Chandrakala (Stuffed Sugar-coated Pastry)

Chandrakala, sounds so similar to 'Chandrakanta' and thus takes me to the golden era of Doordarshan Cinema, those Sunday morning specials, the 'Jungle Book', ' The Ramayana', ' The Mahabharat' and then this color-blasted catchy story of the beautiful  princess 'Chandrakanta'. Though Chandrakanta has nothing to do with Chandrakala, except for the fact that both of them are surprisingly enticing. 

Well, I had my first encounter with this dainty delight some 3 years back when I saw it sleeping beside guziya in a sweet shop. It looked like guziya, but was roundy-round, and then had that shiny lustre to flaunt its beauty along with the lovely curls on sides. I was gazing at it with so much love and that day I thought that would try this for sure someday. Years passed in a flash of light and suddenly I went back to the memory lane, recalling this sweet and decided to make this for Diwali. I had no idea about how to turn it on sides and seal it, but had firm determination to give a try at least, and if it would not work, then I would switch to my regular guziya moulds and use up the mixture there. By God's grace, I learned to turn it after 3 unsuccessful trials. In the beginning, I didn't know how to go about and was trying to seal the edges with distant turns, but in the next two trials, the trick just clicked and I reached the moon (with no help from any videos o you tube! :P). 

CHANDRAKALA

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
For the Pastry:
1. Maida/ All Purpose Flour: 3 cups
2. Ghee/ Clarified Butter: 1/2 cup (for the dough)
3. Warm Water: for preparing dough
4. Ghee/oil: for deep frying

For the Filling:
1. Khova/ Mava/ Reduced Milk: 200 gms
2. Powdered Sugar: 1/2 cup or as per taste
3. Chironji: 2 tbs
4. Almond flakes/bits: 1/4 cup
5. Raisins: a handful (optional)
6. Cashew Nuts: a handful (optional)
7. Grated coconut: 1/4 cup (optional)
8. Elaichi/ Cardamom Powder: 1 tbs

For the Sugar Syrup: 
1. Sugar: 3 cups
2. Water: 1 cup

 Method:

1. For preparing the dough, take the maida/APF in a bowl and add ghee to it. Mix well with your fingers till you get a crumbly structure. Take a handful of flour and press it hard in your fist; now rest it slowly on the loose flour and see if it can still keep up its shape. If the flour loosens immediately and falls apart, then you need to add a little more of ghee. The ghee should be enough to loosely bind it.
2. Now add warm water to prepare a soft dough (like that for poori). 
3. Cover it and let it rest for 20 minutes.
4. For the filling, take the khova/ mava in a heavy bottomed pan and heat it.
5. Keep moving the laddle continuously to avoid any sticking at the bottom. 
6. The khova will become loose on heating and will start melting. Keep stirring till it becomes slightly golden and starts leaving the edges of the pan.
7. Take it off fire and let it cool.
8. Once it has cooled down, add the powdered sugar, dry fruits, cardamom powder and grated coconut to it. 
9. The mixture might be slightly sticky if the khova has not dried well, but that will hardly make any difference in the taste. 
10. Keep the mixture aside.
11. In the meanwhile, when the khoya is cooling down, prepare the sugar syrup. 
12. Take 3 cups sugar and 1 cup water in a heavy bottomed wok/ vessel and take a boil with frequent stirring to dissolve the sugar completely . Simmer for 2 minutes and leave it warm.
13. For preparing the pastry, divide the dough into 20 equal parts and make small balls out of them. Also, divide the khova mixture into 10 equal parts and make small balls with each of them.
14. Now take two dough balls and roll them separately like small pooris.
15. Place one poori on a flat surface and place the khova ball in the centre of it. Wet the rim of the circle with some water using your fingertips. Now place the other poori over it to cover it completely. 
16. Now the main trick lies in curling and swirling the edges to give the perfect shape. Press the entire rim gently with your fingers to merge the two pooris or circles. Now start turning/bending the rim within, with each turn getting over the prior one, and thus making a chain like structure. This art of bending and twisting will come with time and practice, so have patience in your first go. It took 10 minutes for me to understand and figure out how to bend accurately, but then it just came automatically. 
17. Once the whole structure is well bound and locked, keep it aside, covered with a wet cloth. Stuff 3-4 pastries at a time and then start frying.
18. In the meanwhile, keep the ghee/oil for heating. The ghee should not be fuming hot neither cold. It should be be just right, that is when a part of dough is immersed, it should rise up immediately but not turn brown.
19. Keep the flame on medium-low, and slide the pastries in the ghee. Deep fry them on both the sides till they become golden.
20. Sieve them out and immediately immerse them in the warm syrup. Take them out after 30 seconds and carefully place them on a plate in a vertical position, so as to let the excessive syrup drain out.
21. If the sugar syrup has become too stringy, white and crystalline, then warm it again with a few drops of water.
22. The perfect syrup will always give a shine, while the overdone one will turn white.
23. Let the sweet rest for 30 minutes, so that the syrup coating can dry up. 
24. Serve with some almond flakes and loads of love. :)

