Showing posts with label Sweets / Desserts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweets / Desserts. Show all posts

Kaayi Unde or Kaayunde is one of my favourite sweet snacks from childhood. As the name indicates, the main ingredients in this sweet dish are coconut and jaggery. To make it more tastier, nuts like toasted groundnuts or cashews can also be added. 

Here is the recipe of Kaayi Unde for you all!

  • Time required: 30 minutes
  • Difficulty level: Medium
  • Serves: 28 balls 

Ingredients:

  • Fresh grated coconut - 3 cups
  • Jaggery - 1 cup (either powder or liquid) 
  • Roasted groundnuts - 1 cup
  • Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Recipe Instructions:

  • Take the toasted groundnuts, peel off the skin and pulse them in the mixie or food processor into small chunks.
  • Combine fresh grated coconut and jaggery in a wide pan, keep mixing it on medium flame. 
  • Slowly, the water content in the coconut releases and the jaggery combines well with the coconut. If the mixture looks too dry, you can add 1 - 2 tablespoon of water to make it moist. 
  • Keep mixing the mixture for around 20 minutes, till you see the mixture starts thickening and starts to leave the sides of the pan. Take a small bit of the mixture and check whether you are able to form a ball. 
  • Turn off the flame, add the groundnuts and cardamom powder. Mix everything well.  
  • Once the mixture is lukewarm, grease your palm with a few drops of ghee / oil, take small portions of the mixture and shape them into balls. 
  • Store these chewy sweet balls in an air tight container and enjoy them anytime!

Tips:

  • You can add cashew-nuts instead of groundnuts.


ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ 

Genasale is an authentic South Indian dumpling. This sweet dish is prepared using jaggery and coconut as main stuffing, covered with a layer of dough and is put inside the half folded bay leaf for cooking. They taste awesome with the unique flavour of bay leaves. 
One of our neighbours had offered us plenty of fresh bay leaves a few days back. I thought to make Genasale, as we rarely get the fresh bay leaves here. They turned out delicious and we enjoyed eating them. Kiddos told me to make them again coz they're so tasty!
Do try these sweet dumplings when you get some fresh bay leaves next time. Here is the recipe of Genasale (Indian sweet dumplings) for you.


Preparation time: 45 minutes
Difficulty level: Difficult
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:
  • medium sized bay leaves - 15 to 20

- For covering:
  • Sooji rava (semolina) - 3/4 cup
  • Salt - 1/3 tsp
  • Jaggery - 1 1/2 tbsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
  • Water - as required

- For stuffing:
  • Fresh (or frozen) grated coconut - 1/2 cup (tightly packed) 
  • Jaggery 1/3 cup of to taste
  • Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
  • Water - 1 tbsp (See tips)


Method:
  • Wash the bay leaves in water and keep aside.
  • Transfer the grated coconut into the mixie jar and run the mixie for half minute. 
  • In a heavy bottom pan, mix the grated coconut, jaggery and 1-2 tbsp of water if using the powdered jaggery. Cook it on medium flame and keep stirring regularly to avoid burning. 
  • After 10 - 12 minutes of cooking, coconut mixture starts thickening. Turn off the flame, mix in the cardamom powder and allow it to cool.
  • Take around 3/4 cup of sooji rava in a bowl and add enough water to soak it. Stir it well and allow 5 minutes to get soaked.
  • Take out the excess water after 5 minutes, but do not squeeze.  
  • Grind the soaked semolina in mixie for a minute. Add little water if needed. Ideally, it should come to dosa batter consistency.
  • Transfer the ground batter into a heavy bottom pan. Add salt, jaggery and turmeric powder and keep mixing it on low or medium flame till the batter changes the color and looks like dough. Allow it to cool down a bit and mix it nicely using your palms.
  • Take a bowl, add 3-4 cups of water and 1/4 tsp of oil. Applying this water to the leaves will avoid dumplings sticking to the leaves after cooking.  
  • Take a bay leaf, apply oily water on its upper surface. Take a small portion of semolina dough, pat it thinly on the upper surface of the leaf. Put around 1 tsp (or more) of the coconut mixture on top of it.
  • Fold the leaf into half so that the stuffing remains inside. Cover the edges nicely and transfer it to the steamer plate. 
  • Follow the same procedure and make as many dumplings as required. Arrange them on the steamer plate and cook for 5 minutes. If using pressure cooker, take off the whistle and close the lid just like that.
  • Remove the bay leaves after cooking and serve the delicious dumplings along with ghee (clarified butter). 


Tips:
  • Since I have used the powdered jaggery, I have added 1 tbsp of water while making the stuffing. If adding liquid jaggery, no need to add any water.
  • Bay leaves can be replaced with turmeric leaves for this recipe.
  • If you find it hard to make the Genasale (dumplings) on the leaves, make them in the same way without using the leaves. While steam cooking, cover top it with bay leaves to add the flavour. 

