Sweet sweet potatoes

 

#sweetpotatoes #ratalu #shakarkand #fasting #sawan #shravan

Ingredients: 2 cups of diced sweet potatoes, 2 tsp ghee, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 5-6 saffron sticks, 4-6 tsp of sugar (depending on your sweet tooth), 1/2 cup water

Preparation Time: 10- 15 min (prepares for 2)

Recipe:

1. In a pan, heat the ghee. To this, add the diced sweet potatoes and saute till they turn golden on low- medium flame. 

2. Now add the sugar and water and mix well. Allow cooking for 4-5 minutes on low gas. 

3. Check if sweet potatoes are cooked (if easily cut/ pierced through knife, then its cooked). Else, add a little water, cover with lid and allow cooking for a couple of minutes. 

4. Add the cardamom powder and saffron leaves and cover with lid! Turn off the gas.

5. You can serve it at room temperature or hot!

Tips: It is better to use less sugar in the basic preparation for the sweetness of the sweet potatoes can vary. Also, as this potato is high on carbs, after cutting it to dices, it is advisable to keep them in water so that the pieces do not turn blackish. 

Aamras

 

#aamras #mangoes #summerspecial #bestindiandessert 

Ingredients: (to make approximately 6 bowls of aamras) 3 mangoes, a cup of milk, 2.5 cups water, 2 tbsp sugar (sugar will vary based on the choice of mangoes)

Preparation time: 15 min (cooling 3-4 hours)

Recipe:

1. Peel off the mangoes and scoop/ cut out the pieces until you hit the seed. We need randomly cut pieces. 

2. Put these pieces to a grinder, add all the other ingredients and churn well.

3. In another vessel, Sieve the churned mangoes mixture well. Ensure that it is consistent.

4. Allow it to cool and serve it chilled.

Tips: - preferably take a combination of different mangoes like badami, langda, alphonso, kesar or lalpatta. For me, a badam mango or begumpally is a must in making aamras. Whole alphonso aamras does not taste good.  

Pineapple sandesh

   

#pineapple #sandesh #bengalisweets #chhena #paneer #desserts #healthysweets

#healthyfood

Ingredients: 200 ml cow milk, 2 tbsp curd, 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar, 2 drops of pineapple essence, 1 cup of diced tinned pineapple (sugar syrup dipped) with no trace of syrup, pineapple wafers for garnishing

Preparation time: 15 min (cooling and setting time 3-4 hours)

Recipe:

1. Bring the milk to boil and add curd. Stir for a while till the milk curdles. Now, sieve the whey and collect the curdled milk i.e. chhena. Transfer it to a muslin cloth and strain out the excess of whey/ water through squeezing. 

2. Now massage the chhena in a bowl with your hand (palm basically) for 3- 5 minutes till it becomes greasy. To this add the sugar and pineapple essence. Massage again. This might turn sticky. 

3. Add the pineapple to this and mix well lightly. Ensure that the pineapples do not contain the sugar syrup. You can ensure this by keeping the slices on a colander for 10 - 15 min prior to cutting them to pieces.

4. Now, give the mixture a desired shape and keep it to set. You can do this by transferring the mixture to a different shaped bowl (square or curved like I used) and leveling up the mixture with a spoon. Cover this with foil and refrigerate for 3-4 hours at least. After that, turn the bowl upside down. If the sandesh does not come off easily, just use a knife to release the air pressure formed at the edges (slide the knife across the circumference in between the container and sandesh) and turn it upside down again. It should come out easily now.

5. Garnish it with wafers and serve it chilled!

Litchi rabri

  #litchi #rabri #sweetlitchi #fruit #desserts #cream#chilled  #jaggery #gud #nosugarsweets   

Ingredients: 1 liter milk (preferably cow milk), 1/2 cup pure jaggery or gud grated (dark brown), 1 cup of sliced litchi

Preparation Time: 25 min (cooling time 3-4 hours)

Recipe:

1. In a non- stick pan, boil the milk until reduced to halve. Keep stirring intermittently. Scrub the cream depositing on the pan with a spoon and add it back to the boiling milk. This would lead to a very creamy rabri base. 

