HaalObattu - Sweet Milk Pancakes

This recipe is my mom-in-law's and is made mainly in South India, mostly in Tamil Nadu. It is very easy to make and takes very less effort. It is very different from traditional obattu in the sense of size and method. If you know to make chapati or poori, this is your "cup of cake" :).


We make it only on days where you can take a pass on your diet. Yes it is junk, and like all junk foods its good to taste but might not be necessarily healthy. I have made some small tweaks, wherever I could, to make it a tad bit healthy.


Main ingredients are All Purpose flour (Maida), Fine Semolina (Rava), milk and sugar.  Its really fun to make it and I think it goes well in those pot luck ideas, it carries well and can be refrigerated. While eating this, all I could think of is the peeni and chiroti prepared during functions and aww.. I miss those :(

Serves 4

Preparation time 45 mins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fine Semolina (Rava) 
• 1/2 cup unbleached All Purpose flour (Maida)
• 1 tsp ghee or melted butter
• 1-2 cloves crushed
• Water as needed
• A pinch of Salt
• 2 cups milk (I used 2%)
• 4-5 Saffron (kesari) strands
• Approx 4 tsp sugar (I used organic brown sugar)
• Almonds, cashews as needed (optional)*
• 1/8 tsp crushed cardamom seeds
• Oil for frying

Method:

• In a bowl mix Rava, Maida, ghee and cloves.
• Add water as needed and knead to make a firm, soft ball in your hand and let it rest for 30 mins
• Heat the oil. And after 30 mins, pinch lemon sized ball of the dough and roll it using a rolling pin to a round shape (like poori) and make as many pooris as possible.
• Fry the pooris in oil and make sure it does not bloat. I used a fork to poke it.
• Keep the fried pooris on a tissue cloth and let most of the oil drain out.
• Now add saffron to the milk and let it boil.
• Add sugar and cardamom seeds once it has boiled and switch off the stove.
• Sir the milk to make sure the sugar has melted completely
• Dunk or dip the pooris in this milk mixture just 5 mins before eating (soak it for more time in case it has to be more soft).
• Decorate it with almonds and cashews and either serve hot or refrigerate it and serve cold.

*Note : You can also use almond and cashew powders as well

Review: Charming Charlie - Accessory Store

If you haven't heard of this store, you ought to visit it. You can either go in-store or online. Not only is the store known for its exuberant accessories but also for scarfs, bags and shoes - a girl's best friend, after diamonds! 

I visited this store for the first time on a trip to Huston at the Galleria, and boy, was I bowled over by the collections. For the first time I saw a store "Color coded"!!! Yes, its true. It was like heaven for a person with OCD like me :) . Recently, I visited the one in Edgewater, NJ and this store was no different. It was definitely smaller in size, but, made up in the charming section. 

The designs are funky and classy. But the best part is the price. You can get a jewelry set for less than $20 (its really cheep compared to other accessory stores) and if your lucky, you can hunt for a cool piece at the clearance section for under $5 bucks. The bracelets and scarfs are to die for and the shoes, though the range is very limited, are chic and trendy. The bags are stylish and are very cheap relative to its looks. Needless to say you can get a bag in every possible color. You can also find small hair accessories and tiaras, clothes (mostly dresses and shirts), belts, though I found these are a bit pricy. The scarfs, specially the pastel shaded ones are the must haves for this spring.

The only downside for this is that you need to visit a store to view most of their collection. The website is not much evolved and look wise, is just ok.  They usually have coupons running in Retailmenot site so you can further reduce your bill. The staffs are very friendly and they help you not only within the store but also if you want to experiment with your looks. They are kind and there for you which will make you feel special (almost like a VIP).

Be sure to take some girl friend along with you as this is not a place for impatient husbands or boyfriends! It will definitely take long as you will have to try before selecting any piece. Lucky for me that my husband was ok with me taking as much time as he had a bench outside to relax. So ladies please visit this place, even if you want to window shop as I assure you, you can't leave empty handed. And guys if you want to give something memorable for your girlfriend or wife, do shop here.

As the name says, this Charlie is too charming!!

Boodhkumblakayi majjigehuli - white pumpkin stew

I had too much homemade curd left. I tend to prepare my own curd especially when I have lots of milk which is about to expire. Simple method is to boil the milk until it raises and then add a tsp or two of curd. Its a bit cold this time so it took about 24-30 hours to form this curd.

