Flavor up with Spices #1 - A Monthly Event

Spices are the ingredients used to flavor our food. They are mostly the dried parts of root, seed, vegetable or a fruit which have a strong flavor & used in very small quantities for cooking. Some spices are also known for their good healing properties & used widely all around the world. 

Black Pepper's are the star of this month. They are widely used in Indian cooking & believed to help health problems like cold, digestion & are also widely used in Ayurvedic medicine.Black Pepper's are hot & empowering when they are added in a dish. So for the first month make a dish using Black Pepper's and share it here. 

Rules to follow:

1. Vegetarian & egg dishes are welcome. No non-vegetarian pls.
2. Post it in your blog and link back the recipe to my event.
3. Can send in multiple entries. Archives are ok too.
4. Event starts from 1st of February 2014 & ends on 1st of March 2014.
5. For any queries you can just leave a comment on my facebook page Ammaji Kitchen or mail me to Valli.sunil@gmail.com.
6. I will be posting the round up on my Facebook page. If you want to be tagged in the round then do mail your Facebook page url or just leave a comment below & I will add you.

Apple Milkshake with Almond Milk

Prep Time-5mins | Yields-1 Serving 

Ingredients

1Cup apple juice 

1Cup almond milk

4Dates (Soaked in water overnight)

1/2Tsp cinnamon powder

Directions

In a blender mix applejuice, almond milk , dates & cinnamon powder. Blend it on high speed once. Transfer the milkshake in to a glass and enjoy.

Note: 

- I used almond milk as it is less in calories rather than normal milk. 

- Check kitchen basics section to get almond milk recipe. (Coming soon)

- I soaked dates in just enough water & not more.

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Check this too..

Banana Nutella Milkshake 

Besan Ka Halwa

Halwa is basically a thick sweet dish & can be made with different flours & ingredients. I'm sharing a recipe for Besan ka halwa & it's is very famous in indian households. This dish contains lots of ghee & that is what flavors of this dish. To the ingredients below you can add grated coconut for twist to the recipe.

Cook Time-30mins | Yields-2 servings

Ingredients
1Cup besan
1Cup ghee / butter

1Cup milk

3/4Cup sugar (Adjust accordingly)

1/2Tsp elachi powder

6 Cashew's

- Heat a pan with butter. Add cashew & stir fry them till they change to light brown. Remove cashews from pan & keep aside.
- To the pan add besan. Stir fry it carefully. You should fry it till it changes slight color.

- Immediately add milk & sugar to the besan and mix it well with out forming lumps. 
- Keep stirring until halwa becomes thick. Switch off heat. 
- Add elachi powder and fried cashews to it. Mix them well.

- Serve it warm & enjoy.

Note:

- Reduce the ghee content to 1/2 Cup if are concerned about the fat.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.