Sajjige | Cream of wheat pudding | Sheera

Sun is playing hide & seek from the last couple of months. In fact, I hardly saw him in this period. To add to it, the days are extremely short. All these things add to "not so good quality pictures". I have 20+ recipes along with the pictures waiting in the draft. Since, I am not happy with the pictures I am waiting to make them again, retake the pictures & then share the recipe.

Sajjige is a very simple & quick pudding. Sajjige along with the mashed banana is served as a prasadam/neivedyam/bhog/offering on Satyanarayan Pooja. The recipe calls for just four ingredients...., milk, sugar, ghee (loads of) & cream of wheat. But, you could add other ingredients for flavoring & garnishing the main dish :)

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins

Ingredients:

• Cream of wheat/Fine Rawa/Chiroti Rawa: 1 cup
• Milk: 3 cups (I use 2% milk)
• Sugar: 3/4th cup*
• Ghee/Clarified Butter: 1/3 cup, divided use
• Saffron: a pinch
• Cardamom powder: a big pinch

For the garnish:

• Ghee: 1 tbsp
• Cashew nuts: 1 tbsp
• Raisins: 1 tbsp

Method:
Heat 1/4th cup of ghee in a broad pan. When ghee is hot, pour in the cream of wheat.
Keeping the heat in medium, saute the cream of wheat for 6-8 mins. Keep stirring the cream of wheat to ensure even roasting of the rawa.

Meantime, start heating the milk.
Once the aroma of the roasted rava fills the kitchen, pour the hot milk over the roasted cream of wheat. Mix well.

Throw in the saffron strands & let the cream of wheat cook on a low-medium heat.

In 3-5 mins, the cream of wheat will absorb all the milk & starts leaving the edges of the pan (see pic below).
During this stage, pour in the sugar and the cardamom powder.

Mix well. The cooked rava will loosen up because of the sugar. Keep mixing. Ensure no lumps are formed while mixing.

Add in the remaining ghee & continue mixing for a couple of more minutes. The mixture will thicken, ooze out ghee & starts leaving the edges of the pan.

Remove the pudding from the heat.
Fry the cashew nuts and raisins in ghee. Add the fried nuts to the cooked pudding.

Mix well & serve hot!

Notes:

• If your family prefers sweeter sajjige, increase the sugar to 1 cup. I add one cup of sugar when I cook only for my family. When I have guests at home, I add 3/4 cup sugar as most people prefer it that way!
• Any variety of milk could be used to make this pudding.
• Do not be stingy in adding ghee. More the better!!

Appi Payasa | Fried cream of wheat kheer

I have some distinct memories associated with some dishes. From the time I can remember, I always fascinated cooking but never took the initiation to cook, until I had no other choice! During my teenage days, whenever I got a chance to attend the weddings, upanayanam or any family functions, I used to venture into the kitchen. I used to talk to the cook & get to know the recipe of a dish with a fancy name!! I have been doing this till date. The only difference is, now I try to write down the recipe.

Appi payasa/payasam is one such dish learnt during a conversation with one of the cooks. Here is how "appi payasa" is made. A tight dough is made with cream of wheat. They are rolled & deep fried in ghee like pooris(Deep fried Indian bread). These pooris are crushed & added to the milk.

Though I don't have a sweet tooth, this is one of the kheer/payasam to which I can never say "no". Absolute delish!! It is also known as happala karda payasa (Thanks to blogger world!).

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Ingredients: (Serves 4-6)
For the happala/flat poori:

• Cream of wheat/Chiroti Rava/Fine rava: 1 cup
• Cold water: Less than 1/4th cup
• Ghee/Clarified butter: 2 tsp
• Salt: a small pinch
• Ghee/Oil: As needed, for deep frying the pooris

For the payasa/kheer:

• Full cream milk: 1.5 litres
• Sugar: Around 3/4th cup, adjust according to your family needs
• Chopped dry fruits: 2 tbsp (I used almonds, cashews & pistachios)
• Saffron: a big pinch

Method:
Mix the cream of wheat, salt & ghee together.
Slowly add the cold water & make a stiff dough. Cover the dough & let it rest for at least a couple of hours. More the better...
Once the dough is well rested, divide the dough into big grape sized balls. I got 7 dough balls.
Dust a very little flour & roll it thin using a rolling pin. (just like a poori). 
Heat the ghee/oil on a medium heat. When ghee is hot, deep fry the pooris on both the sides until golden brown. Remove it on a paper towel to remove the excess ghee from the fried pooris. Repeat with the remaining pooris. Let it cool.

Meantime, boil the milk on a med-high heat. Keep stirring in between. When the milk starts boiling, reduce the heat.
Add sugar & allow the sugar to dissolve. 
When the sugar is dissolved, crush the saffron in between your palm & add it to the milk. 
Crush or roughly tear the cooled pooris & slide them onto the boiling milk. Add the chopped nuts.

Turn off the heat & let the payasam cool completely.
Once cool, mash the crushed pooris gently. 

You could serve this payasam, warm or cold. 
I generally warm it again & serve as my family prefers it that way!

Notes:

• It is very important to make a stiff dough to ensure crunchy pooris. Soft dough will absorb more ghee & become soggy.
• The more you rest the dough, the more elastic it becomes. It will be easier to handle a well rested dough. (You can see little cracks on the edges of my poori. That is because I did not rest the dough! Do not do that)
• Roll the pooris very thin. Thin pooris wont puff up & become soft. They will become crunchy!
• If your poori is still puffing up, gently prick it in 4-5 places with a tooth pick before frying them.
• This is unlike other kheer that demands milk quantity to be reduced by boiling. The crushed pooris will absorb the milk & the kheer/payasam thickens gradually. 

