Basundi

 

This is a milk based sweet that is our family favourite. Recently I wanted to have it but found that the usual shops from where we used to buy have stopped making. Checked the internet for recipe and found that it is not tough to make at home, and that is what we did!

Ingredients

½ litre milk

1 ½ cups mava (solidified milk, that is prepared by keeping milk on low fire, stirring continuously till it becomes solid)

2 tbsps sugar

A few strands of saffron soaked in 1 tsp water for 10 minutes

¼ tsp cardamom powder

10 badams (almonds) slivered to garnish

Instruction

-          Break the mava into small particles with fingers and mix it into the milk

-          Keep this milk mava mixture in a thick bottomed pan on fire. When it boils, reduce flame and keep stirring to avoid it sticking to the bottom

-          When the mixture becomes thick, add the sugar (this makes it thinner now) and keep stirring

-          Add the cardamom powder and the saffron strands along with the water, mix well

-          Wait till the desired consistency is achieved, keeping in mind that it will become thicker on refrigeration

-          Remove from fire, allow to cool and refrigerate before serving

-          Serve with the badam slivers spread on the top.

Modak

                                        

Lord Ganesh is called “Modakapriya”(lover of modak) because modak is considered to be his favourite sweet.  The word modak means "small part of bliss" and it symbolises spiritual knowledge. According to mythology, Goddess Parvati’smother Menavati used to feed modaks to her grandson Ganesha to fulfill his insatiable appetite.  Devi Parvati also started preparing modaks to keep his stomach full and then there is the tradition of making modaks on Ganesh Chaturthi.

Modak is rich in saturated fats, vitamins, and minerals, all of which can contribute to a robust immune system. It is a nutritious choice during pregnancy. These sweet dumplings consist of a good amount of iron, magnesium, and healthy fats.

Ingredients

For the covering:

1  cup Rice flour – for 6 modaks

Salt to taste

1 cup boiling water

For the filling:

3 tbsps jaggery

¾ cup grated coconut

½ tsp cardamom powder

Instruction

-          Boil the water and add it to the rice flour and salt. Mix with a spoon and leave it covered for ten minutes.

-          Meanwhile, keep the coconut and jaggery on low fire in a thick bottomed pan and kepp stirring. First, the jaggery will liquefy and then it becomes a soft solid, ready for the filling.

-          Add cardamom powder, mix well and remove from fire. Let it cool.

-          Now knead the rice flour water mix ad make into a smooth dough. Divide it into 6 portions.

-          Take each portion and rotate between the palms applying some pressure.

-          Flatten it between the palms. Holding it in the left hand, flatten it further with right hand fingers.

-          Gently make it cup shaped, keep some filling in the center and bring the periphery towards the center, join them and give the shape of the modk.

-          Boil water in a vessel, over which we will keep a plate with holes in it. Smear oil on the plate and arrange the modaks over it.

-          Cover it and steam for ten minutes. You can also steam the modaks in the pressure cooker without the valve, just like we steam idlis. Or you can even deep fry the modaks and enjoy a different taste.

-          Offer the modaks to Ganeshji and then enjoy!

 

  

Caramelized Sheera

 

This has a very inviting color and a nice flavor. I just love this dish!

Ingredients

1 cup sooji(semolina)

2 cups water

½ cup milk

1 cup sugar

¼ cup ghee

¼ tsp cardamom powder

Instruction

-          Soak sooji in 2 cups water and half cup milk for half hour.

-          Take sugar in a thick bottomed pan, keep on low fire and keep stirring till it is liquefied  and gets a brown color.

-          Slowly add the ghee and stir. Be careful as it may splatter.

-          Now slowly add the soaked sooji. Keep stirring on low flame till it becomes a homogenous mix with the consistency of sheera.

-          Add cardamom powder, mix well and remove from fire. Serve hot.

Jackfruit Sheera

 

This is a very delicious dish that can be served with the evening tea or as a dessert after lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

1 cup Semolina

½ cup sugar (adjust the sugar according to the sweetness of the jackfruit)

½ cup finely cut jackfruit bulbs

2 ½ cups water

1 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp broken cashews

¼ tsp cardamom powder

A pinch of yellow food color (optional)

Instruction

-          Roast the semolina and keep aside.

-           Meanwhile, cook the cut jackfruit pieces in the water for about 10 minutes till it is cooked. Add the food color and sugar, let it dissolve.

-          Now reduce the flame and slowly add the roasted semolina, stirring to avoid formation of lumps. Let it thicken a bit on slow fire.

-          Add the cardamom powder. Lightly fry the cashew pieces in the ghee, add it to the sheera, mix well and remove from fire.

Jackfruit Cookies

 

These are awesome cookies, crispy, crunchy, with awesome aroma and flavour, an excellent accompaniment to tea or coffee.

