Easy home made rasagullas

Ingredients:

4 cups milk
11/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

1. Boil the milk for 6-7 mins
2. Add the lemon juice to the boiling milk and stir occasionally. You can see the milk and water separating. At this point switch off the flame.
3. Using a clean Cotten cloth filter the panner separated from milk. Drain the water completely.
4. Using your hands smash the panner nicely and make small size rasagullas.
5. Add 4 1/2 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of sugar for syrup. Sugar syrup doesn't have to be very thick.
6. When the syrup is done add the rasagullas to the syrup. Do not switch off the flame. Leave the rasagullas in the syrup for 7-8mins  in medium flame.
7. Refrigerate the rasagullas for 1 hr and serve cold. 

Best pancake recipe

Say good bye to the ready made pan cake mixes! Once you taste this home made recipe, you will definitely agree they are better than the ready made pan cakes.

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2. 2 tablespoons sugar

3. 2 teaspoons baking powder

4. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

5. 1/2 teaspoon salt

6. 1 1/4-1 1/2 cups milk

7. 2 eggs

8. 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

9. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.

2. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk.

3.Start with 1 1/4 cups milk, adding up to another 1/4 cup if necessary, as you mix it with the flour.

4. Add the two eggs, vanilla and oil to the mixture and whisk nicely without any lumps. 

5. Heat a frying pan (if it is not non-stick, you will need to melt a bit of butter or oil in it) and when hot, pour in some pancake mix.

6. When the pancake starts to bubble on top and is golden brown on the cooked side, turn it and continue cooking until both sides are golden brown.
7. Repeat this process for remaining batter.Maintain in medium flame.

8. Serve hot with maple syrup or honey and butter. 

Kandarappam - traditional indian-chettinadu sweet

Kandarappam is a traditional sweet from the south India's famous chettinadu cuisine. It is prepared for all important festivals and  poojas. It is a healthy and tasty snack.

Ingredients:

1. Raw rice - 1 cup

2. Par boiled rice( idly rice) - 1 cup

3. Urad dhal - 1/4 cup

4. Peeled broken green gram/moong dhal - 1 tablespoon

5. Toor dhal - 1 table spoon

6. Channa dhal/bengal gram - 1 table spoon 

7. Pinch of salt

8. Jaggery - 1 1/2 cup

9. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

10. Elachi/cardamom - 5-6

11. Oil for frying 

Procedure:

1. Soak the rice and dhal for 2 hours.

2. Grind everything except grated coconut, jaggery and elachi for 10 mins.

3. Finally add the jaggery, grated coconut and cardamom to the batter. Batter should be in dosa or pan cake consistency.

4. Take a frying wok and add required amount of oil for deep frying the appam.

5. When the oil gets heated (not smoking hot), immediately reduce the flame and maintain in low - medium flame. Take a ladle of batter and pour slowly into the oil. Wait for few seconds. When appam raises turn it other side and cook for few seconds.Appam will not take much time to cook. When appam turns light brown, remove it from the oil. 

6. Now serve hot. It is very tasty when it is hot. 

How to care for chemically and heat damaged hair?

1. Wash your hair with good moisturizing shampoo made for whatever hair type you have.Also, use a leave in conditioner and rinse thoroughly.

2. Towel dry your hair and make sure to pat it. Always let your hair dry naturally.

3. Wash your hair only once or twice a week, any more will dry your hair out.

4. Give your scalp a nice massage and hot oil treatments once in 2 weeks. Gentle massage is always good for your hair otherwise, you will damage your sensitive skin or pull out your hair.

5. Moisturize your hair and scalp with these popular oils like almond oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, castor oil, coconut oil, etc to promote your hair growth.

6. Brush and comb your hair daily. Workout tangles gently using your fingers and don't over work the hair.

7. Opt for boar or wide bristle hair brush, they don't tear and stretch your scalp and hair .

8. One way to achieve a healthy scalp is by brushing your scalp itself. It loosens the dead cells and dirt and promotes blood circulation. If your scalp is dry and if you see any white flakes on your hair, it is not dandruff all the time. It is just really dry skin.At this situation, you can try using all the popular hair oils stated above for your scalp and give a nice massage and let it sit for 30 mins.After 30 mins wash your hair.Use leave in conditioner. Don't comb your hair when it is wet because your wet hair will be fragile. 

9. Get your ends trimmed every 8-12 weeks to get rid of split ends and dead hairs. 

10. Never ever grease your scalp because it clogs up your pore and lead to breakage and damage. Your ends are the oldest hair so treat it with good protein conditioners.

11. It is good to sleep on a satin pillow always.Cotton and fleece pillow covers will pull your hair out and cause breakage.

12. Good hair starts from within so eat healthy and drink 2 to 3 liters of water every day to keep your hair moisturized. 
  

How does flat iron, curl iron and hair dryer damage your hair?

Flat iron, blow dry and curl iron can make your hair look great, but if you do not know how to use it properly or have the wrong ones, you might damage your hair. Always study the guide lines or seek professional help before you do it yourself. 

Must have features in  flat iron, curl iron and hair dryer:

-> Look for these basic features:

- different heat settings(cheaper ones have only one setting),
- check if your tool display the temperature,
- look for automatic shut off feature,
- buy a professional blow dryer(choose dryers with a nozzle attachment),
- remember these important features before buying a hair dryer that will keep your hair healthy:
1. cold blast technology
2. multiple heat settings
3. ceramic heating elements 
- look for high quality plate material. The best quality material for flat iron are tourmaline and ceramic.

-> Know your hair:

- Consider the thickness of your hair,when ever you select a heat setting on your dryer or flat iron or curl iron.For finer hair use low temperature and for thicker hair use medium to high temperature.

-> Protect your hair:

- There are lots of products that helps to protect your hair from heat of dryers, curling irons or flat irons. Many of them use silicone as a protective coating for your hair.

Why silicone?
The silicone bars protect the hair as it passes through the iron by lifting the hair off the plate, preventing it from being pressed too hard and avoiding serious damage to the cuticle. They also help to retain the moisture and essential fatty acids that are normally burned off during flat ironing, leaving the hair soft and shiny.

- Both irons are worse than blow dryers when it comes to causing damage.
- When you use flat or curling iron, you should probably not use it for more than 3 to 4 seconds per section.

- > Seek professional advice:

- Ask your professional hair stylist to style your hair. They might show you the easy ways or newer techniques. 

How to repair damaged hair:

If your hair looks dull, shows split ends, feels rougher, it's probably damaged.

1. Try home treatments: 

- Use products with oil and moisturizer that are designed to repair heat damaged hair.
- if your hair is chemically treated and damaged use products with protein to make your hair look good.

2. Get professional help:

- If your home remedies do not work, get help from professionals.
- Try salon repair treatments to strengthen your hair and to get back the natural looking hair.
- If an inch on your end is damaged , it may take at-least 2 months to get your hair back to normal.