Double ka Meetha

Double ka meetha is a very popular dessert in Hyderabadi Cuisine.
It is a cousin of Shahi Tukda from Pakistani cuisine, Very similar in taste and recipe.
Double ka meetha is a bread pudding made of fried bread  and various dry fruits soaked in milk.

Ingredients :

• Bread - 4-5 slices
• Cashewnuts - few
• Raisins - few
• Almonds - few
• Pistachios - few
• Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Milk - 1 1/2 cups
• Condensed Milk - 1/2 cup
• Cardamom Powder - 2 pinches
• Ghee for deep frying

For Syrup :

• Water - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Saffron - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon Juice - 4-5 drops

Directions :

To make sugar syrup:

• Add sugar to water and bring it to boil.
• Add 4-5 drops of lime juice to prevent sugar from solidifying.
• Add saffron to this for a nice color.
• Syrup is ready. Keep aside.

To make double ka meetha: 

• Cut bread slices diagonally into 2 halves.
• Now deep fry these bread pieces in ghee till they turn golden brown in color just for 15-20 seconds on each side. 
• Remove it from the pan and soak it in the sugar syrup while the syrup is warm. Repeat this with other slices of bread.
• Boil milk on a low-medium flame and bring it to boil.
• Add condensed milk.
• Add 1-2 tsp of sugar or to taste.
• Keep stirring. 
• Heat till the milk is thickened and reduced to 1/2 in quantity.
• Add cardamom powder.
• Add the bread pieces soaked in sugar syrup to the milk mixture and mash gently. Leave the crispy corners. It's nice to get a bite of it while eating the pudding.
• Roast all the dry fruits in a little ghee till golden. Pour this over the pudding and mix.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Check out the recipe of shahi tukda here. 

Collard Greens Saag Paneer

Totally similar to palak paneer, cooked with just an addition of collard greens. 

Tastes good with roti or naan.

Ingredients :

• Spinach - 1 bunch
• Collard Greens - 1 bunch
• Paneer ( cottage cheese ) - 100 grams or as many as you like
• Onion - 1 Large
• Butter - 3 tbsp
• Bay leaves - 2-3
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Black Pepper powder - 1/4 tbsp
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Green Chillies - 2
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tbsp
• Amchoor Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Oil/Butter - 3 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Heavy Cream - 1/2 cup

Directions :

• Wash collard  greens and spinach thoroughly. If needed 2-3 times so that you are sure that it is absolutely clean. Then chop them roughly. 
• Boil collard greens and spinach in some water for 12-14 minutes. Grind it to a paste when it cools. (Collard greens are hard leaves so that take little more time to cook than spinach.)
• Heat butter in a pan and fry bay leaves , slit green chillies, and cumin seeds.
• Add finely chopped onions and ginger garlic paste, saute till onions turn transparent
• Add salt, black pepper powder, garam masala, amchoor powder . Stir well.
• Add ground greens and cook on low.
• In another pan, heat oil and fry paneer cubes till they turn golden brown. You can avoid this step and add raw paneer as well. Both taste equally good. 
• Now add these paneer cubes to greens curry. Cook it covered in medium flame till the butter separates. 
• Add the fresh cream and cook for just another minute or two just to incorporate the cream well with the gravy. 

Enjoy with roti or naan. 

Beerakaya Thokkala Pachadi

Beerakaya thokkala pachadi  means ridge guard skin chutney or turai ke chilke ki chutney.
We usually peel the ridge guard and trash the skin. But try this chutney making use of the peeled skin and you will never want to throw the skin away.
I sometimes add in 4-5 small cubes of ridge guard along with the skin to make the texture a little smooth, however you can avoid that and make it with just the skin.

