Boondi Ladoos

Boondi Ladoos

One of my favourite Indian dessert is Boondi Ladoos. So I decided to make it in my kitchen. Here is a simple recipe from Internet with some tips from my maid who makes it regularly on festivals.

Ingredients 

For Boondi

1.5 cups besan/gram flour

1 cup + 1 tbsp water or add as required (the amount of water to be added depends on the quality of besan/gram flour)

2 pinch of saffron powder

½ tsp cardamom powder

1 tbsp melon seeds

2 black cardamoms seeds 

a pinch of edible camphor (optional)

¾ tbsp ghee to be added or ghee for applying on your palms for shaping the ladoos

oil for deep frying the boondis

For Sugar Syrup

1.5 cups sugar

¾ cup water

Method

For Boondies

Take besan & saffron powder in a bowl & add water to make a smooth batter. The consistency of the batter is important, check it by frying a few boondis. The boondis should have a round shape. (Check Tips).

Take a dry perforated ladle and place it above the hot oil. Add some batter on the perforated spoon ladle & spread the batter lightly with a spoon. 

Fry the boondis till they are cooked. Don't make them crisp, when the oil stops sizzling, remove the boondis.

Strain them well with a slotted spoon and add them directly to the hot sugar syrup.

Fry all Boondies in same manner & add them to sugar syrup.

Finally add melon seeds, cardamom powder, black cardamon seeds,  I tbsp ghee & a pinch of edible camphor (optional).

Mix well & shape the boondi mixture into ladoos. Place in small muffin liners.

Let it dry in open for sometime & then store them in airtight box in refrigerator.

For Sugar Syrup

Mix sugar & water in a pan on a low heat.

cook it & switch off the flame just before getting a one thread consistency. Keep it aside.

The sugar syrup should be hot when you add the boondis. so you can keep the pan with sugar solution on a plate or tray filled with hot water. 

You can fry the boondis & prepare the sugar solution side by side.

Tips

* If boondi become flat, on frying, the batter is thin & if they get tail ends, the batter is thick. 

* If thin, then add a bit of gram flour & check by frying a few boondis. if thick, then add a bit of water & then do the same test. 

* When frying Boondies, don't keep ladle at much height, as the batter droplets, when falling from a height, do not give a round shape.

* Don't fry crisp Boondies, if boondis becomes crisp then the boondi ladoos won’t be soft and they won’t be able to absorb the sugar syrup.

* Remember that after each batch, wipe the perforated ladle with a clean piece of kitchen towel from both sides. It will help in making round Boondies.

* Adding ghee to Boondi & sugar syrup mixture, helps in binding the boondi ladoos.

* Don't wait for mixture to cool down as it will be difficult to bind Ladoos if it's not warm.

* Do let Ladoos dry before storing.

Gond ki Panjeeri

                                                  

Gond or Dink or Tragacanth gum, is an “edible gum”, a resin that is extracted from the bark of the axle-wood tree. It is available in crystal form as pearly yellowish translucent pieces of varying sizes especially meant for eating after being cooked. Gond is normally prepared for pregnant ladies as it strengthens back bone & also for nursing mother as it is supposed to help in lactation. Gond Panjeeri is made on Janmashtami in north India. This recipe is high in calories but very yummy too, so you can have it in moderation. 

Ingredients
3 tbsp Gond/edible gum/dink (small pieces)
1 cup grated dry coconut
1/2 cup chopped Almonds
1/3 cup Water melon seeds

1 cup chopped Makhane/lotus seeds
2 cups Sugar
1 1/4 cups Water
1 tsp Green cardamom powder

2 tbsp desi ghee (clarified butter) for frying

Method

Grease the tray & keep aside.

Fry gond in ghee, in small batches.

It will fluff & become almost transparent when it is done. (these would swell 4-5 times their original size).

Fry makhanas till crisp on slow heat, keep aside.

Dry roast the seeds.

Chop the almonds & dry roast them.

Roast the dry coconut carefully as it burns easily.

Take a pan and add water, sugar & cardamom powder & cook till it reaches one string consistency.

Turn off the heat & mix all the dry fruits in it & transfer quickly to the greased tray.

Let it cool & cut into square or diamond shape pieces.

Ideally it should be 2" thick, leave it to set for about 3-4 hrs.

Store it in a airtight box.

Tips

* You can roast Gond in microwave - 

Take microwave safe plate & sprinkle the gond in it.

Keep the plate in microwave for approx 2 minutes.

After every 30 sec stir the Gond.

Take care as it burn fast.

* If you feel that after frying Gond pieces are big, you can grind it in mixer.

