Badam paal / Almond milk

Almonds, the protein power house are high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats as are found in olive oil, which have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease. More here.

Here is one sweet delicacy that can be prepared before hand and stored in the refrigerator and can be used as and when needed. This almond drink can be had hot or cold. Makes a warm drink on a winter night and a cold drink on a summer afternoon. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Almonds or Almond meal - 1 cup

Granulated sugar - one and half cups

Reduced fat milk - 2 cups

Water - 1 cup

Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon

Saffron strands - 1 pinch

Method:

If using almonds, blanch the almonds by boiling almonds in hot water for thirty minutes. Cool off and peel the skin.

Grind the blanced almonds to smooth paste using half cup water and half cup milk.

Transfer the ground almond to a heavy bottomed kadai and add half cup water and half cup milk.

Add the saffron strands and allow it to cook in reduced heat.

If using the almond meal (ground alomond), whisk half a cup water and half a cup milk and cook in a heavy bottomed kadai.

Stir every other minute for atleast 15 minutes or until the raw almond smell goes away.

If required add more milk.

When the almond paste is cooked, add the sugar.

Let the sugar dissolve.

Allow it to cook until the mixture thickens.

Add the cardamom powder and let it cook for a couple of minutes.

Turn off heat.

Take half a cup of this almond paste and pour half a cup milk and serve hot, cold or at room temperature.

This badam paste can be stored in the fridge in an air tight container.

Just mix milk to the paste as and when needed.

This badam milk can be called badam payasam too.

Thanks to my mom for teaching me this delicious recipe.

This is my entry to sweet series - cool desserts.

Sweet puff - Coconut filling

This is a wonderful recipe for sweetened coconut filled puffs. My first try and a big hit I should say.

I made use of two frozen items availabe in the US. One is the readymade puff pastry sheets and the other is the shredded coconut. I have made this recipe as simple as possible so it is easy to try this and relish the very nostalgic taste. If any of my hometown people read this post, I am sure it will bring back memories about the sweet coconut buns that are availabe in a road side shop in Agraharam, Salem. We used to buy those coconut buns when I was a small girl. It's actually a coconut filled round pie. The taste and texture are more or less the same as this sweet puff. Every weekend, we used to buy this freshly baked sweet buns. I don't know if they still sell them. Coming to the recipe, here is one easy and sweet snack that everybody can enjoy.

Ingredients:

Grated fresh coconut - 2 cups ( I used the shredded coconut in the freezer section in Indian stores)

Sugar - 1 cup

Jaggery or brown sugar - half cup

Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon

Puff pastry sheets - 1 packet - I used pepperidge farm brand

Method:

Thaw the puff pastry sheets and the shredded coconut if you are using frozen.

Prepare the filling:

Cobine coconut, sugar and jaggery/brown sugar and a tablespoon of water and heat in a heavy bottomed kadai.

Keep in low to medium heat.

Keep stirring. You will notice that the consistency will loosen. But, after around 15 minutes, it will start thickening.

Mix in the cardamom powder.

Take off from heat when the consistency is thick at the same time a little moist too.

(Don't wait until all the moisture is absorbed).

Keep it aside and wait until it comes to room temperature.

Making the sweet puffs:

Cut the pastry sheet into three parts. Make use of the folding. Then cut each part into two. There will be totally 6 small rectangles.

(Keep the unused portion of the pastry sheet in the fridge not in the freezer)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Take a tablespoon of the filling and place it in one side of the rectangle so that you can close the filling.

Close the filling and seal the sides. A drop of water can be used to seal.

Use a fork to make a design.

Repeat this for all the puffs.

Poke once on the top of each puff to vent.

Line the six puffs in a non stick baking tray.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.

Take it out and cool completely before you taste. The filling will be really hot.

If the puffs are not sealed proplerly, there will be a leak. Discard the leaked filling on the tray.

Enjoy the sweet and delicious puffs. You can as well shout 'Bam' like Emeril and sprinkle powdered sugar on the puffs before serving.

Repeat these steps for the remaining pastry sheets and the coconut filling too. Thaw the pastry sheets before proceeding.