Ingredients

¾ cup refined flour

½ cup wheat flour

½ cup sugar

¾ tsp cardamom powder

1/4 tsp dried ginger powder

½ cup finely chopped jackfruit

⅔ cup ghee

¼ teaspoon salt

Instruction

-          Mix together the flours, sugar, salt, dried ginger powder and cardamom powder.

-          Add the ghee and knead well, adding the finely cut jackfruit pieces too.

-          Roll this dough into a log, wrap in cling film and freeze for 20 minutes.

-          Preheat the oven to 250 degrees celcius.

-          Take out the dough from the freezer, cut into ½ inch thick slices.

-          Place them on a greased aluminium foil about 2 inches apart and bake for 20 minutes at 250 degrees. The top will be golden in color and the sides brown.

-          Take out from the oven and let them cool completely.

-          Store in airtight container.

 

 

Chamcham that I learned in Libya

In the late 1980, we Indians in Libya were very closely knit and used to have many gatherings. Once I tasted this chamcham and took the recipe. My younger daughter liked it so much that I taught her how to make when she was around 5 years of age, as in our house, if somebody liked a dish, he/she should learn how to make it.

Ingredients

10 heaped tablespoons of Milk powder

1 small egg

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp baking powder

For syrup

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

For the covering

3 tbsps milk powder

Instruction

-          Keep the sugar and water on low fire.

-          Knead the first four ingredients to a stiff dough. Sprinkle water if needed. I didn’t have to add water today.

-          Make 21 balls by rotating between moistened palms with some pressure and keep on an oiled plate.

-          By the time you finish this, the sugar would have dissolved completely in the water.

-          Drop each ball slowly into the sugar syrup kept on low fire. Keep sprinkling some sugar over this every five minutes or so.

-          When the sugar syrup is almost finished and the balls have become double the size (takes about 15 minutes), remove from the fire, drain the balls and spread on a plate to cool.

-          Take some milk powder in a plate, roll each ball in this to coat all the surfaces. Can be served now, but it tastes better after refrigeration.  

Broken Wheat Laddu

 

This is an easy to prepare, delicious sweet which tastes similar to boondi laddu.

Ingredients

1 cup broken wheat (for 7 laddus)

2 tbsps ghee

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp raisins

4 cups boiling water

A pinch of food color

¼ tsp cardamom powder

A pinch of nutmeg powder

Instruction

-          Heat ghee in a kadai and add broken wheat. Keep stirring on medium flame till the color changes and aroma comes. Meanwhile put the water to boil.

-          Add the sugar, raisins, and boiling water to the roasted broken wheat. Mix well, cover it, and reduce the flame. In between open and stir it a couple of times.

-          When it is somewhat thickened, add food color, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.

-          When all the water has evaporated, remove from fire and let it cool.

-          Make laddoos and enjoy!

Sweet Rava Appam

 

I am experimenting with my appe pan these days. Today I felt like having some mildly sweet snack. A friend had given lot of rava, I have to finish this, so used it to make this item. It tasted so much like Kerala's unniappams, which I am crazy for!

Ingredients

1 cup rava

1/2 cup refined flour

2 tblsps liquid jaggery

¾  cup grated coconut

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

A pinchof salt

2 tbsps ghee or oil

Instruction

-          Pour water over rava just in level and leave for 15 minutes when it will soak up all water

-          Take the refined flour, baking soda, salt, and grated coconut in another bowl.

-          I use liquid jaggery, called ‘Kakwi’ in Karnataka. If you don’t have it, take about 2 ½ tbsps of jaggery, pour ¼ cup water and put on medium flame. When the jaggery dissolves, sieve and use it. Pour the jaggery to the refined flour mix.

-          Now add the soaked rava and mix gently, adding water if necessary to make a thick pouring consistency. Finally, mix in the cardamom powder.

-      Heat the appe pan, reduce the flame and pour ½ tsp oil into each well and smear the walls with the spoon.

-      Pour 1 tablespoon of batter into each well. Cover with a lid and cook for 4 minutes.

-      Turn the appams upside down with a spoon. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.        

-      Remove the appams and serve hot with tea/coffee.

Sweet Potato Halwa

This is a very delicious sweet that is easy to prepare.

                                             Sweet potato halwa served with kala chana chat

Ingredients

1 ½ cups boiled, skinned and mashed sweet potato

½ cup jaggery

¾ cup water

2 tbsps ghee

1 tbsp raisins

¼ tsp cardamom powder

Instruction

-          Pour the ghee in a thick bottomed vessel, add the mashed sweet potato. Keep on low flame and keep stirring in between.

-          Meanwhile put the jaggery and water in a pan and keep on low fire. By the time this melts, the sweet potato will become light brown and give out nice aroma.

