MAIDA HALWA

I am still on cloud nine, yet to get over from the award hangover, this was time to celebrate my maiden award. I might sound like a maiden academy award winner, LOL, still...it makes me happy enough. I made this in 15 mts, so easy, just make it and gulp it down, so silky and slippery. But i would prefer the wheat Halwa over this because, it has more body and texture than this. This halwa, though good enough was like a step sister who was not as beautiful as Cinderella. Anyways, comes in handy for instant sweet cravings. Hope you enjoy. The one mistake was the garnishing. I didn't add any nuts to the halwa itself, but messed up with shaved almonds. Appa thought it was coconut scrapings till he tasted it, next time, keep it simple and keep it the right way, happy-bowl.

Recipe

Maida         -  100gms

Corn flour    -  15gms

Sugar         -  300gms

Gum Powder    -  a pinch

Ghee          -  150gms

Food color    -  a pinch

Nutmeg        -  1 tsp 

Make a runny paste with maida, cornflour, gum powder, food color and water.

Make a thin syrup with the sugar, when it comes to a boil add, maida and cornflour slurry.

When it comes to a boil and starts getting thicker add the ghee little by little.

When the mixture start coming together and leaves the pan,add nutmeg powder and transfer into a tray. Allow it to cool and cut into pieces.

MILK HALWA

If you had been reading my blog for a while, you must know that i don't give up easily on getting thing right. So, i am second time lucky...(touchwood). I made this the traditional way that my grandmother used to make. On FIREWOOD. Yes, i took the challenge and handled it, well .. with much gusto, No one  to help me around, i managed to lit the fire in my garden and had to toil around to keep away from the smoke that was swaying from the fire. It was like a merry go round, to venture away from the direction of the smoke. Otherwise i enjoyed it very much. Folks, if anybody can, please try to cook this way at least once in a lifetime, it is fun.

Recipe:

Milk                   -     2.5 ltr

Sugar                  -    400gms

Cream of  Tartar       -    1 tsp

Liquid Glucos          -    1 tbsp

Boil the milk in a big vessel. The milk tends to boil over, since the heat from a firewood stove is much higher than a normal gas stove. When the milk boils for five minutes, add cream of tartar and wait till it curdles. Cook it with the water. When all the moisture is absorbed, add sugar and allow it to caramelize a bit. When it becomes a nice brown color. remove from heat and add the liquid glucose. One must wonder that i didn't add any flavouring. There was a subtle smoky flavour that i liked very much. That is the reason for no extra flavouring..Try it, you won't regret making it. 

HORLICKS MYSURPA

Fore warning: This has a zillion calories.True. You have to toil in the tread mill for a whole week for just one serving of it. This was a rage when introduced by SKC. But, now ,it is available at any corner store. Nothing like home made. I couldn't get the lighting right; that is why this blue tint. One thing i tweaked is, the recipe actually calls for full cream milk powder, i didn't have them handy, so i substituted with horlicks...:-).This has a melt in mouth texture, asking for more and more. I, with great restraint, had to pull myself out of the cupboard where this is stored.

I am going to limit this to festive delicacies from now. Too good for ordinary occasions. Now for the recipe.

Besan flour -   250 gms

Sugar       -   500 gms

Ghee        -   1 Kg (a whooping amount. Yes, but do not reduce) 

Horlicks    -   125 gms

Roast the flour in ghee for about 10mts.

Make sugar syrup of 1/2 string consistency.

Mix both together and put on the flame. Once the mixture comes together, add the horlicks and keep stirring untill it forms a big mass.

The edges should start spluttering when your ladle passes through it.

Pour over in a greased plate and slice them.



BASUNDHI

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY. Let this year be a one filled with  happiness and wishes fulfilled with good health and prosperity. Since my sister A had come over from Singapore, we had a bash on New Year. She is not a patron of sweets and so i tried to impress her with a heritage dish. Thus Basundi. Creamy and decadent, loaded with calories, we made sure that all of us had a small serving so as to control the calories. Reserve the extra calories for the rest of the year.

Recipe

Milk          1 liter

Sugar         50 gms

Pistachios    10 nos

Almonds     ` 10 nos

Kalonji       2 Tbsp 

Heat the milk in a wide heavy bottomed vessel and skim of the malai as it accumulated to the corner of the vessel.

Once the mixture becomes thick with lots of malai, add the sugar and stir till it dissolves.

Allow the mixture to cool and garnish with nuts.

I didn't add cardamom or any other flavourings, the aroma of quartered milk was enough.

