Beetroot Halwa / Beetroot Halwa using Jaggery

Beetroot halwa is an easy to make dessert using milk, grated beetroot, nuts, cardamom and in particular using jaggery (without use of white sugar). 

This makes it a healthier choice than a dessert made using sugar. This dish is suitable for all special occasions and even for your routine dessert cravings. 

Try it out and give your feedback.

Click the link for the Youtube video:  https://youtu.be/oUn4i1GGdlg

PREP TIME

10 mins

COOK TIME

15 to 20 mins

TOTAL TIME 

30 mins

                                                                                                                                           

Recipe for Beetroot Halwa

Recipe type: Sweets / Desserts

Cuisine: Indain

Serves - 3 to 4(approximately)

Ingredients:

Beetroot – 3 cups
Milk - 2 cups
Jaggery 1/4 to 1/2 tsp
Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
Cashews  - 10 to 12 pieces each (chopped)
Ghee- 2 to 3 tsp

Directions:
Wash, peel and grate the Beetroots.

Roast the cashews with ghee in a pan and keep aside (reserve some for garnishing).

Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan; add the grated beetroots and saute for 2 minutes.

Add milk and cook on medium heat till it evaporates and become thick. After that add jaggery syrup.

Stir well and add cardamom powder, roasted nuts and add the remaining ghee i

Once the halwa starts to leave the sides of the pan, transfer it to serving bowl and garnish with remaining nuts.

Serve warm or chill.

Chocolate Paneer Burfi / Paneer Burfi

Chocolate Paneer Burfi is a delicious, rich milk based sweet.  It is prepared easily using few ingredients which are readily available at home.

I learnt this from my co-sister Guna. She is an expert in preparing sweets and North Indian dishes. 

It was a quick hit in my family when I prepared it the first time itself after learning the recipe from my co-sister. 

You can also try adding saffron instead of cocoa powder. Both tastes yummy.

Let's check the recipe now;

PREP TIME

15 min

COOK TIME

15 mins

TOTAL TIME 

30 mins

                                                                                                                                               

Recipe for Paneer Burfi / Chocolate Paneer Burfi

Recipe type: Dessert / Sweets

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 12 to 15 piece(approximately)

Ingredients:

Milk - 2 1/2 cups
Paneer / Indian cottage cheese - 1 1/2 cups
Cocoa powder- 1 1/2  tbsp
Sugar - 1/4 to 1/2 cup (adjust according to your taste)
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsp

Directions:

Heat milk in a pan; allow to boil till it reduce to 3/4 of its quantity in volume and looks creamy;

Thaw / Defrost paneer and grind it into a coarse powder using mixer / grinder or you can mash with your hands.

Add sugar, cocoa powder and cardamom powder; mix well and keep aside. 

Keep stirring the milk at regular intervals.

When milk reduced , add the paneer cocoa mixture and mix well.

Add ghee and keep stirring continuously over medium flame until the mixture starts to leave the pan and become a thick mass; switch off the gas.

Pour the mixture into a greased plate and garnish with chopped / grated almonds, pistachios / cashews.

Allow them to cool 10 to 15 minutes and then cut into desired shapes.

Note:

Instead of cocoa powder , you can also add saffron for different taste.

You can also use home made fresh paneer.

Pasi paruppu Urundai / Moong dhal ladoo / Nei Urundai

Moong dhal ladoo is one of the traditional, tasty and easy to make sweet, apt to prepare for upcoming  Diwali festival.  Though my mom used to prepare often,  I tried  it for the first time; everybody in my family loved it, especially my younger one😃.

Do try this at home and share it with your loved ones!!

PREP TIME

10 min

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME 

20 mins

                                                                                                                                                         

Recipe for Moong dhal ladoo / Nei urundai
Recipe type: Sweet

Cuisine: Indian

Yields - 12 to 15 ladoos 

Ingredients:

Moong dhal / Pasi paruppu - 1 cup

Sugar - ¾ cup
Cardamom powder - ½ tsp

Ghee - ¼ cup
Cashew nuts - 5 to 8 no.(chopped into small pieces)

Gur Anarsa (Jaggery and Rice based sweet popular in Bihar)

This recipe is my entry to the event "Shhh!!! Cooking Secretly" challenge conducted by Mayuri Patel of Mayuri's Jikoni.  For the month of December, I have paired with Shobana Vijay of "shobasdelight" and the ingredients given by her are Rice flour and Jaggery.

We planned to try Bihari cuisine with the given ingredient.   As I am from southern part of India; I am excited to know more about the cuisine of Bihar (a state in eastern India, bordering Nepal)

When I browsed for the Gur Anarsa recipe, I understood that, it resembles Tamilnadu's traditional recipe "adhirasam" in taste, though the preparation and outcome of this dish is different. 

Gur Anarsa is a traditional and lip smacking sweet dish of Bihari cuisine. It is usually prepared during festival days like Holi, Diwali and on other special occasions.

In this, Rice flour and jaggery (Gur in Hindi) are combined together to form a dough that is coated with sesame seeds; fried till it gets golden colour.

