Wheat - Badam Burfi

It is Deepavali time and we are busy with preparing sweets and some namkeens. (Spicy and salty).  I as usual wanted to try something different and healthy. When I was thinking on the healthy aspect I just came across Poornima hegde's Wheat burfi and it gave me the idea that I was looking for. She has used wheat, jaggery and very little ghee.

Wheat Badam Burfi is a sweet dish. I was inspired by Poornima hegde's "Wheat burfi with Jaggery ". So wanted to give a try with little twist. So I added some Almonds (ground) and tried and the burfi turned out very tasty and everyone liked it.

Here I am posting a recipe of Wheat -Badam Burfi which is very easy to prepare and  healthy too. This burfi is healthy since it contain jaggery (normally burfi is prepared using lots of sugar). I am sure you will agree with me that using jaggery is more appropriate. good for festival. You can prepare them a day or two earlier and keep this ready. Even you can prepare them for party, kids party. It is easy to serve and eat. Try this " Wheat -Badam Burfi" which will be liked by all age group and the whole family will be surely enjoy. You can put it in kids munching box too.

 

Things Needed :

Wheat flour : 1 Cup
Jaggery : 3/4 Cup
Almonds : 1 Cup
Cardamom Powder " 1/2 Tea spoon
Water : 3 to 4 Table spoons

Method:

1. Dry roast wheat flour till the raw smell disappear and keep it aside.
2. Dry grind Almonds coarsely along with cardamom and keep it aside. Apply ghee to a plate or tray and keep the tray ready.
3. Now keep a pan on the fire and put jaggery and add 3 to 4 table spoons of water and mix it well and let it boil on low flame.
4. The jaggery starts to boil (till it gets one string consistency).
5 .Mix it well and add roasted wheat flour and almonds and 2 table spoons of ghee.
6. Stir continuously till it starts to leave the sides of the pan. Add little more ghee and stir.for 2 to 3 minutes.
7.Pour the thick Wheat -Almond mixture to the ready tray or plate and leave it for cooling.
8. Cut in to your desired shape and  Serve.

Note : 

Roast wheat flour nicely or it may turn sticky.
You can use any kind of jaggery. I have used organic Jaggery. (If you are using the jaggery which is brought from market, must boil jaggery with 1/3 cup of water and turn it as complete liquid and sieve with siever and then use it.
Adding more or less ghee is an optional.\
Stir mixture till the mixture turn into one full dough in the middle of the pan and then spread on the tray. Cut them when they are completely cool.
Time 15 to 20 minutes.
15 to 20 pieces can be prepared. (According to the size).

Dates & Groundnuts Roll

Dates & GroundNuts Roll : This sweet dish is appeared in Savi Ruchi - Vijaya Karnataka Deepavali Edition.
Dates and Groundnuts Roll is a sweet dish. Specially made for Vijaya Karnataka Deepavali Edition. The last day of the entry just thought of sending the sweet. Thanks to Babitha Salian.

Dates and Groundnuts Roll is an easy dish and we can enjoy munching this sweet any time of the day and it can be sent to kids munching box (after lunch) and we can pack them for our picnics and travels. Since not much of ghee is used no need of thinking fat or calorie .

I Have used Dates, Groundnuts and Jaggery as the main ingredients. 

Now lets know some benefits of Eating Dates and Ground Nuts.
Dates are delicious and most popular fruits packed with an essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are required for normal growth, development and over all well being.  Fresh dates are easy digest and gives energy and revitalize the body instantly. Because of this they are being served to break the fast during Ramadah month since ancient times. The fruit is rich in dietary fiber. They contain anti oxidants and work as anti infective, anti inflammatory. They also contain moderate source of Vitamin A. They are excellent source of Iron, potassium and help to regulate the heart rate and blood pressure. Dates are rich in minerals like calcium, manganese and copper. They also contain moderate levels of B- complex vitamins and Vitamin K.

Groundnuts are rich in energy and contain healthy nutrients, minerals, anti oxidants and Vitamins that are essential for optimum health. They contain sufficient levels of mono- unsaturated fatty acids and helps to lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase the good cholesterol (HDL) level in the blood. They are also good source of dietary protein and essential for growth and development. They contain high concentrations of antioxidants. Groundnuts are an excellent source of  Vitamin E and Vitamin B complex and Vitamin B-6.. The nuts are rich source of minerals like copper, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium.

