Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamuns is the recipe chosen for the month of October by Srivalli at Indian Cooking Challenge .

Gulab(less) Jamun from The Yum Blog :

Makes: around 25 jamuns

Ingredients :

• Khova – 11/2 cups
• Maida – 1 cup
• Sugar – 3 cups (if you want excess syrup i.e floating jamuns increase by a cup)
• Water – 1 cup (increase if you’re increasing sugar)
• Cooking Soda – 3 pinches
• Cardamom – 4 pods
• Saffron leaves – a few
• Oil – 1 cup (for deep frying)

Method :

For Making Khova :

Check this link : http://theyumblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/homemade-khova/

For Making Jamuns :

1. Combine sugar and water in a flat bottomed broad pan and simmer on a low heat until sugar dissolves. Add cardamom powder and saffron leaves and remove from fire.

2. Knead khova, maida and soda and quickly shape into balls.

3. Heat oil on a medium flame. Fry the jamuns till golden brown over a low to medium flame, keeping oil temperature uniform. Oil should not smoke.

4. Drain the jamuns and soak in the warm sugar syrup.

Serve the jamuns after half an hour.

Tips:

You will achieve correct consistency for jamun syrup when 3 cups of sugar dissolves 1 cup water over low heat. Only when the syrup is ready, mix the jamun dough. Since the dough has soda, if its kept aside the jamuns will disperse while frying and will not hold well. Right temperature of oil of utmost importance to get soft jamuns.Never refrigerate jamuns. Jamuns when refrigerated will shrink and become hard. Jamuns will stay fresh for 4 days when stored in air tight containers. If you like you can add two drops of rose essence to the syrup to make it Gulab jamun.

Ps. : I tried my level best to make it to perfect shape . My son wanted Gulab Jamuns in this orange colour ....so had no other option but to add little orange food colour , which is not in the rule ....

Vegetable Soup

Ingredients needed :

• Mixed vegetables (carrots, french beans, cauliflower, mushroom) - finely chopped 2 Cups.
• finely chopped garlic
• ¼ cup finely chopped onions
• 2 tbsp quick cooking rolled oats
• milk - little
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil - little
• For the garnish - 2 tsp chopped coriander

Method : 

Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions and garlic and saute till the onions are translucent. Add the vegetables and saute for a few minutes. Add 2 cups of water , salt and pepper and allow it to boil and simmer till the vegetables are tender. Take a pan and add the oats and little milk and water and boil it for 5 minutes now add the oats mix to the soup and allow it to boil for few mins . Serve hot and if needed garnish with the coriander.

Kuzhi Paniyaram

Ingredients needed :

• Raw rice - 1 cup
• Boiled rice - 1 cup
• Urid dhal - 1/4 cup
• Methi seeds - little
• Salt

Method : 

Soak rice ,dhal and methi seeds together for 6 - 8 hours and grind it , same like idli batter by adding required salt and allow it to ferment overnight . Heat kuzhi Paniyaram mould and add little oil on each hole and pour the batter and allow it to cook for few mins, then slowly turn it to the other side and cook it again for few more mins ... your paniyaram is ready ...serve with onion chutney .

Mushroom Soup

Ingredients :

• Mushroom - 2 cups
• Milk - 1 cup
• Salt & Pepper - little
• Corn flour - 2 tsp.

Method : 

Clean and chop mushroom into small pieces ...take a pan fry it for few mins and then add salt & pepper+  milk and allow it to boil well mix cornflour in little water and dilute it ..once the mushroom is cooked well add cornflour paste ,cook for few mins and switch off the gas and serve hot .

Neipayasam

Ingredients Needed :

• Raw rice - 1/2 cup
• Jaggery - 1 cup
• Ghee - 1/2 cup
• Elachi powder - little
• Cashews - 10
• Raisins - 10

Method :

Cook rice and keep it ready . Take a kadai add 1tsp. ghee and fry cashews and raisins and keep it aside ,and in the same kadai add jaggery and half cup water and allow it to dissolve well and boil it or some time ...if needed filter the jaggery liquid , keep the flame in sim and add the cooked rice to the jaggery water and stir well and make sure no lumps are formed ...slowly keep adding little by little ghee and keep stirring well , once the ghee separates , switch off the gas and garnish with fried cashews and raisins.

2. Maladu :

3. Chapathi ladoo :

4. Beetroot Halwa :

Sending these entries to Shanghi's FIL - Ghee event :