Nannari Syrup

Water -300ml

Nannari roots- 100 g

Sugar -200g

Lemon juice- from 6 lemons

Citric acid crystals -optional ( a generous pinch)

Method 

Wash nannari roots thoroughly.spread them on a towel till dry.Remove the inner white  portion from the roots.crush the roots with a pestle or run in a mixer 

Boil water and turn off the stove.put the crushed roots and close the lid and leave overnight.

Next morning strain the nannari water mix with a muslin cloth

Add sugar/jaggery and boil till it turns into a syrupy consistency

Squeeze the juice of six lemons and add to the syrup once cool.

Add pinch of citric acid crystals as preservative(purely optional since it contains lemon)Adding for that extra tanginess and lemonade taste.

Store in an airtight glass bottle..

To make a glass of sherbet mix 2 tablespoons of this syrup with chilled water and crushed ice.

EGGLESS VANILLA CAKE

Ingredients

Maida-1and half cup

Curd-1 cup

Baking Soda-3/4tsp

Vanilla Essence-1 and1/4tsp

Baking powder-1and1/2 tsp

Cooking Oil-1/2 cup

Sugar-1 cup

Cashews- a few


Method

Mix sugar and curd with a whisk till sugar dissolves completely.

Add baking soda, baking powder to the curd and sugar mixture.

and leave it aside for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven at 200 degree for 10 minutes.

Add vanilla essence,cooking oil and mix well. Slowly add maida

and mix well till everything blends. Add sliced cashews to the

batter.

Transfer the mixture to a greased and dusted baking tray.Bake it

at 200 degree for 10 minutes and 35 minutes at a reduced

temperature of 180 degrees till a toothpick when inserted comes

out clean.

Keep the cake on a cooling rack before slicing it . Slice it only after
it cools completely.

Gobi Manchurian

Ingredients

Cauliflower-broken into medium size flowerets(15 numbers)

Ginger Garlic Paste-1/2 tsp

Chilli Powder-1/2 tsp

Finely Chopped Green Chillies-1tsp

Corn Flour-3tbsp

Maida-5tbsp

Rice Flour -1tbsp

Soy Sauce-1tbsp

Tomato Ketchup-1tbsp

Water-1/4cup

Salt-to taste

Oil-for deep frying

Chopped Spring Onion-3tbsp

Method

Dissolve corn flour,rice flour and maida in water. Add chilli 

powder and salt and mix well.

Dip the flowerets in the batter and deep fry until golden brown.

Take another pan and heat oil.Add ginger garlic paste ,chopped 

green chillies, chopped spring onions and stir fry for a few seconds.

Toss the fried cauliflower with the tomato ketchup and soy sauce 

and stir well.

Garnish with spring onions and serve hot.

Coconut rice

Cooked rice-1cup

Grated coconut-1/2 cup

Fried cashews-2 tbsp

Ghee-tbsp

Urad dhal-1/2 tsp

Red chillies-1

Green chilles-1

Asafoetida-pinch

Salt-as needed

Heat ghee temper mustard , urad dhal,chillies( green and red) , 

asafoetida. Add cashew nuts and fry till brown. Now add coconut 

gratings and a few pinched curry leaves.

Fry till moisture in coconut gets absorbed and add salt as needed.

Turn off the stove.

Add rice and mix well .Serve with papad.

Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients


Rice Four-3cups

Gram Flour-1/2cup

Roasted Gram Dhal Powder-1/2cup

Asafoetida-1/4 tsp

Red Chilli Powder-2 tsp

Butter-1 tbsp

Salt

Water

Oil-1/2 litre

Method


Slightly roast all flours separately till hot. Sieve all flours. Add red

chilli powder , asafoetida , salt and butter  to the flours.

Add water to make a not so stiff dough.Grease the pakoda press.

Insert the the pakoda disc. Take a little of the dough and put it in

the press holding the press over the oil.

Press out the dough in oil making a circular motion of the hand so

that the pakoda is circular in shape. Cook one side and turn and

cook otherside. Remove from oil after hissing stops.


Tips

1) Take care to see that the pakodas do not fall in a heap and oil should be hot else pakodas may consume lot of oil

2) Prepare the dough in batches. Do not let the dough sit for a long time as the last batch of pakodas may turn very dark.

Musk melon Badam Smoothie

Fruit smoothies provide you with the essential nutrients.Excellent meal replacement for those who want to do a detoxification.keeps u full for a long time provides you with fibre which is otherwise lost in juicing..apart from vitamins and minerals you get from fruits milk gives an extra dose of calcium and Vitamin D which makes this an excellent choice for health watchers.

Musk melons are a good source of Vitamin A,Vitamin C,B Complex Potassium etc

It is highly refreshing  on a hot summer day since it is a body coolant

Next time you crave for something sweet jus blend these and have a sweet low calorie guilt free healthy treat

Musk melon cut into small cubes-1/4 cup

Milk-3-4 cup

Almonds-4-6

Almonds sliced thin-1/2 tsp for garnishing

Saffron strands-few

Badam mix powder -1/2 tsp(optional)

Honey-1 tsp

Blend melons,milk honey badam mix almonds together until smooth.Pour into a glass.Garnish with sliced almonds and saffron strands..

No need to add sugar since honey substitutes.

Serve chill..

Arrowroot Halwa(koovakkali)

This halwa popularly known as thiruvathirakkali is prepared on Thiruvathira,considered Birthday of Lord Shiva

Kali and koottu are offered as neivedyam.

A simple never fail recipe..

Arrowroot powder-1/4 cup

Jaggery powdered-1/2 cup

Grated or thin sliced coconut-1 tbsp

Cardamom powder- a pinch

Water- 3/4 cup

Ghee-2 tbsps

Method

Dissolve jaggery in water and strain impurities

Heat on medium flame till it turns into   consistency of a syrup

Dissolve arrowroot powder in water and cook it in low flame till it turns transparent

Add jaggery syrup at this stage along with coconut scrapings and ghee

Keep stirring till halwa leaves sides

Add cardamom and a spoon of ghee before turning off the stove

Allow it to cool

You can transfer into any mould of your choice and turn upside down after it cools down completely

Eggless Chocolate super soft cake


Ingredients


All purpose flour/maida-1 1/2 cups
Cocoa powder-1/4 cup
Baking soda-1 tsp
Baking powder 1/4 tsp
Sugar-1 cup
Warm water -250 ml
Instant coffee powder-1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence-1/2 tsp
White Vinegar or Lemon juice-2 tsps
Oil-1/4cup

Method

Take water in a mixing bowl add instant coffee powder oil sugar  vanilla essence vinegar and stir till the sugar is completely dissolved
Sift flour cocoa powder baking soda baking powder twice.Add this to the wet ingredients slowly and stir in one direction with a whisk.mix for two min till everything is blended well.Grease and dust a baking tray and pour the mixture.Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for 25 min or till a tooth pick when inserted comes out clean

Please use the exact measurements given above else the result may vary.You can reduce the amount of cocoa powder..I used more for an extra chocolatey flavor