 
 

Suggestions:

1. The khova/mava should be fresh, else the whole sweet will get spoiled.
2. You can always keep the filling as sweet as you want. Since the pastry is already sugar coated, so I preferred keeping the filling mildly sweet. 
3. The dry fruits can be of your choice. If you wish to store this sweet for more than 2 days, then avoid using raisins and fresh coconut.
4. Avoid refrigerating, else the outer crust will go soggy.
5. It's always better to finish off khova sweets within 2 days else they need refrigeration, and then the crust doesn't remain the same crunchy. 
6. You can also make guziyas with the same filling and dough; just that the sugar syrup coating is not required there. 
7. If the sugar syrup is too thin, then it will not dry up and thus the sweet will stay slightly sticky, and if it is too thick and crystalline, then it will go all white white and flaky, so make sure you prepare the perfect syrup. Anyway, it will still be delicious. :)
8. Don't keep the rolled dough too thin, else it will break on bending and curling. 
9. Chandrakala generally has a thicker crust than Guziya.

Besan Ke Laddoo

Nairobi, it's time to say 'adios' to you, with a dolorous heart and rainy eyes. Though the exhilaration of going back to desh is profound, yet the agony of not seeing you again is sore. These three months have been a potpourri filled with varied emotions, smiles, and tears. The lush green foliage, twinkly flowers, blossoming buds, and pearl rain showers, these all will always rest in my memory, never to be forgotten.

This place gave me ample time to play with my culinary skills with creativity imbibed. From baking breads to muffins, I almost found all baking artillery here which I could hardly find in India. 

Today, when this is my last post from this land, I want to make sure that I pay due regard to it and leave behind memories full of sweetness and charm. It's not just that I have to finish the gram flour and ghee before I leave, but I actually wanted to make these 'Laddoos' on a special day, so chose to do so just a day before the final day. 

Sugary, simple, yet comforting, this is an Indian Sweet that I and my hubby love a lot, joined in by our little princess who also has a sweet tooth.

BESAN KE LADDOO

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes

Makes 10 Laddoos

Ingredients:

1. Bengal Gram Flour/ Besan: 1 and 1/2 cups

2. Powdered Sugar: 1 cup (more if you like them sweeter)

3. Ghee/ Clarified Butter: 1/2 cup

4. Cardamom Powder/ Pisi Elaichi: 1 tsp

5. Sooji/Semolina: 2 tbs

6. Almonds and cashews (optional)

Method:

1. Take a heavy bottomed pan/kadai and melt ghee in it.
2. Add in the gram flour and cook on low flame for around 10 minutes, stirring continuously, till the flour turns golden brown. You will be able to breathe a nice aroma by now.
3. Initially when you add the ghee, the mixture will not appear very greasy and runny (unlike for 'halwa' where we keep it very greasy and flowing). Slowly as the flour gets cooked, it starts leaving ghee and towards the end you'll find the mixture greasy and smooth.
4. Put off the flame and let it cool completely.
5. On the other hand, powder the sugar in a grinder with cardamom added to it. 
6. Now add this sugar cardamom mix to the cooked flour and mix well with hands.
7. Divide into 10 equal portions and make round laddoos. I have learnt a special technique of making laddoos from my grand-mom where you make a ball with both the hands, and then roll it in your right palm, letting it move to and fro, so as to get that shiny, smooth texture. 
8. If you wish, you could add some slivered/finely chopped dry fruits to the flour mix before forming balls. 

