Chikoo and Almond Milkshake

 

Some days are to laze around.... today is one such day, enjoyed the afternoon with this shake.... 

Ingredients 

4 to 5 Chikoo, peeled and deseeded 

1 cup of Milk / Almond milk 

2 tbsp roasted Almond powder 

Pinch of Chocolate powder for garnish 

2 tsp Honey 

Few Ice cubes 

2 scoops of Roasted Almond Ice  -  cream

Method 

Take a blender, add the chikoo, milk, almond powder, honey, ice cubes, 1 scoop of the ice cream... blend all the ingredients together. Pour in a glass and add a scoop of the ice cream. Sprinkle chocolate powder from top... 

Dudhauri

Dudhari is a simple sweet dish from Jharkhand. It’s made during festivals, but its also made otherwise at home too. It’s very easy to make, you should take care that the dough is mashed and no liquid should remain... otherwise while frying it will break up. It’s absolutely yummy.. 

For the Syrup 

1/2 cup Sugar 

1/2 cup Water 

1 Cardamom 

1/2 tsp Lime Juice 

Method 

Take the sugar, water and a crushed Cardamom in a vessel. Boil and the simmer unti you get a one string consistency. Once done add the lime juice and leave it aside. 

For the Dudhauri 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Rice

1 1/2 cup Milk 

Oil for Frying 

Method 

Wash the rice well, soak the rice in 1/2 cup milk for 15 to 30 minutes. Take 1 cup milk in a pot, heat the milk, add the soaked rice along with the milk and cook the rice until the rice has soaked up all the milk. No liquid should remain. Mash the rice well until it forms a sticky dough. Make small portions of the rice dough, shape it into oval or round. Take a wok, add oil, let the oil heat up. On a medium flame fry the balls until golden brown in colour. It takes time to become brown, so don’t get disheartened. Once done soak the dudhauri in the sugar syrup. Let it soak for at least 25 to 30 minutes before serving it. It taste awesome.

Aish El Saraya...

Eid Mubarak to all...

May you be blessed with joy, peace and happiness.

Aish El Saraya...

It means bread of the royal palace. It's a Lebanese dish. Aish El-Saraya is made on special occasions.

Sweet sugar syrup is drizzled over the toasted bread and covered with thick cream on top. It is garnished with chopped pistachios and rose petals. It is served chilled. 

With love from my kitchen....

For the Syrup

Ingredients

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp Lime juice

2 tsp Rosewater

Method

Add sugar, lime juice and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Stir and let it cook on low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and bring it to a boil and switch of the flame. Stir in rosewater. Cool for 10 minutes.

To make Aish El Saraya

Ingredients

8 slices White Bread,sides cut and toasted

1 1/2 cups of Milk

1/3 cup  Sugar

1 cup Fresh Cream

3 tbsp Cornflour

1 tsp Rosewater

Sugar Syrup

1/4 cup chopped Pistachios

Few dried Rose petals

Method

Take a baking dish. Place 4 slices of toasted bread slices into the dish in a way that no gap should remain. Pour 1/2 of the syrup on the bread. Top with remaining bread. Drizzle with remaining syrup. Keep it aside. Add milk, cream, sugar and cornflour in a  sauce pan. Stir it till the cornflour has mixed well. Cook, stirring it constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Switch of the flame. Stir in rosewater.Pour over the bread in the dish. Sprinkle with pistachio. Set aside to cool. Refrigerate until it sets. Serve.

Dudhpuli

This Pitha is made with rice flour which is kneaded into a dough. Then the little portion of the dough is stuffed with coconut and jaggary. Then it is given a shape and boiled in milk.
For the Stuffing 
Ingredients
1 cup Coconut grated
1/2 cup Date Jaggary grated
1/4 tsp Cardomom powder
Pinch of Salt

Method
Take a pan, add the Jaggary, Cardomom and salt, stir it on a low flame till it melts. Add the coconut and stir on low heat till the mixture becomes dry. Switch off the flame and let it cool down.

For the Rice Dumplings 
Ingredients
2 cups of Rice Flour
1 Pinch Salt
Warm water

Method 
To make the dumplings, take the flour and add the salt in a mixing bowl, add warm water little at a time. Knead it into a soft dough. Keep the dough covered as the dough will becomes hard if kept open.

