Narali Bhaat (Sweet Coconut Rice)

Ingredient:

• Basmati Rice: 1 Cup
• Sugar: 1 Cup
• Freshly Grated Coconut: 1/2 Cup
• Cardamom Pods: 3-4
• Cloves: 3-4
• Saffron: 3-4 Strings
• Nutmeg Powder: 1/4 tsp
• Cashews: 5-6 (Cut into 2-3 pieces)
• Raisins: 5-6
• Yellow Food Color: 2-3 Drops (Optional)
• Ghee: 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Wash rice and soak in water for 1/2 hour. Then drain water and keep aside.


2. Heat ghee in a kadhai or pot. Then add cloves, cardamoms, cashew and raisins. Fry them very well.


3. Then add rice and saute for 3-4 minutes. Then add grated coconut, mix well.


4. Then add 2 and half cups of hot water, food color, saffron and nutmeg powder. Mix well and let it cook for a while.


5. When rice is 90 % done, add sugar and mix well. Cover the pot with lid and let it cook till rice is cooked well.


6. Serve this rice when it's hot.

This is my entry for Easy Craft's Mixed/Flavoured Rice Variety and Suganya's AFAM: Coconut events.

Coconut Chutney

Ingredients:
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Chopped Green Chillies - 2
Split Gram Dal - 1 tbsp
Some Chopped Coriander Leaves
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

For the tampering:
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves 2-3
Pinch of Hing / Asafoetida

Procedure:
1. Roast split gram dal and keep aside to cool.
2. Put all ingredients in to blender with water and blend it.
3. You can add water depending upon how you want the chutney.
4. For tampering, heat oil in a small kadhai. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves and pinch of hing.
5. Stir it well till mustard seeds crackle.
6. Pour this tempering over the chutney and mix well.
7. Serve this chutney with any type of dosa, uttapa, idli, vada etc.

Coconut Burfi

Ingredients :
2 cups coconut scrapped
1 cup coconut coarsely shredded
1 -1/2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. cardamom powder

Procedure:
1. Mix both types of coconut in a large heavy pan.
2. Add Add milk and cook till bubbes appear.
3. Continue cooking, stirring continuously, for 10-12 minutes.
4. Simultaneously, boil sugar in 1/2 cup water to make 2-1/2 thread syrup. (refer sugar syrup)
5. Pour into coconut, stirring gently and continuously.
6. Add butter, and continue stirring, till a soft lump is formed.
7. Empty into greased large plate, pat even very lightly.
8. Cool and cut into squares.
9. Cool and set completely before transferring to container.
10. Store in airtight containers.

Note: Never use the brown skin of the coconut while grating, or scrapping. Use the whitest possible. Otherwise the burfi will get discoloured, though taste will not differ much.

Making time: 45 minutes
Makes: 25-30 pieces
Shelflife: 2 weeks

Mixed Vegetables in Coconut Kadhi

Ingredients
Serves 4
2 medium sized Potatoes (1 inch pieces)
6-8 florets Cauliflower
2 medium bundle Carrots (1 inch pieces)
100 gms Red pumpkin (bhopla) (1 inch pieces)
8-10 Broad beans (papdi) (1 inch pieces)
2 tsps Gram flour (besan)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
2 cups Coconut milk
3 tbsps Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Split black gram (dhuli urad dal)
2-3 Whole dry red chillies (broken)
8-10 Curry leaves
8-10 cloves Garlic (crushed lightly)
2 tsps Tamarind pulp

Procedure:
1.Take gram flour in a bowl and add salt and turmeric powder and mix well. Add coconut milk and mix till smooth. Add half a cup of water and mix well.
2.Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds and when they crackle, add cumin seeds, split black gram and sauté till they begin to change colour.
3.Add broken dry red chillies, curry leaves and garlic and sauté for a minute.Add potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, pumpkin and mix well.
4.Add salt and cook on high heat for three to four minutes. Add half a cup of water and cook.Add the gram flour mixture and stir. Cook till thickens.
5.Add broad beans and continue to cook for three to four minutes.Add tamarind pulp and mix. Simmer for a minute.Serve hot with rice.

Ukadi Che Modak

Ingredients:
2 cups of rice flour
2 1/2 cups of water
A pinch of salt
For the filling:
1 cup grated fresh coconut
1 cup of jaggery
2 tablespoons raisin
2 tablespoons cashew nut - chopped
1 tea spoon cardamom - grinded

Procedure:
Preparation of the filling:
1.Put 1 tablespoon of ghee in a kadhai and heat it.
2.Fry the chopped cashew nut till it becomes golden brown.Remove from the kadhai.
3. Put the kadhai on the gas stove again and put the grated coconut and jaggery into it. Mix well till the coconut becomes soft and till the jaggery melts and well blend with the coconut.
4.When the mixture is well cooked and becomes quite dry, take off the kadhai from the heat 5.Allow the mixture to cool. After cooling add the raisins, fried cashew nut and the cardamom powder to the coconut and jaggery mixture. Mix well. The filling is ready.

Now for the modak heat 2 cups of water in a vessel.
Add salt to the water. As the water starts boiling, add rice flour to the water.
Lower the flame. Mix well. See that lumps are not formed. It should be a smooth paste.
If you find the mixture is becoming too dry add the remaining 1/2 cup of water
Keep the vessel on the gas stove till the rice flour is cooked.
Take the cooked dough from the vessel and put on a wet cloth.
Cover the dough with the cloth and mash it with any metal tumbler base. This will make the dough softer.
Rub little ghee on you palms and take small portion of the hot dough. Make a ball out of it.
At one portion, press the ball with your finger to make a ditch into the ball.
From inside the ditch press side-wise to make a small round vessel-kind thing out of the ball. Put 2 teaspoons of the filling in the small vessel-shaped dough. Merge all the sides of the vessel to make in the shape of a fresh fig.
Take a colander spread little ghee in it. Place the modak in it. Make such 10-12 modak out of the remaining dough and place all in the colander.
Place the modak in such a way that they done

Fried Modak

Ingredients:
1 cup maida
Salt
Oil for deep frying

Stuffing:
3/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup jaggery
1/2 tea spn cardamom powder
1 tea spn cashews(optional)
4-5 saffron strands(optional)

Procedure:
1. Heat 1 tbl spn of oil and add it to maida. Mix it very well till all the maida gets the oil. Add salt and water to make it a very stiff dough. Keep aside the dough for around 1/2 an hour.
2. Heat jaggery and coconut together till jaggery melts and forms a uniform mixture with coconut. Remove from fire and add cardamom powder, saffron strands and cashew pieces. Mix well.
3. Take small balls of the dough, roll it into small puris (if the puri becomes too thick, the modaks get a rubbery texture. Keep a round ball of stuffing on the puri and cover with the dough to give modak shape.
4.Heat oil and deep fry the modaks.