Vermicelli bird's nests - sweet dish for bird theme party

Prepared these cute little nests for my daughters bird theme birthday! They are so easy to make and taste delicious. It was loved by Kids and adults. I was glad that my first time experiment was very well liked. It looks so unique and innovative that some of my relatives could not stop drooling over these, asking recipe to impress in their parties :)

Lets to to the recipe without much adieu..

You can check the original recipe here. I followed the same, but added milk for cooking the vermicelli. Since cooking only in condensed milk left it very hard. So I softened it a little in milk. 

Ingredients

Vermicelli, crushed - 2 cup

Condensed milk - 100g

Butter - 2 tbsp

Dessicated coconut - ¼ cup

Cardamom powder - 1 tbsp

Rose water - 1 tbsp

Milk - half cup

For garnish:

Pistachio, Almonds

Instructions

Heat butter in a pan.Add vermicelli and roast till it turns golden brown.

Add condensed milk and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add milk and cook for 2 min.

Add desiccated coconut, cardamom powder and rose water. Mix well and cook for another 2 minutes.Remove from heat and let it cool slightly. Take 2 tbsp of mixture and form into a nest. Top with chopped nuts!

Besan laddoo

Sharing a lovely sweet for Diwali. This is such a soul satisfying sweet. Although I am on a perpetual weight loss plan, I simply cannot resist have a bite of these when they are still in stock ;)

Ingredients
3 cups besan
2 cups fine rava (sooji/samolina)
3 cups sugar
2 cups ghee
1 tablespoon cardamom  powder
½ cup raisins, dry fruits (optional)


Directions
Roast rava(sooji/semolina) on medium flame without ghee until it becomes very light and roasted aroma starts coming from the rava(sooji/semolina). Roast besan with ghee on slow flame until it becomes very light and slight change in colour (roast besan very patiently otherwise it will  taste really bad). Add rava(sooji/semolina)in it and mix it nicely …roast it again on low flame for 5 minutes. Turn off the gas after the mixture has a nice reddish color. When the mix is of the temperature where it can be handled, add the sugar into the roasted rava-besan ghee mixture. Add cardamom powder & raisins in it. Allow it to cool or until it becomes little hard for making ladoo. Make small ladu of this mixture. Enjoy!!

Cake Pops | Kids Birthday Party Idea

Happy 5th birthday dear blog and my love. .my daughter!  Yes they share their birthday month..just a week apart!  So you know how this blog is like a baby to me. And a sibling to my kiddo..helping me document her chirpings..her learnings.. .her tantrums..her activities which we love doing together!  And not to forget her very clever conversations!  

Kiddo and me together made these cake pops on her last birthday in Sydney.  Super excited as we always are.. had lotta fin making these and getting messy! She wanted us to make these again this year.. But being super busy in office and home..could not get myself to do it this time. Hope todo it soon! 

These aee really simple to make with no cooking involved.  Do give it a try with your kids..m sure ut will be fun! :)

Ingredients 

Any cake - crumble it ( i used chocolate cake )

Condensed milk / Milk Maid / Any frosting - 1- 2 tbsp ( depends on moistness of the cake )

Dark Chocolate - around 50 gms

Vegetable oil - 1 - 2 tsp ( one with very mild flavor )

Sprinkles / decorating

Lollipop sticks / fruit sticks

Method : 

Take cake in a wide bowl.Crumble the cake with your fingers such that it resembles coarse bread crumbs.To start with , add a tbsp of condensed milk to the crumbs. Mix it using your hands. Check if you are able to form a ball. If it is little dry, add some more condensed milk and make a dough. But be careful not to add too much and make it too soft.It should just hold shape

Divide the dough into small balls. Smoothen the surface by greasing your hands.

Cover n keep in freezer for abt 1-3 hours.

When its time to take out cake balls from fridge , prepare coating . Before you start melting chocolates keep all the things handy like sprinkles,stick,chocolate etc. Because decoration part has to be done quickly before chocolate coating hardens.

Cut dark chocolates to small pieces and melt it using double boiler method. i.e Fill a saucepan with water and keep it on stove to heat.Take chocolate pieces in another bowl and place it inside / above the saucepan.Take care that water doesn't enter into choco bowl .Now the from the heat of the inner saucepan chocolate gets melted .To it add oil , mix and bring to dropping consistency. 

Dip one end of the stick into the melted chocolate and insert gently to the cake balls. This will help the stick to adhere to cake balls. But do not pierce too deep or the cake ball may fall apart. Do for all the balls.

