Desi Fiesta

Blogging Marathon

Mango Custard Pd Halwa

By


I was so eager to try this custard halwa once priya aks posted it on her other blog . They tempted me so much and I made an mango flavored halwa from her custard pd halwa recipe . They turned out so yummy and I made them for a diwali get together we had last week end . This halwa was a great hit and the guest started asking me for the recipes . These are super lite not too heavy halwa like the corn flour halwa but the flavor gives it added advantage to fall for .I have tried making this halwa long back when I was a non blogger  but they didn’t set nicely , I was so happy to see the glossy and jelly like texture of this yummy halwa . 
Thanks to Priya Suresh  aks for sharing this delicious halwa I almost made this halwa as the given measurement but changed the sugar level and added flavor to it by including mango puree to it 🙂 Click here for Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#34.

Lets move to this must try recipe of mango custard pd halwa 🙂
Adapted from Cook N Click .

custard pd halwa

Mango halwa

Ingredients

1/2 cup  Mango flavor custard powder
10 nos Cashews (finely chopped)
2 cups Water
11/4 cups Sugar
2 tbsp Ghee
2 tbsp Mango puree ( I used canned one )
Sliced nuts for garnish ( optional)

Method 

  •  In a bowl take  custard powder,sugar and water, mix well without any lumps.
  • Transfer this mixture to a heavy bottomed pan, cook in simmer until the mixture gets slightly thicken.
  • Add the mango puree and mix them well.
  • Add the chopped cashews and ghee, cook in simmer until the mixture turns thick and leaves the corners of the pan while mixing.
  • Once the halwa it done , transfer it to a greased plate or a baking sheet.
  • Sprinkle the sliced nuts over the mixture if needed.
  •  Cut the halwa into desired shape once the halwa cools down completely .
Tips 
You can try this halwa with different flavors and also use vanilla flavor to make them .

Gujarti Fajeto / Mango in yogurt gravy

By


As you all know I chose mango as my fruit for this week’s BM theme ” Cooking with fruits ” . I was thinking of making for savoury with fruits and so popped this delicious Fajeto from gujarati cuisine which i saw in a TV show long long back.It was so delicous with mango flavor it makes us  want for more :). Fajeto is a yogurt gravy made with mango pulp and yogurt which is not considered as kadhi or sabzi it is a separate kind of gravy which can be used to accompany with rotis or used as a gravy for  rice.It is is some what like a southindian morkuzhambu can be said as mango morkuzhambu. Click here for Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#34.

  Lets move to the recipe to make this simple yet delicious fajeto 🙂

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh/ canned mango pulp ( I used canned)
1 cup Curd /Yogurt
1 tbsp besan (bengal gram flour)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder 
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
2 cups water
1 tbsp ghee
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds 
2 – 3 dry red chillies 
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 sprig curry leaves 
2-3 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves 

Method

  • In a bowl mix Curd mango pulp , turmeric pd, salt and keep it aside 
  • Heat the ghee in a deep pan and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
  • When the seeds crackle, add the Ginger garlic paste , dry red chillies, asafoetida, curry leaves . Saute on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
  • Add the curd-mango mixture, mix well and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
  • Add sugar in the end and boil them. Switch of the flame once the raw smell of besan  goes off and the gravy become a  bit thick .
  • Garnish with Coriander leaves.
  • Serve hot with rotis or rice.

Mango Pudding – Veg version

By


Puddings are my favourite desserts , I love them when they are not too heavy and lite to eat and the mango flavor is the one i love the most in desserts .Mango is my favourite fruit which is naturally sweetened and so yummy as is but i like to experiment them in desserts. I always crave for mangoes in fall and winter and so I buy a can of mango puree to make some dessert out of it this helps a little to reduce my craving level . So this time I made a lite not too heavy pudding which was a heaven to me , they tasted so delicious .

Using of mango custard pd in this was a very nice combo and added the extra flavour to this pudding .They were super lite and melting in mouth . This is complete vegetarian pudding as there is no gelatin used in it. I used agar agar flakes but use can use agar agar pd too. Lets move to this light and delicious pudding .

Ingredients

Mango custard pd – 2 tbsp
1 1/4 cup milk
Sugar- 1/4 cup
Agar Agar (china grass) flakes / agar agar pd- 2 tbsp
Mango puree ( i used can ) -1/2 cup 
Water – 1/4 cup.