* Gond should be well fried & in small batches as it needs space to increase in size, under fried Gond will stick to your teeth.

* Other nuts & seeds can also be roasted in microwave.

* You can add dates, raisins, prunes etc also.

Note – It has both cooling and heat producing effects . In summer, after soaking in water it it becomes fluffy and soft . Consuming it in this form in summer helps to cool our body. In winter we use it after frying & grinding . It can be added to many sweets.  It generates heat in the body.

Chocolate Kalakand

                                              

We ate loads of sweets in festive season, but that doesn't mean I can't make & eat more after Diwali !! And everyone in my family knows that when it comes to sweet I just can't stop myself. So here it is, Kalakand in chocolate flavour. Just few ingredients & a yummy, super easy & very popular sweet is ready.

Ingredients (makes 12 to 15 pieces)

4 + 4 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp elaichi powder

1/2 cup curds (for making paneer)

1 tbsp sliced almonds or pistachio for garnishing

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

Method

For Paneer

Boil the 4 cups of milk in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, making sure not to burn milk.

As the milk comes to a boil, add the curds gradually and stir the milk gently. 

The curd will start separating from the whey, turn off the heat.

Once the milk fat has separated from the whey, drain the whey using a strainer line with muslin cloth.

Wrap the curds in a muslin cloth and squeeze well. 

To take out the excess water, squeeze the wrapped paneer. Do not knead the paneer.

For Kalakand

Boil remaining 4 cup of the milk in a heavy bottom frying pan on medium high heat until the milk reduces to about two cups.

Make sure to frequently stir the milk as the milk burns easily in bottom of the pan.

Add the paneer in the milk and keep stirring till the mixture thickness and form a soft dough consistency.

Add the sugar & take out half of this mixture in a bowl & keep aside.

In the remaining mixture add ealichi powder & continue to cook and stirring until the mixture become soft lump and start leaving the pan from sides.

Pour it over greased plate keeping about half inch thick.

Now take the remaining mixture in same pan & add cocoa powder.

Continue to cook and stirring until the mixture become soft lump and start leaving the pan from sides.

Pour it over the first mixture & level it.

Sprinkle cut almonds or pistachio

Let it cool for about one hour & refrigerate it.

Cut the kalakand in squares.

Tips

*Putting few spoons of water in pot before putting milk reduces burning the milk at the bottom of the pan.

*You can make paneer with lemon juice or citric acid instead of curds, but then you have to wash the paneer in running water to remove the sourness. Personally I would suggest curds only as it makes soft paneer always.

*Make sure kalakand don’t become too dry.

Imarti

                                              

Imarti or Amriti or Emarti or Omriti also known as Jaangiri or Jhangri in south India, is a dessert invented in Mughal kitchen & is now popular across the Indian Subcontinent including Rajasthan, West Bengal & South India.
In North India it is often consumed with rabri (condensed milk). In South India, this sweet is served after a meal and also popular at weddings and festivals.
So what are you waiting for? Make this for Bhaidooj & enjoy it with your brother 

Ingredients
For Batter
1 cup Split black gram skinless (dhuli urad dal)
2 tbsp Rice flour or 1/4 cup Rice
6 to 8 drops Edible orange colour
Oil to deep fry

Sugar Syrup
5 cups Sugar
2 1/2 cups water
6 drops Rose essence
1 tsp Green cardamom powder
2 tbsp milk

Method
For Batter
Soak overnight dal & rice together.
Drain & grind in morning with the colour to a soft, spongy mixture with a coarse texture.
If using rice powder then add it to dal mixture & mix well.
You would need water to grind but make sure to add little by little as the batter should not become too thin.

For Sugar Syrup
Boil sugar with water till a syrup of single-thread consistency is reached. Add milk & remove scum to make a clear sugar syrup. Remove from heat & strain the syrup.
Add rose essence & green cardamom powder. Keep the syrup hot.

How to Proceed
Heat sufficient oil in a shallow flat kadai.
Beat the batter till it's light & fluffy. Now check it by dropping a drop in a bowl of water, if it floats then batter is ready otherwise you have to beat it more.
Take one ladle full of batter in the imarti cloth or zip lock bag (refer Tips), hold tightly & press the batter through the hole into the hot oil.
For the traditional design, make a small circle around which make another circle & over these two make scallops in anti-clockwise direction ending at the starting point.
Make small batches & deep fry on both the sides till crisp & light golden brown. Drain the hot imarti & dip into the sugar syrup.
Let them remain immersed just for 2 minutes & drain them. Repeat this process till all the batter is used up. Serve hot.