Ingredients:

• Skin of 3-4 ridge guards
• Green Chilies - 3-4 or to taste
• Urad Dal - 1 tsp
• Chana Dal - 2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Tamarind pulp - 1 tbsp
• Garlic Pods- 3-4
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp ( optional )
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsp

For tempering: 

• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dal - 1 tsp
• Red Chili Whole - 1-2
• Hing - a pinch
• Curry Leaves - 4-5

Directions:

• Wash the ridge guard very well and peel. Use the ridge guard for making curry or dal and save the skin.
• Wash the skin once again, just to be sure.
• In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and splutter cumin seeds. Add urad dal, chana dal and fry till golden brown. Add green chilies. Saute and take it out in a plate. Let it cool.
• In the same pan, add one more tbsp of oil and fry the ridge guard skin. If you are using a small piece of ridge guard, then chop and add that as well.Fry till cooked. Let it cool.
• In a grinder, make a course powder of the fried mixture. 
• Add to the grinder, the cooked ridge guard skin, tamarind, salt, sugar, garlic pods and very little water, say about, 1 tbsp. Grind to a paste. Remove it in a bowl.
• Now for tempering, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds. Add urad dal, red chili, curry leaves, hing. Fry till urad dal starts to change color. Pour this over the chutney and mix well. Adjust salt.

Eat it with hot rice with a dollop of ghee. I promise you will find it delicious. :)

Instant Mango Pickle

This pickle made of raw mango can be made instantly and should be finished instantly too. I mean, it would not stay for more than 3-4 weeks. This is a temporary pickle which does not have the shelf life as long as the regular mango pickle ( avakaya )
I usually make this with just 1 raw mango so that it can be finished soon.
Eat it with curd rice and I bet you will be addicted.

Ingredients :

• Raw Mango - 1 ( green and hard )
• Red Chili Powder - 3 tbsp or to taste
• Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds- 1 tsp
• Salt - 2 tbsp or to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Sesame Oil - 3/4 - 1 cup

Directions : 

• Wash the mango and pat it dry. Chop finely along with the skin.

• Roast fenugreek seeds till they start to change color. Add mustard seeds and roast them too for a few seconds. Remove and keep aside. Let it cool.Grid them to a very fine powder 

• Add this powder to the chopped mango. Add red  chili powder, turmeric, and salt. Mix well.

• Heat oil in a pan. Let it cool down a bit and then pour this oil over the spiced mango pieces and mix well. Alternatively ( which I prefer ) you can sputter just half a tsp of mustard seeds and one whole red chili in the hot oil. Cool down a but and add to the spiced pieces. Mix very well. 

• Store it in a glass jar. 

Note : Make sure everything you use, from mixing bowl to spoon to glass jar, every thing should be dry. Moisture can spoil the pickle. 

Storing Fresh Coconut

To store fresh coconut for long, grate and fill in the freezer bags and freeze.

Whenever you want to use it, thaw and use

Palak Raita

Ingredients:

• Spinach - 2 cups
• Curd - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Roasted Cumin Powder - to sprinkle
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tsp

Directions: 

• Beat the curd and keep aside.
• Wash spinach and discard the stems.
• Steam on low heat until tender.
• Drain and chop very finely or grind roughly. Do not throw the drained water. I like to use that water to knead the dough for roti.
• In a small pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let it cool down a bit. Pour it in the beaten curd.
• Add chopped or ground spinach and mix well.
• Add salt, red chili powder and roasted cumin powder.
• Serve chilled or at room temperature with any paratha.

 ( picture coming soon )

Quinoa Pulav

I know this is not a rice item but i have put it in the category of "rice varieties" because pulav is basically a rice item, however i have replaced the rice with quinoa here.
This makes the pulav little more nutritious.

