Shahi Falooda / Royal Falooda

Falooda is a popular Indian layered dessert with very different textures and components. The layers consist of rose syrup, vermicelli, tukmaria seeds, jelly, rose milk, fresh fruits and nuts and vanilla ice cream. The recipe and the process looks very elaborate but if you make all the things ahead of time it will be very easy to assemble just before serving. Tukmaria / Sabja seeds / sweet basil seeds are available in Indian stores and it is entirely different from Chia seeds. Tukmaria or sabja seeds are believed to have a lot of health benefits and you can read about it here.... There are a lot of different versions of Falooda recipes and I liked Ria’s version of vermicelli cooked in milk to a kheer than just boiling in water. So here is the recipe for one of the most beautiful looking desserts for you…

Shahi Falooda / Royal Falooda

Ingredients:

For the Vermicelli Payasam / Kheer:

½ cup Semiya / Vermicelli

2 cups milk

⅓ cup Sugar

¼ tsp cardamom powder

For the Rose Milk:

1 ½ cups cold milk

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp Rooh-Afza / Rose Syrup

For the Tukmaria:

1 tbsp Tukmaria / Sabja seeds / Sweet Basil seeds

1 cup water

For Falooda:

1 packet Strawberry / Raspberry jelly / jello

2 tsp Rooh-Afza / Rose Syrup

Fruits of your choice like Straberries, banana, apple etc, chopped

Vanilla Ice Cream

Pistachios / Cashew Nuts / Almonds, to decorate

Mint Leaves to decorate

Method:

For the Vermicelli Payasam / Kheer:

Bring 2 cups milk to a boil, add ⅓ cup sugar and ½ cup Semiya / Vermicelli and cook till the vermicelli is soft and the mixture is thickened, stirring often.  Add cardamom powder, mix well and turn off the heat. Chill until use.

For the Jelly:

Make jelly by following the instructions on the packet. Cool and refrigerate. Once cool, cut into small cubes and set aside.

For the Rose Milk:

Add 2 tbsp Rooh-Afza and 1 tbsp sugar to 1 ½ cups cold milk and chill till needed.

For the Tukmaria:

Soak Tukmaria / sabja seeds / Sweet Basil seeds in 1 cup water for 20 minutes and allow to bloom. Drain the water and set aside.

To Assemble Falooda:

In a tall glass add a tea spoon of Rooh-Afza / Rose Syrup, followed by 2 tsp of tukmaria, a couple of table spoons of vermicelli kheer, chopped fruits and jelly cubes. Pour some rose milk to cover the assembly. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnish with sliced nuts and mint leaves and serve immediately.

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Kerala Style Ladoo / Laddu Recipe

Here at home all three of us love Ladoo. The only difference is my son and I love the soft and dry Kerala style ladoo and my hubby is a fan of the soft and soggy Motichoor ladoo from North India :) :).... Whenever we try store bought ladoos, we find something or the other that does not appeal to our taste buds. Finally I started making Ladoos at home and I find it far better than the colour loaded, oil tasting Ladoos that we get from the store. Now I have completely stopped buying Ladoos and have started making it at home whenever the craving starts. It’s simple, so do try theses Ladoos and share it with your friends and family this Diwali....

 Wishing You All A Very Happy, Prosperous and Safe Diwali!!!

Kerala Style Ladoo / Laddu Recipe

(Around 35-40 small ladoos)
Ingredients:

For the boondi batter:

Bengal Gram flour/ Kadala Mavu / Besan - 2 cups

Water – around 1 ½ to 2 cups

For the sugar syrup:

Sugar - 2 ½ cups

Water - 1 ¼ cups

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Cloves -6 nos

Cashew nuts – 3 tbsp, chopped

Raisins – 2 tbsp

Ghee -2 tbsp

Kalkandom / Sugar Candy - 1 tbsp, broken into small pieces

Yellow food colour – as needed (optional)

Pacha karpooram / Edible Camphor – a small pinch (optional)

Oil for deep frying the boondis

Method:

• For making Sugar Syrup: Melt sugar and water in a pan and keep stirring on medium fire till it reaches one thread consistency. Remove from fire and add cardamom powder, food colour and camphor mixed in a little water. Keep the syrup warm.
• For making the Boondis: Mix gram flour with enough water to make a smooth pancake like batter.
• Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
• Pour the batter through a dry perforated ladle or boondi plate and let the boondi fall into the boiling oil by gently spreading the batter with a spoon.
• Drain the boondis before it gets browned and drop into the warm sugar syrup. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
• Fry the cashew nuts, raisins and cloves in ghee and spread these with the ghee over the boondi.
• Mix all the ingredients together pressing the boondis with the back of a spoon to absorb all the sugar syrup.
• Add Kalkandom/ sugar candy and mix well.
• To make ladoos, gently squeeze some of the warm boondi mixture between both palms and shape into Ladoos.
• Ladoo will become firm when it cools down to room temperature. 

