Makkai Janjaria | Sweet Corn Halwa ~ A chit chat with Manjula Bharath from Desi Fiesta

I am back with a lovely friend post today with Manjula Bharath from Desi Fiesta, she is a well known blogger who became a sensation with her Ghevar recipe challenge in SNC. Manju as I call her is an awesome cook and a fun person to be around. Although we have never met in person, virtually we have talked, laughed and even pulled each other's leg. There are always many that we can talk with but only few friends who will make you laugh, to me Manju is one such friend with whom there is never a dull moment. She is a beautiful mom of a pretty little girl Ishika and a lovely home-maker purely qualified with a Home Science degree (her personality is bigger than her degree). She is a Rajestani and mind you she will speak better tamil than me :P, we both hail from same city and I think this is what clicked between us instantly. 


Manju has a list of innovative recipes and ideas that have always surprised me. Right from her watermelon halwa, rasagulla black forest cake, Rawa Dhokla and many such recipes . Currently she hosts an event in her space "Lets cook Buddy" where she encourages non-bloggers to send in their recipes and she gets to blog about it. I am so happy to do a chit chat with Manju and get to know more about her. Thank you Manju for taking time off and coming up with a sweet recipe from your cuisine and decorating my blog with your post. Over to our chit chat now

CHIT CHAT WITH MANJULA BHARATH

Priya - Tell us about yourself and your cooking journey till now

Manju - Hi every one reading this.. Am a new bee in this blogging world , Thanks to all those lovely  blogger's who hold my hand at each and every step i take in my blogging :) . Am a stay at home mom of 2 yr old lil angel  and wife of a food critic , I tell him food critic bcoz he is the one taste my experiments and honestly tells me his views . I  didn't have much interest in cooking, my mom used to push me to kitchen but I never had any interest in this. After completing  10th std i had to choose a course either science or commerce or home science with computer science .. I hated maths a lot  that time thinking of which i had only choice is to take up home science. Every one in my family wanted me to take some other group but i was clear that didn't wanted maths as a subject for 2 yrs :P. Then i entered "home science " where i learned so many new terms and Basic recipes, from there my cooking started. But then i have to cook to score nice marks. Whenever I had practical exam i used to try the recipes at home like we do revision right, this was cooking revision then some how i successfully completed my higher school . After this i did my BSc computer science so for three yrs never tried to enter kitchen was busy with my studies. Then comes a proposal of marriage at that time i was really tensed about my cooking , When i again entered the kitchen then thought what ever  disaster am going to make i'll not leave any hope and keep on trying  will not hear whatever people talk about my cooking. So after marriage i used to experiment so my recipes some where loved my hubby and some where not but i still try to make only those dishes that he will like to have . He is my great critic  and he loves to taste different varieties of food so i love cooking for him  . This is my cooking journey till now and am sure I will keep on improving my cooking skills further with all you readers and great blogger's support :)

Priya - Who is your inspiration when it comes to cooking, in real life and also a well known chef/ food author

Manju - When it come to cooking my mom and maasi/chithi/anuty are the great inspiration . My mom cooks yummy and delicious Rajasthani dishes where as my maasi makes finger licking South Indian recipes. My maasi and mom are great cooks they cook  with so much of love that whatever they make turns so yummm . They have this midas touch which makes each and every dish so delicious which i carve for. Then only after marriage i found the secret ingredient they used to mix in what ever they make, "love"  is powerful ingredient mainly when you cook for a very special person you like :). They are the real life inspiration of my cooking . As i said my cooking started with my home science course my board exam examiner was Chef Damodaran  and he tasted all are  dishes and scored us. He tasted my vegetable biryani which was a part the full course menu i made and he was kind enough to give me compliments.  He is  a great cook whom we have spoken with in person and have been to his catering college for a field trip where he welcomed  us with so much of warmth and was so jovial. As i started my cooking with this great personality he will remain a great inspiration . I really like the way he uses approximation in every dish he makes .

Priya - If you had to plan a meal for 10 guests for an evening party with 2 hours in hand what recipes will you make?

Manju - When i was doing this home science course we where only given 2 hours to make full course menu for practicals so this question remainded me how we used to run to pick our ingredients . I will go for  the listed menu

MENU:

I will be planning a fusion menu if i get surprise guests

Welcome drink - Lemonade/ Rose sharabat as welcome drink

Starters - i'll go for some guacamole and pineapple salsa o/ tomato salsa with tortilla chips which is always available in my pantry 

Main course:

Rice-Vegetable biryani- i'll be making in rice cooker so that it will take less time.

Sabzi/ curry-mutter Paneer or any paneer gravy so that there is less cutting and chopping.

