Raffle results : Congrats to the winner !

Hello friends, a big thank you to those who took part in the raffle by posting comments about their favorite recipe on 'My Kitchen Treats'. I had a fun time hosting this and I am planning to host more of these raffles at 'My Kitchen Treats'

The winner of the Raffle is Bini ! Congrats Bini !! You will be receiving an e-mail from me asking for further contacts regarding your address.


I used Random.org to generate the lucky number denoting the winner.

The numbers were the collection of eligible comments that answered the question I had asked for the raffle.

The lucky number was then correlated to the name in my Notepad where I had jotted down the names of the people who participated. And Bini's number was 5. Hence she is the winner.

Loot from Goya and a Raffle

Hello readers,
As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received this loot of Goya products about which I was absolutely thrilled. Though Foodbuzz Tastemaker Programs always creates an atmosphere similar to opening a Christmas gift each time the loot arrives , this time, it created an extra happiness because it was Goya. Me and V have already been using Goya products for long time, Goya canned chickpeas, Goya olives, lentils have already been a part of our lives from the time we were in US. Hence I thought this was a right occasion time to write about it.

They even send two recipe books of Mexico and Caribbean dishes which can be made with Goya products and I loved the colorful and perfect photographs of the pictures in it. I am planning to try out some of the dishes in each book.

As part of the program, I also received raffle coupons for Goya products, which I am supposed to share with my blog readers :) So here is something for you too. (PS: Contest valid for US residents only. ) I will be posting a question here and you, readers are required to post a comment as an answer to my question along with your e-mail address (don't worry, I promise to never spam your e-mail address, unless its for the purpose of letting you know if you are the winner). I will draw a winner on Sunday, the 15th of September at 12 pm EST, and post the result on the same day. I will be shipping these raffle coupons (5 booklets with 6 coupons in each book....see the pic below, where the raffle coupons are marked with arrows) to the winner.

Here is the question:
Which recipe did you like best at 'My Kitchen Treats' ? Answer to this question should only be posted as a comment. Answers in the form of e-mails send to my e-mail address will not be considered as valid.

Hope you would enjoy answering this question as much as I enjoyed hosting this raffle !!

 Luv
 Roopa

Moong Dal Payasam (Moong dal pudding)

                                                         (pic courtesy: Sri Krishna )
Happy Krishna Janmashtami to all my readers :) So how did you celebrate darling Sri Krishna's Birthday ?
Though I didn't have plans to make this dessert, by evening, my mind changed and I decided to go for it. I was surprised, at how easily it could be made and how easily it got over too :)) .......I am planning to make again sometime. I am not a big fan of payasam, so rarely make it, but after this attempt, I am motivated to make more varieties, especially because I found they are more nutritious and healthier than cakes/cookies. And I was craving for something sweet which doesn't have gluten or dairy predominantly as its ingredients as I have developed a slight intolerance towards these from past few months. I didn't use sugar in this dessert, instead I used Jaggery. I used coconut milk instead of regular milk. Since Jaggery available in the Indian stores here are cleaner than most of  the ones in India, the task to skim away the dirt while melting the Jaggery can be omitted. The cooking time mainly was that of the Moong dal which fairly cooks fast, maybe 30-40 minutes or less (didn't note the time accurately). The rest of the process can be completed in less than 20 minutes. So here goes the recipe:

 Ingredients: 2 cups

•  Yellow Moong Dal : 1 cup
• Water to cook dal : 2.5 cups - 3 cups
•  Jaggery (I used the light brown color jaggery that comes in cubes) : around 4 to 5 cubes
• Water to melt jaggery : 1/2 cup
•  Coconut milk (I used the canned coconut milk) : 1 - 1.5 cups
•  Raisins lightly blanched in 1 tablespoon butter/ghee (just melt butter/ghee in a saute pan and add the raisins and in low fire, just keep stirring with a spoon until all the raisins have plumped up) : 1/2 cup
•  Garnish : powdered cardomom, grated nutmeg : 1/2 teaspoon each

Method:

•  Cook the Moong dal in water until it reaches a very mashable state (if you like the pudding to have some moong dal bits to bite, then dont cook until its totally in the pureed stage. I like them very much cooked and mashable)
• Melt the jaggery in the water and add it to the Moong dal which is on medium low fire, keep stirring until everything is well combined.
• Now add the coconut milk and reduce fire to low and keep stirring.
•  Add raisins, and the garnish. Stir to combine.
•  Serve hot/chilled 

PS: I had mine with pappad (popadum) as that's one traditional way of having payasam which is called 'Payasam Pappadam' :)

Happy Labor Day weekend !

Luv
Roopa