Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:
3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup white chocolate chips

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg whites

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place coconut and almonds on large cookie sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, stirring frequently, about 12 minutes. Cool. Maintain oven temperature.

Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

Combine condensed milk and vanilla in large bowl. Mix in coconut and chocolate chips thoroughly.

Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. Gently, fold whites into coconut mixture.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets.  (Using a slightly greased cookie scoop helps make perfect ball shapes and keeps the batter from sticking.)

Bake until macaroons just turn golden brown around edges, about 14 minutes.

Cool completely and store cookies in airtight container and refrigerate.

Makes approximately 24 cookies.

Sambar Sadham

Ingredients:

Oi l - 1 tbspn

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - a few

Ginger grated - 1 tsp

Salt - as per taste

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Tamarind - small lime size ball

Thur dhal - 1/3 cup

Rice - 2/3 cup

Sambar Powder - 2 tbspns

Coconut grated - 2 tbspns

Ghee - 2 tbspns

Coriander leaves - chopped, to garnish

Veggies (any veggies of your choice) 

Onion Sliced - 1/2 cup

Carrot - 1, chopped

Brinjal - 2, chopped

Peas - a handful

Capsicum - 1 small, chopped

Tomato - 1, chopped

Method:

Soak tamarind in 1.5 cups of warm water.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves and fenugreek seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, add ginger and all the veggies one by one. Sprinkle salt  and hing. Fry for 5 minutes.

Extract 2 cups of tamarind water and add it to the veggies. Add sambar powder, turmeric powder, coconut and salt. Rinse rice, dhal and add them to the veggies. Add 2.5 cups of water.

Close the lid and pressure cook for 6-7 whistles (till rice and dhal become mushy).

When pressure is released, open the lid and garnish with coriander leaves. Drizzle ghee just before serving. Serve hot with raita and pappad.

Tip:  Use 2 cups of tamarind water and 2.5 cups of water for 1 cup of rice and dhal mixture.

You may soak thur dhal in warm water for 30 minutes before pressure cooking just to make sure it is fully cooked. 

Recipe Courtesy: Indian Vegetarian Kitchen

Chakkarai Pongal

Ingredients:

Rice – 1/2 cup (Sona Masoori or Ponni Raw Rice)

Green gram dhal (Payatham paruppu) – 1 tbspn

Channa dal (Kadalai paruppu) - 1 tsp

Jaggery – 1 1/4 cups (crushed)

Sugar – 2 tbspns

Ghee – 1/2 cup

Milk – 1 1/2 cups

Cashews and raisins – fried in ghee
Elaichi - a pinch(optional)

Nutmeg powder – 1/2 tsp

Method:

Fry the dhals in a heavy bottom pan, until they slightly changes color. Then add the rice and fry it for few more seconds, until the heat spreads evenly and then switch off the stove. Wash the rice and dhal mixture with water. Pressure cook the rice dhal mixture with 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup water.  Make sure that the rice is cooked to a mushy consistency.

Make syrup out of the Jaggery and sugar adding very little water (just to immerse the jaggery). Let the syrup boil well and then add couple of teaspoons of ghee.

Once the rice is cooked, mash it well with a masher or back of a wooden ladle. Add this mashed rice, dhal mixture to the boiling syrup and add the rest of the ghee. Let it combine well and come to a semi solid stage.

Fry some cashew, raisins, elaichi and nutmeg in ghee and add this to the Chakkarai pongal.  

Tip: If the rice dhal mixture is in the liquid consistency after mixing with the syrup, heat them for a while till you get the desired consistency (keep stirring with the spoon and make sure that it doesnt get burnt).

Recipe Courtesy: Sandhya Ramakrishnan's "My Cooking Journey"

Paneer Butter Masala

Ingredients:
Paneer - 250 gms
Onions - 2 big
Tomatoes - 3 big
Ginger - 2 inches
Garlic - 4 cloves
Cashews - 10 Nos
Milk - 100 ml
Butter - 2 tbspns
Red Color - a pinch
Salt - acc to taste
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Chili powder - 1 tsp
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
For Garnishing:
Onion - 1 medium
Green Chilies - 2 slit lengthwise


Method:

For the gravy; cut onions, ginger, garlic and grind to a fine paste. Remove and then make puree of tomatoes. Grind the cashews coarsely.

Then take the ingredients kept for garnishing. Cut Paneer into cubes, finely chop the onions, slit the green chilies.

Heat required amount of butter in the cooking pan. Fry each of the above ingredients. Onions should be crispy. Paneer should be fried to light golden color. Keep these aside.

Take the pan that's already used for frying, add 1 tbspn of butter, fry the onion paste. Sauté well to ensure it does not get burned.

Once its cooked well, add chili powder. Cook till oil comes out, simmer the flame. Add milk slowly and cook for 5 mins. Then add coarsely ground cashews.

Then add tomato puree, cumin powder, salt, sugar, garam masala, red colour. Bring to boil. Add required amount of water. Let it cook on high flame for few mins.

Then add fried onions, paneer cubes, green chillies, and cook for 10 mins. Add the remaining butter.