Method 

  • In a bowl take custard pd and mix it with 1/4 cup of milk and dilute it without any lumps .
  • In another bowl take water and sprinkle the agar agar flakes in it and set it aside for 10 mins.
  • Then dissolve the agar agar mixture in microwave for 4 mins or till the agar agar dissolves completely (chk them after each min when you are dissolving in microwave ).
  • In a sauce pan heat rest of the milk and let it boil.
  • After it boil’s add sugar, custard pd mixture and mix well .
  • After a boil add agar agar mixture and and mix well till it is well combined .
  • Turn off the flame and let it cool down a bit .
  • When it is lukewarm add the mango puree to it and mix them well.
  • Transfer it to moulds or a glass and leave them to set for at least an hour to 2 .
  • As we are using agar agar it sets well in room temperature but if you want to chill you can even refrigerate.
  • If have set them in moulds carefully transfer them to a plate
  • Garnish it with cherry and serve them chilled.
Tips
  • You can also dissolve the agar agar on a stove to in pan ,basically agar agar takes time in melting compared to gelatin .
  • You can try any flavor strawberry , vanilla with  this recipe.

Sending to Jagruti’s Potluck party and veg nation 

So my fruit for this week is mango for the theme Cooking with fruits 🙂 coming up some more mangolicious recipes 🙂

Linking to Lets Brunch sunday  brain child of  +Priya Suresh  and +veena krishnakumar  .

Quinoa spinach Butter murukku

By

I was so tempted by the murukku been shared by our blogger friends from past few days for diwali and so made this healthy and crunchy murukku a perfect snack and can be served as an evening snack    with a warm cup of tea. These are super crunchy and a healthy version which my kiddo loved this a lot and finished them all . 

Here is have used a store bought quinoa flour but you can make this at home too will post that i separate post . Murukku are very well known indian savory which can be either  swirled or in the form of sticks. They are a great side of rice items and can also be a great snack to munch any time in a day.So lets move to my experiment 😛 .. Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#34.

 Ingredients 

Quinoa flour – 1 cup ( i used store bought )
Besan / gram flour – 2 tbsp
Rice flour – 1 tbsp
Blanched Spinach/ palak puree – 1 cup (use as required to made a soft dough)
Salt to taste
Butter – 4 tbsp ( softened)
Asafoetida -1/4 tsp
Carom seeds – 1/4 tsp

Method

  • In a  bowl put quinoa flour, besan, rice flour, butter, salt, asafoetida and carom seeds .
  • Mix them well till resembles crumbly.
  • Add the blanched spinach puree and knead them till a soft dough .
  • Now take a murukku press with star nozzle  and grease the inner parts of the press well.
  • Make a cylinder shape of the dough,  fill the dough into the murukku press
  •  and close it.
  • Heat oil in a kadai , oil should not be too very hot just put a small piece of the dough for checking it should sizzle .
  • Now press all the batter into the oil and fry them in low flame till light golden brown .
  • Once done transfer them to a kitchen towel or a tissue .
  • Enjoy this snack 

Combo platter 3 – Hot Dog Tikki Taco with Til Tomato chutney ( aloo tikki taco)

By

This was suppose to be my 3 day combo platter am a bit late but wanted to complete this month’s BM successfully . So this is the 3 rd combo platter which is an experiment from my kitchen again . Aloo tikki’s are all time fav for me and H so wanted to include them in this combo platter and also made a Aloo tikki taco with it which I loved a lot . Fusion cooking is always been my fantasy and this is a great theme to knock my brains door and create some unusual combination so came an idea to Mix up tikkis with taco.

 I  made this Hot dog Tikki Taco with the potato pattie / tikki and gave it a  sausage shape , so this a pure vegetarian Hot dog taco . It was a very delicious snack time treat for us . I made the tikkis a bit spicy but change the spice level as per your taste . They are very yummy to have when they are warm.   Lets move on to the recipe of my 3 combo platter in the series . Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33.

Ingredients

For aloo Tikki

Boiled Potato – 2 No 
Onion ( chopped ) – 1/4 cup
Red chilli pd – 1 tsp
Salt to taste  
Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp 
Coriander leaves – 3 tbsp ( chopped )
Green chillies – 2 -3 Nos ( Chopped)
Lemon juice – 1/4 tsp
Bread crumbs – 1/4 cup

Til Tomato Chutney

Tomato – 1 No
Red chillies – 2- 3 Nos 
Til / sesame seeds – 1 1/2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
oil – 1 tsp
salt to taste 

 Hot Dog Tikki Taco

Tomato sauce
Cabbage sliced 
Coriander leaves for  garnish 

Method

For Aloo Tikki

  • In a bowl mash the potatoes and Mix in red chilli pd ,turmeric pd,onion, green chilli, coriander leaves , salt and Mix well.
  • Divide the mixture in to equal parts and shape them  in roundels or elongated shapes.
  • Coat the tikki’s with bread crumbs from all side and set them aside
  • Heat a griller or tawa and roast the shaped tikkis till they turn golden brown from both sides . 
  • Flip the tikki’s and roast them in medium flame so that they get cooked well.

