Boondi laddu/ ladoo

 

This festive season, try your hands at the very popular Indian sweet "Boondi ladoo" and bring a variety in your sweet-meat list.  I am sure your guests too will love this homemade ladoos.

So, how do you go about making the ladoos? It is not wrong to say that the method is a bit tricky and requires some level of expertise in cooking.However, with a little bit of practice, you will definitely get it. After all, practice does make one perfect.

Let us get the ingredients together and then move on to the method. The ingredients listed here are measured in cups and spoons to help you alter the amount as per your preference. Take a look.

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups Besan (gram flour) 
2. 2 Green cardamom (choti elaichi) , powdered 
3. 3/4 cup water for the syrup
4. 3 tbsp Cashew nuts (kaju),chopped 
5. 2 tbsp Raisins (kishmish) -
6. 1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder
7. 2cups Sugar
8. yellow food colour or turmeric powder
9. a big pinch of kesar
10. Oil for deep frying
11. 2 Tbsp of Ghee

Method

To Prepare The Boondi:

1. Put oil to heat in a frying pan, while the oil heats up prepare the batter.
2 In a deep bowl, add besan and turmeric powder, whisk together. Now pour water bit by bit and mix.
3. The batter should be of pouring consistency but not very runny. You can pour a drop in the oil and check.
4. When the batter is ready, place one perforated ladle over the oil and pour some batter through the ladle. Drops of the batter will fall in the oil and form boondis.

5. Fry just enough to cook the batter. Remove from oil and place in a separate plate.

If the boondis are too big or out of shape then take some boondis at a time and  coarsely grind in a mixer,then add this to the sugar syrup. 

 To Prepare Sugar Syrup:

1. Take sugar in a deep and heavy bottom saucepan, add 3/4th cup water and bring to a boil. Add in kesar.

2. Stir at regular intervals, when the syrup comes to a boil, lower the flame and allow to boil for another 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Take a teaspoon of syrup and allow to cool. To check the consistency, press between one finger and the thumb. When pulled apart, one thread of the syrup should form.

4. If the thread does not form, boil some more and check again. Take care that the syrup does not get too thick. Once prepared, set aside.

  To Prepare laddus:
 

• Add all the boondis to the hot sugar syrup and keep aside for an hour. In this one hour, the sugar syrup will be well absorbed by the boondi.
• Add the dry fruits, nutmeg powder,crushed cardamom and Ghee to the boondi.
• Mix all the ingredients well and begin with making balls.
• Laddus are ready to be served. Have a sweet festival time!

Note: 

• Mixture should be slightly warm to allow the formation of balls.
• Don't make the boondi crispy or golden as it becomes hard and cannot absorb the syrup well
• Give your laddus any size you wish and sit back and admire your skills!

SAGOO,COCONUT AND DATES LADDU

 

  

Sagoo pearls/Sabudana is a very popular Navratri fast especially in the Western part of the country. It is a food you can eat safely when you are fasting for religious purposes. The best part about Sabudana  is that it is very easy to digest and light on your stomach. That is what makes it a perfect recipe for Navratri fasting.

This navrathri i tried this easy and quick to make recipe of sagoo-coconut laddu using jaggery and dates, which is not only healthy but If you have a sweet tooth that gives you craving for that elusive 'something sweet' when you are on a your ritual Navratri fast then this will be your saving grace.

 

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup sagoo/sabudana/tapioca pearls
2. 1 cup grated fresh coconut
3. 1 cup Jaggery
4. 10-12 Dates,seedless
5. 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder 
6. 2tbsp Ghee

Method:

• In a nonstick pan add sagoo and dry roast on low flame till it turns to light brown colour.It will take about 10-12 minutes.
• Heat 1 tbs of ghee in another pan and add grated coconut and saute it for 5 mins on slow flame until the moisture evaporates.
• Now powder the sagoo pearls in mixer grinder to fine powder. Take it out and in the same jar coarsely powder coconut and then coarsely powder dates and keep it aside.
• In a kadai or pan add jaggery, little water and boil it,till it dissolves completely.
• Add the sagoo- coconut powder and cardamom powder to the jaggery syrup and mix well and cook it until the mixture becomes thick.
• Now switch off the flame and transfer it into a plate divide it into a small Dumplings.Apply ghee to hands and give round shape to the dumpling and make laddu.The mixture would be warm when preparing the laddus.On cooling they become firm.
• Now the yummy sagoo,coconut and dates laddus are ready to serve.

