Nan Khatai -An Indian Flavoured Cookie

Only after entering the blogging field ,I came to know about these delicious cookies-Nan Khatai. Also I read that these  cookies are made during festivals like Diwali in the north part of our country.They are more Indian in flavour as we use gram flour or besan ,ghee and cardamom to make these cookies.The pistachios on top add a very nice crunch to these nan khatais .So I made these during last Diwali for the first time and everyone at home enjoyed it a lot.

Preparation time:40 mins

Makes about 25 cookies

Ingredients:

Maida or All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Whole Wheat Flour or atta- 1/2 cup
Besan Or Gram flour - 1/2 cup
Melted Ghee - 1/2 cup
Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Milk - 2 tbsp
Pistachios -few

Procedure:

1.Sift all the flours along with the baking powder and the baking soda in a bowl.Grind the cardamom pods with the sugar in a mixer to a fine powder.

2.Transfer the sugar and cardamom mixture to the flours and mix well. 

3.Chop the pistachios finely and add the melted ghee to the flour mixture and mix well .

4.Mix well and gather it to make a dough.If the dough is too dry then you can add a tsp

of milk.

5.Take a small amount of the dough and make a ball and press it slightly in the form of a cookie. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180 degree C .Top each cookie with few pistachios and line it on the baking tray .

6.Bake them for 18-20 mins at 180 C till it is done and bottom of the cookie is golden brown .

7.The delicious and crunchy Nan Khatais are ready to be served.After it cools down transfer the cookies to an air tight container .

Tips:

• You can make these cookies with only maida and besan alone.In that case replace whole wheat flour with maida.
•  You can add melted butter to make these but ghee adds a rich and desi flavour to the Nan Khatais .

Rose Falooda shots

A long time craving of mine has been satiated finally! Yes,I love faloodas and always wanted to try once at home. Of course I didn't have the long and slim glasses for falooda but still wanted to go ahead with it and voila -Rose Falooda Shots! The sabja seeds are a natural way too cool your body and has many medicinal properties too.This is a great way to add them to your diet. It's very simple to make and ideal to beat the summer heat!

Preparation time :30 mins 

Makes 5 shots 

Ingredients:

Full cream milk-1/2 Litre

Rose milk essence-3 drops

Sugar-5 tbsp or more if you are sweet toothed

Sabja seeds or chia seeds - 3 tbsp

Boiled vermicelli -1/2 cup

Mixed nuts-3 tbsp

Vanilla icecream -as required

Procedure :

1.Boil the milk and simmer it for ten minutes in a thick bottomed vessel.Add the sugar and stir it till it dissolves .Add the rose milk essence.Mix well and refrigerate the mixture.

2.Soak the sabja seeds in water till it turns transparent on the outside .Keep the boiled vermicelli ready too.

3.Dry roast the mixed nuts till it turns light golden in colour.

4.Now take the small glass cups ,add a spoon of soaked sabja seeds and boiled vermicelli .Then add the rose milk up-to three quarters of the glass.

5.Lastly add a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and top it with roasted nuts and serve immediately .Enjoy the cool and yummy Rose Falooda Shots.

Tips:

• I didn't add jelly,you can add it if you wish.
• You can add cut fruits also to the Falooda.
• I have added only cashew and almonds.You can use pistachio ,pecans and walnut too .

Chettinad Ribbon Pakoda(Fried Rice Flour Crisps)

I am a great fan of the culinary expert Mrs.Revathi Shanmugam. My mom used to try a lot of her recipes and tells me to try it too.One such delectable and delicious recipe is this chettinad ribbon pakoda which is made of par boiled rice. I was so determined to make this dish and Diwali and successfully made it as well. It came out very crispy and tasty that it got over in 2 days.My son loves it and I too joined him in munching these awesome ribbon pakodas. Unlike the regular ribbon pakodas which are made of gram flour these pakodas are light in colour and have a unique flavour. They were too crunchy.

 Ingredients:

Par boiled rice -2 cups

Fries gram dal -1/2 cup

Sago or Javvarisi -1/4 cup

Green chilies-3 no

Hing or asafetida -1 tsp

Coconut milk thick-1/2 cup

Salt-to taste

Refined oil -to deep fry

Procedure :

1.Soak the par boiled rice for 6 hours and grind it in a wet grinder to a thick paste by adding minimum water.To this paste add the coconut milk and mix well .Dry roast the fried gram for a few minutes till nice aroma arises.Keep it aside .

2.In the same wok,add the sago and roast it till it gets slightly puffed up.

3.Powder the fried gram and sago in a mixer to a fine powder.Add it to the ground rice mixture along with asafetida or hing and salt.

4.Grind the green chillies and strain the juice to the rice paste mixture.Mix well and bring it together to a pliable dough.(adding no or little water)

5.Take a small amount of the dough and use a ribbon pakoda press to make the ribbon pakodas.

6.Heat oil in a wok and turn the heat to medium once the oil is heated.Use the press and add the pakodas to the oil and fry them till the oil sound reduces or it is cooked well.

7.Remove them oil and store it in an air tight container.Crispy and yummy Chettinad Ribbon Pakoda is ready.

Tips:

*Use very less water to grind the parboiled rice.If water content is more then we wont be able to make pakodas as the dough will be too watery.

*Roast the sago till it slightly puffs up,if not the pakodas wont be crispy.

*You can add sesame seeds for added flavour.