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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.

bedmi puri

Bedmi puri along with aloo ki sabzi (potato curry) is a popular Uttar Pradesh breakfast. You can also have them in ‘Chandni Chowk’ in Delhi. You can also prepare bedmi aloo for Sunday brunch. They are simply delicious.

Recipe of bedmi puri

2 cups atta (whole wheat flour)

1/2 cup dhuli moong dal (split, skinlesss green gram)

3 green chillies

1/4 tsp garam masala

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 inch piece ginger

1 tbsp oil + for deep frying

1. Soak moong dal for 2 hours. Drain.

2. Grind together moong dal, green chillies, ginger, salt, coriander and garam masala powders in a blender.

3. Take atta in a bowl and add moong dal paste along with 1 tablespoon oil. Knead using water as needed. Cover and keep aside for 1/2 an hour.

4. Take lemon sized ball out of the dough and flatten between palms. Roll out on an oiled surface into 3-4 inch round.

5. Heat sufficient oil in a wok/ kadhai. Gently slide the rolled out bedmi puri in the oil. Press gently with a slotted spoon (pauni/ chhari) so that poori puffs up. Turn over and fry from other side also till golden in color. Drain using the same slotted spoon on an absorbent paper so that excess oil is absorbed.

6. Serve bedmi puri hot with aloo ki sabzi.

Homemade pizza

Everyone in my family prefers homemade pizza over readymade pizza. Not only it’s economical but far healthier and you can control how much cheese or butter goes in it. It doesn’t take much long to prepare pizza at home if you have ingredients at hand.

Recipe of homemade pizza

Makes 2 pizzas

2 ready made pizza bases

Tomato sauce

1/2 cup tomato puree

4 garlic flakes- chopped finely

3 tomatoes- chopped finely

1 tsp oil

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper- to taste

Topping

1 onion- chopped

1 tomato- pulp removed and chopped

1 capsicum (bell pepper) - deseeded and chopped

A few slices of jalapenos

200 gms mozzarella cheese (pizza cheese) - grated

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1. To prepare the tomato sauce, heat oil in a pan and add garlic. Stir for a few seconds and add all the ingredients for sauce. Bring it to a boil. Lower heat and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook till sauce thickens and can be spread without being runny. Turn off the heat.

2. Spread olive oil or melted butter over each pizza base covering the edges.

3. Spread tomato sauce over pizza base.

4. Sprinkle some grated cheese over each base.

5. Sprinkle the vegetable topping.

6. Sprinkle left over cheese. Drizzle some olive oil.

7. Bake at 180 degree C OR 350 Degree F for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve pizza 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.

bhindi raita

Bhindi raita or okra raita is a South Indian style raitha where it is also called ‘Vendaikai Thayir Pachadi’. Small sized bhindi is good for this raita. For those of you who have never tried bhindi raita, all I can say is do try it, it’s very delicious. You can also call it okra salad in yogurt.

Recipe of bhindi raita/ okra raita

100 gms bhindi (okra/ lady’s fingers) - cut into small pieces

2 cups dahi (curds/ yogurt) - whisked

4 tbsp + 1 tsp oil

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1 dry red chilli

1. Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the okra. Keep aside.

2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and dry red chilli. When they splutter, remove.

3. Add fried bhindi, salt and above tempering of mustard seeds and red chilli to the well beaten yogurt. Serve okra raita chilled.

sooji kheer

Sooji kheer or suji ki kheer is an almost instant dessert. Today after lunch, I was craving something sweet so within no time, I prepared sooji ki kheer and polished it off as quickly. This kheer can also be called as ‘Rava Payasam’. Sooji ki kheer is also good for infants as it is very light to digest.

Recipe of sooji ki kheer

1 liter milk

3/4 cup sooji (rava/ semolina/ suji)

1/2 cup sugar

A big pinch cardamom (elaichi) powder

Few threads of saffron

Chopped and toasted nuts like cashew nuts, raisins etc.

1. Dry roast sooji in a heavy bottomed pan (kadhai) over medium heat till light brown. Soak the saffron threads in 1 tablespoon milk.

2. Bring the milk to boil. Add sooji little by little, constantly stirring with other hand so that no lumps are formed.

3. Cook over high heat till the mixture begins to thicken. Add sugar and cardamom powder and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add saffron and mix well.

4. Garnish with nuts and serve hot or cold.

bajre ki roti

Bajre ki roti is made a lot in Rajasthan. They eat it with a piece of gur and it is liberally smeared with pure ghee. Initially you may find it difficult to make bajre ki roti by patting between your palms so I have shown an easier way by using polythene bag or plastic sheets. This way even a novice can make bajre ki roti.

