Easy Wheat Halwa
Wish you all a Happy Diwali!!!! Wheat Halwa is a popular Asian dessert made with wheat milk or wheat flour. Traditionally it is made using wheat milk obtained from wheat grains. Today I have made this halwa using wheat flour which is an easy version. I will soon be posting the recipe for the traditional Halwa. Ingredients: Wheat flour – 3 cup Javvarisi (tapioca pearls) – 1/2 cup Corn flour – 1/4 cup Sugar – 4.5 cups Ghee – 1 cup Powdered cardamom – 3/4 tbsp Nutmeg powder – 2 pinches Broken cashew nut – 1/4 cup (roasted in ghee) Slivered almonds – 2 tbsp Red food color – 1/4 tsp (mix with 2 tbsp water) Method of Preparation: Soak javvarisi (tapioca pearls) overnight. Grind it to a smooth paste. Grease a tray with ghee and keep it ready....
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Suryakala / Chandrakala (Step by Step Instructions)
I love milk sweets and sweets using Khoya. This is yet another easy sweet we can make for Diwali. The process look little big but it is real easy to make. Here I used homemade khoya but we can use store bought khoya too which will make things more easier :). Ingredients: For Outer Covering: All purpose flour / Maida – 2 cups Ghee – 2 tbsp Baking soda – a big pinch Salt – a big pinch Water – as needed For Stuffing: Sweetened Khoya – 1 cup (I have used homemade palkova) Cardamom powder – 1 tsp Fried cashews and raisins – 2 tbsp Oil – For frying Sugar – 1 cup Water – 1 cup Saffron – a pinch Method of Preparation: Mix flour, salt, baking soda and ghee and mix by adding water little by...
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Rava Laddu – Sooji Laddu (version 2)
Rava Laddu or Sooji Laddu is a popular Indian sweet made specially for Diwali festival and also on special occasions. It is easy to make and takes only a few minutes. There are different versions of this laddu but this is my favorite and my mom’s recipe. It has a smooth texture and it just melts in your mouth. Sooji and sugar are finely ground and mixed together and made into laddus with ghee. It is generally tough to fine grind sooji (rava) at home. So my mom gives it to the flour mill for grinding. But for people who live abroad, you can bring finely ground sooji from India or just use your dry grinder (or mixie) for grinding sooji. See recipe for details. Preparation time: 60 minutes Yield: 50 Laddus Ingredients: Rava (sooji) – 500...
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Kadalai Urundai – Peanut Candy Balls
Kadalai Urundai is an Indian version of peanut candy. You can make this with both jaggery or sugar. This one is with sugar which is my personal favorite. It is very easy to make with the readily available ingredients from your pantry. All it requires is some patience and attention while preparing. We prepare this sweet for festivals such as Karthigai Deepam and other special occasions. You can either make it as balls or as square shape burfis (chikki). You can find this peanut candy in almost all the Indian grocery stores. If you like the fresh ones like me then get ready to make some tasty peanut chikkis. I followed the steps from mykitchenstove (my sister’s blog) and it came out perfectly. Preparation time: 45 minutes Yield: 20 balls Ingredients: Roasted peanuts – 2 cups (without skin) Sugar – 1 cup...
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Semiya Kesari – Vermicelli Kesari
Kesari also known as Sheera or Sooji Halwa is a delicious Indian dessert made with semolina or vermicelli and sugar. We generally make it is as an offering (prasad) to God or for special occasions. This Kesari is made with vermecelli and it will be a nice variation if you always use sooji. Kids will also love it. Since it takes only a few minutes to make this you don’t have to plan ahead. You can make it for an unexpected guest or surprise your kids when they come back from school. It reminds me of my childhood days when my mom surprises with different kind of sweets and snacks…:) Also check out our recipe for Rava Kesari. Preparation time: 30 minutes No. of servings: 5 to 6 Ingredients: Semiya (vermicelli) – 1.5 cups Water – 2 1/4 cups Sugar...
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Paneer Jalebi – Chanar Jalebi
Paneer Jalebi or Chanar Jalebi is a delicious cheese dessert made with fresh cottage cheese or paneer. It will be a nice variation from the regular jalebi. It is airy, soft and juicy. My fried told me about this dish and she asked me give it a try. I am glad I did. It turned out so good and I loved it. Try this dish for any special occasions or festivals and enjoy with your family. Preparation time: 90 minutes Yield: 18 to 20 Ingredients: Fresh Paneer – 1 cup Corn flour – 1 tbsp Maida (all purpose flour) – 1 tbsp Baking powder – 1/2 tsp Milk – 2 to 3 tbsp Cardamom – 4 (powdered) Rose essence – 1 tsp Saffron – a few strands Orange food color – a pinch (dissolved in 1 tbsp of water)...
