Longan Jelly

I have never tasted the Longan fruits in India. After coming to singapore, i have seen them in supermarkets, but never wanted to taste it, until my friend sumathi, gave me these fruits as a gift and told me I will like it. But it was in the fridge for 2 to 3 days and finally gathered guts to try it out. To my surprise I just fell in love with these Longan's. Now a days, whenever I go, to Shen siong or NTUC, I never forget to buy these cute Longan fruits.

When I announced the event Dish Name Starts with L, the first fruit which came to my mind was Longan only. Want to try something different in Longan's and thats why this recipe has born.

Courtesy: Google Images
(Asianfruitsonline.com)

Ingredients

• Longan fruits/Longon fruits in syrup - 10 to 20
• Agar Agar - 1 packet ( i used only half - to try for the first time )
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
• Water - 3 cups

Method

• Cut the agar agar into small and soak in water for  5 to 10 min.
• Start boiling the water and add the sugar and mix until it gets dissolved.

• Now add the soaked agar agar and the vanilla essence.
• Allow to boil until the agar agar is dissolved completely.

• Now in small cups or bowls, put the longans (seeds removed) and pour the sugar water mixed with agar agar.

• Keep in fridge, till it becomes jelly.
• Serve chill. 

Note:

• When you use, Longan fruits in syrup, reduce the sugar quantity.
• My kids like colored ones, so i used kesari powder. Without adding colours also works fine. 

This goes to my event Dish Name Starts with L

                          

How to make Paneer/Cottage Cheese

Ingredients

• Milk(Full Cream) - 1 litre
• Lemon juice/Vinegar - 2 tsp
• Muslin cloth - 1

Method

• Bring milk to boil
• Add the lemon juice, and stir slowly.
• The milk gets curdling.
• Switch off the stove.

• In a strainer, cover with muslin cloth and pour the curdled milk.
• Immediately pour water and wash the curdled milk. This is to remove the sourness of the lemon juice.
• Just pour the water for 3 to 4 min and wash nicely.

• Now drain the water by squeezing the cloth and then place any heavy weight (I used big pressure cooker filled with water) on the cloth and keep it for 45 to 1 hr, or still the water drains off completely.
• Remove the weight and cloth and the paneer is ready.

• For crumbled paneer, just keep the weight for 30 min and remove and then start crumbling it with fork or spoon or even with hand.

Soya Chunks Briyani

Ingredients

• Basmathi Rice - 3 cups
• Soya chunks - 250 gms
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Ghee - 2 tsp
• Cardamom - 2 to 3
• Cloves - 5
• Cinnamon Stick - 2 to 3 (1 inches)
• Fennel seeds - few
• Star anise - 2 to 3
• Bay leaf - 1
• Onion - 2
• Tomato - 1
• Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
• Mint leaves - 1/4 cup
• Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Green chillies - 3 (Cut lengthwise)
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Biryani Masala powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
• Salt - as needed
• Lemon juice -  1 tsp
• Water - 4.5 cups

Method

• Wash and soak the soya chunks for 30 min.
• Squeeze the water completely from it.
• Soak the rice for 15 to 20 min.
• In the pressure cooker, add the oil and when hot, add the cardamom, cinnamon stick, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves and Bay leaf and fry for 1 min.
• Now add the ginger garlic paste, green chillies, onion and fry for another few min till the onion becomes translucent.
• Add the tomato pieces, mint and coriander leaves and saute well.
• Now add the soya pieces and fry. 
• Add all the powders mentioned in the ingredients and salt.
• When the gravy becomes thick, add the water and rice.
• Check for the seasoning and add the lemon juice and close the lid.
• Keep the flame in low for 10 min and switch off.
• Open the lid, add the ghee and mix the briyani.
• Serve hot with any side dishes/gravy like Prawn gravy, Thayir pachadi etc...

Note:

Instead of Briyani Masala, garam masala can be added.

Sending this to Sangeetha and Prabha's Show me your HITS event

Soya Chunks Cutlet - How to make Meal Maker Cutlet | Breakfast Recipes | Soya Recipes | Meal maker Recipes

I always love the cutlet. That too the protein rich Soya chunks cutlet or the Meal maker Cutlet. Kids will definitely love this kind of cutlet, with different shapes. It is a perfect party snack, and easy to prepare too. Here I have deep fried the cutlets, and you can make it shallow fry it in a tawa itself. Both tasts awesome with simple tomato sauce.

How to make Soya chunks Cutlet / Meal maker Cutlet

Ingredients

• Soya Chunks (meal maker) - 2 cups
• Potato - 1 large(boiled n peeled)
• Vegetables - 1 cup ( I used mixed vegetables of corn, carrot, beans and peas)
• Green chillies - 1 (chopped finely)
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp
• Bread crumps - 3 tsp
• All purpose flour - 2 tsp
• Corn flour - 1 tsp
• Water - 1/4 cup
• Oil - for frying
• Salt - as per taste

Method

• Wash and Soak soya chunks in water for 20 to 30 mts.
• Squeeze out the water completely.
• Grind in a mixer grinder or food processor.
• Cook the vegetables with little water and a pinch of salt.

