Almond Ladoo

Almond Ladoo, I think this is one of the desserts you can prepare within 30 minutes.
Almond Goodness, almost known to all. Recipe Goodness:),I assure that when you make one of these:):).Ofcourse, this doesn’t call for a big sauce pan or any huge list of rare ingredients.I wanted to keep it simple that would bring out the true richness of almond.


You need :
1.Almonds (Skin removed)- ½ cup
2.Warm Water -1 cup
3.Warm Milk-1/4 cup
4.Ghee-4 -5tsp
5.Cardamom powder -1 tsp
6.Saffron Threads- 3-4
7.Yellow food color-1-2 drops
8.Sugar -2 tsp ( you can even skip it as almond has it ‘s own sweetness ; you can add more if you like it more savory)

How did I do
1.Soak Almonds in warm water for 15 minutes.You might find the almonds soft enough ,if not prolong for another 5-10 minutes.

2.Drain out the water (completely) and transfer to a blender, add 3 tsp of milk or as required and make it in to a thick,fine paste.
3.In a Sauce pan, add 4 tsp of Ghee.Once it is melted,add the almond paste, sugar per your requirement and stir continuously .Now,add the remaining milk and keep stirring.Next , add an additional spoon of ghee, drops of food color, cardamom powder and continue stirring process for around 8-10 minutes(watch out not to burn it)
4.When you find a non-stickly, soft almond paste. Remove it from the burner, add saffron threads, give a quick mix and spread it on the plate,if you want to make squares.
5.All I did is :let it cool for 5 minutes in the sauce pan and made ladoo(s) by partioning the paste to 12 small portions and decorated with Raisins.

Enjoy the semi-sweet dessert cold/warm /jus do a cold milk dressing over the Ladoo.

Boiled/Steamed Plantain

Plantain(s)...A firmer and Low Sugar Banana...A Very Popular Plantation in Southern Africa, India and Caribbean Islands.

You can make Tons of Recipes with this Divine Fruit,,,My Choice is a Lazy yet Healthy one....Who would say no to wat a whole chunk of Fiber and calcium in the early morning...

You can eat these plantains any time .But My preference is to eat in the morning..(Trust me; you will feel the difference...yummy :))



What and how did I do
I had one Over ripe Plantain :),

•Cut in to pieces by discarding the tail, wash and keep aside.
•You can Steam it in cooker for 15 minutes until the mild yellow turn out to be dark spotted yellow orIn a Medium Sauce Pan, Pour 2 cups of water and add these plantain pieces.
•Close the Lid of the pan and cook until you find the center portion of the plantain turning out to be dark yellow.
•Remove the skin ( It falls apart if you juz open it with spoon) and juz have those butterscotch Yellow Plantains:)

Tasty Goodness cannot be expressed: D:D
If you like Plantain, am sure you will love it

But again for more added flavors, sprinkle sugar /cinnamon /salt /pepper

Tres Leche Cake(Cake Made with Three Milk)

This is one cake which is my all time favorite.I came to know more about this through one of my Mexican friend.Thanks to Iris.I tried the cake in my own style ,turned out to be really good and i strongly recommend to try out!.Thanks for all my friends who encouraged in doing this receipe!!!

Ingredients:
• All Purpose Flour -1 1/2 cup
• Baking powder-1 tsp
• Confectionary Sugar -1 tsp
• Unsalted Butter-1 Stick
• Eggs-4
• Motts Apple Sauce -1/2 cup (Optional)


Three Milk:
• Whole milk-1 ½ Cups
• Condensed milk-1 cup

• Evaporated milk-1 Cup

To do’s:
• Preheat oven to 350*F.
• Sift together the cake flour and baking powder and keep it aside.
• On the other end, with one cup of sugar and butter make a cream by whisking using the electric mixer.
• Time varies depending on Ur pref of cream. Slowly drop the eggs one by one and whisk continuously.
• Now Add Apple Sauce, Vanilla Extract; whisk until you get a foamy cream. Carefully Combine Cake flour and this mixture to a smooth batter.
• Now grease the cake pan with melted butter and pour the cake mixture
• Bake it for 40 minutes. You can check it by inserting a tooth pick or a fork where it should come out clean. Once your cake is done, Take it out and cool it for another 30 minutes.

• Now slightly pierce the top layer of the cake with a fork (these pores are for the milk mixture!!!)
• In a bowl, whisk all three milk (whole, evapourated, condensed).This will turn out to be half white milk syrup.

• Pour this evenly over the cake with a small spatula and allow the milk mixture to be absorbed well by cake. Repeat this process; top it with roasted almonds and Close the lid of the cake bowl and refrigerate for 5 hrs for a better taste.


