Indian Sweet Dishes

Doughnuts Jamun - Doughnut with Sugar syrup(chashni)

2008-10-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

This is a very tasty and quick to make sweet dish. It is a Indian version of sweet dish using doughnuts. Indian sweet dishes contain more sweetness and therefore we have come up with this dish by adding more sweetness to the doughnut.

It can be prepared withing few minutes and can be served as desert after dinner.

Ingredients:

- Doughnuts
- Sugar Syrup
- Cardamom Powder (ilaychi powder)

Preparation:
- Cut each Doughnut into 8 pieces.
- Heat the Sugar Syrup to lukewarm temperature.
- Mix cardamom powder (ilayachi powder) into syrup
- Mix the pieces of Doughnut into warm sugar syrup.
- Let it cool down for few minutes.

Serve two pieces of doughnuts in small bowl with little sugar syrup on top of it. (Just like Gulab Jamun is served).
If you like Gulab Jamun then you would definitely love this one too.

Badam Pista Chikki (Almond Pistachio Triangle)

2008-07-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1/3 cup coarsely powdered almonds & pistachios
2 tbsp. melon seeds (charmagaz)
2 tbsp. poppy seeds (khus khus)
1/4 tsp. cardamom (elaichi) powder
1/2 cup sugar
Oil to grease

Preparation:

In a heavy bottomed pan, add the sugar and melt it over gentle heat, stirring continuously till the sugar is light brown in color (caramelized).
Remove from the fire, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Pour this mixture onto a greased marble or stone surface.
Using a large greased rolling pin, roll out the praline as thinly as you can.
While it is still warm, cut into triangles. Allow it to cool completely.
Store in an air-tight container.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20-25 minutes

Shrikhand

2008-07-23T12:56:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

1 (18 ounce) container plain yogurt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp rose water (optional)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
Dash of ground nutmeg
Few threads of saffron
4 teaspoons finely chopped green pistachios

How To Make Shrikhand:

Mix all ingredients except pistachios.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Stir; spoon into dessert dishes.
Sprinkle shrikhand with pistachios.

Ras Malai

2008-07-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

2 lbs ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sugar
32 oz half & half milk
A pinch of saffron
1/4 tsp crushed cardamom seeds
1/2 cup blanched almonds
2 tbsp crushed green pistachios

Preparation of ras malai:

Mix the cheese with sugar and little cardamom powder and spread out on a baking tray.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until it sets. It should not get brown.
Remove from oven, cool at room temperature and cut into 2" squares.
Place them in a dessert bowl.
Mix the other ingredients, except the pistachios well in a separate dish and pour over the squares.
Decorate the rasmalai with pistachios, chill for 2-3 hours and then serve.

Rabri

2008-07-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Ingrediants:

10 cups milk
4 tblsp sugar or as needed
4 green cardamom seeds
4 drops of kewra essence
A pinch of green cardamom powder
A pinch of pistachio powder

Preparation:

Bring the milk to boil in a deep heavy pan.
Add the sugar and cardamom seeds and leave to simmer over a low heat for 2 hours until the milk is reduced to one quarter.
Remove from the heat and add the kewra esscence.
Sprinkle with the cardamom and pistachio powders and serve hot or cold with faluda.

Puran Poli

2008-07-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 cup Maida
1 pinch Turmeric Powder
1 pinch Salt
2 tsp Ghee
Water enough to make dough
6 tbsp Oil
Oil / Ghee for frying
Inner Filling
1 1/2 cup Jaggery
1 1/4 cup Bengal Gram Dal
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder

Preparation:

Blend the ghee and masala with the maida. Using water make a soft smooth dough.
Leave under a wet cloth for 40-50 minutes. Knead again.
Put in the 6 tbsps oil and knead till completely absorbed. Cover and leave aside for 4 hours.
Put the dal in the cooker till one whistle. Drain the water.
Grind to a paste and with the jaggery and cardamom powder. The filling should not be watery.
Make small balls of the filling. Divide the dough into small balls and flatten them.
Place one ball of filling on the dough and cover and seal up the filling.
Carefully roll out the dough into thick puris making sure the filling does not come out.
Fry on a tawa pouring ghee around it. Cook on both sides. Puran Poli is ready to be served.

Khoya (Mava) Peda

2008-07-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1/2 kg Soft white khoya
2-1/2 cups (approx.300gms) sugar powdered
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp cardamom seeds semi crushed
1 tbsp slivered or crushed pistachios

How to make peda:

Grate khoya with a steel (not iron) grater.Add powdered sugar and mix well.
Put mixture in a large heavy or nonstick pan.
Heat first on high for few minutes.
The on slow till done.
Make sure to stir continuously, while on heat.
When mixture thick and gooey, add cardamom.
Mix well, and take off fire.
Allow to cool, gently turning occasionally.
Use cookie moulds, or shape pedas with palms into patty rounds.
Mix pistachios and cardamom seeds and press a bit on top of each.
If using moulds, first sprinkle some at bottom.
Take some mixture and press into mould.
When set well, invert and carefully, unmould. The pedas are ready to be served.

