Choco Bread Burfi

Its funny how you come across something unexpected when you are actually looking at stuff that is not even remotely related to what you just discovered. Well, this is one such recipe!! Diwali, this year, is on Nov 3rd, and is, just a few days away. I try and make couple different sweets every year apart from the usuals. Of course, I choose to make stuff that is not very time consuming but tastes delicious. When I first saw this video on tube (FYI, original video is in Hindi but towards the end, there is a quick recap partly in English), I couldn't wait to give it a try. It looked simple yet tempting enough to be on my to-try-out list. With slight changes, I was surprised that it turned out so good that my daughter couldn't stop with a small bite. 

The original recipe is almost vegan except for the usage of regular milk which can be easily switched to any non-dairy milk of your choice. Most of the indian sweets normally involve liberal use of ghee (clarified butter) but I was really happy to see a recipe that did not use any....now that's a first!!!  The best part is that the ingredients are readily available in everyone's pantry, so what are you waiting for?? Trust me, you gotta try it out. It's definitely one of a kind and pretty darn good too!!

Adapted from Tea Time with Rakesh Sethi

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups breadcrumbs (approx. 4 slices - I used 12 grain bread)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk, original (3/4 cup would work as well)
2/3 cup ground raw sugar
2/3 cup frozen shredded coconut, thawed 
2  tbsp chopped cashewnuts
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp blanched almonds, chopped
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
2 - 3 drops kewra essence (or rose essence or 1/4 tsp cardamom powder)
2 tsp oil + extra for greasing pan
Cashews or Almonds or Pistachios, for garnish

Method:

Cut the brown ends from the bread slices. Prepare the bread crumbs using a food processor or blender (pulse until crumbs are formed) with your choice of bread, preferably, white/wheat or any grain-based bread (plain, no flavoring).

In a large mixing bowl, add the bread crumbs, unsweetened almond milk and cocoa powder. Mix well and set aside until it softens.

In a pan, on medium-low heat, add the ground raw sugar and fresh or frozen grated coconut and cook until the sugar completely melts. 

As the mixture starts to thicken (takes about 8-10 mins or so), add the chopped cashews and almonds and mix well. Cook on medium low heat until the mixture starts to bind well.

Add the soaked bread to the coconut-nuts mixture and stir well. Add flavoring of choice (I used kewra essence - extract made from pandanus flowers). Cook on low heat until the moisture is totally absorbed. Add oil (or vegan butter) to the mixture and cook for 5 mins or so. The bread mixture starts forming a big lump without sticking to the sides. Remove from heat.

Line a non-stick or glass baking dish with parchment or wax paper. Grease with cooking spray or vegan butter. Spread the bread mixture on the pan and smoothen the top for an even layer.

Allow the mixture to reach room temperature and cool it in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours (or freeze it for 1 hr). Cut into square or diamond shaped pieces. Garnish with nuts of choice (cashew halves/almonds or pistachios). Enjoy!!

Makes 16 pieces.

Til Ladoo

Life seems so pre-occupied with things adding up in my daily to-do list, sometimes, I wish a day was longer than 24 hours!! It has been a little over 2 months since my daughter started attending her new day care but she has fallen sick so many times. I suppose if you have a kid who attends day care/school, you can always expect a surprising home delivery of some sort of sickness that is so not welcome. Obviously, it starts off by sucking the energy out of the kid, with total loss of appetite (poor baby was literally on pedialyte/gatorade for nearly 3+ days) and an uncontrollable cough. The sickness cycle doesn't seem to be complete unless it has been passed on to atleast one person in the household, in most cases, a mom's gotta go through it all!!

It has been over a week since I made these Til (Sesame) ladoos but haven't had a chance to post it. Sesame has one of the highest oil content among seeds. Sesame seeds add a nutty flavor and is known to have a long shelf life due to the high levels of natural antioxidants. Sesame seeds is rich in vitamin-B and minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and copper. Sesame seeds, when consumed, helps reduce "bad" cholesterol and increases "good" cholesterol. It helps prevent diabetes, lowers blood pressure and also strengthens your immune system with the antioxidants present in them. Need I say more???

This is by far one of the easiest sweets that can be made in less than 10 minutes. All you need is 3 ingredients to enjoy these ladoos. This is one of the sweets that I normally make during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations but it can be enjoyed all year round.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sesame seeds, dry roasted
1/3 cup raw peanuts, dry roasted & de-skinned
1/3 - 1/2 cup powdered jaggery (unrefined whole cane sugar), adjust to taste

Method:

In a pan, dry roast the sesame seeds and peanuts separately.