Most of you are familiar with the famous Indian sweets Kaju Katli and Badam (Almond) Katli. These sweets taste heavenly and were mostly store bought when I was a kid. These days, many of us are able to prepare these famous sweets at the convenience of our homes. 
OPOS (One Pot One Shot) is an innovative or rather I can say, more simplified way of cooking which is becoming famous these days. I was introduced to OPOS cooking few months back by one of my friends. Many thanks to Rama Krishnan Sir for making cooking so simple through OPOS.
Basically, OPOS cooking needs a 2 litre pressure cooker which I didn't have. But I was eager to try OPOS cooking and hence, started experimenting my dishes using my 3 litre pressure cooker. Luckily, my experiments went well and I'm preparing most of my side dishes in OPOS way now a days. 
After seeing the OPOS Kaju Katli recipe, I thought to prepare Katli using groundnuts. My Mom makes Groundnut Burfi, which takes a lot of time stirring the mixture on the stovetop. I just modified my Mom's Groundnut Burfi recipe to suit the OPOS way. Groundnut Katli turned out very well and tasted amazing! My daughter loved them a lot and I ended up preparing one more batch of Groundnut Katli the very next day. Believe me, they are really addictive!


Preparation time: 7 - 8 minutes
Time to set: 20 minutes
Difficulty level: Easy
Yield: 35 pieces

Ingredients:
  • Sugar - 1 cup minus 1 tbsp (1 cup = 200 gm)
  • Milk - 1/2 cup
  • Groundnut powder (Roast, remove the skin and make fine powder) - 1 cup 
  • Ghee / Clarified butter - 1 tbsp (for greasing)
  • Pressure cooker - 2 litre or 3 litre (I have used 3 litre pressure cooker)

Method:
  • Combine milk and sugar in the pressure cooker and give it a stir. If the sugar crystals are bigger, stir the mixture nicely till sugar dissolves. 
  • Close the lid and cook on high till 6 whistles. Make sure to wipe off the sugar water which comes out with every whistle; else, it won't whistle properly.
  • Turn off the flame and release all the pressure using a spoon. 
  • Take the lid out and fold in the groundnut powder. Mix it quickly without lumps and close the lid again. Allow it to set for 20 minutes.
  • Open the cooker lid after 20 minutes and by that time, the mixture will become like a thick dough. Grease your palms with ghee and mix the dough once. Transfer the dough onto a greased plate and pat it thinly. 
  • Cut them into desired shapes and enjoy the delicious Groundnut Katli!


Tips:
  • Since the cooking needs to be done on high flame, you have to use either induction or gas stove. 
  • While preparing groundnut powder, don't run the mixie / blender continuously; instead, try to whip and powder. 
Strawberry is one of my kiddo's favourite fruits. She demands for it everytime when we go for buying  fruits. Strawberries are tend to spoil very quickly, even when we refrigerate them. So whenever we buy 2-3 boxes of strawberries, I will end up preparing some milkshake, jam or ice-cream. Home made ones are free from artificial colors, flavours and preservatives and delicious too! 
Here is my simple recipe of Strawberry Ice-cream..


Preparation time: 25 minutes
Refrigeration time: 5 - 6 hours
Serves - 7 to 8

Ingredients:
  • Strawberries - 250 gm
  • Thick cream - 250 gm
  • Sugar - 2 tbsp or to taste

Method:
  • Wash and clean the strawberries, remove the stems. Chop them into small / medium chunks.
  • Combine them with thick cream and sugar and blend smoothly using a mixer or blender. 
  • Transfer the blended mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate for 2 - 3 hours or till it becomes hard.
  • Take out the ice-cream mixture and blend it for 4 - 5 minutes or till smooth and keep it back into the freezer. Repeat this step 2 - 3 times to get a smooth textured ice-cream.
  • Scoop the ice-cream and serve it!


Tips:
  • If you want some strawberry chunks in the ice-cream, add 4 - 5 tsp of finely chopped strawberries after blending the mixture for the final time. Mix it well and refrigerate.
Bottle Gourd is one of those vegetables which are available throughout the year. Here in Australia, it is commonly available not only in Indian grocery stores, but also in most of the Asian grocery stores. Bottle gourd is a good of vitamins and minerals and hence, regular consumption of this veggie is good for our health.
In our home, we would prefer typical Indian style food most of the time. We buy bottle gourd more frequently to prepare different Indian dishes. I have shared the recipe of Bottle Gourd Palya / Spiced Bottle Gourd long back. Here is one more delicacy made with Bottle Gourd. Do try this Bottle Gourd Payasa when you buy bottle gourd next time and let me hear your feedback! 😊


Time required: 35 - 40 minutes
Serves - 3
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:

  • Sugar - 3/4 cup (1 cup = 
  • Bottle gourd peeled, seeded and chopped into small or medium pieces - 2 cups
  • Semolina (medium) - 1/3 cup
  • Jaggery - 2 tbsp (see Tips)
  • Salt - big pinch 
  • Ghee / clarified butter - 1 tsp
  • Milk - 2 1/2 cup
  • Water - 2 1/2 cup
  • Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
  • Saffron strands - 8 to 10 (optional)


Method:

  • Heat the water in a pan. Once it becomes nicely hot, add a teaspoon of ghee and chopped bottle gourd. Continue cooking till bottle gourd pieces become soft.
  • In the meanwhile, wash the semolina by adding some water and drain it off.
  • Add this semolina to the cooked mixture and mix it continuously for 2 - 3 minutes to avoid lumps.
  • Add sugar, salt, jaggery (optional), milk and saffron strands. Allow the Payasa to boil for 8 - 10 minutes. 
  • Add cardamom powder before switching off the flame.
  • Serve this delicious Payasa hot or cold. This Payasa goes well with Poori, if you are a sweet lover.



