delicious sweets

Rasgulla Recipe

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 12 mini rasgullas
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Bengali

Milk - 1/2 litre
Lemon Juice - 1.5 tbsp (or) Curd - 2 tbsp
Water - 1 and 3/4 cups
Icecubes - 4 to 5
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder- a generous pinch
Pistachios - 3 to 4 chopped finely for garnishing

Method:

1. Heat milk, bring it to boil and simmer it. Take 1.5 tbsp lime juice from a lemon and keep it ready.
   
2. When milk starts boiling, add the lemon juice to the boiling milk and stir properly. Stir continuosly till the whey water clears and the milk curdles completely. Before adding icecubes you can take some whey water which can be reserved for future use which is what I did. Now switch off the stove, add ice cubes and allow it to melt completely.
   
3. Take a muslin cloth and pour the curdled milk,filtering the whey water completely.Wash it well in running cold water to remove the lemon smell. Squeeze the excess water and hang it aside for 30mins without disturbing it.
   
4. After 30mins, the paneer would be crumbly in texture. Now knead it well for 10mins. Once everything comes together to a smooth pilable dough, form them into smooth mini/normal lemon sized balls and keep aside. I made around 13-15 mini balls.
   
5. Heat water in a wide bottomed vessel, then add sugar, cardamom powder and keep stirring till sugar dissolves completely. When the sugar syrup boils and starts bubbling, add the balls slowly one by one and simmer it for 3mins.The balls will go to the corner, move them to the middle. Keep in medium flame and close with a lid. Cook for 10mins opening the lid every 3-4 mins this is to ensure the vapour passes out not allowing the sugar syrup to ooze out. After 10 mins, the balls would be closely doubled in size.
   

This is the stage when your rasgullas are done. Cool it completely, add chopped pistachios and chill it for an hour and serve chilled. This method was from ammas cookbook and I find it easy as you can open and see the rasgullas now and then.Though amma kept on saying to try with whey water to make the paneer as that is the traditional bengali style of making rasgullas, this time I am completely satisfied with the results. But sure to make it once with whey water and update it here with my feedback.

My Notes:

• The whey water can be used for making chapathi dough which makes chapathis very soft. It can also be used to curdle milk while making rasgulla next time which is the traditional bengali method.
• After the lemon juice/curd is added stir well and continuosly till the whey water clears out completely.
• The smoother the balls you make, the rasgullas will not crack out when getting cooked.Also make sure to simmer once the balls are added for the first time.
• I felt adding curd better as I could feel the faintest smell of lemon juice which noone else felt at home.
• The rasgulla texture purely depends on the way the balls are getting cooked so follow the procedure as mentioned.

 7 cup burfi.

7 cup Burfi Recipe - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Makes : 10-12 burfis
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

Besan flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 2.5 cups
Ghee - 1.5 cups (melted)
Carrot / Coconut - 1 cup (grated)
Milk - 1 cup

Method:

1. In a kadai - Roast besan flour in a tsp of ghee until nice aroma comes and the color slightly changes, set aside. Then saute the carrots in the same kadai till it shrinks and raw smell leaves, set aside. In a mixing bowl add sugar, ghee and carrots.
   
2. Then add milk and mix it with a whisk till sugar completely dissolves. Finally add the besan flour, mix well without any lumps.Grease a tray with ghee and keep it ready.
   
3. Transfer this to a nonstick pan and keep stirring. First stage is : it starts bubbling then forms a thick mass.
   
4. It easily leaves the sides of the pan with a porous texture thats when the color changes to a brown shade too. Please check the video for the right consistency to switch off.
   

Transfer the mixture immediately to the ghee greased tray and when its still warm mark the pieces then when it is cooled down cut them into desired shapes. Cool down completely and then store in an airtight container.

Mysore Pak Recipe - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : 12 small pieces
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian| Recipe Reference: Cooks Joy

Besan - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 cup (3/4 cup in flour + 1/4 cup while stirring)
Water - 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Add a tsp of ghee in a nonstick pan, add besan flour and roast it till a nice aroma comes say for 3-4mins. Then sieve it once such that there are no lumps found. Now in a bowl, add 3/4 cup ghee with roasted besan flour and mix well.
   
2. The ghee besan mixture will be slightly in pouring consistency. Set aside for 15mins.Meanwhile grease a plate with little ghee and set aside. Now in a nonstick pan add sugar and water, in medium flame, bring it to a boil and check for one-string consistency - If you take the sugar syrup between the thumb and the index finger a single string will form thats the correct consistency.
   
