sweets

Eggless Churros – SFC #4

January 24, 2014 By

For this month’s fusion dessert preethi chose a very delicious and yummy fried dessert which is so addictive. As you know am a part of SFC group whose brain child is preeti of Simply Tadka . She suggested churros for this months fusion dessert. This was in my to do list and am happy that am made them atlast . Churros are striped pastry snack which also called as the famous Mexican fritters / Spanish dougnuts . My h just loved these fried delights a lot . Thanks to preeti for suggesting this yummy recipe.

Churros are made with all purpose flour they are made like a pastry like dough in which you don’t have to work with dough a lot and they can be prepared in jiffy . These fried pastry strips are the rolled in sugar and cinnamon mixture . After which there is no need to resist yourself just dip in the chocolate sauce and enjoy them . They were so addictive and delicious … So without any ado lets move to the recipe..

Ingredients

Water – 1 cup
Maida / All purpose flour – 1 cup
Sugar – 2 1/2 tbsp
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Oil- 2 tbsp

For coating

1/2 cup white sugar with
1 tbsp cinnamon powder

Method

In a sauce pan boil the water , after it start boiling turn off the heat .
Combine flour, salt, oil together to form a soft dough .
Heat the oil in a kadai / Wok for deep frying.
Fill the dough into piping bag or murukku presser fitted with single star mould.
When oil is hot enough, keeping the press over the oil, press it down into oil.
Cut the batter with a knife while you press according to the length you want them to be.
Fry on all sides until golden on simmer flame.
Drain them on to a kitchen towel.
You can cut it when it falls to the required length.
For coating mix sugar and cinnamon, after frying all the churros just roll them on the prepared coating mixture.
Serve them with chocolate sauce and enjoy !!

Tips

You can also make the chocolate sauce at home with 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup heavy cream . just microwave them 30 seconds and melt them .. continue to microwave till the chocolate is completely melted and serve with churros .

Beetroot Rasgulla – Virtual Party For Viji

January 23, 2014 By

I am so happy today is my best buddies b’day and am so happy for her. She is a wonderful blogger and a very kind hearted person who is one of those close friends who encourage me and motivate me to always . Its her kindness which attracted me in the first place when i first met her through SNC . She was is a very enthusiastic blogger and I love her cooking style a lot. You know whom am talking about its Viji of Viruthu unna vanga :). Wish you a many more happy returns viji am so glad to be a part of this virtual party in which few of our mutual friends bring some delicious recipes to celebrate the day together . Am dedicating this post for viji’s b’day and I wish her many more happy returns to come.

She is a dessert queen that how we call her as her space is filled with lots of drool worthy sweets and desserts and she is an awesome innovator. So today I share a very unique sweet for this sweet person . I still remember how my buddies celebrated my b’day virtually by making mouthwatering breakfast thali and am so glad to be surrounded with such good friends . As it was viji’s b’day the frist think struck in my mind is to make the color idli’s and chutney again , but i also didn’t want to miss the sweet surprise for her so made this Beetroot rasgulla and Tri color Tiffin Thali which includes tri color idli and tri color chutney .

Beetroot rasgulla was in mind to try for a long time and today I experimented it on this spl occasion . I make rasgullas often and have tried my hand making rasgullas with fruits But this was the first I tried with veggie 🙂 and so happy that it turned super yumm and they look absolutely gorgeous don’t they 😛 So here comes the recipe of this innovative rasgulla with a veggie.

Ingredients

4 cups Whole milk
4 tbsp Lemon juice
11/2 cups Sugar
1 cup Beetroot puree ( Boil chopped beetroot in water , when done drain the water and blend them in the blender till a smooth paste)
4 cups Water
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
Few drops of Rose essence

Method

In heavy bottomed pan take milk ,bring it to boil and keep stirring to avoid burning of milk from bottom of the pan..
Once the milk comes to boil, add the lemon juice and keep stirring.
Put the flame in low and cook for few seconds until the milk curdles and is separated from the whey . Turn off the flame.
Pour this curdled milk to the already lined muslin cloth over a strainer,squeeze out all the whey water and rinse the milk solids/paneer under cold water once to remove the lemon flavor in it and squeeze out the water as much as possible.
Place a heavy weight over the drained milk solids/paneer to squeeze out the water completely.
Take the paneer in a plate and knead it well for few minutes until they turns soft and comes together.
Divide them to medium sized balls and roll them without any cracks.
Boil the water in a heavy bottomed pan, add the sugar,cardamom powder and Beetroot puree,bring this to boil after the sugar dissolves, turn of the flame and strain them in strainer if using a plastic strainer wait till the syrup cools down a bit .
After straining them again put them in a heavy boycotted pan and at them boil.
Add the prepared paneer balls to the boiling syrup. Cover it with a lid , simmer and cook for 15-20 mins.
After 20 mins turn off the heat and let the rasgullas be covered for 10 mins .
After they cool down completely you can refrigerator them , or have them as it.