As I said it before " Dates & Groundnuts Rolls " can be munched any time of the day and every one and all age group  will surely love this dish.

Things Needed :

Fresh Dates : 10 to 15
Groundnuts : 1 Cup
Jaggery : 1/2 Cup
Ghee : 1 Table spoon.
Poppy Seeds : 1 Tea spoon

Method :

1. Dry roast groundnuts and remove the outer skin when they are cool. Dry grind groundnuts and keep it aside. ( Rava consistency ).

 2. Remove the seeds and cut dates in to half.

 3. Now keep a pan on the fire,  put ghee and heat. Fry dates for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove dates from the pan.

 4. Add jaggery to the pan and add 2 to 3 table spoons of water. (1/3 of the cup).

 5. Let it boil nicely till it gets one string consistency, Add dry ground groundnuts and stir and mix it well. Stir nicely for 2 minutes.

 6. Add ghee fried dates and mix it well. Remove the mixture from the fire.

 7. Now take a piece of date and little mixture in hand and roll the dates with ground nut mixture.

8. Arrange them on plates and let it cool. " Dates & Groundnuts Rolls " are ready to serve.

 Note :

Do not add much ghee because groundnut contain oil that is sufficient for the sweets. You can roll them on dry coconut powder. You can also prepare this with Almonds, cashew nuts. You can add any kind of nuts to this sweet. Adding more jaggery or preparing this dish with sugar is left to your choice. I have used organic jaggery so that  no need to filter the liquid jaggery.

Time : 15 Minutes.
20 to 25 "Dates & Groundnuts Rolls" Can be prepared.

Simple Banana Cake

Baking a cake without eggs is the excellent idea for me. 

I have gone through many recipes, browsed many blogs and I did try and baked the cake very recently. Thinking of Easter I thought of trying to go for baking once again and yeppy the cake came out very well and we the whole family liked it very much. Last time it was with oil and this time it is with butter more richer and better taste.

It is simple and not much of ingredients required. The ingredients are like Maida (all purpose flour), ghee, sugar, banana, curd, cardamom and baking powder and Soda .

Maida is a refined wheat and normally used to bake bread, cakes, cookies etc. Maida is also used in Indian cooking and so many sweets and other dishes are prepared using Maida.
Banana cake can be munched any time of the day, goes very well with tea time and we can eat with any kind of ice creams.

Ingredients :
Maida : 1 1/2 Cup
Melted Butter : 1/2 Cup
Sugar : 3/4 Cup
Cardamom Pods : 5 to 6
Curd : 1/3 Cup
Baking Soda : 1/2 Tea spoon
Baking Powder : 1 Tea spoon
Salt : a pinch
Banana : 1

Method :
1. Sieve maida, baking powder and baking soda. Remove the outer cover of cardamom and keep it aside.

Baking powder

Sugar

2. Dry grind sugar and grind this with ghee or melted butter.(I used ghee).

3. Add curd and cardamom  to the sugar mixture and grind for 2 to 3 minutes. Add banana and grind.for one minute.

Curd

4. Now remove the ground sugar mixture from the jar and put it in a big bowl. Dust the container or tray with some dry maida and keep it ready.

5. Add sieved maida slowly and prepare dough. If you feel its thick add little milk.

6. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes.
7. Now pour the ready cake mixture to a baking tray or a container and bake for 35 to 40 minutes 350 degree C.

8. Insert a spoon or tooth pick to make sure the cake is baked well.
9. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes.

10. Serve cake with Hot cup of coffee or tea or with a scoop of  ice cream.

Note :
You can use clarified butter or oil instead of ghee. You can also use vanilla or any other essence of your choice. Adding nuts to the cake adds to the taste. Roll nuts in dry maida and then add it to the mixture.
The point we must know :
The difference between Maida and All purpose flour is that Maida is refined many times flour and All purpose flour is mixture of Maida and Barley flour.

Preparation time : 10 Minutes
Cooking time : 35 Minutes
Servings : 4 to 6.

Apple Halwa

Apple Halwa is a sweet dish. It can be served as desert. It is an easy dish with little Ghee and sugar. I have used apples, sugar, milk powder, cashews and cardamom. 

I Have used apple, sugar, ghee, milk powder and ghee. 

Lets see the recipe now :

Ingredients.