3. Now add the besan ghee mixture to the sugar syrup. Now add the remaining 1/4 cup ghee in intervals to avoid drying and mix well. Keep stirring continuously.
   
4. Now keep the flame in low and keep mixing, add little ghee. Can you see in the below pictures it will first stick while scrapping with the laddle.
   
5. At one stage, it will come as a ball without sticking at all. The mixture will not be sticky anymore. At this stage switch off and pour it in the ghee greased plate. Dont need to flatten it, it will spread beautifully by itself. Cut it into squares/diamonds as per your wish while its hot and enjoy your mysore pak.I poured it in a big plate so my slices were thin as I wanted them that way. You can select the plate accordingly. Be very careful in checking the final consistency else your mysore pak will not be soft.
   

The slices is purely your choice you can either make it thin like this or pour it in a smaller plate to thick slices like in sweet shops, either way its good.

My Notes:

• The 2 steps you have to be very careful are:Checking the one string consistency of the sugar syrup and final mysore pak consistency
• Also keep in low flame while stirring
• The color of the mysore pak also depends on the besan flour. The flour we get here is nice deep yellow.

Badusha Recipe - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

Maida - 1 and 1/2 cups
Butter(at room temperature) - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1.5 tbsp
Curd - 2 tbsp
Cooking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Water - 1/4 cup(+ or - adjust accordingly)
Oil - as required for deep frying

For the sugar syrup:

Sugar- 1/2 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Elachi powder - a generous pinch
Saffron - 2 strands 
Lemon Juice - 3/4 tsp

Method:

1. Melt butter, In a mixing bowl add melted butter, curd, oil, cooking soda, sugar and mix it well. Now add maida and mix.
   
2. Mix well , it will look like bread crumbs. Then add water little by little to form a soft dough. Knead it again for 10 mins. Divide lemon sized balls and keep aside. Allow it to rest for 10 mins.
   
3. Start shaping the badushas. You can make decorative ends as swirls or simply just like dougnuts by pressing the balls, making a dent with your thumb in the middle as shown below. See the video below the steps for making badusha swirls. When you shape them itself the badushas should be smooth...there should not be much cracks (for this kneading it to a soft pilable dough is very much important) because when we fry the badushas in oil, the cracks would open up big and sometimes they may even start to break.
   
4. Add sugar and water in a pan to make the sugar syrup. When the sugar syrups forms to a single string consistency then add saffron strands, elachi powder and lemon juice(this is to avoid crystallisation), keep aside. Simultaneously while making the sugar syrup itself you can start frying the badusha.
   To be noted: It is very important to fry it only in this method to get perfect layered badushas : First heat oil in a kadai - check by adding a pinch of the batter if it rises immediately then that is the correct stage. Now add some 3 badushas and immediately switch off the stove.Let the badushas get cooked in the preheated oil....When the shh sounds leaves and the bubbles disappear, then switch it on. Keep in medium low flame, flip it to other side once it gets browned on one side and fry until golden brown(Do not fry in high flame). Follow the same procedure for frying the remaining badushas.
   
5. Drain it in tissue then add it to the prepared sugar syrup immediately. Dip well on both sides, keep immersed for 2mins then transfer it to a tray with butter paper/silver foil. Once the sugar syrup turns non-sticky you can take and store them. It tastes too good when left for 2-3 hours, Only then the sugar syrup gets sets well inside.
   

I made hubby go nuts while recording the video, I think he shot around 10 videos ;) hehe and finally this was ok for me :) Guess he would have cursed me enough though didnt show it outside ;)

 I hope its clear and understandable. This is easy but sure comes by practise- trust me if I can get it, anyone can get it right too :)

My Notes:

• The orginal recipe says to remove the kadai from fire then keeping it back. But instead I follow the switching off and on method for convenience.
• Do not fry the badushas in high flame. While frying if it cracks / breaks either kneading was not enough or the flame should have been high so make sure you knead for 10mins to get a very soft dough and also fry in medium low flame.
• Keep stored in a clean container(do not refrigerate), it keeps well for 4-5 days in room temperature itself.
• Badushas with the decorative rims are slightly crispy at the ends alone, while the donut shaped ones are juicy and soft.
• Do not add more saffron than the mentioned amount as it will totally change the flavour and spoil the taste.