Suggestions:

1. If the ghee is more in laddoos, and the temperature is too warm outside, they will flatten when you make balls. In such a case, let them cool down/refrigerate for 5 minutes and then reform immediately, giving the perfect round shape. 
2. In place of sooji, some people even use maida/all purpose flour.
3. Adding dry fruits is always an open option, though I generally prefer them plain.
4. Decrease or increase sweetness as per your taste.

The laddoos take off to:

 Any One Can Cook  by Umm,

Cook. Eat. Delicious.Desserts

Tango with Mango

Holi, the festival of colors, for some, it's just about splashing gulal, going filthy, arresting others and throwing them in the pool full of muddy water, but for others, it's quite the other way. My kiddo mind just can't help itself going back to those cuddly-buddly childhood days, especially when it's Holi and then on the top of that, when I don't happen to be in the 'Land of Colors'. The vivid memories of past, from waking up as early at 7am on a holiday to polishing your whole body with oil and cold-cream, this all can never be drawn blank. I remember gearing up in the morning before anyone could arrive, assembling all the possible colors, from dry gulal to pakka rang, even some silver tubes with that pungent smell. And then arranging gulab-jamuns and some 10 varieties of sweets and savories, also some grapes in those glass and steel bowls; filling old buckets with water and keeping them outside; pumping water into the flyseck red, yellow, green balloons, and finally getting dressed in some quondam clothes which had all the rights to go dirty. The day always used to begin with a bountiful smile, and then it used to pass away in a flash like an interesting 3 hour movie. With bags and pichkaris loaded, hair tied in some stupid fashion, the whole gang/toli of around 15 kids would head on. Ringing bells of each and every house in the colony, we were then adorably invited by all uncles and aunties to come over and fetch some sweets. Ornamenting them with some gulal on their face, we collected so many blessings, but the kids in that house, if any, could not rescue themselves from our color-water-terror. Throwing balloons on the back with full force, and watching that 'aah' expression, it always was so much fun. And then running on the roads to catch the only non-colored fellow left was the biggest thrill. Those days were and will always be the best throughout my life; recreating my soul and refreshing it every time I think about. 

This time on Holi, I was away from the family, away from those colors, but one thing could still connect me to that time: Sweets. Though there was no party, not many dishes to rock the table, but at least some sugar on the palate and some on the plate. I've never been this emotional while writing a post, so I guess it's better that I jump on to the recipe directly rather than flooding the blog and food table with my tears.

TANGO WITH MANGO

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: Nil

Serves: 2 

Ingredients:

1. One Ripe Mango or 1 cup Mango Puree and a few mango cubes

2. Whipped Cream: 1/4 cup

3. Vanilla Ice-cream: 1 cup

4. Sugar: 2 tbs or as per taste

Method:

1. Peel off the mango and de-seed it. 
2. Saving some tiny cubes for garnish, use the rest to form a smooth puree with a blender/juicer.
3. Add the sugar to the paste and swirl it once again to give a quick mix.
4. Keep this aside.
5. Now take chilled whipping cream and whip it till soft peaks are formed. Add 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbs mango puree and again beat for a minute.
6. Now take the ice-cream block and slice it out.
7. Layer one slice on the plate, followed by the mango puree, hen one more ice-cream slice and then the mango cream. Drizzle some cubes on the top and slurrrrrrp.

 

Suggestions:

1. The mango should be fully ripe and sweet.
2. In place of fresh mango, mango puree can also be used.
3. I also added a little gelatin (1 tbs) in the cream and puree to make it slightly mousse-like, but that needs to be set 4-6 hours prior to use.
4. If whipping cream is not available, you can use fresh cream but do not expect any peaks then. Whip it slightly with sugar and mango puree to get that creamy feel. 
5. Serve immediately and be quick in assembling. Rather keep everything ready by your side in different plates and keep shaping.

 The recipe goes to:
Cooking Made Easy With Mango  at my space,

My event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts,  Holi Hai and Beat the Heat at My Cook Book,   

 Just 4 Fun by Sobha, Walk Through Memory Lane by Gayatri hosted by Roshan,
  Summer Spunk at Tomato Blues, Summer Splash by Kalyani hosted by Sangee,
Spotlight- Colorful Holi  initiated by Indrani and hosted by Chandrani,

I'm The Star by  Veg Food and Me,  ABC Series: Fruit Fiesta by Ramya,

Comfort Food by Daily Cuppa,  Color n Sweet - Holi Fest by Preeti,

Midweek Fiesta at Food Corner

Pineapple Ice-cream Cake

Ice-cream Cake!! I had only heard about it on Martha Stewart's Show, and for sure read some on her site too, but making one by myself, woooosh, impossible it sounded at once!