MILK BURFI

I decided to make this for the New Year treat, but curiousity got the better of me. Saw the recipe on a television show and had long been wondering how this was made in sweet shops. At last i came to know how simple it was. Really simple; doesn't need any attention till the last minute. Yes.. you can leave it alone and attend to it for a mere few minutes and this will be beautifully done. The next time i do this am going to take it away from the flame five minutes before so that it stays much softer which is often called "paal halwa". I  intentionally made it into a burfi because it is easier to serve. Next thing about this sweet is that it does not have any butter or ghee in it. Though i am not a milk sweet person except rosgollas, this was a winner.

Recipe

Milk                     1 litre

Sugar                    100 gms

Curd                     2 Tbsp

Liquid glucose           1 Tbsp (omit if you cant get it, this just makes the burfi  soft and prevents hardening)

Maida                    1 Tbsp

Mix maida with all of the milk before boiling.Make sure it is well blended and there are no lumps.

Bring the milk to a boil and simmer it for 10 mts until it gets a nice color and aroma.

Add the curd and allow it to curdle.

Do not drain (as we do for paneer). Allow it to cook with the whey until all of the water evaporates.

When the mixture is thick and comes together halwa like, add the sugar and leave to simmer again for another 15mts.

By now it should reach a nice brown color.

When the water from the sugar has evaporated, increase the flame and keep swirling the pan.

DO NOT STIR, JUST KEEP SWIRLING UNTIL THE BOTTOM IS BROWNED.

When the bottom is crystallized,transfer this into a tray. Allow it to cool and cut into pieces.

Garnish with almonds or pistachios. (i didn't). Neither did i add liquid glucose. Googled it to find that it prevents the dish from hardening and keeps it soft. Doesn't matter. It tasted good even without.

Mmm...should think about New Year Dessert.

FRUIT CAKE

What is Christmas without a fruit cake..?. Though we do now celebrate Christmas, i enjoy the fervour and spirit it spreads in this time of the year. I enjoy all the goodies that my friends pass on during Christmas, and as a return gift, i pack them a slice of this cake.

This is, again, a few of my original recipes that i have developed myself with some innovations each year. The first time i made this was with plain sugar and treacle. Next year it was demerera sugar with home made caramel. The fruits of course, we are spoilt with choice, but, i stay to almonds,walnuts, dates, dried black raisins and dried cranberries. Once you get to taste home made fruit cake, you would never go for a store bought one. I do not restrict this bake to Christmas alone. This family favourite will find a place in the table during any special occasion that needs a cake.

One could play with this recipe (as i did); say you could change the proportion of fruits added or the flavourings or the soaking syrup. We are strict non alcoholics, thus a mix of apple and orange juice. The traditional rum soaking method is always there. Another thing that is amiss in this recipe will be candied peel. That does not work for me. If you want a very strong flavoured cake you can add a dash of it too.

An important tip in this cake is, use the soaking syrup according to the days you will make the cake in advance. I make this cake two weeks in advance , so 200ml. By the time it is 4 days before Christmas(that is when i start distributing), the cake would be packed in flavour and Punch.

Now for the recipe

Flour                    200gms

Demerera Sugar           200gms

Butter                   200gms

Eggs                     4

Salt                     1/4 tsp

Caramel                  4 Tbsp

Cinnamon                 1/4 ts

(i don't enjoy it thus such meagre amt, add 1  tsp if you are a fan of cinnamon)

Nutmeg                   1tsp

Dryginger powder         1/2 tsp

Vanilla                  1 tsp

Dates                    100gms (soaked in hotwater for 15mts)

Dried black raisins      100gms (soaked in hotwater for 15mts)

Dried cranberries        100gms (soaked in hotwater for 15mts)

Walnuts                  100gms toasted

Almonds                  100gms toasted

Apple Juice 100 ml

Orange juice 100ml

Cream butter and sugar till light and creamy.

Add eggs one at a time untill well blended.

Add all the flavourings and mix well

First add the caramel and soaked fruits and make sure they are mixed well

Then add the nuts (cooled).

Now add flour and mix untill well incorporated.

Give it a quick mix (do not worry about over beating) and fill in a 12 inch bundt pan and bake for 35 mts at 180c.