This is my entry to AFAM - Coconut hosted by Suganya of Tasty palletes. Thanks suganya for hosting this event.

Sindhi Lola

I love this sweet and delicious Lola that my sindhi neighbor prepares. Since I love her lola and koki, everytime I visit my hometown, she would send these delicious lolas and kokis to my house. When I asked her the recipe for lola, she told me the ingredients that are mixed in the flour. When Srivalli announced the roti mela, the first thing that came to my mind is this sweet lola. I am happy that my lolas turned out to be atleast 95% closer to the ones she prepares. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups

Sugar - powdered - 1 cup

Butter at room temperature - one fourth cup

Ghee - one fourth cup

Milk - to prepare the dough - approximately 1 cup (can use water as substitute or may be used in combination with milk)

Method:

Mix the sugar in milk.

Add the sweet milk and butter to the flour and knead it to a stiff dough.

Take some quantity of dough and roll it to a thick layer.

Heat a tawa and when it is hot, reduce the heat to 'between low and medium'.

Apply a teaspoon of ghee on the hot tawa and place the rolled out thick layered lola.

Apply some ghee on the top and close it with a plate. Let it cook at low heat. Since it is thick, it will take atleast 3 minutes to cook on one side. Flip the other side and cook it closed for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve immediately. Children will love these lolas as it is sweet. Garnish with sugar. Makes a wonderful snack on weekends and evenings. When lolas come to room temperature, it tends to harden. Break it into pieces and enjoy the sweet crunchy lolas. Microwave it for few seconds if you want it soft.

This is my entry to the Roti mela hosted by Srivalli. Thank you Srivalli, for hosting this grand event.

This is also my entry to the Sweet series - Puran poli and sweet roti/chapathi event hosted by me.

Sweet Pongal

Cardamom gives intense flavor especially when added to sweets. Cardamom is also added to gravies and a few rice varieties as well. I have used cardamom in Pongal, a sweet preparation from south India. Sweet pongal is prepared every year for Thai Pongal in Tamil Nadu. Below is a small note on the Pongal festival of Tamil nadu adapted from Here.

"Pongal is a four-days-long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. For as long as people have been planting and gathering food, there has been some form of harvest festival. Pongal, one of the most important popular Hindu festivals of the year. This four-day festival of thanksgiving to nature takes its name from the Tamil word meaning "to boil" and is held in the month of Thai (January-February) during the season when rice and other cereals, sugar-cane, and turmeric (an essential ingredient in Tamil cooking) are harvested.Mid-January is an important time in the Tamil calendar. The harvest festival, Pongal, falls typically on the 14th or the 15th of January and is the quintessential 'Tamil Festival'.

Pongal is a harvest festival, a traditional occasion for giving thanks to nature, for celebrating the life cycles that give us grain. Tamilians say 'Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum', and believe that knotty family problems will be solved with the advent of the Tamil month Thai that begins on Pongal day. This is traditionally the month of weddings. This is not a surprise in a largely agricultural community - the riches gained from a good harvest form the economic basis for expensive family occasions like weddings"

This sweet is perpared in a large container combining rice, a little dal, jaggery and milk and stirred continuously until the content turns to a porridge. It is flavored and garnished with cardamom, nutmeg and cashews. I have prepared this dish in the most easiest way. Here is how I do the sweet pongal.

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 cup ( I used one cup ravi brand sona masoori rice)

Split moong dal - 1 handful

Jaggery - 2 cups (I used two and half cups brown sugar)

Milk - 2 cups

Water - 1 ½

Evaporated milk - 12 fl oz 1 can (or use 350 ml regular milk)

Saffron strands - 1 pinch

Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon

Ghee fried cashews

Ghee - half cup

Method:

Dry roast rice and dal together until the rice turns white.

Immediately transfer it to a vessel that can be kept in pressure cooker.

Add saffron strands, milk and water and give it a stir.

Pressure cook the rice as you would cook the regular rice. The cooked rice should be soft and mushy.

In a wide bottomed heavy kadai, heat the brown sugar with half a cup water.

When the brown sugar/jaggery melts, reduce the heat and add the cooked rice little by little stirring continuously. Mix in the evaporated milk/reguar milk.