Tips


If you feel the potato mixture contains more moisture and if you are unable to shape them then you can add 1-2 tsp of rice flour for binding.

For Til Tomato chutney 

  • In pan heat oil add red chilli , til/ sesame seeds  and roast the for a while .
  • Then add ginger garlic paste , Tomato and saute them till the peel of the tomato is well cooked .
  • Add salt and Transfer this mixture to a Blender .
  • Grind them to fine paste , No need to add water to this .
  • Serve them as accompaniment for tikki/ cutlets or even with Momos.

Hot dog Tikki Taco

  • Follow the instruction in your taco container to heat them .
  • spread a little tomato sauce inside the taco and top it with some sliced cabbage.
  • Place the elongated tikki’s in it and at last with add some chutney on top.
  • Warm them in microwave and enjoy.

Tips 

You can also include some beans , lettuce to the taco .

Combo Platter 2 – Bottle Gourd and Broccoli Stalk Tikki , Tikki Sandwich With Chocolate Chai

By


Today in the second day of BM 4 th week as you all might be knowing I have chosen combo platter for this week as theme and thinking of making some innovative platter I came up with this delicious combo platter which includes Bottle gourd broccoli stalk tikki , tikki sandwich and Chocolate chai . This was an unusual combo but they went well together . In this cold weather any thing  had Hot and warm  feels so good so I made this delicious combo platter of tikki sandwich with chai  for our evening refreshments . Chai is always a very important Indian drink which when accompanied with any  savory  makes it a perfect Tea time snack . Here I have accompanied Tikki sandwich , Tikki as an evening tea time snack .

Tikki’s are my all time fav i have made bottle gourd tikki’s couple of times but this time I added Broccoli stalk to it and they tasted yummy and this is the healthy way you can sneak in some healthy veggies which your kids are not a fan of. My H loved the tikki’s and sandwich where as I enjoyed the chocolate flavoured chai. I am not fond of tea but with chocolate in it I was unable to resist and taste them . So here is My second Combo platter for BM33 .Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33.

Ingredients

For Bottle gourd and Broccoli stalk tikki 

Bottle gourd – 1 cup grated
Broccoli stalk – 1/2 cup grated
Bread slices – 2 
Rice flour – 2-3 tbsp 
Salt to taste
Garam masala – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp
Red chilli pd – 1/2 tsp (as needed )
Chaat masala – 1/4 tsp ( optional)
Bread crumbs – For coating 
Oil for shallow frying 

For sandwich 

Bread slice – 2  No
Green chutney – 3 -4 tbsp ( I used coriander chutney )
Prepared Bottle gourd and Broccoli stalk tikki  – 1No
oil for Toasting

For Chocolate chai

Milk – 1 cup
Cocoa pd – 1 tbsp
Chai pathi / Tea pd – 2 tbsp
Sugar as required 

Method 

Bottle gourd and broccoli stalk Tikki


  • In a bowl put grated bottle gourd, grated broccoli stalk, garam masala, turmeric pd, red chilli pd, salt , crumble the bread slice, rice flour and mix them well.
  • After they are well combined divide them into equal parts and shape them into desired shapes.
  • In a plate put bread crumbs and coat the shaped cutlets with bread crumbs from all over.
  • Heat a tawa place the Tikki’s drizzle some oil and shallow fry them from both sides till golden brown.
  • After they turn golden brown from both sides remove them from tawa and keep them aside.

To make Tikki sandwich 

  • Take two bread slice and spread green chutney in one side of  both the slices .
  • Keep the Tikki in a middle of a bread slice and cover it with the other slice on top of it , chutney side facing down.
  • Now heat a griddle / Tawa place the assembled bread slices and toast them till golden brown from both sides.Drizzle some oil if needed.
  • Press the toast a bit while toasting 
  • Serve them Hot with any sauce .

Chocolate chai 


Method

  • In a saucepan heat milk add sugar , chai pathi and boil them .
  • After you get a boil add cocoa pd and milk well .
  • Simmer the flame and boil them for 10 minutes till you get the nice aroma of tea and also when the color changes switch off the flame .
  • Strain it in a cup and sip this Hot chocolate tea with Tikki sandwich .
Tips 
  • Adjust the spice level according to your taste.
  • In chocolate chai you can increase the amount of cocoa pd if you like.

