dates and nut ladoo | diwali sweets

Dates Ladoo, a very healthy dry fruits and nuts ladoo. Sometimes many of our kids even the grown ups, show no interest to nuts and dry fruits which are very healthy for us. Consuming dry fruits especially dates, raisins are very good for blood circulation and has other medical benefits too. Also nuts such as almonds, walnuts are also good for health.

Here I have given a very simple and healthy ladoo recipe with dates and other nuts and raisins. We are not going to add any sweetener and also not going to add more ghee/butter to prepare this yummy ladoo and hence making it a healthier recipe.


Preparation Time 5 mins
Cooking Time 10 mins
Yield 12-15

Ingredients:

Dates 1 Cup **
Raisins 2 tablespoon
Mixed nuts * 2 tablespoon
Dry Coconut 1/4 Cup
Vanilla Essence 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee 1 tablespoon


** 1 Cup = 250ml
* Mixed Nuts - I have added peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts and some walnuts

Method:

We can use store bought seedless dates. I bought the  dates with seeds, hence I need to  de-seed them. Take half of the deseed dates in the mixer

Grind the dates in the mixer to a coarse mixture. Take the ground dates in a bowl along with rest of the whole dates. Heat a pan and add the dry nuts and roast them for 2 minutes.

Take the roasted nuts to the mixer and give a single pulse and crumble them. Add the crumbled nuts, dry coconut and ghee in a bowl.

Add vanilla essence and mix well to make like a dough. Make small lemon sized balls out of the dates dough and keep it in plate.

The yummy and healthy Dates Ladoos are ready to munch!!!
Dates Ladoo

Dates Ladoo

sweets

Pottukadalai Murukku-Rice Flour Chakli Recipe-Easy Murukku Recipes-diwali snacks

pottukadalai Murukku-Rice Flour Chakli Recipe-Easy Murukku Recipes

As Janmashtami/Gokulashtami and many other festivals are nearing, I wanted to post traditional murukku recipes which was due for a long time. Every time I post murukku recipes, I get lot of questions, asking me, if we can do murukku with store bought flour. As those who are living abroad have no access to flour mills/rice mills, I made this murukku with store bought flour and it turned out very delicious. Today we will learn how to make murukku with split roasted gram dal flour, rice flour and urad dal flour following this easy recipe with step wise pictures.

Pottukadalai Murukku
 Prep Time : 15 mins
 Cook Time : 30 mins
 Yields: 25 Murukkus
 Recipe Category: Snacks-Murukku
 Recipe Cuisine: South Indian
 Author:kusuma

   Ingredients needed

   Rice flour - 2 cups
   Whole skinned Urad dal flour -1/2 cup
   Roasted gram dal/pottukadalai flour - 3/4 cup
   Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp
   Hing/asafoetida - a pinch
   Melted Ghee - 1 tsp
   Hot oil - 1 tsp
   Salt to taste

   Oil for deep frying
   Murukku maker

Preparation

In a pan/kadai, dry roast whole urad dal until it turns very light brown. Do not over roast it. Remove from the pan and switch off the flame. In the heat of the pan, dry roast the roasted gram dal (pottukadalai in Tamil and bhuna chana in Hindi) slightly.

After it cools, powder both separately to a fine powder and sieve it. Powder the remains again and sieve it. Do this for both urad dal and roasted gram dal.

Sieve rice flour (buy good quality rice flour. I have used store bought rice flour for making this murukku) and keep it aside.

preparations for pottukadalai murukku

roasted gram dal

Method 

In a bowl, mix together rice flour, urad dal flour and roasted gram dal flour well with your fingers.

preparation for murukku

Add cumin seeds, melted ghee, hot oil and mix well.

pottukadalai murukku recipe

In a bowl, mix together salt, hing and 1/2 cup of water (this is done so that the salt will get mixed with the dough evenly). Add the salted water and more water, little at a time to the flour and make a dough. Once you can gather the dough, stop adding water. Do not add too much water as the murukku will keep breaking when squeezed through the murukku maker. Taste the dough and check for salt.

murukku dough

I used the 3 holes disc in the murukku maker for making this murukku.

murukku maker

Now take a portion of the dough and put it inside the murukku maker. Press it and check it. If you find it hard to press, you can  add 2 or 3 drops of water and mix the dough well again.