Broken corn/corn dalia Payasam

Its like a ritual we make payasam /godshe (konkani word for dessert) for every occasion.This traditional south indian dessert  is made using coconut milk,jaggery,ghee and nuts.
I made a vegan version of this recipe for the first time and turned out well.

1. Broken corn/corn dalia-1 cup
2. Chana/bengal Dal - 1/4 cup
3. Coconut -1/2,freshly scraped
4. Cardamom-4-5
5. Cinnamon-I small piece
6. Nutmeg/jaiphal-a pinch
7. Jaggery -3 cups (adjust according to your taste buds)
8. Coconut Oil : 1 tablespoon (replace by ghee, if not vegan
9. Cashews : Few
10. Almonds : Few

• Pressure cook chana dal with 2 cups of water for 3 to 4 whistles.
• Let it cool. When pressure subsides open the cooker and make sure dal is cooked well.
• Meantime take a pan and add some coconut oil and corn dalia,roast for 3-4 mins on low flame.
• Now transfer the cooked chana dal into a big heavy bottomed deep pan,add roasted corn dalia and 2 cups of water,cook till dalia becomes soft.
• Heat jaggery with 1/2 cup of water. When it starts melting and heating, pour the mix through a filter over the cooking dal.Cook again for 5-6 minutes till jaggery mixes well.
• Grind coconut,cardamom,nutmeg and cinnamon to smooth paste using little water.
• Now add this coconut paste to cooked dalia and let it come to boiling stage.
• Let it heat for another 3 to 4 mins.
• In a small pan heat coconut oil, when hot add cashews,When they turn slight golden brown,add almonds pieces and turn off the gas. Add it to the payasam.
• Serve either hot or cold.

Churmuri/Puffed Rice Laddoo.. a Microwave recipe

churmuri Laddoo

Churmuri/puffed rice laddoo is a traditional sweet I grow up eating and thought it exist only in my native . I came to realized that I could not be more wrong later when i shifted to Belgaum. They too, have a very similar version of this laddoo, though slightly different in ingredients.
actually i love traditional sweets and I am a sucker when it comes to Gud/Jaggery! Just couldn't say no to the earthy smell and taste of it!

Puffed rice laddoo

Ingredients：
4 cups Puffed Rice/churmuri 
300 gms Jaggery/Gud
1/4 tsp Cardamom/elichi powder   
1 tbsp ghee
3-4 tbsp water

Method:

• In a microwavable bowl, whisk together jaggery, sugar, ghee and water.
• Microwave on high for 3 minutes, take it out and stir well, repeat this for 1 more time or till the jaggery melts completely. If it looks dry while stirring, add 1-2 tsp of water. The total cooking time should be not more than 4-5 minutes.
• Remove from the microwave, add the puffed rice and cardamom powder mix well.
• Prepare the laddus while the mixture is still hot.
• Applying some melted ghee to hands helps preparing the laddus
• Now grease both the palm with ghee and gently take some mixture and roll into to balls.
• While making the laddoos if the mixture becomes hard then reheat the mixture in microwave on a low heat and proceed.

Note：Not all microwave created same, you may want to adjust cooking time according to your microwave wattage.

Aamras Puri

Our Indian wedding recipes contains a variety of traditional wedding recipes. Wedding is a very special event in anyone's life. It is an occasion to indulge in revelry and merry making. Celebrate wedding along with some delicious food. 
Today i am here with one of the famous recipe of indian wedding "Aamras puri",specially prepared during summer season. Try this easy recipe at home and i am sure your family going to love this.
Aamras or Amras is the pulp of the Mango fruit eaten in India. The pulp of a ripe fruit is extracted usually by hand and consumed along with puri.A regional version of Amras is a popular dessert in Rajasthani cuisine,Marwari, Maharashtrian(ambyacha ras) and Gujarati homes, especially during festivities.