2. Once the milk halves and thickens, add jaggery and stir continuously till it dissolves entirely. Allow cooking for 3-4 minutes and turn the gas off. The rabri is ready!

3. When the rabri comes down to room temperature, refrigerate it for 3-4 hours. Do not mix the litchi now as it will leave water and the taste of rabri goes on a toss.

4. Once the rabri has become chilled, place 2 tbsp in your serving bowls/ dishes each and add the litchi slices over it evenly. I prefer a dish for the litchi is visible and looks great!

Tips: You can garnish it with grated chocolate!

                                          

Mango phirni

#mangofirni #firni #phirni #desserts #sweets #mangodesserts #milk #easy #diy

Ingredients: 350ml milk, 2 tbsp idli rava (big granules semolina), 2 tbsp sugar (however you may alter based on the sweetness you require), 3-4 drops rose water,1 tsp powdered cardamom, a pinch of edible orange color (jalebi color) or you may use saffron about 1 tsp soaked in a tbsp of milk prior, 2-3 tsp of milk masala (mix of crushed pistachio, almonds, saffron and cardamom - readily available), 2 cups of diced alphonso mangoes (retain the seeds)

Preparation Time: 20 min (cooling time 2-3 hours)

Recipe:

1. Bring the milk to boil and add the semolina to it with constant stirring or else the semolina may stick to the bottom. A non- stick vessel is recommended therefore. Cook until the milk thickens to a paste like texture and semolina has softened (take it between your index finger and thumb and see if easily smashed). If semolina is still hard but the mixture has thickened, then add a tbsp of milk and allow cooking with constant stirring. This should take approx 5 min.

2. Once the semolina is cooked, add the sugar to this and stir continuously. Add the saffron color, cardamom powder and the rose water to this and allow cooling in a shallow vessel. The phirni is ready.

3. In the meantime, you can use a tbsp of milk to soak the seeds of the mangoes and squeeze out the flesh attached to the seeds. Once through, remove the seeds and retain the milk with mango flesh. Blend it properly and add this to the phirni made in step 2. This not only adds the much- desired mango flavor but also gives good color to the mixture.

4. Once the phirni has cooled down to room temperature, add the mango pieces to this, turn well and refrigerate for 2-3 hours prior serving.

5. Garnish it with the milk masala and serve it chilled!

Tips: The phirni prep is basic. You can replace mango with other fruits. Also, the semolina can be replaced with soaked, dried and then powdered rice. However, this is a lengthy process!

Rasgullas

 #indiansweets #rasgulla #roshagulla #bengali_sweets #chhena_sweets #homemade #delicacies #angoori_rasgulla

Ingredients: 1 ltr milk, 1/2 tbsp citric acid (or lime juice or curd), 2 cups sugar, 4 cups water, a pinch of cardamom powder, 2 tsp all purpose flour or semolina

Preparation Time: 30min, Quantity: Approx 24 small (angoori) rasgullas

Recipe: 

1. Bring the milk to boil and add citric acid. Stir until the milk curdles (ensure you use a bigger vessel to avoid overflowing).

2. Strain the curdled milk to separate the whey with the help of a muslin cloth. Now, gather the muslin cloth together and hold the covered chhena under running water for a few seconds. this will remove the sour taste retained from the citric acid.

3. Keep this aside for 10 min with a weight on it to remove excess of water.

4. In the meantime, take a vessel/ deep pan, add water and sugar to this and heat it till all the sugar dissolves. Do not overheat or else sugar syrup thickens to form threads. Stir intermittently. If there are impurities, sieve the syrup. Now, keep 2 cups of sugar syrup aside and transfer the rest to the pan.

5. Check on the chhena. Take it and add the all purpose flour or semolina to it and knead it well using your palms. Knead it well for at least 5 min (till the mixture becomes greasy). Now, make small round balls out of this. Do not press, just lightly make the balls.

6. Heat the sugar syrup. When a boil comes, slide the balls in the pan and cook at low to medium flame. Cover with a lid. After two min or so, add a cup of the sugar syrup retained separately in order to control the temperature in the pan. Basically, the sugar syrup must not thicken at all, else it will spoil the dish. Stir very lightly.

7. Allow cooking for 3 min more while adding the rest of the retained syrup slowly after that. Turn off the gas. Allow the rasgullas to sink in the syrup. Add the cardamom powder to this and stir slightly.

