Vegetable Pulao

My Version

Pulao is an easy yet fancy and aromatic rice recipe you can make in a jiffy. Though Pulao/Pilaf did not originate in India, it is an all time favourite dish of every Indian. It is prepared differently in different parts of the world. Pulao is a North Indian Spiced Vegetable rice dish. 
In some regions the rice is really moist. This is my version of Pulao and I truly love this dish. Hope you too will :)

Ingredients :
Basmati rice	-		2 cups
Ghee	-		1 teaspoon
Vegetable oil	-		2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds	-		1 teaspoon
Dried red chillies	-		4-5 nos.
Saffron (Optional for colour)	-		1 pinch
Onion (chopped)	-		1 small
Garlic	-		1 teaspoon
Ginger (chopped)	-		1 teaspoon
Green chilli (chopped)	-		1 no.
Bay leaf	-		1 large or 2-3 small
My Masala Mix	-		1 teaspoon full
Kasoori methi	-		1 tablespoon
Pistachio	-		1/4 cup
Lime juice (optional)	-		1 teaspoon
Vegetables (frozen or fresh, diced)	-		2 cups
Water	-		4 cups
Salt	-		To taste.
Coriander leaves	-		1 bunch

Preparation Method :

In a skillet, heat oil. Throw in the cumin seeds, dried red chillies, and bay leaves. Add the pistachios and sauté for couple of seconds. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli and sauté for a minute on high heat. Then add the vegetables and sauté well. Tip : seasoning with salt at this stage will help retain the colour of carrots, beans and peas.  Add the kasoori methi and masala mix and sauté for 2 minutes on medium-low flame. Add the lemon juice. It's only optional. If you do not like the tanginess, you can skip it. Add the rinsed and drained rice and fry the rice for 2 minutes, slowly turning the flame to medium-high. Throw in the saffron and coriander leaves at this stage and combine well. Then add the ghee and sauté. Pour in the boiling water.  Close with lid and cook. Once the rice starts absorbing water and the rice plumps up, reduce the heat, gently mix the rice from bottom-up and cover the skillet with a lid and allow the rice to simmer and cook slowly in the rest of the water. Once the rice is 95% cooked, turn off the flame and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. Open the skillet and fluff up the rice to avoid it from sticking together.

Garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves and pistachios. Goes well with any curry. I like it with dal, yogurt and pickle.

Serves 4-5

Ada Parippu Pradhaman

 My version

Pradhaman is a Kerala dessert and an inevitable part of the Kerala sadhya or the Onasadhya. Quite similar to payasam, this dessert is basically made with coconut milk, jaggery and flavoured with cardamom. It is made in different variations, like Jackfruit pradhaman, Milk ada pradhaman, Pineapple pradhaman, Dates pradhaman, Banana pradhaman, Lentil pradhaman etc.. We'll be making  Ada Parippu pradhaman - Ada and Lentil pradhaman..

Unlike, other states in India, you will find that traditional desserts in Kerala have a twist. It is sure to have coconut in some form or the other. The basic sweetener used traditionally is jaggary, and dried cardamom pods are used as flavouring. Paradham can be enjoyed warm or cold and it is a part of most Kerala weddings and festivals too. When served after a sadhya, it is traditionally served onto the same banana leaf in which the sadhya is served and is eaten with hands combining small Kerala banana and pappadam. MMmmm... :) It takes a while to prepare this dessert, but, it's worth the effort and patience..

