Gulab Semiya Kheer (Rose vermicelli kheer)

Mild sweet dish with a tempting rose fragrance, makes Gulab Semiya Kheer a divinely delicious dish. I came across this recipe in 101 diet dishes by Nita Mehta. The original recipe is a rice kheer flavored with rose. I replaced rice with vermicelli and was delightfully satisfied with the result. I had bookmarked this recipe almost a year back but I got to try it only recently when mom got these lovely paneer roses. The roses were fresh and had a wonderful fragrance. It is a very simple recipe and if you get these paneer roses, do try it out! So if you do not prefer high calorie loaded sweets for the festive season, then this is the best dish for you!

Thinai Payasam | Foxtail millet Kheer

Recently, at home, we have started including a variety of millets in our daily cooking. Mom makes tasty and healthy dishes like upma, dosa, pongal etc with millets! So, as we gear up for the festive season of Navarathiri, I decided to try out something sweet with foxtail millet (Thinai in Tamil) and came across the recipe in Padhu's Kitchen. I have modified the quantities and proportion according to my preference. If you are looking for a healthy and tasty prasad (divine offering), for the festive occasion, then this is a perfect recipe for you!

INGREDIENTS:

• Foxtail millet/Thinai - 1 measure *
• Water - 4 measures
• Jaggery - 2 measures **
• Ghee - 1 tablespoon
• Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Raisins/Cashewnuts/Almonds - as needed for garnish
• Milk - as needed

* The proportion for Thinai : Water : Jaggery  is 1:4:3 , A quarter cup of Thinai will be perfect to serve 4 (In that case, you need to use 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of jaggery)

** The jaggery I used was sweet enough. So this quantity was perfect for me, you can increase it to 2.5 measures

METHOD:

1. Melt ghee in a pan and fry the cashewnuts, almonds and raisins (I did not add cashews)
2. Remove the nuts from the pan and in the same pan, roast the millet, till a nice aroma arises. You can add more ghee if you wish to
3. Pressure cook the roasted millet with 4 cups of water for 4 whistles
4. In the meanwhile, add a quarter cup of water to jaggery and heat it for 2 minutes. Switch off the flame and allow the jaggery to melt. Then strain the jaggery to remove any impurities
5. Mix the cooked millet, melted jaggery and cook on a medium flame. Allow it to boil well
6. Now add the fried nuts, cardamom powder and remove from heat
7. Add milk according to the consistency and sweetness that you require (I added about half a cup of milk)
8. Serve warm or chilled :)

Ada Pradhaman

Ada Pradhaman is a traditional Kerala dessert, which is made out of ada (rice flakes) and coconut milk. It has a rich texture and tastes divine when served warm :)

I made ada pradhaman for Onam and all of us at home enjoed it!

Recipe Source: mariasmenu.com

Apple Kheer

Happy Raksha Bandhan to all my dear brothers! Here is my sweet treat for this special occasion. 

About two years ago, I had come across this recipe in tarladalal.com and I did it for mothers day with just 2 teaspoons of sugar as my mom is diabetic. Now I have altered it with a little extra sugar for taste and added in more nuts, for the richness!

INGREDIENTS:

• Milk - 1 litre
• Apples - 3 medium
• Sugar - 1/2 cup or more according to your taste
• Almonds - 10
• Pistachios - 10
• Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Saffron strands - 3 - 5

METHOD:

1. Soak almonds in warm water for 15 minutes, remove the skin and finely chop them. Finely chop the pistachios and keep the nuts aside
2. In a heavy bottomed wide pan, boil milk in medium to high flame. This takes about 10 minutes
3. Take two to three tablespoons of warm milk and soak the saffron strands in them. Keep aside
4. Reduce the flame to low-medium and keep stirring the milk. Scrape the sides of the pan in between and stir in the contents
5. Continue this till the milk reduces to half. This takes about 20 minutes
6. In the meanwhile, core and peel the apples. You can either finely chop them or grate them
7. Cook the apples with a cup of water on a medium flame, till the apples get soft (about 10 minutes)
8. Add sugar to the milk that is reduced to half, mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes
9. Drain water from the cooked apples and add the apples to the milk-sugar mixture
10. Finally add the chopped nuts, saffron strands soaked in milk and mix well. Switch off the flame
11. You can either serve this kheer warm or chilled

NOTES:

• You can add a quarter cup of condensed milk to the boiled milk and this will thicken the milk faster. But make sure to reduce the sugar accordingly

Carrot Kheer (Carrot Payasam)

This is a super easy and very tasty kheer/payasam. The sugar that is to be added is also very less compared to the regular kheers/payasams, as the carrots themselves add to the sweetness.

INGREDIENTS

• Medium sized carrots - 6 to 8 
• Milk - 1/2 lt 
• Sugar - 3/4 cup  (depending on the sweetness of carrot and your preference, this can be varied)
• Cardamom powder - 1 Tsp
• Dry grapes, cashew nuts - for garnishing 

METHOD

1. Peel and dice the carrots into cubes. Then pressure cook them with very little water for 1 whistle
2. Let them cool for a while and then grind it into a smooth paste. If you want the kheer to be more rich, then while grinding the carrots you could also add a few soaked and peeled almonds
3. Mix the ground paste, milk and sugar and bring it to boil
4. Remove from flame and add the cardamom powder
5. Fry the cashew nuts and dry grapes in very little ghee and garnish the kheer with the nuts