For the kheer
1 liter  Full cream Milk
1 cup Date Jaggery 
Pinch of Salt 
Pinch of Cardomon Powder

Method
Add the milk in a pot and keep it on low flame till it reduces a bit. Add salt, Cardomon powder and Jaggary and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile we will get the dumplings ready.

For the Final step
Ingredients 
Stuffing 
Rice Dough 
Kheer

Method 
Take lemon size balls from the dough. Flatten the balls with your fingers in the shape of a bowl. The shell would be medium thin. Fill the stuffing into it. Close, fold and seal the edges of the dough. Give it a boat shape with 2 edges pointing outwards. Once the kheer has simmer for 15 minutes, add the dumplings into the kheer. Let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more, till the dumplings are cooked.

Umm Ali .....

Umm Ali .....

Umm Ali, also called Om Ali, is a very popular sweet dish of Egypt. This dessert is a version of bread pudding from the West. It is made from freshly baked puff pastry. This dish can be made in various ways... This dish has a long history. Om Ali is named after Sultan Ezz El Din Aybak’s wife, back in the 13th century.  She made it for a victory celebration, and distributed it among the people of the land.

 Here I have made it with a healthy twist... I have used Cornflakes...this dish can be served as a sweet dish during Ramadan... 

Ingredients

2  cups Cornflakes 

1 cup Milk 

1 cup Amul cream 

6 tbsp or more Sugar 

1 tbsp Icing Sugar 

1 tsp Kewda or Vanilla essence 

1 cup mix Dry Fruits  (chopped Almond, Pistachio,Walnuts, Cashewnuts and Raisins)

1 tbsp Dessicated Coconut

Method

Heat the milk in a pot, add the sugar and the essence into the milk. Bring it to boil. Keep it aside. Spread the Cornflakes in the baking dish. Pour the milk, after 10 minutes sprinkle half of the dry fruits. Warm up the cream and pour it on top. Sprinkle rest of the dry fruits, coconut and  icing sugar. Bake in preheated oven on 190 degree celcius for 15 minutes.

Thandai

Thandai is a refreshing drink made on Holi. It’s cooling and hence the name thandai .There are variations of thandai. It’s more popular in the north. 

Thandai Masala

Ingredients 

30 Almonds 

20 Pistachios 

4 tbsp  Melon Seeds

8 Rose Petals 

1/2 tsp Poppy Seeds

2 Green Cardamom 

6 Peppercorns 

1 tsp Fennel Seeds 

1 tsp Rose Essences

Few strands of Saffron 

2 tbsp Sugar

Method 

Grind all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Thandai Drink

Ingredients 

2 to 3 tbsp of Thandai Powder 

1 glass of Cold Milk 

Sugar as per sweetness

Few Almond flakes and Saffron strands for garnishing 

Method

Mix in one glass of chilled milk and add sugar according to the sweetness required. Add the thandai powder and mix well. Garnish it with Almond flakes and few strands of Saffron. Let it stand for sometime for the taste to enhance. Serve it chilled.

Pathisapta

For the Stuffing
Ingredients
2 cup Coconut grated
3/4 cup Date Jaggary grated
2 tbsp Sugar or more as per the taste
4 tbsp Mawa / Khoya
1/4 tsp Cardomom powder
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Raisins

Method
Take a pan, add the coconut, sugar, Jaggary and salt, stir it on a low flame till the coconut becomes dry. Add Mawa, Cardomom and raisins.Cook for another couple of minutes till the mixture is dry. Pour in a bowl and let it cool down.

For the Crepe
Ingredients
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Semolina
1 cup Milk or more
Pinch of Salt
1 tbsp Sugar
Ghee for drizzling on the pan
Liquid Date jaggary for drizzling (optional)

Method
Take a mixing bowl. Add flour, salt, sugar and semolina. Mix it. Add milk little at a time to make the batter. Cover and let the batter stand for 30 minutes. The batter will be just a little runny-consistency that is easy to spread and swirl on the pan. Heat a small heavy bottom non-stick pan on medium-low heat and add just enough oil or ghee once the pan is hot. Add 1 or 2 ladle full of batter to the pan and immediately tilt the pan and swirl the batter to cover the entire surface. Soon it will start to set. Give the pan a gentle wiggle. If the crepe moves, it is ready. Add 1 or 2 tbsp of the stuffing lengthwise in the center. Fold the crepe from both the sides. Drizzle the Jaggary syrup on top of the pathisapta (optional).