Now dip cake balls into chocolate coating. Swirl, rotate such that whole cake balls are covered well.Shake off gently side ways to remove extra coating.

Now quickly decorate the cake pops by sprinkling some sprinkles before chocolate dries off. My little one helped wth this step :)

Stick the cake pops to themocoal and allow them to dry. 

Once the chocolate is set , serve them . You can keep in fridge for a week and relish as required like any other chocolates .

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Mango Coconut fudge/burfi | Easy sweet recipe

Wish you a very happy holi dear friends. The colorful festival of Holi is celebrated on Phalgun Purnima which comes in February end or early March. Holi festival has an ancient origin and celebrates the triumph of 'good' over 'bad'. The colorful festival bridges the social gap and renew sweet relationships. On this day, people hug and wish each other 'Happy Holi'.

Holi celebration begins with lighting up of bonfire on the Holi eve. Numerous legends & stories associated with Holi celebration makes the festival more exuberant and vivid. People rub 'gulal' and 'abeer' on each others' faces and cheer up saying, "bura na maano Holi hai". Holi also gives a wonderful chance to send blessings and love to dear ones wrapped in a special Holi gifts.

Sharing a special sweet which you can make and relish with your loved once on this day. It is the Mango coconut barfi. With the sweetness of mango and the goodness of coconut, this is a sure treat for the tastebuds!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut fresh/frozen

½ cup milk

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup mango pulp (fresh or canned)

1 Tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Grind dry fruits (pista, kaju)

Preparation

§   Take a thick bottom pan, on low flame add the shredded coconut first and toast it until the coconut turns dry and gets a light brown color. 

§   The coconut gets burnt very fast so great caution has to be used while toasting this. The aroma that the coconut emits at this time is simply divine.

§   Add the milk, sugar and mango pulp and stir continuously on medium flame.

§   Add the ghee at regular intervals. After about 15-20 minutes the mixture starts becoming thick.

§   Now add the cardamom powder and mix thoroughly.

§   Grease a small plate and pour this mixture into it and even it on the top with a spoon or spatula so that it is about 0.5 inch thick. Sprinkle some dry fruits.

§   Cut into desired shapes 

Gond aata ladoo - healthy winter recipe

Hi friends. .as the mercury is dropping in this part of the world. .people are switching to foods that keep the body warm and provide the much needed nutrition for the bones.

These include.  Yummy carrot halwa..seasame ladoos..bajra khichdi..pakodas..and the all time hit gond ke ladoo. Gond Ke Ladoo, is a traditional Rajasthani sweet.'Gond' is the edible gum which is in crystal form in pearly yellowish translucent pieces of different sizes. This edible gum generates heat and that is why it is usually consumed in the winters. It comforts one as it helps to keep the body warm. Gond is fried in ghee, puffed up and added to roasted wheat flour to make Ladoos.

Prepared these over the weekend with mil. Here is the recipe :

Ingredients:

Wheat flour/ Atta, 1 1/4 cup

2tbsp rava

1tbsp besan

Edible Gum/Gond/Khatira- 3 Tablespoons

Powdered Sugar- 1/2 cup

Black pepper powder- 1/4 teaspoon

Cardamom Powder,-1/2 teaspoon

Ghee, 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Mixed Nuts (cashew, almonds and raisins)- 1cup

2tbsp coconut powder

Method:

1. Heat 1/4 cup of ghee in a pan, add edible gum and fry till it is puffed up. Remove it from the pan and then drain excess ghee and roughly break them to pieces with a rolling pin and set them aside.
2. In the same pan add 2 tablespoon of ghee and roast all the nuts for 1 minute or till they become nice brown. Set aside.
3. Now, on a low-medium flame, heat the remaining ghee and add the wheat flour and roast it, stirring continuously till the flour starts to change its color. Add the rava and besan and keep roasting for 2 mins.
4. Turn off the heat. Let it cool lightly so that it is comfortable to handle. 
5. To the above roasted flour, add the crushed edible gum,black pepper powder, nuts, powdered sugar, cardamom powder, . coconut powder and mix well. 
6. Take this mixture and shape them into ladoos of the size you want.

