BlackBerry Milkshake

I was introduced to this fruit called Blackberry 2 months back when we visited city of Bensheim in Germany. This city is famous for wine grapes and there were plenty of blackberry trees bordering the grapeyards.. Until then, I used to look at these as some wild fruits but when my friend just grabbed some and started feasting on them, I had to try it! And once I had some (luckily I found a big colony of sweet ones), there was no stopping.. I ate many along the way and also admired the lovely clustered structure till my husband declared that I unknowingly had 2 glasses of wine :D

Last week I found a pack of fresh blackberries at the fruit market and couldnt stop myself from buying them.. The plan was to prepare something for Meeta's monthly mingle.. But I ate some and then realised there were very few left for trying anything.. So on weekend, back I went to the fruit market and prepared blackberry milkshake the same day.. The end result aeemed lovely not just due to the tatse, but due to the lovely color! I am not sure if I can call this milkshake as I added some yoghurt as well alongwith milk.. But I surely cant call this lassi as there is more milk than yoghurt :D This blackberry Milkshake goes to Meeta for Monthly Mingle, this month's theme being "Liquid Dreams"

BlackBerry Milkshake

Preparation Time:

5 mins

Serves:

2 glassfuls

What you need:

1 Cup Blackberries
3 cups Milk
2-3 tbsp Beaten Yoghurt
2-3 tbsp Sugar

How to proceed:

1) Mix all ingredients in a blender
2) Place in refridgerator for sometime
3) Serve cold!

* I used Yoghurt to thicken the milkshake.. It can be left out to have thin milkshake!
* Chop few blackberries and put some pieces in milkshake
* Add 2-3 mint leaves to give a twist in the taste!

Celebrating RakshaBandhan with Gajar ka Halwa!

Happy RakshaBandhan to all my blogger friends! Ask my brother whats RakshaBandhan and he would say "money making business for girls!!" :D For those who dont know, I have a real bro elder to me whom I call "Da" (Dada is marathi word for elder bro but its tooo long for me, hence......) And I used to agree with him on this till last year when we used to be together on RakshaBandhan day! But now both of us have better definitions for this festival.. Before my marriage all we did was quarrelling (and we plan to continue fighting when I am back in India), but now we really miss each other.. Sometime back he just called to wish me and I happily asked him to courier me some gift.. Oh yes, I didnt forget to courier a Rakhi so he better not forget about the gift! ;)

Its just impossible to find Rakhi material here in Belgium.. I tried nearly all the shops, even childrens hobby classes but nothing could suit my taste.. Finally I got some wool and made a batch of simple Rakhis for Da, a cricket team of cousins and Sid n Vish, two most important people in my life- whom duniya will call rakhee brothers, but for me they are just as close to me as is my real brother.. They have been by my side through all my tough times and at times helping me take the toughest decisions in my life.. The best gift that I have for Rakshabandhan is the assurance that whenever I need them they are just a call away! Love u guys n miss u very much! Happy RakshaBandhan.. A glimpse of the rakhis I made and sent alongwith handwritten letters which my brothers just loved!

Festivals are always associated with sweets and I decided to make something sweet today.. Now I cant make all the variety of sweets which my choosy bros love (with one becoming highly health conscious these days and posting all health funde on his blog :P) so decided to make my favourite.. Gajar Ka Halwa.. The most famous Indian dessert, thanks to Bollywood ;) 9 out of 10 mothers in Hindi films welcome their sons coming back from Pardes with a bowl of his favourite sweet.. No points for guessing.. its my dear favourite Gajar ka Halwa! :) Here's a bowl for u guys!!

Gajar Halwa

Makes:

3-4 servings

Preparation Time:

40-45 mins

What you need:

4-5 Carrots (2-2.5 cups grated carrots)
3 cups Whole Milk
2 tbsp Ghee
1-11/2 cups Sugar [may vary depending on sweetness of carrots]
1/2 tsp Elaichi Powder
4-5 strands of Saffron
Nuts (Golden Raisins, chopped cashews, almonds and pistachios)

How to proceed:

1) Boil milk
2) Heat 1 tbsp Ghee in a non-stick pan and fry cashews and raisins till they turn golden brown
3) Keep them aside and add grated carrots in the remaining ghee
4) Saute carrots for a 2-3 minutes
5) Now add cardamom, saffron and boiled milk and cook on medium low heat till all the milk is absorbed. Keep stiring at intervals. This might take 15-20 mins
6) When milk is nearly absorbed, add sugar, fried cashews and other nuts
7) Add remaining 1 tbsp Ghee
8) Cook till ghee separates from the sides of the pan (If you prefer mushy version as I do, cook for just 2-3 minutes)
9) Serve hot or cold.. I prefer the refridgerated one! :)


* Next Gajar Halwa is gonna be a trial in microwave.. Am looking for time saving recipes these days.. Hope it turns out equally good!

