South Indian Mixture-Diwali Snack

Mixture is a salty, spicy favorite snack for everyone In home we make Mixture at home with all the usual ingredients and a couple of our own additions. . . The main components are the Boondi and Omapodi. The other components like Aval, Peanuts, Pottu Kadalai, Curry Leaves along with red chilly powder, salt and asafoetida etc are added for enhanced taste.

Ingrediants

Besan  - 4 cups

Rice flour – 2 cups

Maida – 1 cup

Cashew nuts – 100 gms

Groundnuts – 150 gms

Fried gram – 100 gms ( pottu kadalai)

Aval – 100 gms

Butter – 6 tsp

Fresh curry leaves –  hand full ( washed and dried)

Chilly powder – 1tsp or as per  taste

Salt- 1 ½ tsp  or as per taste

Asafoetida – 1 Tsp

Oil – for deep frying

OMAPODI PREPARATION

Ingrediants

Besan – 2 cups

Rice flour – ½ cup

Salt – 1/4  tsp

Butter or ghee – 2 Tsp

Oil – for deep frying
Method:

Mix besan , rice flour,  salt with  water and make it into a thick paste like  batter but a soft one.

Heat the oil in the kadai. Take the  sev press and fill it till 3/4th.Meanwhile heat oil - To check if the oil is hot, pinch a small piece of dough and drop it in oil if it immediately comes to top then the oil is ready.

Now start pressing it into the hot oil by making circles. Fry it untill it is golden yellow and crispy. Crispy Omapodi  is ready

BOONDHI PREPARATION

Ingredients

Besan ( Gram flour) – 2 cup

Rice flour –  1/2cup

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Baking powder – 1 pinch (optional)

Butter – 2 tsp

Method:

Mix besan , rice flour,  a pinch of baking powder & and 1/4 tsp  salt in water and make it into a thick but pouring  batter  .

Pass them into a special boondhi ladle .Rub the batter evenly and quickly through the holes with a spoon.

It will fall in fine round beads.  Now and then move them gently with a perforated spoon.  Deep fry till it is golden yellow in color.   Remove it form the oil with the help of a perforated spatula.  Allow the excess oil to get drained on a kitchen tissue paper. Repeat the process till all the batter is over.

Now set aside boondhi and omapodi .

Sweet diamond Thukada Preparation:

Ingredient:

Maida – 1 cup

Butter – 1 tsp

Salt – 1 pinch

Sugar 2 tsp (powdered)

Water – to need the dough

Procedure

Mix  all purpose flour with salt , sugar, butter and water and make it into a dough softer in consistency than roti dough.

Roll it in to a chapathi ( little thick), cut it into small diamond pieces and deep fry it immediately. If the dough stays for long thukada will become hard. Sweet thukadas are ready. Set aside and allow it to cool.
For Mixture:

In a dry pan just fry the fried gram for about 5 minutes without applying oil.

Again deep fry groundnuts, cashew nuts, aval and curry leaves one by one.  Allow the oil to drain well in a kitchen tissue before mixing it along with boondhi and omapodi.

Now mix the chilly powder along with salt and asafoetida.

Now in a big pan first put the bondhi,  then crushed omapodi,  the fried nuts and aval- curry leaves fry and on the top put the chilly-salt powder mixture and throughly mix everything from top to bottom so that the chilly- salt powder spreads evenly.

Spicy south Indian mixture is ready to taste.

Rava Besan Ladoo

Rava Besan ladoo is an indian sweet made during Diwali. Rava and besan together adds crunchiness and softness to the delicacy. Cashews and raisins add  richness to the sweet. It’s really easy and simple to make. Everyone at our home likes these simple ladoos.

Ingredients:

Besan/Chickpeas Flour - 1 1/2 cup

 Sugar-3/4 cup

Sooji/Rava- ¾ cup 

 Ghee - 1/2 cup

Water-1cup

Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp

Almonds - 3 tbsp (chopped finely)

Raisins- 1 tbsp

Method:

1.Warm the ghee on low heat. Chop the almonds coarsely. Set aside.

2.In a bowl, sift the chickpea/besan flour. Dry roast the besan for 10 minutes in simmer flame till you smell a nice aromatic flavor

3.Add the semolina/Rava and the ghee. Mix well until well combined and roast rava for 5 minutes.

4.And just fry the raisins and almonds in a tbsp of ghee separately.

5.Remove besan mixture from heat and set aside in a bowl to cool. add the Raisins, cardamom and half the almonds to this mixture.

6.Now In another pot, add the sugar and water. Start boiling on medium heat. Keep boiling it for 5 mins.  After 5 mins of rapid boiling and it form in single thread  consistency.

7.Pour this sugar syrup into the dry mixture. Mix well with a spoon. Make sure there are no lumps. 8.Cover it and let this mixture rest till it cools down, absorbs all the syrup and thickens enough to form a ball.

9.Shape the mixture into small ladoos. Garnish with remaining almonds.

Chocolate Pistachio Fudge

Chocolate Pistachio Fudge (Originally published by Nigella Lawson)

This recipe I have taken from nigella.com.. The fudge looks absolutely stunning.I have no words to decribe how tempting it looks.The chocolate and pistachio combination is my favorite. The pistachios looked so beautiful against the chocolate fudge. This fudge is worth making...for its ease, express speed & taste.

Ingredients:

350gms - dark chocolate / roughly broken up

Condensed Milk - 1 can

Butter -2 tbsps

Salt - 1 pinch

Shelled pistachios - 1 cup (can substitute it with some other nut of your choice,)

Method:

1. Melt the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, butter, and salt in a heavy based pan on a low heat.

2. Put the nuts into a freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin, until broken up into both big and little pieces.

3. Add the nuts to the melted chocolate and condensed milk and stir well to mix.

4. Pour this mixture into a 9-inch square foil tray, smoothing the top.

5. Let the fudge cool and then refrigerate until set. Cut the fudge into small pieces with a sharp, buttered knife. You may need to wipe the knife clean after each cut.