Ingredients for Aamras:

1. 4 cups Mango Flesh (cubed) preferably Alfonso Mangoes. 
2. 14 cup Milk
3. 11/2 tbsp Sugar or to taste.

How to make Aamras:

1. In a microwave or stove top, heat the milk near boil. Crush the saffron strands, add it to the milk and let it stand for around 15 minutes.
2. Use an electric blender, puree the mango flesh, milk and sugar.

Ingredients For Puri:

1. 2 cups Wheat flour
2. 2tsp oil
3. Salt to taste
4. Oil for frying

How to make Puri:

1. Add wheat flour, oil & salt in a bowl.
2. Add water to form a firm dough & knead till smooth.
3. Cover it & keep aside for about 15 minutes.
4. Knead again. Divide into small balls & roll out into round shape.
5. Heat oil in a pan. Fry puri till light brown from both side.
6. Serve hot with aamras.
7. If you like your puris crisp then try adding 1/2 cup of fine rava along with the wheat flour.

Pineapple PUdding/Sheera...

Pineapple pudding  is a popular wedding dessert in southern parts of India specially in my native 'Mangalore' and its one of my favourite dessert  too. Its very easy to make dessert specially during parties and festivals ...try this simple dessert and i am sure its going to impress your guests if served in fun and pretty party style with fresh pineapple slices;)

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup – Bombay Rava/uppit soji
2. 11/4 cup – Sugar
3. 1 cup – Pineapple (chop into cubes)
4. 3 cups – Water
5. 1 tsp pineapple essence 
6. 10 nos – Cashew nuts
7. 1 or 2 pinch – Turmeric/yellow food color
8. 1/4 cup – Ghee
9. 1/2 cup Rice bran oil

Method:

1. Heat 3 tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry the cashew nuts till golden brown and keep it aside. i
2. In the same pan with leftover ghee roast rava over medium flame for 3 minutes or until it turns slightly golden brown. Make sure it doesn't get burnt. When done, switch off and remove from the stove.
3. Take a hard bottomed pan add water, chopped pineapple and  bring it to boil.Then add sugar ,pineapple essence and yellow food color mix everything well, boil until sugar dissolves and you see the bubbles .
4. Add fried rava little by little to the boiling water and keep stirring continuously in order to avoid lumps. Let it cook for few minutes  or until rava cooks on medium flame. Now add remaining ghee and keep stirring until it comes out clean from the pan.
5. Switch off the stove and garnish with fried cashews nuts.
6. Serve chilled

Tips and serving suggestions:

• you can make this quick and easy pudding recipe with canned pineapple too.
•  Omit rice bran oil and replace it with ghee if you are serving this at room temperature.
• you can present it any number of ways and if  you really want your pudding to be on everyone's lips (spoken as well as eaten)you should display it in a way that draws the most attention.

Phenori...A traditional Konkani sweet

 

Its a popular sweet in mangalore and some parts of  south india,traditionally prepared during festivals and weddings.Phenori is  round in shape, with multiple layers interspaced with ghee or butter.

 

Ingredients:

For the puries:

1. 1cup maida
2. 2tbsp fine chiroti rava or rice flour
3. 2tsp ghee for kneading the dough
4. 2tbsp Ghee or butter for brushing the puri
5. Water as required 
6. Oil for deep frying
7. 1/2tsp Salt 

For the sugar syrup:

1.  1cup sugar
2. 1/2 cup water
3. 3-4 cardamom,powdered

Method:

• Mix maida and salt well. Then add the ghee and combine well with the flour
• Now add the water little by little and form a hard but pliable dough.Knead this dough for few minutes and rest for 30 minutes covered with a cling film .
• Knead the dough again and divide them into equal sized balls.
• Dust the working area with little flour.Roll out the dough into think circles or puries  and brush each puries with ghee or butter to coat the entire surface of the puri and then dust it with little fine chiroti rava or rice flour.Now place the second puri and repeat the same process until you have stack of 5-6 puries .Make sure to brush ghee or butter between each of them.
•  Now roll the entire stack of puries into a big roll.
• Cut the puries into 1 cm thick or equal sized  pieces/pedas and gently press the pedas to avoid any open ends.Now gently roll the each pedas into mini thick spiral puries .
• Once your done with the rolling
• Heat oil in a pan  and deep fry all the phenoris till crisp but not brown.
• Meantime start making sugar syrup.Mix water and sugar and boil on medium flame till it reaches to one string consistency.Add cardamom powder and take it out from the flame.
• Now add all the fried phenoris in this hot syrup one at a time and arrange on a broad steel plate one by one.while dipping the puries make sure it coats well on all the sides.
• For special touch sprinkle some crushed pistachios on top and serve.
• Let it cool completely before storing.You can store this up-to a week in an airtight container.

Broken wheat /gova kanya/ payasam

I wish all my readers "Shubh Navrathri"

Today i am here with simplest and one my favourite payasam prepared by in Mangalore.We call it "Gova kanya godshe" as in konkoni .Gova kano means broken wheat Godshe means Payasam or sweet prepared with jaggery and coconut milk.

Broken wheat is a wheat product made from whole raw wheat kernels which are crushed or cut into smaller pieces. There are a large number of uses for cracked wheat, and the food makes a popular dietary supplement in many cultures. It is made by milling wheat grains coarsely. Wheat is cleaned and husked and then processed to the required size. It is highly nutritious as it does not undergo refining.

When the broken wheat is cooked, it has a very hearty, warm aroma and a grainy, delightful taste. It is slightly nutty and chewy. Broken wheat may be ground into coarse, medium and fine kernels.It is also calles as Cracked wheat, Dalia, Bulgar, Burghul, Fada, Lapsi, Bulgar Wheat.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Broken wheat
• 300 grms Jaggery or to taste
• 3cups Water
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Cardamom powder
• 2 cups thick coconut milk
• 2 cups thin coconut milk

Cooking Directions

1. Wash the cracked wheat in water thoroughly and cook in 2 cups of water in an open pan until it gets soft, make sure it does not get mashed up. Alternately you can use a pressure cooker to cook the same, but make sure to cook for a whistle and turn off the stove. Let it cool and the rest of the cooking can be done in an open pan for 5-10 minutes or until the wheat gets soft. If it starts to stick to the bottom add little bit of water and then continue to cook.
2. Meanwhile in another pan mix jaggery with 1 cup of water and dissolve it completely. Just before it starts to boil remove from fire and filter the jaggery syrup, Add the syrup to the cooked grain. Stir well until the jaggery gets fully blend into the cooked wheat. Stir continuously. Mix well and add thin coconut milk. Stir until it starts to boil. Next add the thick coconut milk and cardamom powder. Give a final mix and remove from the fire. Garnish with ghee roasted cashew nuts and raisins and serve.

How to prepare coconut milk:

Grate coconut and grind it with 2 cups of water to smooth paste.Once it is ground,pour it to strainer squeeze it well to get the 1st extract milk or thick coconut milk.

Transfer the squeezed coconut again to a blender and add 2 cups of water and grind it again.Strain this again and extract the milk,now you'll get thin coconut milk.

Note:

• If you are using good quality jaggery avoid this step and add jaggery directly to the cooked wheat and proceed.

Water melon rind halwa

Summer and watermelon are inseparable. Watermelon are found almost everywhere in the world. Although we can find watermelons in our markets throughout the year, the season for watermelon is the summer when they are sweet and of the best quality. No other fruit can we find so crunchy and thirst quenching like watermelon.

