Kalakand - made with condensed milk

My love for sweets is legendary at our home. I love all kinds of sweets, no matter where they are from. I am a total dessert egalitarian.

This sweet recipe I am presenting today is from India. It is a silky fudge made of milk, Indian cheese/paneer and sugar. It is soft, crumbly and creamy. One of the steps in the original preparation called for boiling down 1 liter if milk till it is 1/4th in volume. This takes a lot of patience and time both of which I do not have. Well maybe I do have the time but I definitely do not have the patience.

So this is a shortcut method which makes this delicious fudge in just 1/4th  the time. I have also read on the Internet that ricotta cheese can be substitute for paneer. Personally I have never done that and cannot attest to how authentic that would taste, especially since I have always found ricotta to have a slightly salty aftertaste to it.

 

 

 

 

Gulab Jamuns

If you are searching for a Gulab Jamun recipe that tastes just like you got it from a Mithiawala ( Indian sweet shop ) than stop right here, as this recipe is THE ONE.

This is one of the best tasting, made-from-scratch Gulab Jamun recipe ever. The combination of the milk powder to all purpose flour is just right to make soft, firm, super soaked, melt-in-your mouth Gulab Jamuns.

Just make sure to serve it warm and your guest will never believe you made these and that they are super easy to make.

Imarti / Jhangri

Imarti or Jhangri is a deep fried,sugar syrup soaked lentil fritter. I was always fascinated by these glistening saffron colored sweets I would see at our favorite mithia-wala ( Indian Confectioner ). One of his apprentice would always be seen frying these up making sure that fresh batches were made for the never-ending demand for it. Scores of customers can be seen coming out of his shop carrying unevenly shaped newspaper-wrapped parcels or boxes all containing various sweets in a delicious rainbow of colors and flavors.

My son loves this along with its cousin the Jalebi ( made from all purpose flour and yogurt ). He first had it in India when attending my mama's wedding ( my mother's brother ). There my sister Ketaki was serving it to all the guest who came for lunch the day before the wedding and he followed her around telling her to stop serving it as there would be none left for him, much to the amusement of all those present. Later it became his ritual to sit on the motorbike in between Ketaki and her dear hubby Abhishek and drive down to the local mithai-wala to get some more of his favorite sweets.

I tried both Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe and also Tarla Dalal's recipe. The both make great Imartis. Below I have adapted Tarla Dalal's recipe, which I found, made crispier Imartis. Before you embark on this journey, it will help you to also view how the famous chef from Vah Reh Vah makes these.

Besan and Coconut Barfi

This is also called the 7-cup barfi. Barfi is an Indian fudge that is commonly made to celebrate festivals and other wonderful events in our lives. There are so many kind of barfis. This is a very easy to make barfi, it uses a few ingredients and does not take too much time either..

I learnt to make this barfi on my very recent trip to Arizona. We had a family reunion there and spent most of our waking moments, laughing, talking and sharing recipes. My sis-in-law's friend made these barfis for us. They were so delicious that I had to get the recipe. She was very gracious in sharing it with us. This barfi tastes a little like Mysore Pak. Try it and see, you will be hooked too.

Pistachio, Cashew and Almond Chikki

Chikkis are very similar to Brittles. I call this a modified Chikki as this is not exactly how traditional chikkis are made. Usually there is no addition of baking soda in Indian Chikki recipes. I added this, inspired by the American Brittle recipes, to give our Chikkis a more melt in your mouth texture. So when you bite into this Chikki you do not have to strain your facial muscles or test the strength of your teeth. The addition of baking soda adds tiny air bubbles to the Chikki making it easier to break and easier to dissolve in your mouth.

Try this recipe, it is delicious and I dare you to stop at one piece. I love to nibble on something sweet after lunch and this is one of my favorites, the trick, however, is to stop after one piece. I am still working on that !

Besan Ke Ladoo

I would like to wish all my friends and family a very Happy Diwali. So Diwali is here again and in the flurry of getting the home all spic and span and making sweets, I have neglected to post these recipes sooner. And now that there is only one day left I thought I will post a recipe that requires minimum effort and gives maximum pleasure !

So here is my very easy to make, delicious Besan Ke Ladoo recipe. This recipe is from my college days and was part of one of the menus in our cookery class. When I brought some of these ladoos home, my mom and grandma loved them and my grandma even made me make these again for her.

The only thing to keep in mind is to let the mixture cool down thoroughly. Also do not worry if your mixture feels too soft and your balls are flattening. If this happens, make all the balls and keep them on a plate and after 15 minutes roll each ball again between the palm of your hands. The mixture would have hardened a little and the balls will maintain their shape, this time.




