Rava Kesari

There was a time when we wanted to indulge in something sweet and dint have anything in hand. It was at that movement I realised about this sweet and rich dish. There was no second thought and I just whipped it up and we enjoyed it to the last spoon.
Rava kesari is a sweet made of rava, milk,sugar and ghee. Its very delicious and quite easy to prepare.

Rava- 1/2 cup
Milk-1 nd 1/2 cup
Sugar- 1 cup
Ghee-3 tbsp
Cardamom powder-a pinch
Cashews-2 tbsp
Raisins-2 tbsp
Orange food color-a pinch(optional)

Method of preparation:
1. Heat a pan on low and add about 1 and 1/2 tbsp of ghee into it.Add the cashews and raisins and fry them till golden brown. Drain and set aside.
2.  Now add the rava into it and roast it till it gives a nice aroma and has light golden color to it.
3. Heat the milk in another pan and once it gets boiled pour it into the rava and give a nice mix. Let the rava get cooked in the milk.
4. Once the rava is cooked add the sugar into it and mix well. This will end up into a runny mixture. Continue cooking and mixing and slowly the mixture starts to thicken.
5. Add the food color(if using) and give a good stir so that it mixes up well.
6. Then add the remaining ghee little at a time and mix to form almost a lump. The mixture shouldn't stick to bottom.
7. Now add the cardamom powder along with fried cashews and raisins and mix. Turn off the heat and serve warm.

Notes:
1. Cook on low flame to reduce the risk of burning milk or kesari.
2. Add sugar only after the rava is cooked completely.
3. You can add any nuts in there, though traditionally its just cashews and raisins.

Rasmalai

Hope everyone had a great start for the month April and are looking forward for another beautiful month. Here this part of world is still cold and windy though I see a small change in the ice that covered the lake...hmmm ya its slightly melting giving way to the hidden water to reflect the sky...To boost up the mood with climate made some sweet treat and ya sweet does wonders..:)

Rasgullas-10  nos(I made at home)
Sugar syrup of rasgullas-3/4 cup
Milk-2 1/2 cup
Milk maid/condensed milk-2 tbsp(optional)
Saffron- a pinch mixed with warm milk.
cardamom seeds-1/4 tsp(crushed)
Pista-2 tbsp
Nuts for garnish(I used pistas)

Method of Preparation:
1. Squeeze the liquid out of rasgulla and flatten it a bit while squeezing. Set aside.
2. Boil milk with condensed milk(if using) and cook it till it turns thick and to half. Then add sugar syrup and cook for some more time say about 15 minutes.
3. Add the nuts, saffron,cardamom and cook for few more minutes.
4. Add the flattened rasgullas to it and cook for 5 more minutes on low so that it absorbs the milk mixture.
5. Turn off the heat and chill the mixture and serve with additional nuts.

Notes:
1. You can increase the amount of condensed milk and reduce the sugar syrup. This helps the milk to thicken fast and reduces the cooking time.

Cocoa Brownies with Walnut and Brown Butter

  When Abraham Chacko approached me to write a guest post for his space I was very happy to do it and accepted it without second thought said yes. He had given me enough time and wanted it only by the end of march. As many of you know me..I am the last minute person..No matter how much time I get..ok sometimes I do start early but then there will be something that holds me till the last minute..I guess that is how I am programmed by God..Now I don't want to rewrite it..;)..So here too I started with one recipe and finally ended here after editing the pics and knowing that they were horrible...Guess these are tolerable..:)
     As the many other friends I have got in fb, he is one among them. Quite an interesting guy with loads of talent. He has a great collection of recipes and a very cute family with two adorable daughters and an all in all great wife Susan..:). Chacko's Kitchen is the place where you find their effort..If you have never been there do visit it..
    Here is the small treat that I have prepared for them from here...This is a perfect fudgy brownie with a crunch of nuts perfect to have with milk. Here instead of butter, brown butter is used and it does taste great. Mixing and making them is quite easy though do not over bake them. Do visit here for the recipe..:)