• Ghee Mysore Pak Recipe - Ingredients

  Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : around 15 pieces
  Recipe Category: Sweet| Recipe Cuisine: South Indian| Recipe Cuisine: Premas Cooks

  
  Besan flour - 1 cup
  Sugar - 2 cups
  Ghee - 1 and 3/4 cups + 1 tbsp
  Oil - 1/4 cup
  Water - 1/2 cup(for sugar syrup)

  Method:

  1. Heat ghee and add 1 tbsp of hot ghee to the besan flour. Mix it and it will look like breadcrumbs now, set aside.
     
  2. Add water to sugar and boil it till one string consistency is reached.At this stage sprinkle the besan flour little by little, keep stirring to avoid lumps.In parallel mix oil + ghee and heat it up, keep it ready.
     
  3. Keep adding the flour little by little and keep stirring till the flour is well blended with the flour but all this should be done quickly. Pour ghee + oil mixture little by little and keep stirring.Ghee gets absorbed quickly so and it forms a thick mass and forms frothy.
     
  4. Then it forms a slightly porous texture leaving out ghee at the sides(even if it does not leave out ghee switch it off once it reaches the texture). Immediately transfer the mixture to the greased plate and pat it well with a spoon or a flat laddle. When it is still warm mark pieces, cool down and store in an airtight container.
     
  It is soft and delicious and am sure kids will love it if they love krishna sweets mysore pak as it was with mittu :)
  
  

  My Notes:

• Ghee oozes out slightly at the time of marking pieces and it is fully absorbed when cooled down.
• Once the besan flour is added, be very careful and start adding the ghee. It absorbs ghee quickly so dont add it fully add it in portions.
• Also if the final stage is switched off even a minute late then your mysore paks will not be soft.
• Do not omit oil as it gives a soft texture to the mysore pak. But dont add oil more than the mentioned amount.

• Kaju Katli Recipe - Ingredients

  Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : 6 parathas
  Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

  
  Cashews - 1 cup
  Sugar - 1/2 cup
  Water - just to the level of sugar immerses (5 tbsp)
  Ghee - 1 tsp

  Method:

  1. Dry your mixer completely without any moisture and wetness. Now grind the cashew to a fine powder.
  2. Grease the back of a flat plate with few drops of ghee and keep it ready. Grease the chapathi roller with remaining ghee.
  3. Take half cup sugar in a thick wide bottomed pan(preferably non-stick), and pour 5tbsp of water till it get immersed. Mix well till sugar is dissolved completely. Simmer and then keep checking continuously.
  4. The sugar syrup will become sticky, take a drop and check. Second stage is, If you pour few drops in a plate containing water, it should lay a fine thread that doesn’t gets dissolved immediately.Therefore the required stage for Kaju Katli is just before the stage of 'Single String Consistency'.
  
  5. This is the stage , now add the cashew powder and mix well. Dont allow any lumps to be formed, break them incase they are formed.Keep in low flame itself and keep stirring for 2-3 minutes. The dough will be non sticky and when u take a small piece, roll and see, it should form a very flexible ball as shown in the above pic, it shouldnt break.
     Now switch off , allow it to cool for 5mins. Then knead it till a soft dough is formed then transfer this to the greased plate and roll them evenly of 1/4 inch thickness with chappathi roller. Cut them into diamonds and store them in air tight container.
  
  

  My Notes:

  • The sugar syrup and the cashew dough consistency is very important, if it becomes a bit thicker than mentioned, then your katlis would be difficult to roll as they will tend to break.
  • You can alternatively use a greased sheet of silver foil which would actually be mess free.
  • This recipe for the above given measurement will yield medium sized 10-13 katlis. I am sure kids will love it!

  • Pooran Poli / Puran Poli Recipe - Ingredients

    Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 40 mins | Makes : around 10 polis
    Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

    
    

    For the Pooranam (Inner stuffing):

    Chana dal - 1 cup
    Jaggery - 1 cup
    Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
    Coconut - 1.5 tbsp
    
    

    For Poornam Wrap:

    Maida - 1.5 cups
    Oil / Ghee - 1 tbsp
    Salt - a pinch
    Water - as required
    Oil - as required for toasting

    Method:

    1. First for making the outer wrap : Take maida in a bowl, add oil and salt, Mix well then add water little by little.
       
    2. Form a soft pilable dough just like chapathi dough. Allow it to rest for an hr . Meanwhile lets get on to make the pooranam(inner filling).
       
    3. For the inner pooranam : Dry roast channa dal till a nutty aroma comes, dont let it brown. Then soak it in water for atleast 1 hour.
       
    4. Then cook channa dal with water until soft but not mushy(It should still be in shape if you press it). Drain water from channa dal and keep aside.I was not confident in pressure cooking channa dal so cooked it in a open pan.
       