Besan Ke Ladoo

Pistachio and Rose Coconut Burfi ( Nariyal ki Burfi )

This is one of my favorite Indian sweets or mithai as we call it. Moist, chewy and full of coconut flavor. I remember my mother making this whenever we had a party in our home and sometimes even for Diwali  ( Festival of Lights ). She would make different colored layers and it would look so beautiful and festive. You can try it if you are feeling ambitious or you can even leave it plain white. I admit that I love the color pink, I can't help myself I am just drawn to that color.

I garnished my barfi with pistachios, you can even garnish with cashews or almonds or any other kind of nuts. I used rose essence to flavor my barfi as I love that flavor and pistachios complement this very well.

Adding the mava and the sugar makes this barfi moist and chewy which is very similar to my favorite candy bar the ' Bounty ' , or ' Almond Joy ' as it is known in the US, sans the almond and the chocolate covering.




Coconut Barfi

Sheera

It was Purnima ( the day of the full moon ) last week and we made sheera. I love this sheera recipe, even though it is very rich in calories it tastes divine.

In India we make this sheera for a special puja called Sathyanarayan puja. This puja is performed to mark any major occasion like marriage, birth of child, purchase of a new car or new house. However due to its popular nature this sheera is also made in maharashtrian homes for evening snack times. The quantity of ghee is reduced and the milk is increased in such cases.

In maharashtra we use the 'savva praman' ie measurements of 1 1/4 cup of everything -  so sugar is 1 1/4 cup, rava is 1 1/4 cup, ghee is 1 1/4 cup and milk is 1 1/4 cup.This measurement is special for the sathyanarayan puja only. Some also use one mashed up banana *, and that tastes quite good actually, but since I did not have a banana that day I made it without that. Now this is the maharashtrian way, in other parts of India they do not follow this recipe, they use varied quantities of the various ingredients - some use twice the amount of milk to rava and some substitute the milk for water. In this recipe I did decrease the quantity of sugar and ghee a bit.

This recipe produces the best tasting sheera . It reminds me of my grandma's house and all the special occasions. If you are looking for a full flavored, non-mushy, open grained sheera than this is your recipe. The end result was this soft, fragrant sheera that will dissolve on your tongue once you put it in your mouth. Do try it and see, you will be pleased with the results. However, do remember to have it in small quantities due to its high calorie content.

Doodh Peda

I fell in love with these silky, soft, melt-in-your-mouth delicacies when visiting India, as a kid, to attend marriages. Toffee-styled wrapped pedas were distributed to all guests attending the marriage ceremony along with a small packet of colored rice. The rice was to be showered upon the bridegroom and bride when the marriage mantras were over. This used to be our favorite part as this was the time to aim and throw rice at all adults around us, when else would we get to throw something at an adult and get away with it...

Anyway getting back to the peda, after eating the one we were given and begging for the ones that our parents had.... we would walk through the entrance again and again just to collect some more. I miss those times.

In India the milk is boiled down to leave a semi-solid mass behind and this is called Khoya / Mawa. Nowadays I make these on special occasion or festival day. I just run out to my local Indian Grocer and buy these pounds of Khoya slabs from his freezer section. I get the Nanak brand which I like, and I am ready to go.....

 
If you live in an area where Khoya / Mawa is not available, you can make your own at home. Heat some store bought Ricotta Cheese in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium low heat stirring occasionally, it is ready when it looses its water content and becomes dry and creamish in color.


Doodh Peda
 

yield - 8-10 pedas

Ingredients

1 pkt (341gms) Khoya - ready made
1 1/2 - 2 cups fine granulated sugar ( depending on how sweet you want it)
1/4 tsp cardamom / elaichi powder
Cashew or Pistachio pieces for garnish


Method

1. Grate Khoya and mix it with the sugar. Set aside.

2. Heat a non stick pan and put this khoya mixture in it.

3. Keep the heat at medium and keep stirring occasionally.

4. As soon as the khoya and sugar melts and forms one big mass, take it off the heat. This should take approximately 5-10 minutes.

5. The mixture at this point will be very hot and soft. Let it cool thoroughly.

6. When cooled scoop up a small portion and roll it into a ball between the palms of you hand. Flatten the ball a bit and place on a serving dish. Makes about 8-10 pedas depending on the size of the ball.

7. Sprinkle the top with a little cardamom powder and garnish with a sliver of cashew nut or pistachio. It is now ready to serve. Enjoy.

I am also sending this entry to Kalyani's Indian Mithai Mela food event. Thank you Kalyani for hosting this