Add the cardamom powder, cashews and ghee. Mix until even distribution.

The sweet pongal is ready.

This is my entry to 'Think Spice - Cardamom' hosted by EC of Simple Indian Food. Thanks EC for hosting this event.

Lapsi - broken wheat sweet porridge

I had lapsi, a delicious north Indian sweet, in a potluck party in my friend's house a few weeks back. The sweet was so tasty that I wanted to try. As I was browsing for the recipe, I learnt that this sweet is prepared in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. In south India we use rice to prepare sweet pongal. The same is called lapsi in north India where they use cracked wheat instead of rice. I found only this difference. Of course rice is the staple food of the south and wheat for north.

Coming to the recipe, after I saw several links for the recipe, I got an idea that the cracked wheat is first cooked in milk or water and then sugar, cardamom and ghee are added to the cooked wheat to make a sweet porridge. I just loved cooking lapsi today. I am excited that it turned out really well. I added nutmeg powder and cardamom powder. The sweet is just yummy and addictive too. I am sending this sweet to RCI - Rajasthan hosted by Padmaja of Spicyandra.

Ingredients:

Cracked wheat - 1 cup

Water - 1 cup

Lowfat milk - 2 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

Ghee (clarified butter) - 2 tablespoons

Cardamom powder - half teaspoon

Nutmeg powder - half teaspoon

Sliced almonds for garnishing

Method:

Heat a heavy bottomed kadai and add half tablespoon ghee. When ghee melts, add the cracked wheat and roast until the content heats up and good aroma comes. Transfer it to another container.

Heat milk and water in the heavy bottomed kadai and when the content heats up, add the roasted cracked wheat.

Allow it to cook partially closed. Stir occasionally. Cook until the wheat is tender. If all the moisture is absorbed and still the wheat is not cooked, pour half a cup water and allow it to cook until the wheat is tender.

When the wheat is fully cooked, add the sugar and cardamom. The content will loosen and again start thickening. When most of the moisture is absorbed, add the remaining ghee. Stir well until even distribution. Let the porridge be a little loose as the sweet tends to thicken after some time.

Stir in the nutmeg powder and garnish with almonds. Delicious lapsi is ready.

Idichu Pizhinja Payasam / 'Rice in coconut milk' dessert

Idichu Pizhinja Payasam is no more a difficult payasam when we have readymade coconut milk available in the store. I know tamil, so, I can somewhat guess what's idichu pizhinja in malayalam means. I think it's a process of extracting the milk from the coconut. If you love coconut, here's a treat for you. This is my entry to RCI Kerala hosted by Jyothsna of Currybazaar Thanks Jyotsna, for hosting this event. I got this recipe from here. I did not extract the milk from the coconut, instead, bought the readymade coconut milk. So, the payasam was ready in minutes. Here is how I prepared.


Ingredients:

Cooked rice - 1 cup

Jaggery - half cup

Sugar - half cup

Coconut milk - 1 can (400 ml)

Cardomom powder - 1 teaspoon

Method:

Melt the jaggery and sugar in a kadai adding just a teaspoon of water.

When it melts, add the cooked rice and mix well.

When the content heats up, empty one full can (400 ml) of coconut milk.

Mix well and add the cardamom powder.

Wait until one boil comes. Then, remove from heat.

This payasam is just fantastic, and very easy to prepare.

Hayagreeva muddy

Hayagreeva is an authentic sweet from Karnataka. This is done on special occasions and can be done very easily. The sweet is made with Channa Dal, Jaggery and Ghee. I am contributing this delicacy for my Dear Friend Asha's (Foodies Hope) Round up for RCI Karnataka . Thanks Asha for hosting this event.

(RCI is Regional Cuisine of India: event starter, Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine)

"Hayagreeva" is a brand name dish of the Madhwas. No major Madhwa social event is complete without the "Hayagreeva" dish. It is called "Hayagreeva maddi" by Madhwa chefs. (Madhwas are followers of the Dvaita Philosophy founded by Sri Madhwacharya). This sweet was prepared by Sri Vadhiraja Theertharu as prasad to Lord Sri Hayavadana and this is the speciality of the sweet. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Channa Dal - 1 Cup

Jaggery / Brown Sugar - 2 Cups

Ghee - 3 tablespoons

Powdered Cardamom - 1/2 teaspoon

Nutmeg Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Desiccated Coconut/ Grated Kobri - 2 tablespoons - Roasted in Ghee

Cashews or Almond slices - roasted in ghee.