Completing 5 years of marital bliss and knowing this wonderful person for almost 9 years definitely gives you the courage to ramp up and speed for something as unbelievable and astounding as this. On this special day, I really wanted to create something elysian for my soul-mate, something to snuggle in, and then in the grocery store I see this Sliced Pineapple Tin and vroooooom, my mind bike takes on. At 6 in the evening, I set myself to take this plunge and dive into this creamy cake fun. Antagonistic to my weird imagination, this recipe turns out miraculously simple and undoubtedly scrummy. There were some mistakes that I certainly made in hurry-furry, but still what we had at the end was no less amazing.

Here's the recipe to shake your minds as well.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Baking Time: 20-25 minutes

Refrigeration/Setting Time: 4 hours or overnight

Ingredients:

For Cake:

1. Maida/ All Purpose Flour:  1 cup

2. Castor Sugar/ Powdered Sugar: 1 cup

3. Butter: 1/2 cup

4. Eggs: 3

5. Milk: 2 tbs

6. Baking Powder: 1 tsp

7. Baking Soda: 1/2 tsp ( I had neither baking powder, nor soda so I used Eno Fruit Salt: 1 tsp)

8. Salt: a pinch

9. Pineapple Essence: 1/2 tsp

For Ice-cream Frosting/Layer:

1. Vanilla Ice-cream: 1 cup

2. Heavy Cream/ Whipping Cream: 1/2 cup

3. Sugar: 3 tbs

4. Pineapple Gelatin Mix: 2 tbs

5. Water: 1/4 cup

6. Sliced Pineapple: 1 tin/can

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven on 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.
2. Sift the maida/all purpose flour with the baking powder, baking soda/ Eno fruit salt  and salt thrice.
3. Grease and dust the baking tin and keep it aside. I used a star baking tin this time, so all you can see are starry pics. :P
4. Take the butter and beat sugar with it till it goes light and fluffy. Do not melt the butter, rather keep it at room temperature.
5. Beat the eggs separately in a bowl.
6. Now beat them along with the butter-sugar mixture till fluffy and well whipped.
7. Pour in the milk, pineapple essence and give a good stir so as to mix well.
8. Fold in the all purpose flour mix to this mixture softly; do not over-mix. 
9. Make sure you get a ribbon consistency while folding it.
10. Now transfer this mixture into the greased pan and bake it on 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
11. Check the cake after 20 minutes by seeing if the cake edges have left the corners and the top slightly browned or golden; if so, then insert a tooth-pick and see if it comes out clean. When this happens, your cake is ready. 
12. Take the tin out and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Once it has cooled down, invert the cake on a plate, making sure it doesn't break.
13. In the meanwhile when the cake is getting baked in the oven, prepare the Ice-cream Frosting.
14. Take the chilled whipping cream in a bowl and  whip first on slow speed and then on high till peaks are formed. Then add sugar and whip again till mixed. For me, nothing happened because the cream was not chilled and hence it went runny, though then I managed somehow by mixing it with ice-cream and getting that appeal later.
15. Take the ice-cream in a bowl and let it stand for 5-10 minutes till it softens. 
16. Boil/ Microwave 1/4 cup water and add gelatin to it. Stir till it dissolves completely. Let it cool.
17. Now add this gelatin mix to the ice-cream. Fold in the whipped cream and whip to get a smooth consistency. Aeration is a must here.
18. Refrigerate it for the meantime.
19. By this time, the cake would be ready, so set it at the bottom of your mould. Since I did not have the Spring-form Pan here, so I continued with my Star Tin, though dealing with a spring-form one is way much easier.
20. After making your cake sit there, frost it with ice-cream layers using a spatula. Do not press it down much.
21. At last, ornament with Pineapple slices in the way you like. I kept it as a whole, but could trim it and convert in small pieces. 
22. Freeze it for 4 hours or overnight.
23. Take it out 10 minutes before serving and release the corners using a knife. De-mold on a plate and cut into slices or shapes as per your wish.
24. If using a spring-form pan, gently take the ring off and you see your cake all set and ready in two layers: The Cake, and The Ice-cream
25. With me, the gelatin I used was only 1/2 tsp so it could not set completely. When I tried to dismantle the cake, it wasn't coming out smooth, so we had it from the tin directly, enjoying looking at the star and eating everything within. My hubby said that it was the best cake ever. :)
26. Perhaps that's why, I don't have any pictures of the cake below and the slices. Also, it was off to our tummy in just 10 minutes. 

