Monday, April 13, 2009

Sweets

Rasgulla

Ingredients:
1 litre milkJuice of lemon1 1/2 cups sugar4 cups water2-3 drops rose essence

Instructions:
1. Heat the milk and bring to boil.2. Cool the milk for a couple of hours. Remove the cream layer.3. Reheat the milk and bring to a boil.4. Add the citric acid dissolved in some water.5. Stir slowly till the milk is fully curdled. Keep as it is for 5 minutes.6. Meanwhile heat the sugar and water in a wide sauce pan. Bring to a boil.7. Strain the milk through a muslin cloth. Wash the chenna(paneer) in the cloth under cold running water.8. Press out the excess water and remove in a wide plate.9. Gently knead into a soft dough by passing between fingers.10.Make twelve equal sized balls of the dough. Slide the balls into the boiling sugar water. Cover with a perforated lid. Boil for 15 minutes.11.Take off from heat and cool them to room temperature.12.Add essence and chill for at least 4 to 5 hours.
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Mysorepak

Ingredients:
1 cup besan (gram flour)2 ½ cups ghee (approximately)1 cup sugar (heaped)1 ¼ cups sugar¼ tsp. Cardamom powder

Instructions:
1. saute the flour with 4-5 tbsp. ghee for 2-3 minutes.2. Heat rest of the ghee in a different vessel.3. Add water to the sugar. Heat and prepare syrup of 1 ½ thread consistency.4. Pour the syrup on the sauted flour. Keep stirring consistently on a high flame.5. Keep adding the heated ghee little by little to the mixture. Keep stirring.6. Mysore pak will slowly start expanding. When done, the ghee will start separating out of mysore pak. 7. Stop adding any more ghee. The colour will change to light brownish. Add cardamom powder.8. Put off the heat. Pour the mysore pak in a thali. Allow to cool down a little and set.9. Keep the thali tilted so that the extra ghee drains out. Cut into pieces.
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Puran Poli
There are three parts to making Puran Poli. Puran (The Filling), Poli (The Covering) and Aamti (Type of Dal).

Filling (Puran):
Ingredients :3 cup Bengal Gram Dal2&1/2 cup Sugar5 grams cardamons1 tsp ginger-dry(powder)Salt to taste

Instructions :
Wash the Bengal-Gram-Dal in warm water and then pressure cook it properly (water added should be double the dal).After it is cooked, drain out the excess water by keeping it in a strainer for about 15-20 minutes.Now add the sugar,mix it and then grind it in a mixer.Roast the mixture in a pan on a very slow flame for about half an hour.Keep stirring continuosly, otherwise the mixture could get burnt.When the water is dried and it becomes a thick mixture, off the gas.(Or if you have the special hand grinding machine for the dal, then after the dal is pressure cooked and have drained the excess water, mix the sugar and then roast it on the gas flame first. Then grind it in the special hand grinding machine.)Thus the filling is ready.

Ingredients:
Covering(Poli):2 cup Wheat Flour1 cup All Purpose Flour (maida)1/4 cup OilSalt to taste
Instructions:Mix the wheat and the All-Purpose-Flour.Add to it the oil, salt and knead a soft dough.Keep aside the dough for about 2 hours.For making the PuranPolis:First make even size balls of the dough.Roll out one of the ball of about 1 inch diameter.Then fill 1 tbsp of the filling in it and seal the rim to form a flat ball.Again roll out this ball gently.Roast it on the tava (skillet) on medium flame till both sides are done.Repeat for rest of the balls one by one.Serve hot with ghee and Aamti.

