Cashew Burfi-here Cashew combines with Coconut! Cashewnuts - 100gms Grated,coconut - 1 cup Sugar - 1 ¾ cups Ghee - ½ cup Cardamom powder - 1 tsp Saffron - ¼ tsp (warm & powder) Dry cashewnuts in the sun or micro high for 2 mts to make them crisp. Powder them. Grind with grated coconut to a fine paste, adding minimum water & that too, if necessary. Mix sugar with 1 cup of water & make 2-string syrup (refer tips on sugar syrup ). Add ground paste, reduce heat & cook, adding warm ghee, gradually. When it thickens, add the spices. When soft ball stage is reached, remove. Stir till it reaches dough stage, transfer to a greased plate & cut into pieces. Minimum ghee is used since this is made with cashewnuts & coconut. The same sweet, if made with vanilla essence instead of spices is called Vanilla Burfi.
Badam Halwa-Still reigns Supreme among all Sweets! Almonds - 1 cup Sugar - 1 ¾ cups Warm melted ghee - 1 ¼ cups Saffron colour - 2 drops Saffron threads - ½ tsp (warm & powder ) Soak almonds in boiling water for 5mts, strain & plunge in cold water. Peel skin, grind with a little milk in the mixi to a paste – not too fine. In a heavy vessel, heat sugar & the ground paste. When it starts to thicken, start adding warm ghee little by little. Only half of the ghee should be added when the halwa is on stove. Test for consistency thus – take ½ tsp mixture in a small greased plate-on cooling you should be able to roll it. When this consistency is reached, remove, add colour & spice. Go on stirring continuously, adding the rest of the ghee very gradually. The entire ghee wii be absorbed in a few mts. I have tried a few other badam halwa recipes which compromise on the quantity of ghee - but, I personally feel there is a compromise on quality as well, when compared to this recipe!
Bad(u)sha-the Emperor arrives in Full Splendour! When I learnt to make badusha first, it was with dalda. That comes out excellant. But now since we want to avoid dalda in sweets, I tried with butter in the “flaky pastry “ method & the results were very good. I hope you all try it by this method, successfully. Maida - 1 cup Butter - 50 gms (1/4 cup) for kneading+1 tbsp, for spreading Ice water - to knead the dough Maida -- 1tbsp(for spreading) Sugar - 1 cup Chopped nuts - 2 tbs Oil - to deep fry Add ¼ cup soft butter to maida & knead to breadcrumb consistency. Add ice water gradually, kneading it to a consistency where you can make balls with it, without crack formation. Make 3 balls & roll each into a thin chappathi. Melt 1 tbsp butter & spread all over them completely. Sprinkle maida on them. Assemble one over the other & roll the three together like a mat. Seal both edges. Rest in the fridge for 1 hr. Cut the roll into 10 pieces. Keep each piece between 2 plastic sheets & press with palm to flatten them. Make a small dent in the centre & prick all over with a fork for better cooking in oil. Heat the oil to medium (like for gulab jamun). Don’t keep too little oil – the badushas must immerse well for thorough cooking. Fry 3-4 at a time on low fire, turning them over frequently till they puff up well & are completely cooked. Make a 2-string sugar syrup. Immediately remove from fire, immerse the badushas, one by one & remove when well coated with syrup. Keep nut in the centre when the syrup is still ticky. Dry on a wire-rack. Otherwise it will stick to the plate on which you are cooling because of the sticky syrup. Unless there is a second person to help you, do not attempt more than 1 cup at a time. Otherwise, the sugar syrup will become thick & you cannot coat properly. View attachment 68007 View attachment 130522
Guava Cheese - Not Very Common ! Citric acid - as given Because of the high pectin content, guava cheese sets very well, like firm halwa or soft burfi. Guavas - ½ kg Sugar - as given Select a variety of guava which is seedless & ripe ( both under ripe & over ripe are not suitable ). Wash & cut into 1” cubes – try to remove seeds with the tip of a sharp knife to the extent possible. Boil in enough water to immerse them. Once boiling starts, change to medium flame. When the fruits become soft, strain. The strained water is good to drink with sugar added. Pass the boiled fruit through a sieve ( kitchen press or kitchen queen ) To the pulp add equal sugar by weight, or roughly 1 cup sugar per cup of pulp. If the amount is small there is no need to add citric acid. If the pulp is 750 gms, 1 level tsp citric acid is added. Boil the mixture in a heavy pan on medium heat, stirring regularly, to prevent burning at the bottom. It reaches the setting point, when pored from a ladle, it falls like a sheet. Remove & empty on a greased plate. It is customary to coat each piece with sugar – the choice is yours. Cut when cool.
If Bad(u)sha has arrived, can (king) Ashoka be far behind? For SBS photos,please go to Ashoka Halwa A sweet of olden days, which is now becoming popular again! moong dhal - 1 cup wheat flour - 1 cup sugar - 2 1/2 - 3 cups ghee - 1 ½ cups saffron colour - a pinch cardamom powder - 1 tsp chopped cashew - 2 tbsp Soak moong dhal in plenty of water for 1 hour. Wash well, drain, add 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles. After it cools, open, mash well, add sugar and boil. In the next stove heat ghee in a kadai. . To that add wheat flour and cashews. Fry on a slow fire till there is a nice roasted aroma and the colour changes. Add saffron colour mixed with 1 tsp water. To this add greengram-sugar mixture, stirring very well. Cook the mixture till the whole thing becomes a mass and leaves the sides of the vessel. Add cardamom powder, mix and serve hot.
