Oriyarasoi is on twitter !

Showing posts with label desserts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label desserts. Show all posts

Monday, August 28, 2017

Couscous Honey Laddoo

The lamps are alight in most parts of the country as people welcome Vinayaka, the Hindu God of wisdom. At the same time, another part of the country has gone up in flames over yet overweight self-styled God. No, wait ! He calls himself just a 'Messenger of God' or MSG but happens to be no less toxic than the Chinese seasoning which goes by the same name. And we have good reason to stay away from both of them. Did you just ask "Why"?? Horrors. Aren't we taught to keep quite and put our brains in the cold storage lest our entire 'khandaan' loses it's olfactory powers ?

I often keep wondering about that much abused joke wherein a bunch of scientists discuss the price of the brains pickled in formaldehyde. Had the joke been about nationalities instead of personalities, the Indian specimens would surely have made it to the top !! Shouldn't we blast off of few of these morons to space and monitor if their brains show sign of heightened activity in zero gravity ? or maybe we shouldn't . Who know some aliens might just discover our much guarded secrets !! Woh kehte hain na, 'ghar ki baat agar ghar mein hi rahe......'.

Sadly, everyone knows that this madness is going to continue. No matter of ranting and raving on the part of people like 'us' will change the reality at the grass root level. Where ever people are hungry, needy or just plain desperate, some uncanny asshole is going to come along with fake promises of showing them the right path and delivering them from their misery. And every time people will fall for it,  and end up surrendering their brains and even more. And vested interests will ensure that this cycle of shame continues to run smoothly. Well greased as it is. With their greed.

This was not the preamble that I had initially planned for my first post of the festive season. Somehow I tried to push back those images to the back of my mind and every time they kept coming back. Had to get this out of the system. Hope it makes you sit back and ruminate for a few minutes on your feelings about religion. Maybe it is time that we stop looking at others and start looking into our souls for the answers. After all, that is where it all started.

Today's recipe is just a extension of my 'Eat Healthy' journey. Laddoos are an integral part of any Indian wedding or festival . But since they come loaded with sugar and ghee, I decided to make my own 'guiltfree version'. Couscous is loaded with fiber and an excellent medium for making a healthy version.

Read on for the recipe -


















Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 cup pearl couscous
  • 3-4 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp besan
  • 1 tsp ghee
  • 2 tbsp coarsely chopped rose petals 
  • silver foil for garnish (optional)



Preparation - Bring 1 2/3 cups of water to boil in a saucepan.

Toss in the couscous and cook on a medium flame till it is still chewy ( a few degrees less than al-dente). Keep the couscous covered for 10 mins.

Heat the ghee in a wok. Add the besan and rose petals and fry till the besan turns fragrant.

Toss in the couscous and cook for 3-4 mins. Add the honey and cook for another 3-4 mins till it kind of starts getting sticky.

Remove from the flame .

Grease your palms with a little ghee. Pinch out small portions and roll into tight balls.

Garnish with the silver foil. Serve warm.

















Enjoy these guiltfree laddoos anyday and anytime !!

And don't forget to ruminate over these lines :)



Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Parwal ke Meethey Paan

Just a few days back, my Instagram account (@swetabiswal) crossed the 1K mark . Nothing great about the numbers when compared to successful Instagrammers yet it is a personal milestone which i felt like celebrating. And going by the Indian way, we celebrate special occasions with something sweet . "Kuch meetha ho jaye" is what we say.Around the same time, I was running out of ideas to use up a big batch of 'parwal' that had arrived from Odisha. After exhausting all the savory dishes, I decided to make something sweet of out this summer vegetable.

Parwal ka meetha is a kind of sweet made from pointed gourd. Very popular in the Northern parts of India, it is something delightful and different. But not as daringly different as I like. When it comes to experimental cooking, I love to break all the rules. Hence, a further twist to this already different recipe.

Combining the desserts and meetha paan into one, the 'Parwal ke meethey paan' is not just a complete dessert in itself but so refreshingly different. Plus it is easy to prepare and stays good for almost a week. Tastes best when served chilled so make sure to prepare a big batch in advance before inviting guests to your home.

Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -
  • 10-12 Parwal/Potolo/Pointed Gourd
For stuffing -
  • 100 gm mawa
  • 1/2 cup mixed dry fruits 
  • 3 tsp gulkand 
  • 2 tsp mukhwas
  • 2-3 tsp tutti-frutti
For the syrup -
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 3-4 betel leaves
  • few drops of edible green color
For final garnishing -
  • 2 tsp mukhwas
  • silver foil (optional)

Preparation - Peel the pointed gourd and make a slit along the length. Remove the pith.

Boil water in a saucepan. Once it gets to a full boil, dunk the pointed gourd and let it boil for 3 mins.