• This cake tastes the best after 24 hrs of preparation.The milk is weel absorbed by the cake!!!!!
• Cut in to slices as you like. You will be gifted with heavenly deep milk along with the cake which is the best part of this cake. This Make it stand apart from all other cakes.


• Decorate with whipping cream and fruits as per your preference...
Have a delicious Dessert....

Sambar Vada

Another Typical South Indian Favorite…..
I made this for two of my friends(Jyoti and Rahul)…
As we have Vadai and Sambar Receipes in the older posts,We could follow the same procedure to make it.I made Sambar with Long cut Carrots and Radish for extra taste.

To Make Sambar Vada:
Chopped Onions -1 Cup
Coriander Leaves -3 tsp
Method
To Make
Vada:http://kalpzcuisine.blogspot.com/2008/03/ulundhu-vadai.html
Sambar:http://kalpzcuisine.blogspot.com/2008/03/arachuvitta-sambhar.html
For the Fast Process, Once you make Vada,Soak in hot Water for 5 minutes and then transfer it to sambar Bowl.Let the Vada sit there for 1-2 hrs if you want it really soft.


You can serve add chopped onion and Coriander Leaves.
Serve hot.

Diwali Wishes to all of You!

Happy Diwali to all of you !
Let you and your family be blessed with the best!
May all of your dreams come true!!!


My treat is my first try-Ladoo..which came out better than I expected;))
Njoy and have a safe Diwali!

Carrot Kheer

Carrot Kheer.... For me ~~~~~Its just enough if I am served with a Cup of this dessert for the day!juz love it!!
Whenever my friend’s mom prepares this, I will be the first person to grab one for me……

The real taste of carrot as a drink!!..............................tastes DIVINE!!!!I mean it!NO need to see calorie count for this alone;)))))))
Just grab some carrots right way …letz Doooooooooooo

• Baby Carrots -1 cup
• Cashews/nuts of your choice (chopped)=3 tsp
• Milk 2 -2 1/2 cups
• Sugar-1/2 cup (can add more if you want)
• Cardamom Pods-2(powdered)
Start :

Step1: Add water to the carrot such that it is soaked well and pressure cook for 4 whistles. Allow it to cool.

Step2: You will find the well cooked carrots and some water inside the cooker right? Just put altogether in a blender, add sufficient sugar and grind it to make a fine paste.(No need to filter out the pulp as it is well smashed)

Step 4: Mix this extract with milk and 2 tsp sugar (if needed) and bring it boil. This will take 10 minutes.

Step 5: Now Add cardamom pods, and cashews.

Step 6: Serve Hot or cold….Itz going to be @ itz best…The color would invite you!

Note:
*You can use matured carrots too. Just that the baby carrots are sweeter!.If using big carrots, cut and pressure cook for 5-6 whistles.

**Itz optional to ghee toast the nuts.

Itz all urz now!

Almond Kheer

Almonds:) Not truly a nut but a drupe/fruit/seed is known ingredient in desserts and snacks…..It has lot of dietary fiber in it and low carbohydrate content……reduces the bad cholesterol in our body and moreover improves the skin complexion…A seed from a deciduous tree cultivated in middle eastern countries, western US, Indian subcontinent.

Here is another rich dessert…..Almond Kheer...Just make magic with milk, sugar and almonds.
You need:
Sweet Almonds ½ cup
Milk 5 cups
Sugar 2 cups (and more if needed)
Cardamom pods 4
Skinned almonds to garnish
Water to grind almonds

To Make:
Soak almonds in hot water for 20 minutes or more and peel off the outer skin.

Grind the almonds to a fine paste
Boil milk in a vessel and add granulated sugar and stir it for a while; Now add this almond paste and keep stirring on low flame(to avoid sticking )till the milk slightly thickenz.

Now add cardamom powder and garnish with almonds in shreds and milk soaked saffron(preferred)
Serve cold!!!!!!!!!!!:)

Rice Kheer/Pudding

A creamy Rice dessert……………………………The most commonly prepared pudding all over India…


Ingredients:
Basmati Rice ½ cup
Milk 3-3/12 cups
Raisins 15-20
Sugar 1 cup
Cardamom pods 1 -2
Condensed milk ¼ cup (optional)
Rose water essence ¼ tsp (optional)


To Do:
1) Wash and soak rice for about 15 minutes.
2) Boil rice with milk. Keep on stirring in low flame and boil till rtheice becomes soggy and reduces to 1/3 rd of the original state.
3) Now add sugar and stir well for another 10 minutes.
4) Add condensed milk, cardamom pods, raisins (it’s optional to fry it in ghee) and Serve hot or cold.

Garnish with saffron and almonds for rich flavor.

