Badusha - Happy Diwali to All

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour – 500 g
• Baking soda – ¾ Tea spoon
• Butter or ghee – 100 g
• Fresh curd (yoghurt) – 200 g
• Sugar – 500 g
• Water – 500 ml
• Oil for deep frying
• Saffron and almond flakes for garnishing

 Method:

• Sieve flour and baking soda together.
• Add ghee and mix lightly.
• Add curd and mix the dough, don’t knead.
• Cover with dry cloth and let it rest for 20mins.
• Divide the dough into thirty balls. Flatten them slightly and press each at the centre with your thumb. Don’t worry if the surface is rough, it allows the sugar syrup to penetrate easily.
• Heat oil in a wide pan; keep the flame in medium, deep fry the badushas to a golden brown.
• Drain those on a paper towel and allow them to cool.
• Then dip them in sugar syrup. Make sure that the sugar syrup is well coated on all the sides.
•  Arrange on a tray and decorate with almond flakes and saffron.

 Making Sugar Syrup:

• By boiling sugar and water together, prepare one-string consistency sugar syrup.
• It means, when the sugar syrup is boiling, if you place a drop of it in-between your thumb and index finger and pull back slightly, it will form a single string. This is the correct stage. In this stage make the flame at the lowest point.

Veggie stir fry

Ingredients:

• Carrot – 1
• Potato – 1
• Green bell pepper - 1
• Onion – 1
• Tomato - 1
• Urad dal - ½ Table spoon
• Mustard seeds – ¼ Table spoon
• Chicken curry powder – ½ Table spoon
• Turmeric powder – ¼ Tea spoon
• Oil – 1 Table spoon
• Curry leaves – few
• Salt – as needed
• Coriander leaves - few

 Method:

• Chop carrot, potato and bell pepper into small pieces. Keep aside.
• Chop onion and tomato.
• In a pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they pop up add urad dal and fry for few seconds.
• Add chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Fry until onion becomes slightly brown.
• Add curry leaves and tomato, sauté till tomato is slightly mashed.
• Add chicken curry powder and turmeric powder. Sauté until raw smell disappears.
• Add vegetables, close lid and cook till they are done. Stir in between.
• Adjust salt and turn off heat.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• It goes very well with plain rice or sambar rice or curd rice or roti.

Thatta Payir or Karamani Kuzhambu (Cowpea Curry)

Ingredients:

• Cowpea (Thatta Payir or Karamani) – 200 g
• Onion – 1
• Tomato – 1
• Tamarind – 1 Table spoon
• Garlic cloves – 10
• Fenugreek seeds – ½ Tea spoon
• Turmeric powder – ¼ Tea spoon
• Red chili powder – ½ Table spoon
• Coriander powder - ½ Table spoon
• Grated coconut (ground) – 1 Table spoon
• Oil – 2 Table spoon
• Mustard seeds – ¼ Tea spoon
• Cumin seeds – ½ Tea spoon
• Urad dal - ½ Tea spoon
• Salt to taste
• Curry leaf - 1
• Coriander leaves - few

 Method:

• Soak cowpea over night in water. Discard soaked water and rinse them well in fresh water.
• Cook them with little salt and water. Keep it aside.
• Chop onion and tomato.
• Soak tamarind in 100 ml water and extract juice.
• Heat oil in a vessel and add mustard seeds. When they pop up add fenugreek seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds and slightly crushed garlic cloves. Sauté them well.
• Add onion and a pinch of salt. Fry till onion is slightly brown.
• Add tomato, curry leaves, tamarind juice, turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder. Mix and cook them well.
• Now add cooked cowpea with its water. Adjust salt, add enough water for the gravy and cook the mixture until it is done.
• Add ground coconut, cook few seconds and turn off heat.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• It goes very well with steamed rice.

Applesauce Cake

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour – 1½ Cups
• Ground cinnamon - 1½ Teaspoons
• Nutmeg powder – ½ Teaspoon
• Brown sugar – 1¼ Cups
• Canola oil – ½ Cup
• Smooth applesauce (unsweetened) – ¾ Cup
• Baking power – 1½ Teaspoons
• Eggs (large), at room temperature, lightly beaten – 2
• Toasted walnuts and pecan, coarsely chopped – ½ Cup
• Salt – ¼ Teaspoon

 Method:

• Pre – heat the oven to 325 degree F.
• Sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and keep aside.
• Mix oil with sugar. Add eggs and beat till it is mixed.
• Add dry ingredients, applesauce and beat just until combined.
• Then fold in the nuts.
•  Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, bake for 40 minutes, and then covered with aluminum foil. Continue to bake until cake is puffed and a tooth pick inserted into the centre comes out clean, 20 – 25 minutes longer.
• Cool the cake on a wire rack.
• Enjoy this low fat cake with low fat sour cream.
• Source: Cake. I have modified the original recipe into low fat version.

Sending this to Sanyukta's Colour your Palate - A visual Treat