Mothakam

For approx. 30 mothakams

Ingredients:
For the dough:
Wheat flour 1 cup
water
Oil 1 tbsp
salt a pinch

For the filling:
Jaggery 1 cup
Grated coconut 1 cup
green Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp
ghee 1 tsp
water 1/4 cup

oil or ghee for frying

Method:
Take the wheat flour in a bowl, salt and mix well. Add enough water to knead into a tight dough and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
Take  a pan, add the 1/4th cup water to it. Add jaggery to it and allow it to melt.
Then add grated coconut and green cardamom powder to it and mix well.
Add ghee to it.
Keep in heat till the water is evaporated and the filling is not too sticky.

For the mothakams:
Divide the dough into 4-5  big balls. Make big, thin roti shapes out of it.
With a mold or a round lid cut out small, uniform rounds.
Place 1 tsp of filling into it and bring all the ends together to the top and seal it properly without any opening.
Keep oil in a pan for frying the mothakams.
Drop few of the mothakams in oil every time and fry it.
Drain out the excess oil in a kitchen towel and serve.

Note:
The filling shouldnot be too hot while making the mothakams. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes.
Do not over fill, the mothakams, chances of coming out is there while frying.
Do not cook the filling for a long time in flame. Cook it till there is no water.
Seal the mothakams properly and see to it that there are no holes in the dough which is used to make mothakams.

Instant Sweet Appam

Ingredients:
Wheat flour 1 cup
Rice flour 1 tbsp
Jaggery 3/4 th cup to 1 cup
Grated coconut 2 tbsp
 Banana 1/2
Cardamamom powder 1 tsp
Water
Oil or ghee

Method:
Take a little water (1/4 cup ), jaggery in  a pan and heat it, till the jaggery melts.
Remove it from flame. To it add, wheat flour, rice flour and banana and mix well.
Add cardamom powder and mix well. If the banana is not very well mashed, just blend it in a mixer together to a dosa dough consistency.
Little water can be added to reach the required dosa dough consistency.
Add grated coconut to it and mix well.
In a  pan or Appam pan add oil.
When the right temperature  of the oil is reached add this dough with a spoon. After some time with a fork or a stick turn the sides.

Note: If the appam pan is not there, it can be made in a normal pan, as we make bhondas or vadas. Add the dough with a table spoon in small portions.

Semolina Halwa (Kesari)

4 persons:

Ingredients:
Semolina 1 cup
Sugar 1 1/2 cup
Ghee 2-3 tb sp
Cashew nuts 4-5
Raisins 1 tbsp
Water 2 1/2 Cup
green Cardamom powder 1 tsp
Kesari powder 1/2 tsp

Method:
Heat a pan. Add semolina to it and dry roast it till light brown. Keep aside.
Put the kesari powder in 1 tb sp water and keep it aside.
Take the measured water in the pan and add the sugar to it.  When sugar starts melting also add the roasted semolina, kesari powder mix to it and keep stirring.
Add cardamom powder to it.
Add ghee in between and keep stirring till semi consistency is reached.
In a separate pan add ghee and roast the raisins and cashewnuts and give it to the halwa and mix well.
Keep stirring till the halwa doesnt stick to the pan.

Puran Poli

For 12 pieces

Ingredients:
Maida 1 cup
Salt a pinch
Ghee 1 1/2 tsp
Oil 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder a pinch
water to make dough

For filling
Bengal gram dal 1 cup
Grated jaggery 1 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder 1 tsp

Oil or ghee for frying the poli

Method
Mix salt, turmeric, ghee to the flour.
Pour oil on top and mix well till the oil is absorbed completly. Gradually add water to make to a soft dough.
Half cook the dal and drain the rest of the water.
Grind to a smooth paste with jaggery and cardamom.
If the filling has still some water, then fry till dry.
Divide the dough into small balls. Make a small roti and keep a ball of the filling and seal it carefully. Press it uniformly and make into big, thin polis by dusting some flour on the polis.
Heat a  frying pan, put this poli. Change the sides and brush some ghee on both the sides.
serve hot.

Note: Donot use the dough immediately. Wait for an hour or two before using it.
Rest of the dough and the filling can be refriegerated and used when it is required.
Always serve hot with a little topping of ghee on top. It tastes better.