Thiratipal - Rustle up in Microwave for Deepavali at the last minute! These two are 2 thiratipal recipes which can be prepared very fast in the microwave. Thiratipal –1 400 gms condensed milk 1 tbsp thick curd 3 tsp ghee Mix all the ingredients in a casserole .Micro Hi for 3 mts. Remove and stir well. Micro Hi for 3 more mts. Hot Thiratipal is ready.( Some Micro ovens may need a little more time to get the right consistency ) Te following is a photo in which plenty of whole nuts (almond+cashes+pista) are mixed & decorated as well. Thiratipal - 2 3/4 cup whole milk powder 1/2cup sugar 1/4 cupwater a pinch cardamom pdr(optional) In a casserole blend milk powder and water without lumps. Mix the sugar in it well. Micro Med for 3 mts. Remove, stir well and Micro Low for 2 mts. Remove,stir well and add cardamom pdr, if using it. Rest for 5 mts before serving. Milk powder must be fresh or refrigerated to preserve freshness. If using skim milk powder , add 2 tsp ghee after removing.
Kaju Katli - Very Popular now. For SBS photos, Please go to Kaju Kathli(1) Kaju Kathli(2) My version of kaju katli is slightly different ! Cashew powder - 3 cups Sugar - 1 cup Dry cashews in the sun or microwave for 1 mte. Powder in batches of small amounts at a time. Keep it ready. Make syrup with sugar ( refer tips on sugar syrup ) & 1/2 cup of water & as soon as it reaches soft ball stage, remove from the stove, add cashew powder & go on stirring till it thickens as a mass. This should be done fast. ( note – no cooking after cashew is added ) Empty on the greased back of a big plate or on clean counter top. Immediately roll it as thin as possible with a greased rolling pin. Mark & cut into diamonds. You must keep everything ready & start doing the katli.
Bournvita Cake - an Ideal Deepavali Sweet. For SBS posts,please go to Bournvita Cake Bournvita ¾ cup (or Boost or Ovaltine ) Condensed Milk - 1 tin (400gms) Powdered sugar 2 cups Butter 1 cup Maida ½ cup Mix all the ingredients in a vessel, thoroughly, without any lumps. If necessary, use an electric hand blender. Transfer to a heavy pan & put on stove & cook. Cook, stirring constantly till a soft & firm ball stage is reached – ¼ tsp of the mixture taken & added to a little water should form a soft ball without disintegrating. Remove from stove & keep on stirring till the mixture becomes like dough. A sugar thermometer should read 236 deg F Transfer the contents to a greased plate, level & mark & cut into pieces.
Dry Fruit Burfi - Typical North Indian Sweet, very tasty & rich. Whole cream milk - 1 litre Sugar - ¾ cup ( more or less is optional ) Nutmeg powder - ¼ tsp Cardamom Powder - ¼ tsp Mace powder - ¼ tsp Saffron - ¼ tsp ( warm & powder ) Almonds - ¼ cup ( deskinned & finely chopped ) Pistachios - ¼ cup (deskinned & finely chopped ) Walnuts - ¼ cup ( chop fine ) Figs - ¼ cup ( chop fine ) Dates - ¼ cup ( chop fine ) Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel. Thereafter, cook on a slow flame. When the milk reduces to half, add all other ingredients. Continue to cook on a low flame till the mixture becomes thick. Add ¾ cup water, mix thoroughly & stir over a low flame till the mixture starts leaving the sides of the pan. Remove from fire & keep stirring. The end product must have the colour of caramel. Empty on a greased plate & cut. Alternately you can shape into small laddus & serve in papercups.
Pista Choco Roll - with Artificial Sweetener. Grated khoa - 1 cup Artificial sweetener - 3 sachet Cocoa powder - 1 tsp Chopped pista - ¼ cup Cardamom powder - ½ tsp Lightly roast the powdered khoa on a low flame in a kadai till it softens. Add sweetener, cool, add cardamom powder & mix well. Divide into 2 parts. To one part add cocoa powder & mix thoroughly, kneading well for uniformity. Roll this into a rectangle., say 3” wide. To the other portion, add chopped pista. Roll this also to a strip 2 ” wide. Both should be the same length, but chocolate roll should be slightly wider than the other. Make sure there are no cracks – kneading well will avoid this. Keep the pista roll in the centre of cocoa roll, cover it from both sides with cocoa roll, a little. Roll it well, one inside the other (like a mat )& keep in a plastic sheet. Refrigerate for 30 mts. Take out & cut into 1 cm slices. This may sound confusing, but if done following the steps correctly, you will get a picturesque-looking sweet ! If you so prefer, you can add natural honey in place of artificial sweetener.