 When the heat of summer tires us with thirst, eating watermelon is a safe alternative to taking energy drinks. Since it contains high water quantity it can hydrates us whereas other drinks are caffeine filled energy drinks, which can easily dehydrate us. Nothing can be more satisfactory on a hot, dusty day than a crisp, juicy slice of watermelon! 

        Do you know that the rind of water melon is edible?....... The term rind usually refers to the skin or peel of a fruit. In watermelon, the rind consists of two parts - the outer green skin and the inner white pulp.The outer green skin of the rind is hard and inedible, so it is discarded. The inner whitish part of the rind is edible, although it has a bland taste when raw and is not as soft as the central red part. Today i am not using the juicy red part of the watermelon but the white part of water melon rind to make this delicious halwa.

      I got this recipe from one of my friend, who posted in one of the  Face book food group , I was drawn to it like a magnet. (Don't ask why because I have no idea. Maybe it had something to do with my hesitation to throw away all that pretty green rind. Or, maybe I just like any recipe with the word halwa.) This recipe is simple just like carrot or bottle gourd halwa. 

Ingredients:

• 5 cups Water melon rind (grated)
• 1/2 cup Jaggery
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/4tsp Cardamom powder
• 2tbsp Ghee/clarified butter
• 1cup Fresh cream
• 1tbsp Cashewnut,broken
• 1tbsp Raisins
• 10 Almonds,sliced
• 5-6 strands of Saffron

Cooking Directions:

• For this recipe, you'll need the rind of a 2 kg melon. Use the white inner rind, not the outer green part, which might have been waxed. Shred the rind with the large holes of a box grater, or cut it into chunks and shred it in a food processor .
• Fry nuts in little ghee till golden and keep aside
• Now take a heavy bottomed kadai or pan,add ghee and sugar and stir till it changes to light brown colour,now add the grated water melon rinds and Keep stirring on high flame till the water dries up completely.
• Now add the cream and cook further on medium flame,till the fat separates.
• Add jaggery and keep on stirring till the halwa turns to light brown colour and almost dry.
• Add saffron stands and cardamom powder and stir for 2-3 minutes and switch off the gas.

• Garnish with roasted nuts and tasty water melon halwa is ready to serve !

If you have tried any of these recipes or have recipes of your own, i want to hear about your experiences so be sure to leave your comments in the comment box below this post..thank you :)

Chow chow /Simebadane Halwa

Chow chow ( kannada -seemey badane,) is a delectable pleasantly coloured and easy to cook vegetable.It can be easily grown by planting a mature sprout,which can not be used for cooking.Just trail over a pendal or compound wall ( if space permits),to enjoy a basketful of harvest. in addition to using it in Sambar/curry there are other interesting ways to relish it too!

Ingredients

• 8 cups Chow chow gratings
• 1cup Full cream milk
• 100 grams Milk powder
• 1 cup Jaggery
• 1/4tsp Cardamom powder
• 10 Cashewnut ,cut into pieces
• 10 Almonds,slivered
• 1tbsp Raisins
• 2 + 1 tbsp Ghee

Cooking Directions

• Peel chow chow and grate and keep aside.

• Take a big kadai or pan and cook the gratings in milk till soft and dry.

• Add jaggery and cook till well blended and dry.

• Now add milk powder and mix it well,keep stirring to avoid lumps.

• Add little ghee and saffron and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
• Heat 1tbsp ghee,fry cashews,almonds and raisins and pour over the mix.Add cardamom powder and mix well.
• Serve hot

Note: As this vegetable is too tender,it does not need any water or time to cook.
Variation : Use 4-5 crushed Dudh peda or any other flavoured peda instead of milk powder.

Phirni

Phirni is a popular dessert eaten among the Muslim community of North India and also in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. Today, restaurants offer phirni in a wide range of flavours including apricot, mango, fig, walnut,apple and custard apple. This is simple rice pudding made by boiling rice paste with milk and sugar, and flavoured with cardamom, saffron, cashew nuts, pistachios or almonds. It is typically served during a meal or also consumed alone as a dessert.