Strawberry Cake

Finally it is the end of feb and here comes my valentines day cake...:) A cake that I had almost lost hope of been seen here..Now there is no point in saying about my love story as Valentines day is long passed..so we will stick to cake and the day it is baked...
I have been saying that feb was a terrible month for me..now why is never told...so here it is...
   The month begins with a busy schedule for hubby..which in turn means..early to office and late to home...That is its just me and son through out the day and sometimes night which kept me busy than my husband...:)Those days went on for a week and then hubby gets a dental surgery and a liquid diet for 5 days....Now i should say sick men are worst than small kids..;) To put it in single work I was totally messed up..with a son overactive, a hubby drowsy with medicines and awake with pain..cooking and rest of my routine..
Then comes the carpet changing day of the whole house...Luckily divided to 2 days..Now u got to imagine... Me and son in a room with all stuffs...Terrible!!!!
Now this very special Valentines day was in between this... I had no plans to do anything crazy..but then empty mind is devils workshop..:) Suddenly on 13th around 11 I feel that I need to bake..Started off with this cake as I already had a tub of fresh strawberries. Then start the frosting in between all this rush.. Halving the cake gets messed up as the cake slides and it gets cut slant.The layers get messed up...:) Then when i did the strawberry frosting I felt that it was less and decide to frost the layers with whipped cream...That was another disaster. As I used too much whipped cream the cake started to slip..Now there was a plus point ..the cake was not too sweet.. Then frosting I had a different plan..Anyways that dint work as I thought and then I went with this rose and chocolate bark idea.. Now if I would say this cake can also be mentioned as a disaster cake...:)
Texture and taste wise the cake and frosting is excellent...Its only my mistakes that made the cake a disaster..But then its  for my husband and kid who don't see how it is...For them it is only the taste that matters...And I got a thumbs up for that...That makes a happy me...:)

Fresh strawberries-1 cup
Sugar-1 to 2 tsp
Milk-1/4 cup
Egg-6 large whites
Vanilla-1 tbsp
Cake flour-2 nd 1/4 cup
Sugar-1nd 3/4 cup
Baking Powder-4 tsp
Salt-1 tsp
Unsalted Butter-12 tbsp
Pink food coloring- few drops

Method of preparation:
1. Wash fresh berries and chop them. Add sugar and set aside for about and hour or two until juicy. Place the berries in a food processor and puree it. You can use frozen berries too.
2. Use 3/4 th cup for cake and remaining for the frosting/as filling.
3.Preheat the oven to 350F and grease and dust two 8 or 9 inch pans.
4. In a small bowl combine puree, milk,egg, vanilla and mix with fork till well blended.
5. Mix flour,sugar, baking powder and salt to combine using a mixer.Add butter and continue beating Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.
6. Add liquids and beat at high for  about a minute or until evenly combined. Add food coloring and then beat to combine. Scrape the sides.
7. Divide batter into two prepared pans and smooth top.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 mins or until tooth pick comes out clean.Let cake rest in pan for 10 minutes and then on wire racks.Let cakes cool completely before frosting.

Strawberry frosting:

Butter-1 cup
Icing Sugar-6 cups
Vanilla-2 tsp
Strawberry puree- 1/3 cup

1. Mix butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl on low speed until light and fluffy.
2. Blend in strawberry puree and vanilla.
3. Add milk one tablespoon at a time, if desired consistency is not achieved. Keep covered.

Chocolate barks:
Bittersweet Chocolate pieces-4 squares
Parchment paper

1. Melt the chocolate and spread it on a strip of parchment paper. Let it set.You can keep it in freezer for 4 to 5 minutes. cut to pieces.

Whipped cream-as needed.

Assembling the cake:
1. Let the cakes cool. Then cut it to halves.
2. Spread the whipping cream/strawberry frosting.
3. Place the other half and then cover it with the strawberry frosting.
4. Using an open star tip pipe the roses on top.
5. Ten press the chocolate bark on the sides and keep in the refrigerator to set.