Ingredients :

• Quinoa - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 medium
• Green Chili - 1 or to taste
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Mixed vegetables or your choice - 1 cup or as desired. ( example : carrots, beans, peas, corn, potato, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper etc)
• Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Bay Leaf - 1
• Star Anise - 1
• Mint Leaves - a few
• Garam Masala or Pulav Masala - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Directions: 

• Cook quinoa and keep aside. Click here for the directions to cook quinoa
• Heat oil in a wok, splutter cumin seeds. Add cinnamon stick, bay leaf and star anise.
• Add sliced onions and saute. Add ginger garlic paste and saute. Add slit chili.
• Add all the chopped vegetables and cook till tender.
• Add salt, garam masala ( or pulav masala ). Tear mint leaves with hand and throw in. 
• Add cooked quinoa and mix well.
• Adjust salt and seve hot with onion tomato raita. 

How to cook Quinoa

Quinoa ( pronounced : Kin-wa ) is appreciated by many people for its nutritional value. It is a source of complete protein. Also a good source of dietary fiber,  iron, calcium, etc.

Cooked quinoa can be used in various dishes from salads to pulaos to upma and many more.
I shall post few of the recipes as we go.

This is how you can cook quinoa.

Stove Top :

• Rince the quinoa under running water just like how you rinse rice before you cook it. 
• Take 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water and cook covered for about 15 minutes on medium or till the quinoa is fluffy and cooked and all the water is soaked up. Give a standing time of 5 minutes.

Microwave: 

• Take quinoa and water in the proportion 1:2 in a microwave safe bowl, cover loosely and microwave for about 10 min. Let is stand for another 10 min. 

Quinoa looks fluffy and transparent after it is cooked. They are crunchy in texture.

Note :  

• You can replace water with vegetable stock.
• You can also cook in a rice cooker.
• You can add chopped vegetables like onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers etc to make is more flavorful. 
• You could also add garlic, or a spring of rosemary or dash of black pepper and some lemon juice with little olive oil.
• You could make it like how you make vegetable pulao or vegetable upma as well. 

Roasted Baby Potatoes

Ingredients:

• Yellow Baby Potatoes - 2 lbs
• Garlic Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Onion Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Italian Herbs - 1 tbsp ( Oregano, Basil, Thyme and Parsley ) Mix of all or a few. 
• Red Chili Flakes - To taste
• Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Directions: 

• Cut the baby potatoes into half lengthwise and then cut into half again ( so you will have 4 pieces of 1 potato ) You don't need to peel them.
• Soak them all in a bowl of cold water. 
• Preheat the oven at 475° F.
• In a mixing bowl, Mix all the other ingredients and give it a good mix.
• Pat dry the soaked potatoes with a paper towel. Add those  potatoes in the mixing bowl and toss them well so that all the potatoes are well coated.

• Grease the baking sheet and spread the potatoes in a single layer on it.

• Bake for about 25 minutes, turning the potato fries once in between. Bake till golden brown.
• You can garnish by sprinkling fresh rosemary or mint. 

Eat as appetizer or as side to a soup. Serve hot !!!

Celery Soup

Ingredients:

• Celery - 12-14 stalks
• Onion - 1 medium
• Potato - 1 medium
• Ginger - 1/2 inch 
• Garlic - 2 pods
• Butter - 1-2 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Vegetable Stalk - 6 cups
• Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Directions: 

• Chop the celery, onion and potato. Keep aside.

• Mince the ginger and garlic, keep aside.
• Heat the butter in a saucepan. Saute ginger and garlic.
• Add celery, potato and onion into the saucepan.
• Add salt and let it cook till they begin to soften. Stir occasionally. 
• Add stalk ( or water ) and cook covered. Cook till all the ingredients are very tender.
• Let it cool.  Grind in batches into smooth puree.
• Return to the saucepan , add lemon juice, mix well and heat the soup.
• Adjust salt. Garnish with the celery leaves or mint leaves and serve hot with bread sticks or crackers.

Cucumber Pachadi 2

I made this chutney with the green cucumber. It can be made similarly with the yellow cucumber too ( known as dosakaya ) Refer : Dosakaya Mukkala Pachadi.

