2 cups All purpose flour (maida) 11/2 tbsp rice flour 2 tbsp curd (plain yogurt) 11/4th cups warm water 1/2 tsp saffron threads, slowly dry-roasted and powdered 3 cups sugar 2 2/3rd cups water 1/2 tsp green cardamom seeds powder 11/2 tbsp kewra water or rose water Ghee or vegetable oil for frying
Method:
Mix the flour, semolina or rice flour, curd and 3/4th cup of the water in a bowl (preferably a ceramic bowl). Mix well with a whisk.
Mix well and then add remaining water and 1/8th tsp. of saffron powder, and whisk until smooth.
Set aside for about 24 hours to ferment.Whisk thoroughly before use.
Prepare one string syrup by dissolving sugar in the water. Just before the syrup is ready add saffron and cardamom powder.
Heat oil in a kadhai. Pour the batter( use ketchup bottle) in a steady stream into the kadhai to form coils. Make a few at a time. Deep fry them until they are golden and crisp all over but not brown.
Remove from the kadhai and drain on kitchen paper and immerse in the syrup.
Leave for at least 4-5 minutes so that they soak the syrup.
Sakinalu are the known traditional snacks made in Telangana Region.Usually they are made for the Sankranthi Festival.Sakinalu are made of rice flour and Seasame.I am trying to do this sakinalu for the first time. My friends Anitha and Rajitha are from telangana.I came to know about this recipe from them.
Ingredients:
Rice---4 cups
Ajwain seeds --1/4 cup
Sesame --1/2 cup
Salt
oil
Method :Soak the rice with enough water for about 3-4 hrs.Drain the water using a mesh and leave the rice in the mesh for about 3 hrs so that it gets dried.
Now grind the rice in a grinder till it becomes fine powder.Roast the sesame lightly on a low flame.
Now add the Sesame,Ajwain and salt to the rice flour.Make a dough with the help of water as you do for chapathis as show in below picture.
Take small quantity of the dough in hand and make circles with thin lines on a cloth as in the below picture.Repeat this process to make all the sakinalu.After they are done allow the sakinalu to dry.
Now take a frying pan with oil to fry.Take the sakinalu slowly with help of a flat plate and fry them in the oil till light brown colour.
Finally your sakinalu are ready.These snacks can be preserved upto 1 month in a air tight container.
In today's tight economy, who doesn't want to free up some cash? Trim the fat but not the fun from your budget - here's how.
1. Slash Your Grocery Bill
Monthly savings up to: $183*
Shop once a week. The more trips you make to the store, the likelier you are to buy on impulse because you see more tempting items. About two-thirds of purchases are unplanned; cut that in half to save $143 a month (if you spend $100 a week on groceries).
Give up the bottle. Stop drinking bottled water and instead buy a filter for your faucet (about $34, plus $25 for replacements). If your family consumes 12 gallons a month, you'll save about $15.
Eat what's ripe. Out-of-season produce costs 20% to 50% more than it does when it's in season. For a list of what's in season when, go to fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org. Estimated savings: $7 a month.
Differentiate between clean and dirty. Organic produce costs $1 to $2 more than the conventional kind. Cut your pesticide intake by going organic on the dirtiest produce (apples, lettuce) and conventional on the cleanest (kiwi, tomatoes). For a list of clean and dirty fruits and veggies, go to foodnews.org. Savings: $18 a month.
Note: Assumes spending $55 a month on produce ($35 on organics), one-third of it out of season.
2. Ditch Your Second (or Third) Car
Monthly savings up to: $662*
Sure, she turns heads, but that 2007 Audi A6 Quattro is an expensive mistress. Can't do without two cars? Trade it in for a new Camry and save $221 a month.
Note: Savings for annual operating costs only: insurance ($4,992); gas ($2,218); maintenance ($734); assumes 5,000 extra miles on remaining car (2008 Acura TL), plus four weekly bus passes. Trade-in is even exchange for a 2010 Camry XLE.
3. Get to Work Cheaper
Monthly savings up to: $320*
A suburban driver commuting to the city might shell out $575 a month for gas, parking, and car upkeep, assuming a 30-mile roundtrip. These downshifts can help:
4. Step Off the Gas
Monthly savings up to: $25*
You don't have to buy a Prius, trade in your clunker or ride the bus to cut down on the money you spend for gas each month. Just make a few adjustments to your driving habits:
Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving on the highway -- speeding, rapid acceleration and braking -- can lower your mileage by 33%.
Observe the speed limit. Gas mileage decreases rapidly above 60 miles per hour. Reining in your speed will save you up to 23%.
Keep tires inflated properly. Check your owner's manual to list your vehicle's proper tire pressure, buy a good dial-type pressure gauge ($8), and check your tires once a week. Keeping them properly inflated can improve your mileage by about 3%.
Empty the trunk. Don't carry around unnecessary items, especially in small cars. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your miles-per-gallon by up to 2%.
Note: Fuel savings estimates from fueleconomy.org. Assumes 12,000 miles driven per year (8,000 on highway), gas priced at $2.64 per gallon and car averaging 25 mpg
Grab a tax break. Sign up for your company's transportation reimbursement account, which lets you pay up to $230 in monthly parking fees with pretax dollars. (You can set aside the same amount for mass-transit costs.) Savings: about $80 a month.