Tips

If you see some frothy layer coming while the paneer balls are cooking in syrup just remove them as much as you can using a ladle .

Til ke Ladoo | Sesame Seeds Ladoo| Ellu urundai Recipe ( with Jaggery )

January 21, 2014 By

Til ke ladoo is a very healthy and winter special ladoo which is generally made for makar sakranti / lohri. I always wanted to make this til ke ladoo and this was the perfect season to make them and keep us warm . Sesame seeds ladoo is a very delicious ladoo which which includes bengal gram , peanuts and they are so healthy as they are made with jaggery . They can be stored for 15 days and had when ever you like.

As you all know I have joined this group “Sweet fantasy club” whose brain child is preeti ,a wonderful blogger author of “ Simply tadka” . This is our challenge for this month under fusion Dessert was Til ke ladoo for makar sakrati spl . This month too preeti has chosen two wonderful indian and international sweet and dessert , thanks preeti for this wonderful challenge again.

Ingredients

White sesame seeds – 3/4 cup
Bengal gram (channa dal), roasted – 1/4 cup
Peanuts, roasted and coarsely powdered- 1/4 cup
Green cardamom powder- a pinch
Jaggery (gur), grated- 1/2 cup
Ghee- 1 tablespoon

Method

Dry-roast the sesame seeds in a non-stick pan on low heat till light brown. Remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl. Dry-roast the dried coconut in the same pan on low heat till light brown. Add to the sesame seeds in the bowl and mix.
Add the roasted Bengal gram and roasted peanuts, Bend them in a mixture till fine powder . Add the cardamom powder , roasted sesame to it and mix.
Keep the mixture warm. Heat the ghee in a non-stick pan.
Add the jaggery and cook till it attains a soft- ball consistency. Add the sesame seed mixture and mix well. Divide the mixture into thirty equal portions and roll them into round laddoo while the mixture is still hot.
Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Tips

I didn’t add dried coconut but if you wish you can add for extra flavor and taste .
If you want you can add nuts powder even .

Sakkarai Pongal with Jaggery ( Pongal spl )

January 14, 2014 By

Pongal / Makar sakranti is celebrated all over India but as am a Chennaite I used to enjoy those pongal holidays a lot. We used to get 4 days holidays and lots special program in TV was so much fun . Other than that our neighbors used to share all those yummy treats they made for pongal . Sugar cane is another reason why i love pongal festival ,I just love to enjoy the juicy sugar canes which i miss today. Pongal / Makar sakratri is winter harvest festival celebrated all over India by different names . As am a north indian we make sweet and savory vada’s but in Tamil nadu it is celebrated for 4 days – Bhogi, Thai pongal, Mattu pongal , Kaanam pongal each day has it own significance.

People make sweet savory pongal varieties and vadas this day , served ( bhog/ padayal) to god then they enjoy the festival with family. On the last day thats is on kaanam pongal with family they have a fun time at beach or some entertaining places like to watch movie etc . So this festival bring so many happy faces to enjoy !! So I made sakkarai pongal and masala vadai for this auspicious day 🙂 Wish you have a very happy pongal / makar sakrantri 🙂 ..Ok now over to the recipe..

Ingredients

Moong dal – 1/4 cup
Rice – 1/2 cup
Milk – 1 cup
Water – 1 1/2 cup
Ghee – 3- 4 tbsp
Cashew nut – 4-5 Nos
Raisins – 3-4 Nos
Jaggery pd – 1 cup
Cardamom pd – a pinch

Method

Wash and Soak rice and dal for 15 mins.
Drain the water from rice and dal , In a pressure put rice , dal, water ad milk.
Pressure cook them for 3- 4 whistles then turn off the flame .
After the pressure subsides open the lid and and mash them well with a ladle.
In a sauce pan take the jaggery pd and 1/2 cup water , boil them till one string consistency .
To check the one string just drop the syrup with a ladle it should form a string while flows drown.
After it attains the one string consistency add the syrup to the cooked and mashed rice and dal also add the cardamom pd .
In a low flame mix them well till well combined and add ghee .
Cook them for 2 mins while mixing them .

