Bachelor recipes Archives - Susmita Recipes

Vermicelli (Seviyan) Kheer – How to make Semiya Payasam

August 5, 2015 By susmita 1 Comment

Seviyan kheer or Vermicelli kheer also known as Semiya payasam in south India is one of the simplest yet incredibly one of the tastiest sweet dessert that is made throughout India. It is a regular during festivals and for special occasions.

My mum used to make one of the yummiest seviyan kheer and most often I used to urge her to make it for me. It was such a comfort food for me at that time. What I like about this dessert is that it is very quick to make and you can quickly prepare it for kids or for guest in no time at all.

Seviyan or vermicelli is usually available in two forms in the market – one is the traditional thin and roasted form, and the other is a white in colour and is usually bit thicker as compared to the traditional one. Making kheer with the thin and roasted variety is quicker since it doesn’t needs to be roasted.

In this post I have made the kheer using the thicker variety of seviyan and therefore, I have roasted it prior to adding the milk.

You can add any type of dry fruits like cashew-nuts, raisins, almonds or pistachios according to your choice.

Ingredients required for Seviyan Kheer / Semiya Payasam :

Broken Seviyan/Vermicelli (Roasted/non-roasted)- 1/2 cup
Whole milk – 2 1/2 cups
Sugar – 3-4 tbsps
Cardamom – 4-5 (powdered)
Cashew-nuts – 10-12 (split in half)
Raisins – 1 tsp
Saffron – A few strands (optional)
Clarified butter/Ghee – 2 tbsps

How to make Vermicelli Kheer / Semiya Payasam:

Heat 2 tbsps of clarified butter/ghee in a pan.
Roast the cashewnuts on a very low flame till they turn slightly pinkish in colour. Don’t brown them.
Separately roast the raisins. Drain and keep them aside.
Now in the remaining ghee add 1/2 cup of vermicelli.
Roast on a medium flame till vermicelli starts turning brown in colour. This will take around 3-4 minutes. Skip browning the vermicelli if it is the roasted form. In this case you just need to roast it for 1 minute or so.
Add milk and cook on a medium flame.
After 10-12 minutes the vermicelli will turn soft. By this time the milk will also start to thicken. If you feel the kheer is very thick add some more milk.
Now add 3 – 4 tbsps of sugar.
Dissolve a few strands of saffron in 1 tsp of warm milk.
Add the dissolved saffron to the kheer mix.
Now add the roasted dry fruits.
Finally add 1/2 tsp of cardamaom powder and mix.
Cook for further 1-2 minutes till the kheer thickens some more.
The kheer can be served hot, warm or chilled – It tastes equally good in every form !!

Lauki Raita – Dudhi (Ghiya) Raita

June 18, 2015 By susmita Leave a Comment

Ingredients required for Lauki Raita Recipe:

Yoghurt/Dahi – 1 1/2 cups
Bottle gourd/Lauki – 1 cup (chopped and de-seeded)
Ginger – 1/2 ” piece
Green chillies – 1-2
Mint leaves – A small bunch
Roasted cumin powder – 1 tsp
Black pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
Chaat masala – 1 tsp
Black Salt – 1/2 tsp
Salt- As per taste
Water – As required

How to make Lauki Raita:

Chop the bottle gourd/lauki into small pieces. Alternately you can also grate them.
Boil 1 1/2 cups of water with a pinch of salt.
Add the chopped bottle gourd and boil it until it is completely cooked and becomes soft. Drain and keep aside
Whisk the curd until it is smooth and creamy. Add about 1/2 cup of water and stir evenly.
Grind together mint leaves, ginger and green chillies in a grinder.
Add the ginger-green chillies paste to the curd mixture and mix.
Add all the spices and stir once again.
Now add the cooked bottle gourd to the curd mixture.
Mix well. Adjust salt and water consistency.
Lauki Raita or Dudhi Raita is ready. Serve it as a side dish for lunch and dinners.