Suggestions:

1. Always cut and fold the mixture in a single direction. Cutting and Folding is nothing but mixing the cake in a circular fashion (like how you make a circle) and then cutting this circle into half and again circling.
2. In some cases, the cake shrinks in the middle and doesn't come out puffy; this happens either when the mixture is too loose or when you keep pricking the cake too often to check if it's done, out of anxiety. So, please be careful with this.
3. Do not invert the cake before it cools down else it would break (I know you just can't wait to taste it, but take a deep breath and hold on for some time. ;)) 
4.  The more gelatin you use, the firmer it gets on setting. Also, it gives the mousse-feel that you miss on when it's just ice-cream.
5. Whether set or not, whether shaped or not, any cake topped with ice-cream simply is enough to entice your taste buds. 
6. If you can't get gelatin and whipping cream, just layer the cake with ice-cream and top it with sliced pineapple.
7. Freezing for 4 hours or more is vital to set the piece as a whole. If you go hasty-nasty, you end up eating just 'cream-on-cake' rather than 'ice-cream-on-cake'.

 The cake flies off to:
My event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts, 

I Love Baking  by Radhika, Let’s Cook ~ Sweet Somethings by Radhika,
Tea Time Treats  by Karen and Kate, Sweet Heat at Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops,
Cake of the Week at Casa Costello, Anu’s Bake Fest, Vardhini’s Sweet Luv, 

Kalyani’s Serve with love, Sumee’s Bon Vivant, Dish For Loved Ones by Srav's, 
Holi Hai at My Cook Book, Midweek Fiesta at Food Corner,
Spotlight- Colorful Holi  initiated by Indrani and hosted by Chandrani

Gulabi Badam Pista Kheer/ Rosy Almond Pistachio Milk Pudding

Gulkand aka Rose Marmalade, can't tell you how much I love this, and I had been craving for a sweet sight of this for months that felt like ages. And then, suddenly one day, the 'Prince Charming' on that white Equus caballus/ horse arrives, carrying a silly bottle of Rose Marmalade, and shouting, 'Wake up from sleep, my Rapunzel!'. Haha...I always wanted to be one, not because of being a princess, but just that I loved her pretty gowns and beautiful attires!! Keeping all that Fiona fun apart, I really wanted this 'Gulkand/ Rose Marmalade Jar' desperately and a Romanian friend of mine gifted that to me a month ago. I had to be really grateful to her for that because thinking of this dainty delight was like a dream in Nairobi where it's hard to get refined white sugar even (just because they prefer brown sugar here).

I have a big list of experiments to conduct on this niminy-piminy item and this one is the second successful launch ( after the first one with Pistachio Cookies, if you remember!). 

GULABI BADAM PISTA KHEER/ ROSY ALMOND PISTACHIO MILK PUDDING

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1. Full Cream Milk: 1 litre

2. Rice: 1/2 cup (well-washed and pre-soaked for 2 hours)

3.  Sugar: 6-8 tbs or as per your taste

4. Almond flakes: a handful

5. Chopped Pistachio: a handful

6. Cardamom Powder: 1/4 tsp

7. Gulkand/ Rose Marmalade: 6 tbs

Method:

1. Take a heavy bottomed wok/kadai and pour milk in it.
2. Bring it to a boil and then simmer.
3. Add the pre-washed and soaked rice to that.
4. Let it cook for around 30 minutes on medium heat till the rice goes tender and mushy.
5. Keep stirring every now and then to make sure that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom.
6. Also, keep on scrapping the cream (malai) that layers on the side walls and mix that with the boiling milk.
7. Once the rice is soft and done, and the milk almost reduced to half, add in the sugar, cardamom powder, almonds and pistachios. 
8. Cook for 5 minutes on low flame with occasional stirring.
9. Let it cool and then refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
10. Just before serving, take a spoonful or more of Gulkand/ Rose Marmalade and pour it over the kheer along with some trimmed nuts.
11. Let the gourmet mix it and dive in its aroma and flavors.

