Gulab jamuns using milk powder

This is my mom's recipe for sometime in years its been long since i had done a post like this one.If you ask me, this is my first recipe fot my basic recipe of Gulab Jamun on my blog, i have heard about paneer jamuns and bread jamuns ..but indian sweets are always science to me. If u dont get it right to the core then its a huge disaster. But i make them whenever possible. I have tried many recipes on my own. But found this to be easy enough to get done easily and quickly. Just for you all to check… 

Coming to these jamuns, they are very easy to get done, but can be tricky as well. If you knead  dough too hard, then you will have hard  jamuns that will refuse to soak up the sugar syrup. So just go really soft. Slowly handle them till smooth, roll balls and fry. You can use any milk powder that you may have in your pantry. It did take me some  couple of tries in the beginning. As said earlier if u get ur ingredients right then all's well.. the jamuns did turn out well, even though i think the pictures could be done  better.  

Ingredients
1 cup milk powder
2 tablespoon plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg large
1 and 1/2 tablespoon ghee

Sugar syrup

2 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 and 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon cardamom  powder

Method 

Boil the water and add sugar. Keep boiling for 10 minutes . Add 1 teaspoon cardamom powder.

Mix all the ingredients together and knead  for 5 minutes.
Make small balls .
You will get 18 small balls.
Heat oil on medium heat
Add the balls and stir continously till brown on all sides.
Place hot jamuns in suryp and let it absorb the sugar  in.
Serve after cooled .

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Bakery style biscuit recipe

Very standard biscuit recipe post. I should have set the title as such . We love home baked goodies . And especially when its biscuit that are taken fresh out of the oven ..their is no escape to reserve any for tomorrow.  I love it. But my family eat them as desserts . You could say three times a day.. breakfast lunch and dinner. 
These are very tricky but very easy to prepare.
Some pointers while baking them .
Oven should be Preheated well .
Temperature should not vary.
Do not over cook . And i really mean it.
Cook till dente .. as the French always say.
Your buscuits may seem a little soft  
And even softer in the centre.. but dont mind.
On cooling you will realise it.
For this biscuit recipe .. i would demand .
Do not add any liquid .
Do as the recipe goes.
For beginners.. just follow the recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Palm oil
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup milk powder
1/2 cup  powdered sugar

Method

Take a  large bowl . The bowl should be clean and dry.
Sift the dry ingredients together .
Add the oil gradually and mix well to a soft dough. Do not add any liquid. 
It will be slightly crumbly in texture .
Make small 'golf ' shaped balls.
Press slightly in the centre just to make a dent .
Bake in preheated oven 170c for 12 minutes.
Let it rest in  the oven for at least 10 minutes after the baking time.
Cool completely on a wire rack .
Store in clean dry containers.

Note 

Do not over bake.
Cookies may be soft . It will harden after cooling.

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Kuzi paniyaram using dosa batter

This is one recipe i always wanted to try out using my idli batter. I make iddlies and we Have for tea and dinner till its over . Along side a big pot of sambar and chutney. As it is good for diabetes mom loves  it too.  Everybody does that, isn’t it? It was by accident that I discovered this recipe. Our refrigerator was not cooling so we had to finish out dosa batter . As tge batter was thin iddlie was out of  menu . I always told mom i needed to make this recipe. But she  was not that sceptical about it. It was easy just toss and temper the batter and pour into the appa chatti . Cook both sides for just two minutes and its done by the the time your tea was on table.
We had it with  seet and spicy sauce.
Umma liked it and she said she would make it once in a while for breakfast too.
As it makes a super quick snack or for breakfast, either way it was great. 

Ingredients 

1 cup iddli batter
2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
1 teaspoon pepper corns.
2 teaspoon green chillies
2 tablespoon onions chopped
Curry leaves
1 teaspoon ginger chopped

Method

Heat a pan and add ioil .
Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
Add the rest of the ingredients for temper.
Add to batter and then add  salt.
Give it a good stir.
Add to the batter.
Heat the appa chaati.
Pour tablespoon of batter into the small dips in the pan . Cover and cook for two minutes each side to just a little brown .
Serve with sambar or spicy chutney or sauce .

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Chick peas masala curry

I can assure you that if one person has made up his or her mind on a special diet then thats it. I have one at office stubborn not to eat lunch . I was wondering she is so pretty with her sweet plum face but once this chuby liitle angel looses her chubby cute face she is not going to look  that pretty much . .. i dont  want to be mean or something . But why do young girls go for a death like diet . I told her there are few simple healthy diets . Do try it out. But she  wanted the fastest track possible. I dont blame her . I too did it once. There was a time when it was impossible me to lose weight. So i did the crash diet . And then started working  from there . Yes , i know its very unhealthy but still i went ahead . But later again whatever diet i did never worked for me . And this ti.e it was after having three kids. How am i supposed to cook for blog and do the diet at the same time . One thing i did do was start to eat healthy and eat it right theory. Cut sugar intake and avoid fries at maximum. I already started showing signs of thinner body. Then i skipped yeast and plain flour.. it took me two years. And now i am fit and healthy..Alhamdullillah. and my second brother is doing well with keto diet. I must say it was wonderful seeing such happiness when one has lost a lot weight. 

So much for weight loss  and diets..off to the recipe.
I was getting bored of the usualhimemade kadala curry and so today i made a slight variation . I got the recipe when i went for a function . I went direct to the cook himself  for the recipe and he delivery a good dialogie about how famous his curry was all around the neighborhood..but i felt it was good but  ok..he did boast a little though...
So here it is …

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons ghee
1 bay leaf
1 cardamom
2 cloves
1 small cinamon stick
1 teaspoon Jeera.
2 cups overnight soaked white chickpeas
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
2 green chillies slit
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
Salt to taste
1/2 cup strong black tea.

