Almond/Badam Halwa

Who doesn’t love Almonds? And there are so many uses of Almonds. You can make Almond Kheer, Almond Milk, Almond Halwa, or add Almonds to Biryani or sprinkle on desserts. And in whatever way you eat them or cook them, they taste awesome. Almonds are a rich source of Vitamin E. They are also rich in monosaturated fat, one of the two "good" fats responsible for lowering LDL Cholesterol.

Think of Badam Halwa, Ravi’s smiling face comes to my mind. He loves all desserts but this one is one of his favorites. Whenever we go to any Indian Restaurant, he looks into the dessert menu for this sweet. I made this on his birthday recently and he loved it and asked me to make this dish at least once a month.

Ingredients

1 cup Almonds
1.5 cups Sugar
3.5 cups of Wate
r3 Tbsp Ghee
2 Tbsp Milk
Yellow food color
Cardamom Powder (Optional)

1. Boil 2 cups of Water and soak almonds in warm water for half hour.
2. Peel off their skin. This becomes boring after a while, so invite someone to help you.
3. Grind the almonds with the milk
4. Make Sugar Syrup by adding the remaining ½ cup of water to the Sugar.
5. After the Sugar Syrup comes to a boil, add the ground Almond paste and keep stirring to avoid lumps.
6. Add Ghee at regular intervals. You can add more Ghee if you fee like.
7. Keep stirring until the mixture gets thick.
8. Add color and Cardamom powder in the end.
9. When the mixture becomes like a Jam like consistency, remove it from the stove and transfer into the bowl.
10. Garnish with dry fruits in the end. (Optional)
11. Serve hot or cold.

Note:The cookware you used to make this dish becomes sticky; soak it in hot water before washing.

Bandaru Laddu

Wishing all my friends and readers, a Happy and Joyous New Year!!



Along with this, I have some special news to announce and that is .. We are expecting a baby in May (our first one)!! And we are so thrilled to bring this news to you. We have sent number of cards to all our well wishers and friends about this on this New Year and seeing their responses made our day terrific.
On this occasion, I bring you a dessert, which most of us cherish. I think it should be called Besan Laddu instead of Bandaru Laddu, but I got this recipe from a TV channel, E-Tv and the chef named it as Bandaru Laddu. The procedure for Bandaru Laddu is elaborate and demands a lot of time and attention, but this can be done in less than 30 mins. So, this is not an authentic Bandaru Laddu recipe instead a twisted one. The taste was close to Bandaru Laddu though. 2 cups Besan/Gram Flour 3T ghee 1 cup sugar 1t cardammon powder 1/2 cup milk
Heat ghee and fry Besan until golden brown.
Add sugar, cardammon powder and mix.
Add 1/2 cup warm milk and mix.
The whole mixture leaves the sides of the pan and the whole mixture becomes a ball.
Mix for a minute or two and remove.
Make laddus and let them cool down.
To decorate, garnish with dry fruits of your choice.

Shrikhand

Well! I am starting my first recipe with Ravi’s favorite dessert, Shrikand. As you all know he likes desserts like anything and he wants to eat dessert every day after the meal, so I have to make at least one or two for the week. He basically eats food for the dessert (Good thing is, he never puts on weight, he is as slim as he was before).

This is only a sample version. So, if you like it you can double the quantity accordingly…

I am sure you guys must be ready to make this dessert right away…

Preparation time: 4 hours, Making time: 10 mins

Ingrédients:

1. ½ Dannon Nonfat Yogurt
2. 1/4 cup Sugar
3. few strands Saffron
4. 1 tablespoon warm Milk
5. ½ spoon Cardamon powder
6. Pista and Badam (Almonds)

Process:
1. Hang the Yogurt in the muslin cloth for 3-4 hours or until the liquid drains out (same procedure as making paneer)
2. Put the Saffron strands in warm milk and let them stay until they become soft.
3. Mix Yogurt, Sugar,Milk with Saffron, and Cardamom in a bowl and using a hand blender churn the whole thing (Since this is a small quantity, I could mash it with a fork).
4. Garnish with dry fruits and keep it in the refrigerator.

Tip: Add some fruits to make Fruit Shrikand.

Serving Method:
Eat Cold as it is or with Puris

Tip: Easy Puris
Get some small flour tortillas and deep fry them in oil. Tasty and Soft puris are ready without kneading the atta.

I just finished making Shrikand and tasted. It’s Yummy!

Enjoy….and let me know how it turns out after you have tried.
And drop any suggestions in the comment box!

Local Friends, you can drop in to eat Shrikand anytime