Almond/Badam Kheer and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!!!

I prepared this yummy kheer for my children today. Both were waiting eagerly during the photography session. Watching them rush and gulp  it down made me happy. Only one ladle of kheer is left for my hubby :)

Oh, and wish you lovely readers a very happy and prosperous new year.

Ingredients:
Almonds/Badam - 1/2 cup
Milk - 500 ml (Amul full cream)
Sugar - 1/2 cup (or as per taste)
Saffron strands - a pinch
Cardamom powder - a pinch (optional)
Warm milk - 1/2 cup (for grinding almonds)
Warm milk - 2 tbsp. (for soaking saffron strands)

For garnishing:
Saffron strands - few
Almonds (slivered) - few


Method:

Cover and soak almonds in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes.

Soak saffron in warm milk. Keep aside.

Pour the milk in a pan and bring it to boil.

Once the milk continues to boil, stir the milk. This is to avoid burning of the milk.

Meanwhile peel the skin of the almonds by pressing at the tip of the almonds.

Add the blanched almonds in the blending jar.

Grind them into a coarse or soft paste by adding half a cup of warm milk little by little.

When the milk becomes thick,....

..........Add the sugar and mix well.

Now pour the ground almond paste and mix well. Cook them for 5 to 6 minutes by stirring continuously.

Now add the saffron milk and cardamom powder. Mix well (Those black spots are cardamom seeds)

Pour the kheer in a serving bowl and garnish with saffron strands and slivered almonds. Serve hot in the cold weather and cold in the hot weather.

P.S. The photos during cooking were taken under different lighting conditions in some step-by-step photos.

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Aval Payasam

A very simple and easy payasam. I didn't add any water instead I cooked poha with milk. Due to fog, I couldn't get clear shots.

Ingredients:
Aval/poha/red beaten rice - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 and a 1/2 cup (Amul toned - 2% fat)
Sugar (granulated) - 1/3 cup (or as per taste)
Cardamom powder -  a pinch
Cashew nuts - 12
Raisins - 10
Ghee - 1/2 tsp.

Method:

Pour the milk in a pan and keep it on low flame.


 

Bring the milk to boil. Stir. Continue till the milk is reduced to 2 cups. Remove from flame and pour it into another bowl.

 

Meanwhile wash the poha in a strainer. Keep aside.

 

 

Melt the ghee in a pan.

 

 

Add the cashews and start roasting.

 

 

 

When the cashews are half-roasted, add the raisins and continue frying.

 

 

 

When the raisins become puffed up and cashews roasted, remove and keep them on a plate.

 

 

I cleaned the milk pan and placed it on stove in low flame. Strain the milk and pour it into the pan.

 

 

 

Add the poha and mix. Cook it for 5 minutes. Once they become soft, add the sugar and mix well. Bring it to boil.

 

 

Add the roasted cashews and raisins. Mix.

 

Add the cardamom powder and mix. Remove from heat and serve hot or cold.

 

 

 

 

 

Note: As I have used thin poha, I didn't soak them in water. Washing was enough to make them soft.

When the payasam gets cold, the poha will absorb the milk and the payasam becomes thick.

 

 

 

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Rava Sakkarai Pongal/Semolina Sweet Pongal

Sweet pongals are prepared during festivals and offered as neivedyams to  god or goddess. Sweet pongal is also offered as prasadams in temples. It is prepared during special occasions in families such as a reunion with a favourite relative. Traditionally pongals are prepared with raw rice, moong dal and jaggery. These days we get a lot of grains easily in the markets. In my house, pongal is prepared with these. Of course, they do contribute to the overall nutrition. Today, I prepared with rava/semolina/sooji. Usually whenever I buy rava , I dry roast it and then cool and store it in an air tight container. I use them within 1-2 weeks. For this pongal, I roasted the rava with ghee to get an enhanced flavour.

Ingredients:
Rava - 1 cup
Yellow moong dal - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup (powdered) or as per taste
Whole cashewnuts - 10
Raisin - 12
Ghee - 1 tsp. + 3 tsp(heaped).
Green cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp.
Hot water - 2 cups

Method:
Dry roast the moong dal and wash them. Pour enough water and cook them till they become mushy. Keep aside.
Add a little water to the powdered jaggery and melt. Bring the jaggery syrup to a boil and strain away the impurities. Keep aside.
Heat 1 tsp. of ghee. Split the cashews and roast till they turn golden brown colour. Then add the raisins and when they puff up, remove and keep them on a plate or in a bowl.
In the same kadai or pan, add the rava and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Pour the hot water and cook the rava without forming lumps. Now add the cooked dal and mix. Meanwhile in another burner, again boil the jaggery till you get a lot of foam. Pour this syrup carefully to rava and incorporate.
At this stage, lots of lumps are formed. Break them and mix simultaneously. Add the remaining ghee. Add the roasted cashews, raisins and cardamom powder. Remove from heat.

