Kesar Pista Sabudana Kheer

Sabudana Kheer / dessert is a sweet dish which is served chilled and tastes awesome. I have tried many recipes with sabudana, then why not with some custard flavors ! So, presenting Kesar Pista Sabudana Kheer recipe which is very easy and quick to make with a handful of ingredients. 

Ingredients:

1. Sabudana - 1/2 cup 
2. Kesar pista custard powder - 2 tsp
3. Milk - 1 cup
4. Cashew Nuts  - 1 tsp (finely chopped)
5. Sugar - 2 tsp (as per your taste)
6. Rose petals - for garnishing 

Process:   

  

1. Add sabudana to a pot and rinse it very well. Soak for 1-2 hours to reduce cooking time.

2. In a bowl, add 2 tsp kesar pista custard powder and mix well with milk.

2. Pour milk in heavy bottom kadhai. Let it cook for sometime, then add sugar. Add soaked sabudana and let it cook on low flame, stirring occasionally. Cook until the sabudana becomes transparent, soft and light. Add kesar pista mixed milk in this kheer and remove from flame. Keep aside and let it cool down on room temperature. It will become more thicken upon cooling.

3. Once the kheer is cool down, add some more chopped pista. Pour into serving bowls and serve chilled with some rose petals on the top. 

MANGO SABUDANA PUDDING

Sabudana and mango dessert is a sweet dish which is served chilled and tastes awesome. I have tried many recipes with sabudana, then why not with mango! So, presenting Mango Sabudana pudding recipe which is very easy and quick to make with handful of ingredients. 

Ingredients:

1. Sabudana - 1/2 cup 
2. Mango - 1 (pureed)
3. Milk - 1 cup
4. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Nuts (any nuts of your choice) - 1 tsp (finely chopped)
6. Sugar - 2 tsp (as per your taste)

Process:   

  

1. Add sabudana to a pot and rinse it very well. Soak for 1-2 hours to reduce cooking time.

2. Pour milk in heavy bottom kadhai or pot and add soaked sabudana and let it cook on low flame, stirring occasionally. Cook until the sabudana becomes transparent, soft and light. Add cardamom powder and remove from flame. Keep aside and let it cool down on room temperature. It will become more thicken upon cooling.

3. In a blender jar add chopped mango pieces and make smooth puree. Once the pudding is cool down, add the mango puree into it and mix well.  Add chopped nuts. Pour into serving bowls and serve chilled with some fresh mango pieces on the top. 

MANGO SHEERA

Mango sheera is no different then simple sooji halwa, the addition of ripe mangoes into the sooja halwa or sheera brings in a refreshing taste to the recipe. I have tried this and turned out a very delicious one. The color totally depends on how ripe the mangoes are. If they are not very deep / ripe  in color, you can also add some kesar (saffron) to give a good color. However  I have not used kesar. 

Ingredients :

1. Mango puree - 1 cup
2. Sooji - 1 cup
3. Milk - 1 cup
4. Cashew and raisin- 1/3 cup
5. Cardamom powder - 1/3 tsp
6. Ghee - 3 tsp

Process :

1. Blend mangoes, cardamom powder and sugar to a smooth puree. 

2. In a pan, heat 1 tsp ghee and dry roast sooji until you get a good aroma. Once done, set aside.

3. In the same pan, add 2 tsp ghee, add cashew and fry until light brown, then add raisin and fry for 30 secs. Transfer them in a bowl and keep aside.

4. Now add milk in the same pan, and let it boil. Add roasted sooji and keep stirring to avoid lumps. Add 1 tsp ghee and the mango puree and mix gently. Continue to cook on a low flame for about 5-7 minutes stirring continuously. 

5. Scoop of 2-3 tsp in a serving bowl and garnish with some more cashew and raisins.

PATISHAPTA

Patishapta is typically a winter treat. It falls in the category of Pitha / Pithe. Bengali Pitha / Pithe are special type of sweets that are prepared using seasonal harvest. There is a special day in January, known as Makar Sankranti, dedicated to such delectable treats.