If using raw peanuts with skin, after roasting, remove the skin from the peanuts and keep aside.

Using a blender or food processor, make a powder of the sesame seeds and peanuts separately.

In a large bowl, mix the powdered sesame seeds and the powdered peanuts.

In a blender or food processor, to few ladles of the mix, add jaggery and pulse (do it in batches).

Make ladoos from the above mix. The natural oils from the sesame seeds and peanuts along with the moisture from the jaggery help form the ladoos easily.

Store in an airtight container and enjoy until it lasts!! 

Makes 10 ladoos.

Mango Phirni

Phirni (known as rice pudding) is a popular north indian dessert that is made using milk and rice. It has a creamy texture and is typically flavored with cardamom and saffron but can be tweaked in several different flavors to suit your taste buds. It is traditionally served in matkas (small earthenware pots/bowls) to be consumed chilled. 

As it is scorching hot summer in India, with mangoes in abundance everywhere, what better way to combine mangoes and creamy phirni??? Sweet heaven!! All of us thoroughly enjoyed the chilled mango phirni, not overly sweet but filled with the goodness of mangoes with the creaminess of the phirni, can't beat that!! Enjoy them while the season lasts :)

Ingredients:

5 tbsp basmati rice/long grain rice, powdered (similar to sooji/rava consistency)
3/4 cup almonds, soaked
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
4 1/2 cups filtered water
10-12 tbsp sugar (adjust to taste)
Few strands of saffron
1-2 tbsp sliced pistachios, for garnishing
Mango pulp from 2 large mangoes (any variety of choice)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (or kewra essence), optional

Method:

Soak the basmati/long grain rice in water for 30 mins. Drain the rice and place it on a kitchen towel for drying. Once the water has completely dried out from the rice, grind it to a medium coarse powder (similar to sooji consistency).

Prepare almond milk (3/4 cup almonds soaked overnight with 4 - 4 1/2 cups water) or use store-bought and bring it to a boil on medium flame.

Add powdered rice and saffron and boil until the almond milk starts to thicken.

Add sugar, cardamom powder and 2-3 tbsp slivered almonds (optional) and boil until rice gets cooked. The entire process takes about 25-30 mins on medium-high flame.

Cool the phirni.

Peel the skin of the mango and cut them into cubes. Grind the mangoes with little sugar to a fine mango pulp. If you plan to use the mango pulp for later, add 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice along with the sugar when preparing the pulp to prevent it from browning. Refrigerate and set aside.

After the phirni cools completely, just before serving, in a mixing bowl, add the phirni and mix the mango pulp (adjust to taste) as required. Garnish with nuts of choice and serve chilled.

For a variation, you can use carrots instead of mangoes. Pressure cook or boil the carrots until they are tender. Grind the boiled carrots to a fine purée. In a pan, heat the carrots and add sugar (to taste) and cook until the sugar melts and the raw smell is gone. Cool the carrot purée (can be refrigerated for later) and then mix with the prepared phirni and serve.

Makes 8-9 servings.

Poha Ladoo

Poha (flattened/beaten rice) is dehusked rice that is flattened into dry flakes and can be found in thin or thick varieties. Poha is light and easily digestible but satisfying. In most indian homes, poha is consumed for breakfast/dinner but can be had as a healthy snack too. Not sure how, but I have been told that it is a great food for dieters to consume without any guilt. For a long time, I have been using white poha (mostly because thats the only one available at stores close to home) but recently came across red/brown poha made from red/brown rice and I wanted to try it out.. 

My first attempt with the red poha variety was breakfast/snack poha (recipe coming up soon), one of my childhood favorites, which was good but taste-wise I prefer the white over the red/brown poha. Lately, I have been thinking about few indian sweets to make and have quite a few to try out - one of the seemingly easiest ones on my list was poha ladoo. I was a bit skeptical about the outcome of the recipe, but what the heck....anything is worth a try!! I decided to use the thick red poha and gave it a shot. The preparation is what takes up some time and once you have the crumbly mixture, then the process of rolling them into balls is the fun part. The ladoos were an instant hit and has become one of our new favorites. 