Around the same time, prepare the betel flavored sugar syrup. Take 3/4 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 4 betel leaves and the edible food color in a saucepan. Stir on a medium flame it the sugar is dissolved and the syrup thickens.

Strain the pointed gourd and add it to the flavored sugar syrup. Let it boil till soft. 

Remove from flame, strain the syrup and let the vegetables cool down. 

Put a non-stick pan on the burner. Add the crumbled mawa and keep stirring it constantly till it gets a brown hue.

Remove and mix in the rest of the ingredients (mentioned under stuffing).

Stuff a spoonful or so of the mixture into the parwal and garnish with mukhwas and/or silver foil.






















Put in the fridge for an hour or two.

Serve chilled .




Monday, March 13, 2017

Sugarfree Thandai Shrikhand ( A very Happy Holi to Everyone :) )

"Gulal hai Bhaiya ?"

"Kaunsa color chahiye Maam ?"

"Pink aur Green de dijiye ."

"Kaunse flavour mein doon ?"

"Excuse me."

"Madam kaunsa flavour chahiye ? Jasmine, mogra, gulab ya chandan ?"

I was almost tempted to ask "bas itni hai ? Aur char paanch flavor bhi rakhna tha na Bhaiya ". But better sense prevailed and I asked him to give whatever he wanted as I had to wind up last minute Holi shopping and get back home to prepare dinner.

However the next stall had an ever greater surprise in store. Gone are the days when we were happy with those pichkaris that cost around 10 bucks each. The salesman duly presented me with the latest water gun which had a 2 liter water storage tank attached to it. And even before I could close my jaw which had dropped to threatening levels, yet another specimen was placed in my hands. This one could spray three different colors. And predictably, this 'state of the art' did not come cheap. Each gun was marked above Rs 1000.

Anticipating another tantrum, I quickly placed them back on the makeshift counter and dragged the kid to another stall. His protests quickly drowned out as I handed him a 'Chota Bheem' gun which was priced much more reasonably.

The final stop happened to be the local supermarket. I needed a few things for preparing desserts for the next day. One look at the shelves revealed endless bottles of Thandai jostling for space with a variety of bottled beverages and tinned/canned sweets. A little voice in my head reminded me about my health/fitness resolutions. And that was the moment when I decided to ditch my plans for making kheer. I wanted to prepare something that captured the essence of the festival but without piling on the calories.

Thandai Shrikhand seemed to the prefect answer to my dilemma. I was anyways preparing Thandai for Holi so it was a smart choice to use some of the extract to flavor a home made Shrikhand sweetened with a Zero calorie sweetener like Sugarfree Natura. As I had predicted, none of my guests could guess that it was a sugarfree dessert.

Read on for the recipe -
























Preparation Time - 15 mins ( plus overnight standby time for the hung curd )

Ingredients -
  • 500 ml curd
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 4 almonds
  • 3 cashews
  • 1/2 tsp khuskhus
  • 1/2 tsp watermelon seeds
  • 1/2 pinch fennel
  • 1 green cardamon
  • 4-5 peppercorns
  • a few strands of saffron
  • a few drops of rose syrup
  • 3 tbsp Sugarfree Natura ( or as per taste )

For garnishing -
  • Chopped pistachios
  • dried rose petals
  • rose syrup
  • saffron strands

Preparation - Strain the curd overnight using a muslin cloth. This will remove all the excess water from it.

Soak the almonds, cashews, khuskhus and watermelon seeds together. (remove the almond skin once it is soaked)

Dry roast the peppercorns, fennel and cardamom till it gives off a fragrance.

Transfer the roasted spices to a grinder jar and powder them as finely as possible. Add all the soaked nuts to the same jar. Grind everything till it becomes a fine paste. [ Add 2-3 tsp milk to thin the consistency if it is getting too difficult to grind. ]

Heat the milk in a saucepan. Add the saffron strands to the still hot milk. Once it cools down to room temperature, add the nuts and spices paste along with rose syrup to it. Let it stand for 1 hour.

Use a muslin cloth to strain the extract into another vessel.

Transfer the hung curd, thandai extract and the sugarfree into a mixing bowl. Whisk together to get a uniform mixture. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Serve into small dessert bowls and garnish with rose petals, pistachios and saffron strands.

Serve .















Thursday, January 12, 2017

Buckwheat and Sesame Halwa ( Makar Sankranti Collab )

 IMP - Buckwheat and Sesame Halwa is an original recipe created by the blogger and has been published for the first time on oriyarasoi.com.

Sugarcane. Freshly harvested rice. Sesame seeds. Jaggery. A whole lot of ingredients that remind one of Makar Sankranti (also known as Gudi Padwa or Lohri in different parts of the country). Curiously enough, unlike other Hindu festivals, this is one festival that falls on 14th of January every month. Apart from being a harvest festival, it also marks the beginning of six months of 'Uttaarayan', an auspicious period for the Hindus. Hence most parts of the country celebrate this festival by distributing sweets among friends and relatives as a gesture of goodwill.

