Dates Chocolate Fudge | Khajur Burfi | Sugar Free Dates Chocolate Barfi | Diwali Sweet

With the festive season on us, I have been thinking and craving to create some Indian fusion dessert. Not the traditional desserts likerice kheer, gajar halwa or gulab jamun but something new and exciting- combination of Indian flavours with the hint of western taste. Soon after I received dark chocolate range from Islands my thinking process became busier because I knew I wanted to create an Indian inspired sweet from Islands Chocolate. But to that we will get later, let me first introduce you to this brand called Islands.

Islands are on a mission to change people's understanding of chocolate, championing a much more sustainable, long-term, 'seed-to-bar' movement. Because although 'bean-to-bar' used to be enough (importing cocoa beans and turning them into chocolate in the west), it was never transparent enough for Wilf Marriott (the founder). After a lot of research and hard work, Islands was born giving us much more than just a chocolate. They are offering a completely different package; a better one- more complex flavours and greater range of products.

Islands have all my heart in terms of sustainability. From the packaging, to inner wrapper everything is biodegradable and that is such a huge factor to choose Islands as my favourite chocolatier. They promote good farming practices that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities. Unlike most, they know for a fact that their cocoa is sustainably and ethically produced - because they grow it themselves!

And if you see the names of the chocolate bars, it is all so creative and innovative too. But hey, that’s not enough, on the packaging they have a barcode which if you scan on spoitfy you can listen to the music related to that particular chocolate-interesting isn’t it? So, now you understand why the names are related to music such as Smooth Operator, Midnight Mover, Disco Dancer and Rhythm Of The Night. I am blown away with their imagination and inspirational qualities in terms on design, environment friendliness and taste. Didn’t I tell you- It’s not just a chocolate. The whole experience is fun!!!

Smooth Operator:

 55% Dark Chocolate

Smooth and creamy

Caramel undertones

Disco Dancer:

65% Dark Chocolate

Vegan

Citric notes

Hint of banana

Midnight Mover:

75% Dark Chocolate

Vegan

Fruity notes

Hint of raisin

Rythm Of The Night:

100% Dark Chocolate

Vegan

Rich and intense flavour

Very strong cocoa notes

I tried two of Islands chocolate so far- 55% and 100% dark chocolate. I wanted to try two very contradictory chocolates, so one is on the sweeter side while the other one is very extremely dark. As the name suggest, the 55% Smooth Operator was silky, smooth and has a beautiful milk dark chocolate shine to it. It melts in your mouth like a dream and leaves your tongue asking for more.

I am not lying but this was the first time I tried 100% dark chocolate. I have heard so many reaction stories about it that it is extremely bitter and you will not be able to tolerate it. To my surprise, I loved every bit of it. So rich and pure, smooth and loaded with cocoa flavours. Yes its bitter, but it’s something that you will savour just like an espresso shot. . I mean that’s what a good unadulterated 100% dark chocolate should taste like.

I used the combination of both of the above mentioned chocolates and created this Dates Chocolate Fudge. The sweetness from the dates balances the bitterness of the chocolate just so right and apt that you are left with enticing dessert on your table. I let the part of each chocolate to melt in with the warm dates and then also left some chocolate chunks with other nuts to provide the missing crunch to otherwise plain fudge.

Why should you try this recipe?

• Takes only 5 minutes to make
• Sugar free
• No added fat such as butter, ghee, oil or cream
• Contains goodness of nuts
• Crowd pleaser, looks so beautiful that no one will believe its homemade
• A great gifting idea

What is fudge? What is fudge called in Hindi? Is fudge and chocolate same thing?

Fudge is a type of a sugar candy made by heating sugar, butter and milk. No, chocolate and fudge is not the same thing. Chocolate is also a kind of candy but made with cocoa. Fudge is called as barfi or burfi in Hindi in India.

What does fudge or burfi tastes like? How many kinds of fudge are there?

Big sugar crystals make the fudge taste and look grainy just like our Indian dessert Kalakand where as tiny sugar crystals results in creamier version just like peda. There are tons of flavours available for fudge- caramel, plain, peanut butter, marshmallow, walnut, maple but chocolate remains the most popular one.

Dates Burfi or Khajur Ki Barfi is so easy to make and you can try many variations. I wanted to make it into roll shaped, like discs, the ones we get in Indian mithaiwala (sweet) shops during festive season such as Diwali, Holi, Navratri or Dussehra.

