Renus Kitchen

"Seviyan" normally reminds me of festive celebrations in India. This is one dessert which does not require lot of effort and can be whipped out in no time. This is an easy recipe which does not require condense milk. The starch of the vermicelli provides the required consistency Ingredients: Vermicelli [Seviyan] - 1/2 cups Whole milk - 2 cups Sugar - 3-4 Tbsp Raisins, Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Pure Ghee [Clarified butter] - 1 tsp Method: Heat pure ghee in a pan and fry vermicelli until they are light brown color and keep it aside In the same pan fry raisins and cashew nuts and keep them aside Bring milk to boil. Reduce the heat and add vermicelli and keep stirring in between Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the vermicelli turns soft Add sugar, raisins, cashew nuts and cardamom powder Serve hot or cold Note: On cooling if the pudding thickens add more milk for desired consistency ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am se...

Bhindi-Do-Pyaza is a very popular dish of North India. It is called "Do Pyaza" because the onions are added in double the quantity than found in any other vegetable preparation Ingredients: Bhindi [Okra/ Lady finger ] - 2 cups Onion - 2 medium, thick slice Ginger - 1tbsp [grated] Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1tsp Corriander powder - 1.5 tsp Red chillie powder - to taste Garam masala powder - 1 tsp Mango powder [Khatai] 1.5 tsp Salt to taste Canola oil - 3 tbsp or more Method: Wash okra and pat dry with paper towel. Remove the top of okra and slice the remaining okra into 1 inch slices [Optional: Sprinkle some salt and keep it aside ] Heat oil on medium heat, add cumin seeds and let it crackle. Now add ginger followed by onion and fry till the onion slices get glossy and still retain the pink color Add okra and stir for a minute, add salt and all the powder spices except mango powder. Stir fry on medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Next cover it wit...

(This is my entry for Click event) Introduction: Onions belong to lily family, the same family as garlic, leeks, scallions and shallots. The word onion comes from a Latin word Unio" which means single. It is the union of many concentric layers.There are many types of onions, red, yellow, white and green. Onion not only add taste to your food, also loaded with variety of medicinal effects. Some of them are listed below: It can reduce the risk of tumors in colon Onion extract helps to treat asthma, bronchitis , cold and cough They are natural anti clotting agent Provides protection against cardiovascular diseases It is very good source of chromium, which helps to manage diabetes Protects against ovarian cancer Boosts bone health ----very important for ladies, it helps prevent osteoporosis Antibacterial activity Storage of Onions: Store them at room temperature and away from bright light. They should be stored away from potatoes, other wise potatoes will spoil. Selecting Onions: On...

Sabudana kheer is very popular in India during fasting. Sabudana is also known as Pearl Sago. It is mainly carbohydrate and very little other nutrients. Ingredients: Sabudana / Sago - 1/2 cup Milk - 2 cups Water - 1 cup Sugar - according to taste Saffron [Kesar] - 3-4 strings Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Water - 1/2 cup Raisins, cashews - handful Method: Soak sabudana in 1 cup of water and let it sit for 20 minutes. Next drain the water and add it to the boiling water. Cook till sabudana is half done [it starts looking little glossy and translucent] Now add milk and cook sabudana completely on medium heat. Keep stirring in between [sabudana looks gelatinous at this point] Add sugar, saffron strings, cashews and raisins and cardamom powder Serve cold or warm My notes: Sabudana is a sago starch, hence has starchy fragrance. Adding cardamom powder masks the smell of starch and makes the dish more inviting ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am send...

Jalebi is a very popular sweet of North India. It is mostly eaten as breakfast with curd/dahi/Yogurt . It is made by deep frying the batter in a form of pretzel and then soaked in sugar syrup. It somewhat resembles Muffle cake. It is also the national sweet of India, probably because it is served in defense and government offices on the occasions of Independence day and Republic day! Jalebi was originated in Arabia, where it is called Zalabia and brought to India by Mughal Emperors. It is called Jeri in Nepal. I stumbled on Manjulas Kitchen while searching for the recipe. I decided to follow her recipe as it did not require yogurt/curd and has just 1 hr fermentation period. I made minor changes to the recipe to suit my taste and appearance. My jalebies came out perfect.....just the way I wanted.....This is a full proof recipe, give it a try, you will not be disappointed Ingredients: For Batter: All purpose flour [maida] - 1/2 cup Gram flour [besan] - 1tsp Dry active yea...

Raita is a very popular side dish served with Indian food. It is typically made from yogurt/curd with your choice of vegetables and herbs. Onion raita, comes very handy when other vegetables are not in your pantry. Onion is something you will find in everybody's kitchen! Ingredients: Red Onion - 1 medium [thinly slice them in the form of rings] Dahi/Indian curd or Yogurt - 1 cup Black salt [kala namak] - to taste Red chili powder - to taste Roasted cumin seeds powder (zeera powder) Sugar - just enough to lightly sweeten the raita For Tempering Black mustard seeds [Rai] - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 6-7 MDH Kashmiri chili powder - 1/2 tsp [this adds color to the raita] Canola Oil - 1tsp Method: Beat the curd/yogurt with hand beater to get rid of lumps Add black salt, red chillies powder, cumin seeds powder and sugar. Adjust the taste Now add thinly sliced onion rings [its important to thinly slice the onions. Thick onion slices don't taste that well] Mix i...

Oh! I love the fragrance of mint and when it is combined with coconut and basmati rice, my kitchen becomes the favorite place to hang out ! Mint has numerous health benefits and here are to name a few: Has soothing effect on digestive tract If taken regularly, it reduces the growth if bacteria and fungus in the body Crushed mint leaves helps in whitening the teeth Helps in getting rid of headaches When mixed with camphor it helps to relieve insect bites and stings It is believed to prevent colon, lung and skin cancer Ingredients: Basmati rice - 1 cup Fresh mint leaves - 1/2 bunch Coconut - 3Tbsp [I used dessicated coconut. Fresh is better] Green Chillies - 1 small [according to your taste] Ginger - Garlic paste - 1.5 tsp Medium onion - 1 [sliced] Salt - according to taste Canola oil - 2 tbsp [Ghee is better but it does add calories!] Whole Spices: Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Bay leaves - 2 medium Whole black pepper - 3-5 in number Cloves [Laung] - 2 Cardam...