Breads-Puri /chappathi ( we always serve hot puri and chapathi and puree's to guest so i'll only make the dough ready and when guest are ready have i'll serve them hot puri's and chappathi

Dessert-Microwave 3 mins peda and Microwave Besan ladoo Mouth freshener - This will be the first dish i'll make before starting any from the above list. Ill be making "Paan gilori " / "chocolate Meetha paan". Paan gilori is dates stuffed with all the ingredients which usually we stuff it in Meetha /sweet paan and cover the with melted chocolate and refrigerate so that it will set soon. 

Priya -All of us have recipe flops at some point or the other, can you share one of yours and what you learnt from it?

Manju - Recipe flops was after my engagement i was more in to my mob than concentrating on wat am cooking :P . Once i was making Pulav and having my mob in the other hand chating with my current H. I was making veg pulav added all veggie rice in a cooker gave it 2 whistle and when i opened the cooker i found that the outcome was a pongal . he he  Got nice scolding's from my mom :P that was my first flop bcoz of my H :) lolz i know all are laughing reading this he he me even doing the same.

Priya - You are a Rajasthani and I am sure for south Indians like me, we rarely come across your day to day recipes from your cuisine. Can you share with us some day to day recipes from your cuisine that will encourage us to try recipes.

Manju - 

Breakfast -Poha upma/kheech( made of broken wheat and lentils like kheechidhe )/ gaat (made of maize germ)

Lunch -Daal baati/ bajari ki roti with spring onion sabzi

Dinner-dal dhokli/gatte ki sabzi with pulkas/ gatte ki biryani

Snacks - onion kachori / mawa kachori/ rajasthani stuffed  mirchi vada

Dessert -  churmo/churma, Lapsi (crackled wheat)/ dhoodh jalebi (jalebi dipped in sweetned hot milk )/ Ghevar (honey comb textured disc dipped in sugar syrup )

Priya - Please share with us few recipes that are popular in your blog for us to try

Manju - Ghevar is one of dish which was made popular by our SNC family. Banana marbled cake is another dish which my friends tried and appreciated me :). Even Rajasthani thali recipe which I have in my blog was appreciated by our blogger friends especially Priya aks of "Priya's versatile recipes" who have been trying my Rasjasthani recipes recently and appreciated me :)

Priya - How and when did you start blogging, how has blogging changed your life

Manju - I started to upload my food pic after moving to U.S in FB, my friends appreciated me a lot and started asking me for recipes. I wanted to have common space where they all can see my recipes and enjoy :) One day I was searching for recipes and came through a blog 'Priya's Versatile Recipes' that was the first time I knew that there a thing called food blogging even. Then found that there are thousands of Food blogs available . Hence I started a blog to just share recipes with my friends and as repository. At first then found it so interesting when Blogger left encouraging comments . This way Desi fiesta was born on September 23rd 2012 :) 


Over to Manju...

First of all thanks to Priya Ranjit for being so kind enough by asking me a guest post for her blog :) I am so happy to get to know her and a couple of bloggers as true friends who are helping me to improve my blog . Thank you Priya for this wonderful opportunity you have given me. She is so sweet and kind hearted to share tips with me to improve my  blog appearance and also get recognition :) glad to have found her as a very good friend :) I have been loving her blog recipes especially the rose petal cake she had made am still searching for rose petals to try that attractive and different cake recipe :) I also love the way she made Caterpillar bread just looked like worm :) She is so perfect while baking and photography I don't have to say some of her stunning clicks, my favorite clicks from her blog are - methi paratha, rose cake, pink macaroons :) :)

Lets move on to the recipe I have got for my sweet friend :)

This is a very popular halwa eaten in and around the areas surrounding Udaipur. In Udaipur corn is extensively cultivated especially white corn while yellow or sweet corn is grown at a few places. This recipe i have tired for first time but heard this from a relative that it tastes good. So wanted to try this and I did :) I personally liked this halwa a lot .

RECIPE - MAKKAI JANJARIA/ SWEET CORN HALWA

Recipe source : Tarla dalal's kitchen

Ingredients

4 sweet corn cobs (medium sized), grated
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar(adjust to your taste)
1/4 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
2 tbsp ghee

For the garnish
4 pistachios, slivered

Method

• Heat the ghee in a non stick pan

• add the grated corn and cook over a slow flame for 10 to 12 minutes while stirring continuously till the mixture turns light brown in colour. 

• Add the milk and 1 cup of water and simmer till the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.

• Add the sugar and cardamom powder, mix well and cook till the sugar has dissolved

• Serve hot  garnished with the sliced pistachios.

This can also be don in jiffy  by using Microwave.

Microwave method:

• In a microwave safe bowl, add the ghee and grated corn and microwave on high for 2 minutes.
• Add the milk and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
• Add the sugar and microwave on high for 2 minutes.
• Add the cardamom powder, mix well and serve garnished with the sliced pistachios.

Thanks to Priya for giving me small space in her blog  .. Really feeling happy to be here :)