Curry In Kadai ~ An Indian Cooking Blog

Hope this new year brings you loads of Happiness and Prosperity . We wish you all a very fabulous NEW YEAR ahead and Happy Valentines Day!!



I am so blessed to have a Strawberry patch open minutes from home. I have been waiting for Strawberry Picking for years and it finally happened and that too so close from my home.. just cant believe it. I know i sound so funny when i say that, yep i was that desperate. Not anymore, anytime i need some strawberries i just take my daughter along with me and then "Pick our own Strawberries".


I just cant explain how good i felt when i plucked the first strawberry fresh from the vine. Oh my baby, she just cant wait until the strawberries are cleaned. Also, we had hard time picking the right ripe ones as a lot of them were hiding. Oh my goodness, the strawberries were super sweet, juicy and succulent. And most of them ended as my daughter's dinner and brunch.



Anyhow i managed to save some and made these delicious chocolate covered strawberries for the very first time and to my surprise they turned out to be pretty cute and easy.

Ingredients:

• 32 ounces Semi sweet chocolate chips / Milk chocolate chips
• 4 - 5 tbsp Butter / Shortening
• 2 pounds fresh ripe firm Strawberries ( with stems if possible )
• White Chocolate( Optional )
• Crushed Almonds( Optional )
• Chopped Chocolate( Optional )
• Toothpicks( Optional )
• Parchment Paper( Optional )
• Styrofoam( Optional )
  

• Wash the strawberries and dry them on paper towels and let them dry for 1- 2 hours. Make sure there's no water left on the strawberries, as we want the chocolate to sit nice on the strawberries.
• Prick a toothpick on top of the strawberries and keep aside
• You can let the chocolate either in a double boiler method / in microwave. Personally i felt melting in the double boiler to be easy.
• For melting on the stove: Place a sauce pan filled 1/2 with water and heat under medium heat, let a glass mixing bowl sit on the sauce pan, add butter and once butter is melted, add chocolate chips and keep stirring continuously until melted and smooth.
• For melting in microwave: Place the chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl, and heat them in an interval of 30 seconds, and keep stirring until all melted and smooth.
• Dip the strawberries in chocolate and place them on parchment paper.

My delicious Strawberries are on their way to:

• Delicious Desserts
• Best Western desserts
• Cooking With Fruits
• Veggie/Fruit a Month

My Chocolate Covered Strawberries are on their way to 'Food Palette series - Brown'

P.S. Everyone has unique taste palette, so please adjust the ingredients according to your taste.

Lakshmi Ksheera Samudra Raaja Tanaya
Sree Ranga Dhaameshvari
Daasi Bhootha Samasata Deva Vanithaam
Lokaika Deepankuram
Sreeman Manda Kataaksha Labdha Vibhava
Brahmendra Gangaadharam
Tvaam Trailokya Kudumbineem
Sarasijam Vande Mukunda Priyaam

Meaning: Goddess Lakshmi, who is the daughter of the king of the ocean of milk, whose abode is Srirangam (with Lord Ranganatha), who is served by all the divine ladies in heaven, who is the guiding light for the world, who has obtained the sustained (continued, everlasting) glance (Grace) from Brahma, Indra and Shiva, whose abode is the three worlds (Bhu, Bhuva, Suvaha) - I offer my prostrations to Thee, the beloved of Lord Krishna (Mukunda). Courtesy by Eaisai

For this Diwali, I made Panakam, Vadapappu and Kesar Badam Semiya Kheer ( Payasam ) Naivedyam to Lakshmi Devi.

Ingredients for Kesar Badam Semiya Kheer:

• 1/2 cup of semiya/Vermicelli
• 4tbsp ghee / melted butter
• 1 litre of milk( whole milk would taste great )
• Cashewnuts( as much as you want )
• Almonds( 10-15)
• Small golden raisins( kishmish )
• Saffron strands ( kumkuma puvvu )
• Sugar to taste

How to make Vermicelli Kesar Badam Kheer:

• First heat ghee in a thick bottomed kadai( sauce pan ), add cashew nuts, semiya and raisins one by one.
• Let them roast and once the semiya/vermicelli become golden brown, reduce the heat and add half of the milk and thinly chopped almonds. Keep stirring until milk starts to get together, now you can add milk if you want the kheer to be thin.
• Cook until the semiya/vermicelli is cooked. If you try to cut the vermicelli with finger it should fall apart right away, at this point add sugar. Cook until the sugar dissolves and finish off with saffron strands soaked in milk.

For Panakam:

• Goddess lakshmi likes this a lot and its very easy to make, takes a couple of minutes
• You need to soak Jaggery / Gur in water, once its melted add a tsp of ghee, crushed cardamom, and ground pepper. I usually put all the ingredients ina bowl even before starting the pooja, and by the time its time for naivedyam, panakam will be ready.

