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Bread Pizza

Basic Ingredients:

Bread Slices (Big Size)

(I have used a bread baking tin measuring length 6”, Breadth 5” and Height 4 1/2 “)

Pizza Sauce

Pizza Topping

Home-Made Pizza Cheese

Or

Mozzarella Cheese (Readily Available)

Pizza Cutter Or A Sharp KnifeStep-By-Step let us see the procedures of the above mentioned ingredients
Making Bread:

Click here for bread recipe
Pizza Cheese:

Ingredients:

Unsalted Butter – 50gms

Home-Made Paneer – 50gms

Method:

Before making the cheese ensure that butter is chilled till hard and paneer is chilled till firm. Cut chilled butter into cubes. Similarly cut paneer into cubes. Take a mixie jar and add butter and paneer and blend. Mix with a spoon at intervals and blend the mixture till smooth. Take a disposable cup and fill it with the prepared cheese. Cover the cheese cup with cling film and freeze it till hard. After 3 to 4 hours the cheese will be ready. If wished one may use the readily available mozzarella cheese.

Pizza Sauce:
Ingredients:

Capsicum – 1 (90gms) {Deseed and use half capsicum}
Tomatoes – 4 (360gms)
Onions – 2 (80gms0
Garlic Cloves – 4 (5gms)
Salt – To Taste (3/4tsp)
Sugar – 1tsp
Red Chili Powder – 1tsp
Oregano – 1/4tsp
Italian Seasoning – 1/2tsp
Crushed Fennel Seeds – 1/4tsp
Olive Oil – 1Tbsp

Preparations:

Wash capsicum, deseed and use half for making the sauce. Take half capsicum and cut into small pieces. Wash and chop the tomatoes. Using a mixer grinder make paste of the chopped tomatoes. Peel and cube onions. Make a coarse paste of the onions in a mixer grinder. Peel and grate garlic.

Method:

Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add the grated garlic and onion paste. Fry the onion mixture till it is somewhat dry. Then add capsicum pieces and mix. Add the tomato paste, mix and cook covered on medium flame for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove lid and mix with a spoon. Then add salt, sugar. Red chili powder, oregano, Italian seasoning, crushed fennel seeds and mix well. Cook on low flame for 10 minutes or till the sauce reaches desired consistency. See that the consistency of the sauce is neither too thick nor too thin. Transfer the prepared pizza sauce into a bowl.

Pizza Topping:
Ingredients:

Chopped Onions – 45gms (1/4Cup)
Chopped Capsicum – 35gms (1/4Cup)
Sweet Corn – 70gms (1/2Cup)
Chopped Mushrooms – 50gms (1/4Cup)
Chopped Tomatoes – 20gms (1/8Cup)
Salt – To Taste (1/4Heaped tea spoon)
Black Pepper Powder - (1/4Heaped tea spoon— freshly ground)
Olive Oil – 1tsp

Method:

Take chopped onions into a bowl and add chopped capsicum, sweet corn, chopped tomatoes, chopped mushrooms and mix well. If required/desired parboil the vegetable mix in microwave oven by cooking on high power for 3 to 5 minutes. To the vegetable mix add salt, black pepper powder and olive oil. Mix all well together and the topping is ready to use.

Bread Pizza Making:

Toast bread slices till slightly crisp. To toast the bread slices use a pop-up toaster or use a flat griddle and toast on stove top. Here I have used the pop-up toaster. Insert bread slices into the toaster and toast till slightly crisp. To a toasted bread slice add some pizza sauce and spread evenly. Above the sauce, spread the pizza topping on the bread slice. Holding the grater above the bread slice, grate pizza cheese all over as shown in the movie clip. Ensure that the topping is fully covered with grated cheese. Transfer the prepared bread slice on to a high stand grill tray. Place the grill tray in oven and grill for 7 minutes or till cheese melts. Once the cheese is melted bread pizza will be ready to serve. transfer to a serving plate and cut with a pizza cutter or a sharp knife into 4 pieces for eating convenience.