Notes:

• Sugar syrup should be one thread consistency.
• Gram flour batter should neither too thick nor too thin.
• Wash perforated ladle or boondi plate and wipe it clean and dry before pouring the next batch of batter.

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Homemade Mango Ice Cream

It’s that season of the year when supermarket shelves are filled with different varieties of mangoes. I made this easy condensed milk mango ice cream that needs no cooking at all. Just whip up everything and freeze and you will have an amazing homemade mango ice cream. Even teenagers can make it at home! If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you need to whip the ice cream 2-3 times as it freezes to avoid crystallisation in the ice cream. You will get soft and smooth ice cream without an ice cream maker at home :) :) 

Homemade Mango Ice Cream with Condensed Milk

Ingredients:

Ripe Mango puree – 3 cups
Milk – 3 cups
Fresh Cream – 2 cups
Sweetened Condensed Milk – 1 tin
Sugar – ½ cup 

Lemon juice -1 tbsp

Method:

• Combine the condensed milk, milk, mango puree and lemon juice in a bowl.
• Whip the cream lightly with sugar and fold into the mixture.
• Pour into a freezing tray and freeze till half set. Remove and beat with a whisk or electric beater until smooth. Repeat the process two more times. Doing so will help keep the texture of the ice cream soft and creamy while it sets.
• Return to tray and freeze till well set and serve.

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Coconut Burfi / Kerala Coconut Sweets

Coconut sweets /  burfi are a traditional Kerala sweet often made in many homes during the festive season. This was one of mine and hubby’s childhood favorites. Mom used to make it in two layers, one layer in white and another one is pink or green. For this recipe you should use freshly grated coconut and use only the white part of the coconut. Also you should be extremely careful of the sugar consistency.... This is an easy to make sweet dish. You can make it not only for festivals but also as an item for a tea party or can be packed as a nice return gift too.... 

Wishing You All a Very Happy, Prosperous and Safe Diwali!!!

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Mango Burfi / Aam Burfi

It’s been a long time since I updated this space. Took a short break that got extended because of my laziness! Meantime I did two courses in cake decoration from PME London. Also did a couple of cakes for relatives and friends here. Will share the pictures of the cakes soon…. On the cooking front I didn’t experiment much except a couple of recipes. This Mango Burfi was one such new trial. Got the recipe from here and it came out good. It’s a little time consuming recipe that needs almost constant stirring and the contents will splutter all over the counter and sometimes on our hands too if we are not careful. But the end result is really worth all the hard work. Do try this Mango Burfi before the mango season ends…

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Paal Payasam / Easy Rice Kheer in a Pressure Cooker

Wishing all my Malayali readers A Very Happy Vishu!

I made this payasam yesterday intending to post the recipe in the evening. When it was time to take pictures our weather God was so kind that a sand storm started ruining our entire photo shoot so we had to take the pictures today :P..... This is a very quick Paal (milk) Payasam which will be ready in half an hour and is ideal for festivals or if you are planning a big party and want to make a large quantity of something quick and delicious.

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Rasgulla / Roshogolla ~ Cottage Cheese Dumplings in Sugar Syrup for Diwali

Rasgulla / Roshogolla is a famous traditional Bengali sweet dish. I first tasted Rasgulla in Calcutta soon after my wedding and that time I was more fascinated with other Bengali sweets like Chum Chums, Sandesh (Shondesh) and Mishti Doi. Those days I used to buy Rasgullas only to take back home in Kerala to distribute it to relatives. I once tried to makes this and failed terribly. Recently after so many years when I craved to have some Rasgullas, I tried it out again and this time it came out really well. Kneading of paneer / cottage cheese to a smooth dough is very important. I used my food processer to knead the paneer. So here is how I made this soft and spongy delicacy.....

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Rasmalai ~ A sweet treat to celebrate a new beginning :)

Hope all of you have noticed the new address of Swapna’s Cuisine J…. Yes we have moved to our own domain and I am thankful to all my readers, friends and family for the love and support you gave me all this time and I hope to get the same in future too…. This Rasmalai recipe I had posted during my early days of blogging and last week when I made it, I thought of taking a decent picture and reposting it… I also wanted the first post on my own domain to be a sweet dish……… It’s one of the easiest Rasmalai recipes to make….

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Gothambu Payasam / Broken Wheat Payasam

Wishing all my readers a Very Happy Onam!