Tips:




  • If you don't like jaggery, you can replace it with sugar. If you like to use jaggery, use more jaggery and reduce the quantity of sugar accordingly. If using more jaggery, no need to add saffron as the flavour will be dominated by jaggery. 
Dry Fruits Ladoo is a very common sweet which is found in most of the sweet stalls in Karnataka. These ladoos are made of all healthy ingredients like almonds, cashews, poppy seeds, raisins, dates, etc. and taste divine! These yummy ladoos are good for people of all ages.
At home, we all love munching dry fruits and nuts. But what happens normally is, one day we tend to eat more of them and the next day, we forget to eat them. If Dry Fruit Ladoos are there at home, we won't forget to eat them daily! Thats the reason I keep making these ladoos at home regularly. 
Here is my version of Dry Fruit Ladoo..


Preparation time: 40 minutes
Yield: 30 ladoos (depending on the size)
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:
  • Dates (De-seeded and roughly chopped) - 2 cups (1 cup=
  • Chopped almonds - 1/2 cup
  • Broken cashews - 1/2 cup
  • Raisins - 1/2 cup
  • Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
  • Poppy seeds - 1/4 cup
  • Ghee / Clarified butter - 4 tbsp



Method:
  • Heat a heavy bottom pan. Toast the chopped almonds, broken cashews and poppy seeds separately. 
  • Then, Melt the ghee in the same pan. Add the chopped dates and raisins. Keep mixing the mixture for 4 - 5 minutes or till it becomes like a dough.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients to the dates mixture and mix them well.
  • Make equal sized balls from the mixture and store them in an airtight container. 

'Baklava' is a Turkish delicacy, which was introduced to me few months back. I had heard of this sweet dish before, but never got a chance to taste it. One of my friends had brought Baklava while visiting us sometime back. We liked its unique taste and crispy texture.
After tasting this heavenly sweet, I just googled for Baklava recipe. The recipe called for walnut as one of the main ingredient. I didn't had walnuts in my pantry and hence, I have replaced it with almonds. Baklava tasted perfect just the same as the store bought ones.
I have adopted this recipe from allrecipes.com with slight modifications. Try this recipe and let me know your feedback..


Preparation time: 35 minutes
Baking time: 50 - 55 minutes
Yield: 40 pieces (depending on the size)
Difficulty level: Difficult

Ingredients:

  • Filo pastry sheets - 375 gm
  • Butter - 250 gm
  • Sugar - 1 cup (1 cup = 200 gm)
  • Almonds - 2 cups (see tips)
  • Sugar powder - 4 tbsp
  • Water - 1 cup
  • Peel of half lime
  • Cloves - 2
  • Honey - 6 tbsp
  • Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp


Method:

  • Thaw the filo pastry sheets according to the instructions on the pack.
  • Chop the almonds finely and toast them on low flame till aromatic or till it turns golden brown. Add sugar powder, cinnamon powder once its cool and keep aside.
  • Grease the baking tray with butter. I have used a 33*23 cm baking pan here.
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
  • Take out two sheets of filo pastry carefully from the pack and arrange them on the greased tray. Brush the top with melted butter and place two more sheets upon it and brush it with butter. Continue this process till half of the sheets are done.
  • Once you finished arranging half of the sheets, fold in the almond mixture and spread it evenly. 
  • Start placing filo pastry sheets 2 at a time, brush with butter and continue this process till you are done with all the sheets. 
  • Brush the top layer with butter and cut the sheets into diamond or any desired shapes of equal size.
  • Place the baking tray inside the pre-heated oven and bake them for 50 - 55 minutes or till they turn golden brown.
  • Prepare sugar syrup while Baklava is baking. Combine sugar and water in a vessel and bring to boil. Once the sugar has diluted, add cloves, honey and lemon peel. Allow it to boil on low flame for 15 - 20 minutes and turn off the flame. Take out the cloves and lemon peel and discard it. 
  • Once the Baklava is cooked, take it out of oven and pour the sugar syrup evenly. Allow it to set for atleast two hours before serving.



Tips:

  • The original recipe calls for walnuts. I have used almonds here since i didn't had walnuts. 


ಕನ್ನಡ ಆವೃತ್ತಿ 
Besan Ladoo is one among those famous sweets which are prepared during special occasions in India. In my home, we three are huge fans of these delicious sweet balls. Being made of besan flour along with generous amount of ghee, sugar, dry fruit and nuts, its good for health too.
Below is the recipe of Besan Ladoo, try them and enjoy with your loved ones!


