Dates Halwa (fudge)

Ingredients
cashewnut and raisins - 1 tbl.sp
sesame seeds - 2 tbl.sp
crushed cardamom - 1/4 tsp
paste of dates - 200 gm
milk - 1/4 cup
jaggery as per taste


Method
Make a paste of dates with 1/4 cup of milk
Heat 2 tsp of ghee or butter and add chopped cashewnuts and raisins. Fry till raisins puffs up. Then add ssesame seeds and fry for few seconds. Add paste of dates and cardamom powder and mix well. Let it cook for few seconds. Then add jaggery, mix well and let it cook till it thickens. Remove and garnish with dry chop nuts.

Dry Nuts Modak

Ingredients
walnut, almond and cashewnut take in small quantities
dry coconut - 50 gm
dates - 200 gm
poppy seed - 1 tbl.sp
jaggery - 50 gm or as per taste
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
raisins - 2 tbl.sp

Method
Dry roast nuts and grated dry coconut seprately and coarsely make a powder of it.
Heat 2 tbl.sp of butter in a pan and add raisins, cook till it puffs up. Then addpaste of dates, jaggery, poppy seeds, cardamom . Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the blended powder. Mix well and cook again for 2 minutes. Remove and let it cool down.
Take a modak mould and stuff this mixture inside it and close. Open and take out dry nuts modak. Serve.

Milk Halwa (Milk Fudge)

Ingredients
Milk - 1/2 litre
edible gum - 2 tbl.sp
semolina/rava - 2 tbl.sp
yoghurt - 1 tbl.sp
sugar - 120 gm
ghee - 3 tbl.sp
chopped nuts

Method
Take a pan and add sugar. Heat it on a slow flame till it caramalize.
In another pan add 3 tbl.sp of ghee/unsalted butter and add edible gum and fry it till it puffs up.
Remove it in another pan and add semolina and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Again add fried edible gum , milk and yogurt. Mix well so that milk curdles. Now Keep cooking till it becomes thick.
When sugar is caramelised add it to the milk. Stir and leave it to cook till all moisture is lost.
Remove and garnish it with chopped nuts and serve.

Paneer Jalebi

Ingredients
paneer - 150 gm
all purpose flour - 1 tbl.sp
few pistachios chopped

for making sugar syrup
sugar - 1 cup
water - 1/2 cup
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
few strands of saffron


Method
For Making Syrup
mix together all the ingredients given and boil it till one thread consistency.

Mix together paneer and all purpose flour to make a soft dough. Roll it into thin long strip and shape it like jalebi. Deep fry in hot oil and put in sugar syrup. Serve hot.

Mysore Pak Recipe

Ingredients
chickpeas flour - 1 cup
sugar - 1 cup
ghee - 1 cup
cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Method
First heat ghee and pour in the chickpeas flour and mix well. Seive it and keep it aside.

Make a one thread consistency of sugar syrup by adding  1/4 cup of water, also add cardamom powder to it.
In another pan, keep ghee for heating.

When syrup is ready add chickpeas flour to it gradually. Keep on stirring it continously. When it is done, add hot ghee about 1 spoon at a time till all the ghee is over.

See that when you put hot oil, the mixture will turn frothy and will become porous too.

Now take a greased pan and immediately pour into it. Remove all the excess oil. When it is still warm, cut into cubes, so that it becomes easy to cut after wards.

Remove and serve.

Gulab Jamun Recipe

Ingredients’

Milk powder – 1 cup (150 gm)

All purpose flour /maida – 2 tbl.sp

Semolina/rava – 2 tsp

Cream – 1 tbl.sp

Baking powder – 1 tbl.sp

Milk to sprinkle

For making sugar syrup

Sugar – 1 cup

Water – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Rose water – ½ tsp

Method

Make a sugar syrup by boiling all the ingredients in a pan. The syrup should be of one thread consistency.

For making Gulab Jamun, first combine together milk powder, all purpose flour, semolina and baking soda. Add cream and rub till it forms like bread crumbs. Sprinkle little milk on it and make a dough of it. There is no need to knead the dough for too long to make it soft. Just bring all the ingredients together. The texture of the dough should be such that it should easily break. Leave this aside for 5 minutes.  Now make small balls from it and deep fry in oil.