In a another sauce pan heat 1 tbsp ghee and saute cashews and raisins till they turn slight brown .
Transfer the roasted cashews and raisins to the pongal and mix well.
Enjoy them warm!!

Linking this to Tamizhar samayal Tuesday whose brain child is +nalini suresh .

Kalkandu vadai ( Chettinadu spl)

December 27, 2013 By

As you all might be knowing for this weeks BM i have choosen chettinadu cuisine and will be bring chettinadu recipes for three days . The first one was Kuzhi paniyaram for breakfast or snack , and today am here with a sweet appetizer this is a very very delicious and yummy sweet vada which can be served as a appetizer or as a sweet too. This sweet vadai is a very famous chettinadu spl dish which is prepared on auspicious occasion and festivals .

This recipe I have seen many times in TV shows and also some of our blogger friends have shared it when I was blog hopping I was thinking to make it soon and today I made these yummy vada after a long postponement . This yummy sweet vada can be served hot or cold . Check Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 35 .. Lets move on to the recipe..

Ingredients

Urad dal / Black gram dal – 1 cup
Raw rice – 2 tbsp
Sugar / Kalkandu ( sugar candy/ Misiri) powdered – 3/4 cup or
Oil for frying

Method

Wash and soak urad dal and rice mixture for 30 mins.
Drain the water completely, add sugar/ powdered Kalkandu/ sugar candy pd and blend them in a blender/ Mixture till fine Batter.
Add water while grinding if needed only in drops .
Transfer the batter in a bowl and heat the oil for frying the vada’s.
Wet your hands with water and take a small portion of the batter slightly press and make a hole using your thumb.
Slide the edge of the shaped vada using your thumb till and allow it to drop in hot oil.This needs a little practice to get perfect shaped vadas.
These vada will puff up well fry them in very low heat as they tend to darken faster becoz of sugar in it.
Turn and fry them both sides till light brown in color.

Tips

If using kalkandu / sugar candy just grind it in mixer to fine powder and use them.
Instead of Raw rice you might also add channa dal or bengal gram dal.

Chocolate Tutti Frutti Cake

December 25, 2013 By

Its Christmas eve I know all would have Baked a lot and all set to celebrated the Christmas and welcome Christ . But if you have some last minute planes to bake a cake then this recipe should be help to those . Christmas is one festival I love the most , I love the lights , fireworks and the sip the hot Chocolate. When I was at school we had this fun game of counting the stars and making wishes .In the way to school we used to search for homes hanging star’s and used to make a wish it was so fun I don’t remember whether my wishes came true or not but that was a really gud fun game for us. The second thing comes to mind is we used to play chris mom and chris child I know most of us know this game for every Christmas this game was so awaited and we had some funny pranks ,a very nostalgic moment. I wish everyone a very Merry christmas and happy new year 🙂

As tomorrow is christmas I wanted to share some last min cake ideas if you don’t have enough time to bake a fruit cake then am sure you will try this as it is a chocolate cake with tutti frutti which is super moist and very delicious to cake . It is a normal chocolate cake with a tutti frutti in it you will sure love the bites of tutti frutti in between the cake. So here is my treat for my readers and followers for this Christmas eve 🙂

Ingredients

All purpose / Maida -2 cups
Sugar -1 1/2 cup
Cocoa pd – 1/3 cup
Milk – 1 3/4 cups
Oil – 1/4 cup
Tutti frutti – 1/4 cup ( more if needed)
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Baking pd – 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda – 1/2 tsp
Apple cider vinegar – 2 tsp

Garnish
Confectionery sugar
MnM’s
Glazed Cheeries

Method

Pre heat the oven at 350 F
Grease a can pan ( here I used a christmas tree mould) Flour the pan and dust the excess.
Sift flour , baking pd, baking soda, cocoa pd in a bowl.
In another bowl mix oil, sugar , milk , vanilla essence and mix them till sugar dissolves.
Add the wet ingredient mixture in to the flour mixtur little by little and mix them well till they appear glossy.
Add the tutti frutti and mix well.
At last add apple cider vinegar and fold them in the batter till well combined.
Transfer the batter to the greased and floured pan.
Bake the cake at 350 F for 30 – 45 Mins.
Bake them till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
After they are done let the cake stand on pan for 10 mins then transfer them to serving platter.
If you want you can frost with any cream frosting or just dust some confectionery sugar .
As I baked them in christmas tree pan I decorated them with some MnM’s and cheeries.

