KALAKAND

As of now i have 22 dessert recipes......I love love sweets....I have tried many recipes my home .But now ,I wanted to make some authentic Indian sweets by someway or the other without spending hours n hours ...I had a guest last week and felt like making something really Indian not which in my blog .. I searched for many....and finally tried the 20 minutes microwave kalakand...it really tasted great and now i wanted to share u this recipe .u can do this in two ways, by adding1)condensed milk + grated paneer2)milk powder + ricotta cheese...i used number 2.paneer and condensed milk are well know to all of us.but using some good Italian ricotta cheese to our indian dish is different rite?There is no much difference between ricotta and panner .they look alike,but made by following different procedures.I think u all know but this is too much...coming to the recipe

2cups ricotta cheese(1/2 fat ) or grated paneer

2 cups milk powder(fat free would be fine)or small tin condensed milk

1/2 stick butter(at room temp)

1 cup sugar( do not use sugar for sweetened condensed milk)

Dried fruits for garnish

Combine all the ingredients except dried friuts .

Microwave for 5-6 minutes on high .

Remove stir well and microwave on hig for 5 min.

Remove stir well and now microwave on high till it becomes has some light brown edges(for me it took like 10 min for 700 W microwave) .Microwave if u want to.But don't brown it.Because when u set it aside to let it cool it will slightly change its color .

Now put all the mixture on a flat surface or a flat baking tray and soften the top and adges .

Set aside and let it cool.do not cut into pieces untill it is firm.

Cut into ur desired shapes and garnish with an almond , cashew ,pistachio or saffron.

PLUM CAKE

Happy valentines days....this is a small gift to my husband.He loves my homemade vanilla cake.I thought i would make it special by adding his favorite kissan jam .I have plums at home from many days..I had an idea of making jam or some dessert out of it.Then i remembered pineapple upside down cake..i thought i could do it with plums...and just made this upsidedown plum cake....

1 cup all purpose
2 whole eggs
2 egg white
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter(at room temperature)
3 plums sliced or as required
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
non-stick cooking spray
jam(optional)





Sift together baking powder and flour .keep it aside.
In a wide bowl put eggs,sugar,,butter and wisk it with a hand wisker or electric hand beater.
add the flour in batches and beat it.the purpose for adding flour in batches is to incorporate air ,so that the cake comes out fluffy.
add essence to the flour.beat well.
spray the non-stick cooking spray to ur cake mould .
place the plum slices on the mould .
pour the cake batter.
pre-heat the oven to 350 D F.
bake for 30 minutes or till an inserted toothpick comesout clean.

CHOCOLATE POT DE CREME

When i was searching for chocolate recipes i found nigella lowson's recipe of chocolate pots.I just gave a try but madesome changes .This is one dessert that one should have it right away .it doesn't tastes good when cold.The chocolate mixture inside the ramken is very gooey and the top layer more like a cake.So i'm worried wheather the my eggs will cook or not..so ,i added heavy cream and one egg white instead of adding 3 full egg or 6 yolks...The whipped cream just melts in the hot pot.So better add the dollop of cream before serving.I made those leaves with the left over cooked chocolate.......give a try and let me know.

1 teaspoon allpurpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 jumbo egg white or 2 small size egg whites

1 1/2 cups chopped dark chocolate(i used ghirardeli 60% cocoa)
1/4 stick butter

2 ramkens or any oven proof cups

baking tray

2 cups water

In a microwave safe bowl take the chopped chocolate and butter .Melt them for a minute.

Remove it from microwave and stir till all the chocolate is completely melted.

Let it cool .In a wide mouthed bowl whisk together heavy cream, egg white,sugar,flour.

Wisk it till all the ingredients r well blended.

now check for the chocolate mixture.Add the choclate when it is at room temparature.

whisk till all the chocolate is incorporated with cream mixture.

boil the water for about 2 minutes or till warm and pour it in a baking pan or cake tin.

Put this into a preheated oven at 350 d F and bake for for 15 min at 350.

this is how they look after baking.take them right away from the pan so that they don't over cook...In case if over cooked u don't get that gooey mixture inside.it just stays thick or nore like a half cooked cake.

serve with with a dollop of whipped cream,shaved chocolate or my chocolate leaves.

CHOCOLATE LEAVES

u can do these in a jiffy.select a leaf from ur garden and wash them well & pat dry.if there is any chocolate on the walls of ur bowl just grab it with ur finger or knife and gentle put it on the leaf.make it smooth with fork and freeze it .

after 10 min take it out and gently peel off the leaf.Now u have a cute leaf for ur garnish.refridgerate the leaf till u use it.

