Badam Halwa

Ingredients:

Badam paste

Badam - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Kesar Colour - one pinch
Ghee - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup

Method

1. Soak the badams in hot water for 1 hour then remove the outer skin.
2. Grind it to a paste with one cup milk.
3. In a heavy bottom kadai add one 2 spoon ghee, when it hot add grounded paste in to it.
4. Add little water and allow it to cook till all the water absorbed & becomes thick.
5. Now add sugar & kesar colour
6. Add hot ghee little by little and stirring continously of medium flame and cook till it thickens.
7. Now switch off the stove and add grated almonds before serving.

Strawberry and Apricot Wheat Rolls

Ingredients:

1. Strawberries - 6-8, hulled and sliced thinly
2. Apricots - 6- chopped roughly
3. Unsalted Butter - 1 tbspn
4. Honey - 2 squirts
5. Dark Brown Sugar - 2 tbspns
6. Flat breads made of whole wheat - 2

Procedure:

1. In a dish, heat butter until it melts and add the dark brown sugar. Let it cook for about 3 min
2. add in the apricots and cook till they soften
3. then add in the strawberries and cook for another 1-2 min
4. add the honey, stir and take the mixture off the heat. Close and let it just cook on its own. 
5. take a flat bread, and place some mixture in the center and make rolls. 

You will find some juices released from the strawberries combined with the sugar and honey. You can add this too in small quantities to the flat bread while making rolls; Or use it as a syrup right then, or refrigerate and use later.

My Amazing Chocolate Beetroot Brownies

These came by apprehension, some very hardworking nerves and my love for chocolate.

Ingredients:

1. beetroot - 250 gm
2. unsalted butter - 50 gm. 
3. Dark chocolate bar - 100 gm, chopped roughly
4. caster sugar - 125 gm
5. 2 eggs
6. all purpose flour - 50 gm
7. dark, luscious cocoa - 12 gm

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 180 C

1. chop up the beetroot roughly, and in a big non-stick dish, place them with a little water, to cook them for about 15 min, till they are soft and tender 
2. tip in the cooked beetroot, the chopped chocolate and the butter into a blender and blend till it is a nice dark brown puree.
3. put the sugar and eggs in another bowl and whisk till the mixture is pale, thick and foamy.
4. add in the beet-chocolate mixture and fold in carefully. 
5. sift in the flour and cocoa
6. pour the mixture in to a lined brownie tin and bake for about 25-30 min. The cake tester may not come out exactly clean, but the top will be the crust that you see on a brownie.

Serve warm as it is, or with chocolate syrup, or with ice cream, or all three ways ! :)

Aval Payasam / Poha Kheer

Milk - 500 ml
Aval (Poha) - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 6 to 7 Tbsp (Alter according to ur preference)
Cardamom - 2
Cashew - few

• Fry aval in a dry kadai slightly. Wash well and cook it
• Boil milk. To this add cooked aval, cardamom and sugar.
• Boil it stirring in between till the milk thickens.
• Remove from fire and garnish with cashews fried in little ghee.

Fruit Punch

• Apple - 1
• Banana - 2 or 3
• Seedless Grapes - 150 gms
• Orange - 1
• Musambi - 1
• Mango - 1
• Guava - 1 or 2
• Fresh Thick Curd - 2 cups
• Sugar Powder

Cut Apples, Banana, Mango and Guava into small cubes.

Peel orange and Musambi and cut them into small cubes.

Add sugar powder and thick curd to it

Mix well. Adjust the curd as needed.

Refrigerate and serve cool !!!!!

Lemon Lamingtons

This is the quintessential English dessert..

Ingredients:

1. Sponge Cake - 250 gm - preferably in the loaf form, not already cut into pieces
2. lemon juice - juice of 1 lemon
3. Fresh double or single cream - 2 tspns
4. condensed milk - 2 tbspns
5. butter - 1 - 2 tspns
6. lemon essence (optional) - 1/2 tspn
7. vanilla essence - 1/2 tspn
8. confectioner's sugar - 1 tbspn
9. grated dry or fresh coconut - 2 tbspns

Procedure:

1. Cut up the sponge cake into cubes of 2X2 and keep aside
2. in a separate bowl, mix up the butter, condensed milk and cream till they are combined.
3. next mix in the lemon juice and the vanilla essence.
4. mix till all are well combined - this is the frosting mixture
5. in another plate, sprinkle the grated coconut and keep ready
6. take one cake cube at a time, and pour your frosting mixture on it, so that everything is well coated in the luscious pale yellow frosting.
7. coat all your cakes that way and dunk them all in the grated coconut.
8. Set in the fridge

Serve Cold !

Strawberry Icecream

A perfect Ice cream for kids and a perfect getaway dessert for us gals!

