Navratri and Diwali Specials 2013

Navratri and Diwali this year ( now last year) were enjoyable moments due to our new arrival and the presence of my dear Dad. I had some free time and I was able to use it to the fullest by making as many sweets as i possibly could. This mission was bolstered by my Dad - I did not have to worry about sweets going uneaten and thrown into the garbage pile after a week. My Dad can and will eat anything sweet even if it does not look or taste like it is supposed to :) So I gave myself full rein and went all out to make some easy, simple but delicious sweets. Take a look below:

1. Chocolate Khoya double layer Barfi (Fudge), Rating: 3 stars

The reason I rate this barfi only 3 stars is because the timing in the recipe I followed seems incorrect. I ended up with a smooth slightly dry barfi (kind of like besan laddoo texture) rather than the moist and soft kind I prefer. But the taste was nice. Next time I shall cook it at least 5 minutes lesser.

2. Putnala Pappunda or Maladdu, Rating: 5 stars

This sweet was the most unexpected hit of our festival season. It gets a 5 star rating because of the ease of preparation, the taste and the simple ingredients used. 

3. Instant Jalebi, Rating: NA

This is pictured here just for logging purpose. The Jalebi was made using instant mix hence I am not giving any recipe rating. But I do want to mention that it gets a 4/5 for taste and texture. The only thing missing was the slightly sour flavor in the background which is present in home made jalebis. So I will definitely recommend the 'Gits' jalebi mix for when you need to prepare sweets on a short notice.

4. Kaju - Atukula Kheer, Rating: 4.5 stars

This recipe is one of those happy accidents in the kitchens that lead us to newer and tastier foods. I was trying to make kaju (cashew) powder for use in a different recipe. My mixer/grinder (the trusted 'Sumeet' lugged over from India 10 years ago) turned the powder into paste, unfortunately. Or maybe it was me. The net result was a jar full of coarse cashew paste which I had to put to use. I remembered the Poha/ Atukula kheer (posted earlier) and thought of cooking the cashews the same way. Halfway through cooking I realized that maybe Poha would add some textural interest here. So I duly added it and Ta Da!! The result is this amazing, sweet and decadent dessert. Just have to remember to eat only 1/3 of a cup at a time in the interest of the waistline ;)

5. Lauki Halwa (Opo squash/ Bottle gourd Pudding), Rating: 3.5 stars

This is a traditional Indian dessert recipe, made mostly in the northern states. For those of you who may not have heard of it, this is similar to the ubiquitous "Carrot Halwa" featured in every Indian restaurant's menu here in the US. It is a fairly simple if time consuming recipe. It falls into the Healthy dessert category with a vegetable and milk as its main ingredients. The sugar quantity used can be adjusted to taste.

The reason it gets only 3.5 stars out of a 5 is due to the chewy texture. Ideally I was supposed to end up with a "melt in your mouth" mass of the vegetable. But for some reason (either I did not choose a proper squash or the gourds here are just made that way, I don't know) the lauki just stayed fibrous and chewy. But still as a recipe to add to my dessert repertoire, this is a worthy entry. I will definitely want to make it again for potlucks where friends are health conscious but still want to have a dessert once in a while

6. Easy Milk Cake, Rating: 4.5 stars

This is my new favorite recipe!!! It is very easy to make taking only one pot and 20 mins from start to finish. It is one of the simplest ones I've tried with readily available ingredients (just 2 essential ingredients!). Taste wise it gets a 5/5. I knocked off the half point in the rating above because, people, it's a rich dessert ( I did say it is a sweet/ dessert not daily or healthy food). For parties where friends are OK with eating a little unhealthy  (keyword "Little") this is my go to recipe from now.

Well, as the say, better late than never!! I have finally finished this log about 4 months too late but I got there in the end. The recipes for all the above pictures are in the works, I shall be posting those sometime soon.

Atukula Payasam/ Poha Kheer- Easy Indian Dessert

Atukula Payasam or Poha Kheer

This is one of the simplest and delicious dessert recipes possible. 'Kheer' is the Hindi word for 'Payasam'. It means a milk based sweet dish with a liquidy  consistency. In the words of a traditional purohit - "Payasam ante paarutu vundali". Translates to " Payasam should flow". I like my payasams somewhere in between milk and condensed milk consistency. In other words I aim to make a payasam which cannot be drunk out of a glass without a spoon, at the same time my spoon need not cut into any solid surface to scoop up the deliciousness!

