Bal Mithai - Uttarakhand style chocolate burfi

Bal Mithai 

Ingredients:

Fresh Khoya / Mawa - 500g

Cocoa powder - 3 tbsp

Clarified butter / Ghee - 2 tbsp

Sugar powder - 1/2 cup

For sugar syrup, 

Sugar - 2 tablespoon &  4 tablespoon water. 

Coloured sugar balls - 4 tbsp

 Shred the unsweetened khoya 

In a heavy bottom pan melt a tablespoon of ghee.

Saute the shredded khoya over medium flame.

Add cocoa powder

Mix well and cook. 

Add the powdered sugar. Mix well. 

Grease a plate and keep it ready.

When the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, switch off the flame.

Transfer to the plate and flatten using a knife. Allow it to settle and cool. Cut into cubes. 

In a pan add sugar and water and bring it to boil.

Let it form a thick syrup. Transfer to a bowl. 

 Dip the cubes into the sugar syrup and then coat uniformly with the coloured balls. 

Arrange all the Bal Mithai on a plate and it is ready to be served. 

 My Notes:

Bal Mithai,the delicacy, is native of Uttarhand, the Northern part of India. It is a popular local dish there. 

In the original recipe, dry roasted poppy seeds were used to coat the mithai. It is replaced by the colourful sugar beads in this modern world. You can try either. The poppy seeds has its own flavour and the Mithai as a whole is not too sweet.

But this colourful bites is definitely going to be a hit at your kid's birthday party. Go for it!😀

Paasiparuppu Murukku / Moong dhal Murukku

 

  Paasiparuppu Murukku / Moong dhal Murukku

பாசிப்பருப்பு முறுக்கு

Ingredients: 

Rice flour / அரிசி மாவு  - 1 cup

Moong dhall / பாசிப்பருப்பு  - 1/4 cup

Butter / வெண்ணெய் - 2 tbsp

Asafoetida / பெருங்காயம் - a pinch

Cumin or Sesame seeds சீரகம் அல்லது எள்ளு - 1 tsp

Oil for frying / பொரிப்பதற்கு எண்ணெய்

Steps:

Soak moong dhal for 20 to 30 minutes. 

pressure cook and mash it to a fine paste.

Mix the rice flour and the dhal paste using the finger tips to a

crumbling texture. Melt the butter and add to make it a sandy texture..  

Sprinkle water and knead it to a smooth, soft dough.

Using the murukku press, press to get desired shape and size.

Deep fry on hot oil over medium flame. While half cooked, turn the sides a few times for uniform crispiness. 

Store in an airtight container for your loved ones to enjoy. 

Notes:

There are many varieties of murukku and a murukku is a murukku, always irresistible.

Pasiparuppu murukku is very flavourful and crunchy. In some preparations, moong dhal is mixed with equal portion of channa dhal and urad dhal and cooked. Then it is grinded with green chili, or red chili powder is added for spiciness. But That may taste like ribbon pakoda in murukku format and I prefer murukku without chilies.  

Sweet Potato Dumpling / சக்கரைவள்ளிக் கிழங்கு கொழுக்கட்டை

 Sweet Potato Dumpling 

சக்கரைவள்ளிக் கிழங்கு கொழுக்கட்டை

Ingredients:

Sweet potato / சக்கரைவள்ளிக் கிழங்கு - 250g

Parboiled rice புழுங்கலரிசி - 50g

Raw rice / பச்சரிசி  - 50g

Shredded coconut / துருவிய தேங்காய் - 3 tablespoon

Raw sugar / நாட்டுச்சக்கரை - 3 tablespoons ( optional)

Powdered Cardamom / பொடித்த  ஏலக்காய் -  1/2 tsp

Ghee / நெய்  - 2 tsp 

Steps:

Pressure cook the sweet potato. Allow it to cool, peel 

Mash the cooked sweet potato into a smooth paste and keep it aside.

Soak both the rice for 1 hour. Grind to a fine paste using sufficient water. 

In a heavy bottom pan, cook the rice paste to a smooth dough. 

Transfer the rice dough to a bowl, add mashed sweet potato, shredded coconut, and cardamom powder. Mix well. Add raw sugar if preferred.
Make small-sized dumplings. Steam and serve hot. 

On the right are the ones without added sugar.
On the bottom left are the dumplings with raw sugar added.

My Notes:

Casually over the conversation, my Chithi, Latha@Vels, shared this recipe, and immediately I wanted to try it. My husband used to take boiled sweet potato once in 10 days for breakfast. He liked it immediately and surprisingly he preferred to eat the unsweetened dumplings, though he is a sweet-toothed person. 

