Atte ka Halwa

Simple and easy to make dessert recipe using minimal ingredients...

ATTE KA HALWA (Wheat flour halwa)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Ghee - 1/2 cup

Water - 2 cups

Roasted cashews (in ghee) - a few

Roasted raisins(optional) - a few

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed pan. 

2. Simultaneously mix together sugar and water in a thick saucepan and bring to a boil on medium heat. Allow sugar to dissolve. We do not need any string consistency here. Once it comes to a boil, lower flame a little and let simmer.

3. Meanwhile, to the ghee, add the wheat flour and roast well. Keep stirring till the flour lets out a roasted aroma and starts to turn golden brown. 

4. Continue stirring till ghee starts to separate and it becomes a pasty mix.

5. Once the sugar syrup starts to bubble, carefully and gradually add it to the roasted flour, stirring alongside to ensure no lumps. 

6. Keep stirring till all the water is absorbed by the flour and it comes together and starts leaving the sides of the pan.

Remove and serve hot (or warm) garnished with roasted cashews or other dry fruits of choice.

Oats-Choco Toffee (Chikki)

Another healthy recipe, that's a great snack on the move for young and old alike...

CHOCO-OATS TOFFEE

Ingredients :
Melted dark chocolate - 2 tbsps
Jaggery - 1 cup
Clarified butter / ghee - 1 tbsp
Toasted Sesame seeds - 2 tsps
Toasted, crushed Kelloggs Oats - 2 tbsps
Toasted, crushed mixed nuts - 1/4cup
Cinnamon / clove powder - a pinch (optional)

Method : 
1. Add ghee to a microwave-safe glass bowl and micro on high for 30 seconds or till ghee is melted.

2. Add the jaggery to the bowl and micro on high for 2 mins, remove stir once and micro for a minute more. You should see bubbles forming on the surface. Remove.

3. While the jaggery is still hot, add the mixed nuts, sesame seeds, oats and mix. Quickly add in the chocolate syrup, stirring all the while and finally the cinnamon/clove powder, if desired. If the mix starts to harden, micro for 30 seconds.

4. With the mix still runny, pour it onto a greased baking tray, steel plate or a silicone sheet, let set for a bit, then cut into desired shapes before the toffee or chikki hardens completely. Alternately one can pour the mix into mini chocolate moulds too as I have done. Let cool and harden.
Un-mould and store in air-tight containers in a cool place.

Mango Phirni

            The ninth and the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, Ramadan has begun. Here's a sweet treat with Mangoes, an all-time favourite, Mango Phirni. A simple dish that is rich, nourishing and can have many variations too...

MANGO PHIRNI 

Ingredients :
Cooked rice - 1 cup (Make sure to cook the rice with enough water so it can be mashed well)
Milk - 4 cups
Mango puree - 1 cup
Condensed milk - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, raisins) - roasted in ghee
Few Saffron strands, soaked in warm milk

Method :
1. Mash the rice while it's still hot and keep aside.
2. In a thick-bottomed pan, boil the milk till it reduces in quantity.
3. Stir in the mashed rice and whisk well to make sure there are no lumps. 
4. Now add the condensed milk, mango puree, dissolved saffron strands and cardamom powder and stir well, check for sweetness. 
5. Remove from the flame and let cool. Serve chilled or warm garnished with the roasted nuts.

Chocolate Cake with Jalebi Crust

Featured on http://www.chefajaychopra.com/chocolate-cake-on-jalebi-crust/                
         Love is in the air! Much heard, much said :) But my principle when it comes to food, as long as one can eat what makes them and their health happy, that for me is true love :)
               Wishing to create something more than just a layered dessert, I thought of using crisp Jalebi as the base for a soft cake. Easier decided than done as I had never tried making Jalebi in my life before. God bless the GITS company for this Jalebi mix with a free nozzle bottle as well!!
                I am not sure how a true dessert connoiseur would interpret this combination, but as a foodie, the layers of crisp, slightly warm jalebi, soft chocolate cake with whipped cream icing, and further topped off with more Jalebi and melted chocolate was "THE WOW" factor for me :) 
On to the recipe....