Ukadiche modak for Ganesh chaturthi | Maharashtrian modak

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the favorite festivals in maharashtra. Usually it is celebrated for 10 days. But now it also has flavors like 1 and half day, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days. This I came to know only after coming to Mumbai, coz earlier it always was 10 days at my native. There would be a Ganesha idol brought to home and the house decorated beautifully. My father loved making handmade lantern and decorating the place where Ganapati would be worshiped for those ten days. We kids enjoyed helping him J

The Ganesha idol is worshiped every morning and evening. The worship involves various offerings to the idol including flowers and durva. Ganesha is offered an offerings of 21 modaks, modak being his favorite! Aarti song is sung by all praising the lord and asking for his blessings. On the last day, the idol is taken in a procession to a large body of water such as a lake, river or the sea for immersion.

There is usually a common big celebration in most societies. A big pandal or shamiana  is erected and a huge Ganesha idol is brought. Various activities, like fun fare (aanand mela), competition for kids and adults, common feasts etc are organized in the society to celebrate Ganesh fest. This gives the society a common purpose and fosters unity.

Usually we make the fried Modaks for Ganesh chaturthi. You can check it here. http://lav-art-craft-food.blogspot.in/2012/10/modak-for-anant-chaturdashi.html?m=1 However MIL made different modaks this time. They are called ukadiche modak, meaning steamed modak.  We loved the variation! And it’s healthy too..since it has the goodness of jaggery (rich in iron), coconut and there is zero oil in it ! Forgot to mention..no maida or plain flour. These are made using rice flour.

Sharing the recipe for the same. Hope you too like it.

Ingredients:
For Stuffing:
1 cup Grated Coconut
1/2 cup Powdered Jaggery
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
For Outer Layer:
1 cup Rice Flour
1 cup Water or as needed
1 tsp Ghee
A pinch of salt

Method:
Combine the coconut and jaggery in a pan.Mix well and let the jaggery dissolves completely. Cook on a medium flame.
Stir continuously until you get a thick mixture. When it thickens add the cardamom powder and mix well. Remove from the flame and let it cool. Shape the mixture into round shape balls and set aside.

Add water, salt and a teaspoon of ghee in a saucepan . Bring the water to a rolling boil and turn off the flame.
Take the rice flour in a mixing bowl. Add the boiling water little by little to the flour and mix it well with a spatula.
Let it cool for 2 - 3 minutes. When it is still warm knead it well to make a soft dough. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky.
Grease your hands with some oil / ghee and divide the dough into round shape balls. Shape the dough ball into cup.
Place the coconut stuffing in the center and carefully pleat the edges.
Then gather all the pleats together in the center very carefully.
Pinch the together to seal it properly. Repeat the same procedure until all the dough finishes.
Arrange them on a steaming plates or idli plates and steam cook for 10 - 12 minutes. Your modaks are ready!

Tilkut Ladoo| Til Gud Ladoo | Sesame and Jaggery balls

Meethe Gud me mil gaya Til,

Udi Patang aur khil gaye Dil,

Jeevan me bani rahe Sukh aur Shanti,

Mubarak ho aapko Makar-Sankranti

"Makar Sankrati" or "Sankrat" is one of the major festivals in the state of Maharashtra and Rajasthan (It is also celebrated in other states with different names). The day is celebrated with some special Rajasthani delicacies and sweets such as pheeni (either with sweet milk or sugar syrup dipped), til-paati, gajak, kheer, ghevar, pakodi, puwa, and til-ladoo.

The ladies observe a kind of ritual in which they give any type of object (related to household, make-up or food) to 13 married women, we call it Terunda (13 things) . People give out many kind of small gifts such as til-gud (jaggery), fruits, dry khichadi, etc. to Brahmins or the needy ones. Kite flying is traditionally observed as a part of this festival. On this occasion the sky is filled with kites, and youngsters engage in kite contests trying to cut each other's strings.

Til Laddus are a traditional Marwadi/Maharastrian sweet made with Sesame seed, Jaggery and ghee. Served on various ocassions and festivals. This particular dessert is especially popular during winter months as sesame has heating properties. In Maharashta While exchanging til-gul as tokens of goodwill people greet each other with the words, "तिळगुळ घ्या आणि गोड गोड बोला/til-gul ghya, aani god god bola" meaning ‘Accept these tilguls and speak sweet words’. The underlying thought in the exchange of til-gul is to forget the past ill feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends.

Here comes the recipe. I like this type of ladoo better than the one where jaggery is melted in wok and then ladoos are formed.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Til

• 1 cup Jaggery

• 2 tbsp Ghee

Method:

Dry roast til/sesame till it turns slightly pink.  Chop the jaggery into small pieces. Grind both ingredients once til is cooled.

