Diwali Treats and the stories behind them

Hi friends,
Hope all of you had a fantastic Diwali and back again to your normal routine. I had a great one too. The past one week was too hectic. That's why I couldn't reply to any of your comments or upmdate my blog with a new post. Anyway, Thanks for your understanding.So, let me tell you about my diwali treats. This time I decided to do the sweets and snacks based on what I already had in the pantry. No special shopping.Then I went thru my favorite blogs and picked the recipes. Believe me...the list was huge. I had such a hard time in narrowing it down. Finally, I came up with 5 sweets and 1 snack item. They are:

Kesar Mawa Rolls:
I found this recipe from Sirisha who owns a great blog Ambrosia. This is the first time I tried a sweet with homemade khoya. I never knew that it was this easy. But I had a few pitfalls too. If you look at the original recipe you can see how the layers are distinct in color. But ,when I did mine i did not soak the saffron in milk for a long time. Moreover I guess mine needed a little more saffron. But the taste was great. A little like the cheesecake , a bit sticky to the palatte. This sweet laid the foundation for me to try the other khoya sweets with a better confidence in me.Thanks Sirisha for all your guidance thru the comments. Truly appreciate it. The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
2 cups Grated Khoya( To make this u need evaporated milk and 1 cup of full cream milk powder) 1/2 cup powdered sugar
4-5 Saffron Strands (dissolved in 1 tbsp warm milk)
1 tsp Elachi powder

Procedure:
First step is to make Khoya - Take 1 cup milk powder in a bowl and slowly add evaporated milk to it until it forms a smooth sticky dough. Freeze for 30 mts and then grate.This grate is called Mava. Combine the above Mava and powdered sugar in a heavy bottomed thick pan and cook on a slow flame stirring continuously till the sugar has dissolved and the moisture evaporated (10-12 mts).Remove from fire and divide the mixture into 2 equal parts.


Mix the elachi powder in one part to make the mava mixture and allow it to cool completely. Add the Saffron to the other part to make the Kesar mixture. Mix well and allo it to cool completely . Put the mava mixture between 2 plastic sheets and roll it to form a rectangle of 4"* 6" (i.e. Ur rolling pin is not directly on the mava mixture,but is on the top of the plastic sheet covering it).Roll out the Kesar in the same way.Place the Mava rectangle on a thin food wrap.Place the Kesar rectabgle on top of the mava rectangle.Carefully roll along with the food wrap taking care to see that no cracks are formed on the surface.Cover tightly and refrigerate till firm (30-40 mts) and then remove the plastic sheet .Cover completely with silver leaves(optional) and cut into slices.U may garnish each with slivered Pistachios........Delicious Mava Kesar Rolls ready :-))



Next is..... Mango Coconut Truffles:

The original recipe was for Mango coconut burfi. Actually the first time I saw this recipe was in Asha's blog and I bookmarked it. Later when I decided to make it for Diwali I saw that it was originally Viji's recipe. So I combined both by using canned mango pulp and fresh coconut. Check out Aroma of Asha's and vcuisine of Viji's versions.

I was following the recipe good, suddenly fate came in the form of my hubby. Out of no where he popped up to help me. When I was about to add sugar (1 1/2 cups) he stopped me at 1/2 a cup and said this would be perfect. He also gave me a big lecture on cooking with some common sense too. Finally I listened to him b'coz he had been my guru & critic in cooking. You know what happened in the end?

The burfi did not set. I could not make slices nor would it hold it shape as it did not have enough sugar in it. I even set it overnight in the fridge. Nothing much changed. My hubby said that we cannot serve it this way to the guests and he asked me to discard it. OMG! How can I do it? The taste was out of the world and the aroma was unbelievable. I had to save it somehow.

So, This is what I came up with. I greased my palms with ghee and made the mango burfi into mini balls. Then I rolled them in powdered sugar so that they don't stick to the serving dish. Finally I garnished with a bit of pistachio and also came up with a new name....Mango Coconut Truffles. I served it chilled.

You won't believe it. This was the super-hit item in the party. Everbody enjoyed it and never knew that something was wrong with it. And, I was really proud of myself to have used my common sense to save the dessert although it was ruined by Mr. Perfect.

Ingredients:
1 cup Mango pulp
1 cup coconut (I used fresh grated coconut)
½ cup milk powder
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cup sugar
Ghee 4 tsp (yes only 4 tsp!)
1 tsp elaichi powder
Pista powder for garnishing

Preparation:
Grease a small plate with 1 tsp ghee and keep it ready.Wash, peel the mangoes and cut into small chunks. Blend it to puree.Grate the coconut and keep it ready.

