This South
Indian savoury-spicy dish is perfect to
go with Pongal celebrations and is easy to cook using this microwave oven
recipe for Ven Pongal.
Preparation time: 40 min
Cooking time: 30 min
Servings: 4 portions
Ingredients:
1 cup raw rice (sona masuri)
½-1 cup split moong dal
4 cups water
For
tempering:
2 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp broken cashew nuts
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chillies, chopped
1 sprig curry leaf
1 tsp salt
Preparation:
1. Soak rice in water. Take split moong
dal and dry roast it in a microwave-safe bowl for 6 min at 100%
micropower.
2. Now cook the dal and rice together in
a glass bowl with 4 cups of water for 15 min at 100% micropower.
3. Coarsely grind pepper and cumin with
the help of a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
4. In another glass bowl, heat ghee and
oil for 2 min at 100% micropower. Add in the broken cashew nuts, ginger,
curry leaf and green chillies; heat this mixture for 2 min at 100%
micropower. Once the nuts are roasted, add the pepper-cumin mixture and
heat for 2 min at 100% micropower.
5. Add the cooked rice-dal mixture and
salt. Mix everything to combine, cook for 3 min at 60% micropower.
Try this authentic and easy microwave oven
recipe for Puran Poli, a favourite on Makar Sankranti.
Preparation time: 40 min
Cooking time: 25 min
Servings: 8-10 pcs
Ingredients:
For the dough:
3/4
cup whole wheat flour
3/4
cup maida (all purpose flour) + flour for rolling
2
tbsp oil
Water
for kneading
For the filling:
½
cup chana dal (split bengal gram), boiled
½
cup tuvar dal (split pigeon peas), boiled
1
cup powdered jaggery
2
tbsp ghee
6-8
cashews, chopped
6-8
almonds, chopped
6-8
pistachios, chopped
1/4
tsp cardamom powder
Preparation:
1. In a bowl, knead a soft dough with the
ingredients. Cover and let rest.
2. In a microwave-safe glass bowl, add all
ingredients for the puran. Mix well. Heat this mixture for 8 min at 100%
micropower. Stir every 2 min. Check if the jaggery is melted completely; if
not, cook it further for 5 min at 100% micropower.
3. Once the filling is ready, let cool
completely.
4. Preheat the microwave oven on convection
mode at 200°C.
5. To assemble puran poli, take a small
portion of the dough; round it well. Now add a spoonful of the puran in the
dough. Seal the stuffed ball well.
6. Roll the puran polis into 10 cm diameter
with ½ cm thickness.
7. Place the puran polis in the greased
baking tray, apply ghee from top, cook well for 12 min, turn after 8 min to
cook the other side.
Fruits,
custard, cake, jelly, ice-cream … this one has it all! Let everyone indulge in
flavours they love with this Exotic Fruit Trifle recipe.
Preparation time: 40 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Servings: 4 portions
Ingredients:
1 tin stewed fruits
Sponge cake bits (to layer)
1 cup custard powder
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 bowl jelly (any flavour)
Cream biscuits (to layer)
2 scoops vanilla ice-cream
Sprinkles (for garnish)
Preparation:
1.
Make the jelly by mixing the content in water and cook in the microwave oven
for 8 min at 100% micropower. For custard sauce, dilute the powder with cold
milk and heat at 100% micropower for 6 min; whisk after 6 min vigorously to
break the lumps.
2.
Refer to Mocha Cake recipe, follow same recipe procedure without coffee and
chocolate and bake a good quality sponge.
3.
Stewed fruits: Cook diced apples, musk melon and pineapple (30 gm each) in 500
ml water for 6 min at 100% micropower with 50 gm of grain sugar.
4.
In a flat bowl, layer the sponge cake with custard followed with biscuit crumb,
stewed fruits and finally the jelly.
5.
Repeat these layers to fill the bowl.
6.
Keep it in the refrigerator to set. Top it up with vanilla ice-cream and serve
garnished with some sprinkles.
Make
melt-in-the-mouth Malai Peda at home using this easy microwave oven recipe and
enjoy a safe and happy Diwali.
Preparation time: 40 min
Cooking time: 16 min
Servings: 4 portions
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh malai (milk cream)
1 tbsp wheat flour
1½ cup milk
Some kesar (saffron) threads
Sugar (as per taste)
Preparation:
1. Take fresh cream
(do not mix the packet and only take thick cream, not the thin milk) in a
microwave-safe glass bowl and add wheat flour. Stir continuously to avoid
lumps.
2. Heat this mixture
at 100% micropower for 10 min, stirring every 1 min (till the ghee is separated
from the cream).
3. Strain all desi
ghee in another container. Now add 1 cup milk in the mixture and stir.
4. Add kesar and mix
well. Stir again and cook for 6 min (stirring every 1 min) at 100% micropower
till it thickens and takes a dough kind of look with light brown colour. Now
add sugar and continue cooking.
5. Ensure the mixture
is completely dry. Take it out on a plate and let cool.
6. Take small
portions in the palm and make small flat balls. Garnish with chopped almonds.
Is your sweet
tooth during Diwali festivities hampering your desire for healthy living? Sugar
and artificial sweeteners are common barriers to preparing recipes that don’t
affect our health adversely. However, just swapping out a few ingredients in
dishes and reducing our dependence on sugar to satisfy our cravings can go a
long way in making recipes healthier.
So do you wish to
make your festive desserts tasty, yet healthy?
Here are some tips to reduce sugar in your Diwali dessert recipes.
Avoid Cane Sugar
Replace cane sugar
in your recipes with honey or maple syrup. Both have lower glycemic index, meaning they don’t increase blood sugar levels as
fast as cane sugar does. They are also naturally sweeter than sugar, so you
need to put less of them in your dish.
Use Jaggery in Sweet Dishes
Jaggery is a
useful and healthier substitute for sugar in various sweet dishes. It also
helps in nicely binding dishes such as ladoos, barfis, pedha, kalakand, etc.
Put Less Sugar in Fruit Recipes
To make custard
sauce, it is good to put less sugar during preparation. Once the fruits are
added, the custard tends to become sweeter due to the fruit juice seeping into
the dish.
Soak in Milk When Making Halwa
While making halwa
from carrot, doodhi, beetroot, etc., it’s good to soak the grated vegetables in
milk. This helps the vegetables to cook faster and the sugar requirement can be
reduced.
Don’t Add Sugar If Using Condensed Milk
If you are using
condensed milk for Indian sweet dishes, completely avoid adding sugar in the
recipe as this can make the dish extremely sweet.
Use
Spices for Natural Sweetness
To give a natural sweet flavour to your
food and drinks, cut down on sugars and replace with spices such as cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg or ginger.
Use Fruit Pulp to Sweeten Dishes
You can include
pulp of dried peach, apricot, dates, sultanas and raisins as natural sweeteners
while preparing dishes.
Switch to Naturally Sweet Alternatives
Replace your
dessert cravings with something more naturally sweet, such as dates, grapes,
etc.
Include Stevia in Dishes
Use stevia in recipes,
as it has almost zero calories. Research suggests that those with diabetes and
who are trying to lose weight can benefit from its use, as it also helps in
keeping blood sugar levels in check.
Making some small
changes in our lifestyle and switching a few ingredients in our recipes go a
long way in cooking healthy sweet dishes. This festive season, follow these
easy tips to celebrate health and make your Diwali and other festivals free
from guilt.