Ingredients:

• Green Cucumber  - 2 medium
• Green Chillies - 4 or to taste
• Red Chillies - 2 or to taste
• Urad Dal - 2 tbsp
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Chopped Cilantro - 3 tbsp

Directions:

• Peel the skin of the cucumber and chop.
• I usually chop the cucumber leaving the center part with seeds. We shall use the seeds part for grinding to add body and texture to the chutney. Check out the picture below.

• Heat 1 tbsp of oil and saute fenugreek seeds and half of the urad dal till they turn reddish. Save the remaining urad dal for tempering.
• Add half the  mustard seeds and let them splutter.
• Add red and green chillies and fry them. Add hing. Add chopped cilantro. Let it cool.
• In a grinder, add this seasoning mix, tamarind, turmeric, salt and the seeds which we had kept aside and grind it into a paste.
• Mix this paste to the chopped cucumber pieces and mix  well.
• For tempering , heat 1 tbsp of oil, splutter remaining mustard seeds and fry remaining urad dal till reddish brown and add to the chutney.
• Mix well , adjust salt.
• Serve with steaming hot rice and a few drops of ghee.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Tips to extract most out of the limes or lemons :

• Buy limes and lemons having thin skin. The ones with thick skin have less juice in them.
• Roll the lime or lemon on the counter pressing with your palms before cutting and squeezing.
• Soak the lime or lemon in warm water for 10 minutes before cutting and squeezing.
• Or, microwave them in little water for 30 seconds.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy !!!  ;) 

Kharam Podi /Kaarapodi

Kharam Podi or kaarapodi or Milagai Podi or Molaga podi or chutney powder... call it whatever, they are all more or less the same.
It can be eaten with idli or dosas... It is my favourite. If you just give me kharam podi with idli, that is enough for me. I can do without chutney or sambar. I like my podi spicy. But of course, you can alter the recipe to suit your taste buds. Like, you can avoid coconut or tamarind or garlic. You can adjust the amount of chilies.  You could also add sesame seeds and little jaggery  to it, which i usually don't. Yeah, there are many ways to make this powder.

Ingredients:

• Urad Dal - 1/2 cup
• Chana Dal - 1/4 cup
• Coriander Seeds - 1/2 cup
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Red Chilies - 10 ( to taste )
• Garlic Pods - 6 ( with skin )
• Tamarind - Small Lime sized
• Coconut Powder - 1/2 cup
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Curry Leaves - 3-4 springs

Directions: 

• Dry roast chana dal and urad dal one after the other till they slightly turn reddish. Remove it from pan and keep aside in a plate.
• Dry roast coriander seeds till slightly brownish , remove and add it to the dals.
• Dry roast cumin seeds, red chilies, curry leaves till red chilies and curry leaves turn crispy.  Remove and add to the plate with other roasted ingredients.
• Dry roast coconut powder and keep aside.
• Turn off the heat, while the pan is still hot, roast garlic pods and tamarind.
• Let them all cool before grinding.
• In a grinder, add all these roasted ingredients along with salt and hing ( asafoetida ) and grind them to a coarse powder.
• While serving make a small hole in between and pour some melted ghee in between. ( As shown in picture below )
• Serve with idli or dosa. ( It is Rawa idli in the picture below )

Arachuvitta Sambar

I learnt this type of sambar from a tamil friend of mine. She told me that the literal meaning of "arachuvitta" is freshly ground spices added to the recipe.
I tried it and I liked it.

Ingredients:

• Toor Dal - 1 cup
• Water - as needed to pressure cook the dal.
• Tamarind Extract - Big gooseberry size
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Shallots/Small Onions ( Sambar Onions ) - 10-12
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Oil/Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Cilantro - 2 springs 

For Roasting and Grinding ( masala ):

• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Fenugreek Seeds - 3/4 tsp
• Chana Dal - 2 tbsp
• Whole Red Chilies - 5-6 or to taste
• Grated Coconut( fresh of dessicated )- 2 tbsp

For Tempering:

• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 1 spring
• Hing ( Asafoetida ) -  1/8 tsp

