One Day At A Time!

Cranberry Shira Sheera or Sooji ka Halwa or Kesari is a rich, decadent dessert traditionally made using Ghee (Clarified Butter) and with lots of dry fruits - golden raisins, cashews, almonds.  Some like to cook this sweet with milk - Milk Kesari.   Let me tell you how I make this delicacy - with store bought unsalted butter, crunchy cashews and slightly tart cranberries. Ingredients: Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 1 cup Unsalted Butter - 1/4 pound (1/2 cup) Sugar - about 1/3 cup Dry Cranberries - about 1/2 cup Cashews - about 1/4 cup Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 4 pods Nutmeg/Jaiphal - 1/8 tsp Saffron/Kesar - few strands How to make Sheera using Butter: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Roughly chop cashews and cranberries. Heat 3 cups of water in a pot.  Wait until water starts boiling.   Heat 1 tbsp butter in a kadhai or a pan.  Fry cashews in butter until cashews turn golden brown.  Keep them aside.  Now...

Who doesn't like restaurant style crunchy fries, onion rings? Of course, they are deep fried and loaded with calories. These days, baking such addictive appetizers in an oven is a healthy alternative.   To see it for myself, I tried baking onion rings once. Since then, it has become a regular side with baked  Veggie Burgers  at our place. Trust me, you won't miss the fried ones. Ingredients: Yellow (Vidalia) Onion - 1 big Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs - about 2 cups Besan/Chickpea Flour - 1/2 cup Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Oil - about 3 tbsp Salt How to bake crunchy Onion Rings in an oven: Peel the onions and slice them 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick round slices. Separate them into rings. Sprinkle salt and fresh ground black pepper. Set it aside at room temperature for an hour or longer. Salt will soften the onions a little. Traditionally, onion rings are soaked in buttermilk to soften them. For me, just salt works fine. Line two baking dishes with aluminum foil...

When it comes to South Indian crepes, most of us like the crisp Masala Dosa . My folks like the healthy variations too - Oats Masala Dosa and  Ragi Masala Dosa . But, its such a lengthy process. Instant dosa with no baking soda and no overnight fermentation is the most nutritious breakfast I can think of. Try these quick, gluten free finger millet savory crepes to kick start your day. Ingredients: Ragi/Nachni/Finger Millet Flour - 1/2 cup Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Urad Dal Flour - 1/4 cup Water - about 1 1/2 cups Oil or Butter or Ghee Salt How to make Instant Ragi Dosa: In a mixing bowl, add ragi flour, rice flour, urad dal flour and salt. Mix well. Now add water, little at a time and make a thin batter. I added about 1.5 cups water. Batter must not be too thick nor too runny. Heat a flat cast iron or non stick pan. Lightly grease the pan with cooking spray or ghee or butter. Do not add too much oil. Too much oil makes it difficult to spread the batter evenly...

Kale Bean Soup March is here and still there are no signs of spring. Hopefully, by 21st, warm weather will grace us. Until then, hot soups are my favored meals. One of my comfort foods is today's wholesome kale and bean soup with tangy tomatoes. Ingredients: Kale Leaves (chopped) - about 3 cups Dry White Beans - 1/2 cup Canned Tomato Paste - 4 tbsp Yellow Onion - 1 medium Dry Oregano - 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp Dry Rosemary - 1/2 tsp Garlic and Herb Seasoning - 1/2 tsp Celery Salt - 1/2 tsp Sriracha Sauce - 1 tsp Olive Oil - 2 tbsp Salt How to cook Kale and White Bean Soup: Soak dry white beans in plenty of water overnight. Wash the soaked beans well and cook them until soft. Save the water used for cooking beans. You can use any other beans of your choice. And canned beans will save some time. Finely chop onions. Discard the thick stems and roughly chop kale leaves. In a big pot, heat oil. Add onions and saute for a minute. Add celery salt and saute unti...