Cook mango pulp in a non-stick pan over a low flame stirring continuously for 2-3 mts. Since I don’t add any liquid to blend this, it took only 3 mts for me to solidify.Switch off the gas, add the milk powder, coconut and sugar and mix well.Switch on the stove and keep stirring for about 5-7 mts. Add 2 tsp ghee and elaichi powder. Once it forms into a mass like burfi texture, add the remaining ghee and pour into the greased plate. Sprinkle the pista powder on top of it. Leave it to cool for some time.

All along the preparation I was informing Viji ka about my mistakes. So, she took pity on me and emailed me her Almond peda recipe just for me although she hadn't posted it in her blog yet.I was so happy to see the simplicity of the recipe . So the next sweet was almond peda.

Almond Pista Peda:

Here is another recipe that I got from Viji. It was so easy to prepare and it turned out really good. I did it without any disturbances as I was alone. Using my knowledge of handling khoya when I did mawa kesar rolls i handled this like a pro.

Everyone thought that it was store-bought. I did not make plumpy pedas as Viji's as I had a lots of sweets and didn't want people to feel full with just one. (All the sweets were done for the Diwali party we had at our friends place. It was not a potluck. Infact the dinner was ordered from outside. but I just made these to share it with my friends and all of you.





Gulab Jamuns:

I made this with the MTR mix. Most of you might think what's so special about doing jamons with mix. But you what? So many things matters. The jamons should be the perfect shape, fried to the right consistency, soaked enough in the sugar syrup and all that. I've done jamuns so many times in the past and it had always been a success. But this time....OOPS. It went wrong.I was already late for Kavin's gym classes. So I fried the jamuns and dropped them in hot sugar syrup. I mean really hot syrup. With 10 to 15 mins the jamons absorbed the syrup and they looked supersoft and spongy. In my mind I was imagining all the compliments I was going to get from my hubby.

After that I left for the classes. On my return, I tried to tranfer the jamons to a serving bowl. Alas, the disaster happened. All the jamons started loosing their shape and just melted just like that and the I ended up in one big mess. I was so mad. I wanted to scream at myself for being so idiotic. I couldn't fix it at all. I tried saving a few but it wasn't that great. I couldn't save it in anyway. With a heavy heart I threw away everything and did a fresh batch taking enough care all the way through. This out turned perfectly good and it made up my heart for the jamons I lost. So, next time guys...don't think jamons from mixes are damn easy. Everything has to be done in a certain way to get it right.

Next was...Chocolate Pista Rolls from Viji's:

I know, I have done 3 of her recipes this time. I wanted to try something else, but the chocolate had got me pinned to it. I had no other go. This also turned out great and I also shapped them into balls and placed the pista stuffing inside.

Also, I did the chocolate khoya once again and rolled them with the plain khoya to make a marbled effect. Altogether it was good and it was specially "B"'s fav. For the original recipe go here.

Ingredients:
Khoya/Unsweetened Gova - 1 cup
Full cream milk powder 1 cup
Condensed Milk ½ cup (Milk maid)

Powdered sugar ½ cup
Cadbury’s coco powder 3 tbsp
Pista powder 4 tbsp
1 tsp ghee to grease your hand

Procedure:
Grate the Khoya and mix it with milk powder, milk maid and sugar and boil it at medium temperature. In 5-6 minutes, it will form like dough. Remove 40% of it to a plate and add pista powder to it. Grease your hand with ghee and mix well. Roll this into cylindrical shape and leave it the fridge for 15 minutes.With the remaining 60% add 3 tbsp of coco powder and greasing your hand with ghee mix well. Roll this into a rectangle – the height must be the same length of pista roll. Keep the pista roll on one end and roll it tightly with the choco roll. Refrigerate it for 15-20 minutes. Then slice it. That’s it.

Pottukadalai Murukku:

It's been years since I made this. So, I had a hard time in searching for the murukku aachu. Finally when I found it ,the star plate was stuck to the aachu. I couldn't change anyother plate whatsoever. That's why I did only one item this time.

This is my friend's Valli Meyyapan's recipe. She is not a blogger but is a good cook. We were neighbours when we were in Michigan. This recipe of hers has always been a hit in my house. Hope you like it too.








