Christmas Cookies

Christmas is the best time of the year as we can sit and enjoy the cold weather with your family. And its fun to make and bake cookies for Santa. This year my son also joined me and he created his own version of cookies. Its lots of fun and family time.

 

I got this version of cookie from HowtoCookThat.com. I used orange food color instead of red and skipped the sprinkles part. I used reduced butter and less sugar. While baking I got the idea of candy canes and the kids liked it so much. Here comes the recipe.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 4 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Softened Butter - 1/2 stick
2 eggs
vanilla extract - 1 tbsp.
Food color
Sprinkles - I skipped this

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. To this add the eggs and mix very well.
3. Sieve the flour in another big bowl and add the sugar, egg mixture to this. Mix this well and knead it to a nice dough
4. Cut the dough into two halves.

5. Add the food color to one part keeping the other aside. Mix the food color thoroughly and make sure that all the dough is evenly colored

6. Now cut the white dough and red dough into three parts. Now you'll be having 3 parts of white dough and 3 parts red dough.


Spiral cookies:

1. Take one part of the white dough and roll it flat on a parchment paper to 1/2 inch size. Cut the corners to make it as a rectangle.
2. Same way roll the red dough to a rectangle of the same size as the white one.
3. Gently take the flattened red dough and place it on top of white one.

4. Roll both the rectangles together from one end to the other end. Try to roll it tightly so we won't get any holes in the middle.

5. You could see the spirals on the ends. Place this in a butter/parchment paper and freeze for 30 mins

6. Take the dough from the freezer and cut into 1/2 inch size circles. Adjust the shape to make perfect circles. Arrange them in a butter sprayed baking tray refrigerate for few minutes.
7. After 5 minutes bake them in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until the corners turn light brown.
8. Cool them and enjoy.

Flower cookies:

1. Take one part of the white dough and red dough and roll them as logs of same size. Keep this covered in a butter/parchment paper and freeze them for 30 mins
2. After 30 mins, take the white dough and cut the log into half lengthwise. Cut each half into four quarters of equal size, lengthwise. I didn't got this right and so my cookies doesn't actually look like flowers.
3. Do the same way for the red dough. Now you have 8 sticks of white dough and 8 of red dough

4. Now alternate the red and white dough to make a log of mixed colors. You'll be using 4 white and 4 red. Try to align the centers while arranging . If your sticks are cut properly, then they'll touch the center. Gently press the log well to make sure that there are no gaps in between. Roll this in a butter/parchment paper and freeze for 30 mins

5. Do the same way for the other 8 sticks and freeze them

6. Take the dough from the freezer and cut into 1/2 inch size circles. Adjust the shape to make perfect circles. Arrange them in a butter sprayed baking tray refrigerate for few minutes.
7. After 5 minutes bake them in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until the corners turn light brown.
8. Cool them and enjoy.

Candy cane cookies:

1. Take one small ball of the white dough and roll it to a thin straw and about half the size of a straw.
2. Make a similar one with the red dough of the same size

3. Keep the red and white together and gently roll them. Then twist them and shape like candy canes
4. Arrange them in a butter sprayed baking tray refrigerate for few minutes.

5. After 5 minutes bake them in 350F oven for 12 minutes or until the corners turn light brown.
6. Cool them and enjoy.

If you have any dough left out, make your own creation like how my family did. Merry Christmas!!!

Valentine's Day cookies

These simple sugar cookies are sure to steal the heart of your loved ones............

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:
 

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups

Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Butter - 2 tbsp.

Food color - optional



 

 

Method:

 

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.

 

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour (or overnight) or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) Cut out shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking

 

Bake them for 12 - 15 minutes. Timings will vary for the oven. So always keep an eye as it will burn out easily. I decorated one batch of my cookies with food coloring. (I simply mixed sugar and food color and kept on top of the cookies). There are so many frostings available on market. You may try some of those to make your cookies more colorful..