• Drain the water and keep aside.
• Now in a big vessel, add the grinded soya chunks, chilli powder, green chillies, coriander powder, garam masala and mix well.
• To this add the potato, and smash it nicely.
• Now add the cooked vegetables, and salt and again mix nicely to form a thick dough consistency.

• Take a small portion of the vegetable mixture and make into a desired shapes.
• In a small bowl, add the all purpose flour and corn flour and mix water to it.
• Now dip the cutlet to the all purpose and corn flour mix and immediately put it into the bread crumps and turn it to the other sides also, till they are well coated with the bread crumps. (click here to make bread crumps at home)

• Now in a pan, pour oil and heat it.

• When the oil is hot, fry the coated cutlets one by one and fry nicely, until it is brown in colour.
• Remove from oil, filter the oil.

• Serve the soya cutlets with a ketchup.... 

Sending the cutlets to Pari's and Raji's Only event- Snacks n Starters

Sending my Soya chunks gravy to Sangeetha and Prabha's Show me your HITS event.

Soya Chunks Gravy

Dish Name Starts with L

Hi Friends,

I am back with the event again... As you all know, I was conducting the event... Dish Name Starts with ..... Since I was very busy in office as well as family side, from last Nov to Feb, I was forced to take break from blogging and continuing the event. Now I am bit relaxed and so, back again to conduct the event... Hope you all will give the same support and encourage as you did in the prevents events..

So here comes the event...

Dish Name Starts with L

There is No Special Rules except the dish name must start with L

-->any no. of archived and new entries accepted
-->link the post to the announcement page
--> try to use the logo

send ur entries to events.akilaskitchen@gmail.com with the following

your name
recipe name
recipe url
blog name
blog url
attach photo / photo url


Running Roundup

Lady's Fingers in Sao Masala Shoba - Food Mazaa	Lettuce cups Vidhya - Sweet Kaaram Kapi	Lotus seeds in Palak Gravy Gomathi n Aparna - Square Meals
Ladies Finger Curry Vaishnavi - Cooking Food 4 U	Lemon Rasam Divya Pramil - You too can cook Indian Food	Lentil Stew/Paruppu Kulambu Divya Pramil - You too can cook Indian Food
Li'melon cooler Princy - Spicy food	Lemon Muffins with Lemon cream Princy - Spicy food	Lauki ka Raita Anjana - Maayeka
Lemon Oats Pranati - Delicious recipes from pranati's kitchen	Lemon Poppy seed Pancakes Pranati - Delicious recipes from pranati's kitchen	Ladies finger fry Pranati - Delicious recipes from pranati's kitchen
Leftover Dal vada Deeksha - Dee's Kitchen	Lauki Muffins (Bottle gourd muffins) Shweta - Merry Tummy	Lilva Curry Amarendra - Amu's Recipes
Lauki Dal Priya - Spicy Thali	Lemon Rasam (Lemon Soup) Preeti - Follow Foodie	Lebanese Okra Shama - Easy2cook recipes
Lettuce Kesari Jillu - Jiya's Delicacy	Lachcha Paratha Shanthi - 7am Suvai	Lasuni Peas Palak Supriya - Food Frenzy
Longan Jelly Akila - Learning-to-cook	Lajjatdar Paneer Akila - Learning-to-cook	Lychee Juice with lemon punch Akila - Learning-to-cook
Lemon Rice Jillu - Jiya's Delicacy	Lemon Rice using lemon salt Preeti - Indian Kitchen	Linguine n the 2 min souce Neetu - Neetu;s Tasty Treats
Ladies Finger Raita Hygeena - Spicy Kitchen	Lemon Rice Hygeena - Spicy Kitchen	Lemon Rasam Shama - Easy2cook recipes
Lasagna Riddhima - Culinary Vibes	Lemon Rice Akila - Learning-to-cook	Lauki ka Raita Preeti - Preeti's Kitchen Life
Ladies finger curryVendaikkai Pulikuzhambu Poornima - Poorni Recipes	Leftover Dal's Paratha Swetha - Shwetha in the kitchen	Laccha Paratha Pallavi - Cook-Eat-Burrp
Lemon Poppy seeds muffins Hema - Aromatic Cooking	Lucuma Icecream Mireille - Chef Mireille's Global Creations	Ladies Finger curry Kavitha - Kavi's Kitchen
Lobia Curry Pallavi - Cook-Eat-Burrp	Lemon Rice Sevai Akila - Learning-to-cook