 Notes:
1. I used half the recipe for frosting and cake.
2. Baked a 6" X 2"cake. There was a bit more than 3/4th of pan for first time, so kept the remaining in fridge for the time the first batch was baking. Cooled the pan and then baked the remianing.
3. I have used whipped cream for the inner layer.

Linking  this to Recipes with fruit @ Zesty South Indian Kitchen & Valentines Day event @ Priya's Versatile Recipes.

Ada/ila ada

When  Sreevalli of Ammaji Recipes asked me for a guest post some time back,  I was totally hooked up with multiple jobs.. but before i could tell a list of tasks in front of me she told that I can chose a later date, for which I accepted..I totally left it there and was moving around when around the corner I remembered about the guest post. Now cooking was fine but clicking it was very difficult..Finally when I saw a little sunshine I went with this simple but a traditional recipe of Kerala.

   
 Ada is a sweet delicacy from Kerala.These are steamed  rice pockets filled with sweet coconut filling.  It is know as ela ada because of the way it is made. Usually plantain leafs are used to cook them, but due to the unavailability of them here I have experimented with parchment paper and its a success. They are enjoyed as snack/sweet during evenings with tea as well as can act as breakfast if you have a sweet tooth in the morning.

 Hop over to her space to see how this simple delicacy is prepared....

White Chocolate Mousse

A simple elegant dessert....Had bookmarked this long back from here..Turned out yummy for the effort put into making it. I tried it with some fruits as well as some chocolate syrup. Both the toppings where great.

White chocolate chips-1 cup
Whipping cream-1 cup(Low fat)
vanilla-1/2 tsp
Sugar-2-1/2 to 3 tbsp(if needed)

Method of Preparation:
1. Melt chocolate by placing it in a bowl on top of a bowl with  boiling water.
2. Once melted remove from heat and allow it to reach a warm temperature.
3. Whip the cream,sugar(if using), vanilla to stiff peaks.
4. Fold this to chocolate mixture and stir till it mixes well and turns smooth.
5. Pour them to bowls or glasses and freeze for 1 hour.
6. Serve with fruits/fruit sauces,chocolate.

Notes:
1. I added sugar while whipping the cream.
2. If your white chocolate already has vanilla flavor in it then dont add extra vanilla essence.
3. If planing to use sauces dont fill it to the rim as I did.
4. I got 4 small shot glasses of dessert with the above quantity.

Milk Peda- A quick version....

Peda is prepared with milk by stirring it continuously to form a thick mass and then shaped. Here is a quick method to prepare the same...

Milk Powder-2 cups
Condensed Milk-1 can/14oz
Butter-1/2 cup(1 stick)
Pista- to decorate

Method of Preparation:
1. Melt the butter in a pan and then add condensed milk and milk powder to it. Mix well to remove any lumps.
2. Cook on low heat stirring continuously  When the mixture starts to come from sides and forms to lump turn off the heat.
3. Grease your hands with ghee and when the heat of mixture is tolerable by hand make small rounds or discs and press pista on it.
4. Let it cool to room temperature.Serve or keep in air tight boxes and refrigerate.

Notes:
1. Powder you milk powder if they are not smooth.
2. Mix well in order to avoid lumps.
3. Do not increase heat more as the chance of sticking to the pan and browning is high.
4. Do cook till it separates from sides and forms a lump, else the peda will be soft.
5. While rolling the pedas are soft but once cooled the turn firm.
6. Use nuts of your choice.
7. You can add little crushed cardamom powder for flavor.
8. If refrigerated bring it to room temperature before serving.