Points To Notice:

Using the bread dough make flat bread (Roll like Chapati) and proceed to get normal Pizza. Using bread makes the pizza crisper and tastier. As the melted cheese fries the porous bread slice it becomes extra crisp than the ordinary pizza.

Seasoning added in the sauce and topping may be adjusted according to taste.

After experiencing the taste and texture I found the home-made cheese a lot more tastier than the readily available mozzarella cheese. However it is a personal choice and one may experience it by tasting it.

Using chilled butter and chilled paneer gives a good texture to the pizza cheese.

Garlic may be reduced to two cloves if it appears pungent. Those who like the garlic flavor may use four cloves as given in the recipe.

Though Italian seasoning has oregano in it, I have added extra amount of oregano separately. As mentioned earlier, seasonings may be adjusted according to taste.

Fennel seeds powder gives a distinct flavor to the sauce.

Chopping the vegetables finely cooks them faster and makes rest on the base easily.

Check for the desired consistency while preparing sauce. If the sauce is thin bread slice will become soggy absorbing the moisture from sauce. If sauce is too thick it dries out faster while grilling. Basically see that the sauce sticks to the bread slice and gets fried while grilling to give flavor to the bread slice.

For topping use your choice of vegetables in the form you wish— one can use chopped vegetables as I have shown or one can use sliced vegetables to give a good look to the bread pizza.

Mushrooms change color when exposed to air especially after cleaning. Originally choose the white ones and in the process if they change color, still you can use them. Don't try to clean them under running water. Wipe them with damp kitchen towel /or kitchen napkin and cut them to pieces before using(using mushrooms is optional)

Parboiling the topping vegetables is another option. However finely chopped vegetables gets parboiled while grilling and gives a nice crunch to the pizza.

To toast the bread slices use a pop-up toaster or an OTG (Oven-Toaster-Griller), or toast using hot griddle on stove top.One can adjust the crispness as per choice.

Use high stand grill tray while making bread pizza, so that the bread slice will be nearer to the heat (Grill) and

gets done faster.

Now we can prepare PIZZA at home which children crave.

Serve hot to your family members and get their praises!!!!

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bread Balls

Bread Balls

Ingredients:

Small Bread Loaf (330gms)

Potatoes - 350gms

Onion - 1(65gms)

Ginger Small Piece

Green Chilies – 6

Few Curry Leaves

Mustard Seeds - 1/2tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2tsp

Dry Mango Powder - 1/4tsp

Salt to Taste

Turmeric Powder - 1/4tsp

Oil - 3tsps (For Curry)

Chopped Coriander - 2Tbsps

Oil for Frying Bread Balls

Preparations:

Take a small bread loaf and slice it. It will make 13 slices out of a small loaf weighing 330gms. Wash & boil potatoes in a pressure cooker. Peel the boiled potatoes and grate them. Grating the boiled potatoes gives a smooth texture which will help while making balls. Remove the skin of onion and chop finely. Wash and clean green chilies and ginger and make a paste in a mixer grinder.Wash & chop curry leaves.

Making Curry:

Heat a pan and add 3tsps oil to it. When oil is hot add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Fry till the seeds splutter and add green chili ginger paste and curry leaves. Fry the seasoning well and add chopped onion and fry till translucent. Then add turmeric powder, dry mango powder, salt and grated boiled potatoes. Mix all well and add chopped coriander leaves. Mix again and transfer to a plate and cool.