You can add as many kinds of nuts or seeds in this recipe such as almonds (badam), cashews (kaju), walnuts (akroth), melon seeds (karbuje ke beech), sunflower seeds or even sesame seeds (til). This recipe uses very basic ingredients and I haven’t used any milk powder, condensed milk or sugar. You can shape it whichever way you like. You can make into ladoo or peda, you can use a cookie cutter to shape it into heart, diamond or triangle. Or you serve it as halwa too. So if like me you have dates in your fridge and you are wondering what to do with it then you have to try this Sugar Free Dates Nutty Chocolate Fudge Barfi.

Ingredients:

1 cup dates

10 almonds

10 cashews

1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

6 pieces of dark chocolate (I used 100%, you can use 60% to 80% too)

6 pieces of milk chocolate (I used 55%)

5 pistachios

Method:

Deseed the dates and chop finely.

Also chop almonds, cashews and pistachios in smaller chunks.

Chop three pieces of each milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

Heat pan on a medium heat and roast sesame seeds for 1 minute till you get the nutty aroma.

Add dates in the same pan and keep stirring it. You will see that initially it is very difficult to stir dates but as dates starts releasing moisture it will become easier. Around 1 minute

Add chopped cashews and almonds and keep stirring. Also add chocolate pieces that you did not chop and let it melt with the mixture. Keep stirring for 1 minute till you feel mixture is mixed well.

Let the mixture cool down a bit. When you are able to tolerate the heat on your palms, mix chopped chocolate in it. Chocolate might start melting but that’s okay, some chunks will remain.

Divide the mixture into two parts and shape it into a log. Roll the logs on the chopped pistachios.

Place the log on an aluminium foil. Wrap it tightly. And set it in the refrigerator for 2 hours to set.

After 2 hours, remove the foil and cut them into ½ cm thick round disc.

Notes:

You can use the same recipe and make it without chocolate too.

You can also use white chocolate or milk chocolate or even chocolate chips in the recipe.

Feel free to add any kinds of nuts or seeds in the recipe such as walnut, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and pecan nuts.

Chawal Ki Kheer

From Navratri garba beats to preparations for Diwali-the festive mood is in full swing. I have started to clean the house, prepare the diyas and think about what should be the food menu for three days of diwali. In all this planning I forgot to think about Karva Chauth- another Indian festival wherein the married ladies fast from sunrise to moonrise for the long life and prosperity of her husband.

These festivals add a bit of sparkle and fun to the otherwise daily routine. As always an indain sweet is a must in the end and this time I decided to put together Chawal Ki Kheer. Chawal Ki Kheer is like rice pudding made by boiling the milk on low heat, which is then thickened by rice and sweetened with sugar or goor (jaggery).

To be honest I find indian sweets very complicated sometimes; most of sweets like jalebi, gulab jamun or barfi asks for sugar syrup and I just can’t craft a good sugar syrup (chasni)-I just don’t understand the art of one thread or two thread consistency syrup. So for people like me I believe Kheer is a saviour. Kheer can be made with very basic ingredients and is very easy to prepare. Another variation of kheer that is very popular is Seviyan Ki Kheer.

Here are some tips on how to make a good Chaval Ki Kheer-

• Use good quality full fat milk. Boil the milk on low heat in a heavy bottom utensil.
• Always pre-soak the rice for atleast an hour. Do not use thick or fat rice. I recommend basmati rice.
• Before adding the rice to the milk, break the rice with your hand, like crumble the rice.
• Use saffron (kesar) as it brings beautiful colour to otherwise pale white kheer.
• Keep stirring the kheer, it will help it to thicken and also avoid burning.

Ingredients:

4 cups milk

1/4 cup rice (soaked in water for one hour)

2 green cardamom/elaychi

3-4 threads of saffron/kesar

Sugar to taste

Method:

Take a heavy bottom pan and boil the milk on low heat.

In the meantime strain the water from soaked rice and crumble the rice. Rice should be broken into small pieces.

Add the broken rice to boiling milk. Keep stirring the milk in between. Keep boiling the milk till the rice is cooked and milk is reduced to half quantity.

Then add sugar, cardamom and saffron. Let it boil for 1-2 minutes.

Serve.

Notes:

Everyone have their own sweet taste preference, that’s why I said sugar to taste :-)

You can add gud/goor/jaggery as well instead of sugar.

If you like coconut, feel free to add grated coconut as well.

Kheer can be served hot or cold-again totally depends on an individual’s taste.
I mixed 2-3 threads of saffron 2 tablespoons of warm milk and used it as garnish (the yellow liquid on the kheer in the pictures). 

Microwave Doodh Peda, Indian Milk Fudge

Happy Holi everyone!!