Preparation time: 40 minutes
Yield: 8 Ladoos
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:

  • Besan flour / Gram flour - 2 cups (1 cup= 125 gm)
  • Sugar - 1 cup
  • Ghee / clarified butter - 3/4 cup minus 1 tbsp
  • Cardamom / Elachi powder - 1 tsp (See Tips)
  • Raisins - 15
  • Broken cashews - 2 tbsp


Method:

  • Combine besan flour and ghee in a heavy bottom pan and keep stirring it on low flame till nice aroma comes.
  • When the flour is toasted half - way, add raisins and broken cashews and continue toasting. Otherwise, you can toast them separately with few drops of ghee and mix with the flour after its toasted.
  • Take the sugar and make a fine powder out of it.
  • Allow the toasted flour to cool down for a while till it becomes lukewarm. Add powdered sugar and cardamom powder. Mix it well. 
  • Make equal sized balls from the mixture. Store them in an air tight container.



Tips:
  • If you add more ghee to this recipe, mixture will become very soft and the ladoos won't hold the shape. In such cases, you can refrigerate the ladoos for around 15 - 20 minutes immediately after preparing them.
  • If cardamom powder is not there, mix the cardamom seeds along with sugar while powdering it.


Gadbad Ice cream is a famous dessert of Karnataka. As I read in Wiki, its the signature dish of a ice cream parlour based at Mangalore. Me and my Hubby both are big fans of Gadbad Ice cream. Every time we visit our native place Sirsi, we will visit the ice cream parlour at least 2 - 3 times just to enjoy Gadbad Ice cream!
Layers of chopped fruits, ice cream jelly, dry fruits and nuts make this ice cream delicious and rich in taste. I love to prepare Gadbad Ice cream at home when I have ripened mangoes in my pantry. Try this delicious ice cream and let me know your feedback!


Preparation time: 30 - 35 minutes
Refrigeration time: 1 hour
Servings: 2
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:
  • Ripened mango - 1
  • Apple - half slice
  • Banana - 1
  • Sugar - 2 tbsp
  • Raisins - 3 tbsp
  • Broken cashews - 4 to 5 tbsp
  • Cherries (for decoration) - 2
  • Tutti frutti (optional) - 2 to 3 tbsp
  • Ice cream - as required

Method:
  • Chop apple, mango and banana finely. Combine them in a mixing bowl. Add around 2 tbsp of sugar or according to taste. Mix it well and keep in the refrigerator for an hour.
  • Meanwhile, dry roast the broken cashews into golden brown and keep aside.
  • Take 2 serving glasses. Add one layer of chopped fresh fruits in both the glasses. Top it with raisins and cashews. You can also add tutti frutti. Add around 2 tbsp of ice cream on its top. Repeat these layers again one or two times as per your wish. 
  • After you add the final layer of ice cream, garnish it with raisins, cashews and tutti frutti. Top it with cherry and serve immediately.


Tips:
  • Orange, sapota (chikkoo) and pineapple fruits also go well for this ice cream. Fruits which I have mentioned in the recipe are not compulsory; You can try it with your favorite combo of fruits.
  • You can add different flavors of ice cream for each layer to make it rich and more colorful.

ಕನ್ನಡ ಆವೃತ್ತಿ

Mysore Pak is one among those famous Indian sweets which are prepared during festivals and special occasions. With the nice aroma and flavor of ghee, this sweet tastes divine and just melts in your mouth!
Mysore Pak is my favorite sweet ever and of course, this is the first sweet recipe I learnt! My Aunt is an expert in preparing Mysore Pak. She uses fresh home made ghee for preparing this sweet and everybody at home loves to have this delicious sweet. Preparing Mysore Pak is not that difficult, but experience makes you perfect! You need to know the right time and consistency to take out the mixture from the flame. And freshness of the ingredients i.e., ghee and gram flour / besan flour also matters a lot.
Mysore Pak can be prepared using Dalda/Vanaspati or other oils also, instead of ghee. I prefer using half - ghee and half - sunflower oil. Try this Mysore Pak recipe at your home and let me know your feedback!


Preparation time: 35 minutes
Yield: 45 small pieces
Difficulty level: Difficult

Ingredients:
  • Besan flour / chickpea flour / gram flour - 1 cup (1 cup = 100 gm approx)
  • Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
  • Ghee / clarified butter - 1 cup
  • Sunflower oil - 1 cup
  • Salt - a pinch
  • Cooking soda - a pinch
  • Water - 3/4th cup + 3 tbsp
 


Method:
  • Combine sugar and water and bring to boil. By the time it reaches two string consistency, we need to roast the besan flour.
  • Take 1/2 cup of ghee in a wide pan. Add besan flour and roast it on low flame till nice aroma comes. Add a pinch of salt once its done.
  • Heat the oil and the remaining ghee separately and keep ready.
  • Once the sugar syrup reaches 2 string consistency, add it to the roasted besan flour and mix well. Keep mixing it continuously on medium flame.
  • Add 2 - 3 table spoons of oil at a time to the flour mixture. Once the oil is absorbed in the mixture, add 2 - 3 tbsp of oil again. Repeat it till all the oil gets over. Then repeat the same thing with ghee.
  • At one stage, the mixture starts leaving the oil from the sides or bubbles start coming up and the mixture starts leaving the ladle. 
  • Quickly add a pinch of cooking soda, mix it nicely and turn off the flame.
  • Pour the mixture onto a wide plate and allow to set down.
  • After 3 - 4 minutes when the mixture becomes slightly hard, cut it into desired shapes using a knife. Allow it to cool completely.
  • Separate the pieces after its completely cool. Enjoy the home made Mysore Pak with your family!