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Moti Pak
Wish you all a Happy Diwali!! Moti Pak is a delicious sweet burfi made with chickpea flour (besan) and sugar. It tastes more like laddu but it has khoya in it which makes it rich and special. You can make this at home which tastes amazing like the ones from sweet shops. Follow the step by step procedure and prepare this wonderful sweet for Diwali. Preparation time: 90 minutes Yield: 16 pieces Ingredients: Besan flour – 2 cups Sugar – 2 cups Milk – 4 tbsp Khoya – 1/4 cup Ghee – 2 tsp Rose essence – 1 tsp Saffron – a pinch Powdered cardamom – 1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder – a pinch (optional) Yellow and red food color Method of Preparation: Sift besan flour to remove any lumps. Mix the yellow and red food color in a tbsp...
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Bread Halwa
My mom used to make this bread halwa very often. It is very simple to make unlike other halwas. We can use any kind of bread (except salty one) for bread halwa. The taste and color slightly varies according to that. Time of Preparation : 45 minutes No of Servings : 15 to 20 Ingredients: Bread – 1 loaf (any kind and I have used white bread) Milk – 6 cups Sugar – 1 1/4 cup Ghee – 4 tbsp Cahews – 4 tbsp Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp Method of Preparation: Crush the bread to small pieces. Heat 3 tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry the bread till golden brown. Add the milk and sugar and stir occasionally. Stir it in medium flame and mash it so that there is no lumps. It will soon thicken...
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Kasi Halwa – Poosanikkai Halwa
Kasi Halwa is a traditional South Indian dessert made with ash gourd or poosanikkai. This halwa is served in weddings and special occasions. It is one of the most delicious halwa I have eaten and definitely made it to my favorites list. You need very less ghee to make this dish and the ingredients are pretty simple. Only thing is the yield is less compared to the amount of vegetable you use. Try this delicious Halwa for this Diwali and enjoy with your family and friends. Preparation time: 75 minutes No. of servings: 7 to 8 Ingredients: White pumpkin or ash gourd – 4 lb (around 2 kg) Sugar – 2 1/2 cups (500 grams) Cardamom – 4 Cashew nut – 2 tbsp Ghee or clarified butter – 3 tbsp Orange food color – a big pinch Method...
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Paruppu Payasam
Paruppu Payasam is a delicious Indian dessert made with lentils, coconut milk, milk and jaggery. It is made during festivals and special occasions. I usually make it just with milk but this time as per my sister’s advice I also added some coconut milk which made this a lot of more richer and delicious. Try to use the thick or the first milk extracted from the coconut. For more details about how to extract coconut milk, read “How to extract coconut milk“. Preparation time: 40 minutes No of servings: 5 Ingredients: Moong Dal – 1/2 cup Chana dal – 2 tbsp Jaggery – 1/4 cup Milk – 3/4 cup Fresh coconut milk – 1 cup Ghee or clarified butter – 1 and 1/2 tsp Cashew nut – 1 tbsp Cardamom – 2 pods A few saffron strands Method of Preparation:...
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Paal Payasam (Version 2) / Milk and Rice Kheer
Rice Kheer is an Indian dessert which will be very tasty and is generally made for special occasions. For making Rice Kheer, we have to stand and near the cooking range for a long time to reduce the milk. But for this version of Rice Kheer we need not stand and wait. Only thing is the gas consumption will be more but definitely no strain :). Time of Preparation : 5 minutes Cooking Time : 3 hours No of Servings : 4 to 5 Ingredients: Milk (Full fat or 2%) – 5 cups Basmathi rice (washed) – small handful (around 3 tbsp) Saffron – a pinch Sweetened Condensed Milk – 1/2 can (7 oz) Ghee – 1 tsp Method of Preparation: Take a pressure cooker and add a tsp of ghee. Slightly toss the Basmathi rice and add the...
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Aval Vellam – Poha with Jaggery
Aval Vellam is a sweet dish made with jaggery and poha. I made this dish for Krishna Jayanthi or Gokulashtami (Lord Krishna’s birthday) since poha is one of his favorite food. It takes only a few minutes to make this dish and you can serve it for evening snacks to kids. Preparation time: 30 minutes No. of servings: 4 Ingredients: Poha or aval (thick or thin) – 3/4 cup Jaggery – 1/2 cup Cashew nut – 1 tbsp Cardamom – 3 pods Shredded coconut – 2 tbsp Method of Preparation: Wash and soak poha in water for 5 minutes or until soft. If using thin poha, just wash and soak for a minute. Strain the poha through a colander. Add jaggery and a little water in a pan and bring it to a boil. When jaggery dissolves, filter the...