Note:
Saffron strands, a pinch of nutmeg powder, a very small pinch of edible camphor, grated coconut or flakes can also be added to this pongal.

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Coconut Burfi Version 2.0

Cooking time: 5-7 minutes
Serving: 1 byte per person.


Ingredients:
Firmly packed grated coconut - 2 cups
Sugar - 1.5 cups or (as per taste)
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp.
Ghee - 2 tsp.
Food color - a few drops


Method:
Grind the grated coconut in a blender without adding water (optional).
Add the coconut and sugar in a wide, thick-bottomed non-stick pan and begin sauting in medium-low flame.
When the sugar melts (leaves water), add the food colour and saute.
After a minute, mix in the cardamom powder and ghee.
When the coconut begins leaving the sides of the pan and white bubbles appear, remove and spread in a ghee-greased pan.
After 15 minutes, make an incision to form a shape.
Let it cool and cut.
Enjoy.

Note:
I divided the ingredients into halves. In one pan, I was sauting (with colour) and my mother was preparing with no colour simultaneously.
When the right consistency was achieved, I first spread the white portion in the cake tray and then spread the pink portion over the white one.

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Green Gram Laddu

Ingredients:
Green gram - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Warm ghee

Method:
Dry roast the green gram till it changes colour and a nice aroma arises. Let it cool and powder it.
Powder the sugar as well. In a bowl, mix both the powders. Pour the required warm ghee and mix.
Make the balls and enjoy!

Sent off to "CWS-Moong Beans" event.

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Ashoka/Asoka Halwa

Quite famous in Thanjavur/Tanjore, which is frequently served in weddings and other special occasions.

Ingredients:
Moong dal - 100 gm
Wheat flour - 100 gm
Maida/APF - 50 gm
Sugar - 400 gm or as per taste
Warm milk - 2 tbsp.
Saffron strands - a pinch
Saffron food colour - 1 tsp.
Roasted cashewnuts - 20
Roasted raisins - 15
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp.
Ghee - 1 cup + 3 tbsp.

Preparation:

Dry roast the dal in a kadai till it releases a nice aroma. Let it cool. Wash the dal and soak for 20 minutes. Boil the dal in an adequate amount of water till they become mushy.

While the dal is getting cooked, add saffron strands and saffron colour to the warm milk. Mix them & keep aside.

 Meanwhile, mash the dal immediately when they are mushy enough. Dissolve the sugar with the dal.

Mix the coloured milk with the dal and sugar mixture. Keep aside.

Heat 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp. of ghee and add the wheat flour and maida. Mix them with ghee without any lumps. Stir continuously without burning till the mixture is turned into golden color in low flame.

Once the colour changes into golden, add the moong dal mixture and begin stirring. When the halwa becomes thick, mix the roasted nuts, raisins & cardamom powder.

Now start adding the remaining 1/2 cup of ghee little by little with continuous stirring. When the halwa leaves the sides of the pan and releases ghee, pour it in the ghee greased vessel and spread them evenly. Serve warm.

Note:

After cooking the dal, discard the excess amount of water (if any).

Halwa can be kept at room temperature for 8 hours after cooling. Refrigerate them after 8 hours.

Adapted from a recipe book

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Rava Ladoo

Ingredients:
Rava/Sooji - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Warm ghee (as required)
Cashewnuts - 10
Raisins - 12
Cardamom powder - 2 pinches
Warm milk (to sprinkle)

Method:
Dry roast the rava in low-flame till a nice aroma wafts without burning. Let it cool and powder it.
Then powder the sugar.
Fry the cashews and raisins till they're changed to golden colour.
In a hollow plate, add the powdered rava, sugar, cashews, raisins and cardamon powder and mix.
Now add ghee little by little and continue mixing. Make balls of equal size out of this mixture.
If the mixture becomes dry while making balls, sprinkle some warm milk and continue making them.
Enjoy or store them in airtight container.

Note:
If you add too much milk instead of ghee, consume the ladoos within 2 to 3 days.

Tip:
Dry roast 3 tbsp. of cardamom for 4 to 5 minutes. Let it cool. Then powder them with a little sugar. Store the powder for future use. This can be done during festive seasons. Store it in a small container. Use within 3 weeks.