Linking to Divya’s Culinary Journey and Cooks Joy

Banoffee Pie -SFC#3

December 22, 2013 By

Banoffee pie is something I would love to make again again Bcoz of the addictive dulce de leche in it :). Dulche de leche is a famous in south America which is nothing but a slowly sweetened milk till it attains a caramelized color . The milk is slowly cooked with sugar till it turns thick and turns into brown color. Now a days we make use of condensed milk to make it more easier and this way it takes less time to make a addictive dulce de leche which tastes just like a toffee. This addictive caramel milk is used in many desserts and one such english dessert is famous Banoffee pie. Banoffe Pie is one of my fav after i tried the first time when an non blogger share it in my space for come on – lets cook event. I was so excited when preeti of “ Simply tadka” suggested that this months international dessert for our “Sweet fantasy club” is going to be a banoffee pie.

Banoffee is a traditional British dessert, which includes Banana slices, sticky toffee or other wise called as dulce de leche , and topped with whipped cream are arranged in layers crust made with digestive biscuits, outcome is a addictive and irresistible dessert. Using crushed digestive biscuits for the crust balances the taste of this yummy treat.

Ingredients

Condensed milk – 1 Can
Marie biscuit – 10 No
Butter – 1/4 Cup
Banana – 2
Whipped cream – 1/2 Cup ( whipped till stiff peaks)

To garnish

Grated chocolate
Crumbled Chocolate cake
Cherries (optional)

Method

For Dulce de Leche (In Pressure cooker)

Prepare the pressure cooker by adding ample amount of water so that the condensed milk tin can immerse in it .
Remove any label from the tin and see if there is any damage in the tin if there is any damage don’t use it as it might lead to busting of cooker so be cautious.
Put the can in the pressure cooker which is filled with water , it should be fully immersed.
Close the lid put the weight / whistle and cook them in a till one whistle and then lower the flame and cook the for 20 mins.
Switch of the flame and let the pressure completely subsides.
Do not shake the pressure cooker at the time stay in the water till water completely cools down.
You can store the can/ tin in refrigerator and use them the next day or wait till the tin is completely cool.

Dulce de leche is ready to use!!

*Notes – Avoid opening the can of condensed milk when hot

For the crust

Powder the biscuits by putting them in aziplock and rolling them with the rolling pin to form a fine pd or use a mixer .Now Mix melted butter with the pd biscuit pd . Crust of the pie is ready.

Assembling the pie

Set the crust in the bottom of a bowl, glass of tart moulds.
Spread the Dulce de Leche on top of the crust
Slice the bananas and place it over the Dulce de Leche.
Spread the whipped cream on top of the banana layer
Decorate with grated chocolate/cocoa powder / crumbled chocolate cake finally.

Set in fridge and serve them chilled.

Tips

You can also assemble banoffee pie in a bowl Like I did in the below pic.

Chum Chum – SFC #3

December 22, 2013 By

Bengali sweets are always favorite among sweet lovers . These are so addictive and most of the sweets are chenna / paneer based Like Rasgulla, Chennar jelabi , Chum chum . When I saw that this month we where going to make a very delicious bengali dessert for Sweet fantasy club I was so excited and was so happy to make this yummy sweet which I make them often at home for any festivals .Thanks to preeti for suggesting this yummy sweet this month for our Fusion challenge .

As you all know I have joined this new group “Sweet fantasy club” whose brain child is preeti ,a wonderful blogger author of “ Simply tadka” . This is our third challenge under fusion Dessert was an Chum chum . This month too preeti has chosen two wonderful indian and international sweet and dessert , thanks preeti for this wonderful challenge again. My H loves this chum chum a lot and this one is our family fav .Moving over to the recipe..

Ingredients

For chenna/paneer
8 cups (half gallon) milk
1/4 cup lemon Juice

For Chum Chum:
Paneer/chenna prepared with 4 cups or 1 liter of whole milk
2 1/2 cups – sugar
5 cups – water
saffron strands few

For serving
Rabri – as needed
Pistachios
Desiccated Coconut
Tutti Frutti

Method

For preparing chenna/paneer

Mix lemon juice in half cup of hot water and keep it aside .
Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, making sure not to burn milk.
As the milk comes to a boil, add the lemon juice gradually and stir the milk gently. The curd will start separating from the whey, turn off the heat.
Once the milk is curdled, drain the whey using a strainer lined with cheesecloth, or muslin cloth.
Wrap the chenna in a muslin cloth, rinse under cold water, and squeeze well. This process takes out the sourness from the lemon.
To take out the excess water, press the wrapped paneer under a heavy pan for about 1 hour.
To test if sufficient water has been removed out of the paneer, take a little piece of paneer in your palm and rub with your fingers. You should be able to make a firm but smooth ball, after 15-20 seconds of rubbing.

