Kandi Podi / Gun Powder / Andhra Style Paruppu Podi

This is my dad's favorite accompaniment to anything. So much so that each time I visited home from Hyderabad, he would request for this and only this. I try it when we go to Andhra thali restaurants but recently I started craving them and decided to make some.

Andhra Paruppu Podi

What I Used
(Recipe from here)

Toor dal / Tuvaram paruppu /Split gram - 1 cup
Moong dal /Paasi paruppu / Cherupayar Parippu - 1/2 cup
Chana dal / Kadala paruppu / Bengal gram - 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder - 2 tbsp
Black pepper powder - 2 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida / Perungayam - 1/2 tsp
Jeera / Jeerakam - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

How I Made It:

1. Dry fry all the dals separately until they turn golden brown. Mix well.
2. Add the jeera and hing to the dal mixture when its still hot and keep aside to cool.
3. Once cool, grind to a course/fine powder depending on preference.
4. Add red chilli powder, pepper and salt to the ground mixture and store in an airtight jar.

Serving suggestions:

- With steamed white rice and hot ghee.
- Mix with some curd or oil and serve with dosa.
- Some variations include adding dry fried curry leaves to the powder. I am sure that's yummy as well, I just didn't have enough curry leaves in hand.

This is my entry to the 7th helping of Legume Love Affair being served by Srivalli this time.

Read On For Recipe...

Basic White Cupcakes

The best way to start baking after a long time - from the basics. I have always loved the simplicity of plain cakes, or tea cakes, as they are sometimes called. My mom used to make them quite regularly as a snack when we were in school. She used those manual egg-beaters that formed beautiful white peaks when the egg whites have been beaten for about 45 minutes.


This recipe doesn't call for beating the egg too much cuz since I don't have an electric beater, I go for such recipes mostly.

What I Used:
(Makes about 16 cupcakes)

Butter - 1/2 cup, at room temperature
All purpose flour / maida - 1 3/4 cups
Powdered sugar 1 cup (measure after powdering)
Egg - 1
Milk - 3/4 cup, at room temperature
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

How I Made It:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cream butter and sugar together until nicely mixed.

3. Use a fork and whisk the egg for about 10-15 minutes. The more you beat, the softer the cupcakes turn out. I lose patience at the end of 15 mins or so.

4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt until blended well. I didn't have a sieve until recently so before that, I just used to put the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

5. Once the flour mixture is well blended, add to the butter-sugar mixure.

6. Mix well, in one direction. Then add the beaten egg and milk little by little making sure the batter is nicely blended. You don't need to eccessively mix at this time, just make sure the ingredients are blended.

7. Once the milk and egg have been completely added, mix in the vanilla essense.

8. Grease a muffin tray or line it with muffin paper cups. Pour batter 2/3 of the way.

9. Bake in a 375 degrees oven for about 20-25 mins until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Notes

- In case you don't have a muffin tray, you can use a regular cake try to make a normal cake.

- This recipe, with a little less sugar can be used to make layered cakes with frosting in the middle.

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Quick and Easy Rasmalai Recipe

Here is a recipe I have been dying to post. Its from my mother-in-law and its the most easy and quick rasmalai recipe ever! Promise!

But wait, what is rasmalai? Its sweetened, flattened or round balls of paneer (Indian cottage cheese) soaked in milk cream. Sounds yummy? That's 'cuz it is!

So in case you want to celebrate the holidays with some Indian dessert, whose sweetness level you can control, then this one is for you. Did I mention its super easy?

The recipe does use eggs, which would probably make the inventors of rasmalai turn in their graves, but the taste is not compromised one bit and there is no 'eggy' smell at all.

What I Used:

For the pieces

Milk Powder - 1.5 cups
Egg - 1

For the liquid base

Whole cream milk - 4 cups
Sweetened condensed milk - 1/2 tin (adjusting according to the size of your sweet tooth)
Crushed cardamom - 3
You can use other flavoring of choice like rosewater, pistachios, almonds, saffron, etc.

How I Made It:

1. Mix the egg and the milk powder together to form a thick, sticky dough-like mass. Divide into lemon sized balls and flatten gently on palms. If too sticky, dampen palms. Lay these flattened pieces without overlapping, on a tray.


2. Heat a wide bottomed pan and bring the milk to boil. Once it starts boiling, bring the heat to sim and gently, very gently, add the milk powder-egg discs to this.

3. You don't need to mix or stir much, but be careful to give the discs enough space from each other in the liquid. They will expand a bit when they start cooking.


4. After about 10 mins, add the crushed cardamom and. Let it cook for another 10 mins.

5. When the pieces have expanded considerably and seem soft and cooked through (take out once piece, break and check inside if the dough is still sticky), remove from fire.

6. Add the condensed milk when still hot and mix gently. Adjust amount according to sweetness required.

Chill before serving.

Now you can tell me you love me for this quick and easy rasmalai recipe :)

I am sending this to FIC - White over at Kitchen Flavours. 

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