Ingredients :
1 cup Badam (i.e)Almonds
4 to 6 cups milk (3%fat)
1/2 cup sugar (as desired to taste)
½ tsp saffron
a small pinch Kesari powder

Method :
Soak saffron in little cold milk, and keep aside.
Soak badam in hot water for at least 1 hour.
Peel skin and grind the almond into a fine paste adding little milk  instead of water. 
Cook the badam paste on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes and keep on stirring it constantly, till the flavour comes out.
Add in sugar and keep stirring.
Add the remaining milk, and boil for 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the soaked saffron.
Tasty badam kheer is ready to serve.
Garnish with chopped almonds, and serve cold since it taste’s great.

This recipe has been in my family for years  and my mom prepares this  special SouthIndian dessert with cashewnuts and raisins on most festive occasions and it tastes great!

“Paal” means Milk.The method is the same to make paal payasam,the main ingredient can vary it can be rice or sago or vermicelli.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice- 1/2 cup
Whole Milk -  2%fat or more-1 litre
Sweetened Condensed milk- to taste(optional) if you don’t add sugar
Clarified butter or ghee-1-2 tablespoon
Saffron- a pinch
Cardomom- 4-5 pods crushed
Cashewnuts whole- 10( roast them with a little unsalted butter to light brown)
Raisins- 10( roast them with a little unsalted butter till they pop up slightly on low heat)

Method:

In a cook and serve pan.Heat a teaspoon of unsalted butter or ghee and  cook rice  in whole milk.Leave to boil  on medium heat till half done and then to minimum heat,cover with lid.After 20 minutes the rice is soft,now add condensed milk,cardomom powder,a pinch of saffron and the fried cashewnuts and raisins.

Low-fat milk does not thicken as well as whole milk does. Skim milk is also fine. Serve hot or cold!

This came out nice as expected.Quick and tasty!

Ingredients:
Onions-1
Peas- frozen summer sweet peas-200g
Basmati rice-1cup
Garlic powder-1tsp
Ginger powder-1tsp
Olive Oil-2-3 tablespoon
Cumin-1tsp
Pepper-1tsp
Coriander-a bunch(finely chopped)
Cashewnuts-10 (fry them separately in oil or butter until golden brown)

Method:
Quarter one small onion,or half a medium, and cut into julienne.In a cook and serve pan,heat oil,add cumin and pepper;add onions with a touch of salt to draw out the juices and saute over medium heat until slight brown.Add in peas,ginger and garlic powder and saute.Put in the basmati rice,saute.Add in one and half cups of water and salt to taste. Cook over medium heat for five minutes and then covered on min heat until done.Garnish with coriander and cashews.
Serve hot with cucumber raita.

With the Hindu Newyear coming in just a few weeks from now(April 14),it seems an apt time for this recipe.As in all Hindu festivals, sweets are made during this day. The most important one is the Chakra Pongal, which is a sweet rice. Here goes the recipe

Ingredients:
Long Grain Basmati Rice 1 cup
Moong Dhal(yellow lentils) 1cup
Melted Butter (Ghee)  1/4 to 1/2 cup
Powdered Jaggery 1 cup
Powdered Ginger 1/2 tsp
Cardamom Powder 1/2 tsp
Cashew Nuts (whole) 10 or as desired
Raisins 10

Method:
In a cook and serve pan,add 2 tablespoons of ghee, and cook rice and moong dhal with water until well done. Fry cashews and raisins in ghee until golden brown and keep aside. Boil jaggery with 5 tablespoons of water until it dissolves and becomes clear and thick(remove sediments if any). Add cooked rice and dhal,ginger powder to the jaggery and keep stirring on low heat until well mixed. Add remaining ghee in spoonfuls and continue stirring. Add powdered cardamom and mix well. Mix in fried raisins and cashews. Serve hot.

Tastes great!

Poori is a deep-fried traditional indian bread.It’s yummy and tastes great with potato gravy.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup warm water
oil for deep frying

Method:
In a bowl mix in the flours and salt.Add in one tablespoon of oil and mix;mix in enough amount of the water to make a soft and pliable dough.Rub over the remaining one tablespoon of oil,cover with a plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into small round balls.With a rolling-pin,roll each ball out to  3-inch rounds, keeping unrolled balls and finished rounds covered under a  cloth.
In a deep frying pan fry in the poori’s. Keep patting top of pooris gently with a  spoon as they cook in order to make them puff up. Deep fry until slight brown in color. Serve hot with a favorite curry or  gravy .