Dry fruits Laddoo

Dry fruit laddoos are sugar free and contain dates as sweeting agent. These can be eaten guilt free during this festival season. I have added almonds and pumpkin seeds in this recipe. But I think you can include any other combinations of nuts as per your choice and likings. I have roasted the nuts in ghee which is an optional step. You can totally avoid it if you want to make this vegan.

They are very easy to make and can be prepared in less than 15 minutes. Try to make this dish during this diwali season and let me know your opinions in the comments section.

Ingredients:

1. Dates - 1 cup

2. Almonds - 1/2 cup

3. Pumpkin seeds - 1/4 cup

4. Ghee - 1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Remove the seeds from dates and set aside. 

2. Heat a teaspoon of ghee in a wide pan. 

3. Roast almonds and pumpkin seeds for couple of minutes and set aside.

4. In the same pan, roast dates for a minute. 

5. Let the dates and dry fruits cool to room temperature.

6. First grind the dates in a mixer-grinder. Then add almonds and pumpkin seeds to dates paste and grind them all together.

7. Make small roundels and dry fruits laddoos are ready to eat.

"Shhhhh Cooking Secretly" is a monthly challenge in the Facebook group. At the beginning of the month, a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month.

This month's theme is "DIWALI DHAMAKA" and it was chosen by admins Renu and Mayuri ji. Mayuri ji made a mouth watering Kalakand with cottage cheese. Renu made a easy milk powder chocolate ladoo which I think my kids would love it. 

My partner for Oct 2021 is Sasmita. She gave me pumpkin seeds and dates as my secret ingredients. I gave her chhena and cardamom as her ingredients. She made a traditional Odia sweet dish - Chhena Jhili. Her photography is spot on and please do visit her blog to see a huge  collection of Odia dishes. 

Paneer Pulao

This Paneer Pulao is a one-pot dish that is very easy to make and can be done in less than 30 minutes. You can replace the paneer with soya chunks. Also, we can also add other veggies like carrots, green peas, and potatoes. But for this recipe, I have kept it simple with just paneer as the main ingredient. 

Ingredients:

1. Jeeragasala rice or basmati rice - 2 cups
2. Paneer - 200 gms 
3. Onion - 1 medium 
4. Tomatoes - 2 medium 
5. Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tablespoon 
6. Mint leaves - 1 handful 
7. Cilantro - 1 handful 
8. Chili powder(Kashmiri) - 1-2 teaspoon 
9. Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon
10. Garam masala  - 1/4      teaspoon
11. Cardamom - 3 nos.
12. Cinnamon - 1 small stick
13. Cloves - 6 nos.
14. Bay leaves - 2
15. Salt to taste
16. Ghee - 1 tablespoon
17. Oil - 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker. 
3. Add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves and saute till it turns aromatic.
4. Add thinly sliced onions and saute till they turn translucent.
5. Add ginger-garlic paste and mint leaves. Saute till the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes away.
6. Add chili powder and salt to taste. 
7. Drink 2 tomatoes and add the paste to it. Cook till the oil separates.
8. At this stage, add cubed paneer and drained rice and mix for a couple of minutes.
9. Add 3.5 cups of hot water to this and put the lid on.
10. Pressure cook for 1 whistle on medium flame.
11. Let the pressure subside manually and open the pressure cooker.
12. Serve this paneer pulao with cucumber-yogurt salad and pickle.

"Shhhhh Cooking  Secretly" is a monthly challenge in the Facebook group. At the beginning of the month, a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month.

This month's theme was "Exotic Biriyani and Pulao" and it was chosen by Swaty Malik who blogs at Food Trails. She made a very exotic Jackfruit Biriyani for this theme. Also, I can't wait to try her Zafrani Pulao. My partner for Sep 2021 is Kalyani Sri. She gave me fennel seeds and onions as my secret ingredients. I gave her saffron and ghee and she made an Instant Pot vegetable biriyani. Do check her blog for a large collection of recipes. I cant wait to try her Avalakki Bisibelebhath.