Simui-er Payesh...

An easy quick dessert that can be made in a jiffy is always my favorite. Simui-er payesh is one such dessert. A simple sweet dish that is very common in every Indian household. My Sejo-jethima (aunt) used to make the best simui-er payesh. I was and I'm still not fond of sweets. But the simui-er payesh prepared by my aunt was my favorite. She used to serve the payesh in a small bowl along with some perfectly puffed luchi or crispy triangle shaped parathas and a spicy curry. I remember how I used to dip the roti or paratha or luchi into some freshly made simui-er payesh by her. I miss her cooking so much.

Sugar free date walnut cake

Hi, I'm back after a hiatus. I took quite a long break from blogging and social media. During this time I have cooked a lot new dishes, dug deep into bread making and even managed to raise my first batch of sourdough starter, yet somehow I lacked the energy and enthusiasm to share it on social media. But during this worldwide Covid-scare and lockdown restrictions I felt an urge to connect with others and share my thoughts.

Rangalur bhaja puli..

Today I wish you all a happy Makar Sankranti. A harvesting festival, Makar Sankranti is also the oldest solstice festival, when Sun enters the zodiac sign Capricorn or Makar. So the name of this festival actually means the movement of Sun to Capricorn. During this time sun starts to move towards Northern hemisphere, making the days longer and warmer, marking end of winter and beginning of spring. From mid-December all the holy or auspicious activities are  prohibited among Hindus. Makar Sankranti also marks the beginning of auspicious activities. This particular festival is celebrated on a fixed date, 14th of January, and celebrated all around India majorly as a harvesting festival. Different parts of India celebrate this auspicious day under different names, Uttarayan, Lohri, Pongal, Poush Parbon etc.

Gajar halwa...

Hope you all have started the new year with a bang. Though I know its  a week late, but it's never late to wish you all a very happy new year.

It's the first post of this year and I think it's apt to begin with a sweet note. Hope this year I will be more regular on  putting up blog updates and sharing delicious recipes with you all.

Today I'm sharing a very popular dessert recipe, gajar halwa or carrot halwa, a famous sweet dish from North India. I make this very often at home, specially during winter when juicy red carrots are in season. The recipe is simple and requires only few ingredients. I use milk powder or grated mawa (unsweetened solidified milk) whichever available with me at the end to give the halwa a rich texture, this step though is optional.

Things needed to make Gajar Halwa:

(serves 2-3)

• Carrots (grated): 2 cups
• Whole milk: 1 and 1/2 cup
• Ghee: 1 tbsp
• Green cardamom: 2-3
• Sugar: 6-8 tbsp
• Milk powder: 3 tbsp
• Raisins: 15-20 (soaked in water)
• Almonds blanched and thinly sliced: 2 tbsp
• Pistachio blanched and thinly sliced: 1 tbsp

Steps of making Gajar Halwa:

1. Clean and wash the carrots. Peel the carrots and grate.

2. In a heavy bottom pan heat ghee, when hot add crushed green cardamoms. Cook for 1 min. Add the grated carrot. Mix well, cook over medium heat for 3-4 min, keep stirring.

3. Add warm milk and cook till the milk is almost dry. Keep stirring in between. Add sugar, start with 6 tablespoons of sugar, add more depending on your taste.

4. Add the milk powder. You can add unsweetened mawa (solidified milk) instead of milk powder. Mix well. Cook till the mixture dries, keep stirring. Add the sliced nuts and raisins.

5. Transfer to serving bowl, garnish with almonds and pistachio. This can be serve either hot or cold. I prefer mine hot.

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Mango Relish...

I know it seems like ages since I  last posted something on my blog. Our move from US to India  and the whole bit about getting things  back on the groove was one of the reason why I went into this hibernating mode. Thanks to my well wishers and friends who mailed or messaged me to inquire my well being and kept my morale up.

Langcha

Langcha

Langcha is a sweet. It originated in Shaktighar, West Bengal, India. It is made up of solidified milk (khoya/ mawa), home made cottage cheese  (chana), flour(moida). The ingredients are mixed together and fried and dipped in sugar syrup.

For more information about langcha visit this link  http://itiriti.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/biography-of-langcha-burdwan-or-krishnanagar/

The recipe I used today to make these langcha is my friend Pinki's. She is such a sweetheart, every time she tries something new she always shares with us. Thank you Pinki...

Ingredients for making Langcha:

Home made cottage cheese (Chana/chena): 200 gms
Solidified milk (Khoya/Mawa): 100 gms

Flour (Moida): 2 tbsp

Green cardamom (powdered): 4-5
Oil for frying
Ghee: 1 tbsp
Baking powder: 1/4tsp

For the sugar syrup:

Sugar: 2 cups
Water: 4 cups
Green cardamom:6-7

The steps of making langcha:

1.Take a heavy bottom pan, add water and sugar to make the sugar syrup. Keep the heat to medium and stir well. As the sugar dissolves completely and it boils reduce the heat. If you see any scums, discard that. Those are impurities. Break few green cardamoms and add to the syrup.