 8. Once the rasgullas and syrup come to room temperature, transfer to a glass bowl and refrigerate.

9. Serve it chilled!

Sevai kheer

 

 

#sweets #indiansweets #sweetsfrommilk #kheer #milkdesserts #sevaikheer

Ingredients: 2 cups wheat sevai (or vermicelli), 1 tbsp ghee, 1 ltr milk, chips of dry fruits (green pistachios and almonds) for garnishing, 2 tsp cardamom powder for flavor, 1 cup sugar

Preparation Time: 25 min

Recipe:

1. In a non-stick pan add ghee and keep on low medium flame. Add the sevai or vermicelli and saute till golden. It is important to stir continuously to have even color.

2. Add milk and stir intermittently on medium flame until the sevai swells and cooks. 

3. Now add the sugar and allow simmering for 2-3 minutes till the sugar melts and gels in with the kheer. Now add the cardamom powder.

4. Transfer to the serving bowl and garnish with the dry fruit chips. Serve it hot! 

Modak recipe 1

 #sweets #modak #ganpati_special #traditional_recipe #homemade #jaggery

 

Ingredients: 1 and 1/2 cup wheat flour, 1/2 tbsp. ghee, 1/2 cup grated jaggery

 

Preparation time: 15 min

 

Recipe:

1. TAke the flour in a mixing bowl and add ghee to it. Mix it well when dry. Now add water slowly to knead a very tight dough. Keep aside.

 

2. Heat a flat pan on medium to low gas flame.

 

3. Using a little amount of ghee, massage the dough and then make a ball of it. Using a rolling pin, roll out a bread of 1 cm thickness approx.

 

4. Put the flattened bread on the pan. Turn over after 15- 20 sec. Press it using a kitchen napkin. Then turn over after 30- 40 sec. Do this for 5 min until the bread gets cooked (golden brown) from both the sides. Ensure to keep the gas at low - medium flame only.

 

5. The bread will become crisp. Turn off the gas and take off the bread in a platter. Break it into pieces and shift to a mixer pot. Add jaggery and churn well so that they get blended together. If you prefer a sweeter taste, add more jaggery. Check the consistency by taking a small portion in hand trying to bind it in a ball. If easily doable, then take off the mixture in a bowl. Else add a tsp of ghee and some more jaggery and blend again. Ground well.

 

6. Now use a mould of your choice add portion to it press tightly and remove it by tapping. If you do not have moulds, then make round balls with your hands.

 

7. The modaks are ready :)

 

Rajgira halwa/ fasting halwa

#fast #fasting_dishes #sweets #homemade_sweets

 

Ingredients: 1 cup rajgira floor, 1 tbsp. ghee, 2 tbsp. sugar, water

 

Preparation time: 15 min  

 

Recipe:

1. Heat a pan and add ghee. After melting, add the rajgira floor/ powder and mix well with the ghee with a spatula.

 

2. Parch it at low - medium flame until golden in color. Typically, I parch until brownish in shade as in fasts extra roasted tastes awesome. This should take approx. 10 minutes max

 

3. Now add water slowly (and carefully not to overdo) little by little while mixing the parched floor continuously with one hand. Add water such that the floor absorbs water completely and gets cooked (excess water doesn't taste good).

 

4. Now add sugar and mix well. If you want less sweet, then modify the quantity accordingly. Cover with a lid and allow cooking for 3-4 min.

 

5. The halwa is ready.. serve it hot!

 

 

Rabri/ lachhedar rabri

#chilled #Desserts #summerspecial #sweets #milk sweets #homemade #rabri #rabdi

Ingredients: 1 litre milk (cow milk preferred), 5 heaped tsp sugar

Preparation time: 30min

Recipe:

1. Take an aluminium kadhai or non stick can also do and Add milk to this.

2. Bring the milk to boil on high gas. Then turn low. Keep stirring intermittently. After 5-7 min turn gas to high, let it boil for a min and stir in order to make it thick with the cream forming. Turn gas low. Repeat this till the milk quantity gets halved. Towards the end, keep the gas medium and continuously stir milk while removing the cream stuck on thw sides of kadhai. This will add lachchas or the flakes of cream to the rabri.

