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sooji halwa in microwave

Sooji ka halwa is a popular Indian dessert which is usually made in a kadhai (wok) or a pan. Here I would like to share a recipe in which sooji halwa is being cooked in a microwave in easy steps. Try it and let me know if you found it any different from traditional sooji ka halwa in pan.

Recipe of sooji ka halwa in microwave

1 cup sooji (semolina/ rawa/ suji) - roasted

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)

1/4 tsp green cardamom (elaichi) powder

Nuts like cashew nuts and raisins- to garnish

2 cups milk

1. Take a microwave safe bowl and place sooji and ghee in it. Cook on High for 2 minutes.

2. Add milk, sugar and cardamom powder and mix. Cook covered on micro High for 3 minutes.

3. Garnish with chopped nuts and serve sooji halwa hot.

jeera rice

Microwave is very good for cooking rice. Earlier I blogged about cooking plain rice in microwave. I also have one blog post about jeera rice in cooker. You can check them out and compare which one is suitable for you.

As far as jeera rice is concerned, it’s very flavorful and tasty.

Recipe of microwave jeera rice/ cumin rice

1 1/2 cup basmati rice

2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

1. Wash rice and soak in water for 1/2 an hour. Drain.

2. Take a big microwave safe bowl. Put ghee in it and add jeera. Cook uncovered, on High for 30 seconds.

3. Add rice, salt and 3 cups of water. Mix well. Cover with a micro safe lid or a cling film through which some holes have been pierced.

4. Cook for 13 minutes on High.

5. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Serve jeera rice hot with some curry or vegetable.

Masala bhindi in microwave

Who says you can’t cook Indian dishes in a microwave oven. Some dishes like masala bhindi or spicy okra turns out beautifully and real fast in microwave. There are so many Indian dishes which you can cook in micro about which I will be blogging in future.

Recipe of masala bhindi in microwave

1/2 kg bhindi (okra/ lady fingers)

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1. Wash bhindi and pat dry. Remove caps and tails of okra. Cut them vertically.

1. Mix well all the above ingerdients with bhindi.

2. Cook in a microwave safe bowl for 8 minutes on micro Power 70. Enjoy masala bhindi hot with roti or rice.

chashew nuts roasted in microwave

Recipe of toasting/ roasting nuts in microwave

Cashew nuts, almonds, peanuts- as required

Salt to taste

Oil or Ghee (clarified butter) or butter- as required

Chaat masala (optional)

1. Mix nuts of your choice like cashew nuts, almonds or peanuts with oil or butter or ghee.

2. Sprinkle salt and chaat masala over them and mix.

3. On a microwave safe plate, spread these nuts evenly.

4. Cook on a micro High for 1 minute. Then check after every 30 seconds till they turn slightly brown. It usually takes 3-4 minutes to roast them but it also depends on the power of your microwave oven.

5. Take out of the micro and let them cool. When fresh from the micro, they will be soft but turn crisp when cool down.

Almonds roasted in microwave

Plain rice

One of the advantages of cooking rice in microwave is that rice turns out ‘khila khila’ that is, grains are separate. You can serve rice in the same container in which it was cooked, that is, if you are using micro safe glassware. You can also reheat in the same container.

Recipe of cooking plain rice in microwave

1 cup good quality rice

2 cups water

1. Wash and soak rice for about 1/2 an hour. Drain.

2. Place rice along with 2 cups water in a micro safe bowl with a lid. Cook covered in the microwave oven for 16 minutes on Power 60.

3. Turn off the microwave but let the rice stand in it for 5-10 minutes. In the meanwhile do not open the lid. Your rice is ready to be eaten with any vegetable or curry.

Microwave besan ladoo

Microwave besan ladoo is a very easy and quick substitute for traditional ladoos in kadhai. You don’t have to go for endless stirring lest the besan burns. You can get accolades without going through the grind. They taste absolutely great and you cannot tell the difference between microwave besan laddu and those made the traditional way.

Recipe of microwave besan ladoo

2 cups besan (gram flour)

1 cup ghee (clarified butter)

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

4-5 pods hari elaichi (green cardamom) - crushed

2 tbsp chopped nuts like almonds, cashew nuts and raisins

1. In a microwave safe bowl, mix besan and ghee.

2. Microwave on High for 6 minutes. First stir after 2 minutes, then after 2 minutes, then after 1 minute, then after 30 seconds till you get desired brownness. Let it cool.

3. Add powdered sugar, cardamom powder and chopped nuts.

4. Now using your hands make ping pong size balls. These are now called besan ka ladoo. Store besan ladoos in an airtight container.

Rava Idli

Unlike rice idli, rawa idli can be made anytime. There is no need for fermentation. It’s great for breakfast, lunch, Tiffin or dinner. It can also be eaten as anytime low calorie snack. Rawa idli was first invented by MTR (a famous restaurant chain of Bangalore) during World War-2 when rice was in short supply. Rava idli is still made by many people at home by MTR instant mix.
Recipe of instant Rava idli

1 cup sooji (rava or semolina)
1 cup curd
1/2 cup water
1 tsp chana dal (Bengal gram)
1 tsp dhuli urad dal (split black gram)
1 tbsp cashew nuts broken into 4 pieces
2 green chilies- chopped
1 tbsp + 1 tsp oil
3/4 tsp Eno fruit salt
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
Thin tomato slices cut into 2 pieces

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Roast sooji in it stirring continuously till nice aroma comes out and you can see some golden grains. Turn off heat and take rawa out of pan to prevent it from overcooking.

2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Let them splutter. Add chana dal and roast it for a minute.

3. Add urad dal and cashew pieces and roast till nice brown. Add green chilies and sauté for a minute. Turn off the heat.

4. Add this mixture to rava along with salt. Then add rava mixture to curd. Add water and mix. Let rava be soaked for about 10 minutes.

5. Just before steaming, add Eno fruit salt to the batter.

6. Grease each mould of the idli stand and put 1 tomato slice at the bottom of each mould. Put the batter in each mould taking care not to overfill it as space is needed for idlis to swell in size.

7. Put 1 inch water in a pressure cooker in which idli stand can fit and close the lid after removing the whistle.

8. After steam starts coming out, reduce heat to medium. Let it steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat.

9. After pressure drops, open the lid of the cooker and insert a knife in 1 idli to see if it comes out clean. If idli sticks to the knife, steam for 3-4 minutes more.

10. Take out idlis gently from the mould (after letting them cool for 2 minutes) with the help of a knife.

11. Put the tomato (embedded) side up and serve hot with sambhar.

Instant rava idli in a microwave

Ingredients and process same as given above except that you steam the idlis in a microwave safe idli steamer in place of a pressure cooker. Fill 1/2 cup water in the plate at the bottom. Fill the moulds with batter and cover with the lid given. Steam on a microwave High for 4 minutes. Take out and let it cool for 2 minutes. Then take out idlis out of the moulds with the help of a knife.

To blog about rava idlis was an easy job for me as their preparation is a regular phenomenon in my home. I make them when I want something light and low calorie and enjoy them with chutney masala.