Suggestions:

1. You can use any variety of rice, but I always prefer Sona Masuri or Basmati. If you are using sticky rice, beware that it doesn't stick and reduce its quantity a little to avoid excess thickening of the kheer.
2. Full Cream Milk is always the best when it comes to making kheer/rabdi/basundi, but you can opt for versions that lie in your comfort zone.
3. Saffron can be added to enhance the flavor, but I prefer not to mix two strongly aromatic constituents together, ie. Rose and Saffron.
4. Alternately, you can also make Kesar Badam Pista Kheer by adding saffron strands during the boil and omitting the Gulkand part. 
5.  Make sure that the wok/kadai you choose is big enough to avoid any spilling of the milk on boiling.
6. Gulkand/ Rose Marmalade is added towards the end to the cold milk/kheer and not during cooking/boiling just because we don't want any risk with the milk getting curdled because of it. Rose Marmalade has citric acid added to it and thus by no way can be used during boiling. Gulkand on the other hand has no tangy juice in general, but better to avoid than to spoil. :)
7. It always tastes better when refrigerated.

The recipe takes off to my event, Cakes, Cookies and Desserts,

Show Me Your Hits by Spicy Treats, 

Let’s Cook ~ Sweet Somethings by Radhika, Vardhini’s Sweet Luv,
Kalyani’s Served with love, Sumee’s Bon Vivant,
  Dish For Loved Ones by Srav's, Holi Hai at My Cook Book,
Cook Eat Delicious Desserts initiated by Raven

Luscious Mango Shrikhand/ Yogurt

Nairobi, as fresh as the sparkling dew, as beautiful as the blossoming flowers, and as amicable as the grazing giraffes; a perfect holiday destination pertaining to its luscious green grasslands and mystical forests. Summer is shining its glory, and sun-rays are penetrating enough to burn and tan your skin. While going out on a Sunday after-noon to the Masai Market for some tribal shopping, I saw a young lady with a small kiddo resting on the road-corner, selling some mangoes. The little one was dancing around her mom, hiding in the surrounding bushes, and playing with the twigs and leaves. And then suddenly I realized that she was the tiny doll my hubby was telling about the last night. The two-some, mommy and daughter, sit in the scorching summers, selling fruits, especially mangoes to earn their daily breads. The first thought that flashed a smile on my face was the fact that they were not begging, but earning to survive. I adore such people who decide to work rather than to beg on the road-sides, and I respect such mothers who take this plunge of raising their kids just on their own without a wrinkle of worry on their forehead. I bought some mangoes from this lady, and I can't measure the  sweetness these mangoes carried, not just in terms of taste, but the warmth with which they were passed on with. My recipe for today has all that sweetness stirred in to the core, and for sure this is one of the best Shrikhands I've had till date. :)

LUSCIOUS MANGO SHRIKHAND/ YOGURT

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: None

Serves: 4

Fun Facts:

- Even inedible parts of the mango have interesting uses. The bark, leaves, skin and
  pit have been used as folk remedies for centuries.

- Mangoes are bursting with protective nutrients. The vitamin content depends upon the
  variety and maturity of the fruit. When the mango is immature the amount of vitamin
  C is higher, as it ripens the amount of beta carotene (vitamin A) increases.

- Mangoes are distantly related to a few plants that you'd probably never guess: the
  cashew and pistachio.

Ingredients:

1. Fully Ripe Mango: 1 ( Big and sweet)

2. Hung Curd/ Yogurt: 2 small cups

3. Sugar: 4 tbs or as per taste (also depends on the amount of sugar contained in the mango by itself)

4. Milk: 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Peel out the mango skin and cube the flesh, excluding the inner seed. In simple words, take the mango flesh and cut it in small cubes/pieces. Save some finely cut cubes separately for garnish.
2. Push the remaining cubed mango into a blender/juicer with the milk and sugar, and then pulse it till you get a smooth mango pulp/paste. 
3. Now add the hung curd or yogurt to it and give a strong stir so as to blend them well. 
4. For ease, you can use a blender for this too, but I prefer using a spoon to do that, because blending hard and fast can sometimes cause the curd to leave butter if it is too chilled.
5. Ornament the Mango Shrikhand/Yogurt with the saved mango delights/cubes.