    5. Dry roast coconut till the moisture leaves. Grind channa dal with jaggery to a coarse mixture- Use the pulse option in ur mixie and press it on and off, dont make it a paste.
       
    6. Add roasted coconut,cardomom powder to the grinded channa dal jaggery mixture. Make small lemon sized balls and keep it ready. I made the filling little more keeping in mind to make my another favourite :) Wait and watch!!
       
    7. Now pinch equal sized balls(slightly bigger than the channa dal balls) flatten it a bit. Then keep the puranam ball in the center.
       
    8. Seal it completely by pulling the sides to center just like how we make for stuffed parathas. Then flatten it slightly. Dust flour if needed.
       
    9. Roll it to a thick or thin poli. Heat tawa carefully place the poli on the tawa, drizzle oil and cook the poli ion both sides until brown spots appear. Serve hot with a tsp of butter
       
    I like both the thin ones and the thick ones. I totally love the polis served in IRCTC during the day journeys and would wait for it :) This is called Holige or Obbattu in Kannada and is popular there.They are very soft when had hot / warm. Make sure you try them only when you have time in hand. As the rolling part needs patience and takes time to get perfect polis without the stuffing oozing out.
    
    

    My Notes:

    • It keeps well in room temperature for a day. If refrigerated it can stay well for 1 day(if you make it today it will keep well till 2mrw)....It hardens when refrigerated so I dont prefer doing so but then in case of leftovers..you can refrigerate and while serving just heat it up(but sure this way it will turn hard).
    • While grinding take care not to make the channa dal to a paste consistency. It should be coarse with one or dals popping out.
    • Rolling thick or thin is purely your choice.Serve hot/warm with butter - tastes divine!
    • You can add a pinch of turmeric powder as in store bought ones but I dont prefer doing so.
    • You can also add milk while mixing the maida dough but again shelf life is less.

    • Homemade Urad Dal Flour

      
      Urad Dal - 1 cup

      Method:

      1. Heat a pan, dry roast urad dal in a pan until slightly golden browned and nice aroma comes. Cool down completely.
      2. Transfer to a mixer and Grind it to a fine powder.
      3. Sieve it. Then again grind the coarse powder and then sieve it, doing in batches. Roast the sieved flour till nice aroma comes.Store the urad dal powder in an airtight container.
         
      You can the flour for making any any homemade snacks.
      

      My Notes:

      • You can dry roast the urad dal flour even before using it for snacks or roast and store too like how I did.You can grind it in bulk and store it for around 6months.
      • Make sure your mixture is completely dry before griding.
      
    
    

    Coconut Burfi Recipe - Ingredients

    Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2
    Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

    
    Coconut grated - 1 cup
    Sugar - 3/4 cup
    Water - 1/4 cup
    Cashews broken - 1 tbsp
    Ghee - 2 tsp
    Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp [optional]

    Method:

    1. Add little ghee, roast the broken cashews till golden brown and keep aside.Grease a plate/tray with ghee and keep it ready. Take wide bottomed non stick pan add sugar and water mix well till sugar dissolves completely and starts bubbling.
       
    2. Keep stirring continuosly, cook till a single string consistency : If you take a drop between your thumb and index finger you can see a single string forming as shown in the 2nd thumbnail - thats the right consistency. At this stage add coconut.You can even grind the coconut coarsely before adding it.
       
    3. Combine and keep stirring till bubbles star forming at the edges. At this stage add ghee.
       
    4. Then add cashews and cardamom powder and give a quick stir. After 3-5mins it will start thickening and form a mass without sticking and starts coming off easily from the sides of the pan - At this stage switch it off.
       
    5. Transfer the mixture to the tray and cut into squares when its still warm. Cool down completely then store it in airtight container.
       

    I love it when it still warm, juicy yummy burfis!!!
    
    

    My Notes:

    • While scrapping the coconut take care not to scrap till the brown sides.If you like ur burfi to be very fine then grind the coconut once in mixie, but I prefer the orginal coarse texture so didnt do it.
    • Testing the sugar syrup is not that difficult, First the sugar syrup becomes very sticky only then single string consistency is reached. If you are a first timer like me check it every now and then till the desired consistency is reached.
    • You can even roast the coconut separately before adding to the sugar syrup.
    • When the desired stage is reached act very fast and transfer to the greased plate, else the burfis would become hard.
    • Make sure you cool them only for 10 mins else marking pieces will be difficult.

