Pooram Poli... The sweet dish

The sweet dish for that sweet tooth...

Ingredients

• 2 cup rice flour
• 2 cup water
• 1 small pinch of salt

For the filling

• 2 tbsp paneer
• 1 tbsp ground sugar
• 1 tbsp mawa
• 1 tsp chiraunji
• 1 tsp chopped almonds, pistachio, cashew nuts
• 1 tsp raisin

For the milk syrup

• 1 kg milk
• 2 tbsp mawa
• 3 tbsp mixed chopped dryfruit
• 1 tsp green cardamom powder
• few strands of kesar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp caramelised sugar

Method:
To make pooram poli

1. Boil the 2 cups of water
2. Add the rice flour gradually, stirring constantly, till all the flour has been absorbed
3. Remove.knead while still hot
4. Take small portions and make cups with your hands
5. Stuff with paneer, mawa filling
6. Close tight but gently with finger tips shaping into crescents
7. Heat 2 glasses of water
8. Place a sieve covered by thin muslin cloth
9. Place the rice flour crescents on cloth and steam for 10 minutes
10. Place in serving dish.
11. Pour the thickened milk syrup and garnish with chopped dryfruits
12. Lace with dissolved kesar and elaichi powder
13. Serve chilled

To make milk syrup

1. Boil milk
2. Add the mawa ,dissolving it into milk.
3. Boil till half the milk remains
4. Cool.add 2 tbsp of chopped dryfruit.
5. Dissolve kesar strands in 1 tbsp of hot milk
6. Add to cooled milk
7. Add the elaichi pwd
8. Pour over rice crescents
9. Garnish with rest of chopped dryfruits
10. Chill and serve
    

Corn Curry

Amazing summer time delight for those vegetarian guests...
This is also called Akkhakand (Story of the corn) in some regions.

Ingredients:

• 9 medium sized corn on cob
• 2 cups thick curd
• 1 cup ghee
• 6 garlic pods
• 1" daalchini
• 1leaf tejpatta
• 2 cloves
• 1 long dry red chilly
• 1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
• salt to taste
  

Method:

1. Break or cut 3 of the corncobs into 9 pcs
2. Deep fry these till golden, in the 1 cup ghee
   
3. Grate the remaining 6 corncobs and keep aside (Beti: I simply used the canned corn and washed it thoroughly before grinding thickly)
   
4. Mix in 1 cup curd, turmeric pwd, crushed garlic and salt with the grated corn.
5. Smoothen the other cup of curd and keep aside
   
6. Heat leftover ghee in a medium depth non-stick pan or wok. Add the cloves, daalchini, tejpatta red chilli
7. Add the grated corn and dahi etc mixture
   
8. Saute till it thickens (Ma: Make sure it is thick gravy but not thick enough to get lumpy. Keep stirring it to make sure the consistency remains good)
   
9. Add rest of curd and the fried corn pieces
10. Add some water and cook for 5 minutes
11. Serve hot with lemon juice and tandoori roti/haath ka roti/naan

Ma: This dish is a real lip-smacker

Beti: Mom, to cut the amount of ghee used, I steam the bhutta in a pressure cooker before frying it. I wipe each cob with ghee and saute it in a non-stick shallow pan for a while till the entire thing turns brownish.

Ma: That is an excellent way of doing it but for parties etc where this dish becomes the main course and you need some heavy food, try not to cut on the ghee too much. This dish is made for around 8 to 12 people which means very little ghee goes to each individual.

Beti: This has been my forever faviorite Mom. Thanks

ANGAAKDI

Ma: This almost flat bread looks exotic and ethnic at the same time. You can serve it with daal or with accompaniments and make a great meal. The best part: Prepare it a day before the party and simply shove it in the oven during the party.

Beti: It may seem a bit compicated to begin with but the only challenge is the part when you pinch the bread and figure out the right temperature for the same.

ANGAAKDI

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb whole wheat flour(aata)
• 1tbsp besan (gram flour)
  
• 1 cup ghee
• 1 tsp salt

METHOD:

1. Mix aata ,besan and salt.
2. Rub in 1/2cup of ghee
3. Add enough water to make stiff dough.
4. Divide into small portions and roll into balls.
5. Roll out rounds with rolling pin (approx. 1 mm thick, around 4" in diam)
6. Heat on preheated hot tawa (try using iron ka tawa if you can)
   
7. When it is very lightly heated (very light brown) flip it over and heat till it is fairly well done on this side
8. Remove from heat and pinch with thumb and forefinger on lightly baked side while it is still hot (Please be careful not to burn the fingers)
9. Preheat oven/grill/tandoor to 250 degree Fahrenheit/medium heat
10. Bake till they become nicely brown
    
11. Remove dip in gently heated ghee and serve with panchratni daal (recipe coming up soon)