Wait unitll completely cooled. The next day, mix both the juices in a nozzled bottle and spray liberally over the cake. You will find the cake very wet, but have faith, the refrigerator will do the magic. Pack it in a airtight box and leave it in for two weeks. When you open it after two weeks you will never regret the labour of this cake.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #14: Creative Christmas Bakes (December 2011) hosted by Hankerie

BOONDI LADOO

Ladoo... This is what i call my nephew G in bombay. He is such a cute boy that this sweet reminds me of him. The staple of any south indian weddings, this is as versatile as the badusha and the mysorepak. This is another of my own recipe. Handed down from my grandmother, i made some changes. My gm makes the traditional south indian ladoos which are yellow in color and has a sugar basted look and feel in it. I always make this north indian version ladoo which has tiny boondis and is much softer and tastes great, but i have my own doubts about the shelf life (The SI ladoo stays fresh for 10 days in the fridge) .

 OK, now for the verdict, the ladoo tasted great, had the same texture and look, but......, i went wrong with the color and aroma. Out of curiosity, i added a bit more of the orange color (that is why the ladoo has a deeeeeeeeeeeeep color); i should have added pure saffron, i went for the essence instead; The usual elaichi and nutmeg combo gave this dish a nice aroma but the "shree mithai" aroma was lacking. Should do some research to acquire that aroma. Nevertheless the dish was superhit.

Recipe

Besan Flour - 500 gms

water           - 3 cups

orange color - a pinch

Sugar          -  1000 gms

oil               -   to deep fry

ghee           -   to deep fry

cucumber seeds - to garnish

elaichi, nutmeg - 1 tsp

saffrom essence - 1 tsp

Make a runny batter with the besan flour, water and color. Leave it for 10 mts. Heat a kadai with oil and ghee in equal proportions. Seive the batter through a fine boondi strainer. Make boondis with all the batter.

Prepare sugar syrup of less than one strand (1/2 string) consistency. Put in all the boondis. Simmer the mixture with the lid closed for 10 mts. The boondis should absorb all the syrup and they should not be sticking to each other. Let them cool down until they are warm.Mix in the elaichi/nutmeg powder/essence/  cucumber seeds and shape into ladoos. Enjoy

APPLE HALWA

During the Jangiri debacle, i browsed so many sites for help and Rak's Kitchen made my day. She had announced an event for the month for sweets made with fruits or veggies.



I remembered, long long ago, when we were kids, amma used to make apple halwa every birthday. I completely forgot about it over the years, she too, i suppose. Nowadays it is more of stylish dishes like 'Mysurpa' or 'Ghee ladoo'.

The moment i read about the event, the recipe that came to my mind was this halwa. It is very easy to prepare and very tasty too. I am submitting this for her event.

Recipe:
Apple - 2 nos
Sugar - 1/2 cup (reduce it if you like it less sweeter)
Sugarless Khoa - 5 Tablespoon
Cardamon - a pinch
Almonds - for garnish (optional)

Cook the apples with the skin (nutrients, vitamins... aaghh) until tender.

Then add sugar.The mixture will turn liquidy now.

Cook till all the moisture is absorbed.

When it is nice and thick add the khoa and cook for five minutes.

Remove from fire add the cardamon and garnish with almond flakes. Tada... it is done.

MINI JANGIRI

I had been long waiting for an opportunity to make this sweet. But, i had my own inhibitions.There was one attempt (which i would quickly want to forget) which was a catastrophe. Fortunately mom was not there at home during that (otherwise i would have been worse than that jangiri of mine). Appa silently took away with the garbage before she sensed any mischief.

This time i did a lot of R&D. The occasion too was special. It was my parents' anniversary. Every year i make them Paal Payasam, but this time i wanted to try something different. It was so selfish of me. Though they both are diabetics, they relish whatever i make except for my sister A, who is a devil of a critic. Even Nigella should put some extra effort to please her.

I am no Nigella, so this was a better attempt from my previous one. I played safe with going with mini jangiris this time, not the fancier original design. Was pretty easy,need to practice a lot.I made two mistakes with this recipe. I cut the cone which held the jangiri batter a little too wide, that is why they are a bit stout. Mistake number two is, the sugar syrup crystallized quickly than i had anticipated. So when the jangiris cooled it formed a coating of sugar which i didn't like. Two things to keep in mind in future(should also try the real jangiri design next time).

As usual this is not my recipe, i had taken it from here. Hers was far far better than mine.

KALAKAND

After much discussion and thinking, we decided this sweet for Krishna Jayanthi. Only last week there was an overdose of sugar with Gulab Jamun, so i wanted a very simple and light sweet for the little one. This was made with paneer and milk with some crushed almonds that was left over in the fridge for a long time. I don't know how they get the pristine white colour in the shops, this was off white in colour. After bringing it down to room temperature, i refrigerated it for 2 hours before cutting them into pieces. Garnished them with salted pistachios to give a kick. Will keep you posted on how they tasted, later....

