Ginger Lemonade

Fresh ginger gives traditional lemonade a new flavour.Be careful though, the ginger is a very potent ingredient.Ginger lemonade goes well with a summer lunch of Asian cusinie.


Ingredients:

4 cups lemon juice
4 quarts water
3 cups sugar
14 slices of fresh ginger


Preparation:


Put water,sugar and ginger root together in a saucepan and heat until boiling.Remove from heat and stir in 4 cups of lemon juice(fresh or bottled).Let it sit and cool for about 20 minutes or so,then remove the ginger root pieces.Chill your ginger lemonade before serving.


Sliced ginger will make strong lemonade,but if you really like the ginger taste,you could chop into smaller pieces for more flavour.Just make sure to strain your lemonade well before serving.

Classic Lemonade

Lemons,sugar and water.The most simple lemonade recipe, and yet so refreshing.Your drinks don't have to be complicated to be refreshing.Make up a jug today, and relax on the patio.


Ingredients:

6 lemons
6 cups cold water
1 cup sugar


Preparation:

Juice your lemons,and you should get about 1 cup of fresh lemon juice.You can use bottled if you must, but the flavor won't be as crisp.In a large pitcher, mix lemon juice,water and sugar.Stir lemonade well and serve over ice,with a lemon slice or two to garnish.

Vanilla Cake

(cake image without icing)


Cake ingredients:

2/3 cup all purpose flour
or
(2/3 cup corn starch,2/3 cup potato starch)if available

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon guar gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon anise extract
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons oil



Icing ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter
3 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:

1. Use a mixer to beat butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract to make the icing. Cool icing in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking pan with shortening

3. Sift together sugar, all purpose flour or (corn starch and potato starch)
in mixing bowl. Add in the following ingredients in listed order and mix with a flat, flexible blade : baking soda, guar gum, baking powder, salt, anise extract, egg, milk, sugar and oil.

4. Once the ingredients have been mixed and softened, scrape the mixture into a round baking pan and bake for 25 minutes, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate.

5. Spread icing evenly over cake.



Note:

Replace all purpose flour with corn starch & potato starch to give Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake


About Gaur gam:



Guar Gum is a white to yellowish white powder and is nearly odorless.

The most common used of Guar gum is its use as thickening agent or thickener. The thickening agent provides body, increase stability, and improve suspending action.

Thickening agents are most often as food additives. Thickeners are frequently based on polysaccharides (starches or vegetable gums) or proteins.

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Basanthi Sweet

Ingredients:

Cashew Nuts - 25 gm
Almonds - 50 gm
Pistachio Nuts -40 gm
Pistachio Nuts(sliced)- 10 gm
Milk - 1 litre
Sugar - 1/2 kg
Yellow Food Color - 1 drop
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Saffron - a pinch


Instructions:

Soak Cashew nuts,almonds,pista nuts in water for 4 hours.
Boil milk in a pan over medium heat.
Grind cashew,almond,pista paste.Add the paste to milk.
Stir the milk constantly and cook for 15 minutes.
Add sugar then add food colour.
Add saffron and cardomom powder.
Remove from heat.
Mix with sliced pistachio nuts.
Allow it to cool.Serve it.

Kuzhalappam

Delicious kerala snack kuzhalappam

Ingredients:

Sifted rice flour - 1 kg
Sugar - 1/2 kg
Coconut - 1
Small onion (shallots) - 1 cup
Garlic - 1/4 cup
Cumin - 1 tsp
Cardamom - 5
Sesame seeds -1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Refined coconut oil to fry - 1 kg


Instructions:

Extract coconut milk
Roast rice flour well.
Grind onions, cumin ,garlic together. Add salt.
Mix flour with the above paste.Add sesame seeds and cumin seeds.
When still hot ,add coconut milk mixture to form a finely stiff dough
Mix and knead well. Roll into small balls and paste two ends together, looking like a long cylinder.
Fry in hot oil till crisp.
Wrap in paper towels.
Cool and put into airtight tins.

Mint-Coriander Chutney

Ingredients:

Coriander - 2 cups
Mint - 1 cup
Red chillies - 6
Chopped onion - 1
Peeled and grated ginger - 1/2"
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Sunflower oil - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp


Instructions:

In a pan heat the oil & add red chillies,onion, ginger,coarsely chop coriander, mint and fry for a minute.Add little salt,sugar.Finally add lime juice.Add enough water grind it to make a coarse paste.

Transfer to a nonmetallic container. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds and stir until fragrant. Remove from heat and add to chutney. Mix well before serving. It may be refrigerated and used within 24 hours.

Tamarind Chutney

Ingredients:

Water - 2 cups
Tamarind paste-1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 tablespoons


Instructions:

In a saucepan combine the water, tamarind paste (without seeds) and sugar.
Bring to boil over moderate heat.
Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 20 minutes.
Strain the tamarind juice & serve it.

Note:
This chutney can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Papdi Chaat

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour - 250 gms
Ghee or oil - 4 tbsp
Ajwan seeds(tymol seeds) - 1/4 tsp.
Chopped boiled tiny pieces potatoes - 5
Boiled,mashed chickpeas - 1 cup
sprinkle with salt to taste)
Chopped onions - 2
Chopped tomatoes - 2
Fine sev (gram flour vermicilli) - 2cups
Red chilli powder - 2 tsps
Salt - 3 tsps
Cumin seeds powder - 2 tbsps
Chopped coriander leaves - 1 cup
Beaten Fresh yoghurt - 2 cups
Tamarind Chutney - 1 cup
Mint-Corainder Chutney - 2 tbsp.
Vegetable or Sunflower oil to deep fry

Instructions:

For Papdi:

Mix all-purpose flour, ajwain seeds, ghee and salt. Add enough water and knead into soft dough. Cover and leave for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into small portions.

Roll out each portion of the dough with the help of some dry flour, roll into large thin rounds. Prick all over with fork. Cut out small rounds from it with a cutter. Fry them in hot oil until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel.

Store in an airtight container when cool.


To serve:

First set up all ingredients - Papdis, toppings and chutneys within easy reach. Dip 5-6 Papdis (per person) in yoghurt and remove. Arrange on a plate.
Put a little potato, chickpeas, onion and tomato on each Papdi. When all are done in this way, drizzle a teaspoonful each of Tamarind and Mint-Corainder Chutney on each Papdi.
Sprinkle a handful of sev all over the Papdis in the plate. Now sprinkle red chilli powder, cumin powder and salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve as soon as possible or the Papdis will get soggy.