Grease 2 or 3 ladles or small plate with oil for placing the squeezed out murukku. Place the dough inside the murukku maker and press the dough through the 3 hole disc on the ladle or small plate, in a circle to form murukkus as shown in the picture below. You can also press the dough through the 3 hole disc directly into the hot oil. I am more comfortable with this method.

Making murukkus

Heat oil in a kadai (To check if the oil is hot, drop a piece of dough into the hot oil, if it raises to the surface immediately, the oil is hot enough to fry the murukkus). When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium and slide the murukku from the ladle into the hot oil gently. You can fry 3 or 4 murukkus depending on the quantity of oil and the size of your kadai.

After dropping the murukku into the hot oil, let it cook for a few seconds, then flip it over to the other side.

Fry the murukku until golden brown. When the murukku is done (or cooked), you will not see bubbles on the surface. Compare the picture above and the picture below to have a better idea. The picture above has bubbles and in the picture below there are no bubbles and you can see the murukku well as they are cooked.

Rice Flour Chakli

Once done, remove from the oil with a slotted laddle and place it in a colander or paper towel to drain off excess oil if any.

After frying the first batch, you can taste and see. If you feel it is too hard, you can add a tsp of hot oil to the dough, mix it well again and then continue to make murukku. If you feel, you need more salt, you can add to the dough, mix well and then continue.

Repeat the process for the rest of the dough.

Enjoy with a cup of hot ginger cardamom tea or South Indian Filter Coffee.

Storage and Shelf life - Once it cools, store it in an air tight container at room temperature. Stays good for a month.

snacks VEG RECIPES

Italian Leafy Green Salad for foodies

Italian green leafy salad in 5 minutes

Ingredients

15 miutes

6 servings

110 calories

es

(uses your loc

• 2 cups romaine lettuce - torn, washed and dried
• 1 cup torn escarole
• 1 cup torn radicchio
• 1 cup torn red leaf lettuce
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into rings


• 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced in rings

• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

•  prep time 15 m
• Ready In
  15 m

1. In a large bowl, combine the romaine, escarole, radicchio, red-leaf, scallions, red pepper, green pepper and cherry tomatoes.
2. Whisk together the grapeseed oil, basil, vinegar, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Pour over salad, toss and serve immediately.

salads VEG RECIPES

Boondi Ladoo Recipe-Boondi Laddu-Boondi ka Ladoo for diwali

Boondi Ladoo Recipe-Boondi Laddu-Boondi ka Ladoo

Boondi Laddu is a delicious Indian sweet make for special occasions and for festivals like Diwali. Many people think that making laddu/ladoo at home is very difficult but it is not so. I have made the recipe very simpler with step by step cooking instructions and pictures. These home made laddus make excellent gifts for Diwali for your friends and dear ones. Today let us learn how to make Boondi Laddu using this easy boondi laddu recipe-

Boondi Ladoo-Boondi Laddu
 Prep Time : 20 mins
 Cook Time : 50 mins
 Yields: 47 Laddus
 Recipe Category: Indian Sweet-Diwali Recipes
 Recipe Cuisine: South Indian
 Author:kusuma

   Ingredients needed

   Kadalai mavu /Bengal gram flour - 1/2 kg (500 grams)
   Rice flour - 1/4 cup
   Cooking soda - 1/4 tsp and a pinch
   Lemon Yellow food color - a pinch
   Ghee - 1 1/2 tbsp

   For the sugar syrup

   Sugar - 3/4 kg ( 750 grams )
   Water - 2 cups
   Milk - 1/4 cup to remove impurities from sugar

   Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
   Pachai karpuram/Edible camphor- a generous pinch
   Cashew nuts -25 grams (break it )
   Raisins -50 grams
   Cloves - 5-6


Preparation

Sieve both bengal gram flour and rice flour separately.

Fry cashew nuts, raisin and cloves in ghee separately and keep it aside.

Method

First you have to prepare the sugar syrup and keep it ready.

How to make sugar syrup for boondi laddu

Take a pan, add water and sugar, mix well first. Then bring it to boil.

Add 1/4 cup of milk to it, all the impurities in sugar will come to the surface. Remove it with a ladle.

Boil sugar syrup till you get a one string consistency.

How to find one string consistency?

1.When you pour a little sugar syrup in a cup filled with little water, it should not dissolve.

2.When you touch it between your index finger and thumb and pull it apart, it should form a string.