QUICK EGGLESS CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

this is a quick dessert that can be made within 15-20 min.easy to make n serve with no extra decorations....this has a rich chocolate flavour .the flavour depends on the quality of the chocolate used...i used hershey's special dark chocolate.there r diff chocolates available.it is good to use a dark chocolate bar or semi sweet chocolate chips.don't use milk chocolate it just ruins ur mousse(doesn't tastes good).

1 cup chopped chocolate bar or semisweet chocolate of ur choice.
1/2 cup marshmallows
1 cup heavy whipping cream or 2 cups cool whip
1/4 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

take a thick bottomed pan.put butter and marshmallows.add chopped chocolate.
let it melt on very low flame.
marshmallows r the last ones that melt.
remove and let it come to room temp .
now take whipping cream and vanilla in a bowl and beat the cream with an electric beater till stiff peaks form.
now fold in the chocolate mixture.mix it slowly.

when u r using coolwhip instead of whipping cream u can just fold in the melted chocolate.
serve with a dollop of whipped cream and garnish with shaved chocolate.
if u don't want to top it with whipped cream u can just garnish with white or dark chocolate.

COFFEE CAKE

i like all the coffee desserts,drinks and today i tried coffe cake using green label filter coffee and bru instant coffee powder...

1 cup flour

1/2 stick butter

1 cup sugar

2 whole egg

2 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

8 ounces green label coffee decoction(should be very thick)

1 teaspoon bru instant coffee powder

1 table spoon vanilla essence

to make the swirl on the cake

1 teapoon bru coffee

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon butter at room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon philladelphia cream cheese

paper napkin

for preparing cake:

Sift maida and baking powder.

in a large bowl take butter sugar,egg and beat with a hand beater or a fork till well blended.

add little by little sifted flour .do not add the flour at once.this doesn't make ur cake fluffy.

beat for 1 min on low.

add the coffee decoction .beat for a minute.

add bru instant coffee.beat for 2 minutes or till well blended.

take an oven proof dish and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

pour the batter into the dish.

pre heat the oven at 350 F.

bake for 20 min or till an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

transfer it into a plate.

let it cool for atleast 15 to 20 min.

to make the swirl on the cake:

mix butter,creamcheese,sugar,vanilla into a smooth paste.
spread a thin layer on the cake.
fold a paper towel and just go around to make a spiral.
this takes of excess butter.
dust bru instant coffe powder with a sieve on the cake and enjoy.

ARISELU & WALNUT BRITTLE FOR PONGAL

WALNUT BRITTLE

ARISELU

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Chocolate sauce is a light syrup used for dipping,topping ,to make hot chocolate and more..it was so light when i made it with milk.so i added 5 teaspoons of condensed milk to make it thick and rich in taste.



1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
condensed milk 5 teaspoons

mix all the cocoa powder,milk,sugar and simmer for 10 min.
stir continously.add condensed milk,vanilla and mix for 2 min.
it can be stored upto a week.

i used this for my chocolate cake .i dipped every piece of cake in the sauce before having it..i loved the combo.

RAVVA LADDOO

3 cups semolina(upma ravva)
2 1/2 cups sugar or as per taste
1 elachi
1 cup melted ghee
dry fruits of ur choice finely chopped 1/2 cup

fry semolina on low flame in a thick bottomed vessel stirring it continously.
fry it for abt 10 min or till it comes to light brown color.
if the ravva is not fried properly it cannot be stored for many days and it doesn't taste good.
u get a kind of raw taste.so fry till light brown on veryvery low flame.
mix sugar ,ghee .
stir it well.
add ground elachi and dry fruits .
mix well.
let it cool for a minute and mix well using ur two hand for 1 minute.add 1/2 spoon of ghee, if u can't make a ball.
now make laddoos when it is warm so that u get a good round ball out of the warm mixture.
can be store in an airtight container at room temperaturefor abt a week.
if the laddoo becomes after 2 days u can just microwave it for 40 sec(tip from my friend)

BANANA-WALNUT LOAF

To be frank i don't know the difference between a loaf and a cake.i just googled it and got the answer as" it depends on the shape ".if its made in a rectangular dish then its a loaf and in a normal cake tin it is a cake.Am I right?many r familiar with this banana and walnut combination i guess.I used freshly de-shelled walnuts & fresh banana .We have a Persian grocery store near by my place where i get my fresh produce .I always bring walnuts (with shells) which r very cheap.Walnuts have Omega-3 and its very good for health.I only deshell them when ever i want to eat in order to keep them fresh.

