Khasta Gaja

Celebrating Holi with ‪#‎homemade‬ Khasta Gaja ( A famous traditional sweet of ‪#‎Odisha‬)...

All purpose flour/ Maida- 1cup
Atta/ whole wheat flour-1/2 cup
Desi Ghee/ melted butter - 1/4th cup
Curd - 2tblsp
Soda -1/4 tsp
saunf/ fennel seeds- 1tblsp
Refined oil-  to deep fry
Salt a pinch

For sugar Syrup :
Sugar- 1 ½  cup
Water- 1 cup
Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp

Method :

Mix maida, atta and ghee, then rub the mixture thoroughly in ghee for 8-10 min. Now, add curd, salt & soda to it and mix. 
Make stiff dough and cover it and keep aside in a cool place for 15 min. 
Now make the sugar syrup till it reaches a two-string consistency

After a while, knead the dough again. make two balls. Roll the dough and form a log. I made two small logs. Now slice the dough into slightly thicker slices as shown in pic. with a sharp knife. let the sides of the pieces little bit rough so that while frying,  oil can go inside .

Take a kadai/ pan and heat  oil for deep frying; the oil should not be more hot..then put the gaja into the oil one after another.

Fry it at low - medium flame and Turn the pieces when they will float in oil..now fry the gajas till they become golden brown in color. It may take 8-19 mins to fry.
Repeat the same for all pieces.
Drain the pieces,
and then put the gajas into the sugar syrup. Allow to soak for 10-15 minutes.

Remove and keep on a plate to drain excess syrup. Now your khasta gaja is ready to serve. You can store it for 1-2 wks in a airtight container.

Mango Mousse‬

A Easy- to- prepare- treat
Insanely delicious!!!! It can b Prepared in no time and of course A good option for eleventh hour guests..

Mango Mousse

‪‎Alphansho‬ Mango Pulp 1 can
1 can condensed milk
whipped cream 1 1/2 cups

Mix all in a big bowl. Now beat for 2-3 mins. You can add cardamom powder if you want. You can add mix fruits, roasted nuts if u want to.. 
Your Mango mousse is ready. This creamy Mango Mousse treat is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Gulab Jamun with Bisquick Mix

A simple and easy way to make these yummy gulab jamuns with the pan cake mix/ Bisquick Mix. Hope you like the recipe.

Ingredients:

Bisquick or Pancake mix 1 Cup 

 Milk Powder 2 Cups

 Butter slightly melted: 1/4 Cup

Milk: 2 Tablespoons

Cardamom powder: 1/2 teaspoon

1.5 cups sugar for sugar syrup

Oil for deep frying

Method


Knead the dough using bisquick Mix, milk powder, melted butter and milk. Dough should be soft to hard but not sticky.
Divide into equal portions and shape into 1" diameter. These should have no cracks on the surface as otherwise the gulab jamuns will crack while frying.

For sugar syrup in a large pan, dissolve the sugar in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Take sugar and water in a sauce pan, bring it to boil. Simmer it for 5 to 8 mins till it gets little sticky. Dont need for the syrup to reach 1 string.
.
Remove any impurities which float on top of the syrup using a  spoon.
Add  cardamom powder and keep the syrup warm.

Heat oil in a kadai. Add the balls.Deep fry on low-mediumheat till golden in colour. 

Drain and immerse in the warm sugar syrup. Soak for atleast 1 hour.

Sweet Potato Halwa

I had lots of sweet potatoes in my freeze. Since I was planning on making dessert, I decided to prepare halwa with those sweet potatoes.This sweetpotato halwa is really amazing & simple too..This is especially helpful when making it during festive occasions. Needs only few regular home ingredients. I have added milk powder to it but it is optional.so friends here is the recipe..

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato 2 nos large
Sugar 1 cup or as per your taste
Ghee/ Butter- 2-3 tblsp
handful of (Cashew nuts, raisins, pistachios, almonds), chopped - except  raisins 
Milk- 1 1/2 cups
milk powder- 3-4 tblsp (optional)
pinch of salt
cardamom powder - 1tsp 

Method:

Wash the sweet potatoes & pressure cook it for 2 whistles.
Peel, remove ends and grate the sweet potato.
Heat ghee in a pan, add dry fruits, Saute till they turn light brown.Remove the pan from the heat. keep the sauted dryfruits aside.
Heat the same pan, add grated sweet potato. saute for 8-10 min till the colour changes & now add milk & milk powder to it. stir continuously on low-medium heat till the halwa becomes dry. Keep stirring it to prevent it from getting burnt.
Then add sugar and mix till it dissolves.
Now add cardamom powder and garnish it with cashew nuts and raisins.. Now switch off the flame.Now your halwa is ready to be served. Can be served hot or cold. Enjoy :)

Chocolate burfi with ricotta cheese

A simple easy to make, quick and delicious sweet.. My husband is a huge lover of sweets. So for his birthday , I decided  to make something in sweets , so I  prepared pineapple cake, mango custard and this chocolate burfi. 

Then one thing came to my mind that,  why not to try the burfi with ricotta cheese as I had a packet of ricotta cheese sitting in my fridge. After finishing cakes & custard, I started to make this burfi.

