Modak for Ganesh Chaturthi.

HAPPY GANESH CHATURTHI TO ALL.

Cornflour Delight

Nothing can be more simpler than this delight.

It is very quick and easy to prepare and elegant enough to serve guests. I like the one made with coconut milk and cashew pieces added to it.

This recipe is very dear to me and one of my all time favourite sweets. Very dear bcoz it was one of the last sweets I ate made by my Ma before she passed away.

Ingredients

1 cup cornflour/corn starch,

1 cup sugar,

6 cups water/coconut milk/milk,

1/2 tsp cardamom powder or any essence,

slivered almonds or any kind of nuts for garnish,

food color(optional).

Method.

• Mix cornflour, sugar, water in a pan and keep on medium low heat. Keep stirring frequently till it becomes very thick paste( about 8-10 minutes)
• Take the pan off the heat, add cardamom powder or essence (mix food color if adding) and pour into a 8in x 8in pan and smoothen the top with the back of a spoon.
• Garnish with slivered almonds. Cool completely and cut into desired shapes.
• Serve room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold.

Note

Add any variety of liquids mentioned or a combo of the liquids.

You just need your imagination to make different creations from this one basic recipe.

Today I made it two toned, I poured half of the cornflour paste in the tray then added 2 drops red food coloring and mixed the remainder of the paste and that gave me pink layer, which I poured over the white layer.

Ma sometimes made it three colored, she added soaked haleem seeds in between the two colored layers.

Tiny Samosa Bites

My 5 year old son simply loved these bites and has requested that I pack these for his school lunch when he starts grade 1 in the fall.

Ingredients

4 sheets phyllo pastry,

2 cups filling, vegetable or chicken,

oil to brush the pastry,

1tsp cornflour mixed with 1tbsp water.

Oil for deep frying.

Method

• Take one of the phyllo sheet and lay it flat on a board. Brush it with oil using pastry brush, fold in half.
• Cut 4 long strips of the sheet. Take 1 strip and put 1tbsp of filling mixture on one end, then flip the corner end over filling to make triangle, keep flipping and making triangle of the sheet till the end then apply cornflour paste on the edge and stick the edge over the triangle.
• Keep covered under a moist towel. Make the rest of the samosas in similar way.
• Heat the oil, and deep fry the samosas in batches till brown and crispy.
• Serve with chutney or ketchup.
• Makes 16 tiny samosas.

Note

I used potato filling to make these samosas, but you can use whatever filling you like or have on hand.

For a healthier version you can bake them in the oven at 350F for 20-30 minutes. Just for a change I wanted the fried goodies :D

Coconut Mawa Barfi.

August 5th was Raksha Bandhan and Narali Poornima so I made this Coconut Mawa barfi. My 2 year old daughter gobbled a couple of the barfi pieces before even tying the rakhi to her brother's hand. :)

Ingredients

1 cup mawa,

1 cup fine ground dry coconut,

1/2 cup fine rava,

1 cup sugar,

1 tsp cardamom powder,

slivered almonds.

Method

• Heat a pan on medium heat and roast rava.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on slow flame till it becomes a soft dough and leaves the sides of the pan.
• Grease a tray (8inch x8inch) with a tsp of ghee and pour the coconut mixture in the tray and spread to form a neat layer.
• Arrange the slivered almonds on the top and press them slightly into the coconut layer.
• Keep in refrigerator for a couple of hours and then cut into desired shape and size.

Note:

For 1 cup mawa, I boiled 5 cups of milk and added 2-3 tbsp yogurt, allowed the curdled milk to boil for few minutes so that the channa(soft paneer) is nice and firm. Then strained the channa through a fine seive and rinsed with cold water. I got 1 cup of home made mawa.

Instead of mawa or channa you can use 1 cup strained ricotta cheese.

Besan-Rava Ladoo

I was invited to a friends house, and decided to make these ladoos to take to their house. They turned out very delicious.

Ingredients

1 cup besan,

1/4 cup fine rava,

1/2 cup dessicated coconut(dry), grind fine in coffee grinder

1/2 cup ghee,

1 cup sugar,

1 tsp cardamom powder,

1/4 tsp nutmeg powder,

raisins

Method

• Heat ghee in a pan on low heat, add rava and roast till slightly roasted and brown, then add besan and roast well till nice aroma comes of the besan, about 15-20 minutes. Take off heat add fine ground coconut, sugar, elaichi powder, nutmeg powder and mix well,
• Let cool slightly , enough to handle with your bare hands.
• Take 2 tbsp of the roasted mixture in your hands and shape to make balls add a raisin to each ball while rolling.
• Makes 18 balls.