3 Nut burfi

Ingredients :
1/2 - Almonds
1/2 - Cashews
1/2 - Walnuts
1 and 1/4 - sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
Sliced almonds - few

Method:
1. Grind all the nuts separately coarsely.
2. Dry fry the nuts for few minutes.
3. Mix sugar and water in a pan.
4. Let it boil. Turn it to medium flame and check for 1 thread consistency.
    To check one thread consistency, take a drop of syrup in your and thumb and press it with thumb
     and index finger and pull apart. A thread should be formed.
5. Turn off the heat and add cardamom powder and nuts and mix well.
6. Spread it on a greased plate immediately.
7. Wait for few minutes and make it into pieces.
8. Decorate each piece with sliced almonds when it is still hot.
9. Let it cool so that it forms good shape.

A simple sweet is ready.
Enjoy cooking and tasting.

Read More

Gulab jamun

Gulab jamun, I made this with the store bought gulab jamun packet.
I wish to make  everything from scratch. I will try and post it later.
I bought Gits gulab jamun packet and it comes out very good.

Ingredients :
Gits gulab jamun packet - 1 ( packet that makes 20)
Sugar -  2 cup
Water-  1 and  3/4 cup
Cardamom - 3 crushed
Kesar - few strands
Almonds or pistachios for decoration - optional
Milk to make dough
Ghee - little
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Empty the Gits gulab Jamun packet in a bowl and add little milk and mix it.
    Use very little milk and add if needed. In case if you have added little more milk and it is looks watery, mix and make dough and let it rest for sometime. It will thicken to some extent.
2.  Make soft dough. Apply ghee in you hand and start making small balls. This ball will become big in size at the ends. So have that in mind when you are making balls.
3. Add water and sugar and mix well. Add also kesar and cardamom and let it boil.
4. Once it is boiling , low the flame.
5. In a pan add oil for deep frying the gulab jamun. Let it be in medium heat so that you don't over cook it.
6. Fry the balls until they are brown. Keep rolling it so that it cooks evenly and the color is even in all sides. Take the jamun and put in the hot sugar syrup. Add nuts to decorate it.

Tasty gulab jamun is ready. It tastes best when it is served hot.
It can refrigerated for few days.
Enjoy cooking and tasting.

Read More

Rava laddo

Rava ladoo is another simple sweet we can make readily at home. There are many ways people do it.
This is a quick and easy recipe which will never go wrong.
It's made of rava/Sooji. I learnt this method from my grandma.

Ingredients:
Rava - 1 cup( fine rava )
Sugar-1cup
Cashews - 10
Dried grapes - 6
Cardamom - 2
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Milk as needed

 Method :
1. In a pan fry cashews and dried grapes in ghee
2. In the same pan fry rava.
3. Have hot milk ready.
4. In a large bowl mix rava, fried cashews and dried grapes and powdered cardamom  and sugar.
5. Pour hot milk little and mix  and add milk as needed just that they are mixed but not watery.
    Remember that sugar will also melt and become watery. So don't add lots of milk.
6. Makes balls when it is still hot.

Quick and easy rava laddo is ready.
Enjoy cooking and tasting.

Read More

Athirasam

Ingredients :
Rice - 3 cup
Jaggery - 1and 1/4 cup
Cardamom - 3
Dry ginger - small piece
Water-  little more than 1/4 cup
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Soak rice for 2 hours and let it dry little. It shouldn't be completely dry but not soggy.
    You should feel the wetness when you touch it.
2. Grind it and sieve it and the flour should also not be dry. So as soon as u sieve it press the flour
    and close it so that it doesn't dry. Do this just before you make the jaggery syrup.
3. Add water and jaggery in a pan.
4. Let it boil in medium flame until it comes to a soft ball stage.
5. To check soft ball, pour a drop in a plate with water and it shouldn't mix with water, instead it should settle as ball in the bottom.
6. Switch off the stove and add rice flour little by little. Also add cardamom powder and dry ginger powder.
7. Make a soft dough (little loose too) because the dough will become further tight.
8. Now take a pan with oil for deep frying.
9. Take a small ball and press like a flat circle on a plastic paper.
10. Put this in hot oil and it should bulge like a poori in hot oil.
11. Cook one at a time in oil.
12. Turn it around and cook for few minutes.
13. Take it out and have two small plates ready.
14. Put this in between two plates and squeeze excess oil and put it on tissue.
15. Once it is cool, store it in a container.

