Low Fat Gajar Ka Halwa. No Khoya/Condensed Milk. Happy Holi

Happy Holi everyone :-) Missing India? I am totally missing spending time with family and friends-those long chats, fun and laughter. Oh yes, the good food too. My mom makes gunjiya (traditional Indian sweet) and kachori and aloo ki subji-oh man, my mouth is watering. This is like her fixed menu on the Holi festival. Once playing with gulaal (powdered colours) and water was over, we had quick baths and just hog on the tasty food. Festivals I tell you, means lot of memories and flashbacks, but I think some feelings you just can’t describe in words :)

If my non-Indian readers are wondering what this festival is about, read here. For us, Holi is bidding goodbye to winter, it’s like winter is officially over (not possible in London though ;). And thus it is the time to cook all the wintery food for the last time in the year. Be it bajre ki roti, makke ki roti, roasted winter soups or very famous Gajar Ka Halwa.

Gajar Ka Halva is a north Indian specialty but it is cooked and relished all over India throughout the winters. Fresh, sweet carrots are washed and pealed, later grated into thin laces. In it goes lot of ghee and khoya (evaporated condensed milk) and nuts. Now here is the thing, unlike sooji ka halwa, gajar ka halva is not prepared quickly. You need lot of time and patience to make the perfect halwa; slow cooking is a must here. So, plan to prepare this sweet only when you have good amount of time in your hands :-)

Low fat, low calorie Gajar Ka Halwa, is what I promised to bring before you. Wait, whaaaaaat? Low fat gajar ka halwa, how is that possible? How can one make healthy gajar ka halwa, well well well worry not-you can, yes you can! To prove it, I prepared a video tutorial, so that you can see for yourself.

So, here is what I did. Traditional gajar ka halwa is cooked with atleast 5 tablespoons of ghee, I used only 1. You need khoya/mava/condensed milk for a richer taste, but this recipe is without any of these fat loaded things. Ideally you roast/fry dry fruits in the ghee for the halwa, guess what? I omitted this step as well. Lastly I made use of just 2 spoons of sugar. So, here is the halwa that you can eat daily (well almost), as it contains little ghee and sugar and no use of khoya or condensed milk either.

Ingredients:

3 large carrots/gajar

1 cup milk/doodh

1 tablespoon butter/ghee

1 glass hot water

2 tablespoons sugar/chinni

1 tablespoon cashews/kaju

5 raisins/kismis

1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds/elyachi

Video Tutorial:

Method:

Wash and peal the carrots. Grate using fine grater.

Chop cashews and keep aside.

In non stick pan, add ghee. When ghee is hot add grated carrots. Turn the flame to medium-slow.

Add hot water. Mix. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

When water is evaporated, add in cashews, raisins and cardamom. Mix.

Add sugar and mix again.

Pour the milk in the pan. Mix. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.

After 10 minutes, turn the flame to medium-high and cook uncovered for 8 minutes.

Keep mixing till halwa becomes thick and no water is visible.

Serve hot.

Notes:

You know the halwa is ready when it sticks to the spoon.

Feel free to use red carrots as well.

I dont like to powder the cardamom seeds, but you can.

Use almonds, walnuts if you want to.

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot with chopped nuts.

This goes well with vanilla icecream as well. Just reheat the halva and serve with chilled icecream.

Spicy Ginger Cookies, Indian Way (Eggless), Paired With Dragon Fly Tea

Everyone knows that tea to English is like picnic indoors, so what if they can’t grow it-but it is indeed their national drink. In time of a crisis or mid-afternoon when one is feeling a bit peckish, nothing else will do but a nice cup of tea. India is the hub when it comes to tea cultivation, but what Indians have is black tea with some milk and sugar. Only after coming to the UK I saw innovative flavours of tea such as mint, jasmine, fruity, winter spice, white tea and what not.

Being a tea lover/addict, I am always keen and ready to try new fresh teas. DragonFly’s Pure Camomile organic infusion is my current obsession. Camomile literally means 'earth apple' because the scent of the flowers is reminiscent of fresh apples. This tea is mildly sweet, delicate and fragrant with intense golden colour-comforting and soothing for sure. Another thing that I loved and enjoyed about Dragonfly tea was the excitement to tear the sachet and read a tea quote; all the quotes are so creative that it will surely bring a smile on your face. Go to http://dragonflytea.com/ and explore yourself a world of tea that is loaded with fresh, original and new tea flavours.

With hot and delectable under tones of warm earthy essence of tea, all you need is something sweet and sharp to nibble. Ginger cookies came into my mind-these cookies have spiky ginger taste and are mildly sweet. This is an eggless recipe and all you need are four ingredients and there you will have perfectly crunchy ginger cookies. This is one bowl recipe, no melting, kneading, chopping is needed- just mix and bake-how simple is that?? These are not typical Christmas ginger cookies, not at all- they are spicy, crisp and a bit Indian.