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH JALEBI CRUST

Ingredients :
For the cake : 
Refined flour / Maida - 1 cup (250 ml) 
Baking pwd -  1 tsp
Baking soda -  1/2 tsp
Salt a pinch
Butter - 60 gms
Pwd sugar - 90gms (3/4 cup)
Lukewarm Milk - 150 ml
Vanilla essence -  1/2 tsp

Other ingredients : 
Whipped cream
Instant Jalebi mix (Or one can follow any basic Jalebi recipe)
Sugar syrup for the Jalebis
Chocolate syrup

Method : 
1. For the cake, sieve together the dry ingredients into a clean bowl.
2. In another bowl, beat together butter & sugar. Fold in the sieved flour mixture. 

3. Finally add milk and vanilla essence and lightly mix, till you get a smooth cake batter.
4. Pour into a cake mould and bake @180 for 10 mins. (Since I use a combination microwave, I tend to bake at 200 deg C for about 4-5 minutes, followed by 4 more minutes at 170 deg C.) Remove and cool to room temperature.

5. Using a clean palette knife, apply whipped cream evenly over and around the cake or decorate as desired. Refrigerate till the jalebis are done.

5. Prepare Jalebis as per the instructions, dip for about 20-30 seconds in warm sugar syrup and keep aside. (Note : Try making jalebis in shapes similar to the cake wedges you will serve, for eg, a triangle or meshed square instead of the traditional round design)

6. Now for the assemling and serving... cut the cake into wedges. Place a jalebi on the serving plate. Keep the cake wedge on top of it. Garnish further as desired with more Jalebi pieces, cream and chocolate syrup!!!

Custard-Fruit Tart

             A fun tart that's sure to be an any-time favourite...

CUSTARD FRUIT TART

Ingredients : 
Biscuit base :
Crushed digestive biscuits - 125 gms
Unsalted softened Butter - 85 gms

Fruits layer :
Assorted fruits of choice (finely chopped) - I used Apples, blueberries, banana, plum, melon)
Sugar - 2 tbsps
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Clove powder (optional) - 1/4 tsp

Custard layer :
Milk - 1/2 litre
Custard powder (Vanilla flavour) - 2.5 tbsps
Sugar - 1.5 tbsps

Method : 

1. For the biscuit base, mix together the crushed (but not finely powdered) biscuits with softened butter till the butter is well incorporated. Spread evenly in a cake or tart tin and press firmly. Refrigerate until the remaining layers are prepared.

2. For the fruit layer, heat a non-stick pan and add the chopped fruits along with the sugar and let cook on low flame till sugar melts and maximum moisture from fruits evaporates. Sprinkle the cinnamon and clove powder, mix well and let simmer for a minute more. Remove and let cool.

3. Take out the biscuit base and spread the cooled fruits evenly over it, and shove it back into the refrigerator.

4. Finally, for the custard, add custard powder and 4 tbsps cool milk in a small bowl and mix leaving no lumps. Heat the remaining milk and sugar on low flame till it reaches a boil. Add in the custard-milk mix, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Stir till mixture starts to thicken. Remove from flame immediately and continue stirring. Cool for about 5-7 minutes.

5. Take out the biscuit base again and gently pour the custard over the fruits layer. Even out the surface and refrigerate again for about one hour or till set.
Cut into wedges, garnish with desired fruits and serve.

Chocolate Pineapple Mousse

        An all-time favourite and a simple to make dessert, mousse. Takes just a few ingredients and can be modified and improvised upon endlessly. 

CHOCOLATE PINEAPPLE MOUSSE

Ingredients : (Serves 4)

Dark cooking Chocolate (I used Amul's dark choc)  -  200 gms
Cream - 200 ml
Pineapple (chopped into small pieces) - 1/4 cup (you can use any fruit of your choice)
Chopped cashews - for garnishing

Method :

1. Chop the dark chocolate into small pieces and add to a heat-proof bowl. Add water in a saucepan and place the bowl with chocolate pieces over it. Make sure the bowl doesnt actually touch the water. Let simmer over low heat and stir occasionally as the chocolate starts to melt. When melted completely, remove and let cool to room temperature. 

2. Add chilled cream to a large bowl and whip using a hand blender till soft peaks form. Take care to not whip at a very high speed or for long else it will turn into butter. Fold in half the cream into the melted and cooled chocolate and refrigerate the remainder till further use. 



3. To assemble, place a dollop of cream at the bottom of the serving bowl. Drop in a few pineapple pieces. Now add a large spoonful of chocolate & cream mix. Add a few more chopped pineappale pieces and finally top off with a little more cream. Garnish with chopped cashews(optional) and leave in the fridge to set for about an hour. 
Serve chilled. 

