Saffron Infused Broken Wheat Pudding | Keshari Dalia Kheer | Keshari Godhambu Rava Payasam

Onam, one of the primary festivals of Kerala state of Indian sub continent and all Malayalies is a 10-days long celebration which normally fall towards the end of monsoon. Not only in Kerala, but this festival is also celebrating in all over the world where Malayalies are living. Among these 10 days rich and healthy harvest festival, the first (Atham) and the last (Thiruvonam) are the most important. During these days, people living away return home to be with their families, work is kept to a strict minimum and most of the time is spent in prayers, feasting, dances and celebrations. A beautiful aspect of Onam is the lovely pookalams or rangolis made with fresh flowers. 

A traditional breakfast menu of steamed bananas and fried poppadums is enjoyed each day. The Thiruvonam feast is of great importance and a must-have for all Keralites. Mainly it consists of a variety of curries and delicacies besides the well-known avial, sambar, rasam and of course, the sweet rice pudding called payasam. Well, since Onam is approaching soon (this year it's starting from 15th aug), the Foodie Monday Blog Hop group has decided to celebrate the festival, Onam. Hence the 157th theme of the group is 'Onam Recipes'.

Among the whole celebrations, a remarkable feature of this festival is the Onam Sadya which means "Grand feast". This sadya traditionally comprises of 26 / more vegetarian dishes and is typically served over a banana leaf. The entire gathering is served one dish at a time, starting with salt, upperi and sharkara varatti, followed by all the other dishes, rice and ending with payasam. This is the one day when Keralites gladly denounce their love for meat 😉. 

So for theme, I have come up with a payasam using dalia / broken wheat / godhambu rava, but infused with saffron / keshar as 'Saffron Infused Broken Wheat Pudding / Keshari Dalia Kheer'. This is an easy and healthy sweet dish. I have used saffron infused milk for making this pudding / kheer. Once this payasam comes to room temperature, it thickens a bit, so the desired consistency can be adjusted accordingly by adding more milk or water. In both cold / warm stage this payasam tastes so delicious.

Do try this so flavorful n utterly delicious Saffron Infused Broken Wheat Pudding / Keshari Dalia Kheer / Keshari Godhambu Rava Payasam for upcoming festive celebration. If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also kindly give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as #firsttimercook on Instagram. You may also follow me on Facebook,  Pinterest,  Twitter,  Google+,  
Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

Preparation Time : 5 mins |  Cooking Time : 20 mins

Ingredients :        

Ingredients	Measurements
Broken wheat (dalia)	1 cup
Sugar	1 cup
Milk	2 cup
Cashew	2 tbsp
Raisin	2 tbsp
Saffron	Generous pinch
Cardamom powder	1-2 tsp
Ghee	1 tbsp
Water	2-3 cup

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Method :

1. First soak saffron strands in 1 tablespoon of warm milk and keep aside.
2. In a heavy bottomed pan start boiling milk.
3. Wash the broken wheat thoroughly for 4-5 times.
4. Pressure cook the washed broken wheat along with 2-3 cup of water over medium heat until thoroughly cooked and keep aside.
5. Next add sugar to the boiling milk and stir well. The sugar'll start to melt soon.
6. Then add the cooked broken wheat / dalia to the boiling milk.
7. Mix properly and allow to cook over low heat.
8. In another pan fry cashews and raisins with ghee and add to the dalia-milk mixture.
9. Also add cardamom powder, saffron milk mixture and stir well everything to well incorporated.
10. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes more.
11. Turn off heat and serve this delicious pudding warm or chilled.

Notes :

• Jaggery can be used instead of sugar here.
• This kheer or pudding thickens immediately after preparation, so adjust accordingly by adding more milk or water to get the desired consistency.
• The ratio of water and milk used here can be adjusted.

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Nadia Bara Tarkari | Coconut Cutlet Curry (without onion n garlic)

Coconut, Sriphala is a fruit which belongs to the Cocos nucifera palm. This mature nut, Coconut has slowly become a versatile food and are being used in everything from our daily cuisine to our beauty regimens. Hundreds of coconut species are found all over India and its taste varies according to its soil alkalinity. Those who believe in the healing powers of natural ingredients would probably know about the health benefits of coconut. Indian households have been using the goodness of coconut in various forms over generations.