One of the most popular Makar Sankranti recipes is the 'til-gud' or 'til ki barfi'. Both the primary ingredients used in this recipe are believed to keep the body warm and their consumption is considered to be beneficial during the cold months. But since sesame and sugar are high in calories, I put my own twist by substituting a portion of the sesame with buckwheat flour.

And if you happen to be thinking on the lines of why buckwheat, here are 5 reasons why you absolutely need to make this gluten-free and allergy-free grain a part of your everyday diet -

  1. Helps prevent diabetes
  2. Lowers Cholesterol and blood pressure
  3. High fiber content
  4. High quality protein
  5. Rich in Antioxidants

As part of my resolution (mentioned in the earlier posts), I will be including more of the indigenous superfoods in my everyday diet this year. So, read on for this 'gluten-free' and ' dairy-free' recipe -

[ Do not forget to check out more Makar Sankranti recipes shared by my blogger friends Parinaaz and Saswati ]


















Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds
  • 3 tbsp jaggery
  • 1/4 cup date syrup
  • 1 tsp ghee
  • extra sesame seeds for garnishing


Preparation - Toast the sesame seeds on a skillet. Remove from flame and allow to cool down. Grind into a fine powder.

Heat 1 tsp ghee in a wok. Add the buckwheat flour and roast on a low flame till the flour takes on a pink color. Remove and keep aside.

Add the powdered jaggery and date syrup along with 1 cup of water to a wok. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 3-4 mins before adding the roasted buckwheat flour and powdered sesame seeds. Cook for another 2-3 mins before removing from the flame.

Sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds on a greased plate. Spread the halwa over the seeds and let it cool down before cutting into desired shapes.


















Store in a airtight container in the fridge. Consume within the week.















That's not all !!! More yumm-e-ness to be discovered when you scroll down -

























Parinaaz's  Til and Nuts Chikki (Sesame seeds and mixed nuts brittle bars)




Friday, December 30, 2016

Thai Black Rice and Coconut Pudding ( Vegan Recipe )

Black rice. There is something magical about this ingredient that goes beyond it's qualities. Yes, it is highly Instagram-worthy. And cooked the right way, it can induce nothing less than a a food-orgasm. Plus it is one of the most versatile ingredients that I have worked with. Very filling and a little quantity goes a long way. Given a chance I could go on and on about my sentiments for this wonder ingredient but for now, I can just about summarize it as a mixture of love bordering on obsession.

Back to this 'Sticky Black rice and Coconut Pudding' recipe, I fell in love with the very sound of it. Caught it for the first time while surfing on television and looked up the recipe on the web. But since I had no access to black rice at that point of time, it was relegated to some corner of my memory. Only recently did it pop up once again when I was collating all the black rice dishes that I have worked on in the last few months. I realized that I had missed out on the very first dish which had triggered my interest in this wonderfully exotic ingredient.

A native Thai recipe made with the short grained glutinous black rice, I have not made any major changes to it . Except for substituting the Thai rice with another short grained variety cultivated in India. Original recipe is taken from - thekitchn.com . Don't mistake it for the Kavuni Arisi Payasam (from Chettinad) or the Amubi (from North East India ) .

Read on -

















Preparation Time - 1 hour

Ingredients -
  • 1 cup black rice 
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cup thin coconut milk
  • 4 heaped teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • thin coconut slices for garnishing

Preparation - Wash and soak the black rice in 3 cups of water. Let it stand overnight.

Cooking - Transfer the soaked rice along with the soaking water and the thin coconut milk to a thick-bottomed saucepan, Bring to a boil on low heat.

Once the rice is about 3/4th done, add the brown sugar and salt. Let it simmer till all the liquid dries up. (The last 3-4 mins are crucial and one has to be careful not to burn the pudding.)

Around the same time, dry roast the coconut slices on a iron skillet. Take care to keep the heat low else they tend to burn. Once they are light brown , remove from the flame and keep aside.

Garnish with the roasted coconut slices. Serve warm.





























Thursday, October 27, 2016

Baked Malpua Tarts with Creamy Khira !! (Diwali Desserts Collaboration)

The fairy lights have come up and the house smells of freshly washed curtains and cushion covers. A sporadic burst of crackers can be heard now and then. The cracker shops can be spotted at every clearing with the crowds thronging them seeming to be rather oblivious to the fact that it is all about perfectly good money up in smoke. Something we could do without in cities that already have their lungs choked with smoke and pollution.