**Notes :-
a) Chill the cream, bowl and the blades of the hand blender till you need them for whipping. 
b) If you find the cream consistency a bit runny, add a little icing sugar while blending. 

Choco-Flavoured Rava Laddu

An easy to make laddu using just a handful of ingredients, but taste - simply out of the world. This one is with the twist of a choco flavour.

CHOCO-FLAVOURED RAVA LADDU

Ingredients :

Semolina (rava) - 1 cup
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Cashews (broken into small bits) - 1/4 cup
Clarified butter (Ghee) - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsps (for frying cashews)
Cardamom (Elaichi) powder - 1/4 tsp
Cocoa powder - 1 tsp

Method :

1. Dry roast semolina till it lets out an aroma, but do not let it become brown. Transfer to a large plate and let cool to room temperature. Dry grind to a fine powder. Add the powdered sugar and pulse once to mix it well.

2. In a bowl, add the powdered mix. Add the elaichi and cocoa powder and mix well. 

3. Heat 2 tbsps ghee and roast the cashews till golden brown. Add to the rawa mix.

4. Heat the 1/4 cup ghee and pour over the mix. Mix well with a ladle, then using your hands mix again. Prepare laddus when the mix is still tolerably hot, if it cools down the laddus will not hold together.
Press the mixture firmly but gently into the palms of your hand and make into rounds. 
Store in an air-tight container. 

Simple Sooji Halwa

When we talk of Sooji halwa or Sheera, it immediately brings to mind the ghee-dripping semolina delicacy served piping hot with Pooris or on their own in stitched leaf bowls, or 'Donas' .
The South Indian variant that we make is called Rawa Kesari; known to get its name from the Kesar or saffron colour that gets added to the halwa. Also my mother tends to add the water and sugar at separate stages, allowing the sooji to cook first and then stir in the sugar.

Now the halwa in this recipe is as basic as it gets. The ultimate omnipresent sweet that is favoured in most festivals, temples, after-dinner dessert...the list is endless!! 

This goes in for the 5th FOODIE MONDAY BLOG HOP....yayyy, we are on to the 5th week now :) 


So here goes the recipe (credit : vegrecipesofindia.com)

SOOJI HALWA

Ingredients : (Serves 4)

Roasted Rawa/Sooji/Semolina - 1 cup
Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups
Sugar - 3/4 to 1 cup
Cashews - a few
Raisins - a few
Saffron strands
Cardamom/Elaichi powder - 1/2 tsp

Method :

1. Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed or non-stick pan. Now add the rawa and stir till ghee coats it evenly. Add the cashews and start roasting both the ingredients in the ghee till they start becoming golden brown and ghee gets fully absorbed. 
Note : Do this patiently on low flame, as we want the rawa to get cooked well without getting burnt.

2. Meanwhile, heat water along with sugar and let boil, only till sugar dissolves. Stir occasionally.

3. To the sooji pan, add raisins and cardamom powder and mix well. 

4. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the sugar syrup to the rawa and stir simultaneously. Mix well, so that the water gets absorbed and no lumps are formed. The mix will start to thicken and slowly reach the halwa consistency. 

When the mixture starts leaving the sides, remove from the flame and serve. 
Note : Some types of rawa might need more water to cook, so you will need to adjust accordingly.

Simple Carrot Kheer

                   A simple Carrot Kheer, colourful, delicious and very simple to make. Can be improvised upon and served as a porridge too by adding in some rolled oats, dry fruits, and so on...

CARROT KHEER

Ingredients :

Finely grated carrot (or roughly minced in a mixer) - 1 cup
Milk - 1 and 1/2 cups
Condensed Milk - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/ tsp
Roasted cashews (in ghee/clarified butter)- a few

Method :

1. Add the milk to a thick-bottomed saucepan along with the grated carrot. Cook on a low-medium flame, stirring gently and occasionally.

2. Once carrot is cooked, stir in the condensed milk and let simmer for 7-10 minutes more.

3. Remove from the flame, and add in the roasted cashews and cardamom powder. Serve hot or cold.

Blueberry-Paan Shrikhand

A dessert that doubles up as a mukhvaas ? Thought of experimenting with blueberries and paan(betel leaves) for a shrikhand, so it helps digestion too!! The result was delicious and wiped clean off the bowl :)

BLUEBERRY-PAAN SHRIKHAND

Ingredients : (3 servings)

Hung Curd - 1 cup or 200gms
Cream (not whipped) - 3 tbsps
Blueberries - 6 to 7
Paan leaves - 2
White sugar - 3 tbsps
Water - 3 tbsps

Method :

First, let's prepare the blueberry-paan crush....
1. Add the blueberries, sugar and water to a pan. Tear up 1 1/2 paan leaves and add to the pan. Finely chop the remaining half paan leaf, keep aside. 