3. Add sugar to this. Allow boiling for 5 min and then turn off. Allow it to cool n stir.

4. Cool it and then have it as a dessert garnished with roasted chopped almonds or with your fav fruit like flesh of custard apple, chopped bananas or tangy strawberries and mangoes...

Maalpua

 #indian_sweets #maalpua #homemadesweets #sweets #monsoonspecial #garmagaram #rabricombination

Ingredients: 250 ml un-boiled milk, 8 tbsp. maida or all purpose flour, 8-10 heaped tsp of granulated sugar, 1 tbsp. curd, milk masala/ chips of soaked almonds and green pistachios + saffron leaves and cardamom powder, 250 ml ghee

Preparation time: 20 min+ (excluding time required to prepare the batter)

Recipe:

1. At least 12 - 15 hours prior, prepare the batter and allow to ferment. For that, in a grinder, add the milk, maida and first only 8 tsp of sugar. Churn it for two min. (I would suggest to taste a drop of the mixture in order to know if it is appropriately sweet. If less sweet, then add more sugar). Now add the curd. Churn again for 3-4 min. Check the consistency. It should be less thick than the idli batter.

2. Remove the batter in a bowl, cover it with lid and keep it aside in a warm place (like inside a cupboard in kitchen or oven). Allow it to ferment for at least 12 hours to get good results.

3. If you plan to make maalpuas later, keep the batter in fridge. Else, mix it with a spoon and drop it from a height to check the frothiness of the batter along with the consistency.

4. Take a shallow pan and add ghee to it. Heat it till fumes appear. Now add a small (half a tbsp.) portion of batter in the ghee (gas on medium flame). Check - if it spreads out in an un-ruled manner, then the batter is thin and you need to add more maida. If it doesn't spread, then wait half a minute and turn it over with a pair of tongs and a slotted spoon/ spider. It might be a tad sticky. If it sticks to any of the utensils, use a spoon to remove it and put it back in the pan. Wait for half a minute till it turns golden and remove it. Now this act tests your speed. You need to be quick or else the maalpua might turn dark n bitter in taste too.

5. Serve the maalpuas hot with milk masala sprinkled over it!

 

Tips: You may also top them up/ garnish with a tbsp of rabri! Awesome combo!

Laapsi/ sweer daliya

#indiansweets #traditionalsweets #homemade_sweets #laapsi #sweet_daliya #bulgar

Ingredients: 1 cup of daliya/ bulgar, 1 tbsp ghee, ¾ cup sugar, milk masala

Preparation time: 30 min

Recipe:

1. In a pressure cooker, add ghee and heat it. After 2 min add the daliya/ bulgar and parch for 5-10 min on medium gas. Stir it continuously until it turns golden brown.

2. Now add 4 cups water to this. Cover it with lid and pressure cook with 3 whistles on medium flame and turn off.

3. After the cooker cools down, check on the daliya if cooked by pressing between two fingers. If cooked, it will get mashed easily. Else, add a cup of water more and take one or two whistles to cook it (be careful not to overcook it. We are not making porridge!)

4. Now add sugar and mix well. Heat it till all the sugar gets dissolved and the sugar syrup gets absorbed by daliya.

5. Serve it hot garnished with milk masala (i.e. almonds, pistachios, cardamom, saffron, etc. mixture that is readily available at stores)! It tastes best when combined with plain rice and Kadhi!

 

Tips: You can use jaggery in the stead of sugar. 

 

 

Kheer/ payasum

 #Indian_sweets #Homemade_sweets #sweets #sweets_from_milk #kheer #payasum

Ingredients: 1 litre milk, a handful of rice washed and soaked (approximately 1 and half tbsp rice), 7 spoonfuls granulated sugar (approximately 1 and ¾ tbsp), ½ tbsp milk masala (readily available, if not a mixture of wet almonds (2 tsp), pistachios (2 tsp), cardamom (2 tsp) and saffron 5-8 leaves)

Preparation time: 20 min

Recipe:

1. Take a non- stick pan or a kadhai big enough to boil 1 litre milk. Add milk and bring it to boil.

2. Remove excess water from the soaked rice and add it in the boiled milk. Stir the milk with rice till it starts boiling again. Now turn the gas on medium flame and allow the cooking of rice in milk. Keep stirring intermittently. This should take approximately 10-15 minutes.