Add ghee and bind into small ladoos or just enjoy the tilkul as is. Easy peasy J

Coconut mawa laddu | Coconut balls with ricotta cheese | Coconut fudge

Ingredients:

Ricotta cheese - 2 cups (500 gm)

Sugar - 1 cup

Unsweetened dry desiccated coconut
Ghee or butter - 2 TBSP

Cardamom powder or vanilla - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

Grease a plate with ghee. I lined a 8" cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Take a thick bottomed vessel. Add butter or ghee and turn on the heat. Once the butter or ghee has melted, add ricotta cheese. Keep stirring on medium flame till it starts bubbling and spitting the water out(approx after 5-10 mins). Add the sugar and immediately add the coconut powder. Stir. They all come together in 3 - 5 minutes. When there is almost no liquid left and it makes a huge mass, add the flavoring if using and stir for the final time.Make them into balls when cool enough to handle. Garnish with some chopped nuts if desired or roll it over dry dessicated cocunut.

Alternately, you can pour it on to the grease plate or the parchment paper lined pan. The mixture won't fall like that of fudge. Take a wax paper and cover the entire surface with it. Flatten by pressing on the top of the wax paper. Let it set and cool. When completely cool, cut into desired shape and size.

Store in the refrigerator up to 1 week if it lasts that long!

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 47.

Chena poda | Indian cheese/paneer cake | kalakand | Healthy Dessert

Hi friends..sharing my firs attempt at chena poda..well loved by the kid and all:)

Recipe source: 

here and here

Ingredients

1 Cup home made cottage cheese (paneer)

3 tablespoons semolina

½ Cup Powdered Sugar 

½ teaspoon baking powder

5-6 cardamoms powdered

2 tablespoons raisins

5-6 cashew nuts chopped

5-6 pistachios sliced

2 tablespoons sugar for making caramel

Method for preparing cottage cheese

Ingredients

3 liters full cream milk

¼ cup lemon juice

Method

Boil the milk. Reduce the heat.

Add lemon juice to the boiled milk. Stir. The milk will curdle. Boil for a minute. Turn off the heat.

Put the curdled milk in a muslin cloth. Drain out the water.

Place the muslin bag with cottage cheese under the running tap.This will remove the sour whey. Squeeze out the water. Hang the muslin cloth for 15 minutes.

Method for preparing Chhena Poda

Transfer the cottage cheese to a plate. Mash well with hands till smooth. Add powdered sugar. Mix well. If the mixture feels too dry, add a teaspoon of milk.

Add semolina. Mix well. Cover and leave for 15 minutes.

In the mean time, take two tablespoons sugar in the baking tin, hold it over the flame. Turn off the heat when the sugar just begins to caramelize. Tilt the pan so that it spreads all over the base and sides evenly. Leave it to cool.

Knead the cottage cheese mixture again. Add powdered cardamom, raisins and cashews. Add baking powder. Mix well.

Put the mixture in the baking pan. Level the top.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 55 minutes or till the top turns brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Run a knife through the sides and invert it on the rack immediately. If delayed, the sugar in the base of the pan becomes hard and chhena poda sticks to the bottom.

Refrigerate when cold.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#43.

Sending this entry to Valli's Kids Delight" Healthy Desserts" happening at Cooking with Sapna.

Aate ka halwa | Wheat pudding | Healthy desserts

My little one loves this wheat sheera. So what better to share for the healthy desserts for kids theme...happy kid ..happy mummy :)

 Ingredients
1 cup wheat flour (aata)
1 cup sugar (the quantity can vary as per the sweet taste)
1 cup desi ghee (clarified butter)
1 cup water
1 cup of nuts cashews, almonds, golden raisins (optional)

Method
Heat the ghee in a non stick pan & keep the pan on medium flame
Keep all other ingredients handy as they need to be added quickly
Add the entire wheat flour to the heated ghee & stir quickly till the wheat flour turns golden brown (however be careful not to stir the wheat flour for long as it might start burning)
As soon as the flour turns golden, add the water & the sugar together to the flour & simultaneously stir
Once all the ingredients are nicely mixed, add the nuts & keep stirring.
The halwa is now ready to be served. Serve hot.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#43.

Sending this entry to Valli's Kids Delight" Healthy Desserts" happening at Cooking with Sapna.

