Saju's Tastes.......: August 2013

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Carrot Laddu (Gajar Ka Ladoo)

After a long time I'm posting something sweet...Special thanks to Febina Ku of Cooking Junction/Febi's Cookbook for this easy & wonderful recipe of ladoos... It was just melting in our mouths...A beautiful version of carrot halwas...Bright coloured carrots with nutty almonds gave a fantastic texture to these soft soothing sweet balls....Condensed milk helps a lot for binding the ladoos with a touch a sweetness & love.......Seriously couldn't stop ourselves from licking our fingers after having them...I just made half of this recipe for the first time, as a trial...Later I had to prepare once again to meet our cravings...If you have a sweet tooth, these are just irresistible !!!

Can add lots of dry fruits so children will definitely love to eat these, which is different and also good for health....Addition of coconut also gave a great twist...Even kids can prepare these easy ladoos...Getting the carrots & coconuts grated are the only difficult part here...Rest is just stirring & rolling & finally yum yum yummmmmm......It just drives you Nuts !!!!

This sweet is just perfect for any occasion...Indeed a crowd pleaser...As I saw many of co-bloggers posting sweets for Raksha Bandhan, my craving to have something really sweet began...We never enjoyed the festival of Raksha Bandhan in our state...Still having a sweet is not a barrier for that...So Carrot Ladoo was the choice...Something sweet & simple !!

HAPPY RAKSHA BANDHAN TO ALL MY DEAR BROTHERS

Ingredients

1. Carrots - 2 cup (grated)
2. Coconut - 1 1/2 cup (grated)
3. Condensed milk - 1/2 cup
4. Rose Water - 2 1/2 tbsp
5. Cardamom powder - 1 1/4 tsp
6. Almonds/Badam - 30 (chopped)
7. Pistachios - A handful (optional)
9. Ghee - 2 tbsp

Preparation

~Heat ghee in a saucepan.
~Saute the carrots in it for 10 mts (stirring occasionally for even cooking)
~Add condensed milk & cook for 3 mts. (until the carrots drink up the condensed milk)
~Add coconut, chopped almonds, rose water, cardamom powder & mix well.
~Cook for 1 min & check the sweetness.
~Adjust by adding more condensed milk or sugar.
~Cook in medium flame for 2-3 mts until the mixture becomes dry enough.
~Remove from flame & allow it to cool.
~Grease your palms with little ghee & roll out your ladoos.
~Garnish each ladoo with broken almond or a pistachio as your wish...
~Can refrigerate for after use also...Before serving, do warm up them a little bit in an oven..If you like the colder version, thats also a good option....Anyways, we love it the hot way..as they become more softer...

Yummy, munchy & healthy Caroot Ladoos ready to serve !!

Linking to : Shazia's 100th Post Giveaway in Cutchi Kitchen

Linking to : Pramitha's Celebrating 1st Blog Anniversary with Giveaway !

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Spicy Kerala Mutton Curry (Restaurant Style)

Had tried out many curries with mutton, but never ever got our favorite restaurant style taste.....This time the combo just worked perfect... I was not intending to post this recipe when I made it, as I was just trying out my luck..... But after seeing the finished gravy and enjoying it with kerala porotta, I couldn't resist taking a picture of what was left and post it.... So decided to share this easy one hour curry to all my dears out there...Go ahead, next time you buy mutton at home, keep aside half kg of it, & give this curry a try...Actually this is a must try recipe specially for parties...The roasted masala & the tempering gives this kinda delicious aroma and flavor to my mutton curry!

Ingredients

1. Mutton - 1/2 kg

Ingredients (to roast & grind)

2.Coconut - 3/4 cup
3. Whole Black Peppercorns - 1 tsp
4. Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
5. Cloves - 3
6. Cinnamon - 3-4 small pieces
7. Shallots - 3 (thickly sliced)
8. Curry leaves - 1 spring
9. Dry Red Chilly - 2 (or use chilly powder)
10. Whole Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp (or use coriander powder)

Ingredients (for masala)

11. Onion - 3 (medium)
12. Ginger - 1 1/2 tsp (grated)
13. Garlic - 1 1/2 tsp (grated)
14. Chilly powder - 1 tsp
15. Tomato - 1 (medium)
16. Hot water - 2 cups

Ingredients (for tempering)

17. Shallots - 4 (thinly sliced)
18. Whole Black peppercorns - 4-5
19. Curry leaves - 1 spring
20. Coriander leaves - 1 1/2 tbsp (chopped)

Preparation (of roasted masala)

~Heat 1 tbsp oil & roast the ingredients given to roast until golden brown.
[If using coriander powder & chilly powder, then add them after removing from flame & mix well when hot itself, else the powders will burn]
~Allow the roasted mix to cool & grind to a powder.
~Add 1/2 cup water & grind well to a paste & keep aside.

Preparation (of mutton)

~Clean mutton with water thoroughly & keep them dry.
~Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker & saute the sliced onions with little salt.
~Add ginger & garlic & stir cook for 2 mins.
~Add tomato & cook till mushy.
~Add chilly powder & mix.
~Add mutton with hot/boiling water & mix well.
~Close the pressure cooker & cook till mutton softens. (5-8 whistles..depends on the mutton)
~Open the lid after the steam releases. [Make sure the mutton is cooked]
~Now transfer this cooked mutton with water to a non-stick saucepan (optional)
~Add the roasted masala & stir well & cook in high flame for 5 mins.
~Check the taste & adjust salt, chilly powder accordingly.
~Cook for another 5 mins in medium to low flame until the gravy thickens to your choice.
~If required, 1tsp maida mixed in 2 tsp water can be added to thicken the gravy (optional)

Preparation (of tempering)

~Heat 1 tbsp oil & add peppercorns.
~Saute the sliced shallots for 2mins.
~Add curry leaves & coriander leaves & mix well & remove from flame.
~Add this tempering to the prepared mutton curry, mix well & serve hot & enjoy the lip smacking taste !!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Foodabulous Fest - July Series - Ramadan & Mango Delicacies Round Up !!!

Wowww...Just had a fabulous time hosting this event, specially during the time of Ramadan....The time when most of the wonderful dishes get ready to your table...Got 208 wonderful entries....Really happy to see the support....Special thanks to Preeti Garg of Simply TADKA for giving me this oppurtunity..First time hosting an event...even though i have conducted events my own...
Also cannot forget to mention the support of our 2 sponsors....
Nityasya & Peach Collections....

My son tripped off my lap, & all the delay for this round up was just to get it repaired...Also after getting it, had a tough time preparing the round up, as there were soo many entries...Special thanks to Priya Anandakumar of Yummy Foods, Nawal Althuaf of Love From Kitchen , Lincy Patel of Home Cook Food & many more whose contribution made this event a grand success...

Hope all had a wonderful time linking in your entries & checking out recipes of others too....All the recipes just look mouthwatering...Will provide the round up as 2....One part for mangoes & one for Ramadan recipes....& at the end we will see who are the 2 lucky winners...So lets begin the journey !!!

Majority of the entries were of Ramadan...So just categorised them for a better search....
To check out the Ramadan entries click the below links...