Aval Payasam/ Flattened Rice Flakes Milk Pudding

Yet another onam came to visit us today.  Onam is a harvest festival of my home town, Kerala, South India.  While growing up it was one of my favorite festivals as amma used to make a grand feast and appa will get us new clothes. Schools are closed for this holiday; new movies are released for Onam. Hope everybody celebrated this festival with great fun. 

Even though there are 4 -10 days of celebrations, the most important is Thiruvonam day that is today. Since my hubby has to work, I didn’t make a feast today. As he is off on this Friday that is Nalam Onam (4th day of onam) I am planning to make feast. Myth regarding festival of Onam is a celebration to welcome the arrival of the State's ruler, King Mahabali who belongs to Asura group (people who are materialistic and wanting to become Gods). However King Mahabali was very pious and good man and during his rule everybody was happy and country was prosperous. But due to some jealous devas (another group who are Gods) he had to leave his country and go back to pathala or underworld. 

But he was granted a unique wish that he can see his subjects on every Thiruvonam day.  King Mahabali is believed to visit every home today. Every home will be decorated with unique floral carpets (pookalams, as they are called) and the Onasadya or traditional feast is prepared as part of celebrating the King's visit.

Every television channels will be in a competition with each other to show onam movies and shows, so once you had feast, come and sit in sofa and watch movies. 

Yesterday while during our conversation at tea time, I told my hubby this Onam is the first Onam of our prince Nikhil. So we have celebrate, then my hubby’s question was will Mahabali visit us here in US too.  I told sure he will us, due time difference between India and US he will be able to do it.  After visiting us he will go back to pathala (underworld). Both he and we will be waiting for next visit for another onam. 

Hope everybody celebrated this year’s Onam with great enthusiasm. I made this aval/ poha/ flattened rick flakes pudding.  Yesterday I made some banana chips too. It was really hard to make with two crying babies who fight each other to see who is best in crying. My girl who cries for everything without any reason, on the other hand my boy who always wants mama to held him. His thinking is that why you are working, you have to take care of me. 

Here is our Onam Sadya

Coming back to the recipe, this is an easy pudding recipe; both aval/ flattened rice flakes and condensed milk are star ingredients. First roast the aval in ghee for 5 minutes then cook them with water and add milk, and once milk starts boiling add condense milk and again boil for few minutes. Finally garnish it with ghee roasted cashews and raisins. You can increase the flavor by adding some cardamom. 

Here goes the recipe. 

Take all your ingredients from the pantry. 

In thick bottom pan or sauce pot heat ghee and roast cashews and raisins one by one until cashews become golden brown and raisin gets plums up and set aside. Then in the same pan roast washed aval /flattened rice flakes for about  5 minutes or until it gets roasted and slightly change color. Then add water and cook for about 5 minutes. To this add milk and cook until it get reduced for about 15 minutes. Then add condensed milk, if you want extra sugar add this time. and boil for another 5 minutes. Finally add crushed cardamom and roasted ghee and raisins and switch off  the flame. 

Enjoy warm . 

  Print Recipe

Aval/Poha Payasam/ Flattened Rice Flakes Milk Pudding Preparation time: 5 minutes Cook time: 37 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients 1 tablespoons Ghee 1 cup aval/poha/ flattened rice flake 15  Raisins 15 cashews 2 cup  water 2 1/4 cup  Milk ( I used 2 %) 7 oz  sweetened condensed milk 2 no  Cardamom Directions In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat ghee and roast cashews until it becomes  golden  brown color and raisins becomes plump up and set aside. In the same pot  roast washed  aval or flatten rice flake for about 5 minutes or until it changes the color. Then add water and cook for about another 5 minutes. To this add milk and boil for another 15 minutes. Then add condensed milk and cook for another 5 minutes.  Finally add crushed cardamom and ghee roasted raisins and cashews. Switch off the flame. Enjoy warm or cold. Variations Instead of condensed milk you can use sugar or other sweeteners.

 

Filled Pâte à Choux Swans with Cream Cheese Chantilly

This month daring baker’s challenge was to make a filled Pâte à Choux Swans famous French pastry.  Kat of The Bobwhites  was our hostess asked us make swans or any shape and filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream or any cream of your choice.  As usual debate of yes or n/a .I finally find some time to venture in making swans. 