Ingredients:

1 cup red poha, thick variety
1/3 cup raw almonds, dry roasted and ground finely
1/3 cup roasted split dalia, dry roasted and ground finely
2/3 cup sugar, powdered (adjust to taste)
10-12 cashews, cut into small pieces
1/4- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (adjust to taste)
Pinch of salt
5 tbsp + 1 tsp vegan butter, melted

Method:

For this recipe, I used thick red poha but white or brown poha variety (thick or thin) can be used as well. 

Dry roast the red poha for 4-5 mins until it emits an aroma and starts to slowly puff up.

Dry roast the roasted split dalia for 3-4 mins.

 

Dry roast the almonds for 4-5 mins.

In a pan, heat 1 tsp vegan butter and fry the cashew pieces until golden brown and set aside. 

Now, grind the roasted ingredients separately (poha, roasted split dalia and almonds) into a fine powder.

In a large bowl, add the poha, dalia and almond powder, roasted cashews, sugar, cardamom powder, salt and mix well. 

Add 4 tbsp melted butter and sprinkle (about 1 tsp or so) water and mix until it forms a crumbly mixture (got a bit too engrossed in making ladoos and skipped a photo of the crumbly mixture :)). Form balls with the crumbly mixture. If the balls are still crumbly, can add the remaining 1 tbsp to the crumbly mixture and then form the balls. Sorry about the bad lighting on some of the photos (will upload better pics soon).

For a variation, you can use 2-3 tbsp of coconut oil/cocoa butter with some shredded coconut instead of vegan butter. Alternatively, you can use maple syrup/date syrup and reduce the quantity of sugar or prepare a sugar syrup to form the crumbly mixture. 

Store in airtight container and enjoy!!

Makes 20 - 22 ladoos. 

Bread Halwa

Bread is a staple food and also one of the oldest foods known to man.  In history and modern culture, there are several adages which refer to bread and the most commonly used is 'bread winner' (the main person who earns in a household). One of the ingredients that is an absolute must in my kitchen is bread (not so much for hubby more so for me). Not sure why but I have noticed that women have a weakness for bread (why wouldn't we? we love our carbs, right??). Did you know that the crust is considered to be healthier than the rest as it contains more fiber and antioxidants!!

Mostly, bread is widely used for sandwiches or we use them to make fresh bread crumbs or bread upma like some of us. Couple years ago, I had bread halwa which tasted divine (don't even bother asking me about the amount of calories and fat it involved) and have ever since wanted to try making it. Well, I am sure the original recipe must have used a lot of clarified butter and sugar, but I have tried to tone it down a bit without compromising on the taste. Here's a simple recipe that I learnt from my mom which is quick and tasty, not overly sweet but can satisfy any sweet tooth!!

Ingredients:

12 slices white bread, crusts trimmed, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup + 3 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup water
Cardamom powder, adjust to taste
1/2 cup  vegan butter + 2 tbsp (if required, optional)
2-3 tbsp chopped almonds
Few saffron strands (optional)
1 tbsp mixed nuts - almonds + pistachio, finely chopped/slivered

Method:

In a pan, heat 2 tsp vegan butter and fry the chopped almonds and keep aside.

In the same pan, shallow fry the bread (I have used white bread but you can try using wheat bread for a healthier option)  in 3-4 tbsp vegan butter (or oil) till it turns golden brown and slightly crispy.

Cool the bread and grind the bread pieces until it becomes a crumbly texture.

In a pan, prepare the sugar syrup by adding sugar and water. Add the saffron strands and allow it to boil till the sugar melts away and continue to boil for another 4-5 mins until it reaches a three string consistency (slightly thicker than two string consistency).

Add the bread crumbs to the sugar syrup and mix well. Add the cardamom powder and the rest of the butter (4 tbsp, if it starts to dry out add the remaining 2 tbsp else omit it) and stir well until most of the butter is absorbed. Add the chopped almonds and mix well.

Garnish with almonds and pistachio slivers and serve.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Unni Appam

Unni Appam originates from Kerala which is located in the south-west region of India. In malayalam (language spoken by keralites), 'unni' means small and 'appam' means rice cake (similar to Aebleskiver of danish origin). Unni appam is fluffy round rice cakes made using rice, plantain, jaggery (unrefined whole cane sugar) and ghee (clarified butter) along with optional ingredients like cardamom powder, coconut pieces or cashewnuts. The traditional unni appam uses only rice flour but I like to use a blend of whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and rice flour. It is mildly sweet treat that satisfies your sweet cravings.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 cup jaggery (adjust to taste)
1 - 1 1/2 cup water
3-4 medium overripe bananas
1/2 tsp cardamom powder, optional
1/8 tsp baking soda, optional
Pinch of salt

Method:

In a large bowl, add whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, rice flour( if only using rice flour, add 2 cups rice flour with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour), baking soda and salt. Mix well. 