Come, join us for Breakfast hosted by Valli

Modak for anant chaturdashi

Made these yummylicious modaks for anant chaturdashi. Anant Chaturdashi is generally the tenth or eleventh day after Ganesh Chaturthi, and all the Ganesh idols brought into homes and communities are immersed in the sea or nearby lakes and rivers.On this day, people travel to the waterfront with the idols, large and small, dancing and singing in large processions. Lord Ganesha is departed, only to be welcomed the next year with equal excitement.
We too celebrate ganesh festival every year for 10 days. It feels as if lord Ganesh has actually became a part of our family. We do pooja aarti in the morning and evening with all the family members and offer prasad.
My mom makes these modaks every year for ganesh fest and they would disappear in no time! Just love this stuffed sweet with crisp covering.

Ingredients:
For the dough:
Maida/ APF - 2cup
Olive oil - 1/2 cup (you can use any cooking oil or ghee)
Pinch of Salt

For The Filling:
Grated Coconut-1/2 cups
Sugar- 1 cups
Nuts of your choice(I used finely chopped almond)
Sultana/dried grapes - 1 tbsp
Sooji/ Rava-1 and half cup
Ghee-1 tbs
Cardamom Powder-1 tsp
cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
Oil- For Deep Frying

Procedure:
The Outer Dough:
In a bowl add oil, maida and salt, rub until it resembles bread crumbs.. Add water little by little to form a firm dough. Divide it into 21 equal portions. Cover and keep it aside.

For The Filling:
In a pan, heat ghee and roast sooji until golden. Take this sooji out in a bowl. Mix in the sugar,  Sliced nuts, cardamom powder and coconut powder. Divide it into 21 equal portions.

Preparing the Modak:
Roll a ball of dough into a thin circle. Place the one portion of the filling in the centre. Apply little milk with your fingers on the circumference. Gather the sides and bring them on top. Press them gently to form a conical structure at the top.
Heat oil. Add the prepared modaks and fry on medium low flame until it is little reddish from all sides. Drain oil and transfer to a plate. When cool store in airtight jar (if any remain!)

Sending this to Gayathri's walk down the memory lane event

Gujiya/Karanji with homemade mawa from ricotta cheese!

This one is my mom recipe and my favourit since I was a little kid. I just looove these gujiyas. These are made at our place mostly during diwali and some special occasions. My Mom makes these yummys and I would try to hide the box, so that it lasts long!!
I made the mawa/khoya which is used in this at home, it was so easy and came out really good. I used ricotta cheese for it.

These curls around the gujiya makes them look more beautiful, I learnt them from my aunt. My mom would not have the time and patience to do these, so everytime gujiyas were made, it was by job to do the curls, i didnt mind it, coz I so love these!
I have made a short video to show how these curls are made, it is my first attempt at a video, so plz ignore the follies!

Ingredients:
For the dough:
Maida/ APF - 2cup
Olive oil - 1/4 cup (you can use any cooking oil)
Pinch of Salt

                                                                                                    Homemade mawa/khoya

For The Filling:
Mawa-2 cups
Grated Coconut-2 cups
Sugar-2cups
Nuts of your choice(I used soaked and peeled almond, chopped finely)
Sooji/ Rava-1/4 cup (optional)
Ghee-1/2tbs
Cardamom Powder-1 tsp
cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
pinch of salt
Oil- For Deep Frying

Procedure:

To make the mawa:
For making mawa from ricotta cheese, just add 2 tsp ghee in a non stick pan and 250gm ricotta cheese. Keep stirring on medium flame for about 15 mins. The water from the cheese will evaporate and you will have a semi solid mawa ready

The Outer Dough:
In a bowl add oil, maida and salt, rub until it resembles bread crumbs.. Add water little by little to form a firm dough. Divide it into 15 equal portions. Cover and keep it aside.

For The Filling:
In a pan, heat ghee and roast sooji until golden. Take this sooji out in a bowl. Mix in the mawa, sugar,  Sliced nuts, cardamom powder and coconut powder. Divide it into 15 equal portions.

Preparing the Gujiyas:
Roll a ball of dough into a thin circle. Place the one portion of the filling on one side of the circle. Bring the other side over the filling, apply water on the margin and press the edges. You can curl the edges as I have, please refer to the video or you can cut it with a knife and press firmly.

Heat oil. Add the prepared gujiyas and fry on medium low flame until both the sides are golden. Drain oil and transfer to a plate. When cool store in airtight jar.



Sending this to:
Walk through the memory lane event by Gayathri,  guest hosted by Smitha


and
I am well stuffed event by Jagruti


Nivedhanams event Healthy food for healthy kids by Nithu



Gayathri's event tell your kitchen secret september