Bread halwa / Hydrabadi Double Ka Meetha

Double Ka Meetha is one of the traditional Hyderabadi desserts from Mughlai cuisine family. It is an immensely rich sweet for special occasions. It also called as Dabal Ka Meetha

Ingridents 
5 Bread Slices

Ghee

10 Almond (Badam)

1 tsp Cardamom\Yalakai Powder

1 litre Milk

1 1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cup water

Pinch of Saffron 

Preparation 

• Soak almonds in warm water for some time and peel off the skin.

• Roughly chop the almonds`
  

• Remove the hard crust of the bread slices and cut them into halves diagonally.

• Heat half a tbsp of ghee in a wide pan, arrange couple of the bread slices.

• Fry for few seconds and turn on other side to let the bread slices soak all the ghee in the pan. Now fry on medium high flame till bread slices turn dark golden brown on both sides. Remove the fried bread onto a plate.

• Pour another half a tbsp of ghee in the pan and repeat the same with remaining bread slices.
  

• Bring a cup of water to boil in a sauce pot, add sugar and cardamom powder.

• Let the sugar melt and the syrup thicken a bit (around 8 minutes).

• Remove the sugar syrup from heat.

• Dip each slice of fried bread in sugar syrup and remove onto a bowl.

• Bring milk to boil in a heavy bottomed wide pan.

• Reduce the heat to medium and let the milk reduce its quantity to half.

• Stir in remaining cardamom powder, remaining saffron threads and reduce the heat to low.make a rabadi

• Arrange the bread slices in the plate pour the rabadi on the bread slices

• Garnish the prepared bread sweet with chopped pistachios and almonds.

Serve double ka meeta hot or chilled.

Why don't we trust nature? It can very well be our doctor

"Recently I read this article the subject is very useful for everyone, so I am posting here"

Tulsi for cold, dhurva for longevity, bilwa for cleansing, vallarai for memory power, curry leaves for indigestion and good hair growth and a host of other herbs are the saviours from tiny ailments in villages.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. A garlic clove a day chases asthma away. A carrot a day keeps the ophthalmologist away . . . a dentist away and cancer away. Deep breathing exercises 20 minutes a day can keep most diseases away. A few yogasanas a day can keep most diseases away.

These are some of the sayings that we don't trust. Everyone one of us has some health ailment or the other. Some have severe headaches, others develop breathing problems, yet others get serious problems such as heart or lung ailments. But have you ever taken an apple or carrot a day as you must have learnt by heart in your primary school?

We don't trust nature. Most of us do not drink rainwater. Rainwater may be slightly contaminated with dust and other chemicals on the first day and from the roof that may be coated with chemicals, but one can harvest it directly from the skies. Keep a clean tub right in the open on the terrace. This can be done the second day of heavy rain. The first day, the water from the skies can wash away dust and other particles in the atmosphere. Then it can be double-filtered and stored in huge drums. This water can be filtered again for drinking.

One must experience the taste of rainwater. It is heavenly. An Australian study has confirmed that rainwater is very much safe for drinking and other household purposes and does not cause any illness. Most people have installed a rainwater harvesting system but use this water for bathing and washing and rarely for drinking.

Children love the rains. They love snapping those bubbles and having a bath. But today you find a lot of elders shooing them away from having fun in the rain all because they think they will catch a cold. Don't you get a cold even when you don't bath in rain? Your hair shines so well after a bath in rain/rainwater.

Working late or watching movies most of us have lost the habit of waking up early and doing some form of exercise. Schools back in the 1960s had morning prayer and some exercises in the open sunlight for about half-an-hour. Although yogasanas and breathing techniques have gained importance (more in the West), we turn to them for style, or when we have some ailment that refuses to budge with our popping pills.

Ancient texts kept at the Saraswathi Mahal library in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, about breathing exercises have this to say. Practising a certain type of deep breathing while studying (alternate right and left nostril breathing) can improve memory power and help you retain whatever you are studying. This text says that breathing should be practised on an empty stomach pretty early in the morning (studying early in the morning some time before sunrise). The text says that this way, you cannot forget whatever you have read. This is because the oxygen that enters your body clears congestion in the brain and enables it to retain whatever you have read with concentration in memory.

Deep breathing exercises practised just for about 10-20 minutes a day can improve eyesight, cure constipation, ward off most diseases. A person practising Asanas rarely gets any degenerative disease. It is advisable to learn these breathing exercises and yogasanas from a practitioner as there are rules about doing the same and they can cause harm if done in haste or on a heavy stomach or when ill.

While you can get rid of most skin problems by taking a sun-bath, we have the habit of seeing the sun when we travel to our workplace and on weekends after a late breakfast. Suryanamaskars have become a religious sign or practised to help us rid ourselves of paunches.

We use polyester garments and rarely expose ourselves to cool air or sunlight. The fresh air can give you a cold or fever. We get the idea that standing in cool air can give us a cold whereas overeating and eating junk foods or drinking colas cannot.

A lot many people are scared of tasting seasonal fruits. Mangoes are a ‘no' ‘no' for fear of our sugar levels rising or our getting diabetes. Whoever said fruits will usher in diabetes, and not a sedentary lifestyle and wrong eating habits? Bananas no, potatoes no, carrots no. There are a lot of self-analysed ‘Nos.'