Apple: 2
Sugar:3/4 Cup
Cardamom.  3 Pods
Ghee: 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Poppy seeds : 2 Tablespoons
Milk Powder : 3 to 4 Tablespoons
Cashew Nuts : 2 to 3 Tablespoons

Method :

1. Wash and remove the outer layer of apples. Grate them slowly.

2. Crush cardamom and powder it. Keep it aside.
3. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add cashew pieces and fry till they turn golden brown.
4. Add grated apples to the same pan and fry till the moisture disappear.

5. Fry nicely shift it to the other pan and mix it with sugar. It starts melting soon. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee.

6. Keep stirring nicely. Add a spoon of ghee and stir.
7. Add milk powder and mix it well. Needs to stir slowly on medium flame.

8. Add poppy seeds and mix the ingredients nicely.
9. It starts to leave the pan slowly. Add crushed cardamom and mix it well.

10. Stir till it become thick. Stir for another 5 minutes. Add remaining ghee and mix it well.

11. Greece the plate or tray with ghee. Pour ready Apple Halwa to this plate.
12. Spread the content evenly. Let it cool down completely.

13. Once it is cooled cut them according to your wish.
14. Serve Hot and Yummy Apple Halwa.

Notes:

Cook on low or medium flame. Adding more sugar helps the halwa to turn thick. Adding more/less ghee is optional. Ghee adds to the taste. One should keep stirring the halwa with out fail.
Adding more sugar helps the halwa to be thick faster.
Time : 30 Minutes.
Serves : According to your wish.

Banana Rice Halubai ( Rice Cakes)

Halubai is a traditional sweet dish. This dish is prepared with fresh jaggery or sugarcane juice. During the sugar cane harvesting, sugarcane juice is used instead of jaggery. Rice Halubai is very famous in Dakshina Kannada. (Southern part of Karnataka and some parts of North Kannada also). Bangalore and Mysore side people normally use Ragi (Finger Millet) instead of rice. This famous dish is prepared during Nagara Panchami festival,  which falls in the month of July normally. Using Sugarcane juice and preparing Halubai is a traditional practice in and around Sagara (near Shimoga) and they call this dish as Kilsa.

Jaggery has the ability to cleanse your body. It act as a digestive agent. It also provide good amounts of minerals. According to Avurveda, jaggery strengthens the nervous system, prevents anemia and promotes bone health. It may also protect the body against environmental toxins.

Here is a recipe of Rice Halubai. I have used sugarcane juice, the organic jaggery, ripe Bananas and little ghee while preparing this Rice Halubai. Its soft and nice to have with your lunch or snack or you can munch any time of the day. Using little fresh ghee makes the Halubai more tasty and all the age group will surely love to eat this traditional dish.

Things Needed:

Raw rice : 2 cups

Sugarcane Juice : 2 cups
Jaggery : 1/2 cup
Coconut : 1 cup
Cardamom : 5 to 6
Ghee : 1 Cup (4 to 6 Table spoons)
Salt : a pinc
Bananas : 2 (small size)

Method : 

1. Wash and soak rice for 2 to 3 hours.
2. Grate coconut and powder cardamom.
3. Gind soaked rice, cardamom and grated coconut using sugarcane juice. (Strain sugar cane juice before using.

4. Grind rice coconut mixture till paste. Add jaggery and salt.
5. Remove from the Mixi jar.
6. Now keep a big pan on the fire and pour this ground rice mixture.
7. Let the mixture be little watery. (The ration should be 1 = 1, 1 rice and 1 water).

 8. Start stirring until the dough thickens, add cut banana and stir continuously.

9. Add ghee in between the stirrring.

10. Keep stirring till the batter becomes like a ball (starts to thickens) stir for 2 to 3 minutes more and put this mixture on a ghee greesed tray or plate.

11. Spread evenly and leave it for a while and cut and give a shape.

12. Rice Halubai is ready to serve.

Note :
Must stir continuously or it may get burnt at the bottom. Heat ghee and keep it aside and use little by little, inbetween the stirring. This process helps you to stirr easily since the mixture softens while adding the ghee. Not more than 3/4 cup of the ghee should be used or you feel heavy after eating. Adding ghee makes the stirring easy, since it helps the batter to be little loose. You can also use only jaggery instead of sugarcane juice if it is not available.
Time: 20 minutes.
Rice soaking time extra : 2 to 3 hours.
Serves : 5 to 6