Some things are best good old style. May be that’s why retro and vintage is so ‘in’ these days. Same goes in flavours I guess. Recently near my office, Dairy Milk guys were giving out samples to try newly launched flavours. Oreo, triple chocolate crunch, toffee nut and what not, I tried all three but I missed the old charm of plain simple Dairy Milk.

Yes, some flavours are best when untouched. Today’s post is also about one such sweet- Plain Peda (milk fudge). Last year during Janamasthmi I was india and there were many flavours available for peda-rose, chocolate, pineapple, thandai, mango etc. What I enjoyed the most was the Plain Doodh (milk) Peda.

That’s why for Holi I bring before you the easy and microwave recipe for Doodh Peda. With busy weekdays in office I tend to look for quick Indian sweets' recipes and this peda fits perfectly in that condition. Like me if you manage office and home together then this speedy recipe is all what you need.

Traditionally making milk peda will take 3-4 hours. Milk is evaporated on a low heat and constant stirring is needed. But this is a new generation peda and is made in microwave. All you need is 4 ingridents and 5 minutes.

Here is how to make Microwave Doodh (Milk) Peda. 

Ingridents:

1¾ cups Milk Powder (I used full fat)
1 Can (around 400 gms) Condensed Milk
2 tablespoon ghee
½ teaspoon cardamom powder/elaychi powder
Few Dry Nuts of your choice (optinal)

Method:

1. Take a microwave safe bowl. In it add ghee, milk powder and condense milk. Mix well.
2. Microwave the mixture on high mode for 1 minute. Take it out, and add cardamom powder. stir with sturdy spoon.
3. Microwave again for 1 minute. Take it out and stir. Do this 3 more times. (total 5 minutes).
4. The mixture should be thick. It should be able to form a shape. 
5. When you are able to handle the heat of the mixture, form the balls. Flatten it slightly and poke your finger in the centre to form a dimple.
6. Garnish the dimple/holes with chopped nuts.
7. Let the pedas cool and serve.

Notes:

Do not let the mixture cool down, else you wont be able to give it desired shape.

You can also use edible rose leaves to garnish.

Some like to add saffron infused water to give nice orangish colour to the peda.

Kesar Seviyan Kheer :Vermicelli Milk Pudding Infused With Saffron

Cooking is love made visible, food is magical. Treat a kid with cupcake and see the spark on his/her face. After a breakup or a hectic day just give a woman scoops of icecream and then see her reactions. After an argument with your partner, make for him/her favourite dish and then see anger melting down. That’s what food does-bring smile to faces, relax the mood and ease down the irritation.

Everyone has their favorite dish, the dish that you can die for. What’s your favourite dish? For me it’s Kheer, milk pudding made with rice or vermicelli. What kheer does for me is what chocolate would do for many women. In summers, on a shiny sunny day I would prefer a bowl of chilled Rice(chawal) Kheer but on cold night I would love to gulp bowls of hot Seviyan Kheer.

Kheer is made my boiling milk with rice (chawal), vermicelli (semiya), sago (sabudana) and many other grains. Basically you need to boil the milk till it gets thick and then sweeten it with sugar, jaggery (gud) or condensed milk. Flavoured with cardamom (elyachi) or saffron (keasar) and garnished with chopped nuts. This is also known as Payasam in south and Payesh in Bengal and is generally made during festivals or special events.

Unlike other Indian sweets such as Gulab Jamuns or Suji Ka Halva this sweet dish is prepared quickly and is the easiest one. Here is how to make Kesar Seviyan Kheer, my way.

Ingredients:

1 cup broken vermicelli/seviyan

1 liter milk

5 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon ghee/unsalted butter

4-5 green cardamom pods/elaychi

1 teaspoon saffron/kesar

5 tablespoon nuts to garnish (notes)

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a pan and on slow heat roast the vermicelli to golden borwn.
2. Open cardamom pods and add to vermicelli and let it release the aroma.
3. In a heavy bottom kadai/wok boil the milk. When milk comes to boil, add pinch of saffron.
4. Add sugar and vermicelli. Let it cook for 10 minutes on slow flame. Let it boil till vermicelli is cooked.
5. If you like thick kheer cook for another 5 minutes. I like to have bit runny kheer, so I did not cook more.
6. Garnish with chopped nuts and remaining saffron.
7. Serve warm or cold

Notes:

I used almonds, cashews and raisins, feel free to use any nuts. If you want you can roast the nuts in ghee too.

Please use good quality full fat milk for this recipe.

I like sweet kheer, but adjust sweetness as per your taste.

Saffron gives subtle aroma and nice yellowish-orange colour to the kheer. I used this saffron

For  thicker kheer, use more vermicelli.