Personally, I have resolved to skip bursting crackers to celebrate Diwali and instead use the money to spread a few cheers. A rocket worth five hundred bucks may not make you smile for more than five seconds but imagine the joy of your maid/driver/watchman when they get a few hundred extra bucks to celebrate this festival. It may translate into that new t-shirt that their kid has been demanding or the high school textbook that their child score better marks in the board/entrance examination. Small gestures can make a lot of difference.

And I am really one to believe in the power of small changes. That is why I ended up buying a lot more clay lamps this year to support the potters who earn the lion's share of their living during this season. Even as I enjoy the faint sizzle and the earthy smell as these lamps soak a tub of water, it is time to add the most awaited post for the ongoing Diwali collaboration.

Giving the perfect twist to the traditional Malpuas, I baked them in the shape of earthen lamps and filled them with lightly chilled Khira (or chenna payas ) just before serving.

[ Yumm Alert - More mouthwatering dishes to be discovered at the bottom of this post !! ]

Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 25 mins for Malpua  + 1 hour  for Chenna Payas

Ingredients -

For Malpua -

  • 1 cup Whole wheat flour
  • 1 overripe banana 
  • 2 tsp condensed milk 
  • 2 tsp cream 
  • 1 tsp powdered fennel (pana mahuri)
  • oil for frying
  • pinch of baking powder
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar ( as per taste  )
  • milk required to make a tight dough

For Khira - 

  • 1.5 liters whole milk ( or 1 liter milk and 2/3 cup Ricotta cheese )
  • 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 7-8 cashews
  • 2 tbsp raisins
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1-2 tbsp Demerara sugar ( or as per taste )
  • 1 vanilla bean or few drops of vanilla extract 
  • 1/2 tsp ghee/clarified butter


Preparation - 

For the Malpua - Add the butter to the wheat flour and rub it in so that it resembles bread crumbs.

Take the banana in a mixing bowl and mash it nicely using a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and mix everything into a tight dough. Pop it into the fridge for 30 mins.

Dust a working surface. Take out the dough and roll it into a sheet about 3 mm thick. Cut out circles from the rolled dough, pierce them with a fork and place them into the cavities of a muffin tray. Using slightly wet fingers shape the edges to resemble earthen lamps. 

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees for 10 mins. Put in the tray and bake for 12-14 mins till the tarts start browning a bit. Remove from the oven and allow to stand outside till completely cooled down.

For the Creamy Khira -

Dilute the vinegar with 2 tbsp water.

Boil 1/2 litre of milk in a pan. When it comes to full boil, add the diluted vinegar. Boil for another 4-5 minutes so that the chenna/ricotta cheese ( solid portion of the milk) clearly separates from the remaining liquid. Drain the liquid. Wash the chenna/ricotta cheese under running water to remove traces of vinegar. Squeeze out the remaining liquid from the chenna/ricotta cheese. Allow it to cool down.

Heat a little ghee on a pan. Fry the cashews to a golden shade. Remove from pan and keep aside.
Add the raisins to the same pan and lightly fry for 30 seconds. Remove from pan.

Heat a thick bottomed wok. Add the remaining milk and bring to a boil. Put a slit in the vanilla bean and toss it into the wok. Allow milk to reduce to half the original volume.

Then add condensed milk, sugar and fried cashews. Let it simmer for 10 mins before you add the chenna/ricotta cheese.

Keep stirring at regular intervals till the mixture becomes thick ( 'rabdi' like consistency ), Add the pistachio flakes, remove from the flame and keep aside.

Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Take the Baked Malpua tarts and fill them with the slightly chilled and delicious creamy khira . Serve to your guests and brace yourself for the deluge of compliments.



















And do check out these fabulous recipes by my fellow bloggers !!!






















Saswati's luscious  Mawa Cupcakes with Kesar Pista Malai Frosting !


And























Parinaaz's tantalizing Paan Pops !!

Happy Diwali ! Let the lights guide you !!



Thursday, October 13, 2016

5 Fabulous 'Green' Desserts to Try This Diwali !!

Diwali is just a fortnight away and the preparations are in full swing. I am totally occupied with house cleaning, buying new furnishings, new clothes, putting the fairy lights in place and finally getting the ingredients for those delicious desserts that are the mainstay of this festival. For what is Diwali if not another grand excuse to indulge one's sweet tooth !!
















But all Diwali sweets need not be calorie bombs ! Here are some fabulous green desserts that will have everyone asking for more even as the neighbors turn green with envy -

1. Green Papaya Laddoo -



















Made from raw papaya and sweetened with Sugarfree, his amazing dessert won me the third position on Sanjeev Kapoor's Sugerfree Dessert Finale. So, it won't be wrong to say 'is dish me dum hai' !!

2. Creamy Spinach Granita -


















Popeye's energy potion is loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients ! No wonder this superfood is on every health freak's kitchen counter. Though people swear by their Palak paneer or palak chicken, it makes for an equally mean granita !! Use brown sugar or demerara sugar instead of white sugar to add flavour to this fabulous dish .


