Maalpua!!

Easy recipe + simple everyday ingredients + desperate craving is what pushed me to making this.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup maida
1 cup khoya
5-6 tbsp desi ghee (for frying the maalpuas)
warm water (to make the batter)

Make a thick sugar syrup by boiling the sugar in little water. keep stirring continuously and keep aside.

Add water to the maida and make a thick batter. Grate / powder the khoya and mix well with warm water to make a slightly thin batter. Mix both the batters and keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Heat the ghee in a deep vessel on low flame. Put scoops of batter in the ghee and fry till they turn golden brown on both sides.

Remove the golden maalpuas and strain the excess oil. Put them into the sugar syrup.

Place them on a plate and garnish with pistachios, almond and saffron. Serve hot!

Credits: Chef Marut Sikka for the simple recipe.
http://cooks.ndtv.com/listrecipesbyanc.asp?chef=Marut%20Sikka&pg=recipes

Chat Evening!

Bored of the regular fare of rice, rasam, rotis and subzi, Mom and I decided to cook up something different for dinner. And since all of us were craving for some street-style chats, chat it had to be! On the menu was Papdi chat and Pani puri.

We bought some puris for the pani puri, and papdis, thin (nylon) sev, chat masala and kala namak (black salt) from the local farsan store. Maa always has a stock of frozen green chutney and the marwadi sweet chutney which just has to be thawed and sufficient amount of water added.

Recipes for both the chutneys in my next post. Some pics for now :)

Boiled moong sprouts to make the snack healthier. This along with boiled potatoes 

(mixed with salt and chat masala was the filling for the pani puri and topping for the papdi chat)

Green chutney mixed with water and kala namak for the 'pani'

Papdi's neatly laid out on a plate with the boiled alu topping 

Now add the moong sprouts, finely chopped raw onions and a dash of green chutney 

Topping it with just a bit of meetha chutney

And finally the Sev!

The chat stall is all ready and loooksss soooo welcoming!

Kadhi (the kinds you eat with Dal khichadi)

This was for lunch yesterday..to satisfy one of my random cravings. And it got done in 5 minutes..not exaggerating.

Ingredients (for 2 people):
- Besan 2 tbsp
- curd or buttermilk 1 cup
- water 2 cups
- ginger & green chilli paste
- Dhania-jeera powder 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
- salt and sugar to taste
- Oil, mustard seeds, jeera, curry leaves for seasoning

Mix the besan and curd together and ensure there are no knots. Add the water and mix well. Heat oil in a pan and prepare the seasoning. Add the ginger and green chilli paste and sauté for a minute. Add the besan+curd+water mixutre to it. Then add the DJ and RC powder, salt and sugar. Keep stirring. Switch off after 2 boils and serve steaming hot.