3.Or just lift the ladle from the sugar syrup and wait for a few seconds- it will form a string. (in the pic above- the string is not clear but hold the ladle like that and see if it forms a string - that is right stage). Switch off the flame.

Add cardamom powder, pachai karpuram, fried cashew nuts, raisins and cloves to the sugar syrup.

For Making boondi

I have already made a detailed post on how to make Kara boondi. The method is the same but the measurements are different.

Boondi laddu recipe
Mix both bengal gram flour and rice flour, add cooking soda and a pinch of yellow color.

Add water and make a batter. I added around 2 cups + 1/3 cup of water and it was perfect for me. You add water little by little carefully to get the batter consistency (see picture above). It should neither be too thin nor thick.

Heat oil and pour a little batter on the boondi ladle and gently tap it. Tiny droplets of batter will fall into the hot oil. Fry till golden brown. Keep aside. Note - Do not fry it too crisp as for South Indian mixture or kara boondi. Remove it from oil a stage before that.

Repeat the process for the rest of the batter.

After the boondi cools a little, add half of it to the sugar syrup.

Laddu recipe
Put the rest of the boondi in a blender and grind it a little. Take a small mixie jar and blend it little by little only for a few seconds. (Do not make it a paste- see the second picture above)

Now add this also to the sugar syrup. Mix both well together.

Making of laddu/ladoo

boondi ka ladoo
Add a tbsp of ghee and make balls out of it. Yummm…. !!!!!!!! Boondi Laddus are ready.

Enjoy your Diwali by making these yummy laddus and also parcel it beautifully and gift to your near and dear ones.

sweets

chocolate fudge receipe for choclate lovers

Chocolate Recipe-No cook Chocolate Fudge Recipe

This is a very easy no cook chocolate (fudge) with nuts and raisins, which even kids can prepare with a little supervision. You can involve your kids this Christmas to make these delicious no cook chocolate and I am sure they will enjoy it to the core.Today we will learn how to make no cook chocolate fudge following our easy no cook chocolate recipe

 Prep Time : 10 mins
 Yields: 15-16 Chocolates
 Recipe Category: No bake Recipes-Chocolate
 Recipe Cuisine: Indian
 Author:kusuma

   Ingredients needed

   Marie Biscuit - 15
   Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup (chopped)
   Raisins - little less than 1/4 cup
   Cocoa Powder - 1 tbsp
   Unsalted Butter - 1 1/2 tbsp (melt it over a bowl of hot water)
   Condensed milk -2 1/2 tbsp
   Sugar -2 tsp
   Milk -1 tbsp (optional)
   Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Step by step Pictorial recipe

Keep all the ingredients ready. Break the biscuits and powder it coarsely in a blender.

How to make chocolate fudge
Add Cashew nuts and raisins, sugar and vanilla essence.

no cook chocolate recipe
Add cocoa powder, condensed milk and melted butter.

How to prepare chocolate fudge
Make a dough just like chapati dough and shape it into a cylinder. If you are not able to make a smooth dough, you can add little milk, otherwise it is not needed. Wrap it tightly in a butter paper and keep it in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 hours. (not in the freezer)

easy chocolate fudge recipe
After 1 1/2 hours, remove the butter paper and cut the chocolate into rounds as shown above.

Enjoy this Christmas 2016 making this easy chocolate recipe with your kids. Have fun!

I will soon post another chocolate recipe which involves cooking. Stay tuned.

Meet you all again with more interesting recipes, till then, it is bye

click here for more healthy receipes

sweets

rasgulla sweet receipe for diwali

Rasgulla-Rasgulla Recipe-How to make Rasgulla

Rasgulla is a very famous Indian sweet made of Paneer/Indian cottage cheese and also very easy to prepare.
They are actually paneer balls soaked in sugar syrup.Today let us learn how to prepare rasgulla using this easy recipe.

Rasgulla

How to Prepare Rasagulla-Rasgollas

Ingredients needed

Milk (full cream milk)- 1 liter
Lemon juice - 2 - 2 1/2 tbsp
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 4 cups
All purpose flour/Maida - 1 tsp
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Mix a 2 tsp of maida in 3/4 cup of  warm water and keep it aside.

Method

You need soft paneer to make rasgullas.

Check out my detailed post on how to make paneer .

Now a small recap

Boil milk in a heavy bottomed pan.When it comes to boil, simmer and add lemon juice stirring continuously.

The milk will start curdling. Stir until the milk solids separates from the whey.