Directions: 

• Pressure cook the dal for about 3 whistles.
• Roast and grind all the ingredients under " For roasting and grinding masala". While roasting keep stirring making sure it doesn't burn. Nice aroma will be emitted. Grind and keep aside
• In a heavy bottomed pan, heat ghee/oil and splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Add curry leaves and hing. 
• Add small onions and saute them. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till done. Tomatoes are optional, you can omit it if you want.
• Add tamarind extract and turmeric and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add cooked dal and some water. Add salt . Add the freshly ground masala. Mix well without lumps. 
• Let it boil for about 10 minutes. Add more water if the sambar thickens a lot. 
• Add chopped cilantro. 
• Serve with plain steamed rice or idli or dosa or vada or pongal.

Instant Rawa Idli

Making idlis is a long process... soaking, grinding, fermenting.. But what to do if you suddenly crave for idlis.
Instant rawa idli is the solution. No soaking, no gringing, not fermenting.

Ingredients:

• Semolina ( sooji ) - 1 cup
• Yogurt - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
• Finely Chopped Green Chilies - 2 or to taste
• Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Grated Carrot - 1 tsbp 
• Cilantro Leaves - for garnish

Directions: 

• Dry roast semolina till it slightly changes the color and emits a nice aroma. Keep it aside in a plate.

• In the same pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add grated ginger and green chilies. Saute.
• Turn off the heat and add the roasted sooji to it and mix well.

• Add curd, salt, soda to it. Mix well. This is your batter for idli. Let it stand for half an hour.

• Take the idli stand, grease it. and place few grated carrots and one cilantro  leave so that it can be used as a garnish on the idli. 

• Spoon the batter on top of the carrots and cilantro.  Steam for around 10-12 minutes. If you are using a pressure cooker to steam, do not put on the weight. 
• Serve with any chutney or sambar.

Note : 

• I have used carrots and cilantro as garnish, however, if you want you can mix it in the batter. In that case increase the quantity of carrots, say 1/2 cup and half cup of chopped cilantro. Mix it in the batter.
• You can use roasted cashew nuts to garnish. Just like how I placed the carrots and cilantro, you can replace it with one roasted cashew nut. Similarly, you can also garnish with a small slice of tomato or anything you can think of. 
• This recipe makes around 8 idlis. If you want to make more, please increase the quantity of the ingredients accordingly.  
  
  
  
  

Gobhi Paratha

Paratha stuffed with cooked and spiced cauliflower.

Ingredients:

For Dough: 

• Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Water - as needed to knead the dough
• Salt - 2 pinches

For Cauliflower Filling: 

• Grated Cauliflower - 2 cups
• Carom Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Finely Chopped Green Chillies - to taste ( 1 or 2 )
• Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
• Finely Chopped Cilantro - 2 tbsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder or garam masala - 1/2 tsp ( optional )
• Amchoor Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp

For Making Paratha: 

• Wheat flour - for rolling
• Ghee ( Clarified Butter ) - to frying parathas

Directions: 

• Knead the dough and set it aside for 10 minutes. 
• Grate the cauliflower into coarse mixture. I do it in a food processor. 

• For the stuffing,  heat oil in a pan, crackle carom seeds. Add green chillies and grated ginger. saute far a few seconds. Add turmeic powder. Now add grated cauliflower. Let it cook on medium flame till tender. Add salt, chili powder, amchoor and chopped cilantro. Mix well. And let it cool a bit.

• Divide the dough and filling in equal parts.
• Roll each ball of dough into 3 inch diameter circle. Place one part of gobhi filling in the center.

• Seal by pulling the edges together and make a ball again.
• Repeat the process with the remaining parts. Keep them aside.
• Heat the skillet on medium high. 
• Now roll each ball into the dry wheat flour so that it doesn't stick while rolling.
• Roll them into 6 inch diameter disc with a very light hand, making sure all the stuffing doesn't ooze out. But little bit of mixture peeping out is ok..