Method:

Dry Roast Channa Dal for a couple minutes in medium heat. Pressure cook the dal. (The cook time for channa dal is more than toor dal). After the dal is cooked, drain the water and keep the dal aside. The water can be used for preparing Rasam/Saaru.

Heat jaggery/brown sugar in a heavy kadai adding a quarter cup of water.

When the Jaggery melts completely, add the channa dal. Turn heat to medium.

Keep stirring until the moisture is almost absorbed completely.

While it's cooking, mash the dal with a masher.

Reduce the heat and add the other ingredients viz. roasted coconut, cardamom powder, nutmeg, ghee, and nuts.

Mix well and Serve warm or at room temperature.

Carrot Halwa

Here is one of my favorite Halwa. I just followed Malika Badrinath's recipe for Carrot Halwa and it came out very well. Before following her recipe, I fried the Grated Carrot in a tablespoon of Ghee. I also added Saffron strands and extra Ghee for flavor. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Grated Carrots - 3 cups

Milk - 1 1/2 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

Ghee - 3 tablespoons

Cardamom Powder - 1/2 teaspoons

Saffron Strands - a pinch

Chopped Cashewnuts - 2 tablespoons

Method:

In a heavy bottomed kadai, fry the grated carrots in a tablespoon of ghee for one minute. Then add the milk and saffron and pressure cook for one whistle.

To this, add sugar and keep stirring in a heavy bottomed kadai in medium heat.

When complete moisture is absorbed, add half of the ghee. Fry for two more minutes and remove from heat.

Fry the cashewnuts in the remaining ghee and add it to the halwa with the cardamom powder. Mix well. Serve warm or at room temperature or serve warm with a dollop of Ice cream.

Note: Reduce the sugar if the carrot is too sweet..

(I did the whole procedure in my non stick prestige kadai pressure cooker).

Coconut Burfi

This is my sister B's recipe for Coconut Burfi. Photographed by her too. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

Grated Coconut - 1 Cup

Sugar - 1 and 1/2 Cups

Saffron - a pinch (as desired)

Gram flour - 4 tsp

Cardamom - 1 tsp

Ghee - 4-5 Tbsp

Method:

Heat Sugar in a large Kadai dissolving very little water, Cardamom and Saffron.

Wait until the Syrup reaches the Soft Ball Consistency. Meanwhile roast the Gram flour for few seconds and keep it aside. Also, grease a dish with ghee.

(Soft Ball Consistency: Add few drops of sugar syrup into a cup of cold water. If the syrup does not dissolve then the right consistency is reached)

Add the Coconut and keep stiring.

When the mixture starts thickening, add the Gram flour.

When it starts thickening add little ghee. and keep stirring.

Pour the content in a greased dish. You might have to act fast as the coconut will get overcooked while the full moisture is absorbed. That will lead to dry coconut and sugar flakes.

Even the layer and allow it to cool. When its almost cooled and a little warm, cut it into diamond shaped cubes. Allow it to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Traditional Obbattu / Holige

Here is an Authentic Recipe for Kalle Bela Thenginkai Obbattu ( Obbattu or Holige pronounced 'Ho' as in Home 'Li' as in Lip and 'Ge' as in Get), a traditional sweet of the South. This is easy to make and the more number of times you try this recipe, the faster you finish the procedure. This delightful recipe is my Mom's. Photos by my sister B. The procedure is illustrated step by step with pictures because 'a picture is thousand words'. Sometimes, its easy to explain when there's a picture.

Ingredients and Method:

Take 8 to 9 Cups Maida flour. Add 8 table spoons Oil and 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder. Mix into a dough using little water. Keep it aside.