Tips
* Imarti is best made immediately after grinding but you can always grind & refrigerate it. Just make sure to beat it well before using.
* Imarti cloth as suggested in this recipe is a special thick canvas cloth with a round buttonhole in the center.
* For Zip Lock Bag-
Take a zip lock bag & a nail. Heat nail & insert hot nail lightly in the centre of zip lock bag. You will get a hole that would be sealed on sides & when you make imartis, it will not tear.
* Do not over soak imartis in sugar syrup or they will not remain crisp & will become soggy.

Basundi

Basundi is an Indian dessert mostly in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. It is sweetened dense milk made by boiling milk on low heat until the milk is reduced by half. It is very similar to North Indian sweet dish called Rabdi.

Ingredients
1 litre or 4 cups Milk
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
5 chopped Almond (Badam)
1 tbsp chopped pista
10 strands Saffron (kesar)

Method
Boil the milk in a heavy bottom kadai.
Now in 1 tbsp of warm milk add the saffron strands. Keep them aside for the flavours to release.
Keep stirring the milk constantly and reduce it till it becomes thick and the quantity of the milk is approximately half a litre.
Add the sugar, saffron and chopped nuts and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir the mixture occasionally. Remove from the fire.
Transfer to a serving bowl and add the cardamom powder. Mix thoroughly.
Serve hot or cold garnished with nuts and saffron strands.

Tips
* Add little water to the Kadai before pouring the milk for boiling, it will not stick to the bottom.

Chandrakala

This Holi I decided to make a different sweet & Chandrakala came to my mind. Chandrakala is a dessert from Northern India, similar to gujiya. The ingredients are quite similar but the preparation process is a bit different. Recipe here looks lengthy but it took me just an hour to make these. After tasting, hubby dear declared that we don't need to go to any sweet shop anymore as we have our own "Halwai" at home

Ingredients (makes 10 to 12)
For Dough
1 1/2 cups Maida/plain flour
2 tbsp Ghee
a pinch Salt
2-3 tbsp water/as needed to knead the flour

For Filling
1 cup khoya
3/4 cup powder sugar (according to taste)
1/2 tsp elaichi powder
1 tsp chirongi
1 tsp raisins
1 tsp almonds silvered

For Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Few saffron strands

Paste of 1 tbsp maida + 1 tbsp water
Oil/Ghee for deep frying
1 tsp pistachio silvered for garnish

Method
For Dough
Add the maida flour & salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add ghee rub it so the mixture resembles crumbs.
Add water & start kneading the dough till you have a sami soft dough. Cover and keep aside.

For Filling
Take khoya in a pan & dry it on slow flame for sometime.
Add all other ingredients & turn the flame off.
Keep aside to cool down.

For Syrup
Prepare the sugar syrup by boiling sugar & water into one string consistency.
Add few saffron strands to syrup if you like.

How to Proceed
Make small balls of the dough.
Roll each dough pieces into small poories.
Place stuffing in the centre of one poori & apply flour & maida paste on the edges & cover with another poori.
Press to close it & then fold the edges to make design.
Repeat with remaining dough.
Fry all chandrakala one by one in ghee/oil at moderate temperature, till it turns golden.
Take them out & soak them immediately in prepared sugar syrup for 2 to 3 minutes & then put them in a sieve to drain extra sugar syrup.
Arrange them in a tray & garnish with grated pistachios/saffron strands.

Tips
* Dough should not be too soft or too hard.
* While rolling out poories, remember to roll it little thick in the centre & thinner at the edges. It will prevent filling from oozing out while frying.
* Suppose if the stuffing ooze out in oil , immediately switch off the stove & remove the sweet. Strain the oil & reuse
* Khoya for filling should be fresh & dry.
* Stuffing can be made using dry fruits like charoli or chirongi, raisins, coconut, almonds, cashews, pistachio.
* Sweetness of filling & sugar syrup depends on individual taste.
* Store in a box only after the sweet cools down completely.

Bhapa Sandesh

I happened to taste this Sandesh somewhere & liked it & since then I was searching for its recipe. This particular type is made by steaming home-made cottage cheese & that's why the name is Bhapa (Steamed) Sandesh. Came across Mix & Stir and there it was. Rumela took some great photographs too. I tried this hoping to make them as good as hers. I only changed the way I made my cottage cheese. I used curds to make paneer instead of lemon or vinegar & used cow milk.

