Lychee Kheer / Lychee Payasam

Tasted Lychee Fruit for the first time and it was so yummy .It is nutritious too .It has Vitamin C and B Complex and high fiber content too.The juicy whitish flesh will be heavenly when it traverse through our food pipe :) . I wanted to present it in a sweetened version and tried making a kheer out of it . It turned out so well.My neighbors and my husband enjoyed it very well that I had only a little to taste.

Here is the recipe of my trial with Lychee Kheer .

Ingredients :

Milk	:	1 ltr
Chopped Lychees [ Peeled - Deseeded ]	:	1/2 cup
Sugar	:	To Taste
Ghee	:	1/2 tsp
Condensed Milk (Optional)	:	1/2 Cup
Vanilla Essence (Optional)	:	1 tsp
Cashew Nuts and Almond	:	To Garnish

Preparation Method:

• Add little sugar to Lychee pieces and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat milk in a thick bottom vessel to boil and keep stirring in simmer until the quantity is reduced to half..Ensure to stir often so that the milk is not burnt.
• Add condensed milk to this and let it boil for 2 minutes.
• Add vanilla essence .
• Add sugar to adjust sweetness and stir well
• Add the Lychee Pieces and garnish with cashews and almonds roasted in ghee.
• Lychee Kheer / Payasam is ready to be served.

Tips and Tricks:

• We can add some saffron strands to enhance the flavor and color.
• Adjust the quantity of condensed milk for increased sweetness.
• Drain the ghee well before adding cashews and almonds to the Kheer as the ghee will float on the top which might not be preferred by all.
• Keeping stirring constantly so that the milk is not burnt.
• Tastes great when served chill.

Eggless Bread Apple Pie

Eager to watch my version of  presenting "life of pie"? Here you go on how I succeeded in preparing Crispy Bread Apple Pie in Pressure Cooker.With no Oil and very less butter.

Ingredients :

White Bread Slices	:	2
Green Apple	:	1
Cinnamon Powder/Dalchini	:	2 tsp
Sugar	:	To Taste
Salt	:	To Taste
Butter	:	1 tsp
Vanilla Essence	:	1 tsp

Preparation Method:

For the crust :

• Take white bread.Remove the brown ends.
• Roll it thin using a rolling pin.
• Take a small cup (preferably with a smooth finish ). Grease it with butter.
• Carefully Press and spread the rolled bread in the cup similar to how we line bowls with butter paper.Don't worry if it breaks up as another press would join them together.If you get a fold,press them together to make it a single layer.Slightly spread some butter on top of the bread.

• Meanwhile preheat the pressure cooker.Place the slotted plate which usually comes with the cooker.Close the lid without the washer and weight.Heat it in High Flame for about 6 to 8 minutes.
• Turn the stove to simmer and carefully place the cup and close.Wait for about 20 to 30 minutes.Take it out and let it cool in room temperature.

For the stuffing:

• Peel and remove the seeds of green apple and cut it into small cubes.
• Add Cinnamon Powder , Lemon Juice ,Vanilla essence , Sugar and salt to it. Stir it and leave it for 3 minutes.
• Saute this mixture in medium flame till apple gets cooked and the syrup gets separated.Enjoy the nice aroma :) .

Building the pie:

• Stuff the baked bread with the apple mixture.
• Carefully roll the edges previously cut from the bread.
• Cover the stuffing horizontally and then across.Slightly dip the edges of the rolled pieces in water which will help us to stick it to the tart shell in just a press.
• Slightly grease the cups again and place the stuffed shells and carefully place them in preheated cooker in simmer for 20 minutes.
• Check if the top layer of bread gets slightly brown and hard.If it is still soft,let it remain heated for some more time.

• Take it out and serve warm.Crispy Apple Pie is ready.

Tips & Tricks:

• You can use brown bread instead of white bread.
• I used a soft bread .So it was easy to use to use the brown edges.If the edges are very hard , you can roll another bread and cut them into long thin slices.
• Adding Vanilla essence is optional.
• Diabetic can skip sugar and adding salt is also optional .
• You can add honey instead of sugar.
• Can cut the apple into thin slices instead of cubes.
• Red apple can also be used instead of green apple.

HaraBara Veg Salad

Need a healthy snack ? No cook - No Bake one ? That too easy and quick to prepare.Here you go with a healthy snack which would be exciting and attractive for kids too.

Ingredients:

Corn Kernels	:	1/2 cup
Carrot	:	1
Cucumber	:	1
Tomato	:	1
Violet Cabbage	:	100 gms
Lemon ( Indian Lemon - Small )	:	1
Salt	:	To Taste

Preparation Method:

• Peel the skin of carrot and chop the carrot into small cubes.
• Cut the Tomato and remove the stones and pulp and cut the outer skin into small cubes.
• Chop the cabbage into small pieces.
• Thaw the frozen corn.
• Mix all vegetables and add lemon juice to it.
• Add salt to taste.
• Harabara Veg salad is ready .

Tips and Tricks:

• It is optional to add chopped onion,coriander leaves , Pudhina leaves..
• Sprinkle some Pizza seasoning while serving for kids . You will get no complaints.
• Optionally add other salad dressing like basil,oregano topping or pepper.
• You can add Mayonnaise too to make it creamy.

Idli Milagai Podi / Idli Podi

My Mom's style of preparing Idli Milagai Podi at Home in minutes.

Ingredients:

Urad Dal	:	1/4 cup
Channa Dal	:	2 tbsp
Kashmiri Red Chilli / Paprika	:	1 Cup
Salt	:	To Taste
Oil	:	To Roast

Preparation Method:

1. Dry Roast Urad Dal , Channa Dal and Red Chilli separately in oil.

2. Let them cool at room temperature.
3. Grind them all together to a fine powder in a mixer grinder or Spice grinder.
4. Add Salt and mix with a wooden spoon.
5. Store in an airtight container.

Optionally add separately roasted sesame seeds while grinding which will give good flavor.

Have it with Idli / Dosa with gingelly oil.

Some people use to add little sugar to reduce the spicyness.