Ingredients :
Toor dal	-		1 cup
Ada (rice flakes or chips)	-		1 cup
Jaggery	-		500g
Sago pearls/Sabudana/chawwari	-		1/2 cup
Fresh coconut slices	-		1/4 cup
Cashew nuts	-		1/4 cup
Raisons	-		1/4 cup
Ghee	-		2 teaspoons
Coconut oil	-		3 tablespoons
Coconut milk 3rd extract	-		2 cups
Coconut milk 2nd extract	-		2 cups
Coconut milk 1st extract	-		1 cup
Water	-		As mentioned
Cardamom powder	-		1 tablespoon
Salt	-		To taste
The highlights of this pradham is the lentils and rice flakes. Before we begin making the pradhaman, we need to get few ingredients ready. 1. Wash and cook toor dal until mashed. Sometimes, I also wash and drain the toor dal and allow it to dry, then roast in until it begins to brown and then cook it. The slightly burnt flavour of toor dal gives the pradhaman an amazing flavour. 2. Melt the jaggery. Jaggery can be perfectly melted in the microwave oven, with just half a cup of water. If melted so, it reduced the cooking time of the pradhaman. The other option is to melt it in a sauce pan with 1 or 1/2 cups of water. Always allow it to rest for 2-3 minutes, so that it will settle down any particles of the sugarcane left in it or any tiny mud particles to the bottom. Then strain it. 3. Into simmering water, add 2-3 drops of oil and stir well. Then throw in the ada and whisk well to prevent it from sticking to one another. Allow to boil and cook for 5-6 minutes, occasionally stirring it. Then drain the water out and give it a quick rinse under tap water and strain well. 4. Soak the sago in 2 cups of water for 5-10 minutes, then give it a good stir and cook it on low flame until they become transparent. Do whisk it occasionally to fluff it and avoid it from sticking to one another and forming a lump. 5. For coconut milk extract - If you are using fresh coconut milk, then grate one whole coconut and blend it in a blender adding 1 cup of lukewarm water for 15 seconds. Pour into a strainer and extract out the '1st extract' which is thick and concentrated coconut milk. Do not push down too much or squeeze out all the milk from the coconut. Then, put back the strained coconut into the blender again and add 2 more cups of plain water and blend for another 15 seconds. Follow the same procedure to extract the '2nd extract' which will be a little less concentrated than the first extract.  Repeat the process again by adding another 2 cups of water and blending for another 15 seconds. Finally press down to extract the last bit of coconut milk from the coconut and then throw away the residue. But, in case you are lazy like me ;) then use coconut milk powder. In that case, into a cup of lukewarm water add 1 cup of coconut milk powder and whisk well to form a thick '1st extract'. Into the next 2 cups of lukewarm water add 1 and 1/2 cups of coconut milk powder for the '2nd extract' and finally into another 2 cups of lukewarm water, add 1 cup of coconut milk powder and whisk well. We need all extracts separate.   Preparation Method :
In a wok, heat the coconut oil. Roast the coconut slices. Try using a non-stick pan or wok to reduce the use of oil and ghee. When the coconut slices begin to brown, add the cashew nuts and raisins and fry until the raisins puff up and begin to brown slightly. Strain from the oil and keep aside. Into the oil add the ghee and pour the cooked lentils with its water. To reduce the cooking time, try to minimize the water while cooking the lentils. Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally to avoid the lentil paste from sticking to the pan and burning. Allow the water to evaporate completely. Run the spatula across the lentil paste and if it parts as seen in the picture below, turn the heat to high and keep stirring rigorously. Since we haven't roasted the lentil prior to cooking, roast it at this stage. When the lentil gives out a roasted and nutty aroma, part a well in between and strain and pour the jaggery in. Blend the lentil and jaggery well and allow to boil on low heat, stirring occasionally. It will bubble, emitting steam and will spatter, so be careful. Cook until it reaches a sticky and thick consistency. Then pour in the 3rd extract, the lightest coconut milk gently, stirring and blending well. When this begins to boil, add the 2nd extract. When this mixture begins to boil, slowly add the cooked and strained ada, and stir in well. Then add the sago. Do not strain the sago, because the starchy mix is what thickens the pradhaman further. Blend well, then add freshly ground cardamom pods (Yes, freshly ground!) and blend in well. Add a pinch of salt and bring the pradhaman to a boil. Then add the fried coconut flakes, cashews and raisins. Bring down the flame to low and pour in the first extract and combine well. Bring to a boil and turn off the flame. Transfer to a clean and dry steel vessel and allow to cool. The pradhaman will thicken as it cools. So if it is light, never mind. Some people like to have pradhaman warm. Some like it cold. Upto you. I like it warm. Once cooled you can refrigerate the pradhaman. It gets even more tastier the next day. If you don't like it thick, then add some fresh milk. You can also warm it up a bit in the microwave. Will taste good. Try it! I'm very confident you will love this dessert..

Tiramisu

Exclusively my version

Tiramisu is an Italian dessert, with an alternate layer of Italian Savoiardi biscuits dipped in strong espresso and a sweet mixture of whipped mascarpone cheese, eggs and marsala wine topped with a coco garnish. Well, I claim the below tiramisu as my exclusive version because I have made a lot of innovations to the original version so that kids, pure vegetarians and non-alcoholics too can enjoy this delicious dessert. I do not trust raw eggs and do not use wine, therefore I have substituted both these, still giving the dessert its flavours of espresso, coco, mascarpone and savoiardi.

Ingredients :
Savoiardi biscuits/Italian Ladyfingers	-		200g pack approximately 24nos.
Espresso powder	-		3 and 1/2 tablespoons
Hot water	-		250ml
Vanilla essence	-		1 and 1/2 teaspoons
Mascarpone cheese	-		250g
Cold Milk	-		115ml
Whipping cream mix	-		1 sachet
Icing sugar	-		1 cup
Coco Powder	-		As required

This dessert is a total hit among family and friends and I have shared my recipe with many. Here I hope to share it with many more :)

Preparation Method :

Brew the espresso in boiling water and allow to cool. Once cooled, add 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. Quickly dip both sides of each Savoiardi biscuit in the espresso. Please make sure the espresso mix is completely cooled, and dip the biscuits for no more than 1/2 a second on each side. We need moist savoiardi, not soggy. NOTE: Please do not substitute espresso with any other coffee or savoiardi with any other biscuits. Both are basic ingredients that stands out in a tiramisu. A 2.5 litres casserole dish will be appropriate to make this Tiramisu. Layer the dipped savoiardi across the base of the casserole dish.

In a mixing bowl whisk the whipping cream mix, milk and vanilla essence into a fine, fluffed up cream. In another mixing bowl whisk the mascarpone cheese to a fine texture. Add the vanilla essence and icing sugar and whisk well. Into this, gently fold in the cream. Do not whisk or mix rigorously as it will loose it's fluffy texture.

Pour half the mixture over the soaked savoiardi and spread across evenly. Sift coco powder evenly above the cream. It is important to sieve, or else you will end up with lumps of bitter coco.

Once again repeat all steps from dipping savoiardi in espresso, to sifting coco.

Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours.

When serving, cut the tiramisu into square or rectangular pieces with a clean knife. With a spatula gently lift it from the bottom and serve only a plate. Dunk into the luscious, creamy, soothing treat and indulge. :)