The cooking time of this is more than the usual cakes or loafs .Banana helps this loaf to be moist even after cutting n storing.I topped the loaf with chopped almonds,chopped walnuts and chopped raisins.When i was about to take from the oven i was happy to smell it.The golden raisins n banana smell was too good...i loved it...finally my husband certified that the cake really came out well n its very tasty .Oh! i was very happy then...





1 cup maida/all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 eggs(medium)
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup mashed banana or 1 1/2 bananas
baking soda
pinch of salt
butter 2/3 stick finely chopped or butter at room temp.
non-stick cooking spray
dry fruits of ur choicefor garnish finely chopped a handful


mix all the wet ingredients and sugar and beat with an electric beater for 2 minutes.
now add the dry ingredients.
beat for 4 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees F.
spray an oven proof dish with non-stick cooking spray or
line an aluminium foil in the tin and spary with non stick cooking spray.





pour the batter into the tin .
bake it on 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minuntes or till a skewer comes out clean.
transfer it into a serving plate and cut into slices with a bread knife.

BOTTLE GOURD HALWA

1 small bottle gourd

1/4 brick of khoya/khoa/mawa

sugar

water

1/4 cup ghee

cashews

peel and grate bottle gourd.measure the amount of bottle gourd in a cup.

wash and grate khoya brick.measure the amount.

now take sugar equal to the number of cups of bottle gourd and khoya.

mix only a 1/4 cup of water with sugar and bring to boil.

meanwhile pan fry the grated bottle gaurd with 2 sp of ghee.

fry till water leaves the bottlegourd.

make sure that the sugar syrup in a soft ball stage.

add this sugar mixture to the fried bottlegourd.

stir well .add khoya,cashews fried in ghee and the remaining ghee.

stir till the mixture thickens.

serve hot or cold.

making sugar syrup:

for ball stage:

for making sugar syrup u need to take 4 parts of sugar and 1 part of water all the time.

boil it and when u see the bubbles forming,take a small bowl and drop sugar syrup into the water.

check if u can make a ball out of the it.then it is ready to use.

for string stage:

for string stage take a little amt of syrup .

make sure it is ok to touch and check using two fingers.

if there r any string between ur fingers then it is in string stage.

different type of recipe requires different syrups.

JAM ROLLS

JAM ROLLS these r my favorite when i was in INDIA ...i searched for jam rolls here in LA but couldn't get one...and finally i decided to make them...the rolls i had in india has mixed fruit jam and coconut topping instead of frosting......and today i made my own way of whipping cream frost with a teaspoon of gelatin to make its texture look stiff and thick.i used icing sugar instead of normal granulated sugar.for the sponge cake recipe i dint follow any recipes but i added an extra egg yolk,pinch of baking soda and two tablespoons of milk.it really came out well and it had the texture i needed inorder to roll the cake. luckly the cake didn't get cracks while rolling it...

for cake

3 eggs
flour
baking soda a pinch
baking powder 1 teaspoon
milk 2 table spoons
sugar
foil
non stick cooking spray
butter
jam of ur choice

for frosting

small box of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 pack gelatin powder
2 tablespoons water
electric hand beater


prepare the cake batter (follow the link).take an oven proof tray place a foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
pour the batter and make sure that the batter is only1/4 inch thick.



Bake it for 10 to 15 min on 350 degrees F or till a tooth pick comes out clearly.now meanwhile make the frosting with whipping cream.

Trim off the edges with a bread knife and make a perfect square out of it. roll with the towel as soon as u bake it.so that the cake stays moist and does not get cracks....

place the sqaure on a dry towel and fold it as closely as possible.

set it aside for 30 minutes.

after 30 min unroll the cake remove the towel and spread any jam of ur choice.

now roll it back very carefully.

dissolve the gelatin in 2 table spoons of water.now in a wide bowl pour in the heavy whipping cream,1/4 cup icing sugar,2 table spoons of gelatin water.beat on high till stiff peaks form and place it in a refridgerator for 45 min.save the time by doing it at the baking time.


now frost the roll with the whipped cream frost place a paper napkin on both the sides of the roll inorder to clean the mess easily.

frost the rolls and remove the papers.

decorate with straberries or oranges or with roses made with icing.

place it in the refridgerator till u serve.

slice it and serve.

ORANGE CAKE WITH WHIPPING CREAM FROST

This is my first experiment on home made frost and decorating the cake.There r many types of frosts.royal icing,butter cream frost,cheese cream frost,whipping cream frost.As a beginner i wanted to start with whipping cream frost.i dint know what to add and how to start with.With the hep of some sites and my views i planned it and made the frost with no additions to it except color and sugar.I wanted to take the cake decoration class..but it dint work out as there is no time....
there is a tip for u the amount of sugar,eggs and maida should be equal then u'll surely get a perfect cake..trust me..