Making Bread Balls:

Spread a paper napkin on a plate to drain the fried bread balls. Heat a pan and add sufficient oil to deep fry the bread balls. While the oil is getting heated up, make balls from the prepared curry. Wet fingers with water and take a portion of potato curry and shape into ball. Similarly make balls of the remaining curry. Add water in a flat & deep plate. Remove the crusts of bread slices with a knife. Take a bread slice and dip for few seconds in the water to soften it. Take the water soaked bread slice in a palm and press with another palm and squeeze out all the water. On the softened bread slice place a potato ball in the centre and bring the edges of the bead slice together to close it. Shape into a smooth ball and keep it aside. Similarly make few more balls. Now the oil is hot enough to fry the bread balls. Drop carefully the bread balls into oil and leave them for a minute. Fry the balls on medium heat. Turn the balls gently with a ladle or a spoon and fry on medium heat. Turning the sides fry the bread balls on medium flame only till they are golden in color. When done place the fried balls on the paper napkin to soak the excess oil.

Now make another set of balls and fry them in oil turning the sides, till they are golden in color. Similarly fry all the balls and place them on the paper napkin to soak excess oil. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup.

Points to Remember:

Do not overcook the potatoes. Finely chop or grate the vegetables for a smooth texture. Otherwise the stuffing may protrude out of the prepared ball and that will come out while frying them in oil.

After preparing the curry check the seasonings by tasting it. If required add salt and chili powder to taste.

Here I have used home-made bread which is very soft. Do not soak the bread for long in water as it will become soggy and loses the shape. Dip for one or two seconds and take it on your palm and squeeze excess water by pressing with another palm. We need to soften the bread slice to shape it into a ball smoothly.

Fry the balls on medium heat only. If fried on low heat the bread balls will soak excess oil. If fried on high heat the balls will get brown color fast but will not be fried evenly.

Bread when fried in oil will soak lot of oil. So do not be tempted to eat more

as it will trouble you later. It is advisable to drink at least two glasses of buttermilk to balance the system. Eat curd or drink buttermilk after eating any deep fried things.
Serve the bread balls hot with tomato ketchup or any other sauce of your choice.Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bread

Bread

Ingredients:

Maida – 250gms

Extra Maida – 5gms

Dry Yeast – 10gms

Sugar – 35gms

Salt – 10gms

Oil – 15gms

Water – 135gms

Preparations:

Take water in a microwave safe bowl and place this bowl in oven. Heat the water on high power for 15 seconds. Now if you measure the temperature it will be between 40^oC and 50^oC. Take sugar in a hand mixer bowl and add this luke warm water and dissolve it by stirring. Now if you measure the temperature it would have come down. Wait till the temperature is between 38^oC and 40^oC. Now add the yeast and stir to mix. At this (38^oC and 40^oC) temperature the yeast multiplies fast. So do not be in a hurry—let the temperature be right for perfect raising bread. After adding yeast allow the yeast to ferment. So leave this bowl aside for 10 to 15 minutes or till the mixture is foamy and bubbly.

Meanwhile take a deep bowl and add oil to it. Smear the oil all over the bowl and keep it aside. After preparing the dough we will keep it in this oiled bowl so that the dough will not get dried up. After 15 minutes, observe the yeast mixture. Now the yeast solution is foamy.

Fix a hand mixer to its stand and arrange flour kneading blades to it. Stir the yeast solution and add salt and oil and mix. Fix this bowl to the hand mixer stand and run it on low speed. Slowly add the flour while the machine is running. When half of the flour is added, increase the speed of the mixer to medium. After adding the entire flour, increase the speed of the machine to high and knead it. Observe that the dough is soft and sticky. Sprinkle a little maida from the extra maida taken on a clean platform. Transfer the dough to the floured platform and start kneading with hand till it is smooth. If the dough is sticky dust your palms with maida and start kneading it. Fold the dough and turn around a quarter and again fold it and turn around a quarter—like this repeat till you get smooth dough. When the dough is smooth place this dough in the oiled bowl and turn it so that the dough is covered with oil from all sides. Cover the bowl loosely with a plastic cover. Allow it to rise until doubled or even more, about one hour. In the video you can see that it has almost become three times

Method:

Take an aluminium loaf pan and add oil to it. Smear the oil all over the pan and keep it aside. After one hour observe that the dough raises 3 times the original quantity. Punch it down and bring back the dough to its original size. Sprinkle some flour on a clean platform and knead the dough for few seconds. Make it into log shape and pinch the seams. Place this dough in the prepared loaf tin and spread it evenly. Cover the pan loosely with a plastic cover and keep it aside for raising. After nearly one hour observe that the dough is double in size. Now the dough is ready for baking. Preheat the oven in convection mode at 180^oC. Apply milk on the top surface of the dough with a brush or dip a paper napkin in milk and coat the dough with milk. One can even give an egg wash to this dough for a nice golden crust. Place this pan in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes at 180^oC in convection mode. Depending upon the color of the bread and the doneness, increase or decrease the time slightly. When done remove the pan from the oven and wait for few minutes. Loosen the sides with a knife and turn the bread on to a wire rack. Turn it around and tap to hear a hollow sound which indicates that the bread is baked properly. Apply ghee or butter on the bread so that it will not dry. Cool the bread completely on the wire rack before slicing it. When the bread is completely cooled off take a sharp knife and cut it into slices. Store them in a box till use.

We can prepare many dishes like sandwich toasts, bread rolls, French toast with bread. Enjoy baking bread for the nice aroma which fills the home while baking.

Points to Notice:

See that the yeast is not out-dated. The entire trick of this recipe lies in yeast rising. There are many types of dry yeasts available such as active dry yeast, instant dry yeast, fast action yeast etc.. Here, at the place where I reside, only one type of yeast is available among the dried yeasts. It is available by the name dry yeast. I have used this dry yeast for this recipe.

Yeast is temperature sensitive:

At less than 10^oC (50^oF) the yeast is inactive.

At 15^oC – 21^oC (60^oF – 70^oF) the yeast action is slow.

At 32^oC – 38^oC (90^oF – 100^oF) the yeast is at its optimum temperature for fermentation.

At greater than 40^oC (104^oF) the yeast action starts to slow.

At 58^oC (138^oF) the yeast is killed.

So it is better to have a candy thermometer at home to find the right temperature to add the yeast. It’s advisable to invest in one thermometer. Gauging the temperature with bear hands is almost impossible. Since yeast is a living organism, it dies beyond 58⁰C which fresher’s to baking cannot make out.

Salt is used not only as a flavor but as a regulator of the growth of the yeast. Salt retards the action of the yeast. So use it only after the yeast is proofed completely.

Kneading the dough in a food processor or hand mixer eases the work. However if you don’t have one, knead it with your palms into a smooth dough with no streaks of dry flour or surplus liquid. Pull and stretch the dough, working on a flat surface so that you can push strongly. Fold the dough and turn around a quarter and again fold it and turn around a quarter—like this repeat till you get smooth dough.

Allow the dough to rise completely without bothering specified time. Rising is the first part of the yeast’s growth. The fermentation produces carbon dioxide that aerates the dough and it should double in size. Prevent a dry skin forming on the dough by rolling it round the oiled bowl, cover with a plastic cover and put in a warm place to rise.

Knock back the dough by punching it. The rise will collapse, flattening the large spaces previously filled with the aerating gases that will escape. After the second rising there will not be any yeasty flavor and the bread will be ready for baking. This second rising will produce the dough, resulting in even texture and a sweet mature flavor. This process is called proofing or proving.

Brush the raised dough with milk or give egg-wash to get a nice golden crust after baking.

When you can see that the dough is rising well during the proof and developing a nicely domed top, put the oven on to pre-heat. Yeast dough requires a really 'bold' start to kill the yeast as quickly as possible. This prevents large holes forming in the bread.

Baking time may vary with different ovens or OTG’s. So keep a watch while baking once the bread starts changing color. In ovens where there is no turn table then manually you may have to turn the pan in between for even browning. When removed from the pan and tapped underneath the bread, it should give a hollow sound for the doneness. Always cool the bread on wire rack or the condensed steam will make the bread heavy.