PREP TIME

15 min

COOK TIME

10

TOTAL TIME 

25 min

                                                                                                                                                  

Recipe for Gur Anarsa   

Recipe type: Sweet

Cuisine: Bihari Cuisine (Indian)

Yields: 8 to 10 pieces

Ingredients:
Rice flour - 1 cup
(Follow the method given below to prepare rice flour )
Jaggery - ½ cup (grated)
Sesame seeds - 2 to 3 tbsp
Ghee - 1 to 2  tsp
Ghee - for deep frying

Directions:
How to prepare rice flour for anarsa Preparation:

Wash the raw rice thoroughly to get rid of any dirt and stones.   Soak it for 3 days ; by changing the water daily. 

Drain completely; spread it as a thin layer in a newspaper / cotton cloth and allow to dry in shade for 20 to 30 minutes or till it's almost dry yet slightly moist. 

Add the rice in mixer and grind it to fine powder (do it in batches).

Sieve to get fine powder and collect the remaining millet rava (coarse texture) in the sieve; add it to the next batch while grinding.  Continue the process.

Now your rice flour is ready to use.

Measure 1 cup of  rice flour and add 1/2 to 3/4 cup grated jaggery.   Start mixing; add ghee  and knead to form a soft dough.(it will take nearly 5 to 6 minutes)

Cover and rest this dough in room temperature for 24 hours to get soft anarsa.

Heat ghee / oil in a wok.  Mean while, divide the dough into balls.  Flatten it and coat with sesame seeds.  Similarly prepare the remaining balls.

Deep fry the anarsa in low  flame.  Do not flip in between.  Remove and drain the excess oil and serve hot.

Traditional and easy to make Anarsa is ready to serve.

Desserts / Sweets

Here is a mouthwatering collection of exotic international desserts to traditional Indian sweets such as puddings, popsicles, Ice creams, ladoos, halwa, burfi and yummilicious Payasam / Kheer varieties.

Homemade sweets / desserts are always the best; so try and share with your loved ones to make every special occasion into a memorable one!

                                 Puddings / Popsicles / Ice creams

Rose Milk Popsicles / Home Made Popsicles
Strawberry Yogurt Popsicle
Baked Caramel Custard (Pudding)
Baked Chocolate Pudding / Brownie Pudding

Coconut and Lychee Crème Caramel
Strawberry Mousse (Eggless)
No - Bake Strawberry Cheesecake in a glass 
Eggless Chocolate Mousse 
Umm Ali - Egyptian Bread Pudding
Fig and Honey Pudding - Eggless(No bake pudding)
Mango Pudding / Mango Coconut milk Pudding
Rose Milk Pudding Recipe / Rose Milk Jelly
Tri colour jelly
Strawberry juice jelly
Vanilla Pannacotta with Pomegranate Jelly
Chocolate Panna Cotta

Mango Kulfi
Almond Malai Kulfi
Avocado Ice cream / Eggless Avocado Ice cream
Biscuit Chocolate Balls /Chocolate Biscuit Truffles

                Indian Sweets

Ladoo / Urundai Recipes

Oats Flaxseed Ladoo / Oats Flaxseed & Peanut Ladoo

Pasi paruppu Urundai / Moong dhal ladoo / Nei Urundai

Ellu Urundai / Sesame Seed Balls

Dates and Nuts Ladoo / Dry fruits Ladoo - No Sugar Ladoo

Coconut Ladoo / Laddu Using Condensed Milk

Malai Ladoo / Paneer Ladoo Using Condensed Milk

Rava Ladoo / Rava Laddu using Condensed milk

Easy Red Aval Ladoo (Poha / Rice Flakes Ladoo)

Sesame Peanut Ladoo / Ellu Kadalai Urundai

Halwa Recipes
Wheat Halwa / Godhumai Halwa
Pal Halwa / Milk Halwa
Carrot Halwa
Beetroot Halwa
Corn flour Halwa / Karachi Halwa - Stove Top Method
Microwave Palkova / 10 Minutes Palkova Recipe

Burfi Recipes

Badam / Almond Burfi
Chocolate Burfi - Using Milk Powder

Instant Kalakand / Kalakand / Milk cake
Mohanthal Using Condensed Milk
Kaju Katli / Cashew Burfi

Chocolate Paneer Burfi / Paneer Burfi 

Kesari Recipes
Rajasthani Lapsi (with Jaggery) / Broken Wheat Sweet
Rava Kesari / Kesari Recipe - Semolina Pudding
Pineapple Kesari - Indian Style Pineapple Pudding
Red Aval Kesari / Poha Kesari - Krishna Jayanthi Special

others
Basundi / How to make Basundi at Home
Sweet Poha / Vella Aval / Aval with Jaggery
Gur Anarsa (Jaggery and Rice based sweet popular in Bihar) 

                                  Payasam / Kheer Recipes

Carrot Kheer / Payasam
Carrot Semiya Payasam / Carrot Vermicelli Kheer
Sweet Corn Payasam / Sweet Corn Kheer
Vermicelli Kheer / Semiya Payasam
Sago Vermicelli Payasam/Javaarisi Semiya Payasam
Black Rice Payasam / Kavuni Arisi Payasam
Thinai Payasam / Foxtail Millet Kheer
Red Aval Payasam / Poha Kheer / Matta Rice Flakes Payasam
Pal Payasam / Arisi Payasam / Milk Pudding / Chawal Ki Kheer
Palada Pradhaman Recipe / Palada Payasam
Pasi Paruppu Payasam / Pasi Paruppu Arisi Payasam / Moong Dhal Rice Kheer
Makhane Ki Kheer / Phool Makhana Kheer / Puffed Lotus Seed Kheer

Malai Ladoo / Paneer Ladoo Using Condensed Milk

If you are fighting with time for last minute diwali preparations, here is not only a quick and easy sweet but also tasty sweet recipe for you to cherish the occasion!

