Category: SWEET THINGS

Posted on

Rava Laddu

Growing up, I remember my Amma making a 100 or so laddus to fill the festive sweet platters. I could never stop at one!!! I also remember my mother making these delectable morsels for a school fete one year. These are popular and although take a bit of time (1 and a half hours from start to finish), they are extremely worth the effort.

Traditionally made with fine sooji or semolina, my mother told me that her mother (my Ammamma) would make it with bulgur that has been roasted well and put through the Tiragali (stone grinder).

Ingredients (Makes 50 laddus)

500g semolina or sooji (fine)

450g castor sugar or superfine granulated sugar

85g desiccated coconut (fine)

130g ghee divided (melted)

2 teaspoons cardamom seeds (powdered or crushed in a mortar and pestle)

100g sultanas

100g cashew pieces

100ml water

75ml warm milk

Method

In a large fry pan, heat 3 tablespoons of ghee. Separately fry until golden the cashew pieces and the sultanas. Set aside.

On a low heat fry / roast the semolina, adding a spoonful of ghee intermittently until all the ghee is used up. This process should take roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and onto a large plate.

In the same pan, dry roast the desiccated coconut on a low heat until coconut flavour emanates. Set aside.

Measure out the sugar and water into the pan. On a low heat, stirring often bring the sugar syrup to a softball consistency. (Softball is when the temperature is between 113 to 118 degrees Celsius. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can drop a blob of sugar into a bowl of cold water. If sugar forms a soft ball, then you know it is ready).

Once the sugar syrup has reached the right consistency, remove from stove. Add the cardamom powder and mix well. Then add the desiccated coconut, the cashew pieces, and sultanas and mix again. Now add the semolina. Mix well. Take a small portion of the laddu mixture into a bowl (cover the rest in the pan) and start shaping into a ball while warm. You may have to apply pressure to make the balls. If it is too crumbly, add a little of the warm milk. It should take about half an hour or so to prepare the 50 Laddus with all the mixture in the pan. (Keeps in your pantry for a week).

Posted on

CHOCOLATE & SPICE APPLE CAKE

Recently I made this cake for a work morning tea. I was asked about the origins of this recipe and I realized that the recipe appeared in Cuisine magazine about 20 years ago. I don’t want to mess with a classic but over the years tweaked a bit and reduced the amount of sugar. It is a generous cake and the flavours are so perfect for winter.

Chocolate and spice apple cake

INGREDIENTS

230g raisins

250mls water

485g apples, peeled and chopped

125mls dark rum

1 and a half teaspoons baking soda

Continue reading “CHOCOLATE & SPICE APPLE CAKE”

Posted on

MILLIONAIRE’S CARAMEL OAT SLICE

Have you ever racked your brain wondering what to take a plate for an office morning tea? Not just office morning tea – I mean a baby shower or for other occasions when you are asked to take something. If you want an easy, fail proof, easy to impress slice, then look no further. I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit my own personal preferences but this is Dean Brettschneider, the Global Baker’s recipe. Do try it as like everyone who has tasted this slice, you’ll be craving for more!

Millionaire’s caramel oat slice

INGREDIENTS FOR THE BASE

125g melted butter

120g plain flour

70g rolled oats

50g coconut

120g brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

CARAMEL FILLING

1 tin (380g) caramel condensed milk

30g butter

45g golden syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Good pinch of sea salt (crystals)

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

100g dark chocolate (62% cocoa)

20g butter

75g evenly chopped toasted and skinned hazelnuts

METHOD

For the base

 Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Mix all dry ingredients together and then pour in the melted butter and combine until it forms a loose dough (a little crumbly). Prepare a 28cm by 22 cm baking tin by lining with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly before applying caramel filling. Make caramel filling while base is baking.

CARAMEL FILLING

Place all the ingredients except the salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring all the time until it becomes thickened. Watch it does not burn.

Spread evenly on warm base and sprinkle the sea salt on top. Place back in oven for further 12 -15 minutes. Cool well.

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

Melt chocolate and butter together. Spread evenly over cooled caramel and base. Sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate for a couple of hours at least. When cool, use a sharp knife and cut into squares. Clean knife edge with every cut so you have clean squares.

To prepare roasted hazel nuts, place nuts on a shallow baking tray. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes at 150 degrees Celsius. Check often to ensure that the nuts don’t burn. Cool and rub nuts in your fingers to loosen skins. Handpick nuts out and discard skins. Chop with a knife or in a food processor.

Posted on

MIXED NUT CHIKKI (BRITTLE)

I learnt to make this brittle from my friend Rachana. I had tasted it more than a year ago and when I asked for the recipe, she said she eye balls all the ingredients, so she needs to come over to my place and demonstrate. We did just that a couple of weeks back. In India, brittle is called chikki and there are family variations. Sesame seed and peanut brittle are most common. Chikki is made with jaggery and an easy substitute would be muscavado sugar.

Mixed nut chikki

This mixed nut version uses edible gum called gond or gaund or gondh. The gum is dried resin of axle wood tree (type of Acacia – the botanical name is Anogeissus latifolia) and is believed to be a wonderful warming food according to Ayurveda.

Frying the edible gum until it is popped

Copra is dried coconut kernel – commonly sold in Indian supermarkets in the half shell or uncut as a whole.

INGREDIENTS

300g cashew nuts

350g almonds

150g pumpkin kernels

200g dried copra

75g sesame seeds

50g sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon pepper

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

½ teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)

32g edible gum or gond

6 tablespoons ghee

750g good quality jaggery

METHOD

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and spread the cashew nuts and almonds, making sure to keep them separate. Roast in oven for 25 – 30 minutes until they are well roasted and crisp. Once cool, cut or process in the food processor so they are roughly chopped.