    
  
  

  Rasmalai Recipe - Ingredients

  Preparation Time : 40 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2
  Recipe Category: Sidedish | Recipe Cuisine: North Indian

  
  Rasgullas - 12 to 15
  Milk - 3 cups
  Condensed milk - 3 tbsp 
  Ghee - 1 tsp
  Sugar - 1/2 cup
  Chopped Nuts(pista,cashews and badam) - 3 tbsp
  Saffron - 3 to 4 strands
  Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

  Method:

  1. Take a wide heavy bottomed vessel, grease it with little ghee and add condensed milk + milk. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium flame. Keep stirring till the milk starts thickening and reduced to half.Meanwhile take 2 tbsp of warm milk, add saffron strands and crush it well, keep aside.
     
  2. Now add the saffron milk to the boiling and keep stirring. Then add the sugar and keep stirring. The mixture is called rabri and it tastes divine by itself :)
     
  3. Keep in sim and stir it till it reduces in volume.Fry the nuts in ghee and add it to the rabri and mix well. Add cardamom powder and give a quick mix.
     
  4. Now finally add the rasgullas and let it cook in low flame for 5mins till the rasgullas absorb the milk.Switch off , cool completely and then chill it. Rasmalai is ready now. Serve chilled!
     

  I've become a great fan of rasmalai since I tasted it from Annapoorna GowriShankar.Guess they use condensed milk so wanted to give a try at home using condensed milk. Homemade ones are best too if prepared in the right consistency.
  You can also use store bought rasgullas, tinned ones are easy to reach - Haldirams works best.

  
  

  My Notes:

  • Dont use saffrons more, it will be over powerful and will spoil the taste.
  • The addition of condensed milk not only makes the rasmalai rich but extra tasty and gives a unique flavour to it.
  • You can also use the sugar syrup that comes with the rasgullas and add it to the rabri instead of sugar.
  • Allow atleast 30mins sitting and refrigerating time before serving to taste best.

  • Diwali Marunthu Recipe - Ingredients

    Preparation Time : 2 hrs | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Makes : 3/4 cup
    Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian Recipe Reference: Vidhus Kitchen

    
    Powdered Jaggery - 1/2 cup
    Pepper corns - 2 tbsp
    Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
    Ajwain - 1 tsp
    Jeera - 1 tbsp
    Sitharathai - 1/4 inch piece(optional)
    Dry ginger powder - 1/4 tsp
    Cardamom - 1 whole
    Gingelly Oil - 2 tbsp
    Ghee - 1 tsp

    Method:

    1. First we can prepare the jaggery syrup. Add jaggery and water till immersing level.Heat it up until it nicely bubbles and is thick like honey in consistency. Strain to remove impurities.
    2. First get all your ingredients ready. Take all the ingredients except dry ginger powder and soak it in water till immersing level for 2 hrs.I used dry ginger powder so skipped that alone...If you are using dry ginger piece then soak it along with all other ingredients.Transfer all the ingredients to a mixer.
    3. Grind it to a semi fine paste.Add dry ginger powder and mix well.Now add jaggery syrup and heat for 2mins until its frothy then add the paste and mix well.
    4. Simmer and keep mixing, at one stage it will start becoming thick more like halwa in consistency.This will take arouns 15mins...At this stage add oil and keep stirring for 3mins finally add ghee and then switch off.
       
    Cool down and store in an airtight container.
    

    My Notes:

    • Instead of grinding to a paste, you can even dry roast all the ingredients and grind it to a fine powder.
    • The texture is totally our choice, if you want it even more as a fine paste then grind it smooth.
    • You can make it fully in ghee too, but I wanted to add gingelly oil so used that.
    • I used paagu vellam so hence the redish brown color. You can use normal yellow jaggery / palm jaggery too.
    

  
  

  Rava Laddu Recipe- Ingredients

  Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Makes : around 15
  Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

  
  

  For the ghee version:

  Fine Sooji/ Rava - 1 cup
  Sugar - 3/4 cup minus 1 tbsp
  Melted Ghee - 1/4 cup
  Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
  Broken cashew nuts - 1.5 tbsp broken
  
  

  For the milk version(low fat): Other ingredients remains the same

  Ghee - 2 tbsp
  Hot milk (Hand bearable) - little more than 1/8 cup (Adjust enough to form a ball)
  Note:If you want more shelf life then use ghee else go ahead with milk if you are looking out for a low fat version.

  Method:

  For the ghee version:
  1. Heat ghee in pan and roast cashews till golden brown, keep aside.Then add rava and roast it in the remaining ghee in the tawa till nice aroma comes. Take care not to brown them, turn off heat, keep aside and allow it to cool. Add the sugar for powdering in a dry mixer.
     
