Ribbon Pakoda

Diwali is around the corner, and everyone is discussing what is being made at whose place.. I decided to make 3 items -2 sweets and 1 savory.
It was difficult looking for a savory to make as everyone had taken up the usual suspects - manankombu, murukku, mixture etc.., so I settled for ribbon pakoda.
Ribbon is surprisingly easy to make, and makes for a great snack-time crunchy.

Here's what you'll need:


1. Rice Flour - 1 cup
2. Besan - 1 cup
3. Salt - to taste
4. Red chilli powder - to taste
5. Asfoetida - a pinch
6. Ghee/Butter/Oil - 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Mix the rice flour, besan, salt, red chilli powder, asfoetida and butter
2. Mix in water and make a dough slightly damper than you make for roti. The right consistency in the dough will determine the ease with which you will be able to squeeze it through the apparatus (achu) into the oil
3. Stuff the dough into the apparatus lined with ribbon holes
4. Make sure the oil is hot. Drop a bit of the dough in the oil. If it springs right up, the oil is heated
5. Turn both sides gently, and take out ribbon when it becomes a golden color
6. Wipe out the excess oil by a tissue and place in an air-tight container

There you go - easy, peasy :) !!
Happy Diwali to all - May the festival of lights light up your lives with joy and happiness!

Kasi Halwa (Pumpkin Halwa)

Kasi halwa or pushnika halwa has been one of my favorite sweets since childhood. It is served on jaanvaasam day in marriages in Chennai, and is generally made on special occasions. Both my grandmothers make awesome kasi halwa.
So, this Diwali, I decided that I would try it out as one of the sweet items.

This is what you would need:

• White pumpkin/dudhi/kadhu/pushnika scrapings - 2 cups
• Sugar - 1.5 cups
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Cashewnuts, Raisins
• Ghee - 3 tablespoons
• Cardamom
• Edible Camphor (Pachai Karpooram)
• Food color (Orange/kesar)

Method of preparation:

• Grate the pumpkin into a large plate. This will give out a lot of water. So, once the plate becomes full, transfer the gratings through a muslin cloth lined strainer in order to drain out as much of the water as possible.
• Pour a little ghee in the kadai and fry cashewnuts and raisins and keep them aside.
• In the same kadai, pour a spoon of ghee and transfer the pumpkin gratings to it.
• After a few minutes, add the milk to the pumkin. Let the pumpkin cook. Since, it has a tendency to yield water, you do not need any further water. 
• You can test if the vegetable is cooked by taking a little between your fingertips. It should be soft and mashable.
• Once it is cooked, add the sugar. On adding sugar, it will once again become runny.
• Keep stirring intermittently so that it does not stick to the bottom.
• Pour the remaining ghee at various intervals and add the food color also.
• Once, the mixture starts leaving the side of the vessel, add the dry fruits, cardamom and edible camphor and mix well.
• Transfer to a bowl and serve hot

Mine was not as thick as my grandmothers make it, but the taste was fine.

Tips:
1. If you find yourself short of time to devote at a continuous stretch like me, then you can grate the pumpkin at night, keep it in the fridge and make the halwa the next morning.

2. Make sure you squeeze out as much of the water as possible, as it will prolong the cooking time otherwise.


Time Required:

I bought a 6 kg pumpkin. It took my brother and me 1 hour to grate it. It took me 1.5 hours to prepare the halwa. Don't know if it can be made in a shorter time, but mine took that long.


So, everyone, there's no need to wait for the next marriage invitation to get a taste of kasi halwa.. go ahead, try it out in your own kitchen :)

A new sort of writing...

I have been thinking of writing a food blog for a long time. Like a lot of other things, I spent more time thinking and lesser doing anything about it. I am used to doing life blogging, but this would require a little more precision and dedication.
My journey with cooking started 2 years back, when I got married. As traditional as that sounds, it's not! It's more to do with survival, when you don't live with your parents anymore. It also has to do with the freedom that your own kitchen offers you... like a blank page, waiting to be filled up by whatever suits your fancy.
I was never the kind to do domestic chores at home, much less do full-fledged cooking. But, I discovered that cooking gave my sense of adventure a flight - and it appealed to my "get-it-right the first time" and "getting high on end results" attitude.
Over the last 2 years, I have relied more on cooking blogs than on my own mother's advice.. and I am starting to write this blog as a tribute to all those beautiful ladies who whip up their own portions of magic in their loved one's lives - Laavanya, Sia, Madhuram, Kribha, Indira, Saffron Trail, and many many more..

Here's to a brand new blog...