2 Cups Channa Dal (Kadala Paruppu). Cook in Pressure Cooker.

Grated / Powdered Jaggery 4 and 1/2 Cups.

1 and half cups of grated fresh Coconut. (If breaking a coconut, use one full coconut)

Grind the Cooked Dal, Coconut and Jaggery with Cardamom powder (from 8 to 10 pods) and Nutmeg Powder (1 tsp). Do not add water.

To make the Hoorna, Boil the ground paste. (stage 1)

Becomes Semi-Solid. At this stage add little Ghee. This will enhance the taste and flavor.(stage 2).

Hoorna is done. At this stage, when you try to make balls, Hoorna should not stick to the hand(stage 3).

Make balls with the cooled Hoorna.

Make balls out of the Maida Dough. This should be a little bigger than the Hoorna Balls.

Flatten the Maida Ball to a one and a half to two inchs in diameter.

Place the Hoorna Ball in the Middle of the flat Maida dough.

Close and Seal the Hoorna inside.

Maida Hoorna Ball.

Ready the Suffed Maida Balls before rolling them.

Dredge in the flour and Roll the Stuffed Maida ball.

Roll the stuffed Maida Ball.

Toss it in a hot Tawa and Apply Ghee on both sides.

The tasty authentic obbattu is ready. Serve with Ghee or Milk.

Jeera Polee

Jeera polees or Jeera Polis are special kind of pooris dipped in sugar syrup. Its a great and easy dish for any occasion. Jeera means sugar syrup. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

Fine Rava - 1 cup

All purpose Flour - 1 cup

Sugar and Water both 2 cups each

Cardamom Powder and Saffron

Oil for deep frying

Method:

For Jeera,

Mix sugar and water. Add Cardamon powder, Saffron and allow it to boil for 10 mins.

For polee,

Mix Fine Rava and All Purpose Flour (Maida) adding water little by little.

Knead well atleast for 5 mins.

The dough should be like that of the poori dough consistency.

Keep aside for 3 hours.

Roll out the dough like pooris and deep fry in oil. Immedietely soak the polee in the prepared Jeera for ten seconds and take it out and arrange on a plate.

Please note: PLEASE DO ONE POLEE AT A TIME. DO NOT MAKE POLEES FIRST AND THEN DIP IT IN JEERA. THE POORIS WILL BECOME CRISPY AND WILL START TO BREAK INTO PIECES.

Enjoy jeera Polee. This recipe is contributed and photographed by my sister PK.

Panaka and Majiga Neeru

Today is Sri Rama Navami and its a tradition to offer Panaka ( Sweetened Water) and Majiga Neeru (Diluted Butter Milk) as Prasad (Neivedyam) to Sri Rama. Lord Sri Rama's Birthday is celebrated every year as Sri Rama Navami.

Ingredients for Panaka: (Sweetened Water)

1 Cup Water

2 teaspoon - Jaggery / brown sugar

3 pods - Elachi (Cardamomn)

2 drops Lemon Juice

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Pinch of Dried Ginger Powder

Method:

Mix all the ingredients and stir until even distribution.

Ingredients for Majiga Neeru: (Diluted Butter Milk)

1/2 Cup Yogurt / Thick Curd

1/2 Cup Water

Few Curry leaves

Pinch of Salt

Pinch of Asafoetida Powder

Method:

Mix all the Ingredients and Stir until even distribution.

Corn Flour Halwa

Happy Ugadhi to everyone and I would like to share the sweet of the day with all of you. An awesome treat and fully cooked in microwave. One can not even guess that the sweet's main ingredient in Corn Flour. It is sure a heavenly treat. Its a no mess, fully microwave cooked, easy recipe that will be ready in minutes. This is my Mom's recipe for Corn Flour Halwa. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Corn Flour
Almost 1 cup Granulated Sugar
Saffron - a pinch (optional if using the artificial color)

6 to 7 pods Elachi (Take out the seeds and grind to a coarse powder)
Orange Red Color (Optional ) - a pinch
Pistachio nuts chopped - a handful
(Any kind of chopped nuts is fine)
Ghee - 3 tablespoons
Water - 4 cups

Method:

Take Corn Flour in a Microwave safe bowl. Preferably a little big. I used the corning ware big size.