Tips:
  • If you wont like to use any oil, can use 2 cups of ghee instead.
  • If the quality of besan flour is not good, you may not be able to get the perfect Mysore Pak sometimes.
  • Make sure that the ghee and oil will be slightly hot while preparing this sweet. It will give a nice crispy texture to the Mysore Pak. 


Shrikhand is one of the famous sweet dish from Indian cuisine. This delicious sweet is prepared using minimal and easily available ingredients. Adding of saffron, dry fruits and nuts makes it more rich in taste. Amrakhand is also a variation of Shrikhand, which contains the goodness of mangoes. 
Shrikhand can be served as a dessert or side dish. It tastes good with Poori, Dosa and Tellevu. Try this easy dessert at home and let me know your feedback!


Preparation time: 15 - 20 minutes
Time to hung the curd: 7 - 8 hours
Serves: 5 - 6 
Difficulty level: Easy

Ingredients:
Hung curd - 1 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup or to taste
Cardamom / Elachi powder - 1/2 tsp
Saffron strands - 10 to 12

Method:
Take the hung curd in a large vessel and beat it for few minutes without lumps.
To this, add the powdered sugar, saffron strands and cardamom powder. Beat it till everything is combined well. 
Serve is as it is or refrigerated. Add few pieces of pista if you would like to.
It can be served as dessert or as side dish with Poori, Dosa and Tellevu.


Tips:
How to prepare hung curd: Pour the curd on a muslin cloth, tie it and hang it to a hook or a tap. Put a vessel below the hung curd to collect the excess water. Keep it overnight or 7 - 8 hours and then, take out the curd.
If not using saffron strands, add 3/4 tsp of cardamom powder instead of 1/2 tsp. 


Ash gourd, also known as winter melon or white pumpkin, is used for preparing various dishes in Indian cuisine. Apart from regular dishes like Sambar, Majjige Huli, Palya and so on, delicious sweets like Petha and Halwa can also be prepared with this vegetable. Ash gourd is a good source of various nutrients like iron and calcium. Due to its nutritional facts, I love to use it in my cooking frequently.
Kashi Halwa is a well known sweet dish prepared using Ash Gourd. Its a traditional sweet in Indian cuisine, I had tried it this time with slight variation. It was delicious and my family liked this sweet. I am sharing the recipe of Kashi Hawa / Ash Gourd Halwa here..try it and enjoy with your family!


Time required: 30 - 35 minutes
Servings: 6
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:
  • Grated ash gourd (after squeezing the water content) - 1 cup (1 cup = 300 gm approx)
  • Khova - 100 gm (yield from 1/2 ltr milk)
  • Sugar - 1 1/2 cup or to taste
  • Ghee / clarified butter - 1/4 cup
  • Chiroti rava - 1/4 cup
  • Salt - pinch
  • Elachi / Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
  • Saffron strands (optional) - 10 to 12  
  • Broken cashews - 3 tbsp


Method:
  • Pressure cook the ash gourd for 2 whistles on medium flame.
  • Melt the ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Fold in the chiroti rava and roast it till aromatic.
  • To this, add the cooked ash gourd and saute it for 2 - 3 minutes. 
  • Add sugar, saffron strands, pinch of salt to the mixture. Cook it on low flame till it becomes thick. 
  • Add Khova and cook it for 5 more minutes and switch off the flame and add the cardamom powder. 
  • Roast the cashew pieces in 1 tsp ghee till golden brown and mix it with Halwa.
  • Thats all, delicious Halwa is ready to serve!

Kesari, Shira or Sheera is a popular sweet dish in South India. It is one of the most common sweets prepared in festivals, marriages and other occasions. Also, its one of the easy n rich treats for the unexpected guests! Main ingredient for this dish is Semolina / Sooji Rava. I had posted the Kesari / Shira recipe long back. Pineapple Kesari is a variation of that recipe, with added pineapple and of course, more flavorful!
We had bought pineapple few days back for preparing Pineapple Jam. The fruits were large enough and juicy. There was a quarter piece left after preparing the jam and I used the same for making this Pineapple Kesari. Try this yummy Pineapple Kesari / Sheera and enjoy with your family :)


Time required: 35 - 40 minutes
Servings: 8
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:
Medium semolina / Sooji rava - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Salt - big pinch
Ghee / clarified butter - 2/3 cup
Hot water - 2 1/2 cup
Grated pineapple (including the juice) - 1/2 cup
Broken cashews - 3 to 4 tbsp
Raisins - few (as needed)
Cardamom / Elachi powder - 1 tsp


Method:
Heat the ghee / clarified butter in a heavy bottom pan. Add the semolina and roast it on low flame for 8 - 10 minutes or till you hear a nice aroma of roasted semolina.
Meanwhile, bring the water to boil and let it be ready by the time semolina is roasted.
Add 2 1/2 cup water and a big pinch of salt to the roasted semolina and mix it nicely. Close the lid and cook it for 7 - 8 minutes. Stir it occasionally.
Once all the water is evaporated and the rava is cooked, add 2 cups of sugar. Mix it, close the lid partially and cook for 8 - 10 minutes on low flame.
Roast the broken cashews in 1 tsp of ghee. Add it to the Kesari mixture.
Finally, add the grated pineapple and mix it well. Cook it for 5 more minutes and turn off the flame.
Serve it hot along with some spicy snacks. Kesari and Kharabath / Uppittu is a well known combo!