2.Let simmer on medium heat. When the blueberries turn soft, mash them gently using a wooden spatula and stir. When the crush starts thickening remove from fire and let cool. Remember, as the presence of sugar causes the syrup to thicken further, do not leave on the fire for long.

3. Tip the hung curd into a bowl and whisk gently. Add the crush (keep little aside for garnishing) and stir in.
4. Finally add the cream and another gentle whisk.

5. Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with a little crush and the chopped paan leaves. Refrigerate for about an hour and serve chilled.

Brown Bread Pudding

Finding a breakfast recipe that is quick to assemble, prepare and of course, healthy is almost an everyday challenge for most of us. A safe and popular bet is to go the Continental way with cereals, bread, eggs and fruits, though Indian food lovers would argue otherwise - but hey! Another debate for another day :)

This morning I was inspired by a pudding recipe shown on TV once, using bread, milk and fruits. Modified it a bit with what I had available and was really pleased with the delicious result - and it was wiped clean off the plates in 5 minutes :)

BROWN BREAD BREAKFAST PUDDING

Ingredients : (Serves 3)

Brown bread slices - 4 (Trim the sides if the baking dish is narrow, but do not discard)

Ripe bananas - 3

Milk - 1/2 cup

Condensed milk - 1/4 cup

Muesli / Cereals - 1/4 cup

Raisins - a few

Sliced almonds - a few

Honey - 2 tbsps

Method : 

1. In a mixer blend the bananas, milk and condensed milk, leaving no lumps.

2. In a bowl, mix the honey, some of the raisins and almond slices along with the cereals of choice.

2. In a baking dish, arrange 2 of the trimmed bread slices and pour a ladle-ful of the milk mix coating the slices evenly. It is optional to arrange fruits over this if you desire. (The more the merrier :) ) Arrange the trimmed bread edges along the sides as well.

3. Place the remaining 2 slices and again cover with the rest of the milk sauce. Top off with the honey-cereals mixture and sprinkle some more cereals over the top if you like the crust to be crunchy.

4. Bake in a microwave oven @ 170-180 deg C for 8-10 minutes.

Remove, cool for about 3-4 minutes, cut and serve as desired.

Brown Bread Rasmalai

What's life without a sweet touch. Desserts are an integral part of our diet, well..whether or not we are on a diet!! Even if we are, we tend to find shortcuts and supplements to convince our calorie meters !!!
I have always wanted to try out Bengali sweets at home, but yet to break bread with one...However, when I chanced upon this simple to make Rasmalai recipe on TV, albeit with a twist, I knew this was my near breakthrough. Though the recipe calls for plain white bread, I tried it with brown bread just to see how different it would turn out (and because that's what I had at home!!). Must say that the results were quite pleasing and I am not that easily pleased :)
Original recipe courtesy : http://www.zeekhanakhazana.com/recipes/bread-rasmalai.html


                                                         BROWN BREAD RASMALAI

Ingredients :

Brown bread slices - 7 to 8
Almond powder - 1/2 cup
Milk - 3 to 4 tbsps + 1 1/2 cups
Condensed Milk - 2 1/2 tbsps
Saffron strands - a few
Almond flakes - for garnishing

Method :

1. Trim the edges of the bread slices and blend to a powder in a mixer.

2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the almond powder and 3 to 4 tbsps milk. Mix gently. Take small portions of this mix in hand and make medium sized rasmalais. Keep aside.

3. Heat a pan and add 1 1/2 cups milk along with the saffron strands. Simmer on low to medium heat. After about 7-8 minutes, stir in the condensed milk and keep stirring till slightly thicker. Remove and let cool.

4. Just before serving, arrange the bread rasmalais on a serving plate or bowl and gently pour the milk syrup on top. Decorate with almond flakes and serve. (Best served chilled).

Motichoor Laddoo with Ice Cream

Motichoor laddoo is one Indian sweet that I never ever tire of. I haven't tried them in sweet shops all over Delhi, but among those that I have, the one at Bansal's in Pitampura wins hands down.
Needless to say, sweet boxes pile up at home during the festive season and there is only so much that we can gorge...but there are always ways to pair them up in interesting and innovating ways...
Here's one such idea.