Rice Kheer

2008-07-23T12:52:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

1/4th cup long grain rice (washed and drained)
4-5 cups milk
2-3 cardamom seeds (crushed)
2 tbsp almonds (blanched silvered)
A pinch of saffron threads, soaked in a little hot milk
1 tbsp skinned pistachio nuts (chopped)
1 tbsp raisins (optional)
2-3 tbsp sugar or as desired

How to make kheer:

Put the rice, milk and cardamom in a pan, bring to boil and simmer gently until the rice is soft and the grains are starting to break up.
Add almonds, pistachio, saffron and raisins and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
Remove the rice kheer from heat and serve either warm or chilled.

Jalebi

2008-07-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

2 cups All purpose flour (maida)
11/2 tbsp fine grained semolina or rice flour
1/4th tsp baking powder
2 tbsp curd (plain yogurt)
11/4th cups warm water
1/2 tsp saffron threads, slowly dry-roasted and powdered
3 cups sugar
22/3rd cups water
1/2 tsp green cardamom seeds powder
11/2 tbsp kewra water or rose water
Ghee or vegetable oil for frying

How to make jalebi:

Mix the flour, semolina or rice flour, baking powder, curd and 3/4th cup of the water in a bowl (preferably a ceramic bowl). Mix well with a whisk.
Mix well and then add remaining water and 1/8th tsp. of saffron powder, and whisk until smooth.
Set aside for about 2 hours to ferment.
Whisk thoroughly before use.
Prepare one string syrup by dissolving sugar in the water. Just before the syrup is ready add saffron and cardamom powder.
Heat oil in a kadhai. Pour the batter in a steady stream ( or coconut shell with a hole) into the kadhai to form coils. Make a few at a time.
Deep fry them until they are golden and crisp all over but not brown.
Remove from the kadhai and drain on kitchen paper and immerse in the syrup.
Leave for at least 4-5 minutes so that they soak the syrup.
Take the jalebi out of syrup and serve hot.

Gulab Jamun

2008-07-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 cup Carnation Milk Powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tablespoons butter -melted
Whole milk just enough to make the dough

For the Sugar Syrup
2 cups Sugar
1 cup water
Oil for frying

How to make gulab jamun:

Make the dough by combining the milk powder, Bisquick, butter. Add just enough whole milk to make a medium-hard dough. Divide the dough into 18-20 portions. Make balls by gently rolling each portion between your palms into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a plate. Cover with a damp yet dry kitchen towel.
Heat the oil on high and then lower the heat to medium. Slip in the balls into the hot oil from the side of the pan, one by one. They will sink to the bottom of the pan, but do not try to move them. Instead, gently shake the pan to keep the balls from browning on just one side. After about 5 mins, the balls will rise to the surface. The Gulab Jamuns should rise slowly to the top if the temperature is just right. Now they must be gently and constantly agitated to ensure even browning on all sides.
If the temperature of the oil is too high then the gulab jamuns will tend to break. So adjust the temperature to ensure that the gulab jamuns do not break or cook too quickly.
The balls must be fried very slowly under medium temperatures. This will ensure complete cooking from inside and even browning.

Sugar Syrup

The syrup should be made earlier and kept warm. To make the hot sugar syrup add mix the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water. Add 4-5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed and a few strands of "Kesar". Mix with a spoon and then heat at medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar is all dissolved in water. Do not overheat, that will caramelize the sugar.
Transfer this hot syrup into a serving dish. Keep warm on stove. Add the fried gulab jamuns directly into the warm syrup. Leave gulab jamun balls in sugar syrup overnight for best results. They can be served warm or at room temperature.

Basundi

2008-07-23T12:25:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

2 litres Milk
2 tblsp Lemon Juice
1 cup Sugar
8 crushed Cardamoms
5 chopped Almond (Badam)
10 roughly chopped Charioli nuts

How to make basundi:

Boil the milk in a kadai.
Keep stirring constantly and reduce it till it becomes thick and the quantity of the milk is approximately half a litre. remove from the flame and keep aside.
D the lemon juice to the milk and stir the mixture so that it becomes granular in consistency.
Return to a medium flame.
Add the sugar and cook for another 10 minutes. stir the mixture occasionally.remove from the fire.
Transfer to a bowl and add the cardamoms and the nuts.mix thoroughly.
Serve hot or cold.

Badam Phirni

2008-07-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
2 tbsp rice
3 tbsp sugar
1/4th cup blanched almonds (sliced)
1 tsp green cardamom (crushed)
1/2 tsp kewra essence
silver or gold foil paper (varak)

How to make badam phirni:

Soak rice in water for few hours, then drain water and grind rice into a smooth paste.
In a non-stick saucepan bring milk. Over a moderatly low heat add rice, sugar and cardamom and stir constantly till milk turns thick.
Remove from heat and add almonds.
Put in serving bowl and chill.
Garnish the badam phirni with silver or gold foil paper (varak) and serve.