-          Pour the melted jaggery through a sieve into the roasted sweet potato and add raisins and cardamom powder.

-          Stir for two minutes and remove from fire. Serve hot or cold. 

Parippu Pradhaman ( Split green gram payasam)

This is a much awaited item for our ‘Onassadya (Onam feast).

Ingredients

1 cup (100gms) Split green gram (mung) with skin, roasted till it turns light brown ad gives out nice aroma

50 gms Sago, soaked in 1 ½ cups water for 10 minutes

300 gms Jaggery

2 ½ cups grated coconut, add water and extract 2 cups coconut milk

½ tsp cardamom powder

1/3 tsp dried ginger powder (optional)

1 tbsp kismis(raisins)

To season

1 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp broken cashews

A few curry leaves

1 tbsp coconut pieces (optional)

Instruction

-          Wash and clean the roasted green gram and soak in 2 ½ cups of water for 15 minutes. Pressure cook it for 8 minutes. Let it cool and then open.

-          Keep the jaggery with ½ cup water on medium flame.

When it dissolves totally, sieve it to remove any impurities and add it the cooked green gram.Let it simmer on low flame for about 8 minutes. Stir in between to avoid it sticking to the bottom of thevessel.

-          Meanwhile, cook the soaked sago on low flame, stirring in between for about 6 minutes when the pearls will turn partly transparent. Keep covered for ten minutes. 

Add this to the green gram jaggery mix along with kismis  and stir in.

-          After five minutes, add the coconut milk, cardamom powder, dried ginger powder and stir. 

Remove from flame after two minutes

-           Heat the ghee and add the curry leaves, cut coconut pieces and broken cashew nuts. 

When the cashews turn light brown, add the whole thing to the payasam. It is ready to be served.

Bengal Gram (Chana Dal) Halwa

This is an awesome sweet dish which is very easy to make.

Ingredients

1 cup Bengal gram (chana dal)

1 cup water

¾ cup sugar OR jaggery

½ cup grated coconut

½ tsp cardamom powder

1 tbsp cashew nuts

1 tbsp Kismis (raisins)

1 tsp ghee

Instruction

- Wash and soak chana dal for about 6 hours. Pressure cook with 1 cup water for 8 minutes. Cool and open.

- Heat a thick bottomed pan, put the cooked chana dal and sugar. It becomes watery now. Keep stirring on low flame.

- When it becomes thick, add grated coconut, cardamom powder, cashew nuts and kismis. Mix thoroughly and remove from fire.

- Smear a plate with ghee and pat down the halwa. When it cools down slightly, cut into pieces.

- Can be served immediately, or after refrigeration.   

Phirni

 

I tasted this awesome sweet dish in Libya in late 1980s when we went to a friend’s house on Eid. I just loved it, took the recipe from her, and it is a common item at home. This is prepared with rice, sugar and milk, just like the rice kheer is prepared. But phirni is made with broken rice, it is always served cold after refrigeration, and fried cashewnuts and kismis are not added.

Ingredients

Rice can be washed, dried, ground roughly and stored in air tight bottles to prepare phirni any time.

3 heaped tbsps of broken rice

6 cups milk

1 cup sugar

A few strands of saffron soaked in water

¼ tsp cardamom powder

A pinch of edible camphor (optional)

¼ tsp nutmeg powder (optional)

Instruction

-          Add ½ cup milk to the broken rice in a bowl and keep aside.

-          Bring the remaining milk to boil. When it boils, add the rice milk mixture to this and mix well.

-          Reduce the flame and keep stirring in between till the rice is cooked and it thickens, which takes about 15 minutes.

-          Now add sugar, mix well, keep on low ire, stirring in between till it thickens again ( another 10 minutes).

-          Add the cardamom powder, saffron, edible camphor, and nutmeg powder. Stir well and remove from fire.

-          Let it cool, then refrigerate and serve.

Bread pudding

 

Ingredients

6 slices of bread

Half litre milk

60 grams sugar

2 eggs

15 raisins

A pinch of nutmeg powder

Instructions

-       Cut bread into small pieces

-       Boil the milk and pour over bread, set aside for half hour.

-       Beat the eggs until creamy add to the bread milk mixture.

-       Add the sugar, nutmeg powder, raisins and mix well.

-       Pour the mixture into greased vessel and cover it.

-       Pour 2 cups of water in the pressure cooker and keep the covered vessel inside.

-       Close the lid and place the cooker on maximum heat.

-       Bring to full cooking pressure, reduce to medium heat and cook for 15 minutes. Allow the cooker to cool gradually.

-       Take out the vessel, invert it onto a plate.

-       Cut into pieces and serve. It can be refrigerated and served  cold also