Jalebi

Hello Lovely People :) :)

Happy Hindu New year to one and all :) :) ... May this mew year brings happiness and prosperity for everyone ... God bless us all with his blessings.... New year relates to new hopes... new desires...  new challenges ....new life... new aspirations .... new resolutions ... new changes... etc ... so many things attached to a new year... It all depends on individual how and in what way the new year will bring change in his/her life... But one thing we should remember in this new year... "We need to SAVE WATER".... yes you people read correct... Water the basic necessity ... Day by day its scarcity is increasing... Each and everyone should come forward and save water in his /her level.. We need to save for our future generations... Try to use as minimum as possible... and if you see someone is misusing try to make them understand their mistake... Hope everyone who ever reading this blog take oath to save water....

Lets move ahead.... in order to celebrate any festival ... we first eat sweet dish... so that everything will feel with sweet things in our life.... On Hindu new year ...  most of the people make PURONPOLI .... its a like a Indian bread stuffed with sweet Lentil mixture and roasted in pan with lots of ghee ... It taste too too yummy... I love to eat those in my child hood when mom use to prepare for us... Also some people will make Shrikhand... another  sweet dish made by hung curd.. sugar ... dry fruits and saffron.It also taste awesome... But this time I want to make something different .. other then this two traditional dishes.... So made JALEBI :) :) .... 

Jalebi is a very popular sweet from the Indian cuisine. Jalebi is a hot favourite on any special occasion be it a birthday, wedding or festival. Jalebis though mostly eaten by themselves, can also be soaked in warm milk. To make jalebi, first the flour batter is fermented. Then later, the batter is poured in a spiral shape in hot oil and deep fried. Then these fried spirals are soaked in sugar syrup for a few minutes and then served. so what you get are crisp, syrupy, juicy and crunchy jalebis.So let's start with the detailed recipe.

Ingredients :-

1 and 1/2 cup of all purpose flour or maida
3-4 tsp of curd
1 full tbsp of garmflour or besan
2tsp of oil
1 cup of sugar + 3/4cup of water ( For sugar syrup)

6-7 saffron strands for sugar syrup

1/4 tsp of orange color (optional)

Water

Ghee or Clarified butter for frying

Procedure :-

In a bowl add maida , curd and garam flour.Mix it well to avoid all lumps.Add water if required.Whisk it well in a batter which should have dropping consistency.Now add oil and again whisk.We need to whisk it properly so that we can make it airy.It will help in fermentation.Let the batter rest in some warm place for 12-15 hours.

After 12-15 hours, first prepare sugar syrup.For Jalebis we need one thread consistency sugar syrup.In a pan add sugar and water as given in ingredients.Wait till it come to boil.If you think there are impurities in sugar, add 2-3 tsp of milk.Once milk is mixed and mixture comes to boil.All dirt will come above the mixture.Carefully remove the dirt with the help of spatula.Now add saffron and color to the syrup.Check by taking a drop of syrup between finger and thumb.If you can see a thread then we are good to go.Otherwise heat for some more time.

Now in a flat pan heat the ghee on medium Flame.Take a sauce bottle or if you don't have take a ziploc bag .. fill it with batter and then make a small cut at the bottom(giving it shape like a cone).Once hot make jalebi.Once cooked on one side turn it.Then drop in sugar syrup.Let it in sugar syrup for less then 50sec... If you keep for more time in sugar syrup, it will become soggy. Serve hot.

Note :- You can use cardamon or any other flavoring for syrup if you want.

Hope you and your family will enjoy jalebis at home... My family and friends loved it... It was my first try and I was very happy by the outcome :) :)... Will come soon with new recipe... Till then good bye... tc...  and yes SAVE WATER... SAVE EARTH... PLANT TREES .... 

