LETZ COOK/CRAFT/MAKE

I made this traditional dessert for dinner on diwali and everyone loved it. It was a very simple and easy recipe and tasted divine. I took this recipe from Mrs. S. Mallika Badrinath's TRADITIONAL SWEETS recipe book. This will be my entry to the JFI-Special Edition Diwali event hosted by Vee of Past, Present and Me . Ingredients: Green gram dal(Split moong dal) - 1 cup Jaggery (grated) - 1 cup (can be increased or decreased as per taste) Coconut milk (thin) - 2 cups (milk - 2 cups can be used instead) Ghee - 2 tbsp Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Cashew nut - 1 tbsp Raisins - 1 tbsp Water - 1 cup Method: Fry cashews and raisins in 1 tbsp ghee till roasted. Roast the moong dal with 1 tbsp ghee till it turns golden brown in color. Pressure cook the dal with 1 cup of water and 2 cups of milk till soft and mushy (You can cook it on the stove top but it takes longer). Add jaggery and heat it till it becomes thick and creamy. Add the cardamom powder and fried cashews and raisins and serve warm

This being our thalai diwali (first one after the wedding), I wanted to go all out and prepare a lot of dishes for diwali. It was a challenge as I had to come back from work and start making the dishes every night. A big thanks to the food blog community, as I found many delicious dishes, all with elaborate descriptions and pictures. This made my job much easier. Coming from a christian background we do not prepare most of these dishes at home. Cakes and cookies are more common back home. So it was quite a challenge to make these dishes without having seen anyone make them, but following the directions word by word was the key. The dishes turned out perfect. So here is a small compilation of the treats I prepared with links to the original recipes. I am adding a few notes to help others out there like me. Coconut Burfi from Saffron Hut : Remember to use a heavy bottomed pan, as milk here in US usually gets burnt easily. Also stir it often to prevent burning. Since I live in a dry cold

I wanted to participate in the AFAM-Peach event hosted by Mansi of fun and food . But since I was out of time I decided to try a twist to the traditional bhel. I skipped both onions and tomatoes and added peach, mango and pomegrante seeds instead. The bhel tasted perfect with the right amount of spice, salt, sourness and crunch. Ingredients: Peaches (cubed) - 1/2 cup Mango (raw) (cut into small pieces) - 2 tbsp Pomegranate seeds - a handful Mamra (puffed rice) - 1 cup Sev - 2 tsp Mint chutney - as needed Sweet chutney -as needed Chilli sauce - as needed Salt - a pinch Cilantro leaves - for garnishing Method: Mix all the ingredients well and give the bowl a good shake. Serve immediately.