Ingredients:

1. Fresh Red Strawberries - 500 gm
2. Full fat cream - 500 ml
3. Honey - 60 ml
4. Sugar - 2- 3 tbspns
5. Condensed Milk - 180 ml
6. Pure Strawberry Essence - 1 tspn
7. A big plastic box to pour your icecream concoction in !

Procedure:

1. In a large mixing bowl, steep the strawberries with the sugar, for about 45 min to an hr
2. In another bowl, whip your cream, condensed milk, honey and essence till everything is serenely combined, whisk for about 2 min
3. Blend the steeped strawberries in your blender, until about 60 percent is rubbled.
4. Now add your blended strawberries into the cream mixture and fold in well. Do not fold in too much, lest the cream mixture would lose air
5. Now pour the mixture into your ice cream container and let it freeze for about an hr
6. take it out, blend again and freeze again
7. after 1.25 hrs more, blend and freeze again.
8. Repeat this 1 more time, and then freeze for atleast 6 hrs

Serve cold with white chocolate shavings or just eat out of the box !!

Yes, yes.. Picture will soon follow .. ! :)

Rawa Kesari

Ingredients
Rawa - 1 cup
Sugar – 1 ½ cup
Water – 2 ½ cups
Ghee - 5 tsp.
Cashew nuts - 10
Raisins - 10
Elachi powder - 1/ 2 tsp.
Pinch of kesari colour

Method:

1. In a kadai add ½ tsp ghee fry cashew nuts & raisins, then keep separate.
2. On the same ghee fry the rawa and keep aside.
3. Now in a kadai add 2 ½ cups water and allow it to boil. Add kesari colour and then roasted rawa, to avoid lump keep stirring till it cook.
4. When rawa cooked completely then add 1 ½ cup sugar. After adding sugar this mixture will become watery. Add ghee side by side. Keep on stirring till all the water evobrates.
5. Before switching off the stove add elachi powder and remove from fire.
6. Finally add fried cashew nuts and raisins to garnish.

Banana Sizzler

A very easy dessert, provided you eat bananas

Ingredients:

1. Ripe Bananas - 3
2. Sugar - 50 gm
3. demerera sugar - 30 gm
4. Butter - 45 gm (1.5 tbspn)
5. Star Anaise - 2-3
6. Single/Double Cream - 1 tbspn (Optional)

Procedure

1. Slice your bananas into vertical slices
2. Place a heavy pan on heat, and add some butter (1tspn). 
3. After the butter melts, place the bananas on the pan and let them cook for about a minute on each side
4. let them slightly brown and crisp on both sides
5. now in another dish, make a sugar syrup out of 50 gm sugar and about 40 ml water. make the syrup of 1 thread consistency 
6. add in the star anaise in the end and close the dish with a lid, after taking the dish off heat. This will help it infuse. 
7. Meanwhile in the same pan, heat the remaining butter and let it brown. 
8. Add in the demerera sugar and let it cook well. 
9. Now take this syrup and pour it on your bananas. 
10. Pour some of the sugar syrup, with the star anaise on, also. 

Serve warm, with icecream or cream !

Spanish Nutella Crepes

We had this in Barcelona after a good hour of shopping. Cannot forget the taste of this wonderful, delicious dessert ! Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. All purpose Flour - 100 gm
2. Milk - 100 ml
3. butter/veg shortening - 1 tbspn
4. eggs - 2
5. butter (optional) - 1 tspn
6. Sugar - 1/2 tspn
7. Salt - 1/4 tspn (less than a pinch)
8. Nutella Chocolate cream - 1 big tbspn

Procedure:

1. Put the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. 
2. Now add in the milk little by little until the consistency of the batter is like single cream.
3. Now add the veg shortening and mix
4. Heat a pan on the stove, and pour a ladle full of the batter
5. Swirl it around so that the pan gets coated with the batter, in a full circle, and light to touch. 
6. Let it turn golden brown on the bottom side, and then flip it and continue to brown it if necessary. If your crepe is of the right consistency, you will not need to brown it on both sides; one side will brown up and simultaneously the other side will be cooked. 
7. After your crepe is cooked, then take it off the heat and let it cool on a serving plate.
8. Slather one side of your crepe with Nutella chocolate cream, roll the crepe, and serve with a blob of double cream if you like :)

Warm indulgence  ! 

