Mango Peda - Mango Milk sweet

I read this interesting article in a health magazine recently about how a child views food.Just a tiny write up but a real good one.I could relate with most of the facts that the author had mentioned like,when kids are involved with cooking they eat better.Even it it's something small like cleaning a vegetable or sprinkling some pepper.The author started off with how children notice little details about food,more than we grown ups.They eat with all their senses,how the dish looks,smells,tastes everything matters to them :)If you serve them a lovely dish with just one ingredient that they don't like, they could probably turn down the whole dish.They love fancy and adventurous names for their food.Now doesn't that sound good,if you name a regular soup,'Pirate soup',your kid might probably finish it off in no time.This really works at our place too :)If you had read my mango cake post,you would've read about how I got this big tin of mango pulp.This was yet another dessert that I prepared with the mango pulp.Hubby and I can wipe out a big box of sweets in no time,but my daughter surprisingly doesn't like sweets.But for the first time she ate quite a lot of these pedas. Wonder whether she loved the sound of the name 'Peda' or she just loved its colour ! If you love milk sweets you would definitely love this..So off to the recipe........

You'll Need:
Makes about 15 - 20
Mango Pulp - 350 ml
Sugar - 1/2 cup(depends on the sweetness of the mango)
Paneer - 1 cup(grated)  or Fresh Chenna -1 cup
Whole milk - 1 cup
Milk powder - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cashew nuts - 10 - 12 (broken to small pieces)
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - a few drops
Pista or Almods or Raisins - for decorating

Method:
-To the big jar of a food processor add the paneer,mango pulp,milk and milk powder and pulse for a few seconds until the ingredients are well combined.
-To a pan,preferably non stick or thick bottomed, add the ghee on medium flame and when it warms up add the cashew nuts and stir for a minute.
-Then add the combined pulp,milk,paneer and milk powder and mix well .Add the sugar and mix well.Let it cook for a few minutes on  a medium flame.After some time the mixture will start spluttering.Stay at a safe distance as it splutters very badly.Then reduce the flame and cover it.Let the mixture cook until the spluttering stops.
-Once the spluttering stops remove the lid and increase the heat and start stirring it.
-After 3 -4 minutes you can see the whole mixture clamming up together Add the cardamom powder and vanilla essence and mix well..Keep stirring until the mixture doesn't stick to the pan.You'll know it's done when you get the feeling 'I'll never have to clean that pan' :).
-Transfer the contents to a container greased with oil,ghee or butter .Spread it and let it cool.You can then cut into diamond shapes or make small round pedas like how I've done.Make a small depression on each peda and fill it with pista,almonds or a raisin.It makes it look appetising and cute.Enjoy your peda !

Thanks for stopping by ! Have a nice day !

Chicken & Vegetable Rice

I feel that taking a little break from blogging is exactly like pressing the snooze button on the alarm clock in the mornings :) We've had a hectic two weeks with one thing after the other popping up and the usual dose of cold and cough.I thought I was taking a few days off from blogging and then noticed that I was gone for almost 2 weeks :)

Happy Independence day !! I always admire how fellow bloggers make each occasion special by posting appropriate dishes.Guess I was lucky today,I never actually planned this post but co-incidentally I happened to post a dish that's a little similar to our flag :)Lucky me !!

I'm not a spicy food person,luckily so is hubby.I wonder whether it has something do with the cold climate here,but on most of the days we prefer to eat mildly spiced food loaded with veggies.This is one such thing that I do often.I usually make it when I make chicken soup,it's a nice way to used the cooked chicken .I just save a little of the chicken stock to add flavour to the rice and use the rest to prepare the soup.We love it with just ketchup,but it pairs up well with any spicy gravy.

You'll Need:

Serves 4

Basmati Rice - 1.5 cups

Carrot - 1  (peeled and cut into thin slices)

Potato - 1 small (cut into thin slices)

Capsicum - 1 medium (cut into thin slices)

Broccoli - 15 florets( cut into small florets)

Chicken - 300 g ( Boneless or chicken legs )

Peas - a handful(boiled)

Spring onion - 4 stalks(chopped finely)

Soya sauce - 1 tbsp(optional)

Garlic - 2 -3 cloves(grated)

Pepper Powder - 1 -2 tsp

Olive oil - 2 -3 tbsp

Salt as needed

Method:

-Cook the rice in any method you wish,just make sure that they are well cooked but not mushy,with each grain holding its shape.I usually boil water with some salt and oil ,add the rice and let it cook.Once it's done I drain the rice in a big colander and then  keep it under the tap and let cold water run over the rice for a few minutes.Then I wait until the water drains out completely.This makes sure that the rice grains don't stick to each other. 

-If using Boneless Chicken - Cut the chicken into small bite size pieces.

  If using Chicken with Bone - Boil or Pressure cook the chicken with 1/4 cup of water and a little salt.Separate the stock and the chicken.You can use the stock for boiling the rice or preparing soup or to cook the vegetables.Remove the flesh from the bones and cut it into small pieces.If using  chicken bones the flesh usually falls apart from the bones when cooked well.

-Add the oil to a big pan,add the grated garlic and stir for a  minute.Add the chicken and a little salt and sauté until it's half done.(If using cooked chicken just sauté for a 3 -4 minutes).Then add the potatoes and sauté until the chicken and potatoes are done.Then add all the vegetables(keep a little of the green portion of the green onion for garnishing) and salt as needed and mix well.If using soya sauce add it and mix well.Sprinkle a little water or the chicken stock and cook for a few minutes covered on a low flame.

-After 3 -4 minutes remove the lid and increase the heat. Sauté again till the vegetables are done.Reduce the flame and add the cooked rice and the pepper powder and slowly mix until the rice is well mixed.Check for salt.Garnish with the chopped green onion. Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Have a nice day !