1/2 cup orange juice
2 eggs
maida
sugar
baking powder 1 tea spoon
butter 1/2 cube(room temp)
heavy whipping cream
hand beater
orange food color
mandarine oranges can

Take a measuring cup and add eggs to it.
see how much quantity u have.
take the same amount of sugar as eggs and pour it into a wide bowl.
add butter in to the same bowl and beat it together till everything blends.
now take the same amount of maida as sugar and add a tea spoon of baking powder and sift it.
now add the sifted flour to egg, sugar and butter mixture.
now add the orange juice(1/4 cup).make sure that its not too thin.after adding the orange juice it should be like idle batter.
grease the cake tin with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
bake it on 350 degrees F for 20 min. or till a fork or tooth pick comes out clean.
cool it.

when the cake cooled u can start frosting it.

take a wide bowl. pour in whipping cream, 1 sp of sugar(u can add more if u want to), 1 sp of orange juice.
beat it with an electric beater on high till stiff peaks form.it should be very thick .
now take this and put it in the freezer for 20 min .
now take ur cake decorating stuff and decorate it with frost and oranges. do not frost untill the whipping cream is thick .
u can add any food color for ur design.

EGG PUFF & SWEET ROLLS

Oh! my god i made egg puff this is unbelievable..when i was in india i use to concentrate much on the making of puff than enjoing it.At that time i dint know how its made.i just gave it a try and succeeded...thank god that was so yummy


puff pastry sheets
boiled eggs 2(2 puff can be made out of 1 egg)
salt
garam masala little
jeera and methi powder a pinch
chilli powder
egg wash or water

place the puff pasry sheet on a flat surface cut 1/2 inch on any two sides to make it small(10 cm *10 cm) to make a perfect square.
dust chilli powde,salt ,garam masala,jeera methi powders.
put more in the middle.
cut the boiled egg .
place one half (yellow downwards) on the pasrty sheet and hold the two ends and fold it.at the fold apply some egg wash...so that this acts as glue.
bake on 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

sweet rools can be madde out of scrap.

take the left over pieces and dust sugar on it.

roll and press gently in middle of ur palms.
bake them along with the egg puff.

KUDUMULU

1 cup rice flour

water

3/4 cup jaggery grated (add as per ur taste)

1/4 cup moong dal

ghee

boil the water on high flame .

mix moong dal,rice flour,jaggery.

when bubbles start coming out take the water in the cup u used for measuring rice flour.

now add the water to the rice flour mixture.

make a smooth dough.

make small balls out of it.

if u feel it is sticky while making balls,rub ur palms with ghee.

take the idle stand and rub the moulds with a drop of ghee.

place the balls in the moulds .

pour 2 cups of water in the pressure cooker.

place the idle stand.

cook until u get 4whistles.

now remove from stove and let it stand till it cools down.

ur undrallu r ready .serve hot or cold.

HALWA WITH WHEAT FLOUR

1 cup wheat flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup ghee

water 4 cups

cashews

raisins

almonds

heat 1 sp ghee in a pan.add flour.fry it till the raw smell goes .stop frying when the aroma starts spreading or till light brown.

add water and sugar.

immedietly keep on stirring the mixture.

pour the remaining ghee.

keep on stirring till the flour becomes thick.

remove from stove when u fell that the it is properly cooked.

raw smell should go off.(cook for 1/2 hr to 40 minutes minimum).

ur arms may pain a little...

CAKE (made with indian style oven)

1 cup maida(all purpose flour)

1 cup eggs(2 )

1 cup sugar powder

1/2 sp baking powder

1 sp vanilla essence

1/2 stick butter

frosting:

betty crockers frosting accessories.

hersheys kissables.

fill the plate with sand and keep it aside.

rub the inside of oven with butter and dust it with maida.dust the extra flour out.keep it aside.

beat butter with a fork or an electric beater.

add eggs and beat till it mixes with butter corsely.

add sugar powder and beat till the sugar mixes with the egg

sift the maida and baking powder(if u r using elestric beater u need not sift the flour).add vanilla essence.

add it to the egg mixture in intervals and beat it.repeat till ur done.

pour into the oven .

cover with the lid.

put the plate(containing sand on to the stove).

put the oven on top of that.

see that the oven sits correctly on the plate.

set the burner to 7 or 8 .

after 10 minutes,simmer it to 3.

let it cook for another 15 to 20 minutes or till ur cake is done.

to check the cake is done or not,insert a fork and see that it comes out clean.then ur cake is done.remove it and keep it aside.

let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

cut into pieces and frost it or eat with out frost.