Thursday 22 November 2012

Maize Flour Cake

Ingredients

  • Maize flour (makki ka atta)          1.5 cup
  • Wheat flour                                 1/2 cup
  • Sugar                                          1.25 cup
  • Ghee                                           1/2   cup
  • Milk                                            3/4  cup
  • Baking soda                                1 tsp
  • Lemon  juice                               2 tsp  
  • Crushed sweet corn kernels        few

 

Method

Grease the baking dish (use tin based dish) and dust with little maida (white flour). Sieve the maize flour and wheat flour with 1  tsp of baking soda. Mix sugar and ghee well and add milk in it. Add the flour gradually to the mixture. You can add little more milk, if needed, to obtain cake mixture like consistency. Add lemon juice in it. Mixture is ready. You can add crushed sweet corn kernels to this mixture. Pour it in the dish. Heat little sand in a heavy bottom pan or in the cooker for 5 minutes (this can be done while the above mixture is being prepared). Keep the baking dish in it. Cover the cooker with lid (not cooker lid) plate that covers it properly. Bake it for 50 or 60 minutes on slow fire. Do not remove the lid before 50 minutes. You can check the cake with toothpick and can bake  for few minutes more, if needed. Cake is ready.

Wheat Flour Halwa

Ingredients

  • Wheat flour                    1 cup
  • Ghee                              1/2 to3/4 cup
  • Sugar                             1 cup
  • Water                            3 cups
  • Almonds                        few
  • Raisins                           few

 

Method

Prepare the sugar syrup and keep aside. Heat the frying pan and put the ghee in it. Add flour and stir it well until it browns and leaves the sides of the pan. Heat should be kept at medium level. Add sugar syrup  gradually and continue to stir. After adding sugar syrup, give it another 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish with almonds and raisins. Halwa is ready to serve.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Suji Halwa

Ingredients

  • Suji                            1 cup
  • Sugar                         1 cup
  • Ghee                          3/4 cup
  • Gram flour (Besan )    1 tbls               
  • Water                        4 cup
  • Almonds                    few 
  • Cardamom                2 or 3
  • Raisins                       few                          

Method

Prepare the sugar syrup and keep aside. Heat the ghee in the frying pan. Put suji and besan in the ghee. Stir it well on the low heat until it browns and leaves the sides of the pan. Add prepared sugar syrup in the pan. Now the heat can be raised to medium level. Partially cover the pan with the lid and stir it for few minutes. Garnish with almonds, raisins and cardamom (powdered). Halwa is ready to serve.

Monday 19 November 2012

Moong Daal Halwa

Ingredients:

  • moong daal       1 cup
  • gram flour         1/2 table spoon
  • desi  ghee          3/4 cup
  • sugar                  1 cup
  • milk                    1/2 cup
  • malai                  1/2 cup
  • water                 3/4 cup
  • almond              2o approx.
  • raisins                40 approx.
  • saffron                few leaves
  • cardamom         2 or 3 

 

Method:    

Soak moong daal for  4 to 5 hours. Grind the daal. Prepare the sugar syrup by adding sugar, cardamom and water and heating it for 5 minutes. Heat the ghee in frying pan(commonly called kadai in northern india) for 2 to 3 minutes. Put gram flour  first in the frying pan and stir it 1 or 2 minutes (This helps to avoid the moong daal sticking to the base of the pan). Now, add the moong daal in the pan. Keep stirring the daal for approx. 30 to 35 minutes on medium fire. Add saffron leaves to the milk and then add this milk along with the malai to the pan and stir it thoroughly. Add sugar syrup to the pan and stir it until the halwa-like consistency is achieved. Garnish with almonds & raisins to taste. Halwa is ready to serve.

Malai is readily available in most of the households and this lends great ease in preparation of this dish. In case, malai is not available, you can also put 1/2 cup of condensed milk instead.