For Vadapappu:

• Vadapappu is a very easy naivedyam, clean the yellow moong dal, wash with water and then soak in enough water for around 1 hour.
• once you are able to cut the dal with your nails, then its ready for naivedyam.

My Kesar Badam Vermicelli Kheer is on its way to:

• Sweet Series
• Diwali 2009 contest
• Sweet Celebrations
• Sunday Snacks - Festive Snacks of Navratri and Diwali

Looking for something sweet to be served for the unexpected guests? Here's something quick and easy that can be ready to be relished in a very few minutes with very few ingredients, my favorite Semiya Kesari, aka vermicelli sweet. This recipe is from my sister's MIL. This is a regular item in her kitchen every week, as bava( Brother in law ) loves it. Usually mom makes only Payasam( kheer ), Upma with vermicelli or semiya, but this Kesari is new to us. Toasted Raisins and Cashew nuts in butter add that extra flavor and nuttiness to the Kesari. Vermicelli Halwa tastes so good when hot and stays good in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vermicelli
  
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/3 of a butter stick
• 1/2-3/4 cup sugar
• a few golden raisins
  
• a few cashew nuts
  
• yellow food color( optional )
  
• saffron

How To:

• In a thick sauce pan / kadai, heat butter and add cashewnuts, raisins and crushed cardamom
  
• Once the cashews( kaju ) turns into golden brown add the semiya aka vermicelli and toast until they turn lightly golden brown.
  
• Meanwhile boil the water along with saffron and food color(optional ). Once the water is bubbling hot, stir in this water into the toasted semiya, reduce heat and close the lid.
  
• Once all the liquid has been absorbed, stir in sugar and let all the sugar dissolve and the vermicelli thicken
  
• Tada, sumptuous ddelicious simple dessert is ready in minutes ready to be relished hot or cold...
  

My simple Vermicelli sweet is on its way to:

• WYF : Quick Meal hosted by EC
• FIC: Favorite hosted by Curry Leaf
• Sweet Time hosted by Shanthi

Until yesterday nothing clicked to me for the CLICK:NOODLES event hosted by Jai and Bee. I walked to the pantry looking for something else and found Noodles and Jello sitting next to each other, thats when my Noodle Jigglers were born!


This is a very simple yet lip smacking fun dessert both kids and adults can enjoy together. Most of us have our own favorite ways of having noodles, but i am sure this can easily fit into your list. I used regular plain noodles and for the gelatin, chose orange flavor for its unique color and tartness. I even added some chopped Pear( bought fresh the day before ) and everything turned out to be a guilt free healthy dessert!

You need:
Small Jello packet -- i used orange flavor
Half packet Ramen noodles
Any fruit - here i used fresh pears chopped to 1/2 inch bites


Preparation:
Boil noodles, once cooked run under cold water and keep aside
Cook gelatin according to the package instructions
Pour gelatin into desired moulds, add chopped fruit and noodles
Let it set in the refrigerator for 4 hrs
Tada! your Noodle Jigglers are ready to relish!


Serving suggestion:
Add any fruit on hand, anything should work!
To finish the platter i used an orange cut into some budding flowers( its not that great and i wasnt sure since it was my first time ) and some pomegranate seeds for color!
For an elegant dessert, use individual moulds topped with some whipped cream!

Deepavali Subhakankshalu! Wish you all a very happy and delightful Diwali. Diwali as the name suggests is ' array of lights ' and you see light coming from deeyas in almost every house in India. The day before Diwali is Narakachathurdasi, when the lord Krishna killed the deamon Narakasura. Diwali is also being celebrated for the return of the god Rama after 14 years of exile. It is the festival for the triumph of good over evil. The festival of lights ( diwali ) insists on shedding the darkness of the mind with the light of Gnana( Knowledge )


Diwali takes me to a walk down the cherishable memory lane. I remember this is the one such festival packed with so much excitement for the D day, where we can fire the crackers all night long, relish delicious food, take part in the lakshmi pooja and never forget new clothes and jewelery. I would do anything for those days. I was always a silent spectator when it comes to fireworks (bombs) like lakshmi tapas, vankaya bambulu, rockets, parachutes etc, I would be on the safer side with kakarathulu, chichu buddulu, venna muddalu, nela tapakayalu, paamu billalu, Bhu chakram,Vishnu chakram and my most favorite Aggipettalu. I remember my grandma asking us to lit the diya( lamp) outside the house during the whole month of diwali and recite this sloka for the sandhya deepam( evening lamp).

Coming to the special dish on this diwali, i made my husbands favorite " Pineapple Dessert". I got this recipe from my sister( who is a great cook ) and this has won the hearts of many of our friends and relatives. This has been an indispensable dessert for Diwali of our close relatives living in the US for years! This will be entry for Monthly Mingle hosted By Meeta

cashewnuts( kaju )
25 pistachios( pista )

Pineapple dessert finished with spirals of condensed milk and chopped nuts