My First Doughnut

It was my wedding anniversary a few days back. When I came across the recipe of Doughnuts, I've saved it for this occasion as we don't make desserts that often. And I did tried the basic sugar glazed doughnuts for the special day and we all liked it. Though it was not as good as the store bought fresh ones, it was close to it. And also I got the satisfaction of making it on my own. Next time I would love to try the different versions.

And I had some excess dough, which I don't want to fry and keep (as doughnuts loose their taste the next day), I made some naans with that, and they were really fabulous - super soft than my regular ones.. So its a two in one dough. Cool isn't it? So here comes the recipe.

Recipe Source: Vahrehvah

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 2 cups
Egg - 1
Milk - 70 ml
Water - 70 ml
Active dry yeast - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Butter - 1/8 of a stick

For coating:
Powdered sugar and cinnamon powder

Method:

Take a bowl add sugar, dry east, water, milk, salt, egg, mix it till the sugar melts,

Then add all purpose flour, mix it well make in to a dough and kneading for 5 to 7 minutes and add butter again kneading for 3 minutes and rest it for 30 minutes in a warm place, after 30 minutes give knock back and again rest for 30minutes.

Take the dough and with help of rolling pin roll it into ½ inch sheet and cut the doughnuts with doughnut cutter, transfer in to the tray, then rest for 10 to 15 minutes to rise.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the doughnuts in a slow flame till brown in color, take in a serving plate and sprinkle some casting sugar along with cinnamon on it.

Tips:
More kneading helps in a better soft dough and nice fluffy doughnuts

To cut the doughnuts, first cut the outer circle and remove them. Then cut the inner circle.

For frying, keep the flame very low. Don't overcrowd the doughnuts, as they will rise in the oil. Give some space.

Pumpkin cake

Pumpkin desserts are especially popular during the fall and winter months. Of course, pumpkin pie is America's favorite pumpkin dessert, but this lovely orange colored Pumpkin Cake, is sure to please. I made it with home made pumpkin puree. You can always go for store brought cans to make this delightful desert for a sweet surprise.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups (270 grams) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (240 ml) fresh or canned pure pumpkin (about 1/2 of a 15 ounce can)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (200 grams) sifted all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350F

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes for an electric mixer). 
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin batter.

Pour the batter into the greased pans.  Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then invert and remove the cakes from their pans

Alternatively you can fill this batter in cupcake pans to make pumpkin cupcakes.

Enjoy the lovely desert with your family and friends.

Badusha

 
Its Diwali and the perfect time for sweets. This time I had Badusha in my sweet list and I got so inspired by looking at the pictures at Raks Kitchen. Also last year my friend made this and my husband  liked it so much and so I wanted to give it a try this time. Its quite easy but have to take care of certain steps. I cudn't make it as exactly in raks kitchen but had tried out my best. I think I should have added little more water to knead and because of less water some of my badushas changed shape while frying. And also it absorbed too much of sugar. But the inside tasted good and flaky and the sugar was okay for my family as we love sugars. I tried to make the doughnut shape instead of curving the corners. But I would like to do that one sometime soon.

Ingredients:

Maida/All purpose flour - 1 & 1/2 cups
Butter+oil - 1/4 cup+1/8 cup
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Curd - 1& 1/2 tsp
Cooking soda/sodium bi carbonate - 2 pinches
Water - 1/4 cup (approx.)
Oil - for deep frying

For Syrup:
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water- just to immerse the sugar
Elachi powder - 2 pinches
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Procedure:

Melt butter and add oil,sugar,curd and baking soda to it and use a whisk to mix well,to make it almost frothy.Add the flour to it.

Mix well to make it crumbly. Add water to make it dough,please be careful when adding,the 1/4 cup is what I used,it was just right,still you adjust accordingly. Make it to a smooth dough without any lumps

Keep on kneading for sometime to get a smooth dough..may be 10 mins,I made 11 small lemon sized balls out of it. You can adjust the size accordingly. 