GULAB JAMUN

I AM BACK. Back with the ever popular "Gulab Jamun". After the long vacation in singapore, back to chennai and how lovely it was to see my house and garden. The initial days took my time to set right the mess. When i checked my kitchen pantry, i saw the milkpowder nearing its exp date.

Such a miser that i am, i don't like to waste anything, i jumped into the idea of making gulab jamun. This is my maiden adventure of making GJ from milk powder. With my creative juices flowing (flooding rather) this is was an instant way of dishing out this beautiful delicacy (though it tasted best the next day).

KAJU BARFI

This post is a bit late, actually the first post abroad. Landed in the cleanest city of the world five days back and am awestruck by the clockwork precision of things managed in Singapore. Since i didn't bring in much for A to eat, i thought of making it here; there is no dearth of shops that supply exclusive Indian goods here. This is the first of many to come (or so i hope).

It was pretty easy. Just mix in powdered cashew nuts with sugar syrup and tada...you are done.The one thing i was blown over again by how clean the sugar was. Not a speck of dirt. In the other post of Kaju Katli, the color was a bit ashen (courtesy:India sugar industry). I was too apprehensive to use any bleaching agents to whitish color (as in store bought ones). I just add milk to the sugar syrup to remove whatever slime that floats by. This time i didn't have to do anything, the syrup was crystal clear. A had already ordered the moon cake moulds online. The sweet came out beautifully and were lip smacking to taste. Aren't they cute..?

KAJU FLOWERS

This is the second takeaway for A. Actually this is kaju katli gone wrong. While i took so much pride in my last blog that i am great at sweets, this one brought me down to earth.

I planned to make this early before A's friends came to say good bye, but a sloth i am this took much more time than i had anticipated. They arrived and that was it. I discussed with so much enthusiasm about Nigella's cooking exploitations that i completely forgot about the project that was cooking. Atlast when i remembered it, it was too late. The wok was so happy to have the dish that it would'nt let go of it. But i was too proud to admit my mistake.

I silently covered it for a while and once completely cooled, i added a tablespoon of hot water to make it into a pilable dough. Then with the mooncake moulds that A had got from singapore, i punched them into it and my sweet babies were ready in a jiffy.

A later told me that her colleagues were raving about my cooking skills, only i know the truth, i am not a good cook but am intelligent cook.

BADAM HALWA

Aptly named the "king of Halwas", this is once in a year delicacy; reserved for special occasions. A had come to India and i made so many things for her during her return. This is the first one i made. I must confess that i lack talent in making anything that is savoury. I dont know why, i have'nt tried to make anything savoury (snacks/titbits)in my life.

One of my new year resolution is to try with success some amount of savoury.My sweets always turn out to be good; so may be i was satisfied with it and not adventurous enough to sail into unknown territory. ok coming back to the halwa. This is like old wine, it tastes better as it ages. I made it on friday, the real taste surged only after sunday. i couldnt have just a spoonful.

Actually i have a ploy to cut down my cravings for anything sweet. I fill a very small cup with the sweet dish and savour it all through the day.So, two in one. i had the sweet and no more guilty of calories.

BADUSHA

Translated as "The King", this sweet delicacy has been a must in all traditional south indian weddings until the Gulab Jamun mania took over. Grandmothers, Aunts and other members of the family prepared this in a jiffy and each had their own style. one added orange color to the dough that gave a bright look to it. Some added lemon yellow for a subtle look.  I like this plain without any added colors.

This is a very mildly sweet tasting dish that can be stirred up to satisfy sweet cravings. I have an immensely big sweet tooth, so i keep the sweet pangs at bay by making this sweet. (Less in calories when compared to its other indian cousins). The inside will take a day or two to soften, so dont be alarmed if it stays hard when you taste it immediately.



KAJU KATLI

Anybody having a sweet tooth would die for this sweet. The most beloved after Gulab Jamun and Carrot Halwa, this is indispensible during Diwali or any special ocassion.

I had a special ocassion too. I made this as a return gift for my aunt in France. (one of my cake baking Guru). She is a lovely lady to have sent me so many baking paraphenalia all the way from France that i thought, it would be embarassing for me to thank her empty handed. So i made a lot of this and am still waiting for her review.

Will keep ya posted