3. Kiwi and Black Rice Pudding -
























The exotic flavour of black rice combines with the tang of green kiwis to present a dessert that is visually striking !! However you need to taste it to experience the mind blowing flavours !


4. Paan and Gulkand Kheer -




















Paan and Gulkand makes for the most unforgettable flavour combination ! Give it another twist by substituting the sugar with Demerara sugar !!


5. Vegan Mango Mousse -


















With canned mangoes available around the year, you can try serving this yummy and healthy dessert to your guests ! One can also substitute mango with cocoa powder for creating another flavour .

Friday, September 2, 2016

Magaja Laddoo ( Ganesh Chaturthi Colab with A Dollop Of That & Delish Potpourri )

It's time to welcome home the 'Vighna Harta', the Hindu God endowed with the power to remove all obstacles. He is the God of new beginnings, of wisdom, success and prosperity. Hence for many of us, Ganesh Chaturthi is the right time to begin something new. However, the festivities surrounding this occasion vary with various parts of the country. In Odisha, it is just a one day affair whilst in states like Maharashtra, the celebrations last 10 days on such a grand scale that everything else almost comes to a standstill.

With just 3 days to for the festival, it is high time to get the grocery shopping done for the various kinds of Prasadam to be prepared on the day. Except for the perishables, which of course have to wait for the last day. Different regions swear by their own version of the elephant God's favorite. But 'Laddoos' are onething that remain a constant. Almost every image of Ganesha is depicted with a laddoo in his hand or a plateful of these placed right in front of him.

Hence, my special recipe for this day had to be some kind of a laddoo. And I finalized on the 'Magaja Laddoo' or'Atta laddoo', which is quite popular in Odisha. When I was a child, these laddoos were made by my grandmother who absolutely adored them. She used to dot them with roasted charoli seeds and the combination of flavors was just heavenly. These are a specialty of the cold winter months when the hilly regions of Odisha can turn quite cold. As expected, quite a bit of ghee goes into the making of these laddoos which are said to keep the body warm.

My version of these laddoos is however low in ghee. And I have further fortified their nutritional quotient by adding powdered almonds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, charoli and pumpkin seeds.

Do not forget to scroll down to the bottom of this post for more amazing laddoo recipes from my blogger friends !!

Read on for the recipe -


















Preparation Time - 40 mins

Ingredients -


  • 2 cups whole wheat atta (flour)
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp flax seeds
  • 2 tsp charoli 
  • 2 tsp pumpkin seeds
  • 10-12 almonds
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup ghee
  • 2-3 cloves (powdered)
  • 1 green cardamom (powdered)


Preparation - Dry roast the sesame seeds, flax seeds, charoli, pumpkin seeds and almonds separately.

Keep them aside to cool down. Transfer all these nuts into a mixer jar (chutney jar is fine) and powder them. Do not overdo the grinding as these the natural oils tend to seep out.

Cooking - Dry roast the whole wheat atta on a very low flame on a skillet. Gradually it will start turning a few shades darker and giving off a heavenly aroma.

At this stage, add the ghee, powdered nuts and sugar . Cook for a while to bring everything together.

Finally sprinkle the powdered cardamom and cloves. Mix in and remove from the flame.

Let it cool a little till it becomes bearable to touch. Take small amounts of the mixture and press tightly to bind them into laddoos. Shape them while they are still warm as they tend to be fragile and difficult to mold once cooled down.































Store in airtight containers once completely cool. Stays fresh for over two weeks.

That's not all !! Check out these fabulous recipes -






















Parinaaz's Dink Che Laddoo / Dry Fruit Laddoo with edible gum

And























Saswati's Carrot Cottage Cheese Truffles / Gajar Paneer ke Laddoo !!

Once again, wishing everyone "A very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi " !!

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Five Must-Try Desserts from Odisha ( Rakshabandhan Special )

It's sibling bonding time yet again. The rakhis have been purchased and even dispatched via courier for those staying away from each other. The pooja thalis are all but ready. Even the return gifts have been ordered (online in most cases to facilitate easy exchange). With the stage all set for the Rakshabandhan festivities tomorrow, it time to finalize the menu for the celebrations.

And desserts happen to be the sweetest way to seal this bond of love. Take your pick from one of these fabulous desserts originating from Odisha. Spend a little time and energy to make it at home instead of going for the store bought stuff. I bet the smile on your brother's face will be worth the effort .

Here we go -



















1. Pahala Rasgulla - Though a little low on sweetness, these delicious and melt in the mouth rasgullas are seriously addictive.

















2. Kheeri (Kheer) - Slow cooked on a low flame for a couple of hours (atleast 2 hrs), it's silken sweetness is guaranteed to engulf one's senses.

