Prep time: 20-25 mins
Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2cup Basmati rice
• 1 litre Full fat milk
• 10-12 saffron strands
• 1/2-3/4 cup Sugar or to taste
• 10 to 12 Pistachios(pista) - (finely chopped)
• 3 to 4 Elaichi(cardamon) - (peel and crush finely)
• 10 to 12 Cashew nuts - (cut into small pieces)

Cooking Directions

1. Clean rice, wash and soak in water for 30 minutes. strain rice and grind it to a li thick,coarse paste using little milk.
2. Heat milk remaining milk in a heavy based pan. Once the milk comes to boil put the rice paste in it and cook till this mixture comes to boil again(stir continuously)on a low flame t till Phirni becomes thick and rice gets cooked well.Keep stirring all the time to avoid burning.
3. Add sugar, cashew nut pieces and mix.
4. Cook Phirni till sugar dissolves completely.
5. Phirni is ready,now add saffron strands and turn off the gas.
6. Put Elaichi powder and mix well.
7. Take out Phirni in a bowl and garnish with chopped pistachios or pour Phirni in individual bowls and garnish with chopped pistachios and keep it in the fridge to cool.
8. Serve chilled.

Basundi...

basundi

Basundi is a very famous milk based Indian dessert served in many weddings and festivals.Now its easily available in almost all the sweet shops.This is very traditional dish but now you can get many version of using different fruits.So far i have tried only 2 version Strawberry and Mango,both are absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

1. 11/2 litre - full fat milk
2. 3/4 - cup sugar
3. Saffron - a pinch
4. Almonds -10-12 for garnishing
5. 2tbsp - Charoli seeds ( chironji)
6. 1/2tsp - Cardamom powder

basundi

Method:

• Slice almonds and roast charoli seeds in ghee and keep aside.
• Bring milk to a boil,simmer over low flame till milk coats the back of the spoon.
• Stir continuously.Now add sugar and saffron and cook till sugar gets fully dissolved.
• Take out from the heat and Sprinkle cardamom powder,stir it well,  let it comes to room temperature.Then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Chill and serve garnished with almond and chironji
• You can add some pistachios to make it more appetizing.

Tip: You also can add 1/2 a cup of condensed milk for make it more rich and creamy and it will reduce your cooking time.So if you are using condensed milk add when the milk is reduced to half or just before adding sugar.

Orange kesari bhath /orange semolina pudding

My husband and kids just cannot resist eating desserts especially during festive season and our family favourite dessert is semolina pudding /rava kesari/kesari bath/Sheera but this time with an Orangy twist. Kesari bath/sheera is one of the basic Indian desserts, made in every indian home,but the name varies from region to region,in northern india they call it halwa and in south kesari Bhath,rava kesari or sheera. This is a real kid pleaser dessert that they can join in and help make or decorate. I love making kesari bath as I can get as innovative as I can with the flavours. Do try this easy,fool proof recipe this festive season !

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup kesari rava/fine semolina
• 2 cups Fresh Orange juice
• 1 cup Sugar
• 11/4 cup Ghee/clarified butter
• 4-5 Cloves/lavang
• 2 pieces of Cinnamon/dalchini

Cooking Directions

1. Roast kesari rava,cloves and cinnamon with a cup of ghee on slow fire,until the grains are separated and changes to light brown colour.
2. In the meantime boil orange juice in a bowl or sauce pan.
3. Once the roasting is done slowly add the orange juice and keep stirring till the rava absorbs all the juices and cooks well.
4. Add sugar and continuously stir till all the sugar dissolves completely and no lumps are formed
5. Now add the remaining ghee little at a time and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Put on a greased plate and cut into desired shape.
6. Garnish with roasted nuts of your choice.

For orange cups:

• Slice top off the navel orange. Run a knife around its interior to hollow it out. Scoop out the orange segments and prepare juice for the pudding. Carve pumpkin face on one side of the orange. Repeat for other oranges. Use a paper towel to gently soak up any remaining juice inside the oranges and its ready..Just fill these cups with the pudding and serve.