the rice is all cooked and soft. Now add about a cup of sugar ( more or less as per your taste) and 1/2 tsp cardomom(elaichi) pdr. boil till it reaches 3/4th volume of the original and it gets a nice creamy colour.

It being Sankranti today, I served it with hot Puran-Polis !

dried fruit salad

Got this heavenly recipe from a friend at work when she made it specially for me ( something vegetarian) for a shared lunch just before Christmas :-)

Dried Fruit Salad (Serves approx. 8)

1/2 cup soft pitted prunes, halved
3/4 cup dried figs, rinsed, destalked and quartered
1.3/4 cups dried apricots, halved if large
1/2 cup plump raisins
4 tbspns pine nuts
4 tbspns unsalted peeled pistachio nuts (packaged)
1/2 cup blanched almonds, flakes (packaged) or quartered
1/4 cup caster sugar
Few strips lemon peel
1Tbsp rose water

Put the prunes, figs, apricots and raisins in a large glass or china (not metallic) bowl. Add pine nuts, pistachios,almonds and lemon peel. Sprinkle with sugar and Rose Water.

Pour on enough cold water to barely cover then stir well.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 48 hours, stirring occasionally. Try to keep lemon peel submerged. The fruit will absorb most of the water.

Before serving remove the lemon peel and stir well.

Enjoy!

Kadhi

I make it in two different ways. Sometimes I deep fry some pakodas and make a pakode wali kadhi or use boondi instead, to make boondi ki kadhi.

For basic kadhi:

2cups - sour yogurt

3 tbsp - besan

2tsp - ginger garlic paste(optional)

2twigs- curry leaves

2 green chillies - slit length wise

1/2 tsp - turmeric ( haldi) pdr

salt to taste

In a large bowl, mix yogurt with besan and make sure there are no lumps. I use hand blender. Add 8 cups water. and rest of the above ingredients. For variation, I sometimes make it with ginger garlic paste and other times I omit it completely. Pour it in a large pan and cook it on a stove top on medium heat, stirring continuously till it comes to a boil otherwise the water and yogurt will seperate. Boil it untill the raw taste of besan goes away.

In another small pan, heat 2tbsp oil, add rai and jeera. when it splutters, add methi seeds(fenugreek) and whole red chillies. fry till it turns golden and add it to the yogurt mixture that you have prepared above.

now, you can either add some khari boondi to this or some deep fried bhajiyas.