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Rava Kesari with Jaggery
Usually we make Kesari with sugar. In this recipe there is a twist…Yeah I am adding Jaggery instead of sugar. I got this recipe from my cousin and people who like sweets using Jaggery will love this recipe. Time of Preparation : 20 minutes No of Servings : 1 or 2 Ingredients: Rava / Sooji coarse – 1/4 cup Jaggery – 1/2 cup (crushed) Milk – 1/4 cup (I have used skimmed milk) Water – 1/4 cup for jaggery + 1/2 cup Ghee – 2 tbsp Cardamom – 1 (crushed) Cashews – few Rasins – few Method of Preparation: Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a vessel and fry the rava in low flame until it starts to change the color. Add jaggery and cardamom to 1/4 cup of water and let it boil. When it completely dissolves, strain...
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Easy Kulfi IceCream
Kulfi is a delicious frozen Indian dessert made from dairy products. It is a perfect summer treat for both kids and adults. This recipe for making Kulfi takes only a few minutes to prepare and is perfect for party treats and quick dessert ideas. All you have to do is blend the ingredients and freeze it. You can use aluminum or plastic molds for making Kulfis. I bought mine from IKEA. If you do not have Kulfi mold, you can either pour the contents into a big box or tray, cover it with a tight lid or aluminum foil and freeze it overnight. Scoop and serve. Preparation time: 20 minutes Freezing time: 6 to 8 hours Yield: 50 small Kulfis Ingredients: Evaporated milk – one 12 oz can Condensed milk – one 14 oz can Heavy whipping cream –...
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Falooda
Falooda is a popular dessert in India, Pakistan and Middle East. It is served as a Ice Cream Sundae Float in India and it has basil seeds, falooda sev, rabdi, rose syrup and kulfi or ice cream. Basil seeds are also popularly known as chia, subja or tukmaria seeds. Ready made Falooda sev is available in stores. If you are unable to find it, I have given the recipe for it below. Falooda is a perfect summer drink or dessert. They are more like the Indian version of bubble tea where you can chew the basil seeds while enjoying the dessert. The basil seeds are said to have medicinal values and used as a coolant for body heat. This is a very easy to make dessert and a great way to impress your guests without boring them with the...
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How to Make Jalebi?
Jalebi is one of the most popular Indian desserts. They are just like funnel cakes but soaked in a sugary syrup. Jalebi is an easy to make yet very tasty sweet that will satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth. If you go sweet shopping in India, you will find this in every sweet shop. It’s that popular. Jalebi is a thinner and easier version of another sweet – Jhangri. This is yet another recipe I was hoping to post for Diwali but I guess this can also be made for Christmas! Preparation Time: 60 minutes No Of servings : 9-10 No Of Jalebi’s : 30-40 Ingredients: Maida/all purpose flour : 1 cup Besan Flour : 1 tsp Warm water : 3/4 cup Oil : 1 tsp Rapid rise yeast : 1 tsp Cardamom Powder : 1 tsp Yogurt :...
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Pori Urundai for Karthikai Deepam
Happy Karthikai Deepam to all our readers… Karthikai Deepam is a festival observed in India in the month of Karthikai (tamil month). Temples, houses and streets are lit with rows of oil lamps or agal vilakku and the sky is lit with fireworks. This festival is grandly celebrated in Thiruvannamalai, located in Tamilnadu. It is celebrated for 10 days and on the 10th day Mahadeepam (a huge lamp) is lit on top of the Annamalai hill which is said to be visible around a radius of 40 km. This is perhaps the oldest festival in the history of Tamilnadu. On this day, we make Pori Urundai or Puffed Rice Balls, appam, Neyyappam and share it with our family and friends. A grand feast is also prepared on this day which includes rice, sambar, rasam, kootu, kurry, vada, payasam, appalam,...
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How to make Gulab Jamun with Khoya?
Now a days making Gulab Jamuns with ready mix has become common. But we can find a huge difference in taste if we make them from the scratch. My grand mother and my aunt still make these for me if I ask for Jamuns. I got this recipe from my aunt and here goes the step by step procedure for making these delicious Khoya Jamuns. Time of Preparation : 50 minutes No of pieces : 30 Ingredients: Khoya – 1 cup (homemade or store bought) Maida / All Purpose Flour) – 1/2 cup Baking Soda – a pinch Milk – few tbsp Oil – For Frying Ghee 3 tbsp For Sugar Syrup: Sugar – 1 1/2 cup Water – 1 1/2 cup Cardamom – 4 to 5 (crushed) Method of Preparation: Sieve the maida and baking soda and mix...
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