Coconuts are highly nutritious, rich in fiber and packed with essential vitamins and minerals. Well, in Odia cuisine an authentic curry is prepared using this versatile nut as Nadia Bara Tarkari / Coconut Cutlet Curry. This is very easy to prepare as well as tastes so delicious. Here I have prepared without using onion and garlic. Authentic recipe of this dish always uses the coconut cutlet along with some potato cubes, but I don't prefer to add potato while preparing. Since this version is without onion n garlic, so anyone can opt during any festival as well.

So do try this without onion n garlic nadia bara tarkari / coconut cutlet curry. If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as #firsttimercook on Instagram. You may also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

Preparation Time : 15 mins  |  Cooking Time : 30 mins 

Ingredients :        

Ingredients	Measurements
For coconut cutlet
Coconut (grated)	1 cup
Rice flour	3-4 tbsp
Gram flour (besan)	1 tbsp
Cumin seed	1 tsp
Ginger (grated)	½ tsp
Green chili	2-3 no
Salt	as needed
Oil	For shallow frying
For ground masala
Ginger	1 inch
Tomato	2-3 no
Cumin seed	2 tsp
Poppy seed	3 tsp
Cardamom pod	2-3 no
Cinnamon	1 inch
For curry
Coconut milk (thick)	¼ cup
Asafoetida	1 pinch
Bay leaf	1 no
Cumin seed	½ tsp
Cumin powder	1 tsp
Coriander powder	1 tbsp
Red chili powder	½ tsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Garam masala powder	½ tsp
Oil	As needed
Salt	As needed
Water	As needed

Method :

1. In a mixing bowl take finely grated coconut, rice flour, besan, finely chopped green chilies, cumin seeds, grated ginger and salt.
2. Mix everything well, make 1-2 inch size balls and press each ball gently to give cutlet shape.
3. In a nonstick pan, heat oil and shallow fry each coconut cutlet till both side of the cutlets turn light golden brown in color.
4. Transfer to a plate and keep aside.
5. In a blender jar put roughly chopped tomato, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, roughly chopped ginger, crushed cinnamon, cardamom pod and make a fine paste.
6. Now heat oil in a kadhai or deep pan. 
7. Add in asafoetida, cumin seeds, bay leaf and allow to crackle.
8. Next add the prepared masala paste along with turmeric powder and salt.
9. Stir well and allow to cook till raw smell goes away while stirring in between.
10. Then add coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder and saute till the whole masala mixture starts to thicken and the oil starts to separate.
11. Add 2-3 cup water and give a nice stir.
12. Cover and allow to cook the whole gravy for 5 minutes.
13. Next add coconut milk, mix well and turn off heat.
14. Put the fried coconut cutlet in the gravy and keep aside for 5-10 minutes.
15. Then serve along with steamed rice or roti or paratha !!

Notes :

• While preparing the gravy, make it a little watery than the desired consistency as the fried coconut cutlet'll absorb the gravy part.
• In place of rice flour, normal rice can be used. Just soaked and grind the rice to use along with grated coconut.
• Some cashew chunks can be added while grinding the masala paste.

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This 'Nadia Bara Tarkari or Coconut Cutlet Curry (without onion n garlic)' is contributed for 50th Healthy Wellthy Cuisines where the theme is 'CoconutTimeatHW'.

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Tofu Dumpling Stir-fry

Well the Foodie Monday Blog Hop group of this week has come up with 152th theme as 'Asian cuisine'. Asia, being the largest and most populous continent, has many different influences, flavors and cultures and many of which have their own characteristic cuisine. The whole Asian cuisine includes several major regional cuisines as East Asian, Southeast Asian, Western Asian, Central Asian and South Asian. Ingredients common to these regional cuisine include ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, soy, rice, tofu etc. Stir frying, steaming are the most common cooking methods.

Among all the Asian cuisines, Chinese cuisine is my all time favorite which falls under East Asian cuisine. Even the Chinese dishes are very popular in most Asian countries. Chinese food includes a large variety of ingredients. The emphasis is on fresh, seasonal ingredients, prepared with a minimum of fuss and beautifully balanced for color, texture and presentation. Some staple foods of this cuisine are rice, chow mein, tofu etc where as under vegetables Chinese cabbage, spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, eggplant etc comes. Also pork, beef, mutton, chicken, duck, pigeon as well as many other animals falls under 
non-vegetarian category. 

So when the theme of the foodie Monday group is decided to make from Asian cuisine, hence I chose my favorite Chinese food for contribution. With the use of tofu, I have come with Tofu Dumpling Stir fry. Tofu is a food of Chinese origin. It is basically made from soy milk, water and a curdling agent. Tofu contains little fat and is high in protein, calcium as well as iron. Since ancient times, this has been a staple of Chinese and Asian cuisine and has recently become a popular ingredient used in Western vegetarian dishes too.