Combo platter with Tikki / patties 1 – South Indian Idli burger with Upma cutlet and Idli french fries

By

Thinking of what to make for my BM Theme which i chose combo platter using tikkies and patties for the 3 rd week  i was having lots of things running in my mind and  suddenly when I went to my kitchen to check the leftovers I found leftover upma which I made and also had a small amount of idli batter in my fridge so thought of using them and so this combo platter popped up in mind .. Why not i make a south indian idli burger and also to accompany with it idli fries .  They turned out so yummy I had very less leftover green chutney too so used it too 🙂 It feels so good when we use of all the leftovers in an interesting way isn’t it. They tasted so delicious and went well together . 

For idli burger I used leftover spicy upma , but if you have not added any spice to the upma then you can add before turning them to cutlets. This a delicious breakfast burger you can say which i experimented and liked them. You can even add some molaga podi to this burger the will taste the south indian way :). This is my own invention, you can tweak the recipe as you like though .  Lets move to this interesting combo platter which I made for 3 rd week first day for BM . Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33.

Ingredients 


Idli  – 4 No’s ( freshly steamed )
Leftover spiced Rava Upma – 1 cup
Rice flour -1 tbsp 
Bread crumbs – 1/2 cup
Tomato ketchup – as required 
Green chutney ( Mint or coriander chutney) – 2 tbsp or as required 
Lettuce leaves – 1 leave
Cherry tomatoes – 4 no’s + for garnishing
Oil for shallow frying
Maida paste – 2 tbsp maida , chopped  coriander, salt, pepper (if needed), water – Mix and make a thick paste (batter like consistency)

Method

  • Make idli in idli cooker store them in hot case.

To Make Upma cutlets


  • Now In a bowl take  leftover upma add rice flour in it and mix them well.
  • Divide the in to equal parts
  • Shape them into cutlet shape or give them any shape as you like.
  • Dip the patties in maida paste  and them in bred crumbs.
  • In a plate take bread crumbs and coat the shaped upma in it well.
  • Heat a tawa , add oil and place the upma cutlet to shallow fry in low flame till golden brown both the sides.
  • Use two ladles if necessary and carefully turn the cutlets and cook the both the sides till golden brown.
  • Remove them from tawa and set aside.

 To assemble the Idli burger 

  • Place a idli spread some tomato ketchup on it then place the upma cutlets .
  • Then place the chopped cherry tomato and lettuce leaves.
  • Take another idli spread green chutney on the bottom side of the idli and place it on the lettuce.
  • Prick a toothpick in the middle and fix an whole cherry tomato on the top for garnish.

Idli French Fries

Ingredients

Steamed idli – 2 Nos
Chaat masala to sprinkle
Pepper a pinch
salt to taste
Oil to fry 

Method

  • Cut the idli length wise and keep them a side.
  • Heat oil in a kadai once it is hot enough simmer and fry the cut idli.
  • Once it is golden brown from all sides remove them from oil using a ladle.
  • Place them on tissue or Kitchen towel to absorb all the excess oil.
  • While it is still hot sprinkle  pepper pd, salt, chaat masala and mix them well so that they are well coated .

Milk chocolate Fudge

By

You all have been venturing my chocolate addiction and adding  to the list of chocolate recipes i am sharing this super simple , quick to make fudge which is foolproof and my fav . This recipe is so simple and anyone who doesn’t know even to cook can enjoy making them . A great chocolate treat for upcoming festivals, It can certainly made for holiday treats and enjoyed any time when you are badly craving for chocolate . These chocolate fudge are melt it mouth and not too chewy so kids will just love to have them  . I bet you will not stop eating just one they are super addictive.

Chocolate fudge  are very rich and addictive so you might have to do extra exercise but still  they are so sinful you have to try them at least  once. Lets move to the quick fudge recipe ..Made this for day 3 blogging marathon under chocolate theme. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33.

Ingredients

1 cup Milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup Condensed Milk 
2 tbsp Whole Milk 
2 Tbsp chopped   pistachios / almonds( You can add more if you like )
Chopped nuts for garnish

Method

  • In an microwave safe bowl add milk chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk.
  • Microwave this for 1 min on high . 
  • After 1 min give it a nice mix and  see that there are no lumps in mixture.
  • The chocolate should be completely melted if you find any chocolate grains microwave for 30 sec more .
  • Add milk and give them a quick mix .
  • Add the chopped pistachios and mix them ,
  • Now take an 8*8  greased pan and transfer the melted chocolate mixer to the pan.
  • Level them on the top using the spoon .
  • Refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours . Mine was done by 1 hour.
  • Cut the set fudge into squares, remove  all the pieces from the pan  and enjoy!!