Dry roast the sesame seeds. Place the pumpkin kernels in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 30 seconds intervals until they are roasted. May take a couple of minutes based on your microwave wattage. Finely slice the copra and dry roast in a pan.

Prepare two large baking sheet pans by lining them with baking paper. Have a large rolling pin handy.

In a large non-stick cooking pot, dry roast the spices – pepper, fennel seeds and ajwain. Pound coarsely and set aside.

Heat four tablespoons of ghee and fry the edible gum in three batches until it pops.

Caramelizing the jaggery to hard ball consistency

Put the jaggery in the pot along with the remaining two tablespoons of ghee. Melt the jaggery while stirring continuously. Have a small bowl with cold water handy to test the doneness of the syrup. You have to get the jaggery to a hard ball consistency. This means if you drop the syrup in water, it turns hard immediately.

Once the jaggery syrup is ready, mix in all the prepared nuts, spices and edible gum. Mix well and pour onto prepared sheet pan. Flatten out using a rolling pin. Use a pizza cutter to cut the chikki into bite sized pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Posted on

BEETROOT BROWNIES

I know the name is intriguing and yes the main ingredient is beetroot. This is a guilt free treat – just five ingredients and plant based. It is easy to make so definitely give this recipe a try. Boiling the beetroot does take time and the brownie is only as nice as the quality of your chocolate. Buy the best you can afford with at least 60% cocoa.

Beetroot Brownie

INGREDIENTS

450g beetroot

200g dark chocolate

½ cup plain flour

½ cup ground hazelnut powder

½ cup brown sugar

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a shallow 22 centimetre square baking tin with baking paper.

Top and tail the beetroot. I like to boil beetroot (whole), uncut and unpeeled so the colour does not run. Once boiled, cool and peel. Cut into pieces and puree well using a blender.

Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.

Mix the pureed beetroot in to the melted chocolate. Add the remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Switch the oven off and let it sit in the oven for a further five minutes.

Allow to cool in the tin before slicing. You can serve with cream or ice-cream or I love it on its own.

Posted on

STRAWBERRY JAM

Store bought jams are a far cry from homemade jams. The strawberries I made jam with were farm fresh bursting with flavour and sweetness, so I was able to reduce the amount of sugar. This jam has only three ingredients – fruit, sugar and a couple of teaspoons of butter to set. A tip – don’t use overripe fruit.

Strawberries hulled and cut ready for jam

INGREDIENTS

1.5 kilograms strawberries (rinsed and hulled)

1 kilograms jam setting sugar

2 teaspoons (10g) butter

METHOD

Place a plate in the freezer for the set test.

Cut the large strawberries into halves or quarters. Coarsely crush with a potato masher.

Continue reading “STRAWBERRY JAM”

Posted on

MANGO PHIRNI

The history and origin of Phirni (sometimes spelt Firni) is not confirmed but often believed that the Mughals enjoyed rich milk based puddings. This milk pudding tradition is common in Persia so it is likely that the dish has origins there.

The main difference between phirni and kheer is that rice is ground in the former whereas kheer is rice pudding and you cook it whole.

Mango Phirni

INGREDIENTS

50g Basmati rice

2 tablespoons water

1 litre milk

Continue reading “MANGO PHIRNI”

Posted on

DIWALI SWEETS – THIYYA GAVALLU

Thiyya Gavallu literally translate to sweet shells. Store bought ones pale in comparison to homemade ones. This is an Andhra sweet and is like a sugar dipped dough nut. My grandmother used to make them and I have her shaping device but if you don’t have any such contraption, you can use the back of a fork.

Thiyya Gavallu

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour or standard flour

2 tablespoons ghee

Oil to fry

Continue reading “DIWALI SWEETS – THIYYA GAVALLU”

Posted on

DIWALI SWEETS – COCONUT BARFI

This is a traditional Indian sweet that I made for Diwali a few days back and it was well appreciated by the family.

Around Diwali, I reminisce about my own childhood memories of this festival with a huge smile. Diwali is about wearing new clothes, decorating the house with as many oil lamps as you can manage, eating a feast and then fireworks. A month prior to Diwali, the preparations for making our own rockets, flower pots and pencils would start. We had a real chemistry lesson patiently delivered by my father. We lived on a University campus and would always have competitions with neighbours. Now we all know better and it is good everyone is keeping away from fireworks because of pollution. The spiritual significance of Diwali is to try to distinguish the truth from lies, illumine our minds from darkness with light and realize the oneness of energy in all living beings. It is believed that the spirits of our ancestors return on the night of Diwali and the fireworks are an offering to their spirits.

There isn’t ever a dessert course in a traditional Indian cuisine. Sweets and other sweet things are served alongside and in some regional cuisines they are eaten at the start of a meal. It is good to have some of these sweet treats as part of your repertoire so you can create an authentic Indian dining experience.

Coconut barfi

INGREDIENTS

1 and a ½ cups sugar (frozen is fine)

Continue reading “DIWALI SWEETS – COCONUT BARFI”

Posted on

PRUNE, PUMPKIN & HAZELNUT CAKE

I can say that I loved cooking and collecting recipes from a very young age. I still have the note book where I hand wrote family favourite recipes and subsequently made additions in the nineties. I think this recipe is my version of such a recipe – I love it because it is a generous cake and has spicy flavours to complement the pumpkin and prunes. The cake is easily serves 12-15 people so make it for a family get together.

Prune, pumpkin and hazelnut cake

INGREDIENTS

1 kg peeled pumpkin

300ml sunflower oil

1 and ¼ cup soft brown sugar

4 eggs

¾ cup chopped prunes

1 cup hazelnuts

Continue reading “PRUNE, PUMPKIN & HAZELNUT CAKE”