Rasgulla

Rasgullas have long been associated with West Bengal.. But the origin of Rasgulla is in the neighbouring state of Orissa.. Rasgullas were initially served as an offering in the Jagannath Temple at Puri in Orissa.. The brahmin cooks from Orissa who were employed in Bengali households prepared this sweet. Hence it became more popular as a Bengali sweet. (Read more here) This detailed study is just for making a smooth way for my Rasgullas to go to Swapna's RCI-Orissa Cuisine :)

In India, these sweets are easily available in sweet marts.. In pardes here, you are lucky if you are the first few to spot the can of Haldiram Rasgullas at the Indian stores.. Finally I googled once to find the smae recipe posted at every other site.. And it seemed too easy.. So I had to try this.. After many trial and errors, my rasgullas came out perfectly soft n fluffy at the fourth try.. Thankfully I always cooked in small batches so did not waste a lot of material into it.. No cooker, stored/store brought paneer or semolina/plain flour worked for me... Finally what made the yummy sweet balls perfect was this recipe....

Rasgulla

Makes:

~25 medim sized Rasgullas

Preparation Time:

3-4 hrs

What you need:

1/2 lit Whole Milk
2 cups Water
1/2 cup Sugar (add more if u want more sweet)
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
2-3 strands of Saffron (optional)

How to proceed:

1) Boil milk
2) As soon as milk boils, add lemon juice to it and boil for another 10 mins till two separate layers are seen
3) Drain the water and collect the paneer/curd in a muslin cloth.
4) Hang for an hour and then press under weight for another hour or two to remove all excess water from paneer/curd
5) Remove Paneer and knead it for 15-20 mins till it turn soft
6) In a cooking vessel, add sugar to water and bring this water to boil
7) Add cardamom powder and saffron strands to the water
8) Make round balls from the curd and add it to the boiling sugar syrup
9) Let them cook for 10-15 mins till the balls enlarge
10) Garnish woth nuts and serve yummy Rasgullas as soon as they cool down a bit


* The rasgullas *may* turn hard if left aside for long time.. I cant confirm this since I burnt my mouth while having these sweeties :D

Xtra Rich Patiala Lassi

Patiala Lassi is a rich Punjabi drink prepared from Yoghurt. It probably gets its name from the place where it came from originally, Patiala, a district in Punjab. It is usually served in long steel glasses. This lassi(like others) is a filler, as its difficult to finish a glassful even after a light meal. Weight watchers.. Beware.. This is absolutely not recommended for you guys.. This is just for carefree people like me :) This Xtra rich Yoghurt Drink makes its way to Nupur’s “X of Indian Vegetables” and Richa’s "RCI Punjabi Cuisine"!

Patiala Lassi

Makes:

1 glassful

What you need:

2 cups full Yoghurt
2-3 tbsp Milk
2-3 tbsp Sugar
½ tsp Cardamom Powder
¼ tsp Nutmeg Powder
½ cup Crushed Ice
4-5 Saffron strands
Chopped dry fruits like pistachios, almonds, cashews

How to proceed:

1) Beat the yoghurt until smooth
2) Mix all remaining ingredients except Dry fruits
3) Blend again to dissolve sugar
4) Serve fresh topped with chopped dry fruits!

* You can optionally add vanilla /rose /pista essence!

Homemade Paneer

Making sabjis with Paneer was not so common at my place until last month. That's when I was cribbing about how rarely we find Paneer here at the Indian stores. She quickly replied that she preferred making it at home and the cook in me cursed me when I got to know the oh-so-easy procedure of making Paneer at home! I tried it out the next day and it turned out perfectly smooth and delicious.. I thought of sharing this with you guys so that you can make some lovely Paneer dishes for me :D

I dont think I need to talk more about this lovely no-fat cheese from India- Paneer, also known as cottage Cheese. I realised that its totally harmless when I prepared it at home.. And now since I have Paneer at hand, except some Paneer dishes next week from me for RCI Punjabi Cuisine! :)

Paneer

Preparation time:

3.5-4 hrs

Makes:

~400 gm Paneer

What you need:

1 liter full fat Milk
Juice of 1 Lemon

How to proceed:

1) Place milk in a pan and bring to boil
2) Keep stiring at intervals so that it does not stick to the pan
3) When milk starts boiling, add juice of 1 lemon to it
4) Heat for another 5-10 mins
5) You'll see a separate yellowish layer of water above
6) Take off the heat and seive using a strainer to remove the water
7) Hold under cold water for a min and then tie in a thin cloth
8) Hang it/Place it under weight for few hours till all water drains out
9) Cut in cubes and use it for your favourite Punjabi dishes!

* Strain the lemon juice before hand. Do not squeze it directly over the milk. This prevents the lemon particles from getting into paneer and paneer retains the pure white color.

* I prefer hanging the paneer for some time and then pressing it between my cutting board and my marble rolling platform (polpat/chakla). This makes the panner flat and becomes easier to store it as well as easy for making cubes!