Aamti (Type of Dal):
Ingredients :3/4 cup pressure cooked Bengal Gram Dal2 tbsp Oil1/4 tsp Mustard seeds3-4 curry leves2-3 cardamons skin1-2 Cloves2-3 black Pepper seeds1 inch Cinnamon1/4 of the full dry Coconut2 tbsp Coriander seeds or the seeds powder3 tsp garam masala1/4 tsp Turmeric powderSalt to tastepinch of Asafoetida

Instructions :
Heat oil in a pan.Season it with mustard seeds, Curry-Leaves, cardamon skins, cloves, black pepper seeds and cinnamon.Then add the pressure cooked Bengal-Gram-Dal along with the drained out water plus little more water.Then add the dry coconut ( burn the coconut on a flame carefully till black and then crush it little before adding).Then add the coriander seeds powder (roast the coriander seeds and then grind it coarsely).Now add the garam masala, salt, turmeric powder and asafoetida.Also add 1 tbsp of the sweet filling made earlier.Boil it for sometime on slow flame.Serve hot with the Puran Polis.
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Jalebi

Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour a pinch baking powder 1/2 cup yogurt Oil for deep frying Optional Food Color - 2 drops Yellow, 1 drop Red Sieve the flour with the baking powder. Add 1/2 cup of water to the yogurt and beat well. Add it to the flour. Mix it, add a little water if required to make a smooth batter until it is of pouring consistency. Leave it overnight to ferment.

For the syrup :
1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon saffron 2 teaspoons rose water Dissolve the sugar in 1 cup of water and boil for 15 minutes. Warm the saffron in a small vessel; add a little milk until the saffron dissolves. Add to the syrup. Add the rose water. The syrup should be of 1 thread consistency. Keep the syrup warm.

To Make the Jalebis :
1. Heat the oil in a wok. 2. Select a plastic bottle with a small hole in the lid and fill with the batter. ( A ketchup dispenser works great ) 3. Press the batter out from the bottle into the hot oil in the form of a jalebi (like a coiled serpent) 4. Fry on both sides until light golden brown. Take out and place on a paper napkin. Wait for 1 minute. 5. Drop the fried jalebis into the hot syrup. Leave for 2 minutes and then remove. 6. Enjoy them warm. Store in an air-tight container.
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Pedha

Ingredients:
1 cup Carnation Milk powder3/4 cup sugar5 1/4 Tablespoons unsalted butterA pinch of Cardamom powderChopped Pistachios for garnishing

Method :1. Heat pan on medium high. Add 3 tablespoons of water along with the sugar. 2. Boil for a few minutes till you have the consistency of a single thread. 3. Test between your fingers. It should form a single thread when the fingers are pulled apart. 4. Turn the heat down to medium low. Add the unsalted butter then stir till the butter melts. 5. Now, Add the milk powder and cardamom, mix well. 6. When the mixture becomes like cake-batter then take it off the stove and keep it aside Cool for 1 hour. 7. As the batter thickens, make 2 inch balls. Dent in the middle to form a small crater. 8. Garnish with chopped nuts. Makes 12 to 15 pedhas.
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Boondi Ladoo

Sweet round balls made of gram flour- Also Known as MOOTICHOOR LADOO

Ingredients :
500 GMS besan8 tbsp. MilkA pinch of baking powderghee (clarified butter) for frying1 tsp. cardamom powder500 GMS Sugar1/2 tsp. Saffron essenceSome dry fruits like almonds, pistachios, cashewnuts, raisins

Method :
1. Make syrup with 4 cups of water and the sugar until the syrup thickens. Remove and keep warm.2. Blend together besan (gramflour) and baking powder.3. Put in saffron essence (or saffron soaked in warm milk) along with the milk and enough water to make a thick batter.4. Beat it vigorously until the mixture turns smooth.5. Keep it aside to settle so that the mixture drops easily in the heated Ghee(clarified butter) and is not too thin.6. Now heat enough pure Ghee(clarified butter) for deep frying .7. Then take a very fine sieve with holes in it and rub the batter a little at a time through the sieve so that the mixture fall through the holes into the hot Ghee(clarified butter).8. The deep fried small balls comes out in the form of boondi which is of pale golden color.9. Drain thoroughly and put them immediately into the syrup.10.When all the mixture is used up and the boondi is in syrup , put in the dry fruits and cardamoms.11.If the mixture is too dry then sprinkle a little hot milk over it. Mix again thoroughly.12.Grease your hands and then shape the mixture into small ladoos.
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Gulab Jamun

Ingredients :
Milk powder – 1½ cup Self-raising flour – ½ cup If you are using plain flour instead of self-raising flour, add: Baking Soda - ½ cup Baking Powder - ½ tsp Fresh cream – approx 120 ml (to make the dough) Cooking oil – for deep frying
S
ugar Syrup :
Sugar – 3 cups Water – 6½ cups Ground Cardamom – ½ tsp Rose essence or Rose water – 1 tsp

Method For the jamun:
1. Mix the milk powder and self raising flour (add baking soda and baking powder if using plain flour). 2. Add enough cream to make a moist dough. 3. Roll the dough into small balls.

