Almonds - Walnuts Burfi.

Burfi is a sweet dish and can be eaten at any time of the day. Here is a burfi, prepared with Almonds and Walnuts. It can be prepared quickly and it is delicious to have. I had prepared this burfi when my relatives said, they will be coming home. I was planning of preparing of Almonds and Walnuts burfy since long time and now it suddenly flashed me.Anyways I had these main ingredients at home and I could do it with in a few minutes. The result was really good. Almonds and Walnuts burfi just melts in the mouth and you can really enjoy each bit of it. Try it out and you will appreciate.
Lets see the benefits of dry fruits in our diet.

Nuts and dry fruits help in increasing metabolic rates. They are great source of energy and fibre. Dry fruits do not contain fat, cholesterol or sodium. They are good source of antioxidants, Vitamin C and Viramin A. Walnuts nourishes the dry skin and improve its texture. Walnut oil helps to prevent wrinkles and fine lines. Almonds are effective in treating acne. It also helps to maintain the cholesterol level and helpful for people who suffer from anemia. Eating dry fruits help to improve Hemoglobin levels. They are considered as a rich source of potassium, vitamin A fiber and copper and help in maintaining high energy levels. Dry fruits contain the right blend of unsaturated fats, vitamin B, phosphorus, copper and iron that are good for the proper functioning of the body organs.
Its a simple and yummy recipe that you can prepare it quickly.

Things Needed :

Walnuts : 1 Cup
Almonds : 1 Cup
Milk Powder : 2 Tablespoons.
Sugar : 11/2 to 2 cups
Ghee : 3/4 cup
Saffron : 2 to 3 Rakes.

Method :

1. Soak almonds in hot water and remove the outer skin. Grind it with little water til paste and remove from the mixture.

 2. Dry grind walnuts and keep it aside.

3. Put sugar in a big pan. Add 1/3 cup of water and mix sugar nicely and let it melt.
4. Keep this sugar mixture on the fire.(Low flame).
5. Add ground almonds, powdered walnuts and mix it well. Add a spoon of ghee.

6. Keep stirring until it thickens. Add ghee little by little.
6. Add milk powder and stir until it leaves the pan. 

7. Stir it turns as one ball consistency. Add remaining ghee and saffron rakes and mix it nicely.

8. Remove from the fire and put it on a ghee applied tray. Let it turn warm.

9. Cut them in to small pieces according to your wish and serve.

Note :

You can use milk to grind soaked almonds. See that not much of water or milk is added while grinding.
If the water or milk is more then you need to spend more time on stirring till it turns thick. (it takes more time to be thick
Adding more ghee is added to taste. Try it on low flame to get good burfi.
Time : 30 minutes.
Serves : At least 25 pieces. (Depending upon to the size of the burfi).

Amtekai (Hog Plum) Pickle

Pickle is a spicy dish. Varieties of pickles are available in the market under so many labels. But still its worth having home made pickle at home. We all know pickle goes hand in hand with almost all the main dish. It is one of the must side dish with curd rice. Parothas need pickle along with curd. Pickle -Ghee and bowl of hot rice is excellent. And when your curry or side dish turn bad pickle comes as handy. So pickle is one of the must dish one should try and prepare home made pickles. We can make pickle with raw mango, tender mango, lemon, mixed vegetables (carrots, cauliflower etc)

Pickle is known in different names in different parts of India. In Karnataka we call it as uppinakai. Tamil-oorgai, Telugu- oorugaya/pachadi and in Hindi its Achaar. In Tulu it is known as Uppad. In Marati it is lonache, Konkani-adgai and in Gujarati it is athanu.
The method of preparing pickle differ one from one state to another. In some places they sun dry the mango or lemon or whatever they use for pickle. In South Canara we do not do that. There is a traditional way to prepare pickle and it does stay for years.
Here I have tried Hog Plum pickle. I did not get the very tender hog plum. Using the tender ones are always better. I got little big one. So I had to cut them into pieces to make pickle. But the seed was not hard either. It is not easy to cut once the hog plum grow bigger since its seeds turns as hard and it is not so good to put pickle because we do not get much pieces.
Lets see the recipe :

Ingredients :

Hog plum : 1 K.G
Salt : 3 to 4 Tablespoons
Chilly Powder : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Mustard Seeds : 2 Tablespoons
Methi /Fenugrik Seeds : 1 Teaspoon
Oil (Any cooking oil) : 1 Tablespoon
Ingh/Asafoetida  : a pinch
Turmeric powder : a pinch

Method:

1. Wash and let it dry nicely. Clean the water in a fresh dry kitchen towel.

2. Cut them into pieces.

3. Take a big bowl. Add 11/2 Tablespoons of salt. Put the cut hog plum pieces into salt and mix it well.

4. Leave this mixture of hog plum pieces with salt for a day. ( Mix it well once in between).

5. Now keep a big pan on the fire. Add a glass of water. Add 2 tablespoons of salt.

  6. Add the salt which hog plum pieces are kept. Let the salt water boil nicely for 4 to 5 minutes.
 7. Put off the fire and add cut pieces which are soaked in salt water. Let it cool.

  8. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Dry roast methi/fenugrik seeds till they turn brown.

9. Put off the fire and add mustard seeds. Let it cool.

 10. Now grind mustard seeds, methi seeds and chilly powder using boiled salt water. Use little salt water while grinding.

 11. Mix this ground spice with chilly powder to the salted pickle.Mix it well.

 

12. Keep a small pan on the fire. Heat and add oil. Add little mustard seeds (1/2 spoon) and ingh. Let the mustard seeds splutter.
13. Add this mustard seeds mixture to the pickle. Let it completely cool.

 

14. Shift the ready pickle to a glass bottle.

Note :

Keeping the pickle in the fridge is always safe. Even though you use dry utensils some time it may get fungus because of the moisture.
Adding more oil is optional. Just use one more tablespoon of oil on the top of pickle and then cover it tightly. Use salt according to your taste. You can also use only mustard seeds (optional). Methi/ Fenugrik seeds help the pickle to reduce heat (body heat) in it. It also adds taste to the pickle. Just one teaspoon of methi will do. If you use more methi, pickle may turn bitter. Adding more chilly is also optional.
Time  : 1 Day + 30 minutes.
Serves : 1 Big bottle.