I love sweets!

Mix together:

Maida - ½ cup

Cornflour - 1 tsp

Powdered sugar - 1 tbsp

Cumin powder – a pinch

Baking powder - a pinch

Add ½ cup water gradually & make a smooth batter of coating consistency.

Heat oil in a kadai & dip the mould in hot oil.

Remove from the oil & wait for a few secs.

Dip upto half the mould into the batter, taking care that the mould is coated properly with the batter.

Dip the mould in hot oil.

As the cookie cooks. Loosen it lighty with a fork & fry till golden brown in colour.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Precautions:

The mould needs to be dipped into the hot oil before dipping into the batter so that the batter coats the mould evenly.

The mould should not be too hot when dipping into the batter as the batter will start cooking instantly.

Dry dates - 100 gms (chop)

Milk - 1 litre + 1 cup

Nuts - to garnish

Soak dates in 1 cup of hot milk for minimum 1 hr & liquidise.

Boil the remaining milk & add this.

Go on stirring on a low flame till it becomes very thick.

Finally, MW it for a few mts to make it a little dry.

Spread on a plate & garnish.

Though a seemingly simple sweet, it has to be prepared very carefully, to avoid becoming hard & leathery.

White bread slices - 10-12

Milk - ½ cup

Ghee - 200 gms

Sugar - 250 gms

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Almonds - 8-10 (blanched & sliced)

Chironji - 1 tbsp

Rose water - ½ tsp (optional)

Soak bread in milk.

Remove & mash to a fine paste.

Now add back necessary milk to make a dough.

The dough must be soft.

Add nuts, a little sugar & cardamom powder .

Combine nuts & form into small balls.

This is the most important step – roll very lightly, without applying pressure to avoid the middle portion becoming hard.

Deep fry in ghe till brown.

Prepare syrup with sugar & 1 cup of water.

Add fried bread jamuns & keep on fire till syrup starts cooking again.

Simmer on very low fire for the jamuns to absorb the syrup & soak well.

Take off fire, cool & sprinkle rose water.

Serve hot bread gulab jamuns with cold vanilla icecream or chilled rabdi.

Now, apple flavoured oats sachets are available in India. Either that or the Apple & cinnamon sachets available abroad can be used.
If not any of the above, use plain oats with spices of your preference like cardamom powder, saffron etc.

Apple flavoured sachts - 2
Or
Oats - ½ cup, heaped

Freshly grated apple - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 cup ( more or less to your taste)

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Heat a kadai & add ghee.

Roast first oats for a few mts & then add apple.

Fry for a few more mts & add ½ cup of water.

When the oats gets cooked, add sugar.

Boil first & then start simmering.

Cook till the mass leaves the sides of the vessel.

Apple flavour is best left, undisturbed.

But you can add cardamom powder, saffron etc if you like.
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Lapsi - 1 cup

Finely chopped jackfruit - 1 cup (more by choice)

Jaggery - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Grated fresh coconut - ½ cup

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Fry lapsi in 2 sp ghee on a low flame till flavour comes.

Pressurise with 3 cups of water, for 10 mts, after the first whistle comes.

Cool, open & add jackfruit pieces.

Boil for 5 mts & add jaggery & sugar.

Go on stirring, gradually adding the rest of the ghee, reserving 2 tsp.

Remove, when it starts leaving the side of the vessel.

Fry the coconut in the ghee to golden colour & add.

No flavouring is necessary.
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Easy Banana-Sugar Appam:

Last week, I went to a cookery demonstration in Dakshin in Park Sheraton. This was called Banana Dosa & made with jaggery. I tried with sugar successfully. I will try with jaggery also & post it tomorrow in the same recipe.
Very ripe bananas are ideal – any variety, adjust sugar accordingly.
Peel & grate bananas.

Banana pulp - 1 cup

Sugar - ¾ cup

Rice flour - ½ cup

Maida - ¼ cup

Chopped cashews & raisins - 2 tbsp, each

Mix all ingredients with hand or hand whisk.