Always use gloves as the inside of the oven will be too hot.

It feels great when the room is filled with the aroma of freshly baking bread. As we are not using any improvers we know how fresh our bread is.

In this recipe I have given measurements in weights rather than in Cups. This I have standardized because always it remains a question as to what a standard cup measure is. To clear that confusion I have used only weights as measurements so that the recipe will never fail. Weights will be same all along the world but cups may differ. So it is advisable to weigh the ingredients to get the perfect bread. Similarly for seeing temperature a candy thermometer is a must. The right temperature of the liquid is necessary for the yeast to multiply. Then the recipe will never fail.

Here when I prepared this bread the room temperature on that day is 30^oC. During summers the time to heat the water in a microwave may be reduced further to say 7 or 10 seconds. So always it is better to measure the temperature just before

adding the yeast and that is the easiest way for baking good bread.

Don't forget to keep the yeast in a sealed condition till next use. If it comes in contact with air and moisture, its action reduces.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bendakaya Vepudu (Okra Fry)

Ingredients:

Lady’s Fingers (Okra) – 750gms

Cumin Seeds – 1 1/2tsps

Karapodi – 3/4tsp

Red Chili Powder – 2tsps

Turmeric Powder – 1/4tsp

Salt to Taste

Oil – 12tsps

Preparations:

Wash and cut the lady’s fingers into small pieces. While selecting the lady’s fingers see that they are tender. Bend the tail end of the lady finger and if it breaks easily it is tender—if it doesn’t break then they make crunchy sound while cutting and are not to be used. Even with just one piece of such un- tender piece of lady’s finger the curry gets spoiled. So it is better to prepare the curry the same day when the vegetable is bought.

Method:

Heat a non-stick pan and add oil to it. When the oil is hot add the cumin seeds. When the cumin splutters add the cut vegetable pieces. Add turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Cook covered on medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the lid and stir the vegetable once and again cook covered for a minute. Repeat the process of cooking and frying till the vegetable is almost cooked. Now remove the lid and fry the vegetable for 2 to 3 minutes or till you feel it is dry. Add red chili powder, karapodi and mix gently. The chili powder absorbs the moisture the curry will become dry. Fry for some more time till the curry is totally dry and the vegetable is crunchy. Transfer the curry to a serving bowl and serve with hot rice.

Points to Remember:

Lady’s fingers are too sticky when cut into pieces. While stirring they get mashed up easily by breaking. So stir them gently.

Do not cover the vessel while cooking continuously for a long time. Water oozes out of the vegetable and the curry will be gooey. Cover for 2 to 3 minutes – then remove the lid and fry for few seconds. Again cover for 2 to 3 minutes – then remove the lid and fry for few seconds. When fried in this manner the vegetable gets dried and will not ooze out moisture. We have to cook the vegetable and at the same time fry it. So we cover it and cook and fry it after removing the lid. Once the vegetable is almost cooked remove the lid and fry till dry. Then add the red chili powder which absorbs the moisture and will make the curry dry faster.

Take care while adding salt. The lady’s fingers after losing all moisture shrink a lot. So it is better to add little salt while cooking and add the remaining salt at the end of preparation.
For people who are not calorie conscious deep fry the lady’s fingers till crunchy and then add the seasonings. However it is advisable to avoid deep frying as this vegetable absorbs lot of oil.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bendakaya Iguru Koora (Okra Curry)

Ingredients:

Okra – 500gms

To Make Curry Spicy, Use Green Chilies Or Red Chilies Or Red Chili Flakes

Green Chilies – 5 (Slit Them) [ Or

Red Chilies – 2 (Break them into pieces) Or

Red Chili Flakes – 1tsp ]