3. Chenna Payas - The silken texture of thickened milk juxtaposed with succulent pieces of paneer, this dessert is great when paired with fruits !!


















4. Rasmalai - Luscious balls of paneer soaked in decadently flavored milk, this is one dessert that is fit to be on a royal menu !!


















5. Chenna Poda - This burnt cheesecake is unique to Odisha and is tough to find in the other cities of India. Try replicating it at home if you are feeling nostalgic.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Kiwi and Black Rice Phirni ( An exotic rice pudding )

Important - This is an original recipe and has been published for the first time. Please do not copy/reproduce without approval of the owner.

Thanks to my numerous food posts on Facebook and other social media, I keep getting bombarded with requests from foodie friends . "Kabhi hame khane par toh bulao" is the most common rant that I get to here on a day to day basis. So, when a special friend arrived last weekend, it was time to create yet another magical recipe just for him. Is there a better way of making someone feel special ? Not really when the person in question is a die-hard foodie.

So, did I pull on my thinking cap ?? Or scour the supermarket shelves for some inspiration ? No. I did not do anything of that sort. I had a Black rice Phirni waiting for me in the drafts. The timing seemed perfect to debut my special dessert. Now I had been planning to prepare it for sometime but the inclement weather in Blore had dulled my taste for all things sweet. But as the sun shone bright, it seemed that the weather Gods were in tandem with my wishes.

I used jaggery as a sweetener to bring out the naturally nutty taste of the black rice. Instead of using nuts of any kind, I decided to top it up with a fruit. Makes it healthier and the acidity in the fruit acts as the perfect foil to the sweetness of the phirni. Luckily, I had quite a few options stocked up but I decided to pick on the Kiwi as it makes for a lovely contrast with the lavender hues of the black rice .

Read on -
























Preparation Time - 40-45 mins

Ingredients -
  • 1 liter whole milk 
  • 4 tbsp black rice powder
  • 4 tsp jaggery or as per taste ( I used the light hued variety )
  • 2 kiwis ( for topping )
  • 1/2 cup cold milk for mixing with the rice powder

Preparation - Soak the black rice grains for 4 hours. Drain and spread on a plate to air dry. Once the surface moisture evaporates, grind it into a powder.

Mix the rice powder in the cold milk.

Cooking - Boil the milk till it reduces to half of the original volume. 

Pour in the rice mixture and keep stirring till it starts to thicken a bit. Once the consistency reaches that of a custard, mix in the powdered jaggery.

Remove from the flame and allow it to cool down a bit.

Pop it into the fridge for a couple of hours.

Just before serving, peel and chop the kiwi into thin half-moon slices.

Pour the phirni into dessert glasses. Top it up with the kiwi and serve.




































Note - Jaggery can cause the milk to curdle as it contains residual traces of alum. Hence I usually prefer to add it just before removing the phirni/kheer from the flame.


Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Aish-el-saraya ( A Luscious Lebanese Pudding for Ramadan )

Orange blossoms. Rose water. Toasted pistachios. Some of these heavenly ingredients they put in the Middle Eastern desserts just makes me wonder if any of those aromas would be still be lingering in the air after nightfall and adding to the magic of the Arabian nights. Just the vast expanse of white sand, the deep blue canopy of the sky punctuated with a million twinkling stars and the air smelling of roses. Quite the setting to imagine the legendary romance of Alladin and Jasmine.

That bring me to another kind of love. The love for good food. And Ramzan is quite the right time for spreading some foodie love. 'Aish-el-saraya' is one of those luscious middle eastern desserts that can make one forget all about keeping a tab on the calories. It glides like velvet in the tongue and bombards the senses with a zillion delicious sensations that cannot be called anything unlike an orgasm. Yeah, it's that sinful and addictive too. But the good part is that it is quite easy to whip up. Sadly, it takes a while to set.

There are quite a few recipes for 'Aish-el-saraya' floating about on the net. I got mine from Youtube channel 'Heghineh Cooking Show'. It is run by an Armenian Youtuber who makes these really nice real-time videos and is also a mum with a kid running amok in the kitchen. No surprise that she has all my sympathy and support too. Have put the video at the bottom of this page.

Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 40 mins ( plus loads of standby time )

Ingredients -

  • 1 packet of rusk 
  • 1/2 liter milk
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 1 tsp rose water
  • 1 tsp orange blossom water or syrup ( I could not find it hence skipped )
  • sliced/crushed pistachios for the garnishing 


For the syrup -


  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp rose water
  • juice of 1 lemon


Preparation - Take the bread rusk in a food processor. Pulverize into a fine powder.

For making syrup, take 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 4-5 mins.

Remove from heat and them add the rose water, orange blossom water and lemon juice.

For making the custard, take 1 cup milk and dissolve the cornflour in it. Bring the rest of the milk to a boil, add the cornflour paste and whisk it till it becomes thick. Dissolve the condensed milk and remove from the flame.