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Qubani Ka Meetha / Sweetened Apricot

Qubani ka Meetha is a very popular dessert in Hyderabadi cuisine. It is a common feature at Hyderabadi weddings. My hubby loves this dessert and I often make this simple and delicious delicacy at home. Try this; I am sure you will love it.

Qubani Ka Meetha / Sweetened Apricot

Ingredients:

Qubani (Dried Apricots)-250gm

Sugar-150gm or to taste

Warm water

Blanched almonds (Badam) to garnish (optional only if using pitted Apricots)

Whipped cream/ Vanilla Ice Cream / Custard for serving

Method:

• Wash and soak apricots in hot water for 20 minutes.
• Deseed the apricots and crack open the kernels using a nut cracker and soak the nuts in a cup of water to loosen their skin. (If using pitted apricots, completely omit this process and proceed to next step).
• Pressure cook the apricot with the soaking liquid to make them soft and tender.
• Once the apricots are cool blend to a smooth puree and strain.
• Add sugar to the pureed apricots and cook stirring continuously till you get a thick paste (jam consistency).
• Garnish with the peeled apricot nuts or blanched almonds.
• Served chilled with whipped cream or custard or with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
• Enjoy!

Wishing you all and your family a Very Happy Diwali & Prosperous New Year!!! May this year brings you lots and lots of happiness in life and fulfill all your dreams! :)

On another note I am so happy to see 100+ likes for Swapna's Cuisine FB page in less than a month!!!! Thanks to all who had supported the little space of mine!!! :)

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Palada Prathaman ~ Happy Onam!!!

Hi All, I am back after a month long vacation in Kerala. We had a great vacation, the best part of which was staying in our new home. Had the opportunity to meet all our family members and friends whom I had not seen for years. Enjoyed each and every moments spent with them... I am thankful to all my readers who visited my blog during my absence. I will revert as soon as possible to those who left comments and queries…..

Today to celebrate Onam I made this Palada Prathaman which is really easy to make and very tasty too. I used store bought Ada to make the Prathaman. Hope you all will try this at home. Our Onashamsakal to everyone!!




Palada Prathaman Serves-2-3
Ingredients:
Ada -50gms
Milk- 3 ½ cups
Sugar-3/4 cup or to taste
Cardamom, powdered-1/4 tsp
Butter-1/2 tsp



Method:

• Wash Ada, drain and soak Ada in boiied water in a covered vessel for 20 minutes. Wash the soaked Ada with cold water 2 to 3 times.
• Boil 3 ½ cups of milk with ½ cup of water.
• Add soaked and washed Ada while milk is boiling.
• Keep stirring till the Ada is well cooked and becomes very soft in touch.
• Add sugar and continue stirring on low flame till Palada Prathaman is reduced to 3 cups and the colour changes to pink from milk white.
• Remove from fire. Stir for another 10 minutes.
• Add powdered cardamom and butter.
• Garnish with golden fried cashew nuts (optional).
• Serve hot or cold.

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Dark Chocolate cake with Butter Icing

Dark Chocolate cake with Butter Icing

(Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens "Cooking for Today Cakes")

Ingredients:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 ¾cups granulated sugar

⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 ½cups water

¾ cup cooking oil

2 eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla essence

Method:

• Grease and lightly flour two 9 inch baking pans. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add water, oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixture on low to medium speed till combined. Beat for 2 minutes on medium to high speed. Pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake in a 350°F /180°C oven for 30-35 minutes or till a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Arrange the cake in to desired shape and frost the cake with butter icing or fill and frost the cake with whipped cream.

Butter Icing
Ingredients:
Butter-100 gm
Icing Sugar/ Powdered sugar-200 gm
Vanilla Essence-1/2 tsp
A few drops of food colouring
Method:

• Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
• Then add the remaining icing sugar and vanilla essence and beat until creamy.
• Add the food colouring and mix well. 4. Add extra icing sugar to thicken or 1-2 table spoon milk to make more runny if necessary.

Other cakes I made following the same recipe:

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Rasmallai

Ingredients:

Milk Powder -1 Cup
Baking powder-1 tsp
Egg -1
Milk -1 litre
Sugar to taste
Cardamom
Cashew nuts and Badam, sliced – 1 tbsp

Methd:

Put sugar and sliced nuts in milk and keep it for boiling. Sieve milk powder and baking powder together and put this into egg which is not beaten. Knead it and make about 18 balls with this. Put this balls in the boiling milk till it reaches double the size in medium flame ( about 20-25 minutes). Add cardamom powder and serve either hot or cold.

Sandeepa this is for your RCI Bengal

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