RECIPE: How To Make GULAB JAMUN

I am sure seeing this photo will make your mouth water.. [ Mine too :) ]





Here is the RECIPE

[ LOL, Can anyone send me to Bangalore after making, Just to taste ;) ]


Ingredients:

1 cup Carnation Milk Powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tablespoons butter -melted
Whole milk just enough to make the dough
Oil for frying

For the Sugar Syrup

2 cups Sugar
1 cup water


How to make gulab jamun:

* Make the dough by combining the milk powder, Bisquick, butter. Add just enough whole milk to make a medium-hard dough.

Divide the dough into 18-20 portions. Make balls by gently rolling each portion between your palms into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a plate. Cover with a damp yet dry kitchen towel.

* Heat the oil on high and then lower the heat to medium. Slip in the balls into the hot oil from the side of the pan, one by one.

They will sink to the bottom of the pan, but do not try to move them. Instead, gently shake the pan to keep the balls from browning on just one side. After about 5 mins, the balls will rise to the surface. The Gulab Jamuns should rise slowly to the top if the temperature is just right. Now they must be gently and constantly agitated to ensure even browning on all sides.

* If the temperature of the oil is too high then the gulab jamuns will tend to break. So adjust the temperature to ensure that the gulab jamuns do not break or cook too quickly.


* The balls must be fried very slowly under medium temperatures. This will ensure complete cooking from inside and even browning.

Sugar Syrup

* The syrup should be made earlier and kept warm. To make the hot sugar syrup add mix the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water.

Add 4-5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed and a few strands of "Kesar". Mix with a spoon and then heat at medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar is all dissolved in water. Do not overheat, that will caramelize the sugar.

* Transfer this hot syrup into a serving dish. Keep warm on stove. Add the fried gulab jamuns directly into the warm syrup. Leave gulab jamun balls in sugar syrup overnight for best results. They can be served warm or at room temperature.

Kitchen Bells-Recipes - QUICK COOKING TIPS

Here is a checklist of easy cooking hints you can exercise while whipping up those meals in a jiffy!

Wish to chop onions without shedding tears? Chill the onions - either in the refrigerator, by keeping them in a covered container for about half an hour or simply cover them with ice cubes/iced water for a while before chopping them.

Banish the burnt chilli smell and subsequent bouts of coughing while frying or roasting dry red chillies by adding a pinch of salt.

Place potatoes and apples in a bowl of cold salty water to keep them from turning brown.

While making your favourite delicacy, be careful not to add the eggs directly to the hot mix. Instead stir as you add the eggs unless you want little lumps to form in the hot mix!

Stock condiments, pulses and spices in transparent, airtight jars. Not only are these containers more sturdy and durable, they prevent spices and other non-durables from gathering moisture and going bad. Stack these jars in easy-to-reach places.

Do not wait for entire content in the jar to be exhausted; replenish stocks on a regular basis.

Cooking in pressure cookers and flat-bottomed pans also helps in saving time. Besides, using non-stick ware for cooking is also a good idea as these utensils ensure that less oil is consumed.

Draw up a weekly menu for meals. This will help you stay prepared in advance and avoid the rush-rush situation in mornings.

Cut and refrigerate vegetables in advance. This is a great help in saving time. Veggies like tomatoes and onions that are used in abundance in most Indian (non-Jain) preparations should be cut and stored in the freezer. Another useful way to save on time is by preparing a paste of garlic, ginger, green chilies and coriander leaves. This paste can be used as a base in most culinary preparations.

Buying fish? Make sure that the eyes are as clear and bright as those of a live fish. If the gills don't smell fresh, the process of decomposition has already begun and the fish should not be eaten.

Keep your kitchen shelves clean by spreading a plastic sheet or grease proof paper over the shelves where oil, ghee or pickle jars are kept.

For soft and spongy 'idlis' add a little horse gram paste to the 'idli' butter-mix well and keep aside for half an hour before use

To reduce the pungent flavour of green chillies slit them and boil in water for two to three minutes before use

To get rid of black stains from aluminum or steel vessels rub them with charcoal pieces. They will shine like new.

To protect rice from insects, dry 50g. of mint leaves, powder them and add to 10 kg of rice. Not only will the mint leaves keep insect at bay, they will also impart a delicious flavour to the cooked rice.

Kitchen Bells - Recipe - LAUKI KHEER

Ingredients

Bottle gourd (lauki/doodhi) 500 grams
Ghee 3 tablespoons
Cashewnuts 15
Milk 1 litre
Sugar ½ cup
Green cardamom powder ½ teaspoon
Kewra water 1 teaspoon




Method

1. Peel bottle gourd, cut into half, remove seeds, wash and then grate.
2. Heat ghee in a kadai, add cashewnuts and sauté till lightly browned. Drain and keep aside. Add bottle gourd to the same ghee, sauté for few minutes and keep aside.
3. Bring milk to a boil, then simmer till it is reduced to three-fourths and add the bottle gourd. Stir to mix well. Cook till done.
4. Add sugar. Cook till sugar dissolves and kheer is semi-thick. Mix in green cardamom powder and kewra water.
5. Pour into individual serving bowls, garnish with browned cashewnuts and serve hot or cold.

How to Use Chopsticks ??