I like swans, because I grown up hearing the stories from our great epic Mahabharata by my grandma.  Usually she tells the stories during my bed time and also watching these stories played in   Kathakali, highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama, which is peculiar with is attractive makeup and costumes, gestures and its music. It is unique dance form of my home state Kerala. 

It is like Opera you need to listen carefully, and watch. During temple festivals there will be Kathakali performed in the night, played in stage and people will sit in open ground watch the whole night. It usually comes in my summer holidays, my grandma, aunt and me will go and watch these dance drama without any fail. She will carry lot of munchies and bed sheet, if I sleep in between. She will tell me stories before hand, so that I can enjoy it very well. 

Epic Mahabharata consists of lot of sub stories, among this one of the sub stories is about the King Nalan, the King of Nishadha. He hears from sage Narada about Damayanthi, the charming daughter of Bheema, King of Kundinapuri. Narada's description is enough for Nala to fall head over heels in love with Damayanthi. His infatuation for her interferes with his official duties. To ponder what to do, he decides to take a walk in the garden where he encounters an enchanting golden swan who tells the lovelorn king that it would carry his message to Damayanthi.

Nala agrees and the swan flies away. The swan conveys Nala's message while Damayanthi is in the garden with her maids. The swan promises to ensure that Nala and Damayanthi are married to each other and returns to Nala with Damayanthi's declaration of love. 

There is beautiful drawing by our famous artist Raja Ravi  Varma is depicting  Damyanthi  talking to Swan  is in my hand. 

So when I got a chance to make swan, I jumped at this chance, however my pastry and piping skills are still in its infancy. Unless you try it how you will know that is my hubby’s motto, so tried to make them.

I watched lot of you tube videos however, and  liked a few and here , here and here. I found that for a pate a choux recipe you need water, milk, butter, salt and egg. So I changed the recipe given for the challenge by incorporating milk into them.  I was able to make pate a choux successfully, and then came the dreaded piping part.  I try to pipe a few times, but none of the time  did it look like swan. Finally I gave up and  and accepted the last piped version. If you look them you may not think it can become a swan. Yes it did. 

I was not in a mood to make pastry crème.  I had some cream cheese in hand and it needed to be used up so made cream cheese Chantilly. I used only 2 tablespoon of sugar. However my princess is addicted to frosting, she didn’t care about mama’s swans, and decide to eat only the frosting. By yesterdayevening I was able finish my swans and filled them with cream cheese heavycream frosting. They turned out be beautiful, even my hubby told me they looklike swans. Finally it was difficult for me to eat them. I did it and  they were delicious. If you have to celebrate a party then make these swans as desserts, they are cute and delicious.  Here goes the recipe.

First make  Pâte à Choux for  Swans, gather  your ingredients. 

For Pate a choux

For Cream cheese chantilly

Preheat the oven to 375F.Line two baking sheet with Parchment paper.

Heat milk, water, butter, salt and sugar in medium sauce pot, once milk start boiling, add sifted flour at once. Mix well  so that dough comes together.Remove from the fire and set aside  and gradually incorporate eggs to form  creamy dough.

 

Using a piping bag with star tip pipe swan's body and  with narrow tip  pipe  its head. When I piped both they didn't look like any body or head. Don't worry you will be able to see some after baking. 

While  your swan's body and head is cooling you can make cream cheese Chantilly. Make sure to freeze the bowl and whisk at 10 minutes. Then cream the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and gradually incorporate the whipping cream in steady stream continuing the whisking. Beat until its gets stiff peaks. 

When you are ready to serve, cut the body of swan in the middle to form  two piece. Then again cut the top part into two piece. They become the wings. Fill the bottom part with cream cheese chantitly, and connect the head. And place two wings.

Only fill the swan's with cream when you are ready for serving, not earlier as it become soggy.

Dust them with powdered sugar and serve.