Below is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour/maida

5 tablespoons cold butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 pinch baking soda

2 tablespoon grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon chai massala (see notes)

Method:

In bowl mix everything together and from dough.

Cover the dough and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

After 1 hour preheat the oven at 170C.

Line a baking tray with grease proof paper/baking paper and keep it ready.

Divide the dough in 10 equal portions and make small smooth balls and arrange them on the baking tray, keeping gap in between.

Take a fork and applying little pressure flatten the cookies (like a pattie) such that you see fork marks on it.

Bake in a preheated oven at 170C for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye and see it doesn’t burn. You will know cookies are done when the colour changes. Cool them on a wire rack.

Notes:

These cookies might appear soft when they are hot, once cooled, it will be crunchy.

You can use any sugar-white, castor, brown, demerara sugar. I used brown sugar as it gives nice brown colour.

You can also roll out the dough and use any cookie cutter for different shapes.

Chai massala is available at any Indian grocery store. I used this one.

These cookies are not very sweet, if you like more sweet taste, then roll these cookies in icing sugar when they are slightly warm.

Baking time also depends upon oven to oven, so please keep an eye and use your own judgement.

Serving suggestions:

Serve with tea and coffee.

Just break these cookies roughly and mix with your morning cereals, smoothies, milk shakes, cold coffee.

Top these cookies on icecreams, brownies or cakes with some sweet sauce.

Wrap up these cookies and gift to your friends and family for new year or just like that.

Disclaimer: I was not paid or told to write positive review. The post is based on my experience and is unbiased. Thanking Dragonfly for sending tea for review.

Cookies Recipe Collection And Happy New Year

Wish you and your dear and near ones a very Happy New Year. I wish and hope that 2015 is more exciting and joyous. Thank you all for amazing 2014, thanks for all the support and motivation :)

For the new beginning I share before you cookies recipes, so that you can start your year with sweetness and lots of baking.

• Vanilla cookies (Little Hearts): - Vanilla and chocolate is such a winner combination and no one can ever go wrong with its taste. The sweet aroma of vanilla and bitterness of dark chocolate compliments each other very well. Enjoy these crunchy cookies with milk or coffee (like me).

• Eggless Cardamom Almond Cookies: - Cardamom-simple enough, yet far more appealing and impressive, and tasty? You bet! They are so quick and ridiculously tasty. Cardamom gives that Indian touch while almonds add that missing crunch. Cardamom lovers, you have to try this.

• Eggless Oats Cookies: - Eggless cookies with healthy touch of oats. These are really crunchy cookies and have a secret ingredient that makes these cookies mind blowing. You are going to looooovvveeee them. Do see the recipe to unveil that secret ingredient.

• Chocolate Cookies: Not any ordinary chocolate cookies, but cookies that are made using hot chocolate powder. It a great way to use up hot chocolate boxes, the texture is gooey and crumbly-extremely delicate chocolaty.

• Curry Leaves Cookies:- Yeah you read it right. If sweet cookies are not for you, then you have to give these cookies try. Curry leaves are sharp and the aroma is so distinguished, and when it is mixed with Indian spices, the cookies turns out to be so notable that you will be hooked.

• Orange Crinkle Cookies:- these are my personnel favourite and I just cant get over with its taste. No eggs and no butter is used in this recipe, which makes it so easy that even a novice can bake them to perfection. It is the appearance that makes these cookies distinctive- the cracks and the coated sugar crafts the touch of snow flakes and crinkle which is very eye catching and dazzling. Even taste wise these cookies are poles apart from the regular ones- they are soft and chewy like a blend of brownie and cookie.

Serving suggestions:

All these cookies are best when served with hot cup of tea or coffee.

These cookies stay fresh in a air tight container for atleast 1 week, so make them in advance and serve on parties, get-together or night outs.

Pack these cookies in a festive tray, box or a plate and gift to your friend or relatives for any occasion.

Do try these cookies and let me know which one is your favorite Happy New Year once again :)

Happy Diwali 2013 :-)

Wishing you and your family a very *Happy Diwali*

Happy Cooking and Happy Eating

(image source 1,2)

Happy And Spooky Halloween

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31.  The word Halloween is a shortening of All Hallows' Evening also known as Hallowe'en or All Hallows' Eve. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, and costume parties, visiting "haunted houses" and carving jack-o-lanterns.