Now take a ball and pinch the edges and fold it inwards to make rims decoratively as shown in the picture.  Repeat to finish everything and keep covered.

Meanwhile add sugar to a pan and just add water to immerse it and boil till one string consistency ,i.e; if you pour in little water,it should not dissolve and it should lay a fine thread. Add saffron,elachi if desired and squeeze the lemon juice lastly. Heat oil just enough,check it by adding a pinch of batter,if it rises immediately,then its just right. Dont let the oil fume at any point.

Add some five badushas,we prepared ,carefully in to the oil. Remove from fire and let it get cooked in the pre heated oil. Approximately it wud take 5 mins.

At  one stage the badushas float, then again keep the kadai on fire and cook in medium-low flame,adjust heat at the end to make it golden brown,for me it took around 5-8 mins.

Drain in a paper towel and immediately add to the hot sugar syrup,to cover the badusha ,I did this in batches 2-3 at a time.  Leave for a minute and then drain the badushas to a greased surface

After it cools down,the sugar syrup should have turned non sticky,transfer to an clean container. 

Have a colorful Diwali!!!


Points to note:

Knead the dough to a dough consistency. This helps in avoiding it becoming too porous as it excess absorbs oil and sugar syrup.

Sugar syrup should be of one string consistency

Drain the badushas on paper towel before dropping in the sugar syrup. This avoids the sugar syrup getting too oily.


Am sending this recipe for the Navartri - Diwali event happening at Simply food and Festive food at Cuisine Delights.

Puran Poli

I am always a fan of stuffed parathas. And I do have a sweet tooth too. So how about a sweet stuffed paratha. And thats nothing else then Poli also popularly known as Puran poli. This is a mouthwatering desert and its quite easy to prepare too. I got this recipe from Vahrehvah and its quite simple. All you have make sure is having a soft dough and the result comes amazing. Enjoy your next festival/occasion with this delicious polis.

Ingredients

Stuffing
Chanadal cooked - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Outer layer

Maida - 1 1/2 cups
Sooji - 1 tsp
Rice flour - 1 tsp
salt - pinch
oil/melted butter - 1 tbsp


Procedure:

Pressure cook/boil the chana dal. Drain all the water and let it get dry. After some time grind it to a powder consistency.

Heat the powdered chana dal and add jaggery to it. The jaggery will melt and get mixed well with the dal. Cook till it thickens to make balls out of it. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Make small balls of it and keep it aside.

Now mix all of the ingredients mentioned for outer layer and mix well. Add some water and knead to a very soft dough  (It should be really soft)

Make balls of the dough and the size should little than the stuffing balls.

Take a plastic sheet and grease with oil. Slightly press the dough and keep the stuffing inside. cover it with the dough by pulling along the corners. Gently press it with your hand evenly around and flatten it as you can.

Heat a tawa and cook these polis with little ghee until u see brown spots on both sides.

Enjoy the delicious polis with your family.

Am linking this post to Taste of Tropics - Authentic Indian Platter happening at EzCookbook.

Kalakand / Paalgova

Paalgova as it is called in my native place is a milk sweet. The one available at the "Aavin" milk booths are most famous. It usually comes in bowls/tins and doesn't have any shape (just like kesari). Recently I had a similar sweet in my friends house and got to know its name as "Kalakand:. It was shaped square with some nuts garnished on top. She told its simple to make this with Ricota chesse and condensed milk.

I browsed for the recipes and used the one I found in Show-Me-the-curry. I made this for Krishna-Jayanthi and it was super simple and tastes fabulous. I did it in microwave and you can do it stovetop too by keep on mixing over medium heat. And most important, it takes just one bowl to make and you don't have much cleaning.  Just try it out wen u have a chance.