Recipe of bajre ki roti

1 cup bajra atta (millet flour)

Salt to taste

Ghee (clarified butter)

rolling out bajre ki roti

1. Mix bajra atta with salt. Add warm water little by little to knead bajra flour into medium soft dough. There is no need to knead the dough too much.

2. Take a ball from the dough, wet your palms and pat this ball between your palms to make 4-5 inch roti. OR alternately tear a polythene bag into 2. Place 1 half on the rolling surface and place the ball on it. Cover it with the 2nd half of polythene bag.

3. Roll it into as thin round as you can. Remove the above polythene, take the roti on your right hand removing from the lower polythene.

4. Place it on a hot non-stick griddle (tava). Cook bajre ki roti from both sides till browned.

5. Remove it from the tava and smear it with ghee. Serve bajre ki roti hot with some gur (jaggery).

palak pakora

Usually pakora is not considered too healthy since it is deep fried but this one has a health angle to it. If you are craving pakoras then why not have palak pakora. At least you are consuming healthy palak this way and you are not compromising taste since palak pakora are delicious too.

Recipe of palak pakora/ pakoda

3 cups palak (spinach) - washed and chopped

1 cup besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

Oil to deep fry

1. Mix besan with salt and all the spices.

2. Take palak in a bowl and add besan mixture. Mix well. Add 1-2 tablespoon water if needed. The mixture should be thick and such that round balls can be made from it.

3. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok and when the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium.

4. Drop small portions of the palak mixture in the oil. Fry palak pakoda till golden brown from both sides turning as needed.

5. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve hot palak pakora with komato ketchup or chutney.  

Medu vada

Medu vada is a delicious South Indian tiffin item. I love most South Indian food and medu vada is no exception. It takes a little time and practice to make perfect medu vada but you won’t regret it, I’m sure.

Recipe of medu vada/ wada

1 cup dhuli urad dal (split, skinless black gram)

1 tsp ginger paste

3 green chillies- finely chopped

1 tsp black pepper powder or freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

1. Wash and soak urad dal for atleast 6 hours or overnight. Drain.

2. Coarsely grind the urad dal in a blender adding as little water as possible otherwise vadas will not hold shape. Grinded dal should not be too smooth but a little coarse.

3. Add salt, green chillies, ginger and black pepper to the dal. Beat well so that air is incorporated in the batter and vada turn out fluffy.

4. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok or a frying pan. When the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium.

5. Wet your palms and take a small portion from the batter. Shape it into a ball and then poke your thumb in the center so that a hole is formed. The idea of the hole is to increase the surface area where oil reaches so that vada is evenly cooked from all places.

6. Gently invert the vada in the oil. Similarly make other medu wada and place them in oil. Remember not to overcrowd the wok.

7. When the medu vadas are cooked from underneath, turn them over with a slotted spoon (pauni/ chhari). Vadas should be golden brown from both sides. They should be fried on medium heat otherwise they will be golden from outside and doughy from inside.

8. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve medu vada hot with sambhar and chutney.

methi mathri

Methi mathri or methi mathi’s recipe was somthing I wanted to post for quite some time now. I made them few days back and took the pics but somehow it got delayed. Methi mathri is a perfect tea time snack and kasoori methi gives a wonderful taste to the already delicious mathri.

Recipe of methi mathri/ mathi

2 cups maida (all purpose flour)

2 tbsp oil + for deep frying

1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) - crushed between palms

rolled out methi mathris

1. Take maida, salt, baking soda, ajwain and kasoori methi in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp oil and mix with your hands. Rub the mixture with your fingers so that oil evenly coats maida.

2. Little by little, add warm water so as to knead the all purpose flour into a stiff dough. Let the dough rest for 1/2 an hour.

3. Take walnut (akhrot) sized balls from the dough and roll out on an oiled surface into thin rounds. With the help of a fork, pierce these rounds or mathis here and there so that they don’t puff up upon frying.

4. Heat sufficient oil in a kadhai/ wok or a frying pan. When the oil is hot enough, turn the heat to medium. Wait for 2 minutes, and then start putting these rolled rounds or mathris in oil.

5. Fry them on medium heat turning as needed till they begin to give a cooked look. For the final touch, increase heat so that they become golden brown. Fry the mathri in batches.

6. Drain on an absorbent paper using a slotted spoon (pauni/ chaari). Let them cool down completely before storing them in an airtight container. They stay fresh for long.

Note- Do not fry the mathri in very hot oil because then they will remain soft and not crisp.