Tips:
I usually great the pineapple and use it for this Kesari. Alternatively, you can chop the pineapple into small chunks, puree the same and use it for this sweet.

Here comes a simple and quick Ladoo recipe which can be prepared to serve the guests, or to munch on just like that! Its good for kids as well since all the ingredients used here are good for health. My kiddo loves to have it anytime and she renamed it as 'Tun Tun Laadu'! No need to worry about the calories, we are going to add less ghee for this Ladoo :)
Wheat Flour Laddu is one of my favorite sweets from childhood. There is one more method to prepare Wheat Flour Ladoos where we need to make the sugar syrup. Anyways, I love to prepare Ladoos with powdered sugar which is simple and quite easy!
Try these yummy ladoos and enjoy with your family..


Preparation time: 20 minutes
Yield: 12 ladoos of medium size
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:
Wheat flour - 1 cup (1 cup = 200gm) 
Ghee / clarified butter - 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup
Cashews - 4
Raisins - 15 to 20
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 1


Method:
Melt the ghee in a heavy bottom pan. 
Add the wheat flour and broken cashews. Toast it on medium or low flame till you get a nice aroma. 
Turn off the flame and allow the mixture to cool down.
In the meanwhile, make a fine powder of cardamom and cloves and keep it ready. You can powder them along with sugar to make it easy.
Once the roasted mixture is cool, add powdered sugar, cardamom - cloves powder and raisins.
Mix it nicely and make sure that everything is combined well.
Take small portions of mixture in your hands and make lemon size balls.
Store them in an airtight container and use as required.


Tips:
If the ladoo mixture looks too dry and you are not able to make the ladoos, add 1 - 2 tsp of heated ghee and mix well.

Carrot Halwa also called as Gajar Ka Halwa, is a delicious sweet prepared on festivals and such special occasions in India. Being prepared using healthy and rich ingredients like carrot, milk, sugar, Khoya, Ghee, dried fruits and nuts, it tastes delicious! 
Carrot Halwa is one of our family favorite sweets. My daughter is not crazy about eating the sweets..but she loves to have this Halwa anytime! Since its made of all healthy ingredients, its good for kiddos health as well. Adding of khova is not a must for this Halwa, but it increases the taste. I had tried adding some quantity of paneer when I had a small quantity of Khoya with me. It was truly delicious and nobody could  make it out that I had replaced some quantity of Khova with Paneer!
There are different versions of preparing Carrot Halwa and here is the one which I usually follow. Hope you like this recipe :)


Preparation Time: 1 1/2 hour
Servings: 10 - 12
Difficulty level: Difficult

Ingredients:
  • Carrot - 1 kg
  • Sugar - 800gm (adjust according to taste)
  • Salt - a big pinch
  • Milk - 1/2 litre
  • Ghee / clarified butter - 6 tbsp
  • Khova / Khoya - yield from 1 litre milk (or around 200 gm)
  • Cardamom powder - 1 1/2 tsp
  • Raisins, Almonds and Pista - handful


Method:
  • Wash the carrots cleanly and grate them using a vegetable grater. 
  • Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Add the grated carrots and saute them for 5 minutes or till the raw smell is gone. 
  • Add half litre of milk to the carrot mixture and cook it partially covered. Stir it regularly.
  • When the carrot mixture is cooked and the milk is almost evaporated, add sugar and pinch of salt.
  • You can notice the mixture becoming watery after adding the sugar. Continue cooking on medium flame, it will thicken after some time.
  • When the mixture becomes thick, add the Khova and mix it nicely. Cook it for 10 - 12 minutes and turn off the flame.
  • Finally add the cardamom powder and mix well. 
  • Garnish with ghee roasted raisins, and pieces of almonds and pista.
  • Serve it warm or cold.
ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ. 