  2. Powder the sugar very fine, set aside in a bowl. Then grind the roasted rava to a fine powder. Transfer this to a wide bottomed bowl. Now add powdered rava to powdered sugar and mix well till sugar is even on all sides.
     
  3. Transfer powdered rava and sugar to a mixing bowl and mix until it is combined well. Then add the fried cashews, cardamom powder. Then heat up ghee and add it.
     
  4. Mix everything together with a laddle, by this time it will look like bread crumbs. Quickly with your hands form them into rounds balls by pressing tight.
     

  For the milk version:
  1. Add ghee, fried cashews, raisins(if you use) and cardamom powder to the powdered rava sugar mixture and mix well, it looks crumbly like in the second pic below. Now take hot milk and add little by little .
     
  2. Mix it and keep adding milk till the mixture starts to form a ball. Now stop adding milk and quickly form into balls using the palms of your hands. Your guilt free rava laddus are ready to be served. Enjoy!!
     

  
  
  

  My Notes:

  • While roasting rava take care not to brown the rava, be very careful to turn over if not it might get browned at the bottom giving you a light brown color.
  • While mixing rava and sugar, mix thoroughly so that the sugar is evenly coated on all sides.After the milk is added quickly form them into balls, dont let it dry. If its dried add few drops of ghee and form into balls.
  • The ghee version keeps well even for a week but the milk version the shelf life is very less consume it within a day or two.

  Few facts about Krishnar Jayanthi:
  Sri Krishna Jayanti marks the celebration of the birth of Bhagavan Sri Krishna. Lord Sri Krishna was born on the 'Rohini' nakshatram (star) on Ashtami day. The festival Sri Krishna Jayanti is also known as Gokulashtami or Janmashtami. The actual day of celebration can be on two different days as the star 'Rohini' and Ashtami may not be on the same day.
  The birthday of this marvellous child is celebrated as a festive and sacred day on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Sravana called Aadi in Tamil which corresponds to the English months of August-September.

  

• Suzhiyam / Suzhiyan / Seeyam Recipe - Ingredients

  Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 2
  Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

  
  

  For the Pooranam (Inner stuffing):

  Chana dal - 1/2 cup
  Jaggery - 1/2 cup
  Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
  Coconut - 1.5 tbsp
  
  

  For Outer Wrap:

  Idly Dosa Batter - 1/2 cup
  Oil - to deep fry
  Salt - a pinch(if needed)
  NOTE: Maida can be replaced with idli dosa batter and can be used as a instant version. If using maida, dilute it with water to idli dosa batter consistency.

  Method:

  1. For the inner pooranam : Dry roast channa dal till a nutty aroma comes, dont let it brown. Then soak it in water for atleast 1 hour.
     
  2. Then cook channa dal with water until soft but not mushy(It should still be in shape if you press it). Drain water from channa dal and keep aside.I was not confident in pressure cooking channa dal so cooked it in a open pan.
     
  3. Dry roast coconut till the moisture leaves. Grind channa dal with jaggery to a coarse mixture- Use the pulse option in ur mixie and press it on and off, dont make it a paste.
     
  4. Add roasted coconut,cardomom powder to the grinded channa dal jaggery mixture. Make small lemon sized balls and keep it ready.
     
  5. Take 1/2 cup of odli dosa batter in a bowl. Take each ball and immerse it in the batter, dip well such that it coats on all sides.
     
  6. Deep fry them in preaheated oil. The balls tend to stick to each other , try to leave space between. Anyways we can seperate them after taking it out too.
     
  7. Turn over to other side and cook on both sides. Take them while they turn golden brown. Drain it in a tissue and enjoy your seeyams.
     
  Trust me when I plan to try a festive special recipe for the weekend I dont get sleep and am wide awake in the odd hours even attimes around 5AM and wait for the sun to shine :) Welcoming the festivals even before the real festival comes - the gift of food blogging I should say! I have tried so many recipes for posting it here which I have not even planned to attempt.I love both poli and seeyam, the channa dhal filling itself is so tasty that transforming it into any form makes it even more tastier.
  
  

  My Notes:

  • You can use either idli dosa batter or maida for the outer wrap, its purely your preference. But I like the ones made with idli dosa batter as they are more crispy.
  • Do not add water to the idli dosa batter, if the batter is runny then the seeyams will drink more oil.
  