Ingredients:
Ricotta Cheese – 15 oz
Condensed Milk – 14 oz
Rose Water – 1/4 – 1/2 tsp (or 2-3 drops of Rose Essence)
Cardamom Powder – 1/4 tsp
Chopped Pistachios – 1/2 tbsp
Chopped almonds – 1/2 tbsp
Yellow food color - a pinch (optional)

Method:
1. In a microwave bowl, mix the Ricotta Cheese and the Condensed Milk well. Mash down all the lumps with a help of a whisk.
2. Cook in the microwave for 5 minutes uncovered. Take out and mix well. Make sure that you loosen the edges.
3. Back in the microwave 3 more minutes, uncovered. Take out and mix.
4. Microwave for 2 minutes, covered. Take out and mix.
5. Microwave for 2 minutes,cross covered, take out and mix.
6. Add the yellow food color, mix well and microwave for another 6 minutes, uncovered taking out and stirring every 2 minutes.
7. It is ready when it reaches a granule consistency but still sticky and together. you can make a ball together at this stage. Mix well then.
8. Add in the Powdered Cardamom and Rose Syrup/Rose Essence and mix well again.
9. Grease a square and rectangle bowl and transfer this mixture to that. Press down and flatten the mixture.
10. Sprinkle chopped Pistachios and Almonds on top and press them down to help them
stick.
11. Cover and allow to set either in the refrigerator for an hour or on the counter-
top for a few hours.
12. Cut into desired shape and serve

Linking this recipe to South Indian Cooking happening @ Anu's Healthy Kitchen.

Strawberry Banana Popsicle

I got a new popsicle mould and am on the process of experimentting new varieties. I tried some fruit versions to include healthy bit for these cold treats. I tried a blend of strawberry and banana. Basically you can add any smoothies to this and freeze them to get your favorite popsicles. This give a lovely color and great taste. This is very inviting for kids and you can happy about doing home-made popsicles.

Ingredients:
Strawberry - 10
Banana - 1
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

Blend the strawberries smoothly. To this add half cup of milk and 1 1/2 tbsp of sugar. Strain this after blending well. If needed add more sugar.

Pour this in the popsicle moulds for 1/3rd. Keep this covered in freezer for 1 hr.

In the meantime blend the bananas smoothly with sugar and half cup of milk. Blend this and strain to remove any solid parts/seeds.

After 1 hr the strawberry flavor will be half set but not watery. Now add the banana mix on top for another 1/3 portion. Keep this covered in freezer for another 1/2 hour.

I added more milk in the strawberry blend for the last part. This gave me a pink color. After 1/2 hour fill the moulds with the remaining strawberry blend. Now keep the popsicle sticks and press them slightly hard to push it till the end. Freeze this for 2 more hours.

Yummy strawberry banana popsicles are ready for kids.

Carrot Halwa

A simple and healthy treat. Great for any occasions. The color of this halwa is the most tempting part. How much I eat this, I will always need somemore extra at the last bite. Try out sure and u'll love it.

There are recipes which use condensed milk instead of milk and sugar. I've never it but this sure is delicious. To speed up the process, u can pressure cook the carrots too. But the grated texture of carrots will get mashed up in that procedure.

Ingredients:

Juicy orange carrots, grated - 3 cups
Water - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/2 litre
sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cashews - 1 tbsp
Raisins - 1 tbsp
elaichi powder (cardomon) - 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

Heat Ghee in a pan and roast the cashews and raisins one after another. To this add the grated carrots and saute till the raw smell goes off and add water. Close it and cook for 5 mins on medium flame

Add the milk after five mins and mix well. Once the milk comes to a boil, slghtly reduce the flame and let it keep boiling and get thick well. Keep stirring occasionally.

Once the milk is almost half reduced, add sugar and continue the heating and stirring.

Continue on low heat till the mixture collects in a soft ball and ghee oozes out. Add cardamom powder and mix well and turn off the flame.

Carrot halwa is ready to serve.