Paal payasam/Milk & Rice pudding

Indian festivals become incomplete without a dessert or a sweet dish. Any household would cook a wide range of sweets without bothering how much taxing it could be. A very simple yet exorbitant kheer is one of them for sure. So, here I present today a time consuming but not so taxing kheer/payasam/pudding recipe that is loved by one & all!

Recipe Source: thechefandherkitchen

Ingredients:
Sona masoori rice: 1/2 cup (Any other medium grain rice like ponni rice, raw rice would do)
Full cream fresh milk: 5 cups
Sugar:  1/3rd cup
Saffron: a pinch
Cardamom powder: 1/4th tsp
Chopped nuts: 1.5 tbsp (I used sliced almonds, chopped pistachios & raisins)

Method:

• Wash the rice thoroughly & soak them in water for 10-15mins.
• Meantime, heat milk in a thick bottomed vessel.
• Crush the safrron between your palms & add the saffron to the milk.
• When milk becomes hot, drain the water from the soaked rice & add the rice & raisins to the milk. Preserve the other nuts for later use. Stir well.
• Cook the rice in milk on a medium heat. Keep stirring once a while to ensure that rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the vessel.
• When rice is cooked (takes around 30-35mins), add the sugar, cardamom powder & reduce the heat.
• Cook on a low heat for another 5-7mins.
• Turn off the heat, garnish with the chopped nuts.
• Serve them hot, warm or cold.

Notes:
The payasam becomes a bit thick after it is cooled down. If you prefer it more on the kheer types, add few tablespoons of hot milk to your serving & heat for couple of minutes in the stove or microwave & then enjoy!

I'm sending this recipe to the event "Tried and tested" hosted by me & to the event creator Lakshmi.
I'm waiting for your entries now :)

Update: I'm also sending this to Priya's "Celebrate Sweets-Sweets with rice" event & to the creator Nivedita.

Mavinahannu Seekarane | Rasayana (Mango Dessert)

Mango seekarane/rasayana is a "popular" dish in many of the Kannadiga(people from Karnataka, India) house holds. During the mango season, this dish would be prepared atleast once (not just once though!) either as a side dish or a dessert.  Mango seekarane/rasayana is a very quick, easy & simple dish that tastes great as a side dish with chapathis (Indian Flat bread) or pooris. Our family just love this dish with pooris & the left over seekarane/rasayana is consumed as a dessert, in no time !!!

Ingredients: (Serves 2-3)

Ripened Mangoes: 2 numbers (sweet ones)

Sugar: 6 tbsp (adjust according to the sweetness of the mangoes)

Milk: 1 small cup

Water: 1/2 cup (this could be replaced with milk too)

Cashews: 5 (soaked in water, optional)

Saffron: a small pinch

Method:

• Peel out the skin & chop the mango around the seed. Discard the seed. Preserve a small cup of chopped mangoes.
• Blend together the remaining mangoes, sugar, milk, soaked cashews, water until a smooth & a thick puree is formed (should be like a thick milkshake)
• Scoop out the puree, add the remaining finely chopped mangoes & saffron.
• Serve chilled as a side-dish or dessert.

Notes:

• Cashews are added to get the thickness to the seekarane. This could be avoided by more mangoes. Ripened bananas can also be used to thicken the seekarane.
• A vegan version of the same can be prepared using coconut milk. My mom-in-law prepares using coconut milk & that version is equally tasty.
• Sugar could be replaced with jaggery. You can do many changes with this dish, but the final result is always tasty & relished by everybody.

Hah!!, after a long time I got a chance to send this dish to an event. This goes to "No-Cook" event hosted by PJ of seduceyourtastebuds.

Doodh Peda/Milk Peda

This was in my draft since Krishna Janmastami & I was hoping that I atleast publish this for Deepavali. But.., again I'm late..

Anyways, better late than never. Happy Karthika Masa/Masam/Month. Diyas are lit infront of our house for this whole month & each day of the week is celebrated.

(Photo courtesy:http://www.4to40.com/egreetings/cards.asp?festivals=Diya_Traditional_Candles_of_Diwali-Diwali-127)

So, what did you guys cook at home?Did any of you buy gold/platinum/silver on the dhanteras? At my side.., nothing. No gold/silver too. We were on a short trip to Indonesia & so not much of celebrations. We were back only after Deepavali. I'm happy that I spent all the time with my kiddo & hubby, which otherwise I would have spent in the kitchen.

My version of the doodh peda is a quick & an instant one. It almost tastes like authentic one, however expert eaters can make out the difference in this version. My take is when this method is so easy, why on earth should hours be spent on the authentic way ;)

Ingredients:(Adapted from a monthly kannada magazine)

Condensed Milk: 1 tin

Full cream milk powder: 2 cups (my one cup holds 180ml water)

Unsalted butter: 1/2 cup (melted or at room temperature)

Method:

1. Gently, mix together the condensed milk & milk powder. Ensure that there are no lumps.
2. Add in the butter & mix again.
3. Pour the batter to a microwave safe bowl.
4. Heat/cook in the microwave for 3 minutes (check the temperature settings).
5. Remove the bowl, stir well & put in the microwave again for 1 minute.
6. Repeat the steps 4 & 5, for 2 more times. Ensure that the rawness of the milk powder is removed & it is cooked well.
7. Allow it to cool for another 5-10minutes. When the batter is still warm, prepare small lemon sized balls & give it a nice peda shape.
8. Cool it in the refrigirator for 1-2hours before serving.
9. Enjoy the instant doodh peda :)

Update: Hurray!!, I won a tote bag from Foodie Blogroll. I am eagerly waiting to receive it. Thanks a lot Foodie Blogroll.