• Place the paratha on the hot skillet.  After around 15 - 20 seconds, flip it over. You would notice small brown spots on the paratha.
• After 10 -12 seconds, drizzle a few drops of ghee all over the surface of the paratha. And Flip it over again.
• Drizzle ghee over this surface as well. Roast the paratha till it is golden brown on both the sides.

• Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

• Serve hot with curd and pickle or chutney. You do not really need a curry with it. The paratha in itself is so flavourful.

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• Brown Lentils - 1cup
• Carrots -2 ( diced or sliced)
• Celery - 2 stalks ( sliced )
• Onion - 1 small ( chopped )
• Garlic Cloves - 2 ( minced )
• Vegetable Broth - 5 cups
• Salt and Pepper - to taste
• Olive Oil or Butter - 2 tbsp
• Bay Leaf- 1
• Any Italian Herb( oregano or thyme or parsley etc ) - 1/4 tsp

Directions: 

• Heat the oil or butter in a saucepan. Add bay leaf. Saute chopped onions and minced garlic.
• Add broth and bring it to boil.
• Add celery,carrots and lentils. Cook covered till lentils are done and the veggies are soft.
• Add salt, pepper and Italian herb of your choice. 
• Serve hot with garlic bread or crackers.

Note : 

• You can add other vegetables of your choice, like bell peppers, tomatoes etc.
• You can add few drops of lemon juice just before serving. Alternatively, you can add a splash of vinegar to the soup.
• You can adjust the amount of broth depending on your preference, thick or runny.

Prevent Curry Stains on your Plastic Containers

So many of my plastic boxes have turned yellow after I stored curries in them.
The turmeric in the curries are to be blamed.
No matter how much you scrub it , the stain happily stays.
I was reading about it on the net and found a nice tip for the same.

• To avoid this problem, spray your containers with non stick cooking spray before you store your curries or sambars in them. 

Tada........ you will have clean plastic boxes. 

Banana Raisin Cake

Whenever I see over ripe bananas left on my table, the best use of it I can think of, is making either banana cake or banana muffins. Kids love it. And you don't want to trash the overripe bananas.

Ingredients: 

• Over Ripe Bananas - 2-3
• All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
• Whole Wheat Flour - 1/4 cup
• Eggs - 2
• Brown Sugar - 1 cup
• Baking Soda - 1 tsp
• Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
• Black Raisins - 2 tbsp
• Vegetable Oil or Butter - 1/2 cup

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven at 350 deg F. 
• Mash the bananas and keep aside.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and oil ( or melted butter ) together for a couple of minutes.
• Now add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract into the bowl and whisk once again. 
• Now add the flour , baking soda and raisins into the mixing bowl and whisk again  till the mixture is well incorporated.
• Now, grease the cake pan with the oil spray. 
• Pour this mixture into the cake pan.

• Bake for 45 minutes or till the inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

• Take out the cake from the pan and let it cool.

• Cut it in desired shape and size upon cooling.

Note: : 

• I have used the combination of all purpose flour and wheat flour. However, you could use the entire 1 1/4 cup of all purpose OR  entire 1 1/4 cup of wheat flour instead. 

Semiyan Payasam ( Vermicelli Kheer )

Semiyan Payasam is very simple kheer made of vermicelli. You can use either the thin vermicelli or  the slightly thicker one. I prefer the thin ones for kheer. I like the thick ones for making upma.
I usually make this for festivals for naivedyam ( offering to God ).

Ingredients:

• Semiya ( Vermicelli ) - 1 cup
• Milk - 2 cups
• Heavy Cream - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 cup ( or to taste )
• Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp 
• Ghee ( Clarified Butter ) - 1 tbsp
• Cashew Nuts - 10
• Golden Raisins - 10
• Or any other dry fruits you like in your kheer.

