Kojagiri day: Special menu

I had already posted about the kojagiri special Masala Milk in my last year's post (Masala Milk), so this is kind-of a repost walking down the memory lane since yesterday was Kojagiri Pournima too. As the tradition goes, we kept the milk in the balcony for sometime for the moon rays to fall on it and then consumed it.

So, my kitchen menu for dinner was some hot Batata Vadas and the masala milk. But i added a twist to both the dishes yesterday and hence wanted to write about my new additions.

My masala milk recipe was as follows:

I have purposely reduced the milk to half and added more of the dry fruits (You will know why in my next post, as i had some other plans in mind to try too ;) If the trial turns out well, i will post it in my next post!!!
So, this version turns out a bit thicker. This thick version is of drinking consistency, but if you want it more thinner, what you can do is, either add milk to the thick mixture later on (It doesn't change the taste) or else reduce the milk to only 3/4th (or more) and follow the rest of the procedure.

Ingredients:

Milk - 1 litre

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Nutmeg powder - 1 tbsp (I basically grated the nutmeg)

Almonds, cashews, pistachios - 1 1/4 cup

Saffron - few strands

Recipe:

Boil 1 litre milk and then reduce the milk to almost 1/2 of the original quantity stirring in between, scraping the cream from the sides of the vessel.

Keep the flame low throughout.

Dry roast the dry fruits. Now, grind them to a fine powder. Mix in saffron, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.

After the milk has reduced to 1/2, add sugar and let it boil till sugar dissolves completely. Adjust sugar according to taste.

Now mix in the dry fruit mixture and turn off the heat.

You can have it warm or cold.

I also did a new version of batata vada from my last post, for the mere fact that i didn't have a few ingredients at hand. :) 

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 4 boiled

Urad daal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Curry leaves - a few (I had the dried ones and not fresh. You can add any)

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (I didn't have green chillies, so i added chilli powder. You can either add both or one of these according to taste)

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

For the batter : 

Besan (Gram flour) - 1 cup

Water - 1 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Baking soda - a pinch (I tried this for the first time, and i was happy that the vadas turned quite crispy from outside)

Recipe:

Mash the potatoes and keep aside.

In a pan, heat oil, and add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add asafoetida and cumin seeds. Then add the curry leaves and turmeric powder. Next add in the ginger garlic paste and saute for 15-20 seconds. Next, add the urad daal and saute till the daal becomes reddish.

Now add in the mashed potatoes and salt. Mix it all well and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Let the mixture cool and then make equal portions round balls.

Meanwhile, make the batter using all the ingredients mentioned. Add water little by little as the batter should not become too thin.

Dip the potato balls in the batter and deep fry in hot oil.

Crispy Batata vadas are ready :))) They were super delicious, with the addition of urad daal.

If your batter is left, after frying the vadas, don't throw it away. Add sliced onions to it, and make kanda bhajis :))

Happy Cooking!!! :)