Orange Burfi

Sharmi of Naivedyam is hosting AFAM this month. I was thinking of going for some cool summer drinks when Orange was announced for AFAM this month.. But then I didnt want to disturb the sweet n sour taste of orange by mixing it wit some other fruit for beverages.. Hence I decided to go for Orange Burfi. The Maharashtrian cit of Nagpur is famous for its Orange cultivation.. The "Santra Burfi/Orange Fudge" from Nagpur is very famous. We used to be lucky everytime two of my Nagpuri team mates went back home :) Orange Barfi was "default" sweet that they had to bring along! I made these burfis a bit less sweet coz I found sweet oranges here. I also tried some laddus with this mixture (from the disformed mixture left out after separarting good-looking n in-shape barfis!) Enjoy the yummilicious sweet! :)

Orange Burfi

What you need:

2 Oranges
1 cup Plain Flour(Maida)
1+1/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Ghee
4-5 saffron strands
Fried dry fruits (optional)

How to proceed:

1) Heat ghee in a pan and add plain flour to it
2) Fry till golden brown, stirring at intervals.. Now take off from gas and keep aside.
3) Peel oranges, remove seeds and transparent skin from each slice to get just the orange pulp
4) Heat milk, add sugar and orange pulp to it.
5) Keep stirring continuously till the mixture becomes sticky.. this might take 15-20 mins.
6) Now add the plain flour mixture to it and mix well
7) Add saffron and dry fruits if desired.
8) Cook till ghee separates from the mixture
9) Now place the mixture in a greased vessel and let cool
10) Cut into desired shapes and enjoy yummy orange burfi!

This was the first time I made something decorative/creative.. Flowers using the Orange skin/peel.. So just coundnt control myself from taking more snaps :)

I also made some laddus from the mixture that was left after making barfis!

Shevai Kheer

To end on a sweet note....

Today being the last day for RCI Maharashtrian Cuisine, I decided to end my entries with something sweet.. Shevai Kheer is a Maharashtrian dessert prepared using shevai/vermicelli. Thin shevai (Ganesh Shevai) as well as the thick one (Pillusbury Vermicelli) can be used for this dish. Kheer's are a favourite Maharashtrian dessert because they are easy to prepare and hence make a quick dessert when guests suddenly drop in. :) The Maharashtrian Kheer family includes kheers made from Rice (Tandalachi Kheer), Wheat (Gavhachi Kheer), Semolina(Rawyachi Kheer) and Vermicelli(Shevai Kheer). Shevai Kheer is the richest of these all, hence not prepared as often as others.. Other desserts include the quick one-Sheera (semolina pudding), store brought Shrikhand, Amrakhand, Jilebi and the ones that take more time(1-2 hrs) to prepare- Gulabjamuns, Gajar Halwa and Basundi.

In Maharashtra, Birthdays and Sweets go hand in hand.. Its happens to be my Dad's borthday today.. and so this Kheer is for Dad.. Happy Birthday Papa!

Shevai Kheer

What you need:

100 gm Shevai (Vermicelli)
2 tbsp Ghee
2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Sugar (adjust acco to taste)
Fried dry fruits

How to proceed:

1) Heat Ghee in pan
2) Fry dry fruits and keep aside
3) Now add vermicelli in the remaining ghee
4) Fry stirring continuously till the vermicelli starts turning brown
5) Now add milk and let vermicelli cook
6) When milk starts boiling, add sugar and dry fruits
7) Cook till vermicelli becomes soft (is cooked)
8) Serve hot or cold

* Above ingredients make thick kheer. Add more milk if you wish thin kheer.

Moong Dal Kheer

This recipe is my entry for "M of Indian Vegetables" of Nupur's A to Z of Indian Vegetables.This is one of the interesting recipes which develops from an accident ;) Last week hubby dear cooked some extra moong daal which rested in the fridge for two days. I could not find any innovative recipes on net for washed and cooked Moong dal and decided to experiment. As Moong Dal Payasam recipes expected me to wash, roast and then cook the dal, I decided to adapted steps from the same recipe.

It was Akshaya Trutiya (a festival celebrated in Maharashtra, India) last Thursday when mom called and asked me to cook some sweet naivedya (prasad/offering to god). This was how the reicpe of "Moong Dal Kheer" was born. Quick and easy to cook dessert with very few ingredients. Here goes the recipe...

Moong Dal Kheer

What you need:

1 cup Moong Dal
¾ cup Sugar
3 cups Milk
4-5 strands of saffron soaked in 2 tsp of warm milk
1 tsp Ground cardamom
7-8 Cashews
Few golden raisins
2-3 tbsp Ghee

How to proceed:

1) Wash and cook Moong Dal in cooker till mushy (3 whistles)
2) Put Moong Dal in blender to make a smooth paste
3) Heat ghee and fry the raisins and cashews and put aside
4) Add the Moong Dal paste to ghee and cook for some time
5) Add soaked saffron and ground cardamom
6) Add sugar and milk and mix well on medium heat
7) Keep stirring the kheer at intervals on medium heat for 30 mins
8) Add roasted raisins and cashews and cook for 5 more mins
9) Serve hot or cold