2. I used store bought khoya, so I first grated that for easy use, as it come as a hard cake. Mash the grated khoya till smooth on a clean dry plate or on the kitchen slab.

3. Similarly mash the chena till it is smooth. To know the steps for making home made chena go to this link http://colorandspices.blogspot.com/2012/08/chena-poda-sweet-dish-from-orissa.html

4. Mix together the khoya, chana, ghee, baking powder, cardamom powder and 2 tbsp flour. Use your palm to mix all these together. Mix till there is no lumps and the mixture does not stick to you finger. The dough will be grease. you will find your hand and the plate or kitchen slab quite greasy.

5. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and rest it for 10 mins. Make equal size round balls out of the dough. Now shape them into long cylinders, the shape of langcha. Roll the dough with your palms on a plate or kitchen slab to shape them evenly. Make sure that the diameter is even and smooth.

6. Take a kadai or pan, heat oil. When the oil is hot remove the pan from the heat or if you are using a gas oven just turn off the heat, wait for few minutes(1-2min). Add the langcha. Return the pan to heat, keep the heat to lowest possible temperature. Fry the langchas evenly till you get a dark brown color. The langcha will tend to float so keep them dipped in oil  turn for a even cooking. But do not over cook or burn them. As you will fry the langcha they will increase in size so either use a large pan or fry in small batches.

7. Take out the fried langcha on a paper towel lined plate, keep there for 30sec and dip them into hot sugar syrup. The syrup must be hot.

 8. Let it soak for 1hr. You can keep them in the syrup or you can take them out of the syrup and store as dry langcha. But I prefer mine to store in the sugar syrup.

Serve warm and enjoy it with your friends and family. Garnish with grated khoya or chpped dry fruits.

Sandesh

Sandesh a bengali sweet

Bengal is famous for its sweets (Misti). Sweet is an important part in bengali life, be it religious or social or personal celebration sweets always come first. It is a practice in bengali community (hindu or muslim) to distribute sweets during any festivities. The term used in bengali is 'Mukh-o-misti', it means to taste some sweets. There are special sweets which are made only during a particular time of the year, like during Sankranti (mid of January) different types of pithe are made. There are sweets for special occassions also, like chaler payes (rice pudding) is specially made to celebrate someone's birthday. In bengal if you are visiting someone the host will serve a plate of sweets along with tea and snacks, and the guest will bring a box of sweets for the host as well.

The main ingrdient in bengali sweets is chana (home made cottege cheese) and sugar or jaggery (seasonal) is used as sweetner. Sweets are made in different ways, deep fried or steamed or shallow fried. There is a huge variety of sweets found in bengal, rosogolla, pantua, sandesh, chanar jilipi, kalojam, komolabhog, chamcham, mihidana, seetabhog, malpua, misti doi....the list is endless.

Today I made some Sandesh. Sandesh is small sweets made from chana(homemade cottage cheese). The meaning of the word 'Sandesh' is news or message, may be it has derived from the practice of sending sweets along with messenger to deliver some good news. Sandesh is the oldest sweet dish recipe in India and believed to be originated in Bengal. Sandesh can be of different varieties, depending on the ingredients used or method of cooking or flavouring and stuffings are used. Sandesh is a very healthy food, one can take it as snack also. It is very good for children, as it contains protien(milk protein), carbohydrate. Sandesh can very soft or hard, smooth or granular in texture depending on how it has been made.

This time I did the simplest of them all, I made some chana, mashed it, then mixed it with sugar and shaped into round balls...and voila my sandeshs were ready.

Ingredients to make Sandesh:

• Milk: 1.2 ltr
• Lime juice: 3tbsp
• Powdered sugar: 1/2 cup
• Vanilla essence: 7-8drops
• Saffron starnds: few
• Warm milk: 1/4 cup
• Dry fruits: to garnish

How to make the sandesh:

1. Soak few saffron strands in warm milk in a bowl, cover the bowl and keep aside.

2. Chopp the dry fruits and keep aside.

3.Boil the milk in a heavy bottom pan. As the milk boils add the lime juice gradually and stir. The milk will curdle to make the chana. Strain the chana in a muslin cloth. Run cold water through the chana, this helps to wash out any flovour of lime in the chana as well keeps the chana soft. Tie the chana in the muslin cloth and hung it or keep it on a strainer for 1 hr, so that all the excess water will drain out.

4. Now take the chana in a plate and mash it with your palm for 3-4min.

5.Mix powdered sugar, vanilla essence to the chana, mix well. Here I must tell you one thing that the amount of sugar depends on your taste. So as you mix the sugar gradually to the chana and taste it and if needed add more sugar.

**Many of you have asked, while mixing the sugar the chana becomes too soft. Make sure the chana is properly drained and if you find it difficult to handle, then just cook for a little time on a non stick pan.

6. Make some round balls or any other shape of youe choice. If you have any mold you can use that also. Garnish with saffron soaked milk and chopped dry fruits.

[Note: Instead of using sugar you can also use sugar-free.]