Directions: 

• Heat ghee in a pan and roast cashew nuts till golden. Add raisins and allow them to puff up. Take it out and keep aside in a plate.
• In the same pan, add vermicelli and roast them till golden. You can avoid this step if you buy already roasted vermicelli. Just warm them in the pan for about a minute or half. 
• Boil milk in a separate deep pot. 
• Add this boiled milk in the pan containing vermicelli. Let it cook on low-med heat till the vermicelli is cooked. Keep stirring or the milk will stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Add sugar and heavy cream. Mix well till all the sugar is melted. Add powdered cardamom and mix.
• Turn off the heat and add the roasted cashew nuts and raisins.
• You can serve it hot, or cold or at room temperature.

Note : 

• You can avoid heavy cream. Add a cup of extra milk instead. 
• You can also add condensed milk instead of heavy cream. You might want to reduce the quantity of sugar in that case.

Bobbatlu (Obbatu/Puran Poli)

Bobbatlu from Andhra or Puran Poli from Maharashtra are basically the same, a traditional sweet flatbread.
It is a paratha made of plain flour stuffed with a sweet mixture called Puran ( in hindi ) or Purnam ( in telugu) .

Ingredients:

For Dough:

• All Purpose Flour ( Maida ) - 2 cups
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Ghee ( Clarified Butter ) - 1/2 cup
• Water - 3/4 cup ( or as needed to knead )

For Purnam ( Stuffing ) :

• Chana Dal - 1 cup
• Jaggery ( Powdered ) - 1 cup
• Dessicated Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Cardamom Powder - 2 tsp ( adjust to taste )

Directions: 

• In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt and 1 tbsp of ghee. Adding a very little water at a time, knead the to form a pliable dough. 
• Add a tbsp more of ghee and knead . Let is stand for about 2 hours. Cover and let it rest.

• While the dough rests, make purnam. Pressure cook the chana dal with very little water ( just enough to cover the dal ) for only one whistle. Do not over cook the dal. We do not want the dal mushy. We want it just cooked but not mashed or broken. 
• Drain the dal using a collander. You can save this water to make rasam or sambar later. 

• Spread out the drained chana dal on a clean kitchen towel ( cloth or paper ).

• Leave it for about half an hour or till you see all the moisture absorbed.
• In a blender, blend the dal without adding any water. The texture should be like powder. let it be course.

• To make purnam mixture, heat a pan, add this ground dal, powdered jaggery on medium heat. Keep stirring till the jaggery is melted and the mixture is formed like a dough. Add dessicated coconut and cardamom powder and give it a good mix till all the ingredients are well incorporated. 
• Remove it in a plate and let it cool.

• Now to make bobbatlu we need to make parathas with the dough and stuff this purnam mixture in it. This is traditionally made on greased banana leaf, but if you do not have it, make it on greased plastic sheet ( cut open a ziploc cover ) or greased aluminium foil. 
• Grease your palms with ghee so that the dough doesn't stick to your fingers while working with it. Take a lemon sized ball of the dough and place it on greased sheet. With the help of your fingers press it gently to spread the dough.
• Now take a portion of purnam ( slightly bigger than lemon ) and place it on the center of the spread dough.

• Bring the edges of the chapati together to seal it. 

• Grease this stuffed ball with few drops of ghee and start spreading it gently with the help of your fingers. After spreading for about 4 inches, roll it further using a rolling pin to make it thinner and even.
• Roll it very gently making sure the stuffed mixture doesn't ooze out.

• Heat the tawa or griddle, grease with ghee. And gently place this rolled out poli on the tawa.
• Roast on both the sides by smearing ghee. Be generous with ghee for this recipe , its ok... You can run a few extra miles the next day. 
• When both the sides are roasted well, take it out on a serving plate. You can add few more drops of ghee on top of this bobbatu or poli just before serving. Don't be guilty. You don't eat bobbatlu every day afterall.

We usually make this on festivals like ugadi, Sankranthi, Diwali etc.. and put it for naivedyam ( offering to God )