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Coconut & Pistachio Laddu

Ingredients:
Coconut (grated) - 1 cup
Pistachio - 1 cup
Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can (400gm)
Cardamom powder - 2 pinches
Green food colour - few drops

Method:
Powder the pistachios and keep aside.
Bring the condensed milk to a boil.
Mix the grated coconut, pistachio powder, cardamom powder and food colour in the condensed milk.
When it leaves the sides of the pan, remove from heat.
Make equally-sized balls when warm.
Enjoy!

Note:
To avoid stickiness while preparing balls, apply ghee on the palms.

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Litchi Payesh/Payasam/Kheer

Ingredients:
Full cream milk - 1 Litre
Litchis - 20 to 22
Sugar - 4 to 5 tbsp. (or as per taste)
Cardamom/elaichi powder - 1/2 tsp.

For sugar syrup:
Sugar - 2 tbsp.
Water - 1 cup

To garnish:
Chopped pistachios or any nuts

Method:
Heat the milk in a heavy-bottomed pan and reduce the amount to half (stir continuously so as to avoid burning).
When reduced to half, add sugar (to taste) and cardamom powder and stir.
Remove from heat and cool.
Meanwhile peel the litchis and remove the seeds.
Heat 1 cup of water and add 2 tbsp. of sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring it to a boil.
Boil for 5 to 6 minutes. Now add the litchis and cook for 4 minutes on low flame.
Remove from heat. Drain out the litchis from the sugar syrup and drop them in the milk.
Mix. Keep in fridge and serve chilled. Before serving, garnish with nuts and serve.
R.C.

Note:
If the layer cream on the top of the milk appears, remove them while cooling.
Sent off to "Flavours of Bengal" hosted by Priya and started by Nayna.

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Semiya Payasam

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Ingredients:
Semiya - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 cup (boiled)
Sugar - 1/2 to 3/4 cup (or as per taste)
Ghee - 3/4 tsp.
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp.
Cashew nut - 8
Raisins (golden) - 10
Pistachios - few

Method:
Melt 1/4 tsp. of ghee and fry the semiya till golden color.
Pour 1.5 to 1.75 cups of hot water. Cook the semiya till they turn soft.
Meanwhile roast the cashews and raisins till they turn golden in colour in the remaining ghee. Keep aside.
Add sugar and let it dissolve in the semiya.
Pour milk and stir. Cook for 2-4 minutes.
Sprinkle cardamom powder, cashews, raisins and pistachios.
Serve hot or cold.
Enjoy.

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Patishapta

This is one of the sweet delicacies of Bengali cuisine. You can check up the info about this sweet in the following sites.
1. A Homemaker's Diary
2. Bong Mom's Cookbook

I'm not in the mood to write an intro. Anyways, this is my H's colleague's wife's recipe. A lot of tips came from her typings. I made some tweaks for our finicky taste buds.

Ingredients:
Maida/APF - 1/2 cup
Rice flour - 1/3 cup
Suji -1/3 cup
Sugar - 1 tbsp.
Green cardamom powder - 2 pinches
Milk

For coconut filling:
Sweetened condensed milk
Grated coconut
Cardamom powder- 2 pinches
Nuts - chopped
Raisins - few

For Garnishing (and to enhance more taste):
Condensed milk and chopped nuts

Method:
For crêpes:
In a bowl mix maida, suji, rice flour and green cardamom powder. Pour milk to turn the mixture into a dosa batter without any lumps. Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile mix equal quantity of condensed milk and coconut in a pan.
Stir till it reaches a soft moist mass consistency. In between, add the nuts, raisins and cardamom powder. Keep aside.
In the batter, add the sugar and mix well.
In a tawa, spread a small ladleful of batter and drizzle ghee on the sides. When they turn golden colour in the base (if you want you can flip and cook for 30 seconds on other side), place the coconut stuffing in the centre in lengthwise. Fold on both sides with one side overlapping the other. Place them on the plate and pour or drizzle condensed milk with nuts.
Continue with remaining batter.
Enjoy hot or cold.

Note:
For crêpes:
Spread the batter as thin as possible.
After preparing a crêpe, sprinkle little water to reduce the heat of the tawa. Stay safe. Oil or ghee on a heating tawa will give bursts if there is moisture. Now you can spread the batter easily. Continue this process with each crêpe.

For filling:
Variations:
For khoya filling - add some milk and sugar to the khoya and simmer it on heat till it achieves a thick consistency.
For coconut filling - simmer grated coconut with sugar on heat and keep mixing it till it comes to a sticky consistency.

Sent off to "Flavours of Bengal" hosted by Priya and started by Nayna.

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