Boondi Ladoo

Diwali is a day of lights and sweets for me...As a kid has always enjoyed it by exchanging sweets with our neighbors ..lighting the diya at dusk and bursting fire crackers... As I grew up things changed..we shifted to Kerala...and diwali was no more fun with tons of sweets from neighbors or with crackers...Though we still lighted diya...Dad used to get the sweet boxes from stores which we used to expect north Indian sweets but sadly everything used to be the normal Kerala sweets with small pieces of halwas and regular stuffs...soon we got bored with it...Though after coming to US we really miss those boxes too...This time I decided to prepare some stuffs for my son and hubby to enjoy...
Happy Diwali to all my friends and readers...:)

Recipe adapted from Show me the curry
Besan/Chickpea flour-1 cup
Water-1/2 cup+little more
Orange/yellow color- little
Ghee-1 tsp
Cashews-1 to 2 tbsp
Raisins-1 to 2 tbsp
Cooking camphor- a small pinch.(optional)

For the syrup
Sugar-1 cup
Water-1/2 cup
Cardamom-seeds from 2 pods(slightly crushed)

Method of Preparation:
1. Sieve besan in a bowl, add color to it and mix with water.The dough should be thick with a dripping consistency.
2. In a pan add sugar, water and cardamom seeds and bring it to half string consistency.Turn off heat.
3. Heat oil in a wok on medium heat and when hot pour two spoons of dough on a perforated ladle. Using a tsp tap the ladle so that the dough drips from the holes.See that the difference between the hot oil and ladle is between 1 to 2 inches.
4. Initially you will hear a shhhh sound which starts to fade slowly. When the sound has become feeble remove the boondis from wok and drain on paper towel.
5. Add it to the sugar syrup after 1 to 2 mins.Let it soak there.
6. Now remove all the dough from the perforated ladle completely(wipe off) and continue the process.
7. Heat ghee in a wok and fry the raisins and cashews in it.Drain and set aside.
8. Now once evrything is added to sugar syrup mix it well. Take about 1/2 of the bondi in a mixer and pulse it once or twice.
9. Add this back to the pan with whole boondis,cashews and raisins and give a good stir
10. When the boondi is warm and can be handled by hand, grease hands with ghee. Take little of the boondi and press it slightly to form round shape.
11. Set it aside on plate.Continue the process.
12. Once shaped let them cool completely, and then store in air tight box.

Notes:
1. The thickness of batter is very important. Too thin the batter will flow from the perforation resulting in thin threads instaed of boondi and too thick it wont drop from holes.
2. The distance between the oil and ladle should not be more. It will result in tails in the bhoondi.
3. Do not fry boondis till it is crisp..That is till whole shhh sound stops.It will turn boondi crispy which will not absorb sugar syrup..resulting in crispy ladoos instead of soft ones.
4. The oil should be properly hot.Too low heat will result in rubbery boondis and too hot will result in crispy/burned ones. If heat of oil increases reduce to low and then back to medium while starting the next batch.
5. The sugar syrup should be half thread consistency. ie a drop of sugar  on ur thumb and pressed with ur index finger should stretch half way and break. If sugar syrup reaches one thread consistency then add a little water and get it to half thread. Its very important to get it right else sugar will crystallize resulting in hard ladoos.
6. If the boondi mixture cools off while making ladoos it wont hold round shape. In that case slightly heat the mixture.
7. Initially rolled ladoos will be slightly moist...It will be fine once cooled.
8. While pulsing the boondi mixture do it very carefully. You should not end with a paste. It should just be little crushed.
9. Instead of adding raisins and cashews with mix you can decorate with one on each ladoo.
10. Cooking camphor should be used very little...It has very bold smell and using more of it will result in intolerable smell.Add little by little.
11. Perforated ladle should be wiped after each use. else it will leave tails in boondi.
12. While making boondi do move the ladle to avoid forming lumps.
13. I have used a little green color to get green boondis. In such case take about 1 to 2 tbsp of batter before adding color and then add the desired color.

Rava Ladoo

Uff rain, wind and cold has joined hands together and is visiting this part of US very frequently...Now their visit would have been enjoyed thoroughly if all I needed to do was sit on a couch..with a cup of tea and a book...Oo a pillow would also be fine...But with a 2 year around who always wants to see the ducks, squirrels and his friends around..this visit of three friends creates a pain which most of the moms would know..:) To elevate our moods during such days..sweets are the best...and a quick to make one like this is just perfect..Now lets enjoy some....