Black Gram – 2tsps

Mustard Seeds – 1tsp

Cumin Seeds – 1tsp

Curry Leaves – Few

Oil – 4tsps
Preparations:
Wash okra well and spread them on a dry cloth to dry. Keep them aside for few minutes or wipe dry. At times we get overgrown okra among the lot. To identify the overgrown okra, take the okra and bend the tail end with thumb—if the okra doesn’t break easily then that is the overgrown okra. Try to cut the overgrown okra and it will make a scratchy sound. Hold the overgrown okra piece between fingers and it will be hard to touch. Even one piece of overgrown okra in the curry will spoil the taste of the entire curry. Discard all overgrown okras and cut only the tender ones. Tender okras have pointed tail ends. Take the okra and bend the pointed tail end with thumb and it breaks easily if the okra is tender. Remove the top portion of the okra and cut into even sized pieces. Similarly cut all the tender okras into even sized pieces and take them into a bowl.

Method:
Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add black gram and fry stirring. When the seeds start changing color add mustard seeds and fry till they start crackling. Then add cumin seeds and fry till seeds crackle fully. Now add green chilies (or red chili pieces or red chili flakes) and fry. Then add curry leaves and mix well. To the fried seasoning add the okra pieces and mix well. Add turmeric powder and salt and mix well. Take care while adding salt as the quantity of the vegetable reduces on cooking. Now cook covered on low flame for one minute. After one minute, remove lid and gently mix the vegetable. Again cook covered on low flame for a minute. Repeat the process of cooking covered for one minute and stirring afterwards till the vegetable is cooked. As okras have a sticky substance, cooking covered for long time will make the curry sticky. So it is necessary to stir the vegetable after every one minute of cooking. After some time the sticky substance vanishes and the pieces look dry. By that time the vegetable will be cooked. Transfer the curry to a serving bowl and serve hot with hot plain rice or roti.

Points to Notice:

Select tender okras and discard the overgrown ones. . Even one piece of overgrown okra in the curry will spoil the taste of the entire curry. Discard all overgrown okras and cut only the tender ones.

For spice use green chilies or red chilies or red chili flakes according to taste. Every vegetable has its own taste—do not reduce that flavor by adding more spices.

Many people feel that they should wipe okras but not wash them. I wash the okras and spread them on a dry cloth and after few minutes the vegetable is dried and will be ready to cut to pieces.

Fry the seasoning by adding black gram first and fry till it starts changing color. Then add mustard seeds and fry till they start crackilng. Then add cumin seeds and fry till they crackle—by this time the mustard seeds are fully crackled and the black gram changes to light brown color. This is the proper way of seasoning the curry—all the ingredients are fully fried giving the taste.

Cover the pan to cook the vegetable. Stir fry after every minute to reduce the stickiness of okras.
Serve hot with rice or rori, chapati, paratha etc.

Care !!!

Remove the Chillies / Red Chillies while eating. They provide the required hotness indirectly. These need to be removed while eating.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bello Pana - Odiya New Year Sankranti - Ripe Bael Fruit Smoothie

Bello Pana - Odiya New Year Sankranti

Ripe Bael Fruit Smoothie

(As Telugu people celebrate Ugadi as their new year, Oriya people celebrate their new year as Pona Sankranti. As ugadi pachhadi is made and taken on Ugadi Bello Pona is prepared and taken on Pona Sankranti. Bael fruit in English is known as Maredu Pandu In Telugu, Bello In Oriya Nad Bel Phal In Hindi. Enjoy this drink by making as given here. and also it is good for health)

Ingredients:

Bael Fruit Pulp ( Maredu Pandu)– 100gms

Curdled Milk (Chenna) – 50gms

Artificial Sweetener – 7 Measures

Sugar Or Jaggery may be substituted for Artificial Sweetener

Cardamoms – 2

Black Salt – 2Pinches
Water – 700ml (Divided Into Two Portions of 350ml Each)

Method:

Break Bael fruit as one breaks a coconut. Break bael fruit by hitting on the ground. It breaks easily. Separate the broken bael fruit into two parts. Break open and take out the pulp with a spoon. When serving for two people use half of the bael fruit—that would be sufficient. When fresh fruit is not available use dried bael fruit which is available in shops selling ayurvedic products. Soak the dried fruit overnight and boil till soft before extracting juice.