Chocolate Excess

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour - 195 gm
2. Super-refined sugar - 200 gm
3. Unsweetened non-dutch cocoa- 75 gm
4. Baking powder and baking soda together - 2 tspn
5. Warm Water - 240 ml
6. White Wine vinegar - 1 tbspn
7. Vanilla Extract - 1 tspn

For the ganache:

1. Dark, semi-sweet chocolate - 170 gm
2. Heavy cream/double cream - 180 ml
3. Unsalted Butter - 1 tbspn
4. Chocolate liqueur - 1 tspn
5. Vanilla Extract - 1 tspn

Procedure:

1. Preheat your oven @ 177 C
2. Grease your baking dish
3. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl
4. whisk all wet ingredients separately in another bowl, just till they combine.
5. Now mix wet ingredients into dry ones
6. Combine till they thoroughly mix. 
7. pour into the baking dish, bake for about 35 min. , till a skewer inserted comes out clean
8. Leave to cool

Ganache:

1. Chop up the chocolate finely into a bowl.
2. In another bowl heat up the cream and butter, just till they boil
3. As soon as the cream and butter start boiling pour it on to the chocolate
4. Let it stand for 5 min.
5. Stir till smooth
6. Now let it cool at room temperature, and then pour it onto the cooled cake
7. leave it in the fridge to set nicely.
8. Now, with a pallete knife, set all the ganache onto the cake and decorate it !

EAT !!!! 

Cinnamon Buns

And ladies, I am back!! :)

Ingredients:

1. All Purpose Flour - 300 gm
2. Sugar - Superfine caster - 50 gm
3. a pinch of salt
4. dry yeast - 12.5 gm
5. Veg Oil - 50 gm
6. Milk @ room temp - 200 gm
7. Egg - 1
8. Butter - unsalted - 75-100gm
9. Sugar - 100 gm C
10. Cinnamon powder - 2 tbspns

Procedure:

1. Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. In another bowl, whisk int he wet ingredients till they combine.
3. Now add wet ingredients to the dry
4. slowly combine and then use your hands to make a soft dough
5. Let it rest and rise for about 30-40 min.
6. Preheat oven @ 230C
7. Punch it down and roll out into rolls, but taking small portions of the dough. (2/3rd of the dough)
8. Now melt the butter, let it cool and add in the sugar and cinnamon. And brush it on these rolls inside, before rolling.
9. with the rest 1/3rd, roll it out onto your baking tray that is greased, and then place these rolls on the doughy surface.
10. Let them rise again for about 10 min.
11. Bake for about 20-25 min, till they appear golden on the outside .

Pluck them and eat!

Rawa Ladoo

Ingredients

Rawa - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Coconut - 1/4 coconut (grated)

Elachi powder - 2 pinches

Cashews and Raisins - Few

Ghee - 8 - 10 spoons

Procedure

In a heavy bottom vessel, add ghee. Once melted, add in the cashews and fry in low flame.
Then add the raisins and fry well.
Add rawa, sugar and grated coconut and fry well.
Fry in low flame, till the raw smell goes.
Once done, remove from fire.
When hot, add very little milk and make small balls like ladoos and press tight.
(You need to press tight so that they dont loose out. If it doesn't bind while making ladoos, you can add little more milk.)
Relish your ladoos whenever u feel like!

Choco-Cream Peaches

Ingredients:

1. Ripe Peaches - 100 gm, cubed
2. Creme' Fresh - 100 ml
3. White Chocolate - 50 gm
4. Butter - 25 gm

Procedure:

1. Melt the white chocolate, and keep aside.
2. Beat your fresh cream till thick and glossy and now add in the melted white chocolate
3. Mix till it combines
4. Now add in the cubed peaches and mix in throughly

Store in the fridge for about 1/2 hr, by the time which the mixture would have set.

Serve Cold!!

Chocolate Lava Cake

An easy dinner-dessert ! Deliciously rich and mouth-watering!

Ingredients:

1. Milk Chocolate – 125 gm (cut into small pieces)

2. Butter – a little more than a stick

3. All-purpose flour – a little over 1 tbspn

4. Sugar – 3 tbspns

5. Vanilla extract – 1 tspn

6. Chocolate Liqueur – 1 tsnpn

7. Eggs - 2

Procedure:

Preheat at 200C

1. Melt chocolate over a double boiler and keep aside to cool

2. In another bowl beat the eggs, add in the sugar and keep beating till they are combined

3. Now add in the vanilla extract and chocolate liqueur. Keep combining them

4. Add in the flour and keep stirring and combining and lightly beating till the flour is all mixed with the chocolate mixture, without any lumps.

5. Now bake in the oven at 200C for 15-20 min.

Serve Warm/Hot – with a dollop of cream or just as it is!! HEAVENLY!!

Desserts

Vanilla Kheer

This is the ultimate fusion food that I came up with last night....Its quick, easy and absolutely delicious. Whats more - Its so healthy!