                                                                      Print Recipe

Filled Pâte à Choux Swans with Cream Cheese Chantilly from  Baking Series OFF THE HOOK! by Chef Bruno. Preparation time: 15 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes Serves: 3 Ingredients      Pâte à Choux 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup (240 ml) water 1/4 cup Milk 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 cup /70g all-purpose flour 2 large eggs Cream cheese Chantilly  2 oz cream cheese ( softened at room temperature) 1 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoon granulated sugar ½ teaspoon  vanilla extract Directions 1. Line at least two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper, or grease pans well. 2. Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F/190°C/gas mark 5 . 3. In a small saucepan, combine butter,  milk, water, sugar  and salt. Heat until  milk and water boils and butter melts, then remove from stove. 4. Add flour all at once by sifting well  and beat the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pot. 5. Set aside for about 5 minutes or dough is cool enough to touch. 5. Add one egg at a time  and beat until well combined. Add remaining eggs individually, beating vigorously after each addition. Resulting mixture should be somewhat glossy, very smooth, and somewhat thick. 6. Using a ¼” (6 mm) tip on a pastry bag, pipe out about 11 swan heads. You’re aiming for something between a numeral 2 and a question mark, with a little beak if you’re skilled and/or lucky. 7. Remove the tip from the bag and pipe out 11 swan bodies. These will be about 1.5” (40 mm) long, and about 1” (25 mm) wide. One end should be a bit narrower than the other. 8. Bake the heads  for 10 minutes and bodies  for about 27 minutes until golden and puffy. 9. Remove the pastries to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before filling. Cream cheese Chantilly Chill medium mixing bowl and whisk in freezer for 10 minutes before beginning. In chilled bowl, whisk cream cheese ,sugar and vanilla extract and beat until everything mix well.While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a couple of times while you continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak.  Do not over-whip. Assembly 1. Take a swan body and use a very sharp knife to cut off the top ½. 2. Cut the removed top down the center to make two wings. 3. Dollop a bit of filling into the body, insert head, and then add wings. 4. Your first attempt will probably not look like much, but the more you make, the more your bevy of swans will become a beautiful work of swan art. Variations You can use Vanilla Crème Patisserie, or any other cream of your choice can be used as  filling.

  I am linking this beautiful swan's to Hearth and Soul blog hop hosted here. 
 Food Friends Friday
 

Hearth and Soul Blog Hop 115: 8/28/12

Hearty Welcome to another edition of Hearth and Soul blog hop. I am happy to be part of this wonderful blog hop.  We are looking forward to a delicious, healthy, recipes as all as health related information which helps to energize our body.

We welcome posts that are shared in other events.Recipes should include healthy ingredients and can be old or new recipes or posts. Articles on real food, slow food, foraging, herbal remedies, local food, sustainable food, organics, gardening or any healthy eating information written in a positive and loving light are also welcome.

All the hosts at Hearth and Soul care very deeply about this blog hop, and make an group effort to be sure that every post is commented on. We also Pin and Tweet many of the entries. You don't find this with every blog hop, and in exchange for our efforts, we respectfully request that you include a link in the actual blog post you are sharing back to one of the hosts, either by worded link or using our badge. It is not enough to link using a communal blog party page. People rarely click on these links and it is unlikely they will find the Hearth and Soul hop using these sort of pages.

Among last week Hearth and Soul hop, few recipes requires  special mention are

1.   Eggless pancake from Cook like Priya
2.  Fresh stewed tomato and okra from Miz Helen's Country Cottage
3. Mango Strawberry Cobbler from Food and Thrift
4. Custard apple kulfi from Food mazaa
5. Nutty fruit Ice Cream from Sahasra Recipes
6. Minty Quinoa from Aromatic Cooking
7. Cantaloupe and walntut salad from MJs Kitchen
8. Picnic pasta salad from Veggie converter

Follow   Hearth and soul blog hop at 

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and Twitter

Please link  to any one of the host sites,

Alea of Premeditated Leftovers

April of 21st Century Housewife

Penny of Penniless Parenting
Elsa of  Elsa Cooks
Judy of   Savoring Today

and me

Swathi of Zesty south Indian Kitchen

One link per week, please-Must include a link back to one/any of the host sites (through worded link or badge) in individual post, not on sidebar…although we love having links on your page, as well (this benefits all of us). You will be sent a gentle reminder if no link is added to your post, we understand that sometimes people forget…but if it becomes a regular occurrence, (even though we don’t like to do it) your post may be removed. It’s just not fair to those who do take the time and show the grace to link back.-Try to link a post that you think fits into the mission. You don’t have to link up every week,link up when you can.

Please feel free to grab the Hearth and soul blog hop badge, that will help to spread the word.

