Icecream ~ Kulfi Rose Flavour

• If you don't have popsicle mould  fill it in a condiment cup or paper cup and cover it with a foil after 2 hours of freezing insert the ice cream stick to it ad freeze it again.
• The amount of sugar in the condensed milk is enough but if you want add some powdered sugar while mixing.
• Here I used 2% milk and the low fat condensed milk.
• Adding the cardamom powder is purely optional,I didn't use.
• Coarsely powdered pistachios can be add while mixing for extra taste and texture. 

Garlic Mayo Sauce

lebanese garlic mayonnaise sauce 
makes approx. 1 cup

ingredients:

3 large cloves garlic + 1 smaller one
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp (no more than that!) water*
1/4 tsp salt

1 c (8 oz) regular olive oil or blend of vegetable and olive oil

white vinegar mixed with water to equal 3 tbsp OR, 
juice of 1/2 small lemon

*the water is there to help blend things easily. DO NOT omit it.
method:

have your mise-en-place ready first. you don't have time to run around the kitchen grabbing ingredients.*i am using an immersion blender here; you can use a regular one. do NOT use a food processor.place the garlic and egg yolk in the mixing bowl (or tall sided immersion blender jar). if you don't trust your blades are sharp enough, you can use a mortar and pestle to grind the garlic to a fine purée with the salt and then add it to the blender with the egg yolk and continue from that point.blend it for a minute just to break up the garlic. it will further break down as you progress.add the salt and the water and mix it for 2 or 3 minutes (pulsing) until is is broken down and blended.

this part is where you need to keep an eye on things. i can't say exactly how long it will take as it depends upon your ingredients and your method.

add the oil now in DROPS and blend in completely after each one, pulsing as you go.continue to do this until your mixture looks creamy and emulsified. this is the sign of when to add the rest of the oil, slowly in more of a steady stream.add the oil, in trickles and keep blending as you go. it will take some time, maybe up to 10 minutes. have someone hold the emulsion jug if that is how you're doing it or to slowly pour the oil as you blend and hold on to the jar.once all the oil is incorporated, it should look like a whitish very thick mayonnaise.

taste it to see if you need more salt. add a tiny bit if necessary.now add the lemon juice or vinegar and water mixture in a slow stream until it tastes right to you. you may not need it all, so taste test along the way.refrigerate and use as wanted.

enjoy!

Ghur or Ghor Para

Gur Para Recipe - How to Make Gur Pare - 

Step by Step Recipe 

If you are looking for more sweet recipes then do check Til Khoya Laddu, Doda Burfi,Rasgulla, Gulab Jamun, Microwave Palkova,Khoya Besan Laddu, Condensed milk Rava Laddu, Kaju Katli and Shahi Tukra.  


Gur Pare / Gud Pare Recipe  
Prep Time: 30 mins    |  Cook time: 30 mins    | Makes: 4 cups 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Wheat Flour (you can substitute with all purpose flour)
• 1/2 cup Powdered Jaggery
• 1/4 cup Water
• 4 tbsp Melted Ghee
• 1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
• Oil for deep frying

Method: 

• Take water and powdered jaggery in a bowl.
• Heat until the jaggery dissolves completely.
• Turn off the flame and let it cool.

• Combine the wheat flour and cardamom powder in a mixing bowl.
• Add slightly heated ghee and mix well to get a breadcrumb like consistency.

• Then add the melted jaggery water to the flour and mix.
• Make a firm dough by adding normal water little by little.
• Cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.

• Knead the dough and divide into 6 - 7 equal portions.
• Roll the dough ball into a thick circle.

• Cut the rolled dough into diamond or square pieces.

• Repeat the same process with all the dough portions.

• Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. 
• When the oil becomes hot, reduce the flame to low.

• Gently drop the dough pieces in the hot oil.
• Deep fry them on a low-medium flame until brown color, turn over to fry on both sides evenly.
• Drain them on paper towels and let them cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container.

Dates & Dry Fruit Rolls

Sugar Free Date Rolls

Sweets with dried fruits and nuts is one of my favorites during festive seasons. At times when all milk based sweets look and taste similar, it feels good to munch upon something more natural and healthy. These sweets takes does not take much time to cook and can be prepared in the last minute of festive rush hours.

Ingredients;

(make 20 small rolls)

• 20 black dates
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 10-12 almonds
• 10-12 Pistachios
• 2 tbsp Poppy seeds or desiccated coconut

Method; De-seed all the dates and finely chop into small pieces. Chop almonds and Pistachios.

Heat ghee in a non-stick pan and add chopped dates in it. Cook for about 6-7 minutes until the dates turn into soft lump.

Remove the pan from heat and add chopped nuts and mix well. Divide the soft dough into 7-8 small portions and shape them into rolls.

Spread the poppy seeds or desiccated coconut in a flat plate and coat each date roll with it. Refrigerate all the rolls for a few hours before serving.

Refrigerate these rolls for longer shelf life.

You can add dried fruits and nuts of your choice to make these rolls.

