Dates and Figs Burfi (Energy Bites)

When I think of burfi, the first thing that comes to my mind is oozing ghee, sugar and maybe khoya, besan etc.. But this particular burfi has no such thing, just plain main healthy ingredients. You will want to keep this in your pantry to chomp off whenever you will have a sugar craving :) and go guilt free :) It is more like an energy bite which will calm your sugar cravings too. Win Win situation!

So not wasting any more time here, am going straight to the recipe details!

Let us take a look at the Dates and Figs Burfi (Energy Bites) recipe.


      Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups dry figs 
• 1 cup dates 
• 2 tbsp ghee 
• 1/2 cup sugar(optional) 
• 10 cashews (roughly chopped) 
• 10 pistachios (roughly chopped) 

Preparation:

• Soak dates in hot water and keep aside for 10 minutes. Then cut dates finely with a knife. 
• In a processor grind figs. 
• Take a pan and warm ghee in it, now add the figs and saute on medium flame for around 6-7 minutes.  
• Add the dates and sugar if you need that extra nice sweet taste and saute till it leaves ghee at the side of the pan (like 5 more minutes) 
• Add the chopped nuts and mix everything well. 
• Grease a tray or plate with ghee or on a wax parchment sheet, add this mixture, spread it evenly with a flat spoon. 
• Refrigerate for 10 minutes, cut into desired shaped pieces and keep it back in the refrigerator for an hour. 
• You can roll it into bite size balls too. Get creative and give your own twist :)

njoy!! happY cookinG!!

Health Benefits: Figs are a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps to control blood pressure. Very good source of fibre, magnesium, vitamin b6 and copper. Good news is dry figs are available easily in the market. 


Dates: again high in dietary fiber helps prevent LDL (bad) cholesterol. Good content of iron, potassium, B-vitamins along with vitamin A(for eyes, skin), Vitamin K(for bones).

Chicken Ghee Roast

Ghee Roast is fairly a new addition in my list of authentic drool-worthy chicken recipes. Ghee (clarified butter)  Roast is a very popular Mangalorean Chicken recipe whose origins go back to a small town, Kundapur, close to Mangalore. Chicken Ghee Roast has a fiery red, tangy and spicy flavors as it is cooked in the (asli desi) ghee with freshly roasted spices and NO COCONUT :) Ya people, a fantastic coastal dish with no coconut :) This I can say is one ass kicking dish without blinking my eyes :) It actually reminds me of Ethiopian dish Doro Wat that is served with Injera, cause this is cooked in clarified butter too :)

My generation uses oil very wisely meaning sparingly :) My mom wouldn't blink to add dollops of ghee/butter/oil while cooking :) Her nose always wrinkles up when she sees me cooking :) [she actually goes into a mocking mode] I always keep complaining to her saying 'why my mutton curry doesn't turn out like yours?' or even as simple as Poha she makes for breakfast doesn't turn out as yummy when I make...:) She flat out tells me 'You know why' :):) -- sighhh [But I am glad we have chosen a healthy lifestyle using less of everything :)] My folks are learning and trying their best too :)

I never cook anything in ghee (solely) except for gulab jamuns, that too, like once in a while. This dish calls for cooking your chicken with spices in GHEE ...YASSS! So I treat it like a VIP dish that gets cooked in my kitchen on a special occasion or whenever I need to get into an ass kicking mode hehe kidding! It's RICH, it's FLAVORFUL, it's TANGY and not to mention it's FIERY!

There are various recipes out there for ghee roast. You cannot substitute ghee with oil for this preparation, else you will have to rename the dish as just roast chicken :):) You can play around with the spices if you like but a big NO when it comes to clarified butter, just stick to the recipe here ppl :)

Look no further, let's live a little by diving into all the fatness/goodness of meat, spices and ghee.
Same recipe can be used for shrimp too.

Here is the Chicken Ghee Roast Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken or 6-7 chicken drumsticks or 3 breast cut in cubes. ( I prefer bone in chicken)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1-2 tsp jaggery or 2 tsp sugar
• 3/4th cup yogurt
• 1 1/2 inch ginger piece
• 3 cloves garlic (big)
• 1 tsp kashmiri chili pwd
• marble size tamarind piece
• salt to taste
• 1/2 cup Ghee
• 1 small onion chopped finely
• 1 sprig of curry leaves

To Roast:

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp peppercorn
• pinch fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 10-12 dry red chili (byadgi/kumta chilies)

Preparation:

• Clean the chicken, cut it into big bite size pieces. If using drumsticks, just roughly run the knife through it to make cuts, so that marination is done evenly.
• In a pan roast the ingredients under 'to roast' for 2-3 minutes till you smell all the aroma of the spices. Transfer it to a blender. Grind along with ginger, garlic and tamarind. Add little water or yogurt.
• Now marinate the chicken with this ground paste, yogurt, lemon juice, turmeric, salt and kashmiri chili pwd. Keep it marinated for at least an hour. Remember, more you marinate the meat better the curry will taste!
• In a kadai, heat ghee (clarified butter), add chopped onions, sprinkle little salt and saute till translucent. Add marinated chicken and don't leave out any extra paste from the bowl. Mix everything nicely and add jaggery(or sugar) to balance out the spiciness. 
• Cook the chicken till done around 15-20 minutes on med heat. Keep stirring in between. Adjust the spices if need be (some like more tangy or more spicy etc).
• Garnish it with cilantro, and curry leaves. Serve hot with Roti, Dosa, Neer Dosa, Rice etc.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

You may also like

Kori Rotti
Chicken Curry
Chicken Molagu

Health Benefits: Chicken is a very good source of protein. It helps one build muscles, keeps your bones healthy, relieves stress, boosts immunity and promotes heart health. Always buy organic or a good quality chicken and try to include it in your diet regularly.

