Vermicelli Kheer

Happy Diwali!!!!! Deepavali Subhakankshalu!!! Ee samvachharam maa deepavali naivedyam payasam.

Ingredients:
Makes 6 servings
Milk: 1 liter (4 cups) 2% fat
Sugar: 3/4 cup
Elaichi: 8 pods, crushed (cardamom)
Saffron: 6 strands (kesar)
Cashew: 12 to 14 broken into halves
Raisins: 12 to 14
Almonds: chopped, optional
Oil or Ghee: 1 tbsp
Semiya: 1.5 cups (The thin roasted vermicelli, available as "Shan" vermicelli in Indian grocery stores)

Method:
Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add the crushed cardamom.
Let the milk boil, and remove the skins of the cardamom.
Add the roasted semiya and let it cook till soft.
In the meanwhile, in a small pan, roast the nuts and raisins in ghee. The nuts should turn golden brown and the raisins will plump up.
Add the sugar, raisins and roasted nuts to the cooked semiya. Add the saffron.
Serve hot or cold.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving or 1/6th f recipe, 228 gms:
Calories: 335
Calories from Fat: 51
Total Fat: 6gm (9% of DV)
Saturated Fat: 2 (12% f DV)
Trans Fat: 0
Cholesterol: 13 mg (4% of DV)
Sodium: 128 mg (5% of DV)
Carbohydrates: 63 gm (21% of DV)
Dietary Fiber: 1 gm (4% of DV)
Sugars: 35 gm
Proteins: 7 gm

Vitamin A: 6% of DV
Vitamin C: 1% of DV
Calcium: 21% of DV
Iron: 3% of DV

Percent daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet and may vary based on individual requirements.

Breakdown of caloric information:
Carbohydrates: 76% Fats: 15% Proteins: 9%

Beerakai Endu Royyalu

The Andhra way of making dry prawns in sinqua. We recently got some dried prawns right from coastal Andhra (thank you Chinni!) Hope you enjoy this!!!

Ingredients:
Makes 6 servings
Onion: 1, medium, chopped
Sinqua: 1 (toorai, beerakai)
Red Chilies: 2
Green Chilies: 2
Dried prawns: about 20
Garam Masala: 1 tsp
Cumin: 1tsp (zeera)
Extra Virgin Olive oil: 1.5 tbsp
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Ginger-Garlic paste: 1 tsp
Salt and Red chili powder: as per taste

Method:
Soak the dry prawns in water for 1 hour.
Add the oil to a saucepan. Add the cumin seeds and red chilies.
Let the cumin roast for a minute. Add the onions.
Saute till golden, or till the onions are translucent.
Add chopped sinqua (beerakai). Cover and cook till the sinqua gets tender.
Uncover. Add soaked prawns. Saute for 3 minutes.
Add salt, turmeric, chili powder, garam masala and half a cup of water.
Simmer on a low flame for 10 minutes.
Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving, or 36 gms (1/6 th of recipe)
Calories: 58
Calories from Fat: 34
Total Fat: 4 gm (6% of DV)
Saturated Fat: 1 gm (3% of DV)
Trans Fat: 0 mg
Cholesterol: 25 mg (8% of DV)
Sodium: 418 mg (17% of DV)
Carbohydrate: 2 gm (1 % of DV)
Dietary Fiber: 1 gm (2% of DV)
Sugars: 1 gm
Proteins: 4 gm

Vitamin A: 4% of DV
Vitamin C: 10% of DV
Calcium: 2 % of DV
Iron: 5% of DV

Percent daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet and may vary based on individual requirements.

Caloric Breakdown:
Carbohydrates: 14% Fats: 59% Proteins: 27%

Negatives about this dish: This dish has high ratio of omega 6 fatty acids to omega 3 fatty acids, which means it will reduce both the good and bad fats.

Mullangi Rasam

Mullangi Rasam or Mullangi Chaaru. I love the taste of piping hot rasam when its cold and dark outside. I remember my grandfather smiling and telling us, "Mullangatani soup is nothing but rasam". When you are down with a cough or cold, hot rasam is what you want to have. I personally love Radish Rasam (Mullangi Rasam) because I get to bite on tasty little radish pieces.

I used the small red radish in this recipe, but you can also use the regular white radish for this recipe.



Ingredients:
Makes 4 cups, or 8 servings
Red radish: 8 (sliced into thin rounds)
Tamarind: one tbsp (soaked in 2 cups water for 15 to 30 minutes)
Curry leaves: one sprig
Garlic: 4 pods
Olive oil: 1 tbsp
Urad dal: 1 tsp
Chana dal: 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds: 1/2 tsp (menthulu, methi seeds)
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp (zeera)
Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp (ingua, hing)
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp (haldi)
Red chilies: 3, broken into halves
Rasam powder: 1 heaped tsp
Cilantro: as per taste

Method:
Soak the tamarind in 4 to 4.5 cups of water for 15 to 30 minutes.
Add oil to a saucepan. Add the urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds, fenugreek, cumin, asafoetida, turmeric, red chilies, garlic and curry leaves.
Let them sizzle, then add the sliced radish. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the tamarind water. Add salt. Cover and let the radish cook till tender, but not soggy.
Remove the lid, and let the flavor simmer in for 5 minutes.
Add the rasam powder and chopped cilantro. Let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
Serve hot garnished with more fresh cilantro.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving or 1/8 of recipe:
Calories: 21
Calories from fat 16
Total fat: 2 gm (3% of DV)
Saturated Fat: 0 gm (1% of DV)
Trans Fat: 0 mg
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 439 mg (18% of DV)
Carbohydrate: 1 gm (0% of DV)
Dietary Fiber: 0 gm (1% of DV)
Sugars: 0 gm
Proteins: 0 gm

Vitamin A: 0% of DV
Vitamin C: 2% of DV
Calcium: 1% of DV
Iron: 2% of DV

Percent daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet and may vary based on individual requirements.

The main component in this recipe is water.