Orange Ice Cream

Ingredients:

Egg yolks: 8

Sugar: 1 cup

Coarse salt: 1/4 tsp

Skim milk: 2 cups

Orange zest: 6 strips

Heavy Cream: 2 cups

Method:

In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt until blended. Gradually whisk in milk.

Cook over medium, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard thickens slightly and evenly coats back of spoon (it should hold a line drawn by your finger), 10 to 12 minutes.

Stir orange zest into custard. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl set over ice. Stir in cream. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until chilled. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer ice cream to a resealable plastic container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

Enjoy Orange Ice Cream

Mutton Pulao ( Pulav )

Ingredients:

Ghee :- 5 tblspn
Oil :- 5 tblspn
Basmati Rice :- 2 cups grams
Mutton / Lamb :- 250 grams
Onions :- 2 large ( chopped thinly )
Green Chilli :- 10 slit (use as per your taste)
Ginger Garlic Paste :- 3 tbsp
Mint Leaves :- 1/2 cup chopped
Coriander Leaves :- 1/2 cup chopped
Garam Masala Powder :- 3 tblspn
Salt to taste
Water :- 2 cup + 2.5 cup (refer notes)

Whole Spices:
Cinnamon / Pattai :- 2 long stick
Fennel Seeds / Sombu :- 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds / Jeelakara :- 1 tsp
Cardamom Pods / Yelakai :- 4
Cloves / Lavanga:- 4
Start Anise :- 1

For Marination:
Ginger Garlic Paste :- 2 tbsp
Lemon Juice :- 2 tbsp
Curd / Yogurt :- 1/2 cup
Garam Masala Powder :- 1 tbsp
Salt :- 1 tsp

Method:

Wash and soak rice for 30 mins. Take mutton in a bowl and add all the marination ingredients. Mix well and let it marinate for 30 mins.

Take the marinated mutton in a pressure cooker and add 2 cups of water. Pressure cook it for 8 whistle, simmer the stove and cook it for 30 mins. Switch off the flame and let the pressure go all by itself. Open the pressure cooker and transfer the cooked mutton to a bowl 

Now in the same cooker add oil and ghee. Add in the whole spices and let it sizzle for a min.

Now add in the onions, green chilli, salt. Fry them in oil till it turns golden.

Now add in ginger garlic paste and saute for a min.

Add in mint and coriander leaves and mix well. 

Now add in the mutton pieces using a slotted spoon so you leave behind any water from it. You will use the water later.

Now fry the mutton pieces in the oil and ghee so it get nice sear and colour. Fry that in ghee for a good 8 to 10 mins.

Now add in the garam masala and fry for a min.

Add in soaked rice and mix well. Pour the leftover marination liquid and water. Mix well.Bring this to a good boil.

Simmer the flame and let it cook on a low heat for 20 to 25 mins. Switch off flame and let the pressure go all by itself, Open the cooker and fluff it up.

Serve with Raita or salad.

Notes:

After cooking the mutton, i got 1/2 cup of water from the mutton cooking liquid. So when i added the rice, I have added 1/2 cup of mutton cooking liquid + 2.5 cup of water. Totally the ratio of rice to water is 1.5 part of water to 1 part rice. So you have to add it accordingly, sometime you will get more cooking liquid then you have to reduce the water quantity

Badam - Mlik Ice Cream

Ingredients needed

   Milk :- 5 cups
   Sugar :-1 cup
   Fresh cream :- 3/4 cup
   Almonds :- 2 tbsp (soak it in hot water and peel the skin)
   Pistachio :- 2 tbsp (soak it in hot water and peel the skin)
   Cashew nuts :- 2 tbsp
   Cardamom (powdered) :-1/4 tsp flat
   Saffron :- few strands

Method:

Grind peeled almonds, pistachio and cashew nuts with a little milk coarsely.

Soak saffron in a tbsp of warm milk and keep it aside.

Steps:

1. Boil milk until it reduces to half the quantity. Keep stirring so that it does not get burnt.

2. Add sugar and let it dissolve.

3. Then add all the nuts, cardamom powder and cook for 3-4 minutes.

4. After it cools, add fresh cream and saffron. Mix well.

5. Pour it into kulfi moulds and freeze. It will take 6-7 hours to set.

If you do not have kulfi moulds, freeze it in an aluminium box.