3. Check a piece of rice if cooked (by pressing between your fingers, if pressed easily and soft, then cooked, else allow cooking for some more time). If cooked, add sugar to this (if diabetic, then reduce the sugar amount accordingly). Stir well till the kheer boils again.

4. Add the milk masala to this and allow simmering for 2-3 minutes with lid closed.

5. Serve it hot!

Tips: You can as well add chiraunji (seeds) if you like. Refrigerate it after bringing to room temperature. It is a real dessert treat – Chilled Kheer!

 

Sweet chillas

#sweets #sweetchillas #tiffin #homemadesweets

Ingredients: 1 cup sugar, 3 cups water, 3 cups wheat flour, 1 tbsp fennel seeds, 2 tsp cardomom powder, 1-2 tbsp ghee, a pinch of eating soda

Preparation time: 20min

Recipe: 

1. First dissolve the sugar in water by heating it. This process helps to make the batter consistent later instead of allowing the sugar to dissolve at room temperature. Allow the syrup to cool down.

2. Now add the wheat flour to the syrup in parts using one hand, whereas continuously stirring the mixture with another hand. Keep dissolving the lumps with your hand if any.

3. Now add fennel seeds, cardomom powder and soda to this. Stir it well and check consistency by dropping the batter with spoon from 15cm height. It should be thin than the idli batter.

4. Pre- heat a non stick pan for 3-4 min at low gas. Sprinkle a tsp of ghee on it. Now, add the sweet batter with a small tbsp. For kids, make it small size purposely. They feel spl n enjoy it. Sprinkle a few drops of ghee on each chilla. Wait till the corners turn golden then turnover. Repeat till the chillas are golden from both the sides.

5. Serve them hot.. Their combo with veg chillas or salty ones works the best.

Atta halwa/ sheera/sweet

#aatekaseera#sheera
#halwa
halwa#easyhalwa#sweetforkids
#instantenergy#homemadesweets

Ingredients: 2 tbsp ghee, 1 cup wheat flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp cardomom powder, 1/2 tbsp almonds and pistachio chips, 3 cups water

Preparation time: 15min

Recipe:
1. Heat pan and add ghee to this.
2. Take the water in different vessel and bring it to boil.
3. In the meantime, add the flour to ghee and mix well. Keep the gas at medium flame and toss it continuously with spatula preferably.
4. Parch till golden to light chocolaty colour.
5. Add boiled water slowly while mixing continuously till all the flour gets wet.
6. Now add sugar and mix well till it mixes with the flour. Keep the gas low and cover with lid for two min. Allow the sugar syrup to be absorbed completely.
7. If you feel lumps, then mix it well by pressing gently to mix the lumps. Add water if required. Add cardomom powder to this.
8. Serve it hot with dry fruits powder sprinkled on it.

Tips: you can use jaggery instead of sugar. Add jaggery to the water for boiling and don't add sugar then.

Gajar ka Halwa

#homemadesweets#milksweets #gajarkahalwa

#dessert#sweets#carrotsweetdish

Ingredients: 1 kg red carrots, 1 litre boiled milk, 1 tbsp ghee, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp cardamom powder, saffron leaves 10- 12, grated green pistachio and almond mix ½ tbsp

Preparation Time: 40 min

Recipe:

1. Peel off the carrots, remove their end and grate them in a food processor.

2. Take a big deep pan and heat it (non stick preferred). Add ghee to this and heat for half minute.

3. Then add the grated carrot to this and toss well. Cover with lid for five minutes. Keep the gas low. The carrots will reduce in size.

4. Now add the milk and turn the gas high. But, keep stirring continuously till the mixture comes to a boil. After a boil, turn the gas to medium flame. Continue stirring for a minute.

5. Cover it with lid to fasten the cooking process. But, keep stirring intermittently, every 5 min or so till 20 min at least. Check if carrots are cooked by pressing between the fingers. If still not very soft and all the milk is absorbed, then add little milk (a cup). Allow to cook for 10 more min.

