Rice Kesaribath

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Servings: 5 - 6

Ingredients:

Jeera rice (or basmati rice) - 250 gm
Saffron strands - 3/4 gm
Sugar - 375 gm
Pure ghee - 250 gm (can use little less also)
Cloves - 2
Milk 5 - 6 tsp
Lime juice - 4 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Cashews - 10
Raisins 25 - 30

Method:

Cook the rice with enough water and 1 tsp of ghee. Cooking the rice rightly is very important here. All the grains should be cooked nicely, and at the same time, rice should not be sticky. So, be careful. 

If any water is remaining in the cooked rice, drain it fully and spread the cooked rice on a wide plate for 5 minutes to cool.
 

Bring the milk to boil and switch off the flame. Soak the saffron strands in the hot milk for 10 minutes.
 

Take the cloves and make a fine powder. Cut the cashews into medium size pieces.
 

Combine the salt the with lime juice to dissolve and keep it ready.
 

Take a wide vessel preferably with heavy bottom. Combine rice with sugar and ghee. Keep mixing it on slightly high flame.
 

Once it starts boiling, add milk with saffron strands, salt and lime juice mixture. Keep sauting the mixture to avoid burning.
 

Once the mixture starts absorbing the ghee, bring the flame to medium.
 

Add powdered cloves and raisins and mix it well.
 

Within few minutes, you can see the mixture starts oozing the ghee. Switch off the flame immediately and add the cashew pieces.
 

Close the vessel with a lid and allow to set for 10 minutes.
 

Delicious Kesaribath is ready to serve now! This tastes very good when its still hot.

Onion Pakoda

Onion Pakoda

An all-time favourite, known in western India as ‘kanda bhajia’. The trick to making crisp onion pakodas is to refrain from adding any water to the mixture. The water released by the onions after applying salt is enough to bind the ingredients together.

Makes 24

2 cups thinly sliced onion
1 to 2 green chillies chopped
¼ tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
¾ cup besan (Bengal gram flour)
2 tbsp hot oil
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

1.Cut the onions into thin slices, apply salt and keep aside for 10 minutes.
2.Sprinkle besan and add all the remaining ingredients except the oil for frying, and mix well.
3.Divide this mixture into 24 equal portions. Form small, uneven clusters and drop each portion into hot oil.
4.Deep fry in till golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot.

Butter Cream Cake

INGREDIENTS

· 1 1/3 cups sugar
· 2 eggs
· 2 egg whites
· 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
· 1/3 cup canola oil
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 cup whole wheat flour
· 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
· 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
· 3 cups shredded carrots
· 1/2 cup golden raisins
· 6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
· 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, softened
· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 3 cups confectioners' sugar
· 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
· 3 tablespoons flaked coconut, toasted

DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients until smooth. Combine the flours, baking soda, salt and spices; add to the egg mixture and mix well. Stir in carrots and raisins. Pour into a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

2. For frosting, in a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Beat in sugar. Frost the cake. Sprinkle with walnuts and coconut. Refrigerate.

Barbecue Ribs

INGREDIENTS

* 4 pounds pork spareribs
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup ketchup
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup rum
* 1/2 cup chile sauce
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1 dash ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cut spareribs into serving size portions, wrap in double thickness of foil, and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Unwrap, and drain drippings. (I usually freeze the drippings to use later in soups.) Place ribs in a large roasting pan.

2. In a bowl, mix together brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rum, chile sauce, garlic, mustard, and pepper. Coat ribs with sauce and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerate overnight.

3. Preheat grill for medium heat. Position grate four inches above heat source.

4. Brush grill grate with oil. Place ribs on grill, and cook for 30 minutes, basting with marinade.

Note

You can also bake the ribs for 30 minutes for the final step, basting with sauce while cooking.