You can also use corn flour instead of cream, then follow this method

Mix 2 1/2 tsp of corn flour in a little water. Add this after adding nuts ( step -3) and cook for a few minutes or until it starts thickening. Remove from flame, cool and pour it into kulfi moulds and freeze.

Run water (room temperature) around the outside of the mold for a few seconds to remove kulfi from kulfi moulds.

Enjoy the Badam Ice cream

Crispy Chegodilu

Ingredients:

Rice flour: 1 cup

Water: 1 cup

Moong dal/pesara pappu : 1 1/2 tbsps  (soak in water for an hour)

Cumin seeds : 1/2 tbsp

Sesame seeds : 1 tsp

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Ghee or oil : 1 tbsp

salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Boil water, add salt, ghee and moong dal. Add the rice flour, combine with water by stirring it in and turn off heat immediately. Cover with lid and keep aside.

Once it cool, add chilli powder, sesame seeds and cumin seeds and combine with the rice dough. Knead the dough till smooth. Taste the dough for salt before preparing chegodis.

Apply oil to your fingers and pinch a small lemon size ball of the dough and roll into a thick rope which is approx 3-4 inches in length and form a ring by pressing the ends of the rope firmly. So, that they are in circular shape and place lid over them so that they don’t dry.

Heat a wide heavy bottomed vessel with enough oil for deep frying and once the oil is hot, place the chegodis one by one into the hot oil, you will find the oil froth up in bubbles. Let the chegodis fry on high flame till they rise to the surface.

Once the chegodis rise to the surface, turn heat to medium flame and cook the chegodis till they turn a golden shade. Remember the frying has to be done on medium flame to achieve that golden color and crispness. It does take a while to fry the chegodi, hence patience is required. If you reduce flame to low, the chegodis will absorb a lot of oil so remember to keep flame on medium to high.

When they slowly turn to a golden color, turn them over gently to the other side and cook to a golden shade. Use a slotted ladle to remove onto an absorbent paper and cool.

Note:

Cool completely before storing in an air tight metallic container.

Bread Bajji / Bread Pakora / Bread pakodi

Ingredients:

Besan/ kadalai maavu/ gram flour : 1/2 cup 

Rice flour : 1/4 cup 

Cooking soda : 2 pinches 

Asafoetida : A generous pinch 

Ajwain / jeera / Cummins: 1 tsp

Ghee : 1 tsp 

Bread slices : 3 (or as needed) 

Salt : As per taste

Oil :  For deep frying 

Method:

In a mixing bowl, mix besan, rice flour, cooking soda, asafoetida, ajwain/jeera, ghee and salt with water to make a batter. Let the batter be thick but the consistency should be enough to easily spread, coat the bread slices. So adjust the consistency accordingly.

Cut off the edges of the bread.

Take a deep Pan, add oil and heat it.

Dip each piece of bread in the batter and fry in hot oil. Cook both sides over medium flame. For each batch, while dropping the pakoras, keep the flame high.

Fry both sides until golden in colour.

Before Serving drain oil in paper towel.

Tomato Uragaya / Tomato Pickle

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes :– 500gms
• Fenugreek Seeds :– 10gms
• Salt :– As per Taste
• Tamarind :– 50gms
• Turmeric Powder :– 1/4tsp
• Red Chili Powder :– 50gms

For Seasoning:

• Mustard Seeds :– 1tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds :– 1/2tsp
• Asafoetida :– 1/8tsp
• Red Chilies :– 2 (Break Each Chili Into Two Pieces)
• Oil :– 50gms

Method:

Wash & dry tomatoes. Cut each tomato into eight pieces. Similarly cut all the tomatoes into pieces and take them into a dry bowl.

Add turmeric powder and salt to the tomato pieces and mix well. While mixing squeeze the tomato pieces to make them soft and release some juice.

Transfer the tomato pieces along with the juice to a ceramic or glass bowl and cover it. Keep the tomato bowl in a dry place for two days (48 hours).