The whole method of preparation of these stir fried dumplings is bit time taking still easy and one'll surely enjoy overall. First a filling of tofu along with cabbage I have prepared. Then some cute dumplings are created having those fillings. Those dumplings are then fried and steamed a little bit and then finally fried along with some sliced baby corn and carrot and seasoned with some sauces. These stir fried vegetarian dumplings are so delicious. These are the perfect snack, side dish or appetizer. These dumplings are totally vegan, but any other meat fillings can be opted too. 

So do try these Tofu Dumpling Stir-fry for your next party appetizer. If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also kindly give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as #firsttimercook on Instagram. You may also follow me on Facebook,  Pinterest,  Twitter,  Google+,  Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

Preparation Time : 1 hr  |  Cooking Time : 30 mins

Ingredients :        

Ingredients	Measurements
Dumpling wrap
All purpose flour	¾ cup
Warm water	¼ cup
Salt	1 pinch
Dumpling filling
Tofu (well pressed & crumbled)	1 cup
Cabbage (diced small)	¼ cup
Ginger (finely grated)	¼ tsp
Garlic clove (minced)	1 no
Spring onion (white part) (finely chopped)	1 no
Soy sauce	1 tbsp
Red chili flake	1 pinch
Salt	As needed
For stir frying
Carrot (sliced)	½ cup
Baby corn (sliced)	½ cup
Spring onion (chopped)	2 no
Ginger (grated)	½ tsp
Garlic clove (minced)	1 no
Vinegar	1 tbsp
Hoisin sauce	¼ cup
Soy sauce	1.5 tbsp
Salt	As needed
Oil	2 tbsp
Sesame seed (roasted)	As needed

​
Method :

Dumpling Wrap :

1. In a mixing bowl first take all purpose flour and salt. Mix well.
2. Pour the warm water and start stirring using a fork or chopsticks until a dough like structure will form.
3. Using hand knead for around 10 minuted or till a smooth texture of the dough comes out.
4. Cover the bowl and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

Filling of dumpling :

1. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan.
2. Add in finely grated ginger, minced garlic and saute a bit.
3. Then add finely chopped white part of the spring onion, well crumbled tofu, finely diced cabbage and saute for a few minutes.
4. When the tofu is perfectly cooked add soy sauce, red chili flakes, salt and mix everything well.
5. Again cook for 1-2 minutes minutes.
6. Turn off heat and allow to cool the filling completely.

Dumpling :

1. Now take out the resting dough on a work surface dusted with flour.
2. Knead a bit and make 1 inch size balls out of the dough.
3. Take 1 ball and roll into 3-4 inch round shape on a floured surface.
4. Put 1-2 tsp of filling on the center of the round wrap.
5. Then fold the edges of the wrap in a pleated manner to give any desired dumpling shape.
6. Similarly prepare dumplings from rest dough balls.
7. Take a pan and heat 1 tbsp oil.
8. Place all the dumplings in the pan, but don't overcrowd. These can be fried in batches if pan size is small.
9. Allow to fry for 3-4 minutes over low-medium heat.
10. Then pour few tablespoon of water into the pan until the bottoms of the dumplings are just covered.
11. Cover the pan with a lid and steam over low heat until the water is evaporated.
12. Now transfer the dumplings to a plate and keep aside.

Stir frying :

1. Wipe out the pan and heat 1 tbsp oil.
2. Add sliced carrot and fresh baby corn.
3. Saute a bit and then add 3-4 tbsp of water into the pan.
4. Cover the pan and allow to cook until veggies become tender a bit.
5. Then remove the lid and add minced garlic cloves, freshly grated ginger, salt, dumplings and saute for 1 minute.
6. Next add soy sauce, hoisin sauce and vinegar. 
7. Gently flip everything a few times so that the dumplings and vegetables are well coated with the sauce.
8. Turn off heat and sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds.
9. Serve and enjoy immediately !

Notes :

• The dough must not be too soft, otherwise it will be difficult to make the wrapper of the dumplings.
• Do not add too much salt to the filling, because the salt'll extract liquid from the vegetables and the fillings'll turn too wet.
• Addition of roasted sesame seed is optional. I like the roasted flavor, so added. But the normal sesame seed work well too.
• Some finely chopped spring onions can be sprinkled before serving.

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