SANKARPAALA(SWEET)

Sankarpaala(Sweet)

Ingredients:
ghee-1/2cup,
milk-1cup,
sugar-1 1/2cups,
flour(maida)-4cups,
cardamom powder-1tsp,
oil for frying.
Method:
Heat ghee, milk and sugar together just to dissolve sugar.
On getting cooled, mix cardamon powder and maida and knead it to have a soft dough.
Keep it for an hour.
Make 8 to 10 balls out of the dough.
Roll each one to 2 to 3 mm thick round flat shape, like a chappati.
Cut them into small, approx. 15 to 20 mm  square or trapezoidal shapes and fry in oil, till crisp.
A pizza cutter will give smooth and uniform shape to the sankarpaala
Frying has to be done in batches till they turn to light brown.
When cool, store in an airtight container. 

MYSORE PAK(SWEET)

MYSORE PAK(SWEET)


This  is a common sweet partaken throughout India.It is a very tasty sweet. It is easy to prepare. It is a children's favourite.
Ingredients:
besan(gram flour)-1 cup,
sugar-2 cups and
ghee-2 1/2 cups.
Method:
In a heavy bottom pan, mix sugar and a cup of water and heat it, to make syrup(just dissolve sugar).
When the syrup is ready, add besan.
Keep  stirring continuously.
When the content starts sticking to the vessel, add the ghee and again go on stirring till the contents becomes dry and takes a soft texture(at this stage the laddle will go through the cooked contents smoothly) and it exudes a unique pleasant aroma indicating that it is cooked properly.
It takes a brittle  texture (on cooling), when rightly done. Even a bit of overcooking/undercooking gives an entirely different texture to the sweet.
Remove from the flame and spread the stuff in a plate and level it.
Cut it, when it is hot.

Remove the pieces, only after it gets cooled.
Store in an airtight container.

COCONUT BURFI(SWEET)

COCONUT BURFI(SWEET)
Ingredients:
Coconut scrapings-2 cups(only the white part)
sugar-1 1/2 cups,
milk-1 cup,
ghee-1tbsp and
cardamom powder-1/2 tsp.
Method:
Grind the coconut with milk to a coarse texture.
Add sugar and the ghee and go on stirring, till it solidifies.
Bring the flame to a low and keep on stirring, till the contents does not stick to the pan.
Remove from the flame, add the cardamom powder and mix well.
Spread it on a greased plate and cut immediately in pieces. When cooled, store in an airtight container.

ADHIRASAM(SWEET)

ADHIRASAM(SWEET)
This is a sweet made from rice flour and jagerry. It is basically a Tamilnadu sweet. It is very tasty and relished by all age groups.
Ingredients:
rice flour-2 cups,
jagerry-1 cup,(preferably the chikki jagerry, with which laddus are made)
cardamom powder-1 tsp,
ghee/oil for frying.
ghee 1 tsp.
Method:
In a pan, make jagerry syrup to one-thread consistency, using 1/2 cup of water.
Remove from the flame and wait till it comes to a warm state.
Add the rice flour, cardamom powder and the ghee to it and mix well. Keep aside for 6 hrs.
Make small balls using a little ghee.
Make puris on a pastic sheet , by pressing with hand and fingers.
Heat the oil in a pan and deep fry the puris, till they become crisp on the outside.
On getting cooled, they will be crisp outside and soft inside.
Note:
The dough can be kept in the fridge for a longer time and can be used as and when required.

SREEKHAND

SREEKHAND
This dish is very popular among  Maharashtrian and Gujarati communities. It is consumed with puris and also used  as a dessert. The preparation is very easy.
Ingredients:
Curd made with whole milk-4 cups,
sugar-2 cups,
nutmeg powder-1/8 tsp,
kesar-a pinch,
cardamon powder-1/4 tsp,
chiroli nuts-1 tsp(optional).
Method:
The curd used to make sreekhand should be medium sour.
Spread a clean cloth piece over a flat bottom vessel.
Pour the curd over the cloth.
Close the cloth piece and tie the ends with a strong thread and hang it  for 8 hours.
The liquid in the curd will get drained leaving a soft mass.
Dissolve kesar in very little water, say 1 tsp.
Add sugar to the soft curd mass and mix well with a laddle.(If necessary, the sugar can be powdered in a mixer before adding) .
Keep it for an hour.
Pass it through a sieve, gently rubbing it with hand.
Add kesar, nutmeg, cardamom powder and the chiroli nuts and mix well.
Sreekhand is ready.