Pour 2 Cups of Water. Whisk well until there are no lumps.

Mix in the sugar and whisk until even distribution.

Add the Saffron.

Microwave on High for 2 minutes. Stir and again Microwave on High for 2 minutes. Repeat this until the conflour's raw smell goes. If you think the content is thickening too quickly, add little water and stir until even distribution and again Microwave for 1 or 2 minutes, or until the content becomes a little semi solid and the Corn Flour raw smell disappears completely.

Grease a dish with Ghee and add the remaining Ghee, Ground Elachi and the chopped nuts to the content and stir until even distribution. Cook again for a minute or two in microwave. The consistency will resemble a jelly, somewhat semi solid, trying to set.

Immediately pour the content in the greased dish.

Allow it to cool completely. Topple the halwa in a plate. Slice and Serve. You can still enjoy the Halwa even if it doesn't slice out well.

Rava Kesari

Kesari (using regular rava)

Here is the recipe for the south Indian dessert, Kesari using Regular Rava. I have added orange red edible color to it instead of using saffron. This kesari differs from fine rava kesari in measurements but not in the procedure. Let me tell you exactly how the kesari is done using regular rava.[ Click here for Kesari with fine rava ].

Ingredients:

Regular Rava - 3/4 cup (not fine rava)
Sugar – 1- ¾ cups
Water – 4 cups
Orange Red edible food color/Kesar food color – less than ¼ teaspoon.
Ghee – 4 tablespoons
Cardamom – 5 pods crushed
Ghee fried Cashews.

Method:

Ghee roast the Rava and keep it aside. Heat water in a heavy kadai. When it starts to boil reduce the heat and add the Rava slowly (keep stirring while adding, to avoid lumps). Keep stirring until most of the moisture is absorbed and the rava is fully cooked. Add the food color and stir. Then, add the sugar slowly, while stirring at the same time. You will notice the consistency loosening. Add the cardamom. Keep stirring until the kesari thickens. It will start sticking to the bottom when all the moisture is absorbed. Now, add the Ghee and stir well. Garnish with raisins/cashews. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Kesari

Rava Kesari (fine rava)

Kesari is an easy and very delicious sweet, a dessert from South India. Here is the recipe for plain Rava Kesari. ( click here for Kesari recipe using Regular Rava)

Ingredients:

Fine Rava – 1 cup
Sugar – 1-½ cups
Water – 2 cups
Saffron – ½ teaspoon
Ghee – 3 tablespoons
Cardamom – 5 pods crushed
Raisins for Garnishing
Ghee fried cashews can be added to the sweet.

Method:

Ghee roast the Rava and keep it aside. Heat water in a heavy kadai. When it starts to boil, add the saffron. You will notice the water turning to yellow color.

Reduce the heat and add the Rava slowly (keep stirring while adding to avoid lumps). Keep stirring till Rava is fully cooked (At this time the consistency will not be too loose).

Now add the sugar slowly, while stirring it at the same time. You will notice the consistency loosening. Add the cardamom.

Keep stirring until the kesari thickens. It will start sticking to the bottom. Now, add the Ghee and stir well. A lot of stirring, but worth the effort. Garnish with raisins/cashews. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Badam Halwa

One of my most favorite sweet is Badam Halwa. I like it in any consistency it turns out when it’s done. It might turn out as soft Badam Halwa or can be cut into diamond shapes when cake consistency is reached.

Ingredients:

Badam (Almonds) – 1 cup heaped
Sugar – 1-¼ cups
Saffron – few strands
Ghee – half cup
Milk – ½ cup

Method:

To blanch the badam, boil in water for 1 hr in low flame. This way it is easy to peel off the skin. (The traditional way is to soak the badam overnight to peel off the skin).

To the blanched Badam add little milk and grind it into a smooth paste.

Mix little water to sugar and heat it in a thick bottomed kadai. Add Saffron while it is boiling. When one string consistency is reached, (One string consistency means, Thin long string is formed upto 2 to 3 inches when tested between thumb and fore finger) add the badam paste and cook till it becomes thick.