There are quite a few varieties of Payasams to be made. This is made of Atukulu (Telugu) - Poha in Hindi / Aval (Tamil) / Beaten or Flattened rice. It is made for Krishnashtami since Poha is one of Krishna's favorite snacks (traced back to the Krishna-Sudama story). The use of jaggery gives it a golden brown hue which I find more appealing than plain old white. Take a look for yourself

I think it looks quite alluring in a plain glass bowl without the need for any other background or adornments. OK, enough talk, let's get to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Atukulu/Poha (thin) - 1 cup (rice cooker cup)

Milk - 3-4 cups ( I used 2%)

Cardamom - 1 pod, seeded and seeds powdered

Jaggery - 1/2 cup, grated *

Cashews - 1 tbsp, broken into quarters

Raisins - 1 tbsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method

1)  Take a thick bottomed kadhai (wok) or saucepan. Heat 1 tbsp ghee on medium heat and roast the cashew bits and raisins. These are ready when the cashews are a nice golden brown and the raisins are plump. Take these out of the pan and keep aside.

2)  In the same pan add the remaining 1 tbsp ghee and roast the Atukulu/ Poha. This needs to be roasted for about 2-4 minutes till the Atukulu lose their 'raw' smell and develop a slight yellowish-brown color. Take the Atukulu out and save in a plate.

3)  Now pour the milk into the saucepan and heat it (till bubbles start to form on the periphery of the milk surface).

4)  Add the Atukulu to the milk. Cook the Atukulu for about 10-15 minutes**, stirring regularly. The stirring is to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

5)  To check whether the Atukulu are cooked, take some out with a spoon and press between thumb and forefinger. The individual grain should be soft like cooked rice. Caution - the payasam will be hot ;) so check carefully.

6)  Now add the cardamom powder and stir. Keep on heat for just 1 more minute so that the cardamom may release its essence, then turn it off.

7)  Stir in the cashews and raisins. 

8) The very last step is to add the grated jaggery and mix it in. The residual heat in the milk mixture will melt the jaggery. Caution - Do not heat the mix after adding jaggery or while the heat is still on. This may cause the milk to curdle

9) Transfer to bowls and serve warm.

* For people with sweet tooth or those desirous of Indian level of sweetness, the quantity of Jaggery should be increased to at least 3/4 cups

** The actual cooking time depends on the type of Poha used. The thin poha will cook faster than the thick kind. So keep checking for 'doneness' every couple minutes after the first 10 minutes are over.

Notes: 

 - Since this is not baking, the quantities are just a basic guideline and not strict rules. Feel free to increase the sweetness or eliminate the cardamom or even double the cashews if you prefer.

 - Using whole milk will give it a richer taste, hence is acceptable as a substitute but skim milk is not advisable since it will taste watery.

 - Sugar can be substituted for Jaggery in equal ratio

 - The consistency of end product should not be cause for worry- if it is not thick enough just serve it in martini glasses or coffee mugs. If it is too thick you can add more warm milk to bring it to desired state OR just rename it Poha Pudding and enjoy!!

Easy Kaju Pedha

Kaju or cashews are a favorite in our house. Specially the li'l one's "favorite nut in the whole wide world", as she says. And the only sweet she'll eat is Kaju Katli - the diamond shaped dessert made from cashews. I looked up many recipes but none seemed easy. Then one day my good friend told me about this recipe. I found it at priyaseasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.com and want to say thanks to Priya for this recipe. Now I can make it whenever my daughter feels like eating kaju katli. And that too in a matter of minutes. So here goes.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup cashew powder
1/2 cup almond powder
1/2 cup milk powder
3/4 cup sugar (or castor sugar if you have some on hand)
2 tsp water



Garnish:
Star sprinkles or,
Raisins or,
Pistachios.

