Vanilla Ice Cream

This is a recipe for home made Ice cream which tastes very good.

Ingredients:

1. Full Cream Milk  1 litre.
2. Sugar   1/2 Cup
3. Cashew nuts  100 gms.
4. Custard Powder  Vanilla flavour 1 to 2  T spoons.
5. Vanilla Essence   few drops.

 Method.

Boil the Milk.    Keep aside little milk to cool  for dissolving the custard powder.  Let the Milk boil for some more time in Sim flame .(less heat.)

Soak the Cashew nuts for one hour and grind it to a smooth   paste with little cold milk. 

When the milk is boiling  add the cashew paste and stir well.  Keep stirring and add the sugar.  Keep stirring.

Add cold milk to the custard powder and make it into a watery paste and add it to the boiling mixture.  Keep stirring.  This is the thickening agent and the whole thing will become little thick. Add the vanilla essence and stir well.  switch off the stove.

 When this mixture cools,  pour it into a flat vessel (preferably an aluminium vessel as it cools faster)  and keep it in the freezer.  (you can  just line the vessel outside  with salt as it will be easier to remove from the freezer).

After 5 to 6 hours take out the vessel.  The mixture inside would be hard.  Take out with a hard sharp  spoon bit by bit and put it in a mixer and beat  it.  It will be tough to do it as it will be very hard and the mixture very cool.  do little by little not damaging your mixer.  (Indian made mixers are sturdy and I have never damaged my mixer while doing this.)

Once the whole thing becomes smooth paste put it back in the vessel and keep it again in the Freezer.

Repeat the process of beating the hard mixture once more after few hours.

After two/three hours in  the , freezer,  Ice cream is ready to serve and this will be a smooth sweet    Ice cream.

You can do different flavours of ice cream like strawberry, using strawberry flavour and little  red edible  colour added to it.  You can make into a two or three fold colour ice cream by pouring one above the other in the last stage .

For Variation, in Mango season,   Mango ice cream can be prepared.  Method is same.  Ripe mangoes can be cut and beaten in mixer to a smooth paste and added when the milk is boiling , after adding the cashews and before adding the sugar.  In this case the quantity of sugar can be reduced little bit as the sweetness of mangoes will be there in the ice cream. Beating from the freezer is same as for the  Vanilla ice cream.

Vegetable Rava Bath.

This is very much like the normal Rava upuma and uppitu but some spices are added to make it a Rava Bath.

1. Rava Semolina 1 cup
2. Oil 1 to 1 1/2 table spoons.
3. Mustard seeds 1 t spoon
4. Broken urad dal 1 t spoons
5. Channa dal 1 t spoon
6. Green chillies 2 or 3
7. Ginger 1 small piece
8. Curry leaves 1 or 2
9. Coriander leaves few (optional)
10. Onion 1 medium size
11. Vegetables few beans, 1/2 carrot, 1 small potato, a small bit egg plant, small bit bell pepper, (simla mirch or kodai milagai), few peas
12. Salt to taste
13. Turmeric powder 1/2 t spoon
14. Ghee 1 to 2 tspoon Optional
15. Water 2 to 2 1/2 cup
16. Channa dal 1 t spoon
17. Coriander seeds 1 t spoon
18. Little bit of cinnamon stick (pattai )
19. Copparai or  copra  or Dried Coconut shavings 1 table spoon
20. Oil little to fry the items from 16 to 19.

Method:
Fry the rava in a dry Kadai or iluppa chatti till light brown. 1 t spoon of ghee can be added while frying for additional taste. keep it aside.
Fry the item number 16 to 19 (channa dal, coriander seeds, cinnamon and dry coconut shavings) in little oil and powder it in a mixer and keep it aside.
Cut the onions, and other vegetables and chillies and ginger into very small bits.
Put the oil in the kadai and add the mustard seeds . Once it splutters add the urad dal and the channa dal when urad dal turns brown add the cut curry leaves and chillies and ginger. Now add the cut onions. fry till light brown and add the other cut vegetables. (all the vegetables need not be used what ever vegetable from the list given is available can be used.) add the salt and the turmeric powder. fry for a little time add the water. Now add the powder which you have ground and mix it thoroughly. Cover it with a lid. Let it boil. Check if the vegetables are cooked. When done, Reduce the flame, and add the rava little by little and keep stirring the mixture with a sturdy spoon. Stir till there is no chunks of rava in between and all the ingredients are mixed evenly. Cover it and keep it for a few minutes. add the coriander leaves and the ghee and switch off the stove.  Rava Bath  is ready.

Venthiya Dosai

This is Venthiya dosai or Menthiya Dosai a variety of Dosa which is very tasty.

This Dosa need not be turned and can be just cooked on one side and served.
Ingredients:

1. Boiled Rice (Idli Rice) 4 cups
2. Urad Dal 3/4  cups
3. Fenugreek seeds (Methi seeds) 1 Table spoon
4. Tur Dal 1 Table spoon.

Soak all the ingredients together in water for about 6 hours plus.
Grind them nicely into a paste.
Let it ferment for about 6 hours.  (Keep it in room temperature for 6 hours).  Then this can be kept in Fridge.
Take a Dosai kallu or a thick pan and keep it on the stove.
Pour one ladle of batter on the pan and make it into a round shape with the back of the ladle.  put little oil around the dosai and  keep this covered with  a plate.  After a few minutes the dosa would be done and it can be taken out and served hot. No need for turning it into the second side to cook like other dosais.

Kanjeevaram Idlis

This is a variation in the Normal Idlis we make.  This can also be eaten with, Chutney, Milagai podi or Sambhar.

Ingredients:

1. Raw Rice  1 cup
2. Boiled Rice (Idli Rice) 1 cup
3. Urad Dal 3/4 cup
4. Fenugreek seeds (Methi seeds) 1 tspoon.
5. Oil  1 t spoon to garnish
6. mustard seeds 1 tspoon.
7.  Coarsely powdered  Black Pepper 1 tspoon
8. Jeera  (Cumin Seeds)  1 tspoon
9. Salt to taste

Soak Raw Rice and Boiled Rice together for 6 plus hours.  Soak Urad dal and Methi Seeds together for  1 hour.
Grind the Rice .  It should not be very smooth so remove it when it is slightly coarse in texture.
Keep it aside.  Grind the urad dal, methi seeds , and make it into a fluffy paste by adding  water little by little.
Add salt and mix the two batters thoroughly and keep it to ferment for about 6 hours in normal temperatures.
Keep the batter in Fridge.
Take out the batter when you want to make the kanjeevaram idlis.
Take a kadai. Put the oil and the mustard seeds.  Let it splutter. add the coarsely powdered black pepper and jeera and fry for few minutes and switch off the stove.
Add the garnishing to the batter mix thoroughly and pour it in the idli thattus holders and steam it for about 7 to 10 minutes till the idlis are done.
Normally Kanjeevaram Idlis are made in a big round shape like a plate and cut into pieces.  You get what is called a 'thatte idli stand'  meaning plate idlis  in Bangalore where you can make about 4 plate idlis at a go.  Then  cut it  and serve.