Deepavali or Diwali is one of the important festivals we celebrate at home. We had a wonderful festival this time with our daughter darling. This was the second Deepavali for her. Even though we celebrated other Hindu festivals like Nagara Panchami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navarathri, etc. she enjoyed the Deepavali celebration more than other festivals. Decorating the home, wearing the new clothes, enjoying the delicious food, lighting the candles, all these made her so happy. The next day after the festival, I just asked her how was the festival. She told, 'It was very nice, we will celebrate it today also'!! Ha Ha! Somehow I was able to convince her that we will celebrate it later :)
Maida Halwa is one of the sweet delicacies from India which is perfect for festivals and such occasions. It tastes very similar to Wheat Halwa which will be prepared at my Mom's place for every Diwali. Preparing Wheat Halwa is bit difficult as well as time consuming task. Whole wheat need to be soaked for 2 days in water, then need to be cleaned and ground into fine paste, later it needs filtering..keep stirring the batter on the stove top for at-least an hour..uff! such a lengthy and stressful job it is.
We were really happy to find a substitute for lengthy procedure of preparing the Wheat Halwa. My sister was going through a recipe collection sometime back and she found this Maida Halwa recipe interesting. We all loved this Maida Halwa which tasted the same as Wheat Halwa. Then onwards, this recipe has become very popular in our family circle.
This year, Maida Halwa was one of my special preparations for the Diwali festival. We enjoyed the festival of lights with all the sweet and savory preparations at home. Preparing this Halwa is bit stressful, but you feel really its worth preparing when you taste it!


Time required: 35 - 40 minutes
Yield: Around 33 pieces depending on the size
Level of difficulty: Difficult

Ingredients:
  • Maida / All purpose flour - 1 large cup
  • Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
  • Pinch of salt
  • Water - 1 3/4 cup
  • Ghee - 1/2 cup or little more
  • Broken cashew pieces - 2 tbsp
  • Raisins - 2 to 3 tbsp
  • Saffron strands - 1/2 tsp (or 3/4 tsp cardamom powder)


Method:
  • Soak the saffron strands in 2 tbsp of hot water.
  • Take maida in a mixing bowl, add around 1 1/4 cup of water gradually. Prepare the batter without any lumps. Consistency of the batter is the same as dosa batter. 
  • Roast the cashew pieces and raisins in ghee and keep aside. 
  • Take a heavy bottom pan, pour the sugar and add 1/2 cup of water. Bring it to boil. 
  • Once the syrup reaches 2 string consistency, add the maida batter and keep stirring continuously for 2 minutes. 
  • Add the saffron strands (and also the water), pinch of salt and ghee and stir it continuously on low or medium flame. 
  • When the mixture thickens, you feel it really hard to stir the mixture well. Once the mixture starts leaving the edges, take a spoon full of mixture out and make it cool. If you are able to form a ball and its not sticking to the hands, thats the right consistency. 
  • Stir in the roasted cashews and raisins and mix it well. 
  • Spread the mixture on a greased plate (or plates) evenly and allow to cool. 
  • Cut it into desired shapes once its cool. That's all, delicious Maida Halwa is ready to enjoy!


Tips:
  • I have used 1/2 cup of ghee here. Little more ghee can be added if you would like to. Adding more ghee will make it even more delicious.
  • As far as possible, try to consume it fresh. It will be good for 3 - 4 days if kept outside. If kept in refrigerator, taste of Halwa will change a bit.
ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ. 

Muskmelon or Cantaloupe is one of the tropical fruits which is used mainly for preparing juices and milkshakes. This fruit is very good for use especially during summer. Muskmelon is a good source of vitamins 'A' & 'C', Folic Acid and potassium. And also, this fruit helps to maintain the water content in our body during summer and keeps the body cool. Muskmelon with its natural sweetness, is told to be very good for people who are on diet.
I use this fruit mainly for preparing juice and payasa (kheer). Sometimes, we would love to eat it simply as it is. I'm sharing the Muskmelon Payasa recipe today. Its very easy and won't take much time to prepare. Here you go!!


Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooling time: 1 hour
Servings:3
Difficulty Level: Easy

Ingredients:
  • Muskmelon - 1/4th part of a medium size fruit
  • Boiled milk @ room temperature - 2 cups
  • Sugar - 1/2 cup or according to taste
  • Pinch of salt
  • Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:
  • Separate the skin and seed part of the fruit and grate the fruit using a grater.
  • To this, add milk, sugar, salt and cardamom powder and mix well.
  • Keep it refrigerated for an hour for cooling or you can serve it immediately if cooling is not required.    

Tips:
  • If you love to use jaggery, replace sugar with jaggery for this recipe.
  • If you want to prepare cold Payasa immediately, keep the boiled milk refrigerated for sometime before and once you are ready with all other ingredients, use this cold milk for making Payasa. 
ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ. 

Modaka is one of the special sweet goodies prepared especially during the festival of Ganesha Chaturthi. There is a belief that the dishes Modaka and Pancha kajjaya are the favorites of Lord Ganesha among all other dishes. I really don't know how far its true, but all these dishes taste wonderful for our tongue also!
Festive preparations are going on in our house from last week. I have prepared few dishes in advance for the festival and one among them is Modaka. Every time, I used to prepare Modaka with rice flour binding. This time, I have followed my sister's recipe and used Maida flour for the cover. Modakas came out really well with a thin, crispy outer layer and tasted really good.
Here is the recipe of Modaka for you. Try preparing them for the festival and enjoy with near and dear ones :)
Time required: 1 1/2 hours
Difficulty Level: Difficult  
Yield : 30 Modakas of medium size