Sandesh Recipe - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : around 10
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Reference: E-Curry


Milk - 1 litre (preferably full cream)
Lemon Juice - 1.5 tbsp
Powdered Sugar - 1/8 cup(heaped cup)
Pista - 1 tbsp powdered coarsely(just for garnishing)
Kesar / Saffron - few strands

Method:

1. Bring milk to a boil, then add lemon juice. The milk will start curdling and the water will seperate, keep stirring to avoid burning at the bottom and until the water completely sepeartes. Switch off. Collect the paneer and transfer it to a muslin cloth, tie and hang it for atleast 30mins for all the remaining water to get strained.
   
2. Then open and wash it well with water to get rid of the sour taste of lemon.Squeeze excess water.Then add powdered sugar with this paneer and grind it a smooth paste.The orginal recipe says just to knead, but grinding makes it even more easier.
   
3. Now transfer this grinded mixture to a nonstick tawa and cook for 10mins(just 8-10mins not more than that).First it will be sticky slowly it will turn into a nonsticky mixture.
   
4. Can you see the difference, now while it starts turning non-sticky then add saffron strands and mix well.When the saffron is absorbed and is totally non-sticky it will slightly change its texture and color. Switch off at this stage.Collect this mixture in a bowl , the final stage mixture is called "Makha" - the not yet moulded sandesh .l When it is warm make a small ball and flatten it slightly with ur palms. Make a small dent and garnish with pistachios.It will harden while cooling so sure it will not be as fragile as when we mould it.
   

This is the easiest paneer sweet I have tried, just few mins and you are done with this yummy milk sweet.

My Notes:

• In total, the paneer cooking time should be only 10mins or little less, but sure not more than that else it will get dried and become crumbly then you will not be able to mould it.
• If the paneer is over cooked we cannot roll them into balls if it is undercooked you will feel the raw taste of paneer so take care while cooking.
• If in case the mixture gets dried then add little milk, knead it once then mould it to your favourite shape.
• You can also add kesar while kneading itself but I added it while cooking

 choco pedas has been in my to do list for long and I finally made it. I really am looking for some quick recipes/snacks as I find very lil time to spend in the kitchen :) Trust me, these choco pedas tasted so yummy...I wud say its a definite try for all chocolate lovers!

Chocolate Pedas - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Makes : 5 pedas
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Coco powder - 1.5 tbsp
Milk Powder - 4 tbsp
Almond powder - 3 tbsp [Just powder the almonds/badams raw]
Marie Biscuits - 3 small powdered
Boiled milk - as needed to make the dough [I used 2 tbsp ]

Method:

Bread Rasmalai Recipe - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Dessert | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Bread - 4 slices
Milk - 2 cups
Ghee - 1 tsp
Condensed milk - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Mixed Nuts(pista,cashews and badam)-2 tbsp chopped
Saffron - 4 strands
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Take a wide heavy bottomed vessel, grease it with little ghee and add condensed milk + milk. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium flame. Keep stirring till the milk starts thickening and reduced to half.Meanwhile take 2 tbsp of warm milk, add saffron strands and crush it well, keep aside.
   
2. Now add the saffron milk to the boiling and keep stirring. Then add the sugar and keep stirring. The mixture is called rabri and it tastes divine by itself :)
   
3. Keep in sim and stir it till it reduces in volume.Fry the nuts in ghee and add it to the rabri and mix well. Add cardamom powder and give a quick mix.
   
4. Once the rabri is thick switch it off and refrigerate it. Meanwhile take bread slices, trim the corners. Take a small lid and press it gently on the bread slices into small circles. At the time of serving take a bowl add the rabri and drop the bread rounds.
   

Delicious easy bread rasmalai ready in minutes. Serve it always cold!

My Notes:

• Chill the rabri until serving time. Also do not pre-soak bread, just add it while serving.
• You can even toast the bread slightly in ghee then add it to the rabri.
• You can also 1 tbsp milk powder for thickness and flavour.

Badam Kheer Recipe - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 10 mins + almonds soaking time | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Dessert | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Badam(Almonds) - 20
Milk - 1.5 cups
Sugar - 2 to 3 tsp
Saffron - 2 strands
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Soak badam in hot water for 10mins. Now press the badams to peal the skin off.Grind the badams with 1 tsp milk to a fine paste and keep aside.
   
2. Soak saffron in warm milk, set aside.Boil milk in a wide bottomed pan,add sugar and simmer it for 5mins so till milk becomes slightly thicker. Now add the saffron milk and mix well.
   
3. Then add the badam paste. Allow it to boil for 3-5 mins.By this time the mixture starts getting thicker. Add cardamom powder, give a quick stir and switch off.
   

Garnish with chopped almonds and Serve hot or cold.