Try and give your feedback!

                    

PREP TIME

5  min

COOK TIME

5 mins

TOTAL TIME 

10 mins

                                                                                                                                                   

Recipe for Malai Ladoo / Paneer Ladoo

Recipe type: Indian Sweet

Cuisine:  North Indian

Yields: 10 ladoos(approximately)

Ingredients:
Paneer - 250 gms
Condensed milk - ½ cup
Cardamom powder - ¼ tsp
Almonds / Pistachios - for garnish
Ghee / clarified butter - for greasing the plate

Kaju Katli / Cashew Burfi

Kaju Katli / Cashew Burfi is a one of the popular and tasty Indian sweets. It is very easy to prepare with only few ingredients which is easily available at home.  For this recipe, you don't need to check sugar syrup / string consistency; even beginners can try this without hassle!

Try this mouthwatering sweet for Diwali or for any special occasion and enjoy with your loved ones!

PREP TIME

5 min

COOK TIME

15 mins

TOTAL TIME 

20 mins

                                                                                                                                                   

Recipe for Kaju katli / cashew burfi

Recipe type: Sweets

Cuisine:  North Indian

Yields - 12 to 15 pieces

Ingredients:
Cashew nuts - 1 cup
Sugar - ½ cup
Water -  ¼ cup
Cardamom powder - ½ tsp
Ghee / Clarified butter - for greasing the hands

Dates and Nuts Ladoo / Dry fruits Ladoo - No Sugar Ladoo

Dry fruits ladoo is an easy to make & tasty sweet and the most important is that it is without any added sugar!  This ladoo is highly nutritious with all natural goodness. 

It is also suitable for festive seasons and we can indulge without guilt!

                                               

PREP TIME

10 min

COOK TIME

5 mins

TOTAL TIME 

15 mins

                                                                                                                                                   

Recipe for Dates and Nuts Ladoo / Dry fruits Ladoo

Recipe type: Sweet

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 2 to 3 (approximately)

Ingredients:

Dates - 1 cup (deseeded)
Raisins - 10 to 15
Mixed nuts  - 1 to 1 ½ cup
(cashews, badam, pista, walnut)
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsp

Pal Halwa / Milk Halwa

Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season, and my sincere wishes for the coming year. Be safe and enjoy!

                              Goodbye to 2015 & Welcome New Year 2016

                                                     

Thank you all for encouraging me throughout the year by your likes and comments which is really a booster for any blogger.

To start the new year, here I have shared a sweet recipe "Milk Halwa" with you all. 

I learnt this recipe from my friend Lakshmi Krishna. This is one of her trademark recipes. Every body in my family, love this sweet. 

Try this with your loved ones to welcome the new year with the essence of this sweet, which is purity in thoughts and sweetness in words.

Serves - 5 to 6 people approximately

Ingredients:

Full cream milk - 2 litres
Sugar - 250 grams
Lemon juice - 2 to 3 tsp
Refined oil - 100ml
Ghee / Clarified butter - 50 gms
Rice flour - 3 tbsp
Cardamom powder - ¼ tsp (optional)
Sliced almonds - 2 to 3 (optional)

Rava Ladoo / Rava Laddu using Condensed milk

Try this easy to make, delicious rava ladoo using condensed milk; you can prepare without any tricks / tips to follow! This is the perfect sweet for beginners to try and relish for any special occasion and can me made within 15 to 20 minutes.

Try and share with your loved one for this Diwali!

Yield : 12 to 15 ladoos approximately 

Ingredients:

Semolina / Fine rava - 1 ½ cups
Condensed milk - ¾ cup
Milk - 3 to 4 tbsp
Cardamom powder - ¾ tsp
Cashew nuts - 10 to 15 pieces (broken into pieces)
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Instant Kalakand / Kalakand / Milk cake

Kalakand / Milk cake is a traditional Indian sweet which takes more than a hour to make. I prepared this with 15 minutes using paneer, milk powder and condensed milk to reduce the cooking time; of course, the taste was awesome! Feeling happy!!!!

This is a perfect sweet treat to celebrate Diwali; we all especially my kids love these delicious sweet! 

Try out this quick and easy to prepare sweet that is suitable for all special occasions!

Yield - 8 to 10 pieces approximately
Ingredients:

Paneer - 200 gms
Condensed milk - ½ tin (1 tin = 400 gms)
Milk powder - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 or 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - ¼ tsp
Pistachios - for garnish
Ghee / clarified butter - for greasing the plate