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Plantain Cashew nut Nutella Wonton: Dessert you never say no

After making mushroom ginger dumplings I had more than half of wonton wrappers left. May be I left it intentionally by just using only 12 wontons for dumplings. I like fried goodies, they are tasty, and taste they give can’t replicate using a baked version. Yes it is healthy and delicious to still if you ask me which one gets more votes for taste. It is fried ones. 

I tried to convert sabudana vada (sago pearl fritters) and ulli vada (onion fritters) baked version. Yes they are tasty but they can’t match the taste of fried version. Somebody tried and found out that they taste okay but not tasty as the fried one. Hey you are excepting too much from baked food.  I make fried goodies too. I know they are not good for your health. Yes everything in moderation is fine. If you want to make deep fried goodies with 1 teaspoon oil, it won’t the same as you excepting when it comes out of it.

I had seen Giada making fried nutella ravioli with wonton wrappers. At that time I had not discovered Nutella. But then one day when I was at Walmart, I decided I wanted to try the taste of Nutella.  My princess immediately fell in love with Nutella. Whenever she wants Nutella she would bring the bottle to me along with a spoon to dig in. After her eating episode, her entire face will be painted with Nutella.

 I had once made turrón, a Philippine dessert using spring roll wrapper and it is really tasty. So I wanted to use plantain in this recipe. I have a weakness toward plantain and especially when it comes to frying anything with banana. The ripe plantain is sweeter than banana, but not mushy. Further once you fry them the caramelization of sugar in plantain makes it tastier.

I wanted to add some crunch to my fired wontons, so added some crushed cashew nuts. I filled wonton wrappers with ½ teaspoon of nutella, ¼ teaspoon of crushed cashew nuts and a piece of ripe plantain. Riper is better, not ripest one as they tend to lose their shape.  Fry them for about 2-3 minutes, and enjoy with or without powdered sugar. It is delicious and addictive, nobody is going to stop with one or two and they will be going for more. Here the recipe, it is really good as party snack, but make it in a large quantity, as nobody is going to stop with a few.

 Just five  things you need for making this delicious treat,  you need the following things.

Heat oil in pan, crush the cashew nuts and set aside. Peel the skin of plantain and cut into thin rounds and set aside. In a baking sheet line the wonton wrappers and add 1/2 teaspoon of nutella in the center with the help of two spoons. Then add crushed cashew nuts on the top and place plantain on the top. Brush the sides  of wonton wrappers with water( if you are using egg wash, this is the time to use) .Make the wonton wrapper into a triangle and seal the sides well. Don't forget this step  when you frying if it is not sealed well contents will sweep out into the oil. 

Gradually slide the prepared wontons into hot oil and  cook one minute each side or until they become golden brown color. Drain using a slotted spoon  into kitchen tissue for removal of excess oil.

Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy as much  you wish.

                                                        Print  Recipe

Plantain Cashew nut Nutella Wonton                                                                                         adapted from   Tasty kitchen.com Preparation time: 15 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes Serves: 5 Ingredients 28 wonton wrappers, thawed ( I used Nasoya brand) 1/4  cup crushed cashew nuts 2 cups Canola Oil 1 jar (13 Oz. Jar) Nutella hazelnut spread 1 ½ plantains sliced thinly (you should be able to get 28 pieces/ ¼ cup water ( If you want you can used egg wash made of  1 egg + 1 tablespoon of water) powdered sugar for dusting Directions Heat  canola oil in the   frying pan or deep bottom pan, I used the later one. Place  wonton wrappers in a baking sheet.  Cover them with a foil to prevent wonton wrappers from drying. crush cashew nuts in zip lock bag and set aside. Cut plantain into round pieces of ½ inch thick and set aside. place ½ teaspoon of nutella in the center of each  wonton wrapper.  Add crushed cashew nuts on the top of nutella. Then place plantain on the top of nutella and cashew nuts. Dampen the sides of wonton wrapper with water( if you prefer you can use egg wash here)  then wrap the diagonally to form a triangle  and seal very well and Repeat the remaining wonton wrappers until you finish a every thing. It’s important to make sure you have a good, tight seal, otherwise the filling will leak out and cause oil splatters. When the oil reaches 300F, carefully slide in a few wontons into the oil with a long-handled spoon. Fry for 1 minute on each side, until golden brown. Drain on kitchen tissue to let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Variations Try whatever filling you want use.

I am linking this delicious treat to Gallery of Favorites  hosted by Alea and April.
Weekend potluck   at  The country cook
Food Friends Friday