Fix a dough kneading blade to the food processor bowl. Add the bael fruit pulp and 350ml water to the processor bowl and run it. After making the juice we need to strain it to remove seeds and pith. For this use a large holed strainer to strain the juice. It is important to remove the seeds and pith but not the fiber—so strain it with a large holed strainer. Run the processor till the seeds separate from the pulp. Strain the prepared juice into the large holed strainer and press with the back of a ladle to extract juice. The residue remaining in the strainer, need to be processed again to extract the remaining juice. So take the residue back into the processor bowl and add the remaining 350ml water and run the processor. Strain the juice into the large holed strainer. Observe that the consistency of the juice is thin compared to the juice extracted earlier. As nothing remains in the residue left in the strainer, discard it. Taste the juice to find its own unique flavor and taste.

Crush & remove peels of cardamoms. Make powder of cardamom seeds in a mortar & pestle. Add black salt to the cardamom powder and crush to make a fine powder.

Fix acrylic jar to the processor and add curdled milk, prepared bael fruit juice, crushed cardamom-black salt powder, artificial sweetener (or sweetener of your choice) and blend. Blend till the juice is frothy. Pour the juice into a jug and chill in refrigerator. Stir well before serving. Pour in attractive glasses and serve.

Bael fruit has many health benefits. It gives relief for those suffering from stomach disorders like gastric problems. For those suffering from constipation it works as a natural laxative. Enjoy the fruit, its juice and the health benefits it provide in the natural form.

Points to Remember:

Bael fruit is generally available from February (During the festival Shivaratri) till April end. It is rarely available in the market. When it is available use and get the health benefits along with the unique taste.

The pulp will be sticky to touch. For those who do not have food processor, take the pulp and water in a large deep bowl and press between fingers to separate the seeds and soften the pulp to extract juice. It is a tedious work.

To ease the work I have used a food processor with dough kneading blade. Using a dough kneading blade will not crush the seeds there by changing the taste.

Use sugar, grated jaggery or artificial sweetener to sweeten the juice.

Normal healthy people may use sugar to sweeten the juice. Those suffering from Asthma may use grated jaggery which is beneficial. For diabetics and health conscious people artificial sweetener is the alternative. Add Cardamoms, black salt and sweetener in moderation, taste it and add more if required only
Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Caution: During Festive Revelry in public gatherings at times Bhang (Cannabi Plant preparation) is mixed in this smoothie. When strangers offer this smoothie, inquire about ingredients before tasting it.

P.S .In traditional method we add ripe Banana, Apple pieces etc and put Honey instead of Sugar. The ingredients are mixed with hand for pouring consistency but not blended.

Bellappoosa Mithai

Ingredients:

Gram Flour – 500gms

Jaggery – 330gms

Unsalted Butter – 15gms

Salt – 1/4tsp

Water – 250gms (For Dough)

Water – 350gms (For Syrup)

Dry Coconut – 70gms

Cardamoms – 6

Mace – Small Piece

Nutmeg – Small Piece

Carom Seeds – 1/4tsp (Ajwain)

Oil – For Frying

Preparations:

Spread gram flour on a newspaper or a sheet and dry under sun for one hour. Place a sieve in a bowl and sift the sun dried gram flour through it. Grate the jaggery and keep it aside. Cut the dry coconut into thin slices. In a mortar & pestle powder the cardamoms, mace and nutmeg. When the spice powder is finely crushed add carom seeds and crush coarsely. Take this spice powder into a plate and cover it with another plate to retain the aroma.

Method:

Heat a pan and add oil to it. Spread a paper napkin in a plate. After frying, when the sev is placed on this paper napkin it will absorb all the excess oil. Let butter be at room temperature—if not then heat the butter on high power for 30 seconds in a microwave oven.