All Credits to Robert Vaessen from robsworld.org For this Wonderful Article

:)

Would you eat a sandwich with a spoon? Or use a fork to eat ice cream? Certain foods require the appropriate utensil. Asian foods are no exception: they seem to taste better eaten with chopsticks. And although some of us were raised using chopsticks, it can be an awkward experience for the rest of us. Fortunately, learning to eat with chopsticks is a simple matter, as this tutorial shows.

Many of us labor under a misperception about chopsticks-- that both sticks are moved together in your hand as you pick up a morsel. This is only half-true. Instead you'll be holding one chopsticks in place while pivoting the other one to meet it. Simple, eh?

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Heaven forbid that the restaurant serves disposable chopsticks in this era of disappearing ancient forests. But to prepare you for that possibility, here's some advice on breaking them apart. Pull the sticks away from you on a horizontal plane, so your palms end up facing away from you. Twisting them apart vertically can cause splintering, which might hamper your dining experience..

Of course, most restraunts will serve you disposable chopsticks. Especially in Japan. Many things are individually wrapped. The culture is very conscious of personal hygiene/sanitation.

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Step 1 - Position the chopsticks

• Place the first chopstick so that thicker part rests at the base of your thumb and the thinner part rests on the lower side of your middle fingertip.
  
  
• Bring your thumb forward so that it traps the stick firmly in place. At least two or three inches of chopstick should extend beyond your fingertip.
  
  
• Now position the other chopstick so that it is held against the side of your index finger by the end of your thumb. (As if you were holding a pencil)
  
  
• Press the ends of both sticks on the plate, while holding them at a slight angle to the table. Allow them to slide just a little so that the ends line up.

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Step 2 - Pivot the top chopstick

• Place a little pressure on the top chopstick. It will pivot on your index finger and thumb. Remember: the bottom chopstick is stationary. Your thumb will stay fairly stationary, while the index and middle fingers are used to move the top chopstick.
• The tip of the top chopstick will move towards the tip of the bottom chopstick. Encourage this. Hold those tips together firmly enough to grasp a piece of food and lift it off the plate. Place delicately into your waiting mouth. Although there's no need to stoop, you may wish to lean over your plate a bit during your first attempts. It might save you a clean-up.
• That's about it. Have a little practice, use mini-marshmallows or some other small food items, and you'll be able to use chopsticks with the best of 'em.

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Bad Manners

(Using chopsticks)

• Mayoi-bashi: Mayoi means "dithering". It is bad manners to wave your chopsticks around aimlessly over the food, trying to decide what to take next.
• Utsuri-bashi: Changing the food you have selected after you have touched the food.
• Saguri-bashi: Looking for contents in a soup with chopsticks.
• Sashi-bashi: Sashi means "inserting". It is bad manners to spear food with the points of the chopsticks as if they were a fork.
• Yose-bashi: Yose means "drawing near". It is bad manners to pull the dishes towards you using the chopsticks. Always pick the dishes up in the hand.
• Yoko-bashi: Keeping chopsticks together and using them like spoon.
• Komi-bashi: Raking foods into one's already full mouth with chopsticks.
• Neburi-bashi: Licking the ends of chopsticks.

Other tips

• Don't eat with a broken or mismatched pair of chopsticks.
• Don't eat twice in a row from the same dish except your rice bowl.
• Don't stick chopsticks in your rice. This is commonly done at funerals, or as an offering which is placed on the alter at an ancestral shrine.
• Don't dig under food to get the best pieces.
• Don't eat food directly from the central plate, transfer it to your bowl first.
• Don't lick your chopsticks. - Don't stab your food with a chopstick.
• Don't set chopsticks on your bowl of dishes. Chopsticks should be placed on the table, chopstick holder or tray. When you are not using the chopsticks, put them in front of you onto the table or a dish with the tip to the left.
• Do not give food from your chopsticks directly to somebody other's chopsticks. Only at Buddhist funerals where the bones of the burned body are given in that way from person to person.
• Don't make noise with your chopsticks.
• Neither point with the chopsticks to something or somebody nor move them too much around in the air.
• Don't reach across another person with your chopsticks.
• Knife and fork are used for Western food only. Spoons are used for eating certain Japanese dishes, for example donburi or Japanese style curry rice. A Chinese style ceramic spoon is sometimes used to eat soups.
• Making slurping noises while eating noodles is perfectly acceptable in Japan. There is no need to excuse yourself for making noises while eating.

Handling dishes

Japanese dishes are designed to be the right size and shape for holding in the hand. It is a particularly important point of etiquette to lift the dishes to the breast when eating rice or drinking soup.

When eating tempura, sashimi(raw fish), or other food which is dipped in sauce before being eaten that you use the hand not holding the chopsticks to hold the dish containing the sauce.

The dishes or plates used for grilled fish are usually too large to pick up. Such platters may be left on the table. When eating from a large platter or pot, transfer a portion from the communal pot to your own small dish and then lift this dish to eat.

Table Manners

Use your chopsticks to cut up pieces of food too large to fit into the mouth in one bite.

When eating food served in bowl with a lid, replace the lid on the bowl when you have finished.

When you have finished your meal, replace your chopsticks on the chopstick rest (when provided/present) as they were when you started. (I usually fold the chopstick wrapper into a small rest)

Useful Sites from PRiNCE -- Recipe - Yummy Yummy

Request to all ladies reading this.. Do cook from this, if u like the recipes do send me parcel :) Mail me at - planetofprince@yahoo.com so that I can give the address... Ohh I love Home food :).... I miss it away from home..

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