Diwali Breakfast:

Usually we have idlli and brinjal gosthu for our diwali breakfast. But this time I donno , I couldn't find time to get the batter done. My hubby was a little disappointed with that b'coz this is what he had been eating traditionally on every diwali for as long as he could remember. So, I had to do something that is equally good.Luckily I found the 'Rava Dosa' recipe from Prema's cookbook.

Thanks to her, my hubby really really enjoyed it so much that he kept eating it in jet speed not allowing me to take even one pic. Finally I took one, but by that time the chutney was all gone. Still he finished it off with some sugar. I just got to taste just one piece of it. But I was glad that it made up for the idlli-gosthu breakfast.Thanks Prema once again. (The picture is not that great. But it tasted so good. Will update this post with a good pic soon).


Anyhow, the celebration was great and all the guests enjoyed everything. I was also satisfied with the net result although I had a little bit of downfalls here and there. I know, that it is a long post. Just wanted to share with you what all I went thru in the process of preparing everything. Sorry for boring you guys. Will continue with my normal posts and reply back to all of your comments soon. Thank you all for inspiring my Diwali. I had so many other items on the list, but didn't find time. Will do it all for the next festival.

Basandhi

If I have to choose one dessert that I love next to chocolate, then that it would be Basandhi. After coming to U.S, it was my friend Nandhini who used to prepare this sweet for me. But after her delivery I really couldn't disturb her. So, I had been longing for this a very long time.

Atlast, when I went to India I tried to get it from krishna sweets ,but they were always out of stock. Finally, my perima took pity on me and made me this awesome sweet. Oh! what can I say....It was lip smacking good. Before I could take a picture everyone grabbed their cups and took off. Atlast, I managed to get hold of my sister's cup and here it is the cup of basandhi I enjoyed every bite.

Ingredients:
Whole milk- 1 lt
sugar- 3/4 cup(as needed)
elachi- 2 (crushed)
Powdered nuts- optional
saffron- for garnish

Procedure:
Heat milk in a thick bottomed vessel. When it is completely heated up add required sugar, keep the flame on medium low and allow layers of fat to form on top. Keep on pushing the layers of fat aside gently. You have to keep on doing this until the milk reduces 70%. It requires a lot of patience to do this. But it's worth the effort. Finally, mix in the malai and garnish with nuts and saffron. You are in for a yummy treat.

This has been overdue for quiet sometime. Yes, it is my MeMe. Shobila had tagged me for this. I'm really sorry for taking such a long time. I promised a sweet dish with this meme , so I dedicate this basandhi for you.

1. I'm a bachelor degree holder, married and have a 3 year old son.
2. I learnt the basics of cooking from my hubby. But I have always enjoyed watching cook shows even when I was very little.
3. I'm an emotional person and can cry for just about anything.
4. I'm addicted to chocolates and love sweets. Although I'm a mom, my hubby always keeps a watch over me for eating sweets.
5. I'm a classical dancer, but now I don't dance much b'coz I'm scared that I would break the floor.
6.I love surfing the net and I don't realise the time flying by when I'm with my laptop. I get backlogged in my work b'coz of this and I hurry in the last minute to get things done before my hubby arrives.
7. Planning parties is my favorite thing to do. I love going to parties and hosting them as well.

Seem Pal

Hi Friends,
wondering why I'm here before Sep 6th? Actually, I came home a week back. My vacation kinda ended short. Due to some official work my hubby rescheduled my tickets and within 5 days of notice I got ready to leave. After coming back, I felt very home-sick and moody. Anyway, I just got out of it and I'm slowly getting used to my routines.

Oh my! Oh my! How many posts have I missed? Great to see my friends (asha, viji, sia, prema, indosungod, bharathy, mandira, richa, Inji pennu, sharmi and sukanya) holding awards. HEARTY CONGRATS to all of them.

I was also thrilled to see an award waiting for me . It was really sooo sweet of Richa to pass me on the "Rockin Girl Blogger" award. Thanks Richa, you really lifted my spirits and gave me such an encouragement. I have no words to say except, "THANKS" again.
I would like to pass this award to my other friends too. You guys rock too!!!