                             FUSION MITHAI - MOTICHOOR LADDOO with ICE CREAM

Ingredients : 

Motichoor laddoo - 1 per cup being served
Ice cream - vanilla ice cream goes best with any Indian mithai, but here I used a combination of Vanilla, Chocolate and Butter-scotch

Method : 

1. Place the motichoor laddoos on a microwave safe dish and micro for just 30 seconds.
2. Add a scoop each of the ice creams to the serving bowl.
3. Gently place the laddoo on top of the ice cream scoops and crush lightly.
4. Garnish with desired dry fruits and serve.
Note : The trick is to keep the laddoos bearably hot in contrast with the coldness of the ice cream !!

Sweet Corn-Poha Halwa

During the festive season, people take immense pleasure and pride in coming up with innovative dishes as offerings for the deities and generally spreading the cheer around them.
My mother's latest experiment in her kitchen this Navrathri.....


                                                   SWEET CORN POHA HALWA

Ingredients :

Sweet Corn - 2 cups
Grated Jaggery (Gud) - 3/4 cup
Flattened Poha (medium thick variety) - 1 cup
Fresh grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1 1/2 tbsps
Elachi powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee-Roasted Badam, cashews - for garnishing

Method :

1. Wash poha once and drain. Leave aside, without adding any water for 10 minutes.

2. Boil the sweet corn till tender.

3. Heat a pan and add the jaggery to it. Sprinkle just a little water to allow it to melt. Let simmer on medium heat, stir occasionally.
The melted jaggery consistency should be such that if you put a drop of it in water, it should not spread, and you should be able to roll it easily.

4. Once this consistency is achieved, lower the heat and add the grated coconut, stirring simultaneously. Add ghee and stir again.

5. Add the poha and mix, let cook for 2 minutes. Now add the corn and stir. Let cook on slow heat for 2-3 more minutes.

6. Finally add the elaichi powder and roasted badam + cashews. Remove from heat and let cool.
Serve warm.

Okkaarai / Ukkarai

A well-known sweet dish down south, especially prepared for Diwali in several places. It's quite easy to prepare and tastes absolutely marvelous.

Ukkaarai or Okkaarai is a traditional sweet that is associated with Diwali in most homes in Tamil Nadu.
It's a simple fare prepared with Bengal gram and jaggery, with cardamom enhancing its richness.

OKKAARAI / UKKARAI

Ingredients :

Chana dal - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1.5 cups
Ghee - 2 tbsps
Cardamom (elaichi) pwd - 1/2 tsp
Chopped cashews for garnishing

Method :

1. Heat a kadhai, dry roast chana dal in it just till you start getting an aroma. Remove from fire. and soak in enough water for 1/2 hour.

2. Drain water and wrap the dal in a muslin cloth. Steam cook for about 15-20 mins in a cooker. Remove from fire and cool

3. Grind the steam-cooked dal in a mixer just to break it down into morsels. Do not grind too finely.

4. Melt jaggery in a thick-bottomed panusing just 1/4 cup water. Boil till a pearl consistency, i.e, if you place a drop of the syrup in a bowl of water, you should be able to roll the syrup into a ball, it should not dissolve or be stretchy.

5. Add the broken dal to the jaggery syrup aong with elaichi powder and broken cashewnuts. Stir well and serve as desired.
Tastes best when served slightly warm.

Milk Burfi/Cake

 This is a simple and mouth-watering burfi that my mother has been preparing for every Diwali till date. Here how it is made :

MILK BURFI

Ingredients :

Besan (gram/chickpea flour) - 1 cup
Milk powder - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2.5 cups
Ghee (Clarified Butter) - 1.5 cups
Water - 1 cup

Method :

1. Heat ghee lightly in a pan. Remove from fire.

2. Now add the gram flour (besan) and stir well ensuring no lumps are formed. Let cool.

3. When cool, add the milk powder and stir well. Keep aside

4. Now let's prepare the sugar syrup. Add the sugar to 1 cup water and boil. The consistency should be such that a pearl can be formed when a drop is spilled on a flat surface. In other words, the syrup should not be in a fluid state when dropped on to a flat surface.

5. Once you reach this consistency, reduce the flame and add the flour mix. Stir well till the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from fire.

6. Pour into a greased tray and let cool, not too much but just about hard which makes it easier to cut. 
Cut into desired shapes and serve.