Everywhere in the market you see the celebrations of Halloween. The whole lot is so orange and black, spooky costumes, masks etc are seen all around the shops. One thing that is most common is carving pumpkin; why not after all it is so apt to make it look like a ghost. I so very much wanted to try carving pumpkin myself, so here is how I did it. It was easy only if you have good grip and sharp knife. I have this amazing knife from Argos, you can see here

So here is me wishing you and your family a very Spooky Halloween. Enjoy

(Image source)

Karva Chauth Sweets Recipes

Karva Chauth is round the corner ladies. What are your plans?  What are you wearing? Have you decided about the henna design? So much work isn’t it? I like karva chauth a lot. The beautiful saris, colourful bangles, glowing faces- wow is the word. Just like all the festivals this too is celebrated in different ways in different parts of the country.

Karwa is another word for pot (a small earthen pot of water) and chauth means 'fourth' in Hindi. All married women fasts from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands without eating or drinking anything at all. They apply henna on their hands, wear good traditional clothes. In the afternoon prayers are read. Then the women await the rising of the moon. Once the moon is visible, she sees the moon with a seieve and then sees her husband. Water is offered to the moon to secure its blessings. We believe that "Like the gold necklace and the pearl bracelet, just like the moon may my husband’s life also always shine brightly."The husband then offers water and gives his wife her first sip and feeds her with the first morsel of the day (usually something sweet). The fast is now broken, and the woman has a complete meal.

Cool isn’t it? All these rituals adds love to your life and you get a good change from daily routine. My husband from past 3 years fasts with me to show his support and love for me. I just find this very sweet and comforting *clap clap*. He comes from office; we look for moon, pray and then eat together. I always make Jalebi on this day, it is his favourite sweet dish *happy dance*.

Just like me, if you also want to make this day more special, and then do make some quick and new sweet dishes.

Milk Powder Churma Rice Kheer/ Rice Pudding Chocolate Sandesh Naankhatai Kesar Kalakand Chocolate Ladoos Mango Phirni Chocolate Filled Gulab Jamuns Gond Ladoos Milk powder Gulab Jamuns

Kesar Kalakand With Navratri Wishes

Navaratri starts tomorrow. Nine days of fun and festive mood. Navratri is such an important festival in Indian culture. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. The tenth day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or Dussehra.

Gujratris perform garba and dandiya these days where as bengalis have thier traditional durga puja. Both have their own importance and charm. I have studied in Gujarat for over 5 years and I am also married to a guy who is from Gujarat, and thus this festival becomes special for me. Back at home my family will do pooja of mataji (goddess) for all 9 days with complete dedication. But the other side of Navratri is doing garba.

Garba nights in Ahmadabad are crazy. All, with no barriers of caste, age or gender perform dandiya. What a colourful sight it is! The beautiful dresses, with traditional touch- wow is the word.  Ah! It makes me so nostalgic.

Like all the other festivals, Navratri is also about cooking fresh and yummy dishes. I just find people so happy these days- they wish that may these 9 days never get over. May be I am getting bit carried away. Anyways for the beginning of this festival I made Kesar Kalakand. This recipe is very quick and easy. I am not very good in making Indian sweets; to tell you I can’t even make sheera/halwa properly. But making kalakand is easy for me. Kalakand can be made in many flavors and ways. I used trouble-free cottage cheese/paneer to make this. Here comes my simple Kalakand recipe.

Ingredients:

1 tin (400g) Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 heaped tablespoons Milk powder

1 tablespoon Kesar/saffron

2 tablespoon warm water

Pinch yellow colour

Almonds halved-6-8
500 g Paneer/Cottage Cheese
3-4 powdered Cardamom/Elaichi

Method:

Mix saffron in warm water and leave aside for 10 minutes. Wait till water changes it colour to yellow-orange.

Mash Paneer coarsely and mix in milk powder, yellow colour, saffron water and condensed milk.

Heat the mixture in a thick bottom pan. Cook on medium heat with constant stirring till the mixture becomes thick and starts leaving the sides of the pan.

Remove from heat and mix cardamom powder.

Spread onto a greased plate. Let it cool and set for 1-2 hours.

Cut in squares and top each piece with halved almond.

Notes:

Add in 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to make chocolate kalakand.

I used food colour to bring bright yellow effect, however this is totally optional.

Keep mixing the mixture else it will stick at bottom and give that burnt taste.

If in hurry, leave the mixture in fridge. It will set quickly.

Taste:

Sweet, aromatic and soft

Cook With White Event Announcement And 2 Giveaways

Cook With Yellow was great success, I got 150 entries and yummy yellow recipes(*Clap*Clap*Clap*). Many of you asked when is the new event happening, So here it is Cook With White Event. I chose white as theme colour this time, as the period of festivals is going to commence. We have ganesh chaturti, navratri, onam, karwa chauth, durga puja and dushehra falling in these months, and that is why many of us will cook sweet and savoury dishes that are made with white stuff –milk, rice, flour, semolina etc.etc.

Yes all you have to do is cook with white ingredients’.   Yup! Put on your thinking caps and cook anything white. Here is the collection of my recipes which were cooked with white things- Milk Powder Churma, Rice Pudding, Naankhatai, Baked Salt Crackers, Paneer Pudhina Tikki.