Badam Kheer

2008-07-23T12:24:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Almond (Badam)
2 cups Milk
3 tblsp Sugar
5 crushed Cardamoms
a pinch of Saffron (Kesar), soaked in lukewarm milk

How to make badam kheer:

Boil half a litre of water in a sauce pan . add the almonds when the water is boiling and cook for 2 minutes. remove from the flame and drain.
Remove the skin of the almonds and grind to a fine paste.
Boil the milk in a thick bottomed pan. when the milk begins to boil add the almond paste and the sugar and cook for 5 minutes over a low flame stirring continuously.
Remove from the flame.. add the dissolved saffron and the crushed cardamoms.
Allow to cool and serve chilled.

Badam halwa

2008-07-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

2 cups Badam
2 1/2 cups Sugar
2 drops Kesar Colour
1 cup Ghee
1 cup Milk

How to make badam halwa:

Leave the almonds in hot water for 1 hour.
Remove the outer skin and grind to a paste with the milk.
Make sugar syrup and boil till it reaches a one string consistency.
Add the badam paste and cook till it thickens.
Add the kesar colour.
Add ghee little by little stirring continuously on low heat.

Gajar ka Halwa ( Carrot Halwa)

2008-07-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

1 kg juicy orange carrots
1 1/2 liter milk
400-500 gm sugar
elaichi powder (cardamom)
saffron few flakes
few drops orange colour (optional)
1 tbsp ghee

Peel and grate carrots. Put milk and carrots in a heavy saucepan. Boil till thick, stirring occasionally. Once it starts thickening, stir continuously. Add sugar and cook further till thickens. Add ghee, elaichi, saffron and colour. Stir on low heat till the mixture collects in a soft ball or the ghee oozes out. Serve hot, decorated with a chopped almond or pista.

Dry fruit Halwa

2008-07-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

Cashew nuts, Walnuts, Almonds and Pistachios - 100gms. each (coarsely ground)
Milk - 1 glass
Sugar - 300 gms.
Khoya - 400 gms.
Black raisins - 50 gms.
Ghee or oil - 1 cup
Cardamoms - 2 (ground)

Heat the ghee and fry the khoya stirring all the time till it turns a light brown. Keep aside. Boil the milk and add the sugar. Stir till the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and mix well with the khoya.

Add the dry fruits , raisins and cardamom powder. and mix well. Spoon the mixture into a greased plate and smoothen with a flat spoon. Cut into diamond shaped pieces and garnish with almonds and pistachios.

Rava Laddoo

2008-07-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 cups rava(semolina)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup ghee(clarified butter)
4-5 cardamoms , powdered
2 tbsp cashewnuts cut into very small pieces
2 tbsp raisins.

Roast the rava in the 2 tbsp ghee till light golden in color. Mix the sugar,roasted rava and cardamom and powder fine in a dry grinder. Heat the remaining ghee,fry the cashewnuts and raisins.

Add to the rava-sugar mixture. Shape into tight laddoos(small round balls). The laddus can be stored in an airtight container for a few days.

Boondi Laddoo

2008-07-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

For boondi:

2 1/2 cups gram flour (not superfine variety)
500 ml. milk
1/2 tsp. cardamom powder
3 cups ghee for deep frying
a fine holed shallow strainer spoon

For syrup:

2 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp. milk
few drops saffron (kesri) colour

For syrup:

Put sugar and water in a vessel and boil. When sugar dissolves, add milk. .Boil for 5 minutes till dirt forms on top.
Strain and return to fire. Add colour and boil till sticky but no thread has formed. Add cardamom powder and mix. Keep aside.

For boondi:

Mix flour and milk to a smooth batter. Heat ghee in a heavy frying pan. Hold strainer on top with one hand. With the other pour some batter all over the holes. Tap gently till all batter has fallen into hot ghee. Stir with another strainer and remove when light golden. Keep aside. Repeat for remaining batter. Immerse boondi in syrup. Drain any excess syrup. Spread in a large plate. Sprinkle few tsp. hot water over it. Cover and keep for 5 minutes. Shape in laddoos with moist palms. Cool and keep open to dry, before storing in containers.

Besan Laddoo

2008-07-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

Besan - 4 cups (a bit thicker than ordinary)
Sugar - 2 cups (powdered)
Almonds (Badam) - 20-25 nos. (chopped)
Ghee - 1 cup
Cardamom powder. - 1 tsp.

Heat the ghee in a pan. Add besan part by part and mix it well. Keep on low flame. Keep stirring to avoid burning.

When the aroma comes, remove from heat and cool. Add the powdered sugar to it and mix well. Add the almonds and shape the mixture into balls.

Coconut Laddoo

2008-07-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

1 can condensed milk
2 cups of desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon sugar

Mix the condensed milk and the coconut in a bowl. Add the sugar and stir on a low flame for about 4 minutes. Set aside till the mixture has slightly cooled down. Shape into laddoos(small round balls).

Roll each laddoo in a little desiccated coconut. Store in airtight jars.