DRY FRUIT LADDU

Dry Fruit Laddu.
This laddu is very rich in nutrients as well as calories and hence is good, especially for growing children.
Dry fruits like almonds, pistachios, cashewnuts, kismis,dried apricots, dried plums, dates,dried mango pulp, etc can be used as per availability.
Ingredients:
Dry fruits-250 gms,(as many varieties as possible)
Groundnuts-100 gms,
til-50 gms,
jagerry-250 gms(powdered),
dry coconut-100 gms(grated),
cardamom powder-1 tsp,
ghee-100 gms.

DRY-FRUIT LADDU

Method:
Roast almonds and groundnuts in a dry pan or microwave them for 5 mts on high mode.
Roast til.
Grind them coarse in a mixer.
Roast coconut  in little ghee and grind it coarse in a mixer.
Shred all the soft dry fruits into tiny pieces.
Heat ghee in a pan, add jagerry and stir well for 2 mts.
Remove from flame and add all the ground and shredded items along with cardamom powder.
Thoroughly mix them and form laddus applying  little ghee on both the palms.
Dry fruit laddus are ready.
Store them in an air-tight container.

BURFI

BURFI(SWEET)
This burfi is  known as 7 measure burfi ingredients being ,1 measure of each coconut, besan, ghee and  milk and 3 measures of sugar. To enhance the flavour and taste, slight modification is done and  comes  the following recipe.
Ingredients:
Coconut scrapings-1 cup,
Besan-1 cup,
Sugar-3 ½ cups,
Cashewnuts/almonds(or combined together)-1/2 cup,
Milk-1 cup,
Ghee-1 cup and
Cardamom powder-1/2 tsp.(optional)

Method:
Soak and peel almonds.
Crush almonds  and cashewnuts and grind   along with coconut using milk, into a paste.
In a heavy bottom pan, add all the items including the nut-milk paste and keep on the stove with full flame.
Go on stirring without stopping.
When it starts solidifying, bring the flame to the medium.
Keep stirring.
The cooking is complete, when the laddle comes out smoothly, without sticking, on piercing the contents.
Put off the stove and transfer the contents to a greased(preferably with ghee) flat steel plate.
Level it with the laddle or using any other small flat bottom vessel.
When the flattened contents come to a warm stage, while at the same time becomes hard, cut it into pieces.
Take out the cut pieces, only after they are fully cooled.
Burfi is ready for eating.

GAJAR HALWA

Carrot Halwa

This halwa can be prepared in different ways. Given below is one of them and which I use for preparing the halwa.

Ingredients:

carrots-500gms(large, thick and long ones),

sugar-300gms,

cashewnuts-10,

almonds-10,

kismis-1tbsp,

khova(non-sweetened)-100 gms,

milk-2 cups.

ghee-1 tbsp,

cardamom powder-1 tsp.

GAJAR HALWA

Method:

Clean and peel the carrots with the help of a peeler and grate them.

Soak almonds in hot water for a few minutes and de-skin them.

Chop cashewnuts and almonds to small thin pieces.

Cook grated carrots in milk in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles.

In a heavy bottom pan, mix the cooked carrots, khova and sugar and cook till it thickens.

Bring the flame to low.

Add the chopped cashews, almonds and the kismis along with the ghee, mix well and roast till it starts sticking to the finger.

Remove from flame, add cardamom powder and mix well.

Halwa is ready.

Note:

This halwa can also be prepared with only milk(without khova). In that case, the quantity of milk added should be more.