After very long...

Its the festive season and have been really busy, cleaning and cooking!! Diwali's here!
End September, went to Igatpuri for a short holiday.. very nice.. back.. and it was Karwa Chauth.. then Diwali..
Have just made several delicacies for Diwali, will post them immediately after Diwali..
Here's what I did for Karwa Chauth..
It's my fav festival so far.. I just love keeping the fast for my husband.. no food.. no water.. To sacrifice something so basic to our existence is such a wonderful and pure feeling..

Here's the prayer arrangement..



Made several delicacies, managed to cook most of it with my mom in law's help..Forgot to take a pic of the 'Baayna' (all the food together.. offered to mom in law).. hence all separate pics..

Here's 'Sev Barfi'.. Its a typically Sindhi sweet..



You need:
400 ml milk
250 gms mawa or sweeetened condensed milk
200 gms sugar / or 6 tsps if you are using sweetened condensed milk
250 gms unsalted sev
Some chopped almonds and pistas (to garnish)
Some cardamom powder

Melt the mawa and bring to boil. Else bring the sweetened condensed milk to boil. Add to it the milk, sugar and cook for 5 mins. Then add the cardamom powder and sev and cook until it leaves the sides of the vessel and turns into a thick lump. Transfer to a greased plate and let it cook. Garnish with chopped dry fruits.. Its yumm.. disappears very quickly!

Here's some 'Atte ka Halwa'



Well.. its mostly made by judgement.. and no measurements.. Take some flour in a pan.. and dry roasted untill light brown. Then add ghee and roast it till it gets a nice dark brown color.. The quantity of ghee should be such that the you can bind the mixture into a ladoo..
While roasting the flour.. take some water in a vessel, add to it jaggery to taste.. and bring to boil. Add this sweetened water and some cardamom powder to the flour mixture, and cook for a minute or untill it looks perfect! If you love jaggery flavour.. this one's for you!

Then made some simple 'Aloo ki Sabzi'



This one's just got a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves, chopped green chillies, turmeric powder. Add to it boiled chopped potatoes, salt and garnish with coriander leaves..

Next was 'Paneer Mirchi Tamatar'.. my mil's and my combined innovation..



Gave a tempering of 2 cloves, added to it 2-3 tbsp of red chilli paste, paste of 2 large tomatoes and some ginger.. cooked it oil seperated.. Then added some 2-3 tbsp of cashew paste, cooked... Added some turmeric powder, coriander powder.. added water and boiled.. finally chopped paneer paneer pieces (400 gms) ..And a lovely paneer dish (without onion and garlic) is ready!

And... mom in law made all the puri's and some dahi wada..

And..to pass my time during the day.. I applied some Mehendi on my hand.. (I'm a left handed.. hence the other hand :) )


Enjoy!
-Naina