Method 

1. First heat oil in a panand add  bay leaves, cardamom, cloves . Saute for few minutes .
2. Next add  onions, and cook till soft.
3. Add tomato puree, salt, green chilies,red chili powder.
4. Combine  well and cook  5 minutes.
5. Add chana masala powder,tamarind paste. Stir well 
6. Next  remove tea bags and add water 

 It will saucy . Mix  and cook for couple of minutes .
7. Add cooked chickpeas, kasuri methi, sliced ginger and mix well.
8. Add some water if needed.
9. Cook covered for 20 minutes on medium-low heat.
10. Add sliced onions, and mix well. Remove from heat and cover for 5 minutes.
11. Masala  chole are ready. Serve with any of your flatbread and enjoy.

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Green chilli mango juice

With the summers really peaking in , we have a lot of fluids especially in day times. I always make sure I make a juice, but i try to reduce the sugar i take especially since my family  love some of it at times. My usual craze this season is this special mango juice . I just loved it . Its spicy and tangy with a slight chilli flavour and ofcourse sweet.
Mixed flavors right? .

These days, there are a lot of  mangoes in the market, so obviously this is best choice. A very simple juice combining the goodness of green  mangoes and just dip of chillies. , this is very refreshing when served really cold on a hot day. I usually grind the whole thing especially the juice off the  mangoes  and then place them in the freezer so that they are almost hardening up , just optional ok... I then blitz them up with the ice cubes  so you get a thick pulpy kind of drink .  Do try this combination if you haven’t yet!

Ingredients 

1 green mango
3 tablespoon sugar
A pinch of salt
1/4 inch ginger .
1/2 cup water.

Method 

Cut the green mango to chunks.
Blend everything in mixer grinder and blend smooth.
Refrigerate for an hour .(optional step)
While serving slit a green chilli just for the flavors to seep through the juice.

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Rajma Butter Beans salad

My family is ever evolving!
Veggies that were  most hated is now finally on the home menu. Sometimes, it is good to know if there are any more recipes that are still to be found . I know i have to upload a lot that the blog is lagging behind .. and i have not uploaded on my social media and InShaAllah, I am working on it as it is  time consuming. Anyway, one of them that my Mom has recently been so addicted to was this new recipe ..
Very addictive and simple indeed.
No wonder my kids started having them .
It's very difficult to keep pace with exact nutrients that kids must have .
They hate pulses and beans ...but now this is just what they loved . As long they dwmand for it i am enjoying the fact that are enjoying it too.
We all are salad lovers and ao i was glad when umma said she just mix and matched a few leftovers and found a new recipe.

Coming back to the our salad section ,this is  something mom make regularly. Even though at first zam didnt like it later he just wanted to have for dinner and  loved it . Now i dont have to worry about whether my kids having the right portion plate. While trying to balance everybody’s diet  , this dish becomes a winner for all . I use just store bought beans to make this, no particular brand . Soak overnight  and pressure cook them . I usually pressure cook in large amounts and freeze them and use as when needed. The best part is just tossing everything into the bowl along with a little spice powders that  adds a lot of flavor. The ingredient that brings all in flavor are the green chillies and  black pepper.
Another hinter . I must say its a stress free buster for all working moms . When i come home all messed up and tired .. this is one bowl of homemade goodness that i wait for .. not always but most of the time..

Ingredients

I cup kidney beans / rajma cooked
1cup butter beans cooked
1/2 onion chopped finely
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes chopped finely
1 teaspoon corriander leaves
1 teaspoon pepper powder
A pinch of salt
2 slit green chillies.
1 teaspoon lime juice

Method
Soak beans overnight.
Wash well and pressure cook for 15 minutes in low flame .
Once cooled mix all the ingredients .
Serve warm or cold .

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Instant pickled mango cucumber

Its that part of the year where as a mum i am so busy. As my kids have a series of tests and examinations going on, i fret a lot. They do well all the time .But nowadays its not enough. I sometimes wonder am i over working myself? I want everything perfect. I feel sometimes my staff think of me as a monster. My kids think i am over worked. All this sometimes get on my mental and physical health.  This is unusually rare just because i never felt like this way before. Handling teens is mindblowing in literary sense , at times especially when one has to manage  sibling rivalry but Alhamdullillah Aj helps me a lot of  time. He takes them to classes that are apt on such issues . Balancing their emotions and their needs is very important  so they don't clash with each other. Also sometimes as kids grow up, their behavior do get on our nerves, hehe , it may be too much talk or it could be complaints of other siblings. As a mom of three kids two teens and a 5 year old , i find it really hard to manage their emotions.  Especially when i cannot yell at one and let go of the other... All has to get equal treatment and this is the part of married life that's  the toughest ... i guess.

Today's recipe is my favorite pickled mango  which is  always prepared this time of year .
The mango used for the recipe but is really fleshy one. Vengara palli as the local name goes , its considered to be the king of mangoes. One ripe one could just weigh around 1 kilo . So kick starting this month with a mango recipe .

Ingredients

1 cup mango sliced 

1 cup cucumber diced
Few Slit chillies
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon Vinegar
Boiled Water for soaking..

Method

Just mix all the ingredients at once.
Let it soak for atleast an hour for better results .
This pickle has to be used up within 2 or 3 days .

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