Boondi Raita – How to make Boondi Raita

June 18, 2015 By susmita Leave a Comment

Ingredients required for Boondi Raita Recipe:

Curd/Yoghurt (Dahi) – 1 1/2 cups
Fried boondi – 3/4 cupGinger – 1/2 ” piece
Green chillies – 2
Roasted jeera powder – 1 tsp
Black salt – 1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder – 1/4 tsp
Chaat masala – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp (optional)
Salt – As per taste
Water – As required

How to make Boondi Raita:

Whisk the curd evenly till it becomes smooth. Add 1/2 cup of water and whisk again.
In a grinder, grind together ginger and green chillies to a fine paste.
Add the ginger-chilli paste to the curd mixture and whisk.
Now add all the spices.
Immerse the boondi in 2 cups of warm water. Let it stand for about 5-6 minutes.
After 5-6 mins, the boondis will swell and become soft. Soaking also helps get rid of the excess oil of boondi.
Drain the water and slightly squueze out the water from boondi. Care should be taken not to mash them.
Transfer the soaked boondis to the curd mixture.
Mix everything evenly. Check for salt.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves. Refrigerate for at least half an hour before serving.
Your boondi raita is ready. Serve chilled along with biryani or pulao or with any rice dish for lunch or dinner.

Footnotes:

Adjust the quantity of water according to your preference. If you prefer a bit thicker raita, add less water.
If you like the crisper version of boondi raita, skip the soaking step and directly add the boondi to the curd mix.

Brinjal Fry – Baingan Fry

April 4, 2015 By susmita Leave a Comment

Brinjal Fry recipe basically involves the brinjals/aubergines to be marinated in spice powders and are then shallow fried from both sides which makes the brinjals crispy grom the edges and deliciously soft in between. Traditionally for this recipe, large sized purple coloured brinjals are used. These brinjals are usually cut in round slices and fried. But in this post I have tried using the white variety of the brinjals and I have cut the brinjals length wise.

The brinjal fry is a quick to make side dish and I usually make this dish when I am short of time or feel a bit lazy to make a traditional sabzi that requires a lot of time 😉 . Brinjal fry can be accompanied by roti, paratha or even for lunch along with rice and dal.

Ingredients required for Brinjal Fry Recipe:

Whole brinjal/eggplant – 1-2 (big)
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Garam masala – 1/ 4 tsp
Water – 1 tsp
Salt – As per taste
Oil – 2 tbsp (For shallow frying)

How to make Brinjal/Baingan Fry:

Wash the brinjals and cut them length wise. Make 2-3 pieces out of the length wise cut brinjal. Alternatively you can also cut 1.2 inch round pieces of the brinjal.
Now make a paste of all the masalas along with the salt with some water.
Now coat the slices with the prepared masala paste and mariante it for about 10-15 minutes.
In a flat skillet or frying pan, pour 2 tbsp of oil.
When the oil becomes sufficiently hot, place a few of the brinjal pieces into the oil. Place in such a way that they do not touch each other.
Now shallow fry on a medium to low flame till one side gets cooked. Flip to the other side and cook till done.
Remove on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
Your brinjal fry is ready. Serve it with roti or rice.

Mango and Mint Chutney – Aam Pudina Chutney

April 1, 2015 By susmita Leave a Comment

With the advent of summer season the one fruit we all wait for is surely Mango or the King of all fruits. Mango can be enjoyed in all its form, be it raw or the ripe fleshy ones. In early summers we get plenty of raw mangoes. This is the time we make pickles and chutneys out of it.

With this post I am sharing one of my family’s favourite mango chutney that has one more summer wonder herb…yes! the Mint also known as Pudina in Hindi. This Mango and Mint Chutney or Aam aur Pudina ki Chutney is a sweet and tangy green chutney that is lip smacking good! It is very simple to make and does not even call for a lot of ingredients. Just basic chopping and no cooking and your chutney is ready in minutes…!! 🙂

At home we usually have it along with rice and dal at lunch. Good for those lazy afternoons when I don’t wish to cook a side dish or sabzi and on such days this chutney is a life-saver 😉

Mango and Mint chutney can be made in bulk and stored in refrigerator for 1 week or so. I usually make it in bulk and enjoy it with lunch or sometimes even add a small amount of it in raita to add that extra zing in it.

Ingredients required for Mango and Mint Chutney Recipe:

Raw mango – 1 (peeled and chopped)
Mint leaves – 1 cup
Onion – 1 (small)
Green chillies – 2-3
Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1 tbsp
Salt – 1 tsp

How to make Mango and Mint Chutney:

Wash and peel the mango. Cut off as much of the mango around the seed and chop the mango flesh.
In a grinder add the mint leaves, mango chunks, green chillies and diced onions. Add 1/2 tsp of cumin powder.
Add 1 tbsp of sugar and the required salt and grind the mixture to form a smooth paste.
Your Mango and Mint Chutney is ready. Serve it along with rice and dal.