Delicious Almond (Badam) Kulfi

Summer treat ...... Yummy & Simple almond kulfi recipe

Ingredients ( 8 kulfis in medium sized moulds)

Milk - 500 ml
Milk powder - 2 tea spoon
Almonds (Badam) - 15 pieces
Bread - 1 slice
Cardamom powder - 1 tea spoon
Saffron strands - few (optional)
Sugar - 7 tea spoon


1. Soak 10 almonds in water for an hour and peel the skin.Add some nuts (optional)

2. Boil 500 ml milk in low flame until it reduce to its half.

3. Dip the bread in water/milk and make it as a paste.

4. Now, grind 2 tea spoon of milk powder, bread , peeled almonds , sugar and some milk to make a smooth paste.

{ Corn flour can be used as a substitute to milk powder }

5. Add this to the evaporating milk and mix well.

6. Cook until the mixture turns creamy by constant stirring.

7. Grate the remaining 5 almonds into finer pieces (along with the skin).

8. Add the grated almonds and cardamom powder to the creamy mixture.
   Optionally,soaked saffron strands can be added at this stage.

9. Allow this cool to room temperature and pour in Kulfi moulds.
Note:  If you do not have kulfi moulds, you can use a longer size conical tumbler made of steel /plastic.
          You can seal this air tight with a cling film and use ice cream stick.

10. Refrigerate (in freezer) for 6 hours to set.

11. Once set, show in running water and slowly remove the kulfi from the mould.


12. Delicious Kulfi is ready...

Try this variations too...
1. Pistachios / walnuts can be used  instead of almonds in the above recipe.
2. For Mango kulfi, do not grind almonds instead add mango fruit pulp to the creamy mixture, mix and set. 

Spongy French Almond Cake

Yummy recipe to delight this Christmas & New year season

Ingredients

All purpose flour (Maida) - 1.5 cups
Powdered sugar               - 1.5 cups
Egg                                  - 5
Almonds                          -150 grams
Butter                              - 50 grams
Vanilla extract                  - 2 tea spoons
Baking powder                - 1 tea spoon
Nuts& Almonds               - for decoration

For Glazing (Optional)
Green tea bags                - 5
Honey                             - 3 table spoon

For Apple sauce
Apples - 2
Lemon juice - some.


1. Soak 150 grams of almonds in hot water and peel them

2. Let them dry for few minutes and grind them coarsely with 1 tablespoon of sugar

3. Take 1 cup of sugar and grind smoothly to make 1.5 cups of powdered sugar

4. Separate egg whites and yolks carefully and add the egg yolks to the powdered sugar

5. Blend them finely - Blend in a consistency that it comes out like a cream.

6. Add vanilla extract to this and mix well

7. Take 1.5 cups of Maida and mix 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Mix well.

8. Beat the egg whites separately until they become fluffy. Consistency is the whites should stand as strands.
10-15 minutes of beating with blender may be required

9. Now we have 4 portions -
Beaten egg yolks and powdered sugar mix
Beaten egg whites
Maida mix
Almond powder

Mix them together slowly and gently - Just do as folding - No need to mix them thoroughly.
Apply butter to the baking tray and spread this mixture gently.
Swift the tray so that the mixture spread evenly.

10. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees.

11. Thinly slice the almonds and cut the nuts for topping

12. Apply on top of the cake mix - Make sure you spread widely in the corners.
As the cake bake, the nuts would move forwards.

13. Bake in 180 degree for 35 minutes - Poke in the center to check the perfect cooking of the cake.
There should not be any stickiness.

Glazing with Green tea : (optional steps)

14. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and make some more pokes using tooth picks.

15.  Take 3 bags of Green tea and put it in the hot water

16. Remove the bags after 5 minutes and add 2 table spoons of honey

17. Using a spoon add the Green tea solution to the cake.

Goes well with Apple sauce

How to make Apple sauce:

1.Peel the skin and boil 2 apples.
2. Blend them after cooling.
3. Boil 1 cup of water and add some lemon juice into it.
4. Add the apple mixture and mix gently. Allow to boil and thicken.
5. Add some honey or dates syrup to this.

Photos will follow for this yummy sauce along with the cake :)

Fish Curry

Simple fish curry recipe without coconut made from kaala / kora meen.....