My Notes:

• Though the traditional badam kheer recipe is peeling the skin and grinding it.Sometimes I take the shortroute of just powdering almonds, sugar and mix it with milk whenever needed.
• Just powder almonds with sugar,then add saffron strands and cardamom powder. Your readymade badam mix is ready!
• It thickens with time, so switch off when its slightly thicker.

super hit.

Paneer Kheer Recipe - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Sidedish | Recipe Cuisine: North Indian

Paneer - 1/2 cup crumbled
Milk - 2 cups
Cornflour - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 to 3 tbsp
Saffron - 1 strand
Elachi powder - a pinch
Nuts - 2 tbsp (pistachios, badams and cashews chopped)

Method:

1. Crush the saffron in a tsp of milk and keep aside. Add cornflour in a tsp of milk, mix well without lumps and keep aside.
2. Boil milk, add the cornflour milk mixture mix well continuosly and then simmer for 10mins until it starts thickening. Add sugar and mix well until completely dissolved. Add the saffron milk mixture and give a quick mix.
3. Now add the crumbled paneer to the boiling milk, mix well and allow it to boil for 5-7 more mins.
4. Add elachi powder, mix well and garnish with nuts and switch off.You can also toast the nuts in ghee and then add it to the kheer.
5. Allow it to cool for 5mins then refrigerate for 15mins and serve chilled.

Paneer kheer was close to the taste of basundhi, whatever be the name it was heavenly. The paneer blended with the saffron flavoured milk with nuts....what more you want for a dessert..YUMM!! I luv it chilled but you can serve it warm as well.

My Notes:

• Saffron is optional, I like the flavour so added it. You can skip it too.
• Cornflour is added to fasten up the thickening process of the milk.
• For the above mentioned ingredients, it yields 2 small cups of paneer kheer.
• Adjust sugar according to your sweetness.

Sweet Pongal Recipe - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Sidedish | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
Moong Dal - 3 tbsp
Milk - 3/4 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - a small pinch
Saffron - a small pinch (optional)
Ghee - 2 to 3 tbsp
Cashews- 1 tsp broken
Raisins - 1/2 tsp
Water - 2 cups

Method:

1. Dry roast moong dhal until nice aroma rises, Keep aside. Add saffron strands in 2tbsp of warm milk and set aside. In a pan add little ghee and roast cashews and raisins until golden brown.
   
2. Pressure cook moong dhal, rice with water for 3 whistles in medium flame, mush it up a laddle once and set aside.Add jaggery in warm water(just till immersing level) and mix it well. Then strain to remove impurities and add it to the pan.
   
3. Bring it to a boil, then add the cooked rice moong dhal and mix well with the jaggery syrup. Then add milk with saffron and mix well.
   
4. Add remaining milk and allow it to boil.Combine well,cardamom powder, ghee and roasted raisins and cashews and give a quick stir. Once its semi thick switch off and serve hot.
   

Serve hot with medu vada or 
paruppu vada.We make sweet milk pongal often when there is leftover rice and excess milk and I used to finish half of it :)

My Notes:

• Switch it off in semi running consistency as it tends to get thicker with time.
• Adding saffron is purely optional but will give a richer taste.
• Adding more milk and cooking the pongal in milk gives a yummy taste.

Carrot Halwa Recipe  - Ingredients

• Carrot grated - 1.5 cups
• Sugar - 1/4 cup
• Milk - 1 cup
• Broken cashews - 1/2 tbsp
• Cardamom powder - a pinch [optional]
• Cashews - 5 to 6 broken and few whole cashews 
• Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:
1.Wash carrots, peel of the skin and grate them, set aside.Heat ghee in a pan and roast the cashews till golden brown and keep it aside. In the same pan, add grated carrot.Saute it in medium flame till raw smell leaves and it shrinks in volume.

2.Add milk, sugar and allow it to boil till carrot becomes soft and gets cooked.It may take around 7-10mins.

3.Continue to cook until the halwa gets thick, the ghee gets seperated and will come out on the sides of the pan.Add the cardamom powder, mix well, garnish with nuts and serve.Serve hot with a scoop of vanilla icecream - YUM!!
My Notes: 

• Saute the carrots well until raw smell completely leaves before adding milk.

• You can add a tbsp of paneer / sweetened khoya for more richness.

• Adjust sweetness according to your preference.

• You can even add 1:1 ratio for carrot:milk.

T

Cup & Spoon Measures

1 cup = 250 ml
1/2 cup = 125 ml
1/3 cup = 80 ml
1/4 cup = 60 ml

1 tbsp = 15 ml
1/2 tbsp = 7.5 ml
1 tsp = 5 ml
1/2 tsp = 2.5 ml 

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