Oma Podi / Sphagetti Sev

Diwali brings with itself a lot of joy and brings families together. There is an atmosphere of happy celebrations in every household. Gifts and sweets are exchanged. When I was young, I would help my Grandmother and  Mother in making sweets and savories for Diwali. Oma podi is a savory that is made for Diwali. It is a very easy snack and can be made in very limited time.

Ingredients:

(This makes 4-5 omapodi's)
Gram Flour / Besan - 2 cups
Rice Flour - About 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Asafoetida / Hing - To taste - a few pinches
Ajwain - 1 Tsp
Jeera - 1 Tsp
Water - To make the dough
Oil - To deep fry the sev

Method:

• Sift the gram flour to remove any lumps in it.

• Combine all the other ingredients and mix well.

• Add water little by little and make it into a stiff dough.

• Use the Sev maker/ Sev press and select the cutter with many holes in it.

• Fill the dough in the sev press and close it.

• Heat a kadai or a wok and add oil in it. 
• Press down and rotate the sev press or press down the sev press (depending on the model of the sev press you have) in a circular motion. 

• Make 2 at a time and fry it till the sizzling of the oil stops. Drain it on a paper towel and set it aside. 

• Once cooled, store it in an airtight container and it will stay good for a week to 10 days.

Notes:

• You can double the quantity to make more of the dough.
• Make sure that the oil is hot before you drop in the sev's.
• You car crush and eat the sev with other snacks such as bhel puri or sev puri.

Instant Microwave Doodh Peda

Wishing everyone a very Happy and a Bright Diwali.. Due to lack of time to prepare elaborate sweets, I tried making this instant Doodh Peda that was taught to me by a friend. The recipe is very simple and requires just 3 ingredients. All the ingredients are available easily at any supermarket. Surprise your relatives and guests by serving them this instant and traditional delicacy.

Ingredients:

Milk Powder - 21/2 cups
Condensed milk - 1 14oz can (sweetened)
Unsalted butter - 1 stick

Method:

• Sift the milk powder and set it aside.

• Melt one stick of butter in a microwave safe glass bowl.

• Once the butter has melted, add the milk powder and condensed milk and mix well.

• Microwave it for 4 minutes. After every minute remove the bowl and mix the contents well.

• After 4 minutes, the mixture would have thickened and now let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.

• Take a spoon or a mini ice-cream scoop. Scoop out a small portion of the mixture and roll it out into a ball and flatten it.

• You can stick an almond, cashew, pistachios or any dry fruit you like in the center of the Peda.

• Enjoy your Diwali delicacy.

Happy Diwali to all.

• You can shape the Pedas in any form you like.
• Else you can pour the mixture on a greased tray and cut it in diamonds or squares.
• You can also remove the entire mixture and flatten it out about 1/2 an inch thich and cut it using a cookie cutter for getting the desired shapes.
• You can use edible silver foils, cake decoration materials to decorate the Pedas. You can get creative and decorate it the way you like.
• Every microwave has a different power setting. Some may meed 3 minutes and other many need 5 minutes. Ensure that you remove the mixture every minute and mix it well so that it does not burn the milk solids.