Paan Ladoos

Paan Ladoos

These Paan Ladoos work as dessert or mouth freshners. Here's how I make them:

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup shredded dry coconut plus little extra for dusting
1 tsp ghee
12 beetle leaves
2 tbsp. gulkand
pinch of cardamom pwd
1 tsp fennel pwd

Clean the beetle leaves, dry, remove stem and grind with the condensed milk. Heat the ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Add the condensed milk+beetle leaves mix. Add 1/2 cup shredded dry coconut. Mix well and cook on low heat for 5 minutes or till fairly dry, stirring often. Take off heat and add the cardamom and fennel pwds. Cool a little. Then form ladoos, filling a little gulkand inside each. Roll the ladoos in the extra dry shredded coconut.

Enjoy immediately or keep at room temperature until ready to eat.

Thanksgiving 2016

Puff pastry pizza appetizer

Fruit Pie Turkey

Diwali 2016

House decoration

Ganesha kandil by me

Rava Besan ladoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TMH15YoQJo

Dates and nuts ladoo

 These are per my earlier post

Chirote

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xZVnD9v8WU

Kachori

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PARRcpVGaNM

Palak Shev

 After ages, I used my mom's old wooden shev press to make this palak shev.

Recipe - 3/4 cup gram flour, 1/4 cup rice flour, seasonings - salt, red chilli pwd, generous pinch of hing and pinch of ajwain seeds, 1/2 cup spinach puree with handful of cilantro thown in (I used frozen spinach and did not add any additional water to puree), 2-3 tbsp. oil plus additional for deep frying.

Mix the flours and seasonings in a wide bowl. Rub with 2-3 tbsp. oil till crumbly texture. Then slowly add the spinach puree and knead into soft dough.

Using a shev press with thin shev disc, insert the dough into the press and drop the sev into medium hot oil in circular motion. Fry in batches, couple minutes each side. Drain on paper towel. When shev cools, crumble with hands and store in air tight container.

Mawa burfi

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxHsY4COVdM

Fruit Pie Rangoli

I used a base of graham crackers. Topped it with a mixture of cream cheese (8 oz pack thawed), lemon curd (about 3-4 tbsp.), 1 tub of cool whip gently folded in and few drops of vanilla essence. Spread this as evenly as possible on the base. Then top with fruits of choice.

Simple dry fruit rangoli

Spinach kofta curry (without onion-garlic)

Spinach Kofta Curry

This recipe is adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's website. Not only is it made without onion and garlic, but best part is this is a great way to sneak in dudhi (lauki) and lal bhopla (red pumpkin) which may not always be appreciated otherwise.

Here's how I make this Spinach Kofta curry:

For the koftas - Mix together boiled, peeled mashed potatoes, grated paneer and chopped spinach in equal proportion. If using frozen spinach, be sure to thaw it and drain out the water. You can also add some finely chopped veggies if desired like green beans and carrots. Add seasonings to taste - salt, red chilli pwd, dhana-jira pwd, ginger paste, little sugar and chat masala. Mix well and add little corn flour to bind it together so you can form kofta balls. Deep fry, drain and set aside.

For the curry - Heat 3 tsp oil in a kadai. Add 1 inch cinnamon stick, 4 green cardamoms, few black peppercorns and cumin seeds. Fry 2-3 mins on low heat till fragrant. Add 1 cup red pumpkin cubes, 1 cup dudhi cubes and 1 cup chopped tomatoes. Fry well. Add spices to taste - red chilli pwd, cumin pwd, coriander pwd, garam masala pwd and kitchen king masala. Add salt to taste, little sugar and turmeric. Add 1 cup of water, cover and cook on medium heat till veggies get soft. Cool a bit and grind to fine puree along with handful of soaked cashews.

Before serving, heat the curry. You can add 2 tbsp. yogurt and mix well into it. Arrange koftas in the serving bowl and pour the hot curry over it. Serve immediately with roti, paratha or rice.

Pineapple Sheera

Pineapple sheera

Sheera is one of the easiest Indian desserts. And when you add pineapple flavor to it, it becomes even more lip-smacking.

Here's how I make Pineapple Sheera:

1 cup fine rava (sooji)
4 tbsp. ghee
1/4 tsp saffron strands
1 cup pineapple puree (from canned pineapple)
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom pwd
Handful of cashews and raisins

Heat the ghee in a thick bottom kadai. Add rava and saffron. Roast on low heat for 15-20 mins, stirring frequently, till fragrant. Add the pineapple puree, mix well, cover and cook on low for 5 mins. Then add sugar, mix well again and cover and cook another 5 mins. In the meanwhile heat little ghee in small pan, fry the cashews till golden, fry the raisins till they plump up. Add these to the sheera along with the cardamom pwd. Mix well and serve.

I like to have sheera warm.

Baklava cups

Baklava cups

This is a very quick, easy and yummy sweet.

Take 1/2 cup mixed nuts chopped roughly. I have used almonds, pistachios, walnuts and pecans. Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon pwd, pinch of salt and about 2 tbsp. honey. Mix well.

Fill ready made phyllo cup shells with above mix. Bake at the lowest oven setting - mine is 180F - for 5 to 10 mins. Drizzle little more honey and serve immediately.

Ritz cracker shev puri

Ritz cracker shev puri

Here the traditional puri is replaced with ritz crackers, it tastes awesome.

Boil 1 potato, peel and mash. Add finely chopped onions, colored bell peppers, handful of corn and cilantro. Add little salt, chaat masala, green chutney, dates-tamarind chutney. Mix well.

Heap the potato mix onto the crackers. Top with shev generously.

Serve immediately.