Enjoy cooking and tasting.

Note :
You might not need all the rice flour. It's always better to have extra.
You can  dry fry the excess flour and store it in a container for  later use.
You can make idiyappam,, rice kozhukatai with the flour.
If the dough is very soft and  you dont have enough rice flour let it rest for sometime until it tightens.
It can rest for few days too.

Read More

Kaju katli

Kaju katli made of cashews is a rich sweet. This sweet has a unique taste, and is favorite of almost everyone. It is not very difficult to make as it looks or taste if u know the trick. I have a policy of learning a new sweet every Diwali and this is the latest I learned this Diwali. Very glad that it came out good. I actually made a three layered katli with pista in one layer, but the recipe is just the same.
Most of the pictures are with pistachios katli.

Ingredients :
Cashew powder - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Water - little more than 1/4 cup water.

Method:

1. Cashew powder - Grind dry cashew. Cashew should be really dry, otherwise it leaves oil when it grinds. Don't over grind it, otherwise also it leaves oil. Sieve the cashew.
2. Pour water and sugar in a pan and let it boil, then put the flame in medium.
3. Check for one thread consistency. To check one thread consistency, take a drop of sugar syrup in your thump and press it with index finger. When you pull apart a thread should be formed in between the fingers. Don't over cook the sugar syrup, the the katli will be very hard.
4. Add cashew powder, and keep sstring until it becomes little thick and leaves the side.
5. Pour it in a bowl and let it cool.
6. Then make it a dough and roll it like roti.
7. Make diamonds shape. You can use silver sheet to decorate it.
8. You can make pista katli just like this and make two layer or can make kaju roll.

To make kaju roll :
make a cylinder of pista. Take a small ball of cashew katli and roll it.
Place pista cylinder on it and close it. Slice the edges.

To make flower:
I mixed red color to small ball of cashew katli. Make it a ball.
Now, take a ball of cashew and roll it. Place the red ball and cover it . Remove the excess and make a ball.
Now you have two layers, inside red and white middle.
Now with the pista, take a little bigger ball. Roll it. Place the two layered ball and cover it.
Remove the remaining.
Now you got three layered katli ball.
Decorate it with silver foil. Now with the knife cut the katli through middle to make a star.
Katli will spread apart and it looks gorgeous with three layers seen.

Kaju katli which is supposed to be very costly is right there in your home.
Good luck for your try.

Enjoy cooking and tasting.

Read More

Boondi laddoo

Boondi Laddoo is a sweet that not many people make it at home in the past. I used to think that it can only be made in sweet stall. Now things have changed that anyone can make anything at home. Feels good to make it at home. I first made this when my motherinlaw visited my place and she was surprised to see me make it . What else you need than good comment from motherinlaw. Mission accomplished.
It is little time consuming than other sweets but worth the time spent.

Ingredients
( makes around 12)

To make boondi:
Besan or gram flour - 1 and 1/4 cup
Water - more than half cup or as needed.

To make syrup:

 Sugar- 1 and 1/2 cup
 Water- 3/4 cup
 Cardamom - 4

Seasoning is up to you. Either almonds or cashews or dried grapes or cloves, up to you.

Perforated  ladle - a flat spatula with lots of round holes to make boondi
Oil for deep frying.

Method :
1. Make sugar syrup first.
2. Add water and sugar and let it boil.
3. Keep the flame in medium heat and keep checking the sugar syrup for half thread consistency.
4. To check half thread consistency, take a drop of sugar syrup in your thumb and
    press the index finger and thumb and when u pull apart  you should get a string that breaks in half.
5. Once the sugar syrup is done, keep it aside and start making the boondi.
6. Mix besan and water to form a batter. The consistency should be such that the batter when poured in the ladle should drop down easily. It shouldn't be more watery or more thick that it doesn't fall.
7. Heat oil in a pan.
8. When the oil is hot, put the ladle just above the oil and pour batter in the ladle slowly.
9. The batter will fall down and form boondi in hot oil. Once the oil is filled with boondi, stop it.
10. Let the boondi cook. Boondi shouldn't cook for long time.
11. It shouldn't be too crispy too. About 2 minutes take the boondi and put it in sugar syrup.
12. I personaly grind half of the boondi and add it in sugar syrup. That way I feel everything blends together.
13. Once all the boondis are done, add cardamom ,any seasoning u wish and try to take the boondi from excess sugar syrup.
14. Try to make ball using two hands. In case if you couldn't make ball, make a rough ball and after sometime u can make it into a perfect ball.

