LAVI'S DELICACIES

THOVSHYACHE MANDAS/ CUCUMBER RICE CAKE This is one of the most enjoyed traditional sweet dishes during our childhood days.  This sweet requires very few basic ingredients & is one of the most loved mangalorean delicacies.  The aroma of cucumber in this sweet gives authentic taste & flavour to this dish.  This dish can be steamed or baked in an oven. Both preparations have its own unique flavour & taste.  I have already posted baked mandas recipe.   The batter can be poured in a vessel & steamed too. This time i followed our ancestors style of pouring the batter on a banana leaf & steaming. The flavour and aroma of banana leaf and cucumber  in this dish takes us back to our sweet old memorable days of childhood.  RECIPE: INGREDIENTS: 2 cups of parboiled rice OR  boiled rice 1 cup coconut 3/4 cup jaggery ( as needed) Salt to taste 3-4 cardamom 1 medium cucumber ( sliced) METHOD: Wash & soak rice for a minimum 3-4 hours.( For Boiled rice you need atleas

           STRAWBERRY CAKE I prefer adding fresh seasonal fruits to the cake batter.  The natural sweetness, flavour & colour in the fruits gives awesome taste , colour & flavour to the cake.  You need less sugar in such cakes as there is natural sweetness in the fresh fruits.  This is a very simple, easy & tasty cake which i am sure will be loved by everyone.  RECIPE I have used 150ml cup for measurement. I used ghee in this recipe.  INGREDIENTS: A. 150 gms fresh strawberries 2 eggs 1/2 cup sugar ( as required) Pinch of salt 5 drops strawberry essence 1/2 cup oil/ghee.  B.  1 cup all purpose flour 1/2tsp baking powder 1/4tsp baking soda C.  For garnishing: Fresh strawberries  Strawberry sauce/syrup Method: Clean & cut strawberries. Add sugar & mash them with potato masher to a smooth paste.  Add eggs, oil/ghee, pinch of salt, essence & mix well.  Sieve all the ingredients under B.  Add this to strawberry mixture. 

PORTHA POLE/STUFFED PANPOLE/NEER DOSA Soft panpole/neer dosa, stuffed with coconut+ jaggery+ cardamom mixture is I am sure everyone's favorite.  These traditional sweets take me back to my childhood days when we used to return hungry from school.  Steaming hot tea with lovely, soft , stuffed portha pole was one of our favourite snacks.  This i feel is the easiest & tastiest traditional snack. Present generation doesn't like some of the traditional sweets but here in my house its  one of my family's favourite snacks.  Recipe: Ingredients: For Neeru dosa: 1 cup dosa rice Salt to taste   2 & 1/4 cup of water For filling: 2 cups of freshly grated coconut( as needed) 1cup jaggery powder( use as per your choice) 1/4tsp Cardamom powder Method: Soak 1 cup dosa rice for 1-2 hrs & grind to smooth paste adding 1/2 cup  water. Add salt & required quantity water (around 2 cups of water) to make a thin running consistency batter. Take required quan