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.

Royal Gulab Jamuns And Diwali Wishes

And finally the most awaited festival is here. Diwali or Deepawali-the festival of lights and prosperity. Wish you and your dear and near ones a very Happy Diwali, may god fulfill your wishes in health, wealth and happiness. Remember to stay safe and keep environment pollution free.

With Diwali comes in lot of preparations be it cleaning the house, buying new clothes or preparing snacks and sweets. Here is the list of cold and hot snacks that you must make this Diwali from my blog. Also do take a look if you want some quick and easy Diwali sweets.

Gulab Jamuns- the little drops of heaven

-the national sweet of India

Oh yes I don’t think there is even one Indian who doesn't like this sweet dish. Why not- the small balls are soft inside with smooth red colour outside, smothered in sugar syrup- well, you just can’t have one. You need more and more and for sure more.

I have made milk powder gulab jamuns before and I paired it up with ice-cream- a match made in heaven. If you are chocoholic then you have to try chocolate gulab jamuns. Today I am posting the recipe for Royal Gulab Jamuns.

Royal because, it is not a short cut method, not with the ingredients or with the calories. It is one full fat recipe (c’mon its Diwali) that consist of khoya/mava which is dried evaporated milk solids .After making the royal ones, trust me you will make them again and again. I don’t want to praise myself-but hey, they were perfect- be it in colour, texture or taste. Also this is completely tried and tested recipe-full proof-sure shot recipe.

Makes: 18 Gulab Jamuns

Ingredients:

For the jamuns:

1 cup khoya/mava/evaporated milk

¾ cup grated paneer

3 tablespoons all purpose flour/maida

2 tablespoon semolina/sooji/rava

4 cardamoms/elaychi, powdered

1 tablespoon milk or add as required

¼ teaspoon baking powder

oil for deep frying

for the sugar syrup:

1 and ¾ cup sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon rose water

1 tablespoon milk (see notes)

Method:

1. Mash khoya in a bowl. Keep kneading it till it is smooth and lump free. Do the same with paneer.
2. Add paneer, all purpose flour, baking powder and cardamom powder to the mashed khoya. Knead softly.
3. Slowly add milk in the above mixture and form dough. Keep mixing lightly- do not apply pressure. If the dough is not smooth add 1-2 drops of milk and mix again. Cover the dough and keep aside for 35 minutes.
4. Now make the syrup. Take a heavy bottom pan and mix water and sugar. Cook on medium flame, when syrup starts to bubble, turn the heat to low. Switch off the fire before the syrup reaches a one thread consistency. Add rose water and stir.
5. Make small balls from the dough. The balls must be smooth and crack free.
6. Heat the oil in wok/kadai. Make sure the flame is on low. Slowly put balls in the oil. Keep turning the balls in the oil for even cooking and colour. Remove the gulab jamuns and drain them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
7. Now take the sugar syrup. Just add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and warm the syrup again. Do not boil, just warm.
8. Then place the hot gulab jamuns in the sugar syrup. Let the gulab jamuns soak the syrup. After 2 minutes carefully turn the gulab jamuns.

Notes

If the sugar syrup has impurities, then add milk and simmer. A layer of scum will form. Remove this layer with a spoon.

Use a large pan, so that the gulab jamuns are not overcrowded and you can easily stir them gently while they are simmering.

When you soak gulab jamuns in the syrup, make sure the syrup is warm. If the syrup is hot or too hot the gulab jamuns will break.

For the perfect texture and colour please follow each step as mentioned.

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot with some chopped nuts.

Pair hot gulab jamuns with chilled vanilla ice cream and some chocolate sauce.

You can also serve gulab jamuns cold with some rose petals or gulaknd on top.

You can make them week before serving, which makes it perfect to be served on parties. Just reheat in microwave before you serve.

Include in Punjabi thali-  paneer butter massala, aloo chole, dal makhani, jeera rice and kulchas.

Suji Ka Halva For Karva Chauth (With Tips To Make The Perfect Halwa)

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 sieve 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 add love to your life and you get a good change from the daily routine. My husband from past 4 years fasts with me to show his support and love for me. I just find this very sweet and comforting. Click HERE for sweet recipes that you must prepare in Indian festivals. Anyways, no festival or celebration is complete without dessert or something sweet and what can be better then hot scoops of Suji Ka Halwa.