Yesterday evening we had been to the infamous Indian Street in Edison, NJ. Its a messy place to go on a rainy day. To our bad luck it was a complete mayhem. I had to buy few veggies and fruits for today's Ugaadi festival. One should always dig into the stock to find good veggies, at least that its what which works for me. Anyways, I managed to find the perfect piece just enough for 2 of us.

White pumpkin also known as Winter Melon or Ash Gourd is an excellent cure for kidney stones and to increase sperm count. My dad uses white pumpkin juice to reduce his sugar levels, which actually works. It has a short shelf life and must be used with in a day or two after buying.

There are many recipes using pumpkin in India. I personally prefer halwa, sambar and majjigehuli.
White Pumpkin does not have distinct taste of its own and has high water content so it is easy to cook and usually takes the taste of added spices.

Serves 3

Preparation time 20-25 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of white pumpkin chopped to 1 inch cubes 
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp ghee or oil
• 5-6 curry leaves
• A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• salt as needed
• 1 cup curd

Ingredients to grind:

• 1/2 cup coconut shredded
• A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• A pinch of turmeric
• 4-5 strands of coriander stems along with leaves
• 3/4 tsp of cumin seeds 
• 1 tsp of coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste or 1/2 inch fresh ginger grated
• 1 tsp chana dal soaked in water for at least 20 mins or 1 tbsp besan
• 1-2 green chillies

Method:

• In a pan heat ghee and add mustard seeds and hing.
• Once the mustards splutter, add curry leaves and the chopped pumpkin.
• Add 1-2 tsp of salt and a cup of water and cook it with a closed lid.
• Add hing, coconut, chillies, turmeric, coriander leaves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ginger and the soaked channa dal into the mixer and grind it with little water into a coarse paste.
• It takes about 10 mins for pumpkin to cook. Test it with a spoon to see if it breaks. Once done add the masala which was ground to the pumpkin.
• Allow the mixture to boil. Once it boils turn the heat to low and add curds stirring constantly.
• Allow it to stand for a minute and switch off the stove. 
• Check for taste and adjust salt.

All good things start with sweet tooth - Carrot Halwa!!

I am a sucker when it comes to sweet. Tend to feel guilty when I eat those extra calories. But sometimes when you open the fridge, all you get is the same veggies like carrots, cucumber, tomatoes. Today I used those carrots which sits easily for almost a month.

Always try to make sure you buy your groceries from near farmers market or in organic sections.

So I used Splenda (type of sugar free) packets, about 10 to make this recipe. This on didn't have Sucralose so I used it. Today, we celebrate a festival called as Ugaadi which stands for Starting (Aadi) of a New Year (Yuga). This sweet is to commemorate Ugaadi festival, and yes, on a lighter note!

Carrot Halwa is the easiest of the desserts that can be made with minimal ingredients and is the most fail proof recipe. If you are an amateur, this is the best one amongst sweets. It has a coarse pudding texture which makes it easy for anyone to eat. Here is my method of preparation.

Serves 3-4

Preparation time 35-40 mins

Ingredients:

• 6-7 Medium sized carrots 
• About 3 cups of 1% or 2% milk (I used 2%)
• 3 tsp ghee or melted butter
• 2 tsp raisins (optional)
• 2 tsp broken raw cashews (optional)
• 2 tsp sliced raw almonds (optional)
• 10 packets of Splenda
• 3 tsp sugar
• A pinch of cardamom powder or cinnamon powder (optional)

Method:

• Peel the carrots and grate it using a small sized grater. Smaller the grater, easier to cook.
• In a non stick pan, heat the ghee and add raisins, cashews and almonds and reduce the heat to low.
• Remove the nuts and raisins from the pan without removing the ghee and keep it aside. Do not switch off the stove.
• To the same pan add the grated carrots and fry for 5 to 10 mins.
• Add the milk to the pan and increase the flame to medium. Allow it to boil.
• When the milk mixture starts to raise reduce the flame to low. Let the milk evaporate.
• Once the milk completely evaporates increase flame to medium and add Splenda and sugar and keep stirring until all the sugar melts and mix in the cardamom or cinnamon powder.
• Decorate with the nuts and raisins.

Enjoy hot or chilled (or with vanilla ice cream). Enjoy the sweetness guilt free