Rava Laddoo

Rava Laddoo is a popular Indian dessert made during festivals in India especially during Diwali. These sweet  balls is made from Rava (Sooji/Semolina) and is mixed with nuts which gives it a crunchy goodness. Thanks to my mom-in-law for this sweet and delicious dish.

Recipe:
Ingredients:

Rava (a.k.a Semolina/Sooji) - 2 cup
Sugar - 1.5 cup
Ghee - 8 tsp
Coconut - 1 cup
Cardamom - 6
Cashew - 1/2 cup
Raisins - 25 (1 per laddoo as a topping)
Milk - 1/2 cup

This gives 25 laddoos.


Preparation:

1. Dry roast the coconut to remove the moisture.
2. Heat Ghee in a pan and add rava and cashews. Let it fry well. Keep stirring continuously so that it doesn't burn.
3. Add the dry roasted coconut and mix well.
4. Meanwhile, peel the cardamom and make a powder of sugar and the cardamom. Add the powder to the coconut, rava mixture above.
5. This powder is dry upto this stage and you cannot make balls. So we add the milk after which we should be able to easily make those balls. So add milk and mix well.
6. Make balls and while making the balls add a raising to each ball.

Rava Laddoos are ready!

Dahi Arbi

Taro Root cooked in yogurt and infused with spices - that is Dahi Arbi for you. I don't remember ever eating this vegetable in my childhood, but I have heard a lot about it. So when I stumbled upon Arbi (Taro Root) in the Grocery Store, I really wanted to give it a try and was looking up recipes on how to cook this veggie. Luckily, I stumbled upon a recipe for this on Vege Cravings blog and I've loved it so much that everytime we get Arbi, I end up making Dahi Arbi. This curry goes amazingly well with Chapati, but you can also eat it as a side to Pulao. Here is the version of recipe that I tried and wanted to put it on this blog as a collection of my favorite food recipes.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Arbi/Taro Roots - 8 (peeled and boiled)
Tomato - 1
Yogurt - 3 tbsp
Green Chilly - 3
Ginger - 1/2 tsp (Grated)
Oil - 4 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 0.5 tsp
Guralla Seeds - 3 tsp
Ajwain (Carom Seeds) - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds (Methi Seeds) - 1/4 tsp
Fennel Seeds (Saunf) - 1 tsp
Amchur Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel Arbi and boil it in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
2. After it is pressure cooked, let it cool and cut it into small cubes.
3. Now, take 3 tsp oil in a pan and shallow fry the Arbi till it is crispy and has a golden brown color. Keep it aside.
4. In another pan, take the remaining oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, nigella seeds, ajwain, methi seeds, fennel seeds and hing. Let it crackle.
5. Add tomato and let it fry for a few mins until it mashes.
6. Then add the spices - turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, amchur powder and salt.
7. Now, add the yogurt and stir it. Switch off the flame and add the fried Arbi.

Dahi Arbi is ready to be served with Chapati or Peas Pulao

Note:  Guralla seeds look like Shahi Jeera and are only found in Karnataka.