Add the rose water and orange blossom water to the custard and mix it in.

Finally when it cools down somewhat, add the whipped cream to it and fold it in.

For the layering - Take a deep glass dish ( 1.2 lt capacity ).

Mix the powdered rusk with just enough sugar syrup in a mixing bowl. Transfer to the deep dish.

Spread into a uniform layer and tap it all over with the bottom surface of a bowl to pack it tightly.

Pour the custard and whipped cream mixture over it.

Sprinkle the pistachios all over the cream mixture. Put it in the fridge and let it set for 6-7 hours.

Just before serving, remove it from the fridge. Cut it carefully and drizzle some over the remaining syrup over the slices.

















Enjoy this delectable dessert for Ramadan !!





Friday, June 24, 2016

Quinoa Pudding ( A healthy take on 'Chaula Khiri' from Odisha )

Rice kheer or Chaula Kheeri is one of the most frequently prepared dishes at home. If not for a festival, I find myself cooking some for guests or even on husband's request. And I prefer doing it the hard way. Slow cooked to a rich creamy texture and caramelized flavour, the taste is something just out of the world. But at times, the effort and time required proves to be just too much and I end up with a delicious kheer but a grumpy mood to go with it.

That is precisely why I ended up trying to cook Kheer with quinoa as soon as I got my hands on this wonder grain. I wanted to find out if I could save time by doing so and yes, I had guessed it right. The grains being smaller tend to acquire that melt-in-the-mouth texture quite faster as compared to Basmati rice or even the small grained 'arua chaula' that we use in Odisha. Have not used any thickening agents like milk powder, khoya or condensed milk to keep it as healthy as possible.

Quinoa being a superfood, has a high amount of protein, fiber, manganese, magnesium, iron and B2. Apart from the fact that it is gluten-free, it is also one of those food grains that remain non-GMO (GMO stands for Genetically modified and while it may be the only answer to a billowing population and the only hope of abating global hunger, I can't help being scared of what Frankensteins one might be consuming). It is the grain of choice for diabetics as it has a low glycemic index. Plus people trying to lose weight will benefit from eating quinoa as it makes one feel fuller and also takes time to get digested.

Without much ado, read on for the recipe -




















Preparation Time - 1 hr

Ingredients -

  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 2 ltrs whole milk
  • 8-10 pepperorns
  • 2-3 green cardamom
  • 4 tbsp sugar ( adjust as per taste )
  • 1 tsp ghee

Preparation - Wash the quinoa under running water. Let it soak for 30 mins.

Cooking - Bring the milk to boil in a large pan. Keep stirring it at regular interval so that it does not catch at  the bottom and the layer does not form on top. Switch off after boiling for 15 mins and keep aside.

Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker. Put about 1 tsp sugar in it and wait for it to turn brown. Before it starts to smoke, add the rinsed and drained quinoa to the pressure cooker. Roast it for 5 mins to give it brownish shade and also to ensure that it's typical smell goes off. Now add 1 cup water and close the lid. Cook on medium flame for 2 whistles.

Keep it aside till steam escapes.

Now add the cooked quinoa to the boiled milk. Cook on a low flame for about an hour or till you reach the desired consistency. (remember that it get still thicker after cooling down)

Add the powdered peppercorns and cardamom to the kheer and give it a stir. Keep aside till it coold down.


















Serve at room temperature or even chilled.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Vegan Mango Mousse

Everytime I visit one of those lavish spreads at any of the popular restaurants, the one regular fixture on the desserts menu is a mousse. But the one thing that stops me from digging into them is the humongous amount of calories contained in a tiny portion. Also, it doesn't help when I think about all the chemicals that go into it. Yes, that pretty looking cup/glass might very well contain gelatin, agar agar, artificial flavoring and a slew of chemicals that might have made their way into the whipping cream/heavy cream.

That's why I choose to go vegan whenever I have the craving for some nice wholesome mousse. Taking avocado as the base ingredient, I can add any fruit plup or cocoa powder for the flavoring . For sweetening the final product, raw honey works just as great. Ta-daaa. My delicious vegan mousse is ready.

Check out the easy-peasy recipe -


















Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -


  • 2 ripe avocados
  • pulp of two ripe mangoes
  • 2-3 tsp honey ( use a bit more if you want )
  • few drops of vanilla extract ( can be substituted with cardamom powder )

Preparation - Halve the avocados. Remove the stone and scoop out the flesh.

Throw into the blender jar. Add the mango pulp, few drops of vanilla extract and the honey. Buzz for a few seconds.

Pour into the serving cups. Pop into the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Garnish with small mango cubes. Serve chilled.


















Note - This mousse stay fresh fresh for upto 24 hours when kept in a airtight container in the fridge .