The rice and sweet potato are in the ratio of 1:3, so it was soft and mildly sweetened. The cardamom and coconut gave an enhanced flavour to the dish. You can add one or two teaspoons of ghee/ clarified butter to smoothen the dough. 

The steamed kozhukatai is healthy as well as tasty. Try yours now!

Ginger Pickle / இஞ்சித் தொக்கு

Ginger Pickle 

 இஞ்சித்  தொக்கு 

Ingredients:

Ginger (இஞ்சி) - 150g

Tamarind ( புளி)  - 1 lemon size

Fenugreek seeds ( வெந்தயம்)   - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder ( மஞ்சள் தூள்) - 1 tsp

Chilli Powder( மிளகாய் தூள்)  - 3 tsp 

Sesame oil( நல்லெண்ணெய்) - 6 to 7 tsp

Jaggery ( வெல்லம்)  - 1 or 2 tsp

Salt to taste ( தேவைக்கேற்ற உப்பு)

Wash well and peel the ginger. Slice into thin pieces

Add a teaspoon of oil, roast the fenugreek seeds until flavourful

Add the ginger slices. Fry unifromly on medium flame
 

Once cooled, transfer to a blender. 
Pulse grind without adding water.

Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder,
soaked tamarind and salt. Blend to a paste.

In the same heavy bottom pan, heat oil, add the ginger paste. Add the jaggery. Saute on medium flame, until it leaves the sides of the pan. Allow it to cool completely. Transfer to a dry glass jar.  

 Notes:

My Maternal Grandmother used to make this pickle or thokku as it is called. I have used two types of ginger. Slightly smaller in circumference but deeper in colour is the stronger one, pungent. The bigger, light shade one is mild in flavour. A mixture of both will give a balanced taste of ginger. A teaspoon of jaggery is added to offset any stronger, zest flavour of ginger. 

This pickle is as aromatic as flavourful. Refrigerate for longer shelf life. I have used a moderate amount of chilli powder and salt. You may adjust according to your preference.

This can be a spread on toasted bread or on a leftover chapathi. Much sought after side dish for curd rice after a heavy course of meal/lunch. 

Tirunelveli Halwa (திருநெல்வேலி ஹல்வா )

 Tirunelveli Halwa

திருநெல்வேலி ஹல்வா 

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat ( samba wheat) சம்பா கோதுமை- 1 cup

Sugar / சக்கரை- 2 cups + 3 tablespoons

Ghee / Clarified butter நெய்- 1 1/2 cups

Cashewnuts / முந்திரிப்பருப்பு - 10 to 12 Numbers.

Clean, rinse, and soak the whole grain for 8 hours. Wash again, grind and extract milk from the paste. 

Transfer the wheat milk to a tall container and let it sit for an hour or two.

         

Remove the water that has come to the top surface and use the thick milk for the sweet process.

Do not drain the water completely

In a heavy bottom pan, add the sugar and half a cup of water and let it boil on medium fire.

In a separate pan, add 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of water and boil on low flame. Caramelize the sugar and transfer it to the main sugar syrup.

Add in the wheat milk and stir continuously. In a few minutes, it will form a gluey consistency.  

Stir continuously and cook on medium flame. The natural brown colour is formed because of the caramelized sugar.

Ghee 

Ghee is melted over hot water.

 

                             

                pour the melted ghee in small portions in frequent intervals. Add in the cashew nut pieces. Stir continuously. 

When the ghee leaves the side and the halwa is smooth and glazy, it is time to remove it from heat. 

Lip-smacking hot Halwa is ready to relish.

My Notes:

    The silky soft Tirunelveli halwa is a favourite of all and has been my dream to prepare it. I was not ready to take the hand exercise to turn the halwa continuously and also the doubt to get the perfect one. I was proved wrong by my very first attempt to prepare Halwa for the 2020 Deepavali. I was awed by the outcome and vowed to make halwa whenever possible.

One of the authentic sweet with simple ingredients but a great taste and fond memories of the taste lingering long. No other sweet can give this feel. Irresistable. 

An amazing thing I discovered was, without any artificial food colour, the glazy brown colour was achieved with the caramelised sugar. Also in this recipe, fresh raw cashew nuts are added and let it cook in the ghee. This is how I have had tasted in the original sweet from the shop. 

You can use a clean white cloth to extract the milk. 

Do not drain the water completely as the milk will be very thick and while cooking this forms the gluey texture is reached soon and the raw smell may be there. Wheat milk should neither be too watery nor thick.

The Lala Mittai Kadai at Madurai is famous for this sweet and we do not miss the chance to eat the fresh hot halwa from a leaf and a handful of their famous mixture. My father in law prefers ladies to be seated in the car and not stand on the road but he will not deprive us of tasting the hot halwa. He himself will bring our portions and is happy to see the family savour.