Gujarati Khaman Dhokla

Hello All

Happy Spring !!!! ... Here in US .... Spring is welcomed by nature with Cherry Blossom ... Very nice Beautiful flowers on tress... Amazing view .... Feels so good... Me and my hubby went to see Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.There many trees brought from Japan are planted beautifully... And in this Spring season their beauty can't be expressed in words.. Loved the place... So many people every year come from all over to the world to witness this festival in DC... Also in Japan Cherry Blossom is best in the world...

In India Spring welcomes the Hindu New year .. Also known as Gudi padwa... My mom used to make Shrikhand and PuranPoli on this day... Loved those days... only one work to do..just eating... No need to think of anything else... Now everything we need to prepare... and now I feel... how much work mom was doing that time... that too without much use of technology and devices... Love you mom for all the hard work you did for us... ohh in every post I become senti ... :( ... As I miss my parents a lot here in US... God bless them with all good health and prosperity... 

Lets move on today's Recipe..I am fan of both sweet and Spicy things.Loved to have varieties in snacks.Also I love Gujarati Cuisine.For example Dhokla , kothimbir vadi , Khandvi , Khichu , Etc... Here in US its difficult to get this things easily near by... I mean all depends on where you stay.. So I love to make them at home.. Today I will share mine Recipe of Khaman Dhokla ...

I already shared Dhokla made of curd with semolina and gram flour in one of my post... But this one is pure with Gram Flour and that too without use of curd... So you will be thinking then I will be using which ingredient to make is sour ...

So here the magic ingredient is Citric Acid... Also known as in hindi Nimbu ka Sath... Its readily available in any Indian grocery store...So lets start with this yummy Spongy tangy recipe...

Ingredients:

2 cups gram flour
1 and 1/2 cups of Lukewarm water
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1  tsp fruit salt
2 tsp ginger chilly paste
3/4 tsp citric acid
Salt to taste
2 tsp of oil

For Tadka:

2 tbsp Oil 
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
2 tsp Seasme seeds
3-4 green Chillies (As per your taste)
1-2 Red dry chillies
Asafoetida (hing) 1/4 tsp
Water 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut (Optional)
Coriander leaves
4-5 Curry Leaves (Optional)

Procedure :-

First heat the water in a vessel until it's lukewarm and then turn off the flame. Then take a round bowl and add the gram flour, sugar, citric acid and the lukewarm water. Mix everything well so that there  are no lumps left and the batter is smooth in texture. Let the batter sit on the stand for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile take a big vessel with water, place a ring inside it and out it to boil. Cover the vessel with the lid.Now after 15mins add the turmeric powder, salt to taste, ginger and chilli paste and little oil to the batter and mix all the ingredients well. Now reduce the flame to medium and take the lid off the vessel and place your tin(greased it well with some oil) on the ring.If you don't have ring you can use any steel plate with some good broad edges.Then add a 1 tsp. of Eno fruit salt to the batter and whisk it quickly.Pour the batter in the tin placed inside the vessel and cover the it with a lid.Let it steam on a high flame for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, open the lid and take out the tin and let the dhokla rest for 5-6 minutes. Separate the dhokla from the tin by using a knife. Then with the help of one plate flip the dhokla on it.Again with another plate re-flip it.

Heat the oil in a Khadhai. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, sesame seeds chillis, curry leaves, asafoetida. Add the coriander leaves and grated coconut and mix them well. Spread this mixture over the dhokla. Cut the dhoklas into small squares or shape of your choice.

Now in a pot take water ... less than 3/4 cup and add 3 tsp of sugar to it.Make it to boil and then spread it on dhokla .Drop this sugar mixture nicely on all over the dhoklas..So that they can soak it and become nice and juicy...

See the Spongy and how light it is in below pic :)

NOTE :-  You can also add direct water and sugar to tadka of oil.Bring it to boil and then spread it to Dhokla..

Enjoy it with green coriander chutney and sweet tamarind chutney.Sprinkle some thin nylon sev on top :) :)

Hope you all like this recipe.. any doubts ... queries are welcomed... Will come soon with new recipe... Till then Happy Gudi Padwa to all... Enjoy.. tc.. cia..