For the syrup

In a wide saucepan, bring 5 cups of water and sugar to a boil. Use a large pan as the Chum Chums will double in volume while cooking in the syrup.

To Make chum chum

Place the drained paneer on a dry, clean surface and knead it for 3 to 4 minutes until it rolls into smooth soft dough. If the paneer is too crumbly, add a teaspoon of water.
Divide the paneer dough into 8 equal parts and roll each one into a smooth oval shaped ball.
Add the paneer balls to the syrup and bring it back to a boil. Then turn down the heat to medium and cover the pot. Cook for 10 minutes.
Open the pot cover, turn the chum chums over and cook for another 15 minutes.
Check to see if the chum chums appear firm but sponge-like (with little holes on the surface). Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 more minutes.
Remove the chum chums from the syrup.
Serve chilled!!

Serving options

Cover every Chum Chum with a few pieces of sliced pistachios
Roll the chum chums in dry powdered coconut
Top them some malai / rabri on Chum Chum.

Tips

Cardamon and rose essence can also be added for more flavor.
I made my Raj bhog the same way except the shape

Nutella Fruit Pizza

December 21, 2013 By

I always wanted to try a fruit pizza and here I am today wish a very delicious easy to make fruit pizza 🙂 . They are so quick to make and very simple to assemble . No need of any sauce preparation for this delicious pizza as we use Nutella spread which so delicious by itself when topped with some fruits makes it more interesting . Fruit pizza are not so common but kids might love to have this different and colorful pizza. For my 3rd day for Pizza marathon here am ending with a sweet note with this sweet pizza . Check Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 35

Ingredients

For pizza dough
(Refer my veggie pizza post to make pizza dough
I used one quarter part of the dough for this recipe)
Nutella Spread – 1/4 cup
Assortment of fruits – You can top them with any fruit i used strawberry, cheery and kiwi ( sliced)
Hazelnut- 5-6 No ( chopped )

Method

Roll the dough , prick it with fork and bake them for 10 – 15 min at 350 F till light brown .
On the hot pizza base apply Nutella spread sprinkle some chopped halzenut .
Arrange the fruits as you wish and enjoy this fruit pizza .

Ananda Bhavan Rava Kesari| Rava Kesari Recipe

December 16, 2013 By

Kesari is our family fav and my mom never forgets to make this delicious sweet for our b’day’s as this sweet is our all time fav . When I saw Priya Ranjit of Cook Like priya sharing an Adyar Anadha Bhavan style kesari which was very similar to what my mom used to make I bookmarked it and here am with this delicious Anadha Bhavan style Rava kesari . Adyar Andha bhavan was my most fav place for south indian savories and sweets. In which Rava Kesari is one such popular one , Thanks to priya for this yummy recipe which was close to Ananda Bhavan one and was so yummy to enjoy .

Rava kesari is an south Indian fav occasional sweet which is prepared in every home in south india for festive occasions. This is generally made of coarse semolina which is roasted in ghee and then cooked in water to form soft texture then sweetened with sugar and topped with roasted nuts . This is indeed a blissful sweet to enjoy any time of a day and so loved by kids too. Let move on to the recipe.Check Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 35

Recipe Source : Cook Like Priya

Ingredients

Rava / Semolina – 1 cup
Ghee / Clarified Butter -5 tbsp
Sugar – 3/4 Cup
Boiling water – 2 cups
Lemon yellow color – few drops
Cashew nuts – 6-8 chopped
Raisins – 5 Nos
Kesar Essence – 1-2 drops ( Not more than this)

Method

In a kadai / pan heat 2 tbsp of ghee.
Put chopped cashews , raisins and saute till they are light brown .
Add Rava , roast them in a medium flame till they are light brown .
Now slowly add the boiling water simultaneously mix them with other hand.
Cook them in slow flame stiring continuously till the water evaporates .
After the rava cooks and water evaporates add sugar and mix well.
Add rest of the ghee in between will it is cooking.
Add yellow color, kesar essence and go on stiring till they form a mass and leaves the corners of the pan.

Serve warm and enjoy .

Tips

Stir continuously while pouring water to avoid lumps.
Use generous amount of ghee for the perfect texture.

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