Rava/Semolina- 1 cup
Grated fresh coconut-1/2 cup
Sugar-3/4 cup
Ghee/clarif-2 tbsp
Cardamom seeds- from 2 pods
Cashew- few
Raisins- few

Method of Preparation:
1. Pulse the grated coconut twice to break it into small bits.
2. Fry the cashew and raisins in ghee and set aside.
3. Heat rava in a pan on medium low heat. Do stir the rava to avoid from burning.Once it turns light golden and nice aroma is filled in room turn of the heat.
4. Now mix all ingredients with rava along with slightly crushed cardamom and ghee.Take little mixture in hand and apply force with hand and roll it to lemon sized/smaller balls.
5. Set aside on plate. Continue the process for the whole mixture.Serve immediately or keep in a airtight jar. Stays well for 2 to 3 days since coconut is used.

Notes:
1. If you find it difficult to roll add little more ghee to the mixture.
2. You can also use little milk to roll it. In that case shelf life will be small.
3. Adding coconut decreases the shelf life.
4. You can avopid coconut on the whole and make ladoo with rava, ghee and nuts too.
5. Add sugar according to your preference. The amount here is for medium sweetness.
6. I used fine rava and super fine sugar. If using thicker version after roasting give the rava a quick pulse to make it fine.
7. Same with sugar. Pulse it if its big crystals.
8. Making it round with just ghee is a bit tough.You need to apply force(not too much) to set it.
9. Addition of ghee can be done to make round balls.

Dates Ball- A Guest Post

Hi friends..

Priya of Cook like Priya is one of the friends I got to meet through baking group..She is a lovely gal with a cute space where she has a variety of recipes.. When Priya contacted me for the guest post in her space as she is totally busy with her shifting...I agreed to help her...Since this is the first guest post in her space I thought of making a sweet...A simple and healthy preparation to indulge in..

Do visit her space for the delicious recipe...

Here is a recipe card visit Priya's space for the other one...

Fruit Salad

Do you believe in Good time and Bad time..hmmm I can hear some Yes and some Noooo...For me it was a Nooo until now...but boy was I wrong there...
These days Time has made me believe that its not "only Time" but its "Good time" and "Bad time"...and I am pretty sure that its bad time running for me.
Oh it all started 2 weeks back...A Wednesday night..My dear husband thought that it was perfect time to clean the not so problamatic drain with a chemical...so he took the unopened chemical and started to open the package...Poor me who was sitting on the couch...head buried in the laptop..took a glance thinking what on earth are you doing?...felt bad for he doing it alone and went to help...ok we pulled the chemical package with both hands..and thud and ahhhhh...that 3 liter bottle fell on my leg...Finally hus kept the bottle and was near me who was half scolding and half crying..and yes its not yet used..:)
Next day
Cooking got over pretty fast...thought about making a salad..Went to chop cucumbers..Started off with knife..then realized about taking pics and posting in blog...so thought a mandolin was perfect for this task(perfect shape for perfect picture)...started off and to my surprise sliced a part of thumb.. For a second felt that blood from whole body would drain...Anyways that din't happen..was left with a wounded thumb and loads of medicines and pain..
Finally today...
The thumb looks fine...kind of dried with slight pain..started off with my cooking...and tada next event...yup..Its a burn this time...Was frying some snack and oil burst to face...Got some decent marks and yes pain too...hopefully will remain for a year or two.:( Now how on earth will I not believe in "Bad Time"...
Hey today's recipe has nothing to do with time...Though it is something for which you really dont need any time...

Strawberry-3 nos
Watermelon-15 to 20 pieces(cubed)
Grapes-10 nos
Pineapple-5 to 6 pieces
Orange-1/2 piece(juiced)
Basil-5 to 6 leaves
Rosemary-little
Honey(if needed)

Method of Preparation:
1. Cut the fruits as needed
2. Drizzle honey if needed
3. Mix the orange juice basil and rosemary with fruits and serve.Feel free to use any fruits.