Suji or rava halva is very famous sweet dish in India and is made in almost all happy occasions. Now everyone loves this sweet dish, but many are not able to make it to perfection and I even got requests to share any tips I know to prepare the prefect sooji ka halwa. So here are the tips-

• Measure everything- Do not just eye ball and mix ingredients. Trust me, just like baking, you need to measure every ingredients.
• Dry roast the suji first- Before adding ghee or anything else, just dry roast the suji in heavy bottom pan. Roast till suji changes its colour and you can smell the aroma.
• You do not need lot of ghee- surprised? Well yes, to make the perfect halwa you dont need buckets of ghee, you need just 1/4 cup of every 1 cup of suji.
• Water amount- First make sure that water is boiling hot and not just warm. The quantity of water should be exactly double of the suji quantity.
• Do not mix water and sugar- Yes please do not make syrup- just mix raw sugar.

Now when you know the secrets let me move on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup suji/rava/semolina

¾ cup sugar

1/4 cup ghee

4 to 5 cardamoms, powdered in a mortar-pestle, husks discarded

10 to 12 cashews/kaju chopped roughly

2 tbsp raisins/kishmish

2 cups water

Method:

In a heavy bottom pan, on a slow heat, dry roast the suji till you see the change in the colour and aroma is noticeable.

Next mix in the ghee and keep mixing till ghee is separated and suji becomes more fragrant. Also throw in the cashews and raisins. Mix for 5 minutes.

Add sugar and mix again. Mix till sugar crystals are not visible. Also add cardamom.

Finally add in the water and stir. You will notice that suji has fluffed up. Keep mixing till you see ghee on sides and halva is not sticking to the pan.

Serve hot.

Notes:

Do not rush, make sure that you do the whole process on slow flame. If you are in hurry, you can dry roast the suji beforehand.

Feel free to add pistachios, almonds or any nuts of your choice.

You will know that halva is perfectly made, when it does not stick to spatula or spoon at all.

This keeps well in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. Just reheat before serving.

Serving suggestions:

Puri and halva is the best combination. Serve hot with any poori with any subji on side- like kala chana, aloo tamatar ki subji, gobi mutter or bharwa bhindi.

Halva is a huge hit among kids and adults both. This makes it perfect dessert for any parties.

Sending this Diwali Event at  Swathi's and at Mayuri's space

Gond Ladoos, Must Have Sweet In The Winters

Before I move ahead, I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year. May this year adds loads of happiness and smiles in your lives. So, where was I? Well, I went to India in November for a month. India is always so much fun- meeting everyone, shopping and above all eating delicious food. *happy dance*

After coming back, I was down with fever and jetlag added spice to my suffering. I was literally waking up at 4am, feeling hungry at odd times and missing home and family a lot. Now, after 2 weeks I feel normal and adjusted to normal routine. The very first thing that I wanted to regulate soon was blogging. So here I am back with a sweet feast for the new beginning.

Gond Ke Ladoo, is a traditional Rajasthani sweet.'Gond' is the edible gum which is in crystal form in pearly yellowish translucent pieces of different sizes. This edible gum generates heat and that is why it is usually consumed in the winters. It comforts one as it helps to keep the body warm. Gond is fried in ghee, puffed up and added to roasted wheat flour to make Ladoos.

While coming back from India, my mom packed these ladoos for me. Trust me these are so purposive in the harsh cold winters of the UK. To boost its goodness my mom added dry fruits.The roasted aroma of nuts enhances the taste and exposes out that missing crunch. So, here I share with you all my mom’s special recipe.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour/ Atta, 1 1/4 cup

Edible Gum/Gond/Khatira- 3 Tablespoons

Powdered Sugar- 1/2 cup

Black pepper powder- 1/4 teaspoon

Cardamom Powder,-1/2 teaspoon

Ghee, 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Mixed Nuts (cashew, almonds and raisins)- 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Heat 1/4 cup of ghee in a pan, add edible gum and fry till it is puffed up. Remove it from the pan and then drain excess ghee and roughly break them to pieces with a rolling pin and set them aside.
2. In the same pan add 2 tablespoon of ghee and roast all the nuts for 1 minute or till they become nice brown. Set aside.
3. Now, on a low-medium flame, heat the remaining ghee and add the wheat flour and roast it, stirring continuously till the flour starts to change its color. 
4. Turn off the heat. Let it cool lightly so that it is comfortable to handle. 
5. To the above roasted flour, add the crushed edible gum,black pepper powder, nuts, powdered sugar, cardamom powder, mix well. 
6. Take this mixture and shape them into ladoos of the size you want.

Notes:

If you find it difficult to shape ladoos then you can add some melted ghee and then shape them.

Store them in air tight container. It does not spoil for 2-3 months.

It also acts as a very good travel food.

Taste:

Sweet, crunchy and warm.