Thengai Burfi (coconut Burfi)

For  25 pieces

Ingredients:
Coconut grated 1
Sugar 3 cups
Ghee 1 cup
Cardamom powder 1 tsp
Cashew nut 1 cup

Method:
Soak Cashew nut in hot water for 10 minutes and grind it to a paste.
Grate coconut and make a paste of it.
Keep a plate greased with a teaspoon of ghee ready and keep aside.
Add the cashew nut paste, coconut paste with sugar, ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel and mix well.
Keep stirring, add green cardamom ones it starts boiling.
Keep stirring till the semisolid paste leaves the sides.
Put the semisolid paste  to the greased plate and level it with a bottom of a greased stainless cup.
Keep aside for 10 minutes and cut into the required shape of burfi. Either into squares or diamonds.
Note: The ratio of coconut to the sugar is 1:1. For 3 cups of coconut it is 3 cups of sugar and 1 cup ghee.

Rava Ladoo (Semolina Balls)

For 25 Ladoos

Ingredients:
Semolina 2 cups
Sugar 3 cups
Ghee 1/2 cup
Green cardamom powder 1 tsp
Cahsew nut few

Method:
Dry roast the semolina till it is light  brown.
Powder the sugar very well and sieve it.
Grind the semolina dry and sieve it through a sieve.
Sieve the semolina and sugar together so that it mix well.
Add the ground green cardamom powder and mix well.
Break the cashew nut into very small pieces and roast it in little ghee and mix it to the mixture.
Warm the ghee and add it hot to the mixture and mix well and make ladoos of it immediately.
If not able to make ladoos with this ghee add more hot ghee to it and make ladoos.

Note:Rava ladoos are made with very less quantity of ghee, so that it breaks immediately when it reaches the mouth.
For making ladoos the ghee has to be hot, or else making ladoos is a problem.

Paal Poli (Milk Poli)

Ingredients:
Semolina 1 cup
Milk or condensed milk 350 ml
Sugar 4tbsp
Dry fruits mix( Pista,Almonds) 1/2 cup
Saffron
Oil
Salt a pinch

Method
Make a dough with mixing Semolina, salt, 1tsp oil with water. Consistency similiar to Roti dough. Keep aside for 15 minutes.  Put in a grinder and grind it into a  softdough,  if using coarse semolina granules.
Roll into big, thin pooris and fold into semicircles, by sealing the ends with pressing the corners with fingers.
Fry it in oil and keep aside.
Bring the milk or condensed milk to boiling. Add Saffron and sugar . Add the powdered Dry fuits to it.  Remove from flame.
Soak the poli in milk and arrange in a plate. Add the leftover milk on the top.
Tastes better when soaked atleast for 2 hours. Can be served cold.
Tip: Instead of using Semolina, All purpose flour (Maida) can be used.

Seven Cup cake

Ingredients:
Gram Flour 1cup
grated Coconut 1cup
Ghee 1 cup
Milk 1 cup
Sugar 3 cup
Green cardamom powder 1 tsp

Method:
Take a teaspoon of ghee and grease the plate and keep aside.
Take a thick pan. Put all the ingredients together and heat it.
Keep stirring till the mixture separates from the bottom of the pan.
Put this mixture in the greased plate and level it.
After 5 minutes, cut into the desired shapes (Square or diamonds) with a greased Knife.

Carrot Halwa

Serves 8 persons

Ingredients:
1kg Carrot
250 ml milk
350ml Condensed milk
350g Sugar
3-4 tbsp Ghee
Almonds 10
Cashewnuts 10
Raisins 2 tb sp

Method:
Grate the carrots.
Take a thick bottomed pan. Add the carrots, milk, condensed milk to it and cook the carrots well.
Add the sugar when the carrots are cooked well. Mix well and cook under low flame.
Keep stirring continuously, till a semisolid halwa is obtained.
In a separate pan, take ghee and add the raisins,cashewnuts and almonds. Fry it till brown.
Add it to the halwa at the end and mix well.
Serve hot.

Badam burfi (Almond Sweet Meats)

Ingredients
Almonds 200g
Sugar 375 g
Ghee 375 ml
Green Cardamom powder ½ tsp
Saffron strands 10
Milk ½ cup

Method
Grease a plate with ghee.
Soak Almonds in water. Remove the outer skin and grind it to a fine paste with little milk.
Take a heavy pan. Add the almond paste, sugar and ghee together and stir it.
Add the cardamom powder.
Stir continuously and add the saffron in the middle.
Keep stirring till it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Put it in the greased plate and cut it into the burfi with a greased Knife