In a pan, on medium heat, add powdered jaggery and 1 cup water. Heat until completely melted. Filter out the impurities.  Pour this syrup into the dry mix. 

Add the bananas and mash them until they blend well with the batter. If required, add warm or hot water to the batter until you  get the desired consistency (should be slightly thicker than idli/dosa batter). Add cardamom powder and mix well.

If you choose to use coconut pieces and cashewnuts, fry them in 1-2 tsp vegan butter until golden brown and then add to the batter. 

Set the batter aside for 1-2 hours for best results but if you are impatient like me, go ahead and start making them right away.

Heat the cast-iron or non-stick mold pan (appam pan) and grease the molds with oil and spoon the batter into each mold. Cook for 2-3 mins until the appam turns golden brown. Flip to the other side using a spoon or skewer till it cooks until golden brown color. 

Drain the excess oil on paper towel and repeat the procedure for the remaining batter. Serve warm and enjoy!!

The appams can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days after they completely cool down. Microwave for 10-20 seconds before consuming.

Makes 35-40 appams.

Apple Cranberry Crumble

A crumble is a dish that originates from Britain which can be prepared as a sweet or savory version. The sweet variety is made with any fruit and topped with a crumble mixture that contains butter, flour and sugar. This dish is baked in an oven and the topping gets crispy which is the highlight of the dish. It is best served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. The combination of warm apple crumble with ice cream is delish!! 

The very first time I tried apple crumble was in my teens and I have made it several times, especially when I have plenty of apples that need to be used up soon. Normally, I make the apple crumble by adding lemon juice to the apple slices to retain the color. I wanted to switch things up a bit and add some cranberries to the apple crumble. What better ingredient to compliment cranberries than oranges?? The result was warm and refreshing apple cranberry crumble.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

3 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 1/2 tbsp organic cane sugar (or granulated sugar)
2 tbsp whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tbsp orange juice
1/4 tsp grated orange zest
3-4 tbsp dried cranberries (use as-is or soak in orange juice for 5-10 mins before using)
1/8 tsp of salt

For crumble topping:

1/3 cup whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
1/3 cup quick cooking or rolled oats 
3/4 tsp cinnamon powder
4 tbsp light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
3 tbsp cold vegan butter (like earth balance)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a baking dish with butter (or cooking spray) and set aside.

Peel, core and cut apples into 1/4 inch slices. In a large mixing bowl, add apples, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, flour, salt, cinnamon and dried cranberries and toss well.  Pour the filling into the baking dish and spread out evenly.

In another bowl, add the flour, oats, cinnamon powder, brown sugar, salt, chopped pecans and mix well. Using your fingers (or you can use an electric mixer if you don't want to get your hands messy), add the cold butter and gently mix until the mixture is crumbly and pea-sized lumps are formed.

Spread the crumble mixture evenly over the apple filling and bake for 40-45 mins until the apples are bubbly and the topping is brown. 

Serve warm as-is or with whipped coconut cream or vanilla ice cream (optional). For a variation, you can combine apples and pears or any berries.

Makes 5-6 servings.

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2013!!  New Year, new beginnings!! Hope this year is off to a good start for everyone.  New Year means making resolutions. Almost every year, I  make some resolutions (mostly to stay healthy and of course, control my temper) only to be broken a few weeks later. I haven't really heard of anyone who has been able to keep up their resolution for the entire year. Anyway, life is full of surprises and its more interesting when you take things as they come. 

Our new year started out peacefully, nothing eventful, just another quiet day (partly, it doesn't stay quiet for too long with a 6 month old). I am hoping that I can blog more this year and keep it interesting.

Its nice to begin the year on a sweet note and hoping it stays that way for the rest of the year for everyone. Here's a simple no bake recipe for you to relish....

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats (or rolled oats)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa
9 tbsp powdered raw sugar
Pinch of salt (optional)
1/4 cup vegan butter (I used earth balance)
6 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1/2 tsp instant coffee powder

Method:

In a pan, add the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. On medium heat, allow the ingredients to melt well and boil for few mins. Now, remove from heat and let it cool for 1-2 mins. Add the vanilla extract, salt, peanut butter and coffee powder and whisk well. Add the quick cooking oats and mix all the ingredients until they blend well together.