Fry on low flame so that it is very well cooked from inside. Fry this till golden brown in color and dip in sugar syrup. Leave it for an hour before you serve this.

Sweet Boondi

Ingredients

Besan/chickpeas flour – 1 cup

Sliced almonds

Food color – orange and green optional

Sugar syrup

Sugar – ¾ cup

Water – ¾ cup

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Few strands of saffron

Method      

Make a sugar syrup and keep aside.

Take besan in a bowl, add water and mix till all the lumps are removed and the batter is of pouring consistency. Divide the batter into half and add green color in one batter and orange in another. Mix well.

Heat oil in a pan,

Take a perforated ladle, pour one spoon of this batter, the batter will drop like small balls in a pan, fry this for few minutes and put this in the sugar syrup. Mix it and garnish with sliced almonds.

Jalebi Recipe

Ingredients

All purpose flour – 1 cup

Yoghurt – ½ cup

Sugar – 1 cup

Water – ¾ cup

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Few saffron threads
food color

Method

In a bowl, combine together yoghurt and all purpose flour, add little water to make it a pouring consistency. Add cornflour, if the batter has become too thin. Cover and leave it to ferment for another 24 hours.

Next day, again knead it for 10 to 15 minutes.  Add food color to it.
Take a plastic bag, pour the batter into it. Keep oil for heating, when the oil is hot,  start making jalebis. Deep fry in hot oil.

Make one thread sugar syrup by adding water, cardamom powder and few saffron thread.

Dip this jalebis into it, so that it is coated well with sugar syrup.

Remove and serve hot.

Moong Dal Halwa

Ingredients

Moong dal – 1 cup

Ghee/butter – 1 cup

Sugar – as per taste

Milk – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Nuts and raisins

Carrot and Beetroot Halwa

Ingredients

Grated carrot – 2 ½ cup

Grated beetroot – 1 cup

Milk – ½ cup

Condensed milk – ¼ cup or more

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Chopped nuts and raisins

Murmura Laddu/Rice Puffs Ball

Ingredients

Rice puff/murmura – 2 to 3 cups

Jaggery – 1  cup

Water – 1 cup

Method

Add water and jaggery in a pan and keep for boiling. When it has become little thick, put few drops of jaggery in cold water, when ii turns into balls, it means jiggery syrup is ready.

Add rice puffs and mix it well. Remove from flame. When it is little warm, grease your hands with oil or ghee and make small balls.

When cool, you can store this in an air tight container.

Chocolate Malpua

Ingredients

For making Malpua

Wheat flour/all purpose flour – 1 cup

Milk – ¾ cup or more

Sugar – 1 tsp

Salt – a pinch

Cinnamon powder – ¼ tsp

Cottage cheese (paneer) – 3 tbl.sp

Yogurt – 1 tbl.sp

Sugar syrup

Sugar – ½ cup

Water – ½ cup

Chocolate sauce (Check my recipe for chocolate sauce)

Method

Mix all the ingredients given for malpua and make a batter of pouring consistency.

Make a sugar syrup and keep aside.

Heat a pan, shallow fry or deep fry small pancakes.

Dip in sugar syrup for few seconds, remove in a plate and pour little chocolate sauce on top.

Coconut Ladoos

Ingredients

Dessicated/fresh coconut – 1 cup

Condensed milk – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Dry nuts and raisins

Method

Heat a pan, add one tbl.sp of ghee or unsalted butter.

Add dry nuts and raisins and fry till golden brown in color.

Remove and keep aside.

In the same pan, add condensed milk, cardamom powder and grated coconut and stir fry on a low flame till it becomes thick.

Add the fried nuts and raisins and mix well. Leave it to cool.

Roll into small balls like ladoos and coat it with dessicated coconut.

Khajur Recipe

Ingredients

Wheat flour – 1 cup

Semolina – ¼ cup

Warm ghee/butter – 3 tbl.sp

Melted jaggery – as per taste

Milk – ½ cup

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

Poppy seed – 1 tbl.sp

Oil for frying

Method

Combine all the ingredients given except poppy seed and knead it to a stiff dough.

