Badam Besan Milk Burfi / Badam Besan Milk Cake

Ever since I made the regular MysorePak, I wanted to try out the classic combination of milk, badam ( almonds ) and Besan. I really enjoyed making this rich and creamy cake / burfi and it yielded a decent amount of burfis for the amount of ingredients I used. Mostly its a tension free sweet which could be made during Diwali. You can either prepare this sweet on the stove or using the Microwave method. This time, I adopted the Stove Method and made around 30-40 burfis. I doubled the quantity as mentioned under the ingredients in order to get more burfis. So don't get confused with the number of burfis and the ingredients measure.!!! Definitely not a cumbersome process and its a easy, quick sweet to be made with no mistakes.

 

Ingredients

 

Milk Powder / Mawa  -  1 Cup

Besan / Kadalai Maavu - 1 Cup

Almond Powder - 1.5 Cup

Sugar - 3 Cups

Ghee / Clarified Butter -  1.5 cups

Elachi Powder ( Cardamom Powder ) - 2 tsp

Broken Almonds - For Garnishing ( Optional )

( I did not sprinkle broken almonds on top of the burfi as I wanted to present them like MysorePak ).

 

Method 

• In a thick bottomed cooking pan, dry roast besan flour till you get a nice aroma. Slightly roast the Badam Powder too and keep all the other ingredients ready.
• In a separate vessel, make a sugar syrup using little water and sugar. When it melts and thickens a bit, switch off the flame. No need to wait for any string consistency. Purpose is to melt down the sugar completely and make a sugar syrup.
• In the heated kadai, add the roasted Besan Flour, Badam Powder, Milk Powder and half a cup of ghee and the sugar syrup. Stir them well so that no lumps are formed.
• Continue stirring till you get a nice appetizing aroma and the Badam Besan Milk Burfi froths up. Add the remaining ghee little by little while stirring.

• Pour it on a plate greased with ghee and spread the mixture evenly by gently shaking the plate. Allow the burfi to cool down .

• When it cools down to three fourth, cut them into equal squares with a greased knife.
• Once it completely cools down, remove the burfis carefully and store them in an airtight container.

Tips

• Use pure ghee in order to obtain the perfect taste and texture.
• If you don't have almond powder, use the rich and creamy Badam Paste instead. Soak the almonds in water and peel off its skin and then grind them into a smooth paste.
• If you don't have milk powder, replace them with a rich and full fat milk instead. But it might slows down the preparation process as you need to continuously stir them till it thickens. 
• To get a flavourful colourful burfi, soak few strands of Kesar ( Saffron ) into the warm milk and pour them over the mixture while stirring. It injects good Kesar flavour and taste into the cake and make it more colourful and yummy. If you have Saffron available, don't omit this choice.

Moong Dal Sundal / Payatham Paruppu Sundal / Navarathri Sundal

Payatham Paruppu sundal is one of my favourites which i mom make generally on the first day of Navarathri.

Easy to make and little care should be taken in order to get the right consistency. If you add more water while cooking this dal, it becomes soggy and you will end up eating a moong dal pasty sundal. Right amount of water and cook time determines the taste and consistency. No need to soak this Moong dal overnight and all. 

Ingredients
Moong Dhal / Payatham Paruppu / Pesara Pappu - 1 Cup
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
Oil - 3 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 stick
Green Chillies - 1 Big
Dry Red Chili - 1
Grated Ginger - 1/2 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Crushed Coriander Leaves - To Garnish ( Optional )
Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1 tbsp

Method

• Pressure cook the Moong Dhal up to 1 whistle. Just add water just for the dal to get immersed. Don't add more water during this process. After the cooker gets cooled down, drain the excess water from the dal and keep the cooked and drained dal ready. 
• In a cooking pan, add oil first. When its heated up, add hing, mustard seeds, dry red chili, green chili, curry leaves, grated ginger in order. Finally add the cooked dal and required amount of salt into the pan. Gently turn few times so that the salt gets mixed up well.
• Cover the lid and allow them to cook for just 2 minutes on a medium flame. Switch off the flame.
• Sprinkle fresh coconut flake, coriander leaves ( if you like ) on top of the sundal. 
• Navarathri neivedhyam is ready.

Suggestions 

• Cook the dal to the right consistency. 
• If you wish to increase the sundal quantity suddenly, add some grated carrots into the sundal and serve. 
• If you have some leftover sundal, you can make any kootu out of it during the next meal.

Cucumber and Sprouts Sandwich - Cool Sandwich

Though I crave for a hot grilled sandwiches always, somehow this cool sandwich with tons of cucumber freshness and crunchy sprouts stole my heart. Its undoubtedly a healthy lunch or brunch or snack at any time. We enjoyed this healthy treat along with our rainbow salad ( Grape tomatoes salad ) and no after cleaning was required.!!! Easy and quick fix lunch with minimal efforts and maximum richness in nutrients.

Ingredients
Multi grain Bread or Whole Wheat Bread - 2 Big Sandwich Slices.
Few Lettuce Leaves
Fresh Cucumber - 1
Ripe Tomato - 1
Red Onion Rings - Few
Alfalfa Sprouts or Sprouts of your choice - 1 Small Bunch
Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese Spread ( LIGHT ) - 1 Slice
Stone Ground Grainy Mustard ( Preferable Grainy ) - 1 tsp
Salt and Black Pepper Powder - To Taste

Method

• Keep all the ingredients ready. Slightly toast the bread and spread them on a foil.
• Spread the cheese on one side of the bread. On top of the cheese, layer them with Lettuce Leaves, tomato rounds, sliced red onion rings, cucumber rounds. Press them gently and put some fresh alfalfa sprouts on its top. Similarly, on the other bread, layer it with stone ground mustard followed by the same pattern.
• Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the top of the bread slices. Carefully place one side on the other bread and cut them into halves and enjoy.

Suggestions
White bread will not be suited for this kind of sandwich. You will definitely enjoy the freshness with grainy brown breads.

Grape Tomatoes Salad with Black Olives, Cucumber and Mozzarella Cheese

Couple of weeks back, we harvested few buckets of red grape tomatoes and yellow pear tomatoes from our home garden. Also, our kind neighbour showered us with more of the same varieties. Really wanted to consume those tiny tomatoes before they start to spoil. I decided to make a wonderful and a very colourful salad with homegrown tomatoes, fresh green cucumbers, Olives, red onion and fresh Mozzarella cheese. Because of the richness in its colour, it got attracted by the kids and its a very good accompaniment to any pasta or sandwich. I made a combo of this rainbow salad and a healthy sandwich ( Cucumber and Sprouts Sandwich) for lunch. Needless to say, my family welcomed the combo and enjoyed the lunch. Try this combo at your home and make some twists to your sandwich / pasta according to your family tastes and enjoy.

Ingredients 
Red Grape Tomatoes -  Around 30 tomatoes.
Yellow Pear Tomatoes - Around 30 tomatoes.
Black Olives -  1 cup ( Cut into thin rounds )
Cucumbers - 1 Medium Size
Shredded Red Onion - 1/4 cup
Grated Fresh Mozzarella Cheese - Between 2-3 cups ( Adjust according to your taste ).
Salt - As Desired
Black Pepper Powder - As Desired
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Dried Basil  - 1 tsp ( For Flavour )
Dried Oregano  - 1 tsp ( For Flavour ).

Method 
In a big mixing bowl, add all the ingredients in order. Gently mix them so that the tomatoes get coated with the cheese and spices perfectly. Leave it for 5-10 minutes and enjoy this salad along with a warm pasta or sandwich.  Customize the salad with your own imagination.