Drive with a buddy. Carpool to work with a colleague. No one suitable you know nearby? Get matched up at carpoolworld.com or erideshare.com.
Go from four wheels to two. Buy a good commuter bike ($500) and cycle to work as the weather permits. Do that six months a year and you'll save $250 a month.
5. Buy This, Not That
You can buy a men's designer suit, like a Hickey Freeman, in stores for $1,200.
Or buy the same suit for $380 at gilt.com.
Want to impress at a job interview? You could buy this Tory Burch Studded Leather Tote for $495.
Or Rent it from avelle.com for $26 a week for members.
6. Share the Care
Monthly savings up to: $140*
Organize a babysitting co-op with neighborhood parents and take turns watching the kids for free. Your kids will be happier with their friends -- more fun for them and fewer games of Chutes and Ladders for you (whew!). Or go in on a sitter with another family, paying, say, $10 an hour apiece instead of the usual $14 (more kids means a higher total rate for the sitter).
Note: Assumes five hours of babysitting twice a month.
7. Pamper Your Pet for Less
Monthly savings up to: $74*
Try these techniques:
Say bye to boarding. Going away? Nix the pet motel; instead trade sitting duties with other pet-owner pals.
Go to school. Get Spike looking spiffy at a grooming school. Price: 40% to 50% less than a regular groomer.
Drop the pet insurance. You'll probably pay way more in premiums than you stand to save on vet bills.
Note: Annual costs: boarding, $265; grooming seven times: pro ($55) vs. school ($30); pet policy, $447 save.
Ingredients 1 1/2 lb white fish fillets 1 salt to taste 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 vegetable oil for deep-frying 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1 teaspoon ground anise seeds 1/2 teaspoon chile powder 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 lettuce leaves 1 sliced radishes
Method : Remove any skin and bones from fish, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into large chunks.
Mix together cumin, coriander, ground anise, chile powder, garlic, lemon juice and salt, blending to a smooth paste. Spread over fish, cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
Half-fill a deep pan or deep-fryer with oil and heat to 350 F. (175C) or until a 1-inch bread cube browns in 50 seconds. Cook fish, a few pieces at a time, 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot, garnished with lettuce and radish slices.
Easter is a special occasion for everyone, especially children, who expect the Easter bunny to bring baskets filled with colorful eggs, presents and candies. It is a good old tradition of the Christians to hide decorated eggs during Easter celebrations and hunt for them in return of sweet treats, such as candies, chocolates and other prizes. Initially, real chicken eggs were decorated with colorful paint. Now, plastic and chocolate eggs are being increasingly used, instead of the real ones, for Easter egg hunt. If you are looking for some tips and ideas for planning the Easter egg hunt this year, go through the article.
Unique Ideas For Easter Egg Hunt
Crack The Clues
Arrange Easter eggs, filled with candies, in a basket. Gather the participants at one place. Now, give each of them a plastic egg, with a clue to where the next egg is hidden. The clue inside the next plastic egg will lead to the third egg and so on, until the clues finally lead the players to their basket. The fun filled Easter egg hunt is perfectly suitable for people of all age groups.
Cobweb Hunt
Hide the Easter baskets in your house. Now, tie one end of a long string to each basket. Uncoil the strands starting from the end, where the baskets are hidden and create a spider web throughout your house, by looping the strings all over the place, over and under the furniture. The strings should look like a huge tangled cob web. Tie the other end of the strands to the doorknob of your room. The moment your family members wake up, they would be surprised to find that a huge cobweb of strands is leading up to their hidden Easter eggs baskets!
Color-Coded Eggs Hunt
Assign ten plastic eggs for each of the participants. Choose a color for each set of ten eggs. Color the plastic eggs and fill them with toys or candies. Divide the participants into teams, with two members in each team. Set a time limit for them, say fifteen minutes, within which they have to find their respective set of eggs that are hidden all over the place. The team, which finds its set of eggs first, wins the game. Make sure that every team gets the sweet treats at the end.
Checklist Egg Hunt
Color the eggs with paints. You may choose plastic eggs or even the real chicken eggs for the purpose. Now, make checklists for each child, telling them how many eggs of each color they have to get. Supply them with the checklist, pencil and a basket. Set a time limit, say, 20 minutes. Now, hide the colored eggs at strategic locations all over your house, backyard and lawn. Instruct the kids to find what is written in their respective checklists. Reward the children with small toys, temporary tattoos, wrapped candy bars and chocolates the moment they return from the egg hunt.
Night Hunt
Night hunt is suitable for adults and teenagers, who are ready to play the game in the dark. Color the plastic eggs with glow-in-the-dark paints, in such a way that they look unusual. To make the eggs look bizarre, paint scary images on them, with the paint. Now, hide the eggs behind the shrubs, trees and bushes of your backyard and lawn. Divide the players into teams, with two people in each team. Supply the teams with flashlight. Within a time limit, say half an hour, each team has to find as many eggs as possible.
Make sure that you have enough eggs for the hunt. At least ten eggs should be assigned to each participant. Do not forget to wear gloves, while painting the plastic eggs with colors. Be careful no to break the real chicken eggs, if you are using them for the hunt. In case you are arranging the game for little children, it is suggested to go for plastic or chocolate eggs, instead of the real ones
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