Besan Ladoo

Besan Ladoo is a very loved and famous sweet from India. Most of us have a fond memory of this sweet being made in our mom's kitchens where moms were busy rolling it out in their palms like an expert (which they are) over some gossip with other members of the house :) The aroma that lingered in the kitchen then is soo friggin nostalgic now that I cannot describe. These balls of goodness are nothing but a mixture of roasted gram flour, sugar, ghee, cardamom pwd and nuts. After mixing these together you create a ball of sweet!

My son actually got introduced to besan ladoos by a TV series called Little Krishna.  He got addicted and loved watching it when he was 4-5 yr old (after my India visit). There is this one scene in an episode where Krishna(as a kid) tells his friends that he loves ladoos, rasagullas and sandesh (something like that). Since then he loves these ladoos :)

Taking this opportunity to make besan ladoos again on the occasion of Janmashtami ( Lord Krishna's birthday). My kitchen smells so heavenly right now and nostalgia is hitting the roof! For the first timers, if you don't get it right don't lose heart, keep trying, because some things come to us by practice.

Ladoos can be enjoyed as a snack with your tea/coffee or as a dessert after meals. Children have the privilege to gobble it anytime they want :)

Let us take a look at this wonderful recipe quickly!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup besan (gram flour)
• 1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
• 3/4 cup sugar (add 2 tsp more if you like sweet)
• 1 tsp cardamom powder 
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped nuts (cashews, pistachios, almonds)

Preparation:

• In a nonstick pan, add 2 tbsp ghee, 1 cup sifted gram flour and on a low heat, stir everything together. Keep stirring and adding 1 tbsp ghee after 5 minutes each till the half cup of ghee is used up. 
• Keep a close eye on the flour and ghee, we don't want to burn it. Keep stirring for about 30 minutes till the raw smell of besan goes away. 
• Switch off the gas, add the nuts(except 1 tsp) and cardamom powder. Keep it aside to cool down (for about 10-15 minutes)
• Add fine sugar into it and mix everything together with a spatula or use hands. 
• Grease your palms with little ghee. Take a little portion (2 tbsp) of the ladoo mixture in your palms and press it together to form a small ball. Keep rolling it into your palms till a firm round ball is made. 
• Makes around 14-15 ladoos. Sprinkle little nuts mixture on top of each ladoo to make it look more fancy :)
• Leave the ladoos on a plate to cool to room temperature before storing it in a container. The ladoos can be stored in an airtight container for 2 to 3 weeks.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Notes*: You can also add ghee and besan all at one time and stir the mixture till the raw smell goes away (I have found that this takes longer time). If the mixture is very gooey, keep it in the fridge for some time before you start rolling out ladoos.

Health Benefits: Well it is a dessert with sugar so health benefits are not so much other than it gives pleasure to your brain and well being :) If consumed in small portion should not do much harm. One can use sweeteners instead of sugar and make it a sugar-free dessert. Now the benefits of besan (gram flour) are indeed to take into consideration. It has a low glycemic index and has a soluble fiber in it , has low-calorie count, is gluten free, and a protein loaded flour. Nuts provide nutrients and good cholesterol oils. So yes, we all gotta live a little :) with small pleasures in life.

Dates and Figs Burfi

When I think of burfi, the first thing that comes to my mind is oozing ghee, sugar and maybe khoya, besan etc.. But this particular burfi has no such thing, just plain main healthy ingredients. You will want to keep this in your pantry to chomp off whenever you will have a sugar craving :) and go guilt free :)

So not wasting any more time here, am going straight to the recipe details!

Let us take a look at the Dates and Figs Burfi (Energy Bites) recipe.


      Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups dry figs 
• 1 cup dates 
• 2 tbsp ghee 
• 1/2 cup sugar(optional) 
• 10 cashews (roughly chopped) 
• 10 pistachios (roughly chopped) 

Preparation:

• Soak dates in hot water and keep aside for 10 minutes. Then cut dates finely with a knife. 
• In a processor grind figs. 
• Take a pan and warm ghee in it, now add the figs and saute on medium flame for around 6-7 minutes.  
• Add the dates and sugar if you need that extra nice sweet taste and saute till it leaves ghee at the side of the pan (like 5 more minutes) 
• Add the chopped nuts and mix everything well. 
• Grease a tray or plate with ghee or on a wax parchment sheet, add this mixture, spread it evenly with a flat spoon. 
• Refrigerate for 10 minutes, cut into desired shaped pieces and keep it back in the refrigerator for an hour.

njoy!! happY cookinG!!

Health Benefits: Figs are a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps to control blood pressure. Very good source of fibre, magnesium, vitamin b6 and copper. Good news is dry figs are available easily in the market. 
Dates: again high in dietary fiber helps prevent LDL (bad) cholesterol. Good content of iron, potassium, B-vitamins along with vitamin A(for eyes, skin), Vitamin K(for bones).