Ingredients: 

(For the crepe)

• Maida - 1/2 cup
• Sooji  - 2 tsp
• Rice flour - 1 cup
• Milk - half cup or as required
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Sugar - 2-3 tsp or jaggery powder
• Ghee (for greasing) 

(For the filling)

• Milk - 1 cup
• Jaggery - 1 and half cup (grated) I have used nolen gur (Date Palm Jaggery)
• Coconut - 1 cup (grated)
• Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Process :

1. In a mixing bowl, add the maida, rice flour, sooji, sugar or Nolen gur (I have used nolen gur), pinch of salt and milk. Mix the ingredients together till they are more or less combined. Do not over mix or your crapes may turn out chewy. Cover the batter and set it aside to rest, for at least 2 hours. This will allow time for the sooji to swell up and the sugar/jaggery to melt. While your batter is resting, prepare the kheer, which will form the filling for our patishapta.

2. For the filling, place the milk in a non-stick skillet at medium low heat along with jaggery. Stir it around to melt solid milk. Once its melted and turns into a thick cream like consistency, add coconut along with the cardamom powder. Mix it around and cook for 5 minutes until the mixture comes together like dough and does not stick to the bottom of the pan anymore. Take it off the hot pan into a different container.

3. To prepare the patishapta, place a flat non stick skillet at medium high heat. Once the pan heats up, brush the pan with a tiny dot of ghee. Pour 1/4 cup measurement of the batter into the pan and with the back of the ladle, swirl it in one direction to form a thin circle.

4. It cooks really fast. So immediately spoon 2 tablespoons of the filling in one line on one edge of the patishapta. Using a spatula, gently fold the edge on top of the filling and keep rolling. Place the hot patishapta in a serving plate and continue making the rest.

Sabudana kheer with Jaggery

Kheer or payesh is an Emotion to many of us, who have a sweet tooth. Kheer is a Global dish and it unites three different cooking traditions - Southern Asian, Persian and Western. Of course this is known by different names like rice pudding in the West, Payasham in the South and Shir Berenj in the Middle Eastern countries. Here the twist is, in the frame you can see creamy, delicious and thick kheer made with Sabudana (tapioca pearls) and this is a no-sugar kheer. I have added jaggery to keep the sweetness intact. 

Ingredients:

1. Sabudana - 1/2 cup 
2. Jaggery Powder - 2-3 tsp (as per your taste buds)
3. Milk - 1 cup
4. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Nuts (any nuts of your choice) - 1 tsp (finely chopped)
6. Raisins - 1 tsp
7. Ghee - 1 tsp

Process:   

  

1. Add sabudana to a pot and rinse it very well. Soak for 1-2 hours to reduce cooking time.

2. Pour milk in heavy bottom kadhai or pot and add soaked sabudana and let it cook on low flame, stirring occasionally. Cook until the sabudana becomes transparent, soft and light. Add cardamom powder and remove from flame. Keep aside and let it cool down on room temperature. It will become more thicken upon cooling.

3. In a separate pan, add jaggery powder and half cup of water, and boil it properly. Let is also cool down on room temperate. Once the jaggery syrup is completely cooled down, add this syrup into the kheer. 

4. Fry the nuts and raisins in ghee and pour it over the kheer.

Serve sabudana kheer warm or chilled.

Carrot Barfi with Jaggery

The recipe of carrot barfi is similar to the way we cook carrot halwa. Here I have used milk powder instead of condensed milk or khoya. You can use your own gajar ka halwa recipe to make this gajar barfi. Also, I have used jaggery instead of sugar to get a more dark color in the barfi. This is a quick recipe and does not take much time apart from grating carrots. Nowadays, we get grated carrots also in the department stores like big basket. 