Thursday, March 17, 2016

Thandai Rasmalai ( Holi Special Recipe )

Spring is here. And it is mating season in the animal world. Nothing sinister about it. Just a matter of probability given that the survival chances are maximized by the ambient weather and food. availability. Now is it is possible that some relic of this animal instinct has been overlooked during the evolutionary process and has stealthily made it's way into the human DNA ? Well, the probabilities look high given that most cultures do make a song and dance about the arrival of spring.

Holi, the Hindu festival which falls in the month of March, is first and foremost an announcement of the harbinger of spring. While there are many myths surrounding this festival, most of us believe it to be a show of love between Lord Krishna and his consort Radha. No wonder, this carnival of colors allows for the free mixing on both genders. A fact that has been re-iterated by Bollywood, time and again. 

One of the most special drinks associated with this festival is the 'Thandai', a refreshing concoction of rose petals, various nuts and spices steeped in milk. While it is guaranteed to perk up sagging spirits after hours of playing in the sun, for those looking for a different kind of high, a bit of 'bhaang' or cannabis can do the trick. But what does not come as a surprise is that most of the ingredients in it are loaded with aphrodisiac properties. Trust the humans to elevate (and of course mask) the mating ritual ( uhh!! We are civilized chimps, aren't we ?) to a summit hitherto unexplored by other species. 

But moving on from one basic instinct to another, let us explore the possibilities of consuming this 'passion enhancer' magic potion in other ways. Not a tough call given that milk is the major component of this drink. So, it can be easily used in any milk based dessert. Here I have chosen it to be the fluid component of a very refreshing 'Rasmalai'. Thinner than it's regular counterpart but infused with the mellow notes of rose, fennel, pepper, cardamom, saffron and other nuts, this one is a winner. Serve it to your guests on Holi and watch the pics go viral.

Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 1 hour

Ingredients -

For the Thandai -


  • 1 litre whole milk ( use skimmed if you want to reduce calories )
  • 16-18 nos almonds
  • 10-12 nos cashews
  • 7-8 pistachios
  • 1 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds (khuskhus)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp watermelon seeds (magaj)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
  • 4-5 green cardamons
  • 1 tsp peppercorns ( reduce by half for kids )
  • a few strands of saffron
  • 1 tbsp rose water/essence (use fresh petals if you find some, the dark pink ones are best)
  • 1 cup sugar


For the rasmalai - 


  • 1 litres whole milk
  • 3-4 tbsp vinegar
  • 1 tsp maida /all purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar 

For the Thandai :


Preparation - Soak the almonds, cashews, pistachios, poppy seeds and watermelon seeds together. (Remove the almond skin once it is soaked)

Dry roast the peppercorns, fennel and cardamom till it gives off a fragrance.

Cooking - Bring the milk to boil in a thick bottomed vessel. Let it simmer till it reduces to 2/3rd of the original volume and then switch off flame.

Add the sugar and saffron strands to the still hot milk. Mix gently so that the sugar dissolves.Allow to cool.

Transfer the roasted spices to a grinder and buzz till they are powdered. Add all the soaked nuts and grind everything till you get a very fine paste. Add a little water to thin the consistency if it is getting too difficult to grind. Add this paste along with rose essence to the milk and allow to stand for 1 hour.

Use a cloth to strain and transfer the milk into another vessel (an earthen pot would be ideal but do not worry if you cant find one).

For the Rasmalai Balls :

Preparation - Bring the milk to boil in a saucepan. Do not let it boil for more than 4-5 mins.

Dilute the vinegar with equal amount of water and add to the milk. This should be sufficient to separate the paneer from the green colored water. However if the water still looks milky, add some some water-vinegar mix. Once all the paneer is separated, add a few ice cubes and 2-3 cup water to the saucepan. This prevents the paneer from cooking further.

Strain all the paneer and wash it under running water to remove any traces of vinegar. Gather it in a piece of cheesecloth/muslin and hang for 20-30 mins to remove excess water.

Transfer to a plate. Knead it with the heel of your palms for 10 mins to get a uniform mixture. Add the maida at this stage and knead for another 5-6 mins.

Divide into 25-30 lumps and shape each into a smooth ball with no visible cracks on the surface.

Add the 2 cups sugar along with 5 cups water to a pressure cooker. Let it boil for 5 mins before adding the paneer balls. Close the lid and cook for 25-30 mins. Remove from the flame and allow to cool down to room temperature.

Putting it together -

Gently squeeze the paneer balls to remove excess sugar water. Then drop them into the thandai. Refrigerate (at least for 2 hours) till you serve it.



















Garnish with saffron, pistachios and rose petals while serving.

Featured Post

Green Papaya Laddoos (SugarFree recipe)

Mom is undoubtedly the dessert specialist at home. God forbid, if she takes to blogging, she could give a lot of folks a run for their mone...