6. Now, after all the milk is used up, add sugar and mix well. With sugar, the color of the halwa will change to brighter hue. Do not cover with lid now.

7. Allow to cook till all the sugar water is absorbed by the carrots. This should take 5 – 10 minutes. Add cardamom powder as well and mix well,

8. Serve it hot garnished with pistachio and almond powder.

Tips: Gajar ka halwa tastes yum when chilled as well! Besides, if you like raisins, then you can add those too.

Gajar Halwa Sandesh

Layered sandesh, fudge, desserts

#homemadesweets #milksweets #chhena #sandesh

#gajarkahalwa #dessert #sweets #fudge #layeredcarrot

Ingredients: Cow milk 0.5 ltr, citric acid 1 tsp to make paneer, 1 big carrot/gajar ka halwa, 10- 12 black grapes.

Preparation Time: 10 min (sandesh) + 30 min (gajar ka halwa) + 2 hours for setting

Recipe:

1. Prepare paneer according to the step 1 mentioned in strawberry sandesh recipe. Do not add sugar to this. Just plain paneer well massaged.

2. Prepare gajar ka halwa from one carrot only for this recipe according to the changed proportions per the gajar ka halwa recipe.

3. Take a setting box (shape of your choice), preferably air- tight. Add the chhena/ paneer to this and press it evenly.

4. Add gajar ka halwa to form a layer of equal thickness.

5. Cover with lid and allow to set for 2 hours in refrigerator.

6. Take a platter and turn the box upside down. Tap it gently. If it does not come out, then, turn the box up. Insert a knife along the edge (between the box wall and the chhena/ halwa layer)) to remove pressure (due to freezing). Now again turn it upside down and tap gently. It will easily come out.

7. Decorate it with black grapes and serve it chilled!

Khiraan/ Thick Kheer

Khiraan – Rice and milk sweet

#homemadesweets#milksweets#kheer#thickKheer#riceandmilk

Ingredients Required: 1 litre milk, half cup rice, ¾ cup sugar, saffron, finely chopped almonds and green pistachios, 1medium tbsp ghee.

Preparation Time: 30 min






Recipe:

1.      Soak the rice for 15- 20 min and sieve it.

2.      Boil the milk.

3.      Take a deep pan (kadhai) and put it on gas. Add ghee. Add the sieved rice and stir it till golden- ish.



when 10% milk remains

4.      Add milk and turn the gas on high. Stir it continuously till it comes to boil. Then lower the gas somewhat and leave it to cook the rice. Keep stirring intermittently to ensure the rice doesn’t stick to the vessel (it generally doesn’t stick if the ghee is proper and if it’s a non- stick pan). This should take 15- 20 min approx. Once the rice gets cooked, only 10% of milk should remain.

5.      Add sugar and saffron (mix saffron in half cup of boiled milk and then add). Cook the mixture till it becomes solid. Stir well in between.

Khiran or kheeran is ready. Garnish with the dry fruits!




  

Strawberry Sandesh

To greet the strawberry season, this one's a handy pick!

#homemadesweets#milksweets#lowcaloriesweets#lesssugarsweet#sandesh#chhena#paneersweets

Ingredients Required: Cow milk 0.5 ltr, strawberries big 5 vertically sliced with about 3mm width, powdered sugar/ bhura 1 tbsp, cardamom powder 1 tsp, citric acid 1 tsp to make paneer


Preparation Time: 20 min

Recipe:

1.      Bring the milk to boil and add citric acid while still on gas and stirring continuously to avoid overflow (amateurs’ better use big utensil to make paneer) Sieve the output to separate paneer and the water. Leave it for 5-10 minutes and press it to ensure the whey leaves the paneer. Now, to make the paneer or cottage cheese soft, take it in a platter and then press or massage it with palm till there is consistency (can be checked by forming balls). Add sugar and cardamom to this and again mix it well! The sandesh or chhena is ready.

2.      Take a slice of the strawberry. Place sufficient chhena on it to form an equal width’s layer as shown in the pic above. Do it for all the slices. Keep a napkin to wipe your hands regularly to avoid spreading the color of strawberry to chhena.

3.      Garnish it per your wish!

Tips:

Strawberry can be replaced with other sweet n sour fruits like mango, pineapple or other berries as well