Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Sheera: Prasadam for Shirdi Sai Baba

Every Thursday is Termed 'Baba Day' in my household..Thanks to my Mom's visit last year, I have a small Baba Idol to perform pooja. Mom is a staunch Baba devotee, Although I am not as staunch, I do have immense faith in him. Baba has become a part of our family and Vkutty calls him 'Baba Thatha' (Grandpa) :) and does 'Ummachi kaapathu' (Prostrates) to him every single morning.
Friends who know me well, Also know that On Thursdays I don't eat anything before my Baba Arathi and Sheera Neivethyam. 
Sheera is a Delicious form of your regular Sooji halwa, with slight variation, Of course :) 
Time and again friends have asked me for the recipe..so here goes:-

Ingredients:

Rava -1/2 cup
Sugar-1/2 - 1 cup (per taste)
Milk - 1 1/2 Cups (warm)
Ghee - 2 Tbsp
Elaichi/ Cardamom - 1 Tsp (crushed)
Saffron - A pinch full (immersed in a spoon of cold milk)
Cashwes and Raisins fr Garnish

Method:

Heat Ghee in a Kadai or a heavy bottomed vessel and add the rava..
Stir constantly to avoid burning. It should not turn brown
Once the rava is well roasted, add Saffron immersed in Milk and mix well.
Now add the 1 1/2 cups of Milk, stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
In a few minutes the Rava and Milk will start to thicken. 
Now add Sugar and stir. 
The whole mixture should to come together in a loose halwa form and the ghee will start to separate around the corners. 
Stir for another 5 minutes and turn the heat off.
Garnish with Roasted cashews, Raisins and Cardamom powder.
Sheera is Ready for Neivethyum.

Tip: I add the Cardamom powder while roasting Cashews and Raisins for extra flavor. 

The pic does no justice to this Delicious Halwa..I need to get a bit more professional on the 'Presentation and Food Image capturing' Area :(...

Hope you guys enjoy this Yummolicious sweet. 

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Celebrating my Darling Niece, Bhavna Balachandran...Happy Birthday Bhav kutty :)

She is an Angel who flew to the Earth
Her wings disappeared at the time of her Birth, 
One look in to her eyes and you will never be the same..
A blessing in every way and "BHAVNA" is her name...
Cute as a bug and sooo precious to hug..
She is turning 2 and All i want to say with all my heart is "I love youuuuuuuu" :)
Happy Birthday Bhav kutty...Miss u soo very much..

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Back to Blogging :) and this time its for Real :) :)

Its been a real long time since I posted something here....
Have been thinking about getting back to blogging...There is soo much going on and sooo much has happened in the recent past...Soo much to blog about, soo much to catch up on...
Have to start somewhere,,, Now, seems to be the perfect time for that :) )

Thanks Laks and Rajji for the push :):)..Rajji, I will keep your words and ideas in mind for future posts...Thanks..

Come back soon Y'all and I promise to keep this place updated...
This time around, I intend to keep my promise :) :)...
XO
C