Rain my Fav Season

Thankful for the rain drops on the scorched ground today! And thankful for the peace and blessings it brings...
I love the rain - is there any sound more relaxing - sitting at my window sill, just give me a good book and cup of tea or coffee with carnation milk ...Bliss

Gulab Jamun Milk Powder

Gulab Jamun Using Milk Powder | Easy Gulab Jamun Recipe

Gulab Jamuns!!!!! who doesnt love it? Anyone would be a great fan of this yummilicious dessert. This is a very special rich Indian dessert, specially prepared during festive days and on any special occasions. Dumpling like balls are prepared with either milk solids, like Khoya or cottage cheese, or using milk powder and flour, then deep fried and dunked into cardamom flavored sugar syrup. The balls gets soaked in the sugar syrup well and becomes super soft and juicy. Every bite of this scrumptious dessert tastes so heavenly. After the balls soak well, they are served with some sugar syrup in small serving bowls. The preparation is quite tricky, sometimes there might be some difficulty in getting the perfect shaped balls when trying the gulab jamuns for the first time. The balls may either disintegrate in oil or crack open when frying or it might become too hard that they might not get soaked in the syrup. Remember, the correct temperature of the oil, the right amount of baking soda and the ratio of ingredients are the keys to make the perfect gulab jamuns. But after few failure attempts and by experimenting the ratio of ingredients, you can make really perfect gulab jamuns. When you make perfect gulab jamuns right from scratch your joy will be boundless right? and you can definitely brag about it too!! So why wait? Do try this easy to make gulab jamun and let me know your reviews.

INGREDIENTS 

Makes 8 to 10 Gulab Jamuns
Preparation Time - 15 minutes (plus an hour for soaking)

1. Milk powder - Nearly 1 cup [weighed 100 grams (I used Amul milk powder)]
2. Maida / All purpose flour - ¼ cup [Weighed 25 grams]
3. Ghee - 1 tbsp 
4. Baking soda - ¼ tsp 
5. Milk -¼ cup [80 ml]
6. Sugar - 1 cup [weighed 100 grams]
7. Water - 1 cup [150 ml]
8. Cardamom - 3 pods 
9. Rose essence - 1 drop (optional)
10. Oil - For deep frying 

PREPARATION METHOD 

• Take a bowl and mix maida, milk powder and baking soda, mix well and sieve to remove the lumps in it. 
• Add ghee and mix well, once done, pour milk little by little and mix well and knead until it forms a soft sticky dough. 
  
• Now pinch small portions and roll between your palms to make a ball. See that there are no big cracks. Set aside. (grease your palms with little ghee to avoid the dough from sticking to your hands)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Place a frying pan on flame and pour oil to deep fry the balls. 
• Meanwhile to a saucepan add sugar, pour 200 ml of water, add crushed cardamom pods and stir well, place on low flame. Stir well until the sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens slightly, this may take 5  minutes. (no string consistencies needed). Then remove from flame and add a drop of rose essence, set aside. 
• Now after the oil heats up, (oil should not be too hot), gently slide the prepared balls into it. See that you do not crowd the pan. And check that the flame is in low mode.
  
  
  
• The balls will sink to the bottom and then it will gently rise up. Slowly turn each balls with a slotted spoon, at frequent intervals to make sure that the balls brown evenly. 
• Remove balls from flame and place on a tissue paper to remove excess oil.
  
  
   
• After the balls cool down, slide them into the prepared sugar syrup and set aside for an hour or until it softens up well. (see that the syrup is warm when you add the fried balls)
  
  
  
• Serve!! (You can also top with some chopped nuts and serve)

TIP 1: Never fry the balls in hot oil, the oil must not be too hot nor too low in temperature, a medium temperature will be the best. If you fry the gulab jamuns in hot oil the outer portion will brown soon, but the inner portion will remain uncooked. Also do not crowd the pan, fry them in batches. 

TIP 2: See that you do not add too much of baking soda too. I have heard that adding too much of soda will make the break and disperse in oil when frying. 

TIP 3: You can alter the size of the balls according to your wish. You can also make oval shaped gulab jamuns. 

TIP 4: To make the jamuns more softer you can add a tsp of vinegar to the dough. 

TIP 5: Smoothen/roll your balls well to make sure that they are bit firm and do not crack open easily, else these will easily crack open while frying.

   

Soft, juicy, yummilicious gulab jamuns are now ready!! 




Laxmi from Samayal Diary has awarded me the "Stylish blogger" title. Click here to know more!! Thanks a lot Laxmi.. I really feel so honored!!! 
This award will definitely stay eet 'n Savory)

YOU DESERVE THIS AWARD GIRL.

Peda, Penda, Pera

This recipe i saw on the net by lovely blogger whose name is 
Simi.   I loved her way of making peda or whatever you call as name varies with different tribes.

Instant Peda

If there was a peda - hall of fame, this recipe would be right there. I loved the outcome. It was a tad bit sweet for my better half, i.e if you try and eat three at once. They do get a bit hard when refrigerated, so I have modified the original recipe a bit. It has a low shelf life, you might not have to worry much about that. :) But expired condensed milk is something to worry about,  since it is usually in a tin can, it can get rusted. Well I have some visuals. Am not quizzing you guys to tell me which of these are expired. So watch out, those date are not random numbers.

 No this is not paint.  This has not been photoshopped to enhance color.  I found the old can tucked way back in my pantry, it had expired 7 months ago. Obviously, I was not going to use it but opened it just to see what it looks like. Note to self: read more about food safety in tin cans.

1 can of condensed sweetened milk
1 3/4 cup milk powder
3 tbsp clarified butter/ ghee
2-4 tsp milk
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp saffron

Mix the condensed milk and milk powder and mix well in a microwave safe container. Microwave for a minute. Mix well, add ghee, microwave for 30 seconds. Mix again. Microwave for 30 seconds, mix, add milk and microwave again for another minute, stir it in between. Remove, let it cool, preferably keep covered and once you know you can manage the heat. Grease your fingers with ghee, roll them, with a gentle hand. If you think it is too hard, add more milk and microwave for 30sec. Needs refrigeration.

how awesome is that. All the best for more.