Ingredients

Fish pieces - 750 g
Tamarind - 1 bigger lemon size (depicted)
Red chilies - 2
Garlic - 2 medium sized
Shallots or small onions - 400 g
Tomato - 2
Chilly powder - 3 tea spoon
Coriander powder - 1 tea spoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon
Hing - a pinch
Methi powder - 1/4 tea spoon
Gingelly oil - 10 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Curry leaves and coriander leaves - for garnishing


1. Clean fish pieces thoroughly 3-4 times in water, you can add some turmeric powder and clean.
( I used King Salmon fish, any kind of fish would do..)

2. Drain them and spread them along with little turmeric for 1 hour.

3. Peel garlic,onions and cut the onions into smaller pieces.

4. Soak the tamarind in water, remove impurities and extract thick juice.

5. Heat gingelly oil in kadai and add  mustard seeds, once it splutters add red chilies , garlic and hing..

6. Fry them till garlic turns light brown and add onions.

7. Once onions are fried, add tomatoes and fry them finely..

8. Now add turmeric powder , chilly powder , salt, coriander powder. Mix well with onion,garlic...

9. Add the tamarind thick juice and add some water.

10. Once it starts boiling add the fish pieces one by one.

11. Make all the fish pieces soak inside the juice. But do not press them hardly.

12. Close with lid and allow it to cook in medium flame for about 20 minutes.

13. Now add Methi powder (got from fine ground fried methi seeds) and mix. While mixing , take care that you do not break the fishes. Using ladle in the reverse side will help...

14. Taste and add salt if required.

15. Lower the flame and allow it to cook for another 5 minutes.

16. Yummy fish curry is ready. Garnish with Coriander and curry leaves...

17. Serves good with plain white rice.
Even while serving, mix gently as the fish is soft and tends to break...

Variation
Grated coconut smooth paste can be added at the end to have an alternative flavor..

Grated Mango pickle

Mango Thokku / grated Mango pickle

Ingredients

Mango - 3
Mustard seeds - some
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tea spoon

Chili powder - 5 tea spoon

Gingelly oil - 15 tea spoon
Methi powder - 3 tea spoon
Mustard powder - 1.5 tea spoon
Salt to taste



1. Fry methi seeds in a kadai without oil and finely powder them.

2. Grate the mangoes into fine flakes.

3. Heat oil in kadai and add mustard seeds, once it splutters ,add the grated mangoes and asafoetida powder. Fry them in oil and allow it to cook.

4. Once its half cooked, add chilly powder and salt. Allow them to cook in low flame.

5. When completely cooked, add methi powder and mustard powder and remove.
(Oil oozing out is the correct state, to remove).

6. Preserve in air tight dry container and serve with rice.


Note: If mango is too sour, increase the chilly powder.

Sweeeet Pongal

Sweet pongal made without using pressure cooker.

Ingredients

Rice - 1.5 cup
Moong dhal - 1.5 cup
Water - 10 cups
Milk - 1 cup
Powdered jaggery - 2 cup
Ghee - 200 ml
Borneo-camphor (Pacha Karpooram) - pinch
Salt - pinch
Cashew nuts - 3 tea spoon
Almonds - 5 pieces (optional)
Raisins - 3 tea spoon
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tea spoon


1. Wash dhal and rice separately and strain the water.

2. Powder refined jaggery finely. If using unrefined jaggery, clean with water and filter the impurities.

{ Measuring cup is depicted above.... }

3. In a wide bottomed pan, add 2 tea spoon of ghee and fry dhal until good aroma comes out.

4. Remove them and fry rice until crispy by adding with 2 tea spoon of ghee.

5. Add fried dhal to the rice and add 9 cups of water and 3 tsp of ghee.

6. Close with lid and cook until done..Add boiling water in case water content is not suffice.

Note : If narrow bottomed vessel is used, liquid may come out.... If so, keep stirring with a ladle.
           If you are not using non stick pan, continue stirring as it may stick at the bottom.

 


7. Boil 1 cup of milk with 1 cup of water.

8. Once rice and dhal are cooked, add boiled milk to it. Mix and stir well.

9. Add powdered refined jaggery and mix well. The mixture will turn to liquid state.

10. Fry cashew nuts, almonds and raisins in the remaining ghee and add to the pongal.

11. Add cardamom powder and mix well, remove in semi solid state.

12. Yummy sweet pongal is ready to serve..

Quick pongal

If you want to make in pressure cooker, pressure cook fried rice and dhal with 5 tea spoon of ghee (Same water level as indicated in step 5) until 6 whistles. Follow from step 8 on wards..