Easy Banana Muffin

This is an easy dish with leftover bananas. Quick to make and can be served instantly. I did this on microwave and this can be done in conventional baking method too. I added some cereal to this and it added some extra crunch.

Ingredients:

Ripe Banana - 2
All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups
Oil - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1
Baking Powder - 2 tsp
Left over cereal - 1/2 cup, crushed
Sugar - 1 cup

Procedure:

Mash the bananas well in a mixer

To this add egg, sugar and oil and mix for 2 minutes

Mix the flour and baking powder and crushed cereal. To this add the egg mixture and mix well with a spoon.

Grease the microwave muffin pan with oil and pour the muffin mix till 3/4th.

Microwave this for 3 minutes on 60% power. Check if its done by picking with a toothpick. If not done, microwave for another minute.

Cool for a while. Yummy Banana muffins are ready to serve.

Kulfi Icecream

Days back wen I was little, I'll be waiting for the icecream bell to ring on a hot day evening. Yeah. We get Kulfi icecream on the streets ringing their bells after 7pm. We'll finish our homeworks and waiting for the treats. Yum.. We can cut it in slices and have on a small banana leaf or have it in a stick licking all way home. Wow!! It'll just melt. I forgot those memories, until a friend offered me one she made herself.


When I searched the recipe, it was simple. There are many recipes which we can make with just milk. And some need condensed milk and Whipped cream. Mine is a fusion cos I've used condensed milk and skipped whipped cream and have boiled the whole milk too. Here I go with the actual recipe. Super simple and definitely a pleasure to have on a sunny day evening after ur supper. Enjoy!!

You may need some containers to freeze them. I used paper cups but if you have popsicle molds it will be great use.

Ingredients:

Condensed milk - 1 can (you can reduce if you don't want to be too sweet)

Evaporated milk - 1 can

Whole milk - 1 cup

Corn starch - 1 tbsp (mix corn flour in water)

Bread slice - 1 (trim the corners)

Cardomom powder - 1/2 tsp

Nuts - 2 tbsp (almonds, pistachios, walnuts)

Procedure:

Cut bread into small pieces. Grind the bread pieces with corn starch and a little milk to a smooth paste

Mix eavaporated milk and condensed milk together

Heat a cup of whole milk in a heavy bottomed pan. Keep stirring until it boils

To this add the mix of evaporated and condensed milk and keep stirring on medium flame

After about 10 minutes with frequent stirring add the ground bread paste. The mix will tend to thicken and so keep stirring so it won't burn on bottom

Boil for another 10 minutes until it reaches a thick pouring consistency. Now add cardamom powder and nuts and turn of the flame.

Let it cool and you can freeze in popsicle containers. Optionally you can freeze in bowl and cut while serving. cover the top with aluminium foil or polythene wraps.

Let it freeze for 5-6 hrs. Serve cold.

I am sending this for the Chilled Delights event happening at Ticklingpalates

Sandesh - Happy Valentines Day!

Its valentines day and why not celebrate with something special. Here I have Sandesh - a Bengali sweet. This recipe was in my favorites since a long time. And at last I found an occasion to make it. It was my wedding anniversary last week and I made this for the special dinner.

We need simple ingredients for making Sandesh and thats the reason why I chose to do that.... If u r a fan of milk sweets then give it a try and u'll love it.

Ingredients:

Milk - 1 litre

Powdered Sugar - 6 tbsp

Vinegar/Lime juice - 1-2 tbsp to curdle milk

Food color - optional

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Pistachios (unsalted) - for decorating (I didn't had so din't used)

Procedure:

Heat milk in a heavy bottomed pan. When it starts to boil, add vinegar/lime juice to curdle. Once it is fully curdled, strain the water using a clean filter cloth and collect the curdled milk..wash this under running water and squeeze well. Keep under a heavy pot to drain excess water. wait for half hour and paneer is ready.