Rules for the event-

• Cook with anything white. White ingredient must be the main one and not just used in garnishing.
• Looking for fresh entries thus try out new recipes. So, no archived posts will be entertained. Your post has to between September –October 2013.
• Multiple entries are welcome and appreciated. Sweet, savoury, drinks anything can be included.
• The event has to be linked back as Cook With White announced at Merry Tummy. (Compulsory)
• Usage of logo is optional but I would be happy if you could use it, as it helps spread word.
• You have to like Merry Tummy's Facebook Page, Follow me on Twitter and Follow Merry Tummy. (Compulsory)
• Only after your first entry, share the event details at facebook page.(I want more people to know about the event). Keep your this post public in Facebook so that I can see it.(Compulsory- have to do only once)
• Please use the linky tool to link your recipes below. (Mention the name of the dish you make and not your name.)
• Else Send a mail to agrawal.shweta.n@gmail.com with the subject line as Cook With White  and with the following details:
• Your Name
• Recipe Name
• Blog Name
• Recipe URL (Please send the Recipe URL and not the blog URL)
• Picture of the dish (If it is not on the blog)
• Non bloggers are most welcome to participate. Just send me the recipe details with the picture to the above mentioned email. (I will post your recipes at my FB page and will not be able to include in roundup, however you are eligible for the giveaway)

Giveaway- As this is festive season, I am going to have 2 giveaways (I am soooo Excited). I will choose two lucky people through random.org. I will then ask the winners to choose from cookware, bakeware, cook books or kitchen accessories as prize. Once again, the giveaway is open for people who can give Indian address :) There will also be certificates for top contributor, best innovative recipe, best recipe, best click and participation award. 

Hope you all will like the theme. Think white, think festive. Send in the tasty dishes ladies :)

Cook with yellow roundup HERE

Cook with yellow winner announcement HERE

Chocolate Ladoos In Microwave, Easy and Quick

Navratri has already started and I dint even made any sweet dish. No no it is not that I am fasting it is just that how can there be any festival in Indian culture without any sweets. I wanted to make something which is fast and also has minimum ingredients. Most of the sweets that we make in the festive time are either deep fried or needs lot of preparation. Thus to avoid all that and planned to make something sweet in microwave.

By the way have you checked my microwaved churma and modaks?? Microwave is just a great invention and if used wisely it saves lot of time and energy. I use microwave in lot of my dishes, I just love the way any sabzi or rice gets cooked evenly in single pot. I made tomoto and onion sabzi which was quite a hit on my blog. Do check what all I have cooked in microwave here.

Ok! Let me come back to my sweet dish. I made some chocolate ladoos using milk powder and condensed milk. The ladoos get prepared in just 3 minutes (you heard me right-just 3 minutes). I gave the flavour of ilyachi/cardamom because I feel that no Indian sweet dish is complete without the desi tadka of ilyachi’s flavour.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk powder

½ cup condensed milk

2 tbsp cocoa powder

4 tbsp ghee or butter

1 tsp  ilaychi/cardamom powder

Method:

Take a microwave safe glass bowl and melt ghee in it for 20 seconds.

Once ghee is melted add all the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Let it cook in the microwave for 3 minutes. Stir the mixture after every 1 minute.

Form ladoos once the mixture cools down and you are able to handle the heat in your hands.

Notes:

Do not let mixture cool down completetly otherwise you will not be able to form ladoos.

It is very important that you stir after every 1 minute.

Variations:

Try making simple mava ladoos by omitting cocoa powder.

Add very finely chopped nuts in the mixture to give crunchy effect.

Vanilla essence can also be added instead of cardamom powder.

Taste:

Sweet, chocolaty and soft

Linking this for Recipe Contest - Cooking Healthy In Hurry

Modak In Microwave In Only 3 Minutes

"Ganpati Bappa Moriya" Happy Ganesh Chaturti to all of you. Modak is very popular sweet in India, made especially during ganesh festival. There are various ways and methods to make Modak- like steamed rice modak, mava modak, khoya modak, modak stuffed with coconut, fried modak etc etc... Well I chose to make modak which is simple and gets ready in microwave in only 3 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk powder

1 stick of unsalted butter

1/2 can of condensed milk

1 pinch of crushed cardamom/ Ilaychi

Method:- (Look below to picture tutorial)

Take Butter in the microwave safe bowl (preferably glass) and melt it.

 Once butter is melted, add milk powder

Also mix in it condensed milk.

 Stir well and microwave for 3 minutes (keep stirring after every 1 minute)

 Stir after 1 minute

After stirring after 1 more minute.

 After 3 minutes, add in the crushed cardamom.

Let the mixture cool down. Once you are able to handle the heat of mixture shape them into "Modak" and garnish with almonds.