Take gram flour into a mixing bowl and add softened butter. Mix well by rubbing with fingers to incorporate the butter well into the flour. Add salt and mix again. Then prepare dough adding water little by little. Make soft yet firm dough. Use the large holed plate to press the sev. Arrange the large holed plate in the sev mould. Smear water on the inner surface of the mould and fill the mould with some dough. Hold the mould with left hand firmly and press the sev directly into the hot oil. While pressing the sev let the heat is at maximum. The high heat will allow gram flour to fluff up. While pressing the sev turn the left hand in circular motion to get spirals of sev. Once sev is pressed into oil, reduce the flame to medium and fry. When fried on medium heat, sev gets fried evenly. When the sev appears crisp, turn it with a slotted ladle gently. Fry on medium heat till the sev is crisp. Remove the fried sev with a slotted ladle and place it on the paper napkin to soak excess oil. Now fry another batch. Remember to press the sev into oil on maximum heat. Once the sev is pressed fry on medium heat turning. Transfer the sev placed on paper napkin to a deep bowl. When the sev in the oil is fried till crisp, remove it with a slotted ladle and place it on the paper napkin. Like this repeat the process of pressing and frying the sev till all the dough is used up.

Fry the dry coconut slices in hot oil till they slightly change color and becomes crisp.

Take jaggery into a bowl and add water to it. Place this bowl on stove and cook stirring till jaggery melts. Place a wide and heavy bottomed pan on stove. Strain the jaggery liquid into the wide pan. Cook the jaggery liquid till it forms syrup. Jaggery when cooked in water brings a nice taste.

Meanwhile break the fried sev into half inch pieces by crushing with fingers.

Boil jaggery solution till syrup reaches soft ball stage. Syrup reaches soft ball stage at 120^oC on candy thermometer. Cook the jaggery solution stirring occasionally. When the temperature reaches 120^oC on candy thermometer, add the spice powder, ghee and mix well. Then add fried coconut pieces and mix well. Switch off the stove and add the fried sev. Work fast otherwise syrup will solidify. Mix well to coat all the sev pieces with jaggery syrup. Now BELLAPPOOSA is ready. When all the fried sev pieces are nicely coated with jaggery syrup, immediately transfer the BELLAPPOOSA to a greased plate & let it cool completely. Otherwise, it will stick to the pan and will be difficult to take it out of the pan later. When cool transfer to a container and store the BELLAPPOOSA.

Points to Remember:

Sun drying the gram flour removes the moisture from the gram flour. If sun drying is not possible, dry roast on low heat till warm. We can even dry the flour in a microwave oven. Spread some flour in a paper plate and microwave on high for one minute. Stir once and again microwave on high for 20 to 30 seconds. Keep watching as timings differ from one microwave oven to the other, otherwise the flour might burn. Like this dry roast the flour in batches and cool.

Use butter at room temperature. Otherwise warm hard butter in a microwave oven to soften it.

Use water little by little while mixing the dough. Make soft dough.

Test a dry coconut while purchasing, by smelling it. If it smells like strong coconut oil then it is old. Do not use such coconuts—as they will spoil the entire taste of the dish with the strong coconut oil smell.

Grate or powder the jaggery so that it melts fast.

Do not crush the carom seeds finely—crush them coarsely. But crush the cardamoms, nutmeg and n=mace to a fine powder.

While pressing the sev let the heat is at maximum. The high heat will allow gram flour to fluff up. Once sev is pressed into oil, reduce the flame to medium and fry so that it gets fried evenly.

Remove the impurities by straining the melted jaggery.

Work fast to coat the jaggery syrup on all fried sev pieces as jaggery solidifies on cooling.

Very important thing is to transfer the BELLAPPOOSA to a greased plate

for cooling. Otherwise, it will stick to the pan and will be difficult to take it out of the pan later.
Enjoy this age old delicacy by preparing at home and serving it to your family members.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!