Ingredients:
  • Oil for deep frying

- For Stuffing:
  • Sugar - 1 1/2 cup (or according to taste)
  • Jaggery (optional) - 1 tbsp
  • Deciccated / Fresh grated coconut - 3 cup
  • Water - 1 cup
  • Sesame (Till) seeds - 2 tbsp
  • Cardamom powder - 3/4 tsp
- For Binding:
  • Maida (Plain flour) - 3 cup
  • Salt - a big pinch
  • Ghee - 1 1/2 tsp
  • Water - 1 cup approx

Method:
  • Combine Maida (Plain flour), salt and ghee in a mixing bowl. Mix it nicely using your hands for 3 - 4 minutes. Add water little by little and prepare a smooth, non sticky dough. Cover it and keep aside for 15 - 20 minutes.
  • Take a heavy bottom pan. Add shredded coconut, sugar, jaggery (optional) and bring to boil. 
  • In the meanwhile, dry roast the sesame seeds on low flame till golden brown and keep aside. 
  • Keep stirring the coconut mixture occasionally. Once all the water content is dried out, add the roasted sesame seeds and cardamom powder and switch off the flame.   
  • Divide the binding dough into small portions of equal size and give them the ball shape. Take the balls one by one, dust with some dry flour and roll them into small, very thin circles. Roll them as thin as possible.
  • Pour a tablespoon full of coconut mixture in the middle of the circle. Combine all the edges of the circle, pinch them and give it the Modak shape.
  • Deep fry the prepared Modakas in hot oil on medium flame till golden brown. 


Tips:
  •  Both fresh grated coconut as well as desiccated coconut will hold good for this recipe. You can make use of either of these. 
  • Jaggery can be substituted with sugar for this recipe. Modak tastes even better when jaggery is used. 
  • To ensure even color, keep stirring the Modakas while deep frying. 


ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

These days, I am not able to update the blog regularly. Some recipe picks are waiting in my laptop for posting. But time goes like that with my little one and I am not getting enough time for my activities. Sometimes when I cook something new, I feel like taking picks of the same. By the time I start the photo shoot, either she will be hungry or it will be her sleeping time. Her voice will alter my concentration and makes me to stop the photo shoot there itself! These picks are also taken at least 3 months back and finally, I am able to write down the recipe now :)
Who says 'no' to the yummilicious Fruit Yogurt? It has become one of our favorite dessert from past couple of years. More often, we will get it from super markets which is available in various flavors like Strawberry, mixed berry, mango, etc. I wanted to prepare my own fruit yogurt from long time and after several trials, here is the outcome. Hope you like it!
Also, I feel its a nice way to feed the children some healthy food.
 

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooling time: 1 - 2 hours
Servings: 2

Ingredients:
  • Strawberries - 4 to 5
  • Sugar - 7 tsp or to taste
  • Hung curd - 1 cup
  • Vanilla essence (optional) - 1 or 2 drops   


Procedure:
  • Wash the strawberries and chop them finely.
  • Transfer the sugar and hung curd into mixie jar and run the mixie for a minute or till it becomes a smooth paste. You can use the hand mixer also for doing this.
  • Keep aside 2 tsp of chopped strawberries and combine the remaining with yogurt mixture. Run the mixie for half a minute so that the fruit pieces are blended nicely with curd. 
  • Finally, add the remaining fruit pieces and also, 1 -2 drops of vanilla essence if you desire. Run the mixie for 4 - 5 seconds and switch it off.
  • Keep it refrigerated for 1 - 2 hours for setting down. 
  • Enjoy the delicious Fruit Yogurt as dessert or as snack anytime!


Tips:
  • This yogurt should be consumed within 1 - 2 days of preparation. Since we didn't add any preservatives, it won't be good after 2 days.
ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ. 

I had thought of posting this recipe before the jack fruit season ends. But these days, I am busy with my little daughter. There's no time left for doing even my routine things! And now, I am realizing why many women blogger buddies stop their writing after having kids :) 
This year, I was in my native during jack fruit season and enjoyed different dishes of jack fruit. Here is the recipe of Jack Fruit Kheer (Payasa) for you. Hope you enjoy this easy and delicious kheer when you get this fruit next time!


Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 - 5
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:
  • Ripe jack fruit flesh cut into medium size pieces - 2 cups
  • Milk - 2 cups
  • Water - 2 cups
  • Salt to taste (a pinch)   
  • Sugar - 1 cup or according to taste
  • Jaggery - 2 tsp (optional)
  • Semolina (sooji rava) - 1/4 cup
  • Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:
  • Take semolina in a small bowl. Add about half a cup water and mix it nicely with fingers or a spoon. Drain all the water and allow it to soak for 10 minutes.  
  • Heat 2 cups of water in a medium size vessel. Once the water becomes hot, add salt and sugar and boil it for 2 minutes. To this, add jack fruit pieces and cook it for a minute. 
  • Once the jack fruit pieces are cooked, add washed semolina. Stir it continuously to avoid lumps.
  • When the semolina is cooked and the kheer mixture becomes thick, add milk and cardamom powder. 
  • Allow it to boil for 2 minutes and switch off the flame. That's all, delicious kheer is ready to enjoy!



Tips:
  • Ripe jack fruit flesh gets cooked faster. So, take care and don't allow to overcook. If overcooked, it will become like a thick gravy.
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