Aruna- Mistress of spice
Chandrika- Akshayapatra
Chinni- Andhra Kitchen
Pravs-Simply Spicy
Revathi-En Ulagam
Seema- Recipe Junction
Suma- veggie platter
Sukanya- hot and sweet bowl
Sumitha- kitchen wonders
Trupti- spice who loved me
Surya Hith-Healthy n Spicy

Although some of my fellow bloggers have already won these awards, I really want to give the "Inspirational Blogger Award" to:
Asha of Foodie's hope
Richa of As dear as salt
Inji Pennu
Sia of spice corner and
Prema of My cookbook

Thank You gals for everything. I hold a place in blogsphere b'coz of you guys. I also want to take this opportunity to thank my blog visitors who leave kind comments and encourage me more & more. A big thanks again.

Ok Ok. Now it's party time. Let's celebrate with a sweet dish called SeemPal.
Wondering what kind of name this is? Actually, it is the the milk that the cow lactates for atleast 3 days after the calf is born.
This milk is high in protien and has tons of nutrients in it.
It is similar to the colostrum. I used to have this often in my childhood.
Lucky me, I got a chance to have this dish again during my India trip.







This dish looks and tastes like flan but it has no eggs in it.
It is steam cooked and can be eaten hot or cold. But most of the people like it chilled. Me too. So, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
seempal- 1 lt
sukku- 2gm
elachi- 1
cow's milk- 400ml
jaggery- 1/2kg



Procedure:
Heat jaggery with very little water , decan it and use it according to taste. Mix this with seempal, cow's milk, elachi and sukku. Pour this mixture into a vessel till it reachesthe 3/4 th level. Careful not the pour the mixture upto the brim , as the milk will come up during the steaming process. Keep this vessel in the cooker with some water in it. Cook for one whistle. When the pressure is gone you can take it out, rest for 5 to 10 mins and start making slices. I used a ice-cream scoop for my plate. It tastes heavenly when it is chilled for atleast 6 hours.
Here is the bottom view of seempal. You can slice-off the bottom portion if you don't want the sukku and elachi in your mouth. Enjoy!!!!

Mor Kuzhambu

This is a south-indian vegetarian gravy that is served with plain rice. Any vegetable like brinjal, white pumpkin, sepan kizhangu, potato or even vadai can be used for this gravy.

Ingredients:
yogurt- 1 1/2 cups
turmeric- 1/2 tsp
white pumpkin- 1 cup(chopped, cooked)
grind:
coconut-1/4 cup
ginger- 1" piece
jeera- 1 tsp
channa dal- 1tsp
corriander seeds- 1tsp
green chillies-4

Procedure:
Boil vegetable with turmeric and salt. set aside. Beat yogurt ,turmeric powder and salt until well blended. Grind everything from coconut to chillies. Mix this paste with yogurt mixture. Bring this just to a boil. Do not boil it or over heat it as the curd might curddle. Switch off gas and add the boiled vegetable. Check for seasonings. Heat oil in kadai and fry mustard seeds,hing, red chillies and curry leaves.

Pista Pal Khova

Milk sweets are one of my favorites. This sweet 'pal khova' requires a lot of patience. But the end result is really worth it. Usually, pal khova can be eaten as it is. But here I used some pista nuts which I added to the khova just before itwas done. I have to say.... it tasted AWESOME. The milk, sugar, nuts made an excellent combination. Got to try it to experience the taste.

Ingredients:
Milk- 1/2 lt
sugar- as required
Pista- 2 tsp (chopped)
saffron- for garnish
Patience- tons

Procedure:
Heat milk on medium to high flame until the milk reduces to 1/4th stage. Add sugar and continue to cook until the khova starts to leave the sides of pan. add 1 tsp ghee and nuts . stir well. Remove from pan and pour in cup. Garnish as desired.

Rasmalai

Rasmalai is my favorite sweet. I'm a big fan of Krishna Sweets Rasamalai. I miss that sooooo much. Although, I get this sweet here in Atlanta... It's just not the same. This short cut recipe is much better than the store bought ones. Try it for yourself. You will surely love it.

Ingredients:
Rasagullas: 1 tin
heavy whipping cream-1/2 pint
sugar- according to taste
chopped nuts-pista
saffron-1/2 tsp
cardomom powder-1/4 tsp
yellow food color -optional

Procedure:
Pour the cream into the dessert bowl. Add required sugar,nuts,saffron and cardamom powder and mix until sugar completely dissolves. Drain all the syrup from the rasagulla tin. Take a rasagulla and squeeze out all the sugar syrup from it, by pressing it in between your palms. Do the same for all the rasagulla balls. slide them into the cream. refrigerate. Allow atleast 12 hours for the rasagulla balls to soak up the milk.