Ingredients:  

1. Gajar / Carrot - grated two cup

2. Milk Powder - 1 cup (100 gram)

3. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

4. Nuts - 1 tsp (chopped)

5. Kaju / Cashew nut - 1 tsp (finely chopped)

6. Pistachios - 1/2 tsp (10-12 - chopped)

7. Ghee - for cooking 

8. Jaggery powder - 1/2 cup

Process:   

  

1. Rinse, peel and then grate 300 grams carrots. In cup measurement, you will need 2 cups grated carrots.

2. Grease a pan or tray with ½ tsp ghee and keep aside to use later.

3. Now,  in a kadai or thick bottomed pan, melt 2 tsp ghee and add grated carrot and mix well on low to medium flame, with frequent stirring sauté the carrots till they are almost cooked. It would take about 10 to 12 minutes.

4. Add 1 cup milk powder (100 to 105 grams). Mix the milk powder with the carrots very well. Sauté for a minute and add ⅓ cup jaggery powder and ½ tsp cardamom powder. Also add nuts and chopped cashew into this mixture and mix all the ingredients very well.

5.The mixture will loosen up as the jaggery melts. Continue to sauté with frequent stirrings for about 7 to 9 minutes on a low to medium flame. For more firm and dense consistency in the barfi, you can cook for more 10 to 12 minutes.

6. When the mixture thickens and reduces, its time to switch off the flame. a test is to take a small mixture and cool it. Then roll into a small ball. It should easily form a ball. Immediately, pour the barfi mixture in the greased pan and with a spatula or spoon smoothen the top part. 

7.Sprinkle chopped pistachios (10 to 12 pistachios) on top and gently press them with a spoon or spatula on the halwa. You can also use any other dry fruits instead of pistachios.

Cover and allow the barfi to cool and set at room temperature. You can also keep in the fridge after the barfi cools down at room temperature. 

Slice and Serve carrot barfi. 

MANGO JAM

A delicious homemade mango jam, perfect for the mango season. The temperatures are soaring and there are mangoes to make your life beautiful. Be it raw mangoes or sweet ripe mangoes, the dishes one can make are innumerable. So here is a simple and easy recipe of mango jam. You can simply store it in the refrigerator. Either way, mango jam is the perfect way to preserve mangoes.

Ingredients :

1. Ripe mango - 1 big (grated 1 cup)
2. sugar - 1 cup
3. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Salt - a small pinch

Process:

1. Wash and peel the raw mangoes, grate them using the fine grater option.
2. In a pan, take the grated mango, add sugar and a pinch of salt and bring it to heat on low flame. 
3. After 3-4 minutes the sugar starts caramelizing, see the change in color. Add cardamom powder. Keep stirring and scraping the sides also.
4. When the sugar has been completely absorbed and there is still moisture the jam is done. See the consistency and the thick syrup.
5. Let it cool, store in a glass jar and use as required.

Try out this amazing and simple jam and trust me everyone will love this.

MANGO PHIRNI

Phirni is an Indian rice pudding made by cooking ground rice with milk, hence mango phirni is a mango twist on this classic dessert. It is a rice pudding made using rice and flavored with mango puree. It is usually flavored with saffron and garnished with lots of nuts and mango pieces. Unlike normal "Payesh" which uses whole rice, phirni uses ground rice and therefore, it is quick to make. Here is my version of easy recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Milk - 1 litre (full cream milk)

2. Rice - 1/3 cup

3. Saffron - 1 pinch

4. Sugar - as per taste

5. Mango puree - 1 cup

6. Nuts - to garnish

Process:

1. Wash and soak rice for an hour. Drain the water and blend the rice in a blender to make a coarse powder.

2. In a heavy bottom pan, add milk and let the milk come to boil. Add the powdered rice and saffron to the milk. Keep stirring the phirni throughout while cooking, otherwise the rice will stick at the bottom of the pan.

3. Simmer the heat and cool till the milk is reduced to 1/2 and phirni has reached the desired consistency. (Note : the phirni will further thicken on cooling)

4. Add sugar and cook for a minute before switching off the heat. Let the phirni cool down in room temperature.
5. Add mango puree in the phirni only once it is completely cooked. Transfer the phirni in earthen bowls (if not available, use regular bowls) and garnish with nuts and mango pieces and let it chill for a few hours before serving.