Put all the dry ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Mix well with a spatula. Then put the 2 tsps of water and mix well again. Now microwave for 2 minutes ( adjust the time based on the microwave wattage). Stir a couple of times during that time. Now let it cool down. The mixture resembles chapathi dough and you can shape them as you desire. Garnish with the sprinkles or any of the other garnishes you might have available. Enjoy homemade kaju pedha.

Tips
#1 - Do not heat for more than 2 minutes or the mixture turns out dry.
#2 - You can make your own cashew and almond powders by pulsing the nuts, seperately, in a food processor. The powder need not be super fine. It resembles coarse semolina.
#3 - You can use all cashew or almonds instead of half and half. Make sure the almonds are blanched and peeled.

Homemade Chocolate Cake

This is a 'from scratch' recipe for homemade Chocolate Cake. Generally, I use the store bought mixes, follow the instructions on back and make cake "at home". I even perfected the recipe to the correct level of moistness and lightness that we prefer. But it did not satisfy me. I believe what Marie said in Everybody Loves Raymond - she looks at a log of refrigerated cookie dough that Debra gets and says " Well that's almost baking, dear!". A typical Marie statement. But I felt the same when using the mixes therefore I tried it from scratch.

And here is the recipe.

Homemade Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Mix all dry ingredients except cocoa. Beat the eggs in a seperate bowl. Add the oil, milk and vanilla to it. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Dissolve the cocoa into the water and add it to the batter. Put in two 8-inch pans. Bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For added flavor, you can put 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts to the batter. Enjoy.

recipe and pictures courtesy of google search and google images. No copyright infringement intended.

Sweet Potato Bake - Thanksgiving Dessert

Last year we started a tradition for Thanksgiving, even though we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in India. But who can resist the idea of a table laden with luscious seasonal foods, all very yummy in the tummy of course. Not to mention that friends can wake up the next morning and run to stores to get the Early Bird Specials on Black Friday. Well that's what our tradition is in a nutshell - our family friends come over for dinner, we peruse the Thanksgiving day newspaper and maybe see a family movie that night. The next morning me and my friend run off to the stores on our list and 'shop till we drop'. Sounds therapeutic, doesn't it?
Well, let me get to the recipe now. This year my Thanksgiving day dinner had as many vegetarian elements of a traditional dinner as possible. And for dessert we had a delicious Sweet Potato Bake. It was a universal hit. And here's the recipe.



Sweet Potato Bake

Ingredients
3 cups cold, mashed sweet potatoes (prepared without milk or butter)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter softened
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp cold butter

In a mixing bowl beat sweet potatoes, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, salt and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans and flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over potato mixture. Bake uncovered, at 325 F for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.
Yield: 8-10 servings

recipe source: Taste of Home's Best Holiday Recipes 2004. Thanks to Sandra Pichon of Louisiana.

Caramel Flan

This blog is explicitly for recording any new recipes that I try out. And the start of something new with something sweet is tradition in India. So I'm going to start with this easy recipe for flan. I made it for Christmas eve 2009. We had our family friends come for a sleepover and dinner was a mexican fiesta. So what better than flan as the dessert.
Flan, also called Creme Caramel, is a spanish dessert and hence a mexican dessert too. It is a rich custard dessert topped with a layer of soft caramel. And the easy recipe for this yummy stuff follows




Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1 pckg (8 ozs) cream cheese, softened
5 eggs
1 can (14ozs) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12ozs) evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat and cook sugar until melted and golden brown. Keep stirring often and do not add any water to the sugar. The end product after about 15 minutes will be a golden brown liquid. Quickly pour this into an ungreased 2-qt baking dish. Tilt the dish to coat the bottom and let stand for 10 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Now add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour this mixture over the caramel in the baking dish. Place this dish in a larger baking pan. Now pour boiling water in the larger pan, upto half the height of the baking dish.
Bake in the oven at 350 F for 50-55 minutes. The center will be just set and the mixture will jiggle. Remove the dish to a wire rack and cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight ( or at least for 5 hours). Run a knife along the edges and invert onto a rimmed serving platter. Cut and serve on dessert plates with some sauce spooned over each slice.

Yields 10-12 medium or 14-16 small servings.

recipe courtesy: Taste of Home's Best Holiday Recipes 2004.