Tips 

  •  Grease the pan with oil so that it is easy to remove the fudge without damaging the shape of the fudge.
  • If you want add more nuts than in the given recipe for those crunchy bites in between .
  • As I used Milk chocolate which is already is sweet so i added only 1/4 cup condensed milk if you are using a semi sweet chocolate chip you can increase the quantity to 1/2 cup or more. 

Eggless Nutella Chocolate Mug Cake

By

I was craving for chocolates and what’s better than a mug cake made with chocolate  and nutella . I love nutella on my toasts and also to lick as is … they are so addictive and tend to lick at least  3 tbsp as is  if i use them in any dish 😛 . So for the chocolate lovers  this delicious and quick mug cake would be like a heaven . My chocolate addiction is getting seen through the BM theme as this week I have chosen chocolate as the theme . 

Mug cakes are very easy to make and fuss free desserts which you can  be just mixed and baked , Had in jiffy when you are craving for some cakes.  They are quick to make in microwave and generally takes only 2 – 4 mins to get done . A single serving can be made this way in a mug so that they are made super quick and enjoyed . Adding nutella to this Mug cake makes it highly chocolaty in taste . Lets Move on to the recipe to make this simple yet a delicious mug cake . Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33.

Ingredients

Maida / All purpose flour – 4 tbsp
Unsweetened Cocoa pd – 3 tbsp
Condensed Milk – 1/4 cup
Nutella – 3 heaped tbsp
Vanilla essence – a drop ( optional)
Milk – 1/4 cup
Baking pd – 1/4 tsp
Oil – 3 tbsp ( I used cooking olive oil )

Method

  • In a Bowl combine all the ingredients and transfer them to a  mug  (or ) you can mix all the ingredients in a mug you are going to use for baking.
  • Mix them till a smooth batter is formed .
  • Microwave for 1 1/2 – 3 minutes depending on you microwave wattage.
  • Dust some powdered sugar and enjoy them warm.

Tips 

  • I tried baking them in oven too by adding baking soda to the batter and they came out super moist , So you can bake this cake in oven too by adding Baking soda 1/4 tsp to the recipe given.
  • The mug should be half filled allowing the rest of the space to rise the cake . It means fill only 1/2  or 3/4 of the cup with batter so that there is enough room for it to rise .
  • You can top the cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup if you like.
  • Mug cakes taste good if they are  had warm.

sending to cooking 4 all seasons

Eggless Chocolate Pudding using Custard Pd

By

Am a chocolate lover and i know you all too are 🙂 . So here i bought to a sinful and all time fav chocolate pudding for people who are carving for some chocolate sweets . I learnt this when i was studying Home science and didn’t get a chance to try it at home though . When I saw  BM themes -Chocolates    then this pudding popped up in my mind and wanted to include this the theme as it fits perfect to theme. I  learn’t to cook only after i joined Home science in 11th std we used have a month where we used to set a canteen for  whole school students in which we used sell bread jam , gulab jamun and other snacks, pickle , jams, squash studying Home science was Lot of fun. 

Chocolate Pudding is nothing but a chocolate custard which is set using starch and they are smooth in texture . It is a variation of chocolate custard where starch is used to thicken and set instead of eggs. Now lets Move to the eggless version of chocolate pudding . Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33.

Chocolate pudding

Chocolate custard

Chocolate

Ingredients

3 tbsp Vanilla Custard Pd/ corn starch ( I used custard pd)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 
Salt a pinch
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp  vanilla extract ( if using corn starch)
11/2 cups Whole  milk 
5 tbsp Powdered  sugar ( adjust to your taste)
1-2 Chopped Almonds ( To garnish)

Ingredients

  • In a bowl Mix cocoa pd, salt,custard pd,1/2 cup milk without any lumps and set a side .
  • In a sauce pan boil the milk and lower the flame after it boils.
  • Add the custard cocoa milk mixture to the Boiled milk and stir continuously, keep the flame low.
  • At one stage it will start to thicken and come together leaving the sauce pan you will be able to see the sauce pan now. Stir continuously  else it might form lumps. 
  • Turn off the flame and add butter to it give it a mix and transfer it to serving dish.
  • Cling wrap the serving bowls and refrigerate for 1- 2 hour  .
  • Serve them garnished with chopped almonds.

Tips 

  • If you are using Corn starch only then add vanilla extract to the pudding else it is not required .
  • You can use fat free milk  too but whole milk gives the best  sinful taste .