On the third day squeeze the tomato pieces and separate from the juice. Spread the squeezed tomato pieces in a plate.

To the tomato juice, add tamarind and allow it to soak. Place the juice bowl and tomato pieces plate under sun and dry them.

Cover the juice bowl with a slotted plate to avoid dust falling into it. Dry the tomato pieces till they turn crisp—this may take two or three days, depending upon Sun light. When the tomato pieces are dried till crisp then we can start preparing the pickle.

Now, we need to prepare fenugreek seeds powder. Heat a pan and add the fenugreek seeds and fry them. Grind roasted fenugreek seeds to make a fine powder.

Squeeze and remove the tamarind from the juice.

Spread the tamarind in a plate and remove the seeds and pith if any. Take the tamarind into a mixie jar and grind to smooth paste. If required add some juice for easy grinding of the tamarind. Add this tamarind paste to the juice and mix well.

Now add the dried tomato pieces to the mixie jar and crush them coarsely—this coarse crushing adds some texture and taste to the pickle.

Add this coarsely crushed tomato pieces to the juice and mix well. Now add the red chili powder and roasted fenugreek seeds powder to the juice and mix well. The pickle is ready for seasoning.

Seasoning:

Heat a pan and add oil to it. Add the fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds and fry stirring.

By the time the mustard seeds crackle fully fenugreek seeds change color. Then add the red chili pieces and asafoetida. Before the red chilies turn dark in color add the seasoning to the prepared pickle and mix well.

Keep this pickle aside for two hours and then serve. The bitterness of the fenugreek seeds powder gets balanced with the tamarind-tomato juice and tastes better after two hours.

Serve with plain hot rice and ghee, dosa, utappam, pesarattu, Curd rice etc.

Nimmakai Pachhadi / Lemon Pickle / Nimbu ka Achaar

Ingredients:
Lemon : 4-5 medium Limes

Green Chillies: 5-6, finely chopped ( or as per taste)
Cloves of Garlic: 3 no's, finely chopped
Salt as per taste

Spices:

Red Chilli Powder : 2-3 tsp ( or as per taste )
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds: 1 1/2 tsp

For Tadka/Tempering/Poppu/Seasoning:

Mustard Seeds : 1 tsp
Jeera/Cumin Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida: 1/2 tsp
2 springs of Curry Leaves
Oil : 1 tsp

Method:

1.    Wash and pat dry the lime/lemons. Make sure that there is no moisture left. With the help of a clean and dry knife, cut the limes into halves and cut each halves into 4-6 equal pieces.

2.    Start to layer the lime and salt in a clean and dry sterilised jar, preferably ceramic or glass jar with a tight lid. First place few lime pieces in a single layer and spread 1-1½ tbsp of salt on top. Continue to layer lime pieces and top them with salt until you exhaust all the limes. Close the jar and leave it in a window sill where there is plenty of sunlight steaming for 2-3 weeks. Make sure that you shake the jar once in a day to move the pieces around in the container without opening the lid. This will help in spreading the salt evenly and softening the lime.

3.    After 2-3 weeks, the limes/lemon pieces would have softened and changed their skin colour.

4.    Lightly roast the fenugreek seeds until their colour deepens to light red. Let them cool completely before grinding them to fine powder with a help of a pestle and mortar or in a spice grinder. Keep it aside until needed.

5.    Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop and splutter, add finely chopped garlic and fry them until they start to brown on the edges.

6.    Mix in finely chopped green chillies and curry leaves and sauté for few seconds.

7.    Next add cured lemon pieces along with the juice and stir them for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.

8.    Mix in red chilli powder, fenugreek powder and turmeric powder and stir them well so that each lime piece is coated well with the spices. Add powdered hing and mix them well before switching off the gas.

9.    Let the Spicy Lemon Pickle or Nimbu Ka Achaar cool down to room temperature before storing it in a clean and dry airtight sterilised jar. It can be stored for 3-4 months in room temperature and upto 6-8 months in refrigerator if made with utmost care and stored in a right condition. You can serve this delicious tongue tickling Nimbu Achaar or Spicy Indian Lemon Pickle with dal and rice, yogurt rice, dosa or any Indian flat breads.