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and spoon the dough using a cookie scoop (I flattened the cookies, not sure what I was thinking??). Cool the cookies for 30 mins to an hour until it hardens. Enjoy!!

For a variation, try using butter scotch chips or chocolate chips and add 1-2 tbsp sugar (adjust to taste).

Makes 20 cookies. 

Persimmon & Coconut Mousse

Persimmons is one of the recent additions to our list of fruit consumption. It comes in two varieties - hachiya (astringent: contains high levels of tannins, so they need to be fully ripened to be consumed) and fuyu (non-astringent: less astringent before ripening). I haven't come across the hachiya variety yet. Fuyu variety tastes good when eaten fresh (crunchy like an apple) or ripened. The flesh is very sweet and so doesn't require too much of additional sweetness when using it in desserts. The very first time I tasted it, I felt that it would be a good ingredient for a mousse (tasted similar to palmyra palm fruit found in India). This recipe is a nice variation to the regular kind of mousse.

Ingredients:

4 fuyu persimmons, peeled and diced.
1/2 fuyu persimmon, peeled and petite diced
3-4 tbsp powdered raw sugar 
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)
2/3 cup coconut cream, whipped
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp pecans, chopped

Method:

Peel the persimmons and dice them. In a blender, make a purée of the persimmon, 1 tbsp raw sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

In a bowl, add the coconut cream and whisk well using a hand blender for few mins. Add sugar (adjust to taste) and vanilla extract and beat the cream until it forms soft peaks.

In a mixing bowl, add the persimmon purée and fold the coconut cream (add little by little) gently until it blends together.  Spoon into serving dishes and top with diced persimmon and chopped pecans (it is optional but you can add some whipped coconut cream before topping with persimmon and pecans). Chill for 3-4 hours and serve.

If you don't like the flavor of coconut, you can use silken tofu and blend it along with the persimmon purée.

Makes 3 servings.

Date Rolls

Dates are one of the most popular tropical fruit which is packed with essential nutrients required for good health. Many varieties are cultivated with few popular ones like 'Medjool'. It is rich in iron, potassium and a  dietary fiber, so works as a laxative too (sorry, I guess too much info). Personally, I feel ladies don't get too much iron from their daily diets and it is good to eat a handful of them whenever you get a chance. The better option would be to have some date smoothie or end up making date rolls like me.

I am not sure if it even qualifies as a sweet. But looks very festive with the dates and nuts and mildly sweet which is perfect for the occasion.  In the spirit of diwali, here's another sweet that is easy to make and healthy too. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups dates, pitted & chopped (I used california dates but you can use any variety)
1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped (reduce to 1/4 cup, if you don't want too much nuts)
1/4 cup cashew nuts, chopped
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
1 tsp vegan butter (like earth balance)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (optional)

For coating:

1 tbsp poppy seeds, roasted for 5 mins OR
1 tbsp shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) OR
2 tbsp almond meal

Note: You can pick any coating of your choice, I used 3 different coatings to try out  - each one of them covers one log,

Method:

Dry roast the poppy seeds for 5 mins and set aside.

In a food processor or blender, coarsely dry grind the chopped dates and keep aside.

In a pan, add the vegan butter and chopped nuts (almonds, cashews & pistachios - chop the nuts into small pieces unlike me....I am a bit lazy!!!). Roast the nuts until they are slightly golden brown. Add the date paste and mix well with the nuts. Add the cardamom powder (you can also try adding nutmeg powder or skip it) and mix again. If you like your rolls little sweeter, you can add agave/maple syrup or any sweetener of your choice.

While the date and nut mix is still warm, knead the mix for a minute or so. Separate the mix into 3 or 4 partitions depending on what size you want your rolls to be. Make each partition into a roll (like a log). 

Pick a coating of your choice - poppy seeds or almond meal or coconut (my favorite was the poppy seeds and almond meal coating) and spread them on a plate or wax paper. Roll each log on the coating with slight pressure so that it sticks well. Repeat for the remaining logs.

So, when all the logs are coated, they will look similar to:

Okay, I agree that they are not the prettiest looking pics but I tried...

Now, cover each log tightly with aluminum foil or cling wrap and freeze it for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (just make sure you remember to take it out on time, it would get really hard otherwise).

Remove the foil or cling wrap and cut each log into slices. Enjoy!!

Makes 40 pieces.