Tulsi for cold, dhurva for longevity, bilwa for cleansing, vallarai for memory power, curry leaves for indigestion and good hair growth and a host of other herbs are the saviours from minor ailments in villages. People living in cities cannot even identify common herbs, much less use them to benefit. Looks like we don't trust nature.

Lemon Rice South Indian Style

Lemon Rice is a simple and traditional Recipe in South India. This recipe can be prepared in just a few minutes. Lemon Rice is a good for lunch.

Ingredients

3 tbsp Lemon Juice

2 cup cooked Rice

¼ tsp Mustard seeds

¼ tsp Splitted urad dal

1 Onion

2 Green chilies

2 dry Red chilies

A pinch of turmeric powder

2 tbsp oil

1 strand curry leaves

Salt as for taste

Preparation:

In a kadai/pan add the oil and heat it; add the Mustard seeds, Spitted urad dal and curry leaves.

After spluttering add finely chopped Onion, finely chopped Garlic cloves, dry red chilies, chopped green chilies; Fry till the Onion became transparent.

Add turmeric powder, salt and sauté for few seconds then add the lemon juice; and cook for few minutes in low flame until the Onion turns in pink color.

Finally add cooked rice and mix well.

Lemon Rice is ready for serve.

Note: you can add any nuts like Peanut (Ground Nut) or cashew nut while adding onion.

Dried Anchovies Fish Fry / Nethili karuvadu Varuval

Anchovies Fish is a small salt water fish commonly found in scattered areas throughout the world's oceans and Dried Anchovies, known in Tamil as Nethili karuvadu. Anchovies are rich in healthy protein, essential vitamins (vitamin E and D) and minerals (calcium and selenium). Anchovies are also a good source of heart friendly polyunsaturated fatty acids because it can help lower the cholesterol level and reduce the risk of heart disease. Dried Anchovies Fish Nethili karuvadu Varuval is a popular and spicy recipe in South India.

 

Ingredients:

150 gm Nethili karuvadu

2 Onions

2 tsp Red chili powder

1 Tomato

1 Green chilly

½ tsp Turmeric powder

Salt for taste

4 tsp Oil

Preparation:

Clean and wash the Anchovies / Nethili karuvadu.

In a pan add Oil for fry and add Nethili karuvadu (Anchovies), Turmeric powder, 1½ tsp Red chili powder and salt. Fry well for few minutes till the Nethili karuvadu (Anchovies) cook and like crispy.

In a separate fry pan add Oil and finely chopped Onion with Green chili, ½ tsp Red chili powder and Chopped tomato; fry until the onion become transparent. Finally add Nethili karuvadu (Anchovies) mixture and fry for 2 more minutes.

Spicy and tasty Dried Anchovies Fish Fry / Nethili karuvadu Varuval ready

Serve hot with any Rice variety.

Thattu vadai / Thatai Crackers

It is a popular crispy snack of South India. People from various regions call it as Tattai murukku, Nippetu, Thattu vadai in Tamil Nadu.

Ingredients:

2 cup Rice Flour

¼ cup splited chick peas (Chana dhal)

3 tbsp Butter

2 tsp Chili powder

3 tbsp Gram flour  

1 strand Curry leaves

2 Dry red Chilies

2 tsp Sesame seeds (Optional)

Pinch of Asafetida

Salt for taste

Oil for fry

Preparation:

Soak the splited chick peas (Chana dhal) for an hour in Water.

Roughly grind the Curry leaves and Red dry chilly.

In a bowl mix the grinded items with Rice flour, Chana dhal, Gram flour, Chili powder, Asafetida, Butter and Salt with little water.

Dough should be thick in consistency.

Take small ball like dough and flatten it like thin disk shape; immerse it into the hot oil.

Deep fry on both sides until become golden color and like crispy.

Crispy Thattu Vadai/ Thatai ready. Serve as a Tea time snack.

Bottle gourd Fry / Surakai Poriyal

Bottle gourd is a popular vegetable in India; water content is high in Bottle gourd and very nutritious and healthy. This helps in weight loss also; normally in South India for poriyal (Sabji/fry) we use coconut with all vegetables, those who want to slim take Bottle gourd recipes but avoid coconut.

Ingredients:

1 medium sized Bottle Gourd

¼ tsp Mustard seeds

¼ tsp Splitted urad dal

1 Onion

2 Green chilies

2 dry Red chilies

2 tbsp grated Coconut

A pinch of turmeric powder

2 tbsp oil

1 strand curry leaves

Salt as for taste

Preparation:

Peel the skin of Bottle Gourd and cut into small pieces.

In a kadai/pan add the oil and heat it; add the Mustard seeds, Spitted urad dal and curry leaves.

After spluttering add the Big Onion finely chopped, dry red chilies, green chilies chopped;

Fry till the Onion became transparent.

Add turmeric powder, salt and sauté for few seconds then add Bottle gourd; mix well with little water and close the pan for 5 minutes.

Finally add grated Coconut and cook for another 5 minutes in low flame.

Serve hot with Rice or Roti.