Initially I didn't think about to make chocolate burfi , I decided to make normal burfi only but  Immediately I thought to add some choco chips  while making the burfi , then thought why not add some nuts in here for a crunchy bite to the burfi.

It tastes absolutely awesome and the husband loved it too...If you are a chocolate lover – you should try this recipe.  so lets start the recipe...

Ingredients:

1 small tin of sweetened condensed milk
Milk powder- 2 tblsp (optional)
Ricotta cheese-450gm
Butter/ ghee - 2tblsp
1/3 cup Cocoa powder / Chocolate chips 8 oz
¼ tsp  cardamom powder
Chopped Nuts for garnishing

Method

Take a non-stick pan/ kadhai. Melt butter, add the ricotta cheese, stir well  on medium-high flame  until mixture leaves the pan. Now add condensed milk, milk powder, cocoa powder and cardamom powder. As we are using condensed milk so stir it continuously not to let it stick to bottom and burn. 

Cook over medium heat until mixture becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan.
Pour mixture in prepared greased tin and refrigerate for 30 mts.
Cut in desired shape. Serve at room temperature.

Chickpeas sundal

For making sundal u will need:

Chickpeas- 2 cups (soaked in water for 7-8 hours)
Dry red chilli- 2-3 nos
Roughly chopped green chillies- 1tsp
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
Asafoetida/ hing- a pinch
Curry leaves- a few
Salt to taste
Vegetable Oil- 1tblsp
Grated coconut- 2 tblsp
Turmeric powder- 1tsp
1 tblsp lemon juice

Method:

In a pressure cooker, place chickpeas , salt and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Add water in such a way that it s just 1/2" over the chickpeas.

Pressure cook for 5-6 whistles till they becomes soft. Once done, let the pressure come down on its own. Once pressure releases, remove peas and drain in a colander completely. 

Heat oil in a pan. Add  Dry red chillis & crackle mustard seeds, now add asafoetida, green chillies, curry leaves to it. When curry leaves starts spluttering add the boiled chickpeas to it. Adjust salt. Switch off the flame. Add lemon juice to it. Now garnish with some grated coconut. 
Your chickpeas sundal is ready to serve. Serve as a side dish with rice, pullav  or u can have it with parathas.

NIMIKI (Nimki)

I always Love to have Nimkis with a steaming hot cup of tea ...A delicious & easy to make snacks. U can easily make it at home , store them upto 1 month & U can Njoy them with hot hot tea when ever u want....

Ingredients:

Maida - 1 cup
Nigella  seeds - 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Water  to knead the dough
Salt - 1/2 tsp
2tblsp melted hot ghee/ butter
Oil for deep frying

Method:
Make a tight dough with Maida,nigella seeds, salt, baking powder, and 2 tbsp melted ghee . Cover it in a white damp cloth for about half an hour.
Make 10 small balls. Using a rolling pin, Roll the balls to thin Puri shapes.


Make little slits all over the puri. Sprinkle a little flour and half fold, again sprinkle a little flour and fold it into a triangle.




Heat oil in kadai. Add the nimkis to hot oil and fry on low flame till golden brown & crisp. 

Mango Lassi

MMMmmm mango Lassi..This drink has a secret way to my man's heart. his all time fav ...I think having mango lassi is almost everyone's favorite thing to have when it is mango season. chilled lassi in hot summer...:) Hav this after coming home from outside to enjoy  as it is best to beat the heat.

Ingredients:
1 large ripe mango, peled and cut into small pieces
1 cup plain yoghurt
3-4 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet you want)
1 tblsp grated coconut fot garnishing
chopped pistachoes
½ cup chilled milk

Method:

Put all the ingredients in food processor and blend together. Adjust the consistency according to the verity of mango used. Pour in to a tall serving glass.Throw in some ice cubes. Garnish with grated coconut & chopped pistachoes. njooyyyy!!!!

Suji Kakara Pitha (Odisha Special)

Ingredients:

Suji (rawa ) -2 cups 
Water 4 cups
Sugar -1 ½  cup ( u can adjust sugar according to your taste)
cardamom- 5 pcs ( make powder)
Shredded fresh coconut- half a coconut
Freshly Grounded Black pepper- 1tsp
Refined Oil- for frying
Salt - a pinch


Method:

• In a bowl, mix properly the shredded coconut, half of Sugar, black pepper pwd.  and cardamom powder and mix well .Keep them aside.
• 
• Boil about  4 cups of water (double the amount of rawa))& add sugar, a pinch of salt to it. When  sugar dissolves, Add Rawa to it. Mix  them  fast to avoid any  lumps. Stir it Keep it on the flame for 2 min. Remove from flame and keep aside.
• 
• Let the dough cools down to room temperature. Then apply ltl oil in your palms. Kneed the dough till it becomes soft.
• Make small small balls from the dough & flatten them using your palms , 
• Make  a deep depression in between ( make it like a cup) using your fingers  & put  the coconut stuffing. 
• 
• Then Close it form all sides .Make the above balls into flat shape  with the help of  your palms.
• 
• Heat oil in a frying pan . When hot, drop these stuffed balls one by one & fry in a lower flame till they  turns golden brown from each side.
• 
•  Kakara pitha is ready and serve it hot or cool anyway u like it.