Gently knead this paneer with sugar and cardamom powder to a soft dough. This can be done by blending the dough in a mixer for 30 secs. This makes the kneading easy and soft dough will be ready.

This dough has to be kept in a pan in very low heat for 5 minutes to remove the raw smell. Be careful not to overcook as it causes the paneer to crumble instead of a soft dough. At this stage I removed a small part of the dough and added color to it and heated it separtely.

Now the dough is ready. Divide it into 10 equal  parts and make Sandesh of ur desired shapes. I made circles shapes and decorated with colored ones in the middle. You can also Pistachios for decorating.

Refrigerate for min 2 hrs and serve chilled.

Happy Valentines Day! :)

Points to Note:

1. Make the final sandesh balls when the dough is still warm as it helps in making shspes without breaking

2. If the dough turned little crumbly, add a few drops of milk and blend again in the mixer

3. While making balls/shapes, use a little water as it eases the process to make perfect shapes

I'm sending this recipe for Anjali's Cakes, Cookies and Desserts Event, Tickling Palates Let’s Cook #12 ~ Sweet Somethings and Zesty Palette's Sweet Luv

Mini Jangri

Jangri is my favorite sweets back in my childhood. The cripsy outside and juicy inside makes me mouth-watering even now. I found this recipe when I was browsing for some Diwali sweets.

I actually wanted to make the bigger ones but I cudn't get that perfect shape. It started to float on oil before I finished to squeeze them. So I made them as mini ones following Spicy Treats. Believe me the taste was good except for the size. Also they were a little thin I think bcos of the hole size. But it was a great surprise for my family.

Ingredients

Urad dal - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1 tbsp
Orange food color - a generous pinch
salt - a pinch

For sugar syrup
Sugar 1 cup
Water 1 cup
Lemon juice few drops

Proceudre:

Sugar syrup:
1. Add water to a vessel and add sugar to it. Keep stirring till it dissolves and boil for half string consistency. This should take around 8-10 minutes. Once it reaches this consistency add few drops of lemon juice and turn it off.
2. You can add a drop of rose essence or cardamom powder to this syrup for flavor.

Jangri:
1. Soak Urad dal for 4-5 hrs (I soaked overnight) and grind it in mixer to a smooth paste with very little water (make sure not to add too much water as we do for medhu vadas)

2. To this ground paste add a pinch of salt, rice flour and food color and mix well. The batter should be thick and if dropped in water should float. If it gets watery add a little more of rice flour.

3. Take a clean new zip lock bag(use the freezer bags as they r thick) and in the center make a whole using hot nail in such a way the whole get sealed and it will tear while squeezing.

4. Then using spatula keep the urad dal batter to the zip lock and bring all dough together and hold on the top or tie using a rubber band.(like we do for henna cone or pastry bag with icing)

5. Now heat oil in a wide pan on medium low. Squeeze the batter directly in to the hot oil randomly (like we do for murukku) .based on your size of the pan, fry 5-10 mini jangris at a time.

6. Turn them frequently and fry till it turns crisp n well done. Drain it from oil and transfer it to the prepared warm sugar syrup.

7. Repeat the same for all remaining batter. Let the mini jangri rest in the sugar syrup for at least 1 hour for fine taste n texture.


Points to note:

Use little water for grinding urad dal. While grinding, turn off the grinder frequently to avoid the batter becoming hot
If you feel your batter to be little watery then add 2-3 tsp of rice flour mix well n use.
Sugar syrup should be warm not hot syrup.
Oil should not be too hot.It should be medium hot. I turned off the heat while removing a batch of jangri, squeezed the next batch and then turned it on so that the oil was not hot while squeezing the jangris.

Double ka Meetha

This is a dessert recipe made with bread as base. Its simple to make and a sure treat for parties.