Ingredient (makes 10 pieces)
2 liters cow milk
6-7 tbsp Sugar or according to taste
Curds to make paneer
A pinch of Cardamom Powder
2-3 tbsp Chopped Pistachios ( optional )
Few strands Saffron mixed in a tsp of milk ( optional )

Method
Boil the milk in a big pan and stir continuously, lower the flame pour curds & Stir the milk.
Once the milk starts curdling, and it changes into chenna (cottage cheese), remove from heat.
Leave the chenna or paneer in this condition for 5-7 minutes.
Put it over a soft cotton cloth / or a cheese cloth & let all the water drain away.
Hang the chenna along with the cloth for 30 minutes.
Now in a big bowl, take the chenna out, add sugar and mix it nicely.
Once it gets soft and smooth, add the cardamom powder. Again knead it nicely, until you feel oily on your palm.
Take a steel container, grease it with non-stick spray or butter.
Pour the cheese mixture into the container, sprinkle the saffron strands and cover it with lid.
Take a pressure cooker, add 1 cup water & place the container carefully. Cover the cooker's with lid. But don't put the pressure regulator weight over the vent pipe.
Let it cook on low to medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Once it is done, let it cool down first at room temperature. Then put the container into the refrigerator for half an hour.
Sprinkle or decorated with some dry fruits, cut it into pieces and serve!

Tips
* Note that the Chenna shouldn’t get too dry. If it gets dry, the Sandesh won’t be soft enough.
* You can use food processor for the mixing & kneading.
* If you don't have any container with lid, cover it tightly with aluminum foil.
* If you want to avoid the pressure cooking method, take a microwave proof bowl, grease it, pour the mixture and cook it for 5 to 8 minutes.

Custard Sandesh

The delicately flavored and fragrant sandesh cups, filled with custard is surely a yummy way to end your meal...

Ingredients
For Sandesh Cups
1 1/4 cup fresh paneer
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp rose water
3 to 4 drops of rose essence

For The Custard
1 cup low fat milk
1 tbsp custard powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

For Garnish
a few fresh pomegranate seeds

Method
For Sandesh Cups
Squeeze out excess water from the paneer.
Mash the paneer with your palm.
Add sugar & rub in well.
Add the rose essence & rose water.
Knead well to bind and get rid of any lumps.
Take 10 small round portions of the paneer & shape them into cups.

For The Custard
Mix the custard powder in ¼ cup milk and keep aside.
Heat the remaining milk with the sugar and mix well.
Add the custard powder mixture and vanilla essence and cook over a low flame, stirring continuously till the mixture coats the back of the spoon.
Cool and keep aside.

How To Proceed
Put a spoon of custard in each cup & decorate with pomegranate.
Refrigerate for some time before serving.

Tips
* Paneer should be fresh & completely without water.
* Custard should not be too thin.
* These can not be kept for long & should be consumed within few days.
* Mix cut fruits to the left over custard to get another yummy treat.

Nariyal Panjeeri (Coconut Panjeeri)

Every year my mother used to make different kinds of Panjeeris on occasion of Gokulashtami. And we as kids used too love them. This year I too tried my hand on Coconut Panjeeri, praying that it come out as good as mom's. The result was really very good. Tasted them next day as we can only eat after bhog (offering to God). I was hoping that My kids too will enjoy them as much as I used to enjoy in my kidoo days :D ... and when I gave them prasad, they just loved it :)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Scraped Coconut Shreds 

1/4 cup almonds

1/2 cup makhana

2 tbsp melon seeds

2 tbsp raisins (kishmish)

1 cup Sugar 

1 1/2 cup Water 

2 tbsp Milk 

1 tbsp Ghee 

1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder

Method

Heat a pan, add the coconut shreds and fry gently over moderate heat.

When the coconut milk moisture is somewhat lessened, remove it from heat.

Take ghee in same pan & roast makhanas. Remove and roast melon seeds & almonds in same pan.

Now in a seperate vessel, boil water over moderate heat.

When the water boils, add the sugar and keep on stirring till the sugar water boils.

Add the milk to the boiling sugar syrup, and remove scum that comes up.

When the sugar syrup reaches a thick syrupy stage (2 strings consistency), add the fried coconut shreds, cardamom powder along with melon seeds, makhanas & almonds.

Stir constantly till everything blends together.

If your sugar syrup was not thick then stir this till the mixture looks thick. Remove from the heat and pour into a ghee-smeared plate.

Flatten the surface evenly with the help of an oiled spatula.

When cold, cut into squares or diamond shapes and serve.

Tips

* Chashani or sugar syrup should be thick for setting of Panjeeri.

* With chashni's thickness also remember that the liquid should not be less otherwise the Panjeeri will not set properly.

* If after mixing you feel that it's not going to set because of less moisture, add little hot water and stir again on low flame. 

* You can add cardamom powder in chashani (I do that so that I don't forget to add it).