The consistency should be as for Urad dhal vadai.
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Make appams by shallow frying in Paniyara Chatti or Appa karal.
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Or, drop tablespoonfuls in a non-stick tava & shallow fry.
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Tips:

The flame must be low; otherwise, the mixture being fruit-sugar combination, will get burnt fast.

The consistency being thick, I preferred to drop it by hand.

A mixture of ghee-oil gives the best taste.

Banana-Jaggery:
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I have already given
Pal Kozukkattai

This is simpler & jiffy. Idiyappam flour can be successfully used.

Processed rice flour - 1 cup

Water - 1 cup (add a pinch of salt + 2 tsp sugar)

Milk - 3-4 cups

Jaggery - ¾ 1 cup

Cardamom powder - a pinch

Boil water & add rice flour in one stroke.

Remove & whisk very well.

A food processor with plastic blades or dough kneader can do this very well.

The dough should be very soft & uniform.

Make marble size balls.

Boil milk & add the balls gradually, making sure, boiling continues, steadily.

After some time, the balls will start floating when cooked.

In the meanwhile, add jaggery to ¼ cup water & simmer to boil well.

When it becomes a little syrupy, add to the milk mixture on a low flame ( to prevent curdling).

Do not boil, simmer for 2-3 mts & remove.

Add cardamom powder.

Servbe hot or at room temperature.
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The same can be prpared with milk+sugar combination, adding sugar & switching off immediately. A tbsp of condensed milk, added, enhances the taste.
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Using the food prcessor & pressure cooker, helps make Rosogullas, the easy way!

Milk - 1 litre (can be 2% or 3% fat also)

Lime juice or vinegar - 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp water.

Sugar - 2 cups

Water - 5-6 cups

Boil milk, stirring.

Add the mixture of lime juice and water, gradually in teaspoons.

When the mixture breaks & clear water can be seen, switch off the stove & do either of the following to get soft paneer:

Keep ice 15-20 cubes ready & add to the mixture
OR
Transfer to a muslin cloth & show it under running tap water to cool it thoroughly.

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The mass should be thoroughly cooled.

Squeeze very well to remove water completely.

Knead it with the plastic blade of the food processor in Speed 1

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It becomes a very soft dough.



Those who do noot have a FP, wrap it in 2,3 layers of soft cloth & knead on a plat, using very gentle pressure.
Or
Use the 2 dough kneading blades of a handmixer.
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Divide into 12 balls.

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Continued in the next post-----

If you do not have a big pressure pan, it is advisable to use a pressure cooker.
The rosogullas are round only then.
In a pressure pan or cooker, boil together water & sugar.

When it starts boiling, add balls, close the pan and keep the weight.

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Lower the stove when the first whistle comes & cook for only 7 mts.

Take the pan to the kitchen sink & keep under the open tap for 5 mts.

The pressure will be released completely.

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Open, transfer to a bowl.

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Cool and refrigerate. Soaking overnight in syrup gives a better quality.
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Friends, I made rosogullas thus and sent them to a friend's house. They would not believe, this was home-made but thought I had sent them a batch from Calcutta!

She suggested using Bansi Ravai, since it takes less oil to come out grainy. If not available, Bombay rava can be used.
This is very suitable for prasad for pujas.

Gram dhal - ½ cup (soak for 1 hour with 2 cups of water and pressurise till soft, not mushy)

Bansi rava - ½ cup

Sugar - ½ cup

Freshly grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Ghee - 4 tbsp

Honey - 2-3 tbsp

Ripe bananas - 2 small, chopped

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Raisins & casewnuts - 1 tbsp each

Heat 1 tbsp ghee & fry cashews & raisins.

Set aside & ad d 1 more tbsp of ghee.

Add bansi rava & fry on a low heat till pink.

Add 1 cup of hot water & simmer.

When rava is well cooked, add strained cooked gram dhal, sugar & rest of the ghee.

Simmer, stirring till the mass thickens.

Add coconut, honey, cardamom powder & bananas.

Mix well, remove & add cashews & raisins.
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This is an ideal sweet for navarathri.