Arcot Special - Makkan Peda

I still couldn't believe that my tiny little space has got 99 recipes in it and am too excited to post my 100th recipe here today. When I was thinking on what to post special for this milestone, this is one special sweet that came to my mind, as it has been a family favorite and my hubby loves this. He, being the key person behind this blog space and a great lover of sweets, I ended up making this delicacy as my 100th post..Yes it is Makkan Peda, a specialty of Arcot. I got introduced to this sweet by my beloved brother and friend, Billy who is from Ranipet. He often gets me this and another specialty of theirs, Malai Kaja. Am overwhelmed that I could recreate the recipe at home today. I take this opportunity to thank you all who encourage me and support me, without which I may not have reached this.

Here is the recipe :)

Happy Cooking :) Would love to hear the feed backs :) 

One Pot Autolysis Pomegranate Kesari

Today being an auspicious day, Guru Purnima, I wanted to start putting my OPOS Recipes in my Blog. OPOS is nothing but One Pot One Shot Cooking Method founded by Mr.Ramakrishnan (You can check for his OPOS recipes here). I became member of the OPOS Food Group in Face Book called UBF (United By Food) an year back. The amount of learning over this year is humongous and I started cooking most of my recipes by this method only. To me OPOS is more a science and if we really understand the nuances, techniques and standardization, almost every other recipe can be done by OPOS in a more flavorful way. Thanks to Ramakrishnan, the food scientist, behind all those A to Z techniques of this OPOS method. I am planning to post all my OPOS recipes here as a separate section.

I love experimenting with sweets and especially Kesari is one recipe which I have done enough of my crazy combinations. After joining UBF I couldnt even think of going back to old method of making Kesari which involves continuous stirring and at some  critical times I have always ended up with lumpy kesari. Thanks to Chithra Viswanathan ma, another legendary cook and author of AskChithvish, from whom I learnt this autolysis method of making One Pot Kesari. In her words, we can make glide in throat kesari with autolysis.
Here is my special One Post Autolysis Pomegranate Kesari for this Guru Purnima Neivedhyam.

Happy Guru Purnima :) 

A Tangy Halwa - Apple Kiwi Halwa

I love trying exotic combos and my recent try is with Kiwis..I always have an attraction to this fruit..may be because of it luscious green colour studded with tweeny weeny black seeds..and an awesome pattern of flesh when we cut...nature is quite amazing..isnt it? Wanted to try some traditional sweet with this wonderful fruit..and thus I landed in this easy recipe which can be done in minutes..and the combo of Apple and Kiwi gives it an unique texture and flavour..

I tried two variations here..one without condensed milk which is truly exotic and the one with condensed milk which gives more a traditional touch..Try out this colourful and delicious Halwa..:)

Pineapple Bread Halwa

Wanted to make some quick sweet with the left over pineapple pieces I had brought for fruit salad and I ended up in this Pineapple Bread Halwa with Whole Wheat Bread slices which made it a healthy and easy to do recipe..

I loved the pineapple pieces that comes in-between while tasting..instead pieces the pineapple can be pureed and added..

Microwave Carrot Halwa

Carrots are known to be a miracle veggie loaded with lot of beta carotene which is a very good anti oxidant. It gets converted to Vitamin A inside our body during digestion. Its also named as World Healthiest Vegetables as it contains huge amount of minerals and dietary fiber.

Carrots are loved by all especially kids..be it as fresh as in a salad, cooked form, juices..and here's the most relished form of all..the dessert..Yes..Who says no for a cup of delicious and hot Carrot Halwa being served with a scoop of Vanilla Ice cream..

Here in my Sweet Series, I tried a quicker method of the traditional recipe using microwave..It can be done in a jiffy when you have sudden guests and it tastes absolutely yumm.. Give it a try :)

A Twist in Traditional Kesari....

Recently got introduced to this healthy version of Rava...Bansi Rava (a broken whole wheat Rava of Durum variety of wheat which is a healthy alternate to usual sooji) through my foodie buddy and I just loved the texture...Started experimenting various dishes..To embark my journey as a food blogger and to celebrate Aadi festival, I tried this Beetroot Bansi Rava Kesari. No added colors and the flavor and color imparted by Beetroot is just awesome and it tasted yummy too...