Ingredients
White Bread- 8 slices
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups
Milk - 2 cups
broken Cashews - 2 tbsp
Pistachios - 2 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Oil - for deep frying

Procedure

1. Slice the bread and keep it out overnight to remove the excess moisture. Else you can even keep in it oven over 300F for 15 mts

2. Heat the milk in a pan. When it comes to a boil simmer it. This has to boiled on low flame until it reduces to 1/2 cup. Keep stirring it every now and then so that milk doesn't settle on the corners. After it reduces to 1/2 cup turn off the flame

3. When the milk is boiling, make the sugar syrup parallel. Heat 2 cups of water in a bowl and add sugar to it. Boil this for 10 minutes and keep it ready

4. Deep fry the sliced bread pieces in hot oil/ghee until dark brown on both sides. Be careful not to burn itas bread tends to cook fast. Fry the nuts and raisins in the same oil and keep it aside

5. Soak the fried bread pieces in the sugar syrup and remove it quickly once it absorbs the syrup and keep it on a serving dish. Do the same for all the bread pieces and arrange them in a serving dish preferably a large tray

6. Over these bread slices pour the simmered milk and on top arrange the fried nuts and raisins.

7. Double ka Meetha is ready to serve. This can be served hot or cold.

Note:
Since bread is deep fried it takes too much oil. If u r very health consious, just toast the bread pieces in oven on 400F for 15-20 mts. This may not be evenly browned. After this follow steps 5 to 7 and its equally good.

Sugar Cookies

Simple sugar cookies to win the hearts of kids..even elders too...



Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour/maida

1/2 tsp baking pwd

1 pinch cardamom powder

1 egg

1/2 cup melted butter

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt


Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper/foil.

Sift salt, flour and baking pwd and keep aside. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, approx 3 mts. Add cardamom powder and egg and combine well. Add the flour mixture, mix until well combined. Refrigerate dough covered with a plastic wrap for an hour until firm enough to roll.

Remove half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 “. Keep turning the dough as you roll. Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the baking tray.

Place the baking tray with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10-15 mts to chill. This prevents the cookies from spreading and losing shape while baking.

Make any of the decorations below or simply sprinkle sugar over them. Bake for about 10 mts till the edges are slightly toasted or till done.

Cool on a wire rack. The cookies will harden. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cool completely. Store in airtight containe


Decoration:

Chocolate:

Place some chocolates in a bowl and keep it over boiling water to melt them. Dip edge of spoon or fork into the melted chocolate and decorate over the cookies just before putting into the oven to bake.




Jam:

Make a ball out of the cookie dough and slightly press them to form a circle shape. Slightly make a dent in the center of the cookies; fill with jam and put into the oven to bake

NanKhatai

This is a famous eggless Indian cookie made of all-purpose flour and sooji (rava). This is the perfect pair for teatime. Its excellent taste will never let you to stop with just one and will just melt away.

The given measurement makes 30 cookies.



Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
1/4 cup semolina/sooji
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cardamom pwd
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup ghee or melted butter or oil
2 tbsps yogurt/curd

How to:

Sieve maida, baking soda and cardamom pwd.

Blend the sugar, ghee and yogurt till smooth. Its important you really combine well. Add the sieved ingredients and semolina to the sugar-ghee mixture. The dough should be kneaded well for at least 7-8 mts. If the dough is not stiff enough to roll out into balls, add a few tbsps of cold milk and chill for a few minutes.

Pinch dough and shape into small balls and slightly flatten. Remember we don't want flat biscuits. This will be slightly bulged than typical cookies.

Garnish with nuts by slightly pressing into the dough. Place on a greased tray with enough space between each ball as they spread out. Pre heat oven for 15 mts, bake at 350F for about 20-22 mts. Once baked, the cookie will feel soft on touch. Remove from oven and cool and the cookies will harden.

Cool on a wire rack and store in airtight container.