Ingredients:

1. Milk - 500 ml
2. Condensed Milk - 100 ml
3. Sugar - 3 tbspn
4. Wheat Vermicelli - 200 gm
5. Clarified Butter - 1 tbspn
6. Vanilla seeds from 1 vanilla pod

Procedure:

1. In a pan, add the clarified butter and put in on heat.
2. As soon as the butter starts warming up a little bit, add in the vermicelli and roast till really golden
3. Add in the milk and keep stirring to avoid any possible lumps. (Use a wooden spoon, preferably, as it helps from burning/or sticking to the bottom)This will take about 10 min
4. Keep stirring till the vermicelli becomes soft.
5. Add in about 75ml the condensed milk, keep stirring all the while.
6. After about 5 more min, add vanilla seeds, stir and let it cook for about 2 more min.
7. Take it off the heat, add in the remaining condensed milk

Serve hot!!

Desserts

Peanut Butter - Olive Oil Breakfast Muffins For Instant Gratification

Ingredients:

1. 125 g - All Purpose Flour
2. 125 g - Super fine caster sugar
3. 75 g - Olive oil
4. 50 g - Crunchy Peanut Butter
5. 1 tspn - baking powder
6. 2 tbspns - Golden Syrup
7. 2 - eggs
8. 2 tbpsns - Milk (Room Temp)
9. 1 tspn - Vanilla Essence

Procedure:

Preheat oven @ 200C

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl
2. In another bowl whisk all wet ingredients till they are combined
3. Combine Wet into Dry, till a lumpy batter in formed. Don't mix too much though
4. Now add the milk
5. Bake for 25-30 min

Serve Warm with a cup of milk ! These are excellent breakfast treats. But can be enjoyed anytime of the day

Flourless Healthy Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

225g dark chocolate chips
225g veg oil
2 tspns vanilla extract
200g fine refined caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
150g ground almonds
100g chopped walnuts

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C

2. Melt the chocolate and butter gently over a low heat in a heavy-based saucepan.

3.Take the pan off the heat, mix in the vanilla and sugar, and let it cool a little.

4.Beat the eggs into the pan along with the ground almonds and chopped walnuts. Turn into a brownie tray or lined with foil

5.Bake for 25–30 minutes, by which time the top will have set but the mixture will still be gooey. Once cool, cut, eat !!!!

Carrot Halwa

Ingredients

Grated Carrot- 1cup
Sugar- 1 cup
Ghee- as required
Cashew, dry grapes - as required

• Add 1 tablespoon of ghee in a pan and heat it. Fry cashew, dry grapes in the ghee.
• Add one cup of grated carrot to the pan and fry it in the ghee separately for few minutes. You can add required amount of ghee to the carrot.
• Sprinkle some amount of water on the carrot and let it boil.
• Once the carrot gets boiled add sugar to it and start stirring continuously till the sugar forms in to syrup. Add ghee as and when required.
• Stir until carrot forms in to halwa form. Once it is in the required form take it from the stove and add fried cashews and dry grapes to it.

This method is useful for those having doubts in making sugar syrup (thread like stage), but continuous stirring is essential.

Note:

• Stop heating once it is in the semi solid form. If you heat beyond it the sugar will crystallize and make the halwa very hard.
• Instead of using sugar you can add kova. If sweet less kova add little amount of sugar.

Rasagullas

Bengali Sweets are a favorite for all. How abt we preparing and relishing.... Added Joy!

I had got this recipe from Mrs. Mallika Badrinath's cook book... Just wanted to share as it was easy......

Ingredients

Paneer - Prepared from 1 litre cow's milk
Fine rawa - 1/2 tsp
Diamond sugar candy - 20 pieces
Rose water - 2 tsps
Baking Powder - a pinch

For sugar syrup
Sugar - 500 gms
Water - 3.5 cups

1. Prepare paneer from milk after removing the fat content from it as much as possible
Knead the fresh paneer (the one after draining it in a muslin cloth) with rawa and baking powder till it becomes smooth.
2. Make small balls with the paneer keeping one diamond sugar candy in the center of each ball. (Paneer balls should not have cracks while making)
3. While preparing the balls or sugar syrup, keep the balls closed under a wet cloth to prevent drying
4. Heat sugar and water in a pressure cooker or a pressure pan directly.
5. Stir till sugar gets dissolved completely.
6. When it starts boiling, add paneer balls to it.
7. Close the lid and keep the vent weight on top immediately.
8. Pressure cook for 12 minutes in medium flame.
9. Switch off the stove. Keep the cooked under running tap water.
10. Allow the water to run over the cooker (with lid closed) slowly for 10 minutes to cool.
(This process is needed to cool the cooker so that the lid can be opened immediately)
11. Remove lid and transfer the rasagullas with the syrup to another vessel.
12. Mix rose water and keep closed for 8 hrs before serving.

Hope U Enjoy as I Did......