For the syrup:
1. Add the sugar, water, cardamom powder and rose essence in a large sauce pan and bring to boil over a low heat. 2. Heat oil in a wok or kadai, until a jamun ball dropped into the oil slowly starts to sizzle. 3. Reduce heat and add the jamuns a few at a time - stirring gently until they rise to the surface. 4. When in the oil, they must be rolled constantly so that they will cook evenly and won't burn or crack. 5. When they turn golden brown remove from oil and add to the syrup. 6. When the jamuns expand and become softer, remove the pan from heat and set to cool.
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Rasmalai

Ingredients:
200 gram or half-half milk=2 liter Half-half milk=0.75 liter Skim milk powder=2 Tspn or Skim condensed milk=1 Tspn Cardamom powder=1 tspn Fresh lime juice= 1 tspn Non Fat Yogurt=1 Tspn Almonds and Pistatios=5 pieaces each, grated Sugar=2 cups Water=5 cups Saffron=4-7

Strands Preparation :
1.Boil 2 liter milk, add yogurt and lemon juice to it. Boil for 5-10 minutes. Paneer will separate from water. Transfer it to a clean thin cloth, tie it to drain water and leave overnight. Make small balls and flatten them to small patties (1 to 1.5 inch).
2.Take 5 cups water in a pan, add 1 cup sugar and boil. Put the paneer patties in this boiling water gently. Let it boil till they become soft and spungy (it takes about 15 minutes).
3.In another pan, put the milk and 1 cup sugar, add milk powder and boil until the quantity reduces to half. Take care that milk should not stick at the bottom of the pan. Add cardomom powder, pieces of almonds and pistatios, and saffron strands.
4.Gently remove each patty from the water, and drain all the water and transfer to the prepared milk. Boil at low heat for 5 minutes.
5.Remove from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature
6.Put the Rasmalai into refrigertor for 3-4 hours.

Serve rasmalai chilled.
Preparation time: 45 minute
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Kaju Barfi

Ingredients:
2 cups cashewnuts soaked in water for 2 hours 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tbsp. Ghee 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder Silver Varak for decoration

Instructions:
1. Drain and blend the cashew nuts to a fine paste. 2. Use as little water as possible when blending.3. In a heavy saucepan put sugar and paste. Cook on a medium heat.4. Keep on stirring continuously till a soft lump is formed.5. Add ghee and cardamom powder and mix well. 6. 6. Spread on a clean greased work surface. 7. Roll lightly with a rolling pin, to a desired thickness. 8. Apply the silver varak. Cool and cut into diamond shaped burfis.
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Mohanthal

Ingredients:
1 cup gram flour (besan)50 gms mawa (khoya)½ cup ghee2/3 cup sugar¼ tsp. Cardamom powderFew strands of safron1/8 tsp. Nutmeg powderSlices of almond and pistachio2 tbsp. milk

Instructions:
1. Heat ghee in a pan.2. Take besan in a thali. Make a well in the centre. 3. Add 1 tbsp. of hot ghee on flour. Add 1 tbsp. of milk on top of hot ghee4. Repeat the process once again. Put one or two tbsp. of hot ghee more. Mix well.5. Seive the flour to get coarse flour.6. Saute the flour on low flame till light brown with the remaining ghee.7. Add mawa, saute again till reddish brown. Keep aside.8. Add 1/3 cup water to the sugar. Heat and prepare syrup of 1 ½ string consistency.9. Pour the syrup over the flour, add all the masalas. Mix well. Keep it aside, till it thickens on its own. Stir at intervals.10.Pour in a greased thali.11.Sprinkle slices of almond and pistachio. When cool cut into pieces.
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