Rava Payasam/Kheer

Broken wheat is made by milling the wheat coarsely after cleaning and husking it. Has a good source of fiber and manganese. It’s encouraged to add this in our daily requirement diet as a combo with legumes &cereals. You can try hot kichidi or sweet dessert…what ever… you bring a lot of energy to your body through the wheat recipes.
Jump....NOW!!!!
Ingredients:
Broken Wheat (brown)-1 cup
Milk 3 -4 cups
Sugar 1-1 1/2 cups
Condensed Milk -1 cup
Cardamom powder -a pinch
Cashew nuts and Raisins-10(broken/whole)
Ghee (to fry the nuts) -1 tsp
Letz do:
There is lot of methods to prepare this kheer…..
This is a very simple way…..fastest dessert?!!!!
1) Pressure cook the wheat with 2 cups of water and keep it aside.


2) Now pour 3-4 cups of milk (as per ur taste) and 1 cup sugar; Let the Rava boil in
this mixture for some time. Keep stirring.


3) After 10 -15minutes, you will find the Rava mixture in a semi liquid consistency;
Now add condensed milk to the kheer (this is optional; but it brings a really a yummy taste to the kheer) and a pinch of cardamom powder.
4) Garnish with ghee roasted nuts and raisins.
As we pressure cook this Rava; it consumes less time and of course the Rava will be soft enough!
You can try the same kheer with jaggery and coconut milk instead of the sugar and condensed milk depending on the availability of ingredients.

Serve Hot or Cold!
Wheaty.............................:) ;))))))))))

Simple Kulfi

Milk ,Nuts & Sugar frozen together and thz KULFiiiiiiii
Ingredients
Whole milk 4 cups
Bread 1(optional, but it adds really good taste….)
Cardamom powder ½ tsp
Chopped/Sliced pista, almonds, cashews (1tsp each….)-nuts of ur choice
Sugar to taste (may be 6-7 spns)
Method:
1)Grind the bread in ½ cup of milk (taken from the 4 cups) and add it to the milk
2)Heat milk in a pan and boil it in medium flame (stir constantly), for about 25min (let the milk reduce to 1/2 of the original measure)
3)Add sugar, cardamom and nuts.you can also add1 tsp of vanilla powder/coco powder for flavors of your choice.
4)If you have Kulfi molds pour the mixture in to it else pour in to any bowl and Cover with a transparent wrap and cool it for around 5-6 hours in the freezer.

5)After 6 hours, pass the knife around the edges of the bowl (I used an ordinary soup bowl).The Kulfi now will automatically slip out.

6)Cut in to desired pieces and serve ……


Note:Over burnt milk will not smell good and it will spoil the kulfi too..so we should be very cautious about boiling the milk in this dessert...

Simple Strawberry Jam/Spread

Strawberries-Tiny and Mighty !!!!!!, Nutritious! They contain Vitamin C and also antioxidants which fight against the free radicals which damage our cells. These antioxidant properties are believed to be linked to what makes the strawberry bright red. In addition to this strawberries also provide an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese, as well as folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Almost all the nutrients are found in this list... Come on...we shall have these berries in our daily diet according to our taste and preference! Fewest ingredients ....delicious in taste is this spread! Ingredients

Ripe Strawberries 400gms
White Sugar 200gms
Water 1/2 cup(measuring cup)
Lime Juice 1/2 cup
Method
In a wide bowl, wash, cut and coarsely the crush strawberries (Dont Mush too much).
Now mix together the strawberries and lemon juice.



Take sauce pan mix sugar with required amount of water stir over low heat until the sugar is dissoved.to this, add the strawberry -lime mixture



Increase heat to high, Boil, stir often and skim out any excessive foam until you get a semi jelly consistency
Transfer to hot sterile jars and seal and just refrigerate. Leave it for some hours and you will be really excited see the eye catching spread ready to be on your bread.....



hmmmm...if you want a bit sour with less sugar..jus decrease the amount of sugar you add to it.
Done.....

Rich in Vitamin C , K.

Bread Halwa

Ingredients :

Bread 5-6 slices
Milk 3 cups
Ghee 4 tsp
Butter 3 tsp

Granulated Sugar 1 cup
Vanilla Extract 1 tsp
Fried cashew nuts and almonds 4 tsp

Method:
1. Cut the bread slices into small pieces and fry in 2 tsp of ghee/butter till it turns slight brown.
2. Add milk and granulated sugar to the fried bread pieces and continue stirring, add 1 tsp of vanilla extract for special flavor
3. Add ghee and keep on stirring until the bread mixture and the ghee are engrossed properly
4. Add fried cashew nuts ,almonds . Serve hot.

Try out:
This halwa tastes yummy gummy when used as a combo with ice creams !