coconut barfi recipe, how to make coconut barfi

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

30 mins

Ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

• ½ cup besan (gram flour) OR 50 grams besan
• ½ cup fresh coconut OR 35 grams fresh coconut
• ½ cup ghee OR 100 to 110 grams ghee
• ½ cup milk
• 1.25 cups sugar OR 200 to 210 grams sugar
• ½ teaspoon cardamom powder (choti elaichi powder)

How to make recipe

1. take all the ingredients and keep them ready.
2. grease a tray or a pan with some ghee.
3. heat a heavy iron kadai or pan. keep the flame to a low and add ½ cup besan or gram fl g7our.
4. stir often and roast the besan for 3 to 4 minutes or till you get a nice nutty aroma from it.
5. do not brown the besan. also stir continuously while roasting besan.
6. once the besan becomes aromatic, then add ½ cup fresh coconut, ½ cup ghee and ½ cup milk.
7. mix very well.
8. then add 1.25 cups sugar and ½ teaspoon cardamom powder.
9. mix again very well and stir so that the sugar dissolves. the mixture will also become liquid like.
10. keep on stirring and cooking on a low flame.
11. the mixture will begin to thicken and reduce.
12. continue to cook and stir till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. while stirring also scrape the bottom of the kadai and the sides. if you do not scrape, then the mixture starts sticking and gets browned or burnt. soyou have to non stop stir and scrape. do use flat steel spatula (palta) as this helps in scraping the besan mixture.
13. even after leaving the sides of the pan, continue to cook till you see ghee releasing from the sides. when the barfi mixture looks like one molten mass with some bubbles and ghee releasing from the sides, then switch off the flame. if you cook too much, then the barfi will become hard and crumbly.
14. immediately pour the entire barfi mixture in the greased tray or pan.
15. with a spatula or spoon, even and smoothen the top.
16. let the barfi become warm or cool down at room temperature.
17. then cut with a sharp knio reduce the sugar to 1 cup
18. offer the 7 cup barfi to the deities or serve as a sweet.
19. Recipe Notes

    • recipe can be doubled, but will involve more handwork.
    • you can use desiccated coconut instead of fresh coconut. with desiccated coconut, the cooking time will be less. 
    • you can also reduce the sugar to 1 cup. 

chilli paneer restaurant style recipe, how to make chilli paneer recipe

chilli paneer restaurant style recipe

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

chilli paneer restaurant style recipe – one of the favorite dishes from indian chinese cuisine is chilli paneer. this chilli paneer recipe gives restaurant style taste and flavor.

Cuisine: Indo Chinese

Servings: 3

Ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

for batter:

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (also known as corn flour in india)
• 3 tablespoons maida (all purpose flour)
• ½ teaspoon ginger paste
• ½ teaspoon garlic paste
• ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper or black pepper powder
• ¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder
• salt as required
• ¼ cup water or add as required

for frying paneer:

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 200 grams paneer – cut in cubes

for gravy or sauce:

• 2 small spring onions OR ⅓ cup chopped spring onions
• 2 to 3 green chilies, slit or sliced
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 small to medium capsicum OR ½ cup sliced capsicum
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon red chili sauce
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
• ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
• ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar or add as required
• salt as required
• ½ to ⅔ cup water or add as required
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch (also known as corn flour in india)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons water for dissolving corn starch
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon rice vinegar or white vinegar – OPTIONAL
• 2 to 3 spring onion greens to be added later

How to make recipe

preparing batter:

1. in a bowl take 2 tablespoons cornstarch.
2. then add 3 tablespoons maida (all purpose flour).
3. next add 2 teaspoon finely chopped ginger, 2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic,  ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper or black pepper powder and ¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder. also season with salt as required.
4. add ¼ cup water or add as required.
5. with a wired whisk or a spoon mix very well to get a smooth batter without any lumps.
6. now add paneer cubes in the batter.
7. with a spoon gently coat the paneer cubes with the batter.

frying paneer:

1. heat 3 tablespoons oil in a frying pan. 
2. one side is done, flip it and fry the other side. flip a couple of times and fry till the paneer cubes are crisp and golden. also do not over do the frying as then the paneer cubes can become hard.
3. remove the fried paneer cubes and place them on kitchen paper towels for the extra oil to be absorbed.

preparing sauce or gravy:

1. in the same pan, there will be some oil left. so no need to add any extra oil. add 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger, 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic and 2 to 3 green chilies (slit or sliced).
2. stir fry on medium to high flame for some seconds.
3. then add ⅓ cup chopped spring onions.
4. stir fry spring onions for 1 to 2 minutes on medium to high flame.
5. next add ½ cup sliced capsicum.
6. stir fry on medium to high flame for 3 to 4 minutes. the capsicum only needs to be slightly cooked.
7. lower the flame and then add ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder.
8. then add 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoon red chili sauce.
9. stir and mix the sauces and red chili powder with the remaining stir fried ingredients.
10. add ½ to ⅔ cup water. mix well.
11. let the mixture come to a simmer on medium to medium-high flame.
12. meanwhile take 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a small bowl.
13. add 2 to 3 tablespoons water for dissolving corn starch. corn starch is known as corn flour in india.
14. mix very well to get a smooth paste.
15. lower the flame and then add this corn starch paste to the gravy.
16. as soon as you add corn flour paste to the gravy, mix the paste very well so that no lumps are formed.
17. add ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar or as required. 
18. season with salt as per taste. do keep a check on salt as soy sauce and red chili sauce already have salt in them.
19. mix very well and simmer till the sauce has slightly thickened and the corn starch has cooked. you can check the taste and you should not feel any raw taste coming from the corn starch in the sauce.
20. add the fried paneer cubes.
21. mix paneer cubes very well with the gravy.
22. switch off the flame and then add ¼ to ½ teaspoon rice vinegar or white vinegar. you can skip vinegar if you want.
23. then add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped spring onions greens.
24. mix very well. check the taste and if you want, you can add more soy sauce, chilli sauce, salt, black pepper or sugar.
25. serve restaurant style chilli paneer garnished with some spring onions.

Recipe Notes

• by adding less or more water, you can change the consistency of the sauce or gravy by making it thin or thick. 
• instead of paneer, you can use tofu.
• you can also add the amount of soy sauce, red chilli sauce, green chilies, black pepper, sugar and vinegar as per your requirements.

zarda pulao recipe - how to make zarda pulao | meethe chawal recipe

zarda pulao recipe – meethe chawal or zarda pulao is a fragrant sweet pulao made with rice, dry fruits and saffron. the typical zarda pulao has a yellow color in the cooked rice grains. this color is got by using yellow food color. in this recipe, i have used saffron to get yellow color and not used any artificial colors. zarda pulao is so called as the word ‘zard’ means ‘yellow color’ in persian and urdu language.

zarda pulao is made during festive occasions in our home. this is my mother in law’s recipe and this time when we made zarda pulao, we took video and pics too. the method shared here is easy and not difficult.

there are many variations of zarda pulao made in india as well as in neighboring countries like bangladesh and pakistan. what i am sharing here is how we make zarda pulao at home and it may not fit in the authentic recipe tag.

this zarda pulao recipe gives a really delicious pulao and will be loved by both grown ups and kids. there are various dry fruit and nuts that you can add in the pulao. i have used a mix of cashews, almonds and pistachios. raisins are also added. so do add raisins if you have them. i did not have raisins, hence could not add them.

meethe chawal recipe | zarda pulao recipe

zarda pulao is a fragrant sweet pulao made with rice, dry fruits and saffron.

Ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

for cooking rice:

• ½ cup basmati rice
• enough water for soaking rice
• 5 to 6 cloves
• ⅛ teaspoon saffron or 3 to 4 pinches saffron (kesar)
• 1 cup water for pressure cooking rice

other ingredients for zarda pulao:

• 3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
• ¾ teaspoon green cardamom powder (choti elaichi powder)
• ½ cup sugar
• 8 almonds (badam) – chopped or sliced
• 8 cashews (kaju) – chopped or sliced
• 8 pistachios (pista) – chopped or sliced
• 10 to 12 raisins or add as required

How to make recipe

pressure cooking rice:

1. rinse ½ cup basmati rice very well in water till the water runs clear of starch. then soak basmati rice for 30 minutes in enough water. after 30 minutes drain all the water and keep rice aside.
2. in a 2 litre pressure cooker, pour 1 cup water.
3. add ⅛ teaspoon saffron strands (3 to 4 pinches).
4. with a spoon stir, so that the saffron strands mix with water.
5. then add ½ cup rice and 5 to 6 cloves. you can even add 7 to 9 cloves if you want.
6. pressure cook for 2 whistles or for about 6 to 7 minutes on medium flame.
7. once the pressure settles down, then open the lid and check the rice if its cooked. the rice just need to be cooked. gently fluff the rice.

making zarda pulao:

1. in a heavy kadai or pan, add 3 tablespoons ghee.
2. with a spoon or spatula spread ghee on all sides of the pan. this is done so that the rice grains do not stick to the pan when cooking.
3. add the cooked rice in the pan.
4. add ½ cup sugar.
5. sprinkle ¾ teaspoon cardamom powder. you can also add 1 teaspoon cardamom powder for a pronounced cardamom aroma.
6. mix well but gently, so that the sugar gets mixed evenly with cooked rice grains.
7. on a low flame or low heat, cook the zarda pulao mixture. you will see the sugar melting and some liquid consistency in pulao.
8. stir the pulao mixture occasionally.
9. cook till the sugar solution dries up. after cooking, if in case the rice grains feel hard or dense, then cover the pan with a damp cloth or cotton napkin. cover with a lid and cook zarda pulao for 20 to 30 seconds.
10. once there is no liquid consistency, then add 8 pistachios (sliced), 8 almonds (sliced) and 8 cashews (sliced). mix well and switch off the flame. if adding raisins, then you can add at this step.
11. serve zarda pulao hot or warm. alternatively you can spread it a large plate and then serve. garnish zarda pulao with some cashews, raisins, almonds and pistachios while serving.

Recipe Notes

• the recipe can be doubled or tripled.
• you can use a neutral flavored oil instead of ghee. 
• add dry fruits of your choice. 
• if you want you can add a bit of orange or yellow natural color extract.