Bhoondi Laddu

This is one of the most favorite diwali sweet of my husband. He asked me if we can make this year. But I was not sure as I didn't had the laddle for making the boondi. Then I came across a website where it was mentioned that this can be done with the traditional "jalli karandi" (a ladle with holes).

So I just gave a try and it was not a bad work for the first timers. But the real tough part in making laddus is the making of final balls which is very time consuming. Thanks to my husband who helped in pressing the bhoondis in the sugar syrup.

This recipe makes around 10 medium sized laddus.


Ingredients:

Besan flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Raisins - 1 tbsp
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 1 crushed
broken cashews - 1 tbsp
water - 1/2 cup


Procedure:

Sugar Syrup:

1. Add the water and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
2. When the syrup comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and stir to dissolve the sugar. Then let it simmer until the syrup is about half thread consistency.
3. Fry the cloves, raisins and cashews in oil/ghee. Add them to the syrup.


Bhoondi:

1. Mix the besan flour with water to make a smooth batter without any lumps. The batter consistency should be slightly thicker than dosa batter.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
3. Hold the ladle just 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the oil in one hand and with the other hand pour some of the batter onto the ladle such that the batter covers all of the holes.
4. The batter will start dropping through the holes into the oil. Drop enough boondi into the oil so that they just cover the surface of the oil in a single layer
5. Fry them until the sizzling sound stops and the boondis are slightly gold in colour but not crispy. (When you try to break a boondi between your fingers, it should not crack; it should just squeeze in and comeout) Pick up the boondis with another slotted spoon and put them directly in the warm sugar syrup.
6. Repeat the process of making boondi and adding to the syrup with rest of the batter. Make sure you wipe clean the ladle/grater after pouring 1 bath of batter. Let the boondis soak in the sugar syrup for few minutes.


Making of Laddu:

1. Boondis soak most of the sugar syrup. Drain off the excess syrup (not much will be there)
2. Take a flat laddle and keep pressing the bhoondis in the syrup. Make sure you not to break the bhoondis but to press well gently. This helps the boondis to absorb the sugar syrup well and also the helps in making the laddu balls.
3. Once they are warm enough to handle (Remember not to let them cool off completely as the sugar will crystallize) grease your hands and take some part of the mixture into your palm. Gently squeeze it with your palms and make a round ball.
4. If the bhoondis tend to be sticking to ur hands(maybe after 2-3 laddus), wash your hands, dry them, grease again and try to make the laddus.
5. As the laddus cool to room temperature they will become firm.


Note:
1. While frying the bhoondis, if they seems to absorb more oil(the bhoondis will be little porous), it means the batter has becomes watery and you have to add little more besan
2. If the shape of the bhoondis are little elongated and not circle, it means you need little more water to the batter
3. While making laddus, if the sugar syrup has crystallized and the bhoondis are no more sticky (like sugared bhoondis), then heat the sugared bhoondis by adding 1 tbsp of hot water. This will help to melt the sugar and you'll be able to hold them tougether and make laddus.

Mysore Pak - 1.1

This is a revised version of my earlier mysorepak. For the first one I used excessive sugar and in this one I've reduced the sugar and ghee and it still tasted good. This recipe makes around 40 mysorepaks.

Ingredients:

Besan flour – 2 cups
Sugar – 2 cups
Ghee – 3 cups
Water – 1/2 cup

Procedure

• Sieve the besan flour to make it fine
• Melt the ghee and take it from flame
• Add the besan flour to the melted ghee and mix well without any lumps
• In a heavy bottomed pan add water and sugar
• Stir to make the sugar dissolve in water
• After the syrup starts thickening pour the besan- ghee mix and keep stirring
• Once the mix starts thickening and comes rolling to the center remove from heat (this takes around 5-10 mins)
• Pour it on a ghee coated vessel and allow to cool
• While still warm cut to desired shape(before it turns hard)
• Allow to cool down completely and remove the pieces.
• This can be stored outside for 10 days and for 2 months if refrigerated.