Cover and Leave it to rest for half an hour.

Take a big portion of the dough, roll into thick chapatti, sprinkle little poppy seeds on top. With the help of rolling pin again roll it gently.

Cut into diamond or square shape and deep fry in oil till golden brown in color.

When cool, store it in an airtight container.

Beetroot Halwa (Beetroot Fudge)

Ingredients

Beetroot – 3

Sugar – 1 cup or as per taste

Milk – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Cream/khoya – 3 tbl.sp

Dry nuts and raisins

Ghee

Method

Peel the skin and grate the beetroot.

In  a deep bottom pan, heat 1 tbl.sp of ghee, and dry nuts and raisins and fry till they are golden brown in color.

Remove and keep aside.

In the same pan, add beetroot and stir fry for 2 minutes.

Then add sugar and milk and cook till it becomes thick.

Add cream and cardamom powder, mix well, cook for a minute and then remove from fire and serve in a bowl. Garnish with dry nuts and raisins.

Sheera (Sweet Semolina Recipe)

Ingredients

Semolina – 1 cup

Sugar – 1 cup

Milk – 1 ½  cup

Water – ½ cup

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Chopped almonds, cashew nuts and raisins

Ghee/butter

Method

Heat ghee/butter in a pan. Add chopped nuts and raisins and stir fry for a minute till the color changes to golden brown in color.

Then add semolina and again fry for few minutes till you get  a nice aroma. Add milk, water, cardamom powder and sugar. Mix well and leave it to simmer on a low flame till all the moisture is absorbed.

Serve hot.

Akrot Ka Halwa (Walnut Fudge)

Ingredients

Walnut – 1 cup

Khoya – 1 ½ cup

Powdered sugar – ½ cup or as per taste

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Ghee/butter for cooking

Method

In a pan heat 1 tbl.sp of ghee/butter and lightly fry walnuts for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and blend it coarsely and keep it aside.

In the same pan, again add 1 tbl.sp of ghee/butter and add khoya and powdered sugar to it. Fry till on a low flame till the khoya melts, add cardamom powder to it and remove from fire.

Remove this khoya in a pan, add powdered walnut, mix well and spread on a greased plate.

When cool, cut into square pieces, decorate it with silver foil and serve.

Chana Dal Kheer

Ingredients

Chana dal – 1 cup

Turmeric leaf – 1

 Thick Coconut milk – 1 cup

Thin coconut milk – 1 cup

Jaggery as per taste

Cardamom powder  - ½ tsp

Nutmeg powder – ¼  tsp

Pinch of salt

Method

Soak chana dal in water for an hour. Pressure cooks it along with turmeric leaf and jaggery till it becomes soft.

When the steam is released, open the lid, discard the leaf and then add thin coconut milk, cashew nuts, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.

Cook till it starts boiling, then add thick coconut milk, cook for a minute and then remove from fire and serve.

Dates and Walnut Balls

Ingredients

Dates – 1 cup chopped

Walnut – ½ cup

Dry coconut – ½ cup

Sesame seeds – 2 tbl.sp

Oats – ½ cup

Sugar – ½ cup or as per taste

Method

Roast sesame seeds and oats separately.

Blend walnuts coarsely.

In a double boiler add chopped dates, sugar and little water and cook till it becomes soft.

Then add sesame seeds and mix well and remove.

Add roasted oats, mix well and make small balls.

Roll on grated coconut and serve.

Shankarpali Recipe

Ingredients

Refined flour/maida – 250 gm

Rava/semolina – 100 gm

Ghee/unsalted butter – 100 gm

Powdered sugar – 100 gm or as per taste

Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

Pinch of salt

Method

Mix maida and rava in a bowl.

Heat ghee in a pan, when hot pour on the flour and stir with a spoon.

When it is little warm, add powdered sugar, salt and cardamom powder and knead to soft dough.

Cover it and leave it to rest for half an hour.

Divide in to small balls and with the help of a rolling pin, roll it into roti.

Cut into diamond shape with a cutter, deep fry in oil on a medium flame until golden brown in color.