Microwave Mysore Pak

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Recipe Source: Indus Ladies
Though the texture and taste may not be exactly same as the traditional mysore pak, this recipe is definitely worth a try for 2 reasons
The amount of ghee used is nearly half compared to the traditional recipe
It just takes 5 minutes and you just dont need to worry about the sugar syrup consistency!

The taste was absolutely delicious.

Ingredients
Besan flour: 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar: 1 cup
Ghee: 1/2 cup
Milk: 2 tsp

Procedure:
Step1:
Sift the besan and keep it ready.

Step2:
Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in a pan and slightly fry the besan

Step3:
Heat the remaining ghee in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds in microwave

Step4:
Now add the fried besan, milk and sugar and mix well without lumps

 Step5:
Microwave this mixture for about 2-3 minutes. Mine got done in 2 minutes.(This really depends on the microwave)
The mixture should become porous. That is the consistency we should look for

Step6:
Pour in a greased pan and allow to cool for 10 minutes.Cut into desired shapes

Notes:

• The original recipe did not call for frying the besan. I fried this to eliminate the raw smell of besan
• I used confectioners powdered sugar. I am not sure if the regular sugar would work. The confectioners sugar had some binding ingredients
• Remove from microwave once the mixture becomes porous. I tried this recipe before and I heated for 3 minutes. Around 1/4 cup of ghee got separated and the mysore pak was almost brittle. So check for the mixture every 30 seconds

The making of cars McQueen Cake

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My son is an ardent fan of Disney Cars movies and he asked me to bake a cars cake for his birthday.Last year I tried with butter cream icing and made something like car but it was nowhere resembling any of the actual cars movie characters(May be I did not watch the movie last year). This time i thought of trying it with fondant. As I was not very confident handling the marsh mellows to make my own fondant I settled for the ready made Wilton's rolled fondant.
Here goes the step by step instructions for making cars the cake.

My daughter also wanted to take part in the decoration. She made the those small red beads.It helped to hide some of the imperfections as well.

The race flag is just plain paper colored with marker. I just fixed it with a tooth pick.

Notes:
For beginners it is better to first try with the colored rolled fondant.

SEMIYA PAYASAM | VERMICELLI KHEER

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Ingredients
Semiya: 1/2 cup
Water: 1 cup
Sugar: 1/2 cups
Milk: 1 cup
Cashew nuts/Almonds: 1 tablespoon
Cardomom:  2 to 3
Ghee: 1 tablespoon
Pachai karpooram(Edible Camphor): a pinch (optional)
Saffron: a pinch (optional)

Procedure
Step1:
Heat ghee in a frying pan and the cashew nuts and keep it aside

Step2:
In the same ghee fry the vermicelli (semiya) until it starts to trun color to reddish brown

Step3:
Boil 1 cup of water and add fried semiya

Step 4:
Stir and cook until all the water is drained. The semiya should be soft but it should not be mushy

Step5:
After the semiya is  cooked add sugar and mix well

Step6
Now add the boiled milk and cardomom powder and edible camphor.
Garnish with fried cashews

Notes:
Do not add sugar before the semiya is cooked.Otherwise the semiya will take more time to cook
Raisins can also be added.

Payatham paruppu Inipu sundal (Sweet Sundal)

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Ingredients
Whole green gram dhal(Payatham paruppu): 1/2 cup
Jaggery: 1/4 cup
Salt: a pinch
Grated coconut: 1/4 cup
Cardomom powder: a pinch

Procedure:
Step1:
Dry fry the dhal for a couple of minutes and cook with enough water in cooker for 2 whistles with a pinch of salt.
Make sure the dhal is not overcooked

Step2:
Drain the dhal and keep it aside

Step3:
Heat the jaggery with 2 tablespoon of water and melt the jaggery.
Filter it in a strainer to remove the impurities

Step4:
Heat the filtered jaggery syrup again until it reaches 1 string consistency

Step5:
Now add the cooked dhal and mix well

Step6:
Add the grated coconut and cardamom powder and switch off the flame

AMBAL KALASA ALANKARAM

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One of the readers had enquired today on decorations of kalasam that I posted for Varalakshmi nonbu.
I am not sure if it is appropriate to take the step by step pictures of Kalasam decorations.So I have tried to illustrate through my drawings (pls bear with it) to my level best.

Procedure:
First place the wooden plank 
On top of it place the banana leaf and fill with rice or other stuffs as per the family custom
Place a thick and sturdy box on top if (This is just to raise the height)
Place the Kalasam and fill with the auspicious things as per the customs
Now place the coconut on top of it as shown in step 1
Also tie a pencil (or any wooden stick) joining the neck of the kalasam and coconut.This is to support the garland. I used a tick twine to tie the pencil around the neck

Now take a silk pavadai (I used a pavadai meant for toddlers). Fold into two and just gather the pleats
Tie it around the base of the kalasam and secure with a safety pin
Also tie a thick thread around it so that it stays tight

For the blouse part take another piece of cloth (I used a maroon blouse piece with border in it) and fold it such that it has around 4" of breadth.
Wrap it around the kalasam and secure with a safety pin

Fix the amman face in the coconut and adorn with jewels.
Also place the garland which will be supported the pencil on both sides.
The garland that I have used is made out of satin ribbon

Tieing the saree

Fold the cloth and gather the pleats

Tie it around the Kalasam. Wrap another cloth around the coconut

Kadalai Paruppu Sundal (Bengal gram)

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Ingredients
Bengal gram dhal (kadalai parupu): 1 cup
Salt: 1 tsp
Hing: 1/8 tsp
Red chillies: 5
Grated coconut: 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Urad dhal: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: a sprig
Oil: 2 tsp

Procedure:
Step1:
Soak the dhal for 2 hours

Step2:
Cook the dhal with enough water for 2 whistles in cooker. Make sure it is not overcooked.
The dhal should not be mushy.It should retain the shape

Step3:
Drain the excess water from the cooked dhal

Step4:
Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering add urad dhal , red chillies and curry leaves. Add asafoetida as well. 

Step5:
Now add the grated coconut and fry for a minute

Step6:
Add the cooked dhal and salt and mix well