This is a very easy sweet dish prepared in most of the festivals in India. I am posting this for my own reference and to help cooking newbies. Few days back, I did not know how to make this. I would call up my aayi everytime I wanted to make this.
Some people make these Vermicelli or Shevayi (Konkani) or Shyavige (Kannada) at home. The home made variety is best comapred to the readymade. They make it very thin and it tastes amazing. My friend’s grandmother, Mrs Diwan, makes it at home. It requires a lot of expertice and patience to make these at home. I usually make this sweetdish with readymade vermicelli.
Ingredients: 1 cup vermicelli 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 tea spn cardamom powder 2 cups milk 1 tbl spn ghee 1 tbl spn raisins(dried grapes) 1 tbl spn cashews
Method: Heat ghee and fry vermicelli on a medium flame for around 4-5mins. Add milk and cook till vermicelli is completely done, mix occasionally. Add sugar, raisins, cashews and cook for another 3-4mins. Add cardamom powder, mix well and remove from heat. Serve hot or chilled.
Serves : 3-4 Preparation time: 15mins
PS: Sugar needs to be added after vermicelli is completely cooked, otherwise, it remains raw.
I am going to post some of the simplest possible dishes every now and then. These are the ones any newbies can make and even the experts love such recipes when they are in hurry. I learnt these when I was working for a IT company in Bangalore. I used to prepare breakfast and lunch in the morning. My lunch was always detailed, I hardly took any shortcuts. So at such times, I would make some easy and very tasty sandwiches for breakfast.
In Bangalore, these grilled sandwiches are available in many Darshinis (popular fast food joints). I always loved these. So when my friend gifted me a sandwich maker, I started making these at home. This is not the actual recipe from Darshinis , but what I have tried and tested many times. This is my hubby’s favorite breakfast.
Ingredients: 8 slices of bread 1 onion 1 boiled potato 1/2 cup coriander leaves 1/4 cup mint leaves(optional) 2 tbl spn olives (optional) 3-4 green chilies 1/4 tea spn tamarind (or 1 piece of normal tamarind) 2″ ginger 1/2 cup grated coconut(fresh/frozen) Salt
Mint leaves available in US are very strong, so decrease it according to taste.
Method: Make a chutney of coriander-mint leaves, ginger, green chilies, tamarind, coconut and salt (without adding too much water). Apply a thick layer of chutney on one side of bread. Spread potato slices, onion and olives on it.
Apply another thick layer of chutney on second slice. Keep the second slice with the chutney facing down on the first slice. Grill it in sandwich maker. Follow the same with other slices. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.
Serves : 2-3 Preparation time : 10mins
PS: Follow the instructions on the sandwich maker for the grilling instructions. I grill my sandwiches very lightly. You can grill for more time to make them crisp.