When Halwa sticks to bottom add ghee little by little and cook till halwa consistency is reached.

Note:

1. You can mix sugar and badam paste directly and cook it in a heavy kadai. Add ghee when it sticks to the bottom. This method takes long time to cook and absorbs more ghee.

2. You can buy the powdered dry badam (almonds) from the Indian store instead of blanching and grinding the badam.

Boondhi Laddu

Its Diwali season and its time for new dresses, fire crakers, sweets and savories. I make boondhi laddus more often as its one of my favourite sweets. It might seem a difficult procedure, but is sure not. You can definitely give a try and take pride of preparing laddus for this diwali. This sweet need not always be bought in a sweet stall when you can prepare it yourself in your own kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 cup heaped Bengal gram flour

1 tablespoon gheeCardamom powder, cashew nuts, raisins, diamondkalkand, saffron, kesar color less than 1/2 pinch, cloves

(Fry the cashews, raisins and cloves in little ghee)

Sugar 1 ½ cups and water ½ cups

Oil for deep-frying

1 spoon rice flour and 1 pinch cooking soda.

You need a boondhi plate or a ladle with small holes (kannu somutu in kannada) or Boondhi ladle

Method:

For Syrup:

Mix sugar and water in a heavy kadai and heat till sugar is dissolved stirring it in between. When it is dissolved allow the syrup to boil till half string consistency is reached. Do not stir at this stage.

(Tip: after sugar is dissolved, it becomes sticky and in 2 minutes it becomes half string consistency)

Remove from fire and mix cardamom powder, cashewnuts, raisins, saffron, kesar color less than 1/2 pinch, and cloves.

For Boondhi:

Meanwhile, as the syrup is getting ready, mix Bengal gramflour, rice flour and cooking soda to a bajji consistency adding very little water.

Take a ladle with small holes (kannu somutu) and check whether the batter falls down as droplets.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Hold the ladle above the oil spread the batter so that the batter drops down as small droplets into the oil.

Stir the boondis until fully cooked. After it is soft and before it is crisp, take away from oil and directly put it in the sugar syrup that you prepared.

Drain the excess oil before mixing it in the syrup. Few droplets might have become crisp, just immerse in syrup, it will become soft.

Keep doing the same till the syrup is full. Stir in diamond kalkand.

Making Laddus:

Keep in medium flame if you think the syrup has cooled down. The boondhi syrup consistency should not be too dry or too damp. If its too dry it means you have added more boondhi, if damp, you have to add more boondhi. Make medium sized balls out of the boondhi mixture and the laddu is ready.

Note: The Laddus in the above shown photo does not contain raisins, cashews and kesar color.

Semiya Payasam

Here is a delicious and quick sweet payasam that is very easy to prepare. It hardly takes ten to fifteen minutes to relish this wonderful dessert.

Ingredients:

Semiyaa (Vermicelli) - 1 cup
Cashews and almonds- handful
Water - 1 cup
Sugar - a cup
Saffron - a pinch
Milk - 3 cups
Cardamom - two or three pods

Method:

Heat 1 teaspoon ghee and fry the vermicelli till light brown. Keep it aside.

Then, boil 1 cup water plus half a cup milk. When it starts boiling, add the vermicelli and cover it. Stir occasionally.

Once the vermicelli becomes soft , add the sugar and continue to stir.

Put the saffron in a teaspoon of milk and dissolve it until the milk turns yellow. Add this milk to the cooked vermicelli. Add remaining milk and powdered cardamom. Let the content heat up.

Meanwhile, fry the cashewnuts and almonds in ghee and add it to the payasam. Mix well and turn off the heat in a couple of minutes.

Your payasam is ready and can be served hot or cold.

Variations:

1. Vermicelli can be cooked in milk instead of water. In that case, more milk should be added.

2. Instead of boiling milk, you can add 1 can of evaporated milk to the cooked vermicelli.

3. Instead of adding sugar and milk separately, you can add one can of sweetened condensed milk

4. To dilute the payasam you can add one cup of plain milk or one can of evaporated milk.

5. Instead of roasting the vermicelli you can buy the readymade roasted vermicelli. saves time ;-)