Tips:

1. Always prefer fully ripe mangoes for preparing this which are sweet in taste.
2. If you are using home-made curd, please make sure that it is fresh and not sour. 
3. Hang the curd in a muslin cloth for 1 hour prior to use, for getting the perfect creamy texture.
4. Adjust the sugar addition as per your taste and based on the glucose the mango already carries.

The recipe takes off to my event, Cakes, Cookies and Desserts,

Just 4 Fun  by Sobha, Show Me Your Hits by Spicy Treats

Let’s Cook ~ Sweet Somethings by Radhika, Vardhini’s Sweet Luv,
Kalyani’s Serve with love, Sumee’s Bon Vivant,
Kid's Delight hosted by Edible Entertainment,
  Dish For Loved Ones by Srav's, Holi Hai at My Cook Book
Simple and in Season on Fabulicious Food

Doodhiya Gazar Halwa/ Milky Carrot Fudge

Halwaaa....and wo bhi Gazar ka, I think 80 % of Indians who have tasted this rich dessert cannot keep themselves away from it after a divine sight. I still remember the childhood days when we used to go for weddings and the party following that, all people would look for (especially kids) either the 'mithai' or ' chaat', and if you were lucky by grace that night/evening, you would certainly find some Halwa, more if the wedding function happened to land in winters. Whatever the Halwa type was, whether it was Gazar or Moong Dal, it never mattered. Even till date, I crave for those marriage ceremonies and the food served then after which we hardly get to attend now ( say once a year or so). 

If I ask you in general, who's the best cook you've met in your life, most of you would end up saying 'Mumma'; even the best chefs say that and certainly that is just so right. No one can ever cook like your mom does because the phenomenal ingredient she imbibes in the recipe is her selfless love. I love you Mumma, and just wish I could stay with you for some time now, enjoying aapke haath ka khana and of course some wintery February weddings in the city of lakes. But after marriage, this is certainly a dream that comes true just once or twice in 365 long days and the darling craving never goes.

Well, ab agar baat 'Maa' ke haath ke khane ki hai, so sabse pehle mujhe Gajar ka Halwa khana hai. Though I always make a list before I go to my mom's place and everyday she confirms for which dish is still left, and the list is generally so long that it doesn't end even by the last day, and then.... I see her making all my favorite sweets and the things missed from the list a day before I leave and believe it, they travel with me all the way with my already over-weighed luggage, and I usually pay extra for it with a smile hiding behind my face.

Now, coming to the focus point, Gazar Ka Halwa, I generally see people adding 'Khoya/ Mava' to it, and that is a common way of preparing it actually. But I always saw my mom cook it in a slightly different way and believe me, it tastes better and creamier because the whole gazar is cooked in a lot of milk till the milk almost dries up and becomes khoya/mava. By doing this, the carrots go very soft and they drink milk like drunkards left with bottomless beer...he he... that's a funny comparison though! :P

For this reason, I call this Halwa specifically as ' Doodhiya Gazar Halwa/ Milky Carrot Fudge'. Now for sure, we don't use any external/ market bought khoya/mava here, and the entire process takes a long long time, but seriously, each and every minute of your patience here is worth it and you will agree with this just after a scoop in your mouth.

DOODHIYA GAZAR HALWA/ MILKY CARROT FUDGE

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 40-50 minutes

Serves: 4

Did you know?

- Amazon bookstore includes over 200 books with the title "carrot" in them.

- Carrots have a higher sugar content than any other vegetable except the sugar beet.

- Carrots are one of the rare vegetables which are more nutritious cooked than raw.

Ingredients:

1. Carrots ( I used the orange ones here, because I could not find the red ones): 6 (big and stout) or 1 kg Carrots by weight

2. Milk (full cream): 750ml - 1 litre

3. Ghee/ Clarified Butter: 1/2 cup

4. Sugar: 8 tbs or as per taste ( we generally prefer it to be mild, and not too sweet or sugary)

5. Cardamom Powder: 1/2 tsp

6. Almonds, cashews and raisins: a handful

Method:

1. Wash and peel the carrots and then grate them.
2. Take a heavy bottomed pan/kadai and pour 1/4 cup ghee in it.
3. Heat it and add the grated carrots to it.
4. Give it a stir and cook for 3-5 minutes on low flame. Make sure it doesn't burn/go brown.
5. Now add half a litre milk to it  and let it cook for 15 minutes on medium flame. Keep stirring occasionally.
6. The milk will almost reduce to half by now. Now add the remaining half a litre milk or you can add all at one time if the pan is very deep, else the milk will spill out on boiling/cooking.
7. Simmer and let it cook. I generally leave it on the stove top and keep preparing other things in the meanwhile. But don't forget to give it a stir in some time else it might stick to the bottom.
8. You'll see the milk evaporating and the carrots going really soft and mushy, and this is what we want.
9. Add the chopped/ sliced/ slivered nuts and raisins, but save some for garnishing. 
10. Towards the end, when the milk is almost no more, keep stirring continuously/often to make sure it doesn't burn.
11. When the ghee starts separating, add the sugar.
12. After adding sugar, you'll see that it's turning wet again and the dryness has gone. Don't worry, that's just the sugar melting.
13. Cook it for 2-3 minutes with continuous stirring and add the 1/4 cup of the remaining ghee now.
14. Do not overdo/overheat, else the halwa will become sticky because of the sugar hardening. I generally leave it a little moist/wet and after cooling it takes the right form on its own.
15. When the ghee starts leaving the corners, put the flame off. The halwa will look soft and creamy.
16. Now garnish with dry fruits and don't rush to clean the kitchen ( that can be done later). Enjoy every spoon of it.

Microwave Method:

Ingredients:

1. Carrots: 6
2.  Milk: 250 ml
3. Milk Powder/ Khoya: 1 cup
4. Sugar: 8 tbs or as per taste 
5. Nuts and cardamom
6. Ghee: 1/2 cup 

Method:

1. Take the grated carrots and ghee ( we need 1/4 cup here) in a large microwavable bowl. ( By large, I really mean large, to avoid any milk from splushing).
2. Now microwave on full power for 3 minutes with a stir every minute to check the carrots from burning.
3. Now add milk and microwave for 15 minutes. Give a stir at every minute and see it doesn't spill on heating/boiling. ( That's why I said a large bowl.) The milk should almost reduce to half by now.
4. Now add the milk powder/khoya and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the remaining ghee and cook for a minute. The halwa should be creamy and slightly moist by now. If it is still runny, cook for some time more.
6. Prefer glass bowls for microwaving to sustain proper flavors.
7. Add sugar and nuts at the end and microwave for 3 minutes. Do not overcook else the halwa will go sticky.
8. Serve out of the oven, hot and steaming.

Suggestions:

1. If you find the procedure too lengthy, you could switch to the khoya/mava version where you need to add khoya instead of boiling for so long, but the taste will differ for sure.
2. Also a quick microwave way could be adopted by pushing in milk powder with some milk and carrots and microwaving. Refer to the complete method above. Also, you could make Instant Microwave Carrot Burfi.
3. Though it takes almost an hour to finally prepare this, but you could finish off the rest of your course and cooking amidst. ( Like I made Ragda Patties in the meanwhile.)
4. If you want it even much creamier and milky, add in more milk.
5. Always add sugar towards the end ( and this rule goes for most of the sweets) else the halwa will be all sticky and chewy. Never cook for too long after adding sugar, too. You just need to make sure that the sugar has dissolved and merged well with the rest of the stuff. If you find the halwa slightly creamy and wet here, don't worry; it will set as soon as the sugar sets on cooling.
6. Be sure you don't under/overdo it because the real art lies in getting the perfect texture. 
7. I recommend, if the halwa is too sweet, you'll not be able to taste carrots, so keep it mildly sweet (though it depends on your taste buds and cravings for sweet).
8. My hubby says, aromatic, hot halwa goes well with a freezing scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Try it for a change. :)

The recipe goes to:
A Celebration of Indian Food  at Lisa's Kitchen
Carrot Recipes  by My Culinary Creations
Cakes, Cookies and Desserts by me
Valentine's Day  at Anzz cafe
Valentine's Day Event  by Teenz' Yummy Delights

Love Lock With Sweets  hosted by Killer On The Palate and created by Vidhya of Sweet Karam Kapi

Cook. Eat. Delicious. Desserts by Veggie Platter

ABC Series- Desserts  by Ramya

Kid's Delight hosted by Edible Entertainment