Yummy boondi laddoo is ready.
Enjoy cooking and tasting.

Read More

Banana walnut bread

I always love to have this in Starbucks. I am just craze of it.
Once my friend got it home and I was surprised to hear that she made it home.
Learnt it from her right away and I just love it.
Believe me it justs tastes like Starbucks.
It's always been a hit whenever I made it and everyone loves it.
So here goes the recipe.

 Ingredients :

1 -   1 stick butter (Keep it in room temperature one hour before your making the dough)

2 -   1 Cup sugar
3 -    2 eggs (Keep it in room temperature one hour before your making the dough)

4 -    11/2 cup maida

5 -    1tsp baking soda

6 -    1 pinch salt

7 -    1 cup mashed ver ripe banan ( usually 3)

8 -    1/2 cup sour cream

9 -   1tsp vanilla essence (opt)

10-  1/2 cup nuts either walnut or pecan

Note : Cup and tsp are the measuring thing sold in shop not our rice cooker cup or usual tsp.

           ( because i thot it that way initially ;-)... measurements are very important)

Preparation :

- Mix sugar and butter and mix thoroughly so that they make a smooth paste (creamy like  ).

- Add eggs one by one and beat again so that it mixes well.

- Add maida little by little and mix well...We want everything to be mixed well before we add the next ingredient.

- Add baking soda, salt , vanilla ess(if u have ) and mix well.

- Add sour cream and mix well

- Mash the bananas in hand well and the add them in this and mix well.

- Preheat the oven in 350 degree C for 10 min. In this time u can put the nuts in a tray  or foil

  and keep it in oven.It makes the nuts crispy.

  Then break the nut into two or three pieces and add them in the dough

  and mix it lightly( too much mixing with the electric mixer makes the nuts break)

- Grease the loaf ban with butter and pour the mixer in loaf pan and keep it in oven in 375 degree C for 50 min to 1 hour or until it bakes.

  Insert a tooth pick and when it comes out clean, then bread is ready.

- Keep it outside and allow it to cool.

- Take the bread out of the loaf pan and cut it into pieces and keeping it in fridge for a little time

  makes the bread look in good form and tastes good too.

Enjoy and share are your experience

Read More

Kesari / Sooji halwa

One of the common dessert in south India. It is made on almost all the festive days.
A yummy and yet a simple recipe to make.
Let's do it today. Want to make it with me, come on let's go for it.

Ingredients :
( serving for 4)
Sooji  - 1/2 cup ( coarse is better as it avoids forming lumps)
Sugar - 1/2 cup ( adjusts to your taste)
Food color - a pinch ( optional )
Cashews or almonds. - 10 whole piece crushed
Cardamom - 1 crushed nicely.  ( I prefer using powdered cardoon as it avoids pieces in your mouth)
Dried grapes - few
Ghee - 1/4 cup
1 cup water or may be a little more

Method :

1. Take a non stick pan.
2 . Fry cashews or almonds and dried graphes in ghee.
3.  Dry fry Sooji until it is light brown. Keep it separately.
4. Add water and color and cardamom powder and let the water boil.
5. Add Sooji little by little so that it doesn't form lumps.
6. Once u add all the Sooji, let it cook before u add sugar.
7. Now add sugar little by little as you mix again so that no lumps are formed.
     Making kesari without lumps is the tricky part where most people fail.
     If u are carefull while adding Sooji and sugar u can avoid this.
8. After this add cashews and rest of the ghee and mix well.
    U get a very tasty kesari.

I hope u try it and don't forget to share ur experience.
Enjoy cooking and tasting.

Read More