Strain it using a muslin cloth.

Wash paneer well under cold running water to remove the lemon smell. Gather the four sides of the cloth, twist and squeeze out all water from the paneer.

Hang the muslin cloth with paneer for 40 minutes to drain all the excess water completely.

You will get soft crumbled paneer.

Method to prepare rasgulla

Knead the panner well, adding maida and 1/2 tsp of sugar to make a soft, pliable dough. The more you knead, the more softer your rasgullas will be. Your palms will become greasy and the paneer will leave the sides of the dish.

Divide the dough into equal portions and make smooth balls, ensure that there are no cracks.

Preparing the sugar syrup

Mix water, sugar and cardamom powder in a cooker/big vessel and boil. Let the sugar dissolve first.

When the sugar syrup is boiling, drop the balls gently into the hot sugar syrup. See to it that they do not touch each other.Cook on high flames for 7-8 minutes with lid closed.

After that, open the lid, add 2-3 tbsp of the maida water and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Now again add 2 tbsp of plain hot water to the boiling syrup. Adding a little hot water from time to time prevents the sugar syrup from getting thicker.

Cook for another 3-4 minutes or till the balls are cooked. When you press the rasgullas slightly, it must return to its original shape, then it is an indication that it is cooked.

Let it be in the cooker until it cools down.

Refrigerate for 3 hours and serve cold. If needed garnish with slivered almonds and finely chopped pistachio.

Enjoy this New Year with Delicious Rasgollas.

You will get approximately 14-15 rasgullas for this measurement. This may vary depending upon the size of the balls.

Note -We are adding water in between as we do not want the sugar syrup to thicken. It should remain in the slightly sticky consistency stage.

If using pressure cooker, do not put weight for the cooker.

Sugar syrup must always be boiling briskly while cooking rasgullas.

You can take 3-4 ladles of sugar syrup, add 3 ladles of hot water to it and keep it in the fridge. You can use that syrup at the time of serving.

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jangiri sweet receipe for diwali

Jangiri Recipe-How to make Jangiri

Jangiri is a traditional sweet made with urad dal. It is commonly  prepared during Diwali in Tamil Nadu. I enjoyed making jangiris and was so happy that it turned out so amazing. Believe me, making jangiri at home is not tough, all you need is a little practice. Do try it for Diwali this year and let me know. Today we will learn how to make Jangiri sweet following this simple recipe.

Jangiri Sweet Recipe 
Yields - 25 jangiris (normal size)
5 mini jangiris

Ingredients needed

Whole Urad dal - 150 grams
Rice flour - 50 grams
Cornflour -150 grams
Red orange color - a drop or a pinch (mix it with a tbsp of water)
Cloth for making jangiri or icing bag

For the sugar syrup

Sugar - 3/4 kg
Milk -1/2 cup
Rose essence - 1/4 tsp

Soak urad dal for 45 minutes. Then drain the water completely and grind nicely in a wet grinder. Add little water from time to time and grind it to a smooth paste.The batter should be soft and fluffy. (I ground for nearly 1 hour.)  

soaked urad dal and final jangiri batter
Now remove the batter from the grinder. Keep it aside. Do not add cornflour or rice flour now.

You have to prepare the sugar syrup first, then only start making jangiris.

Add just enough water to soak the sugar, then add 1/2 cup of milk and bring it to boil. The impurities in sugar will come to the surface. Remove and discard it. I used top class branded sugar, in spite of that, see how much impurities are there.(pictures 2-3 below) .

Now add rose essence and boil sugar syrup till you get one string consistency. This step is very important. To know what is one string consistency refer my boondi laddu recipe or mysore pak recipe.Then switch off the flame. We will prepare the batter and make jangiris now.

How to prepare sugar syrup
Preparing of sugar syrup
Before learning how to prepare jangiris, we will have a look at the traditional jangiri making cloth. It is made of thick cotton cloth with double piece in the center to give it more thickness. Then there is a hole with button hole stitch for piping jangiri. If you do not have this cloth, you can try using piping bags but I found it easier with this cloth as the hole was perfect. You can get it stitched from a tailor if needed.

jangiri making cloth

Method

Mix cornflour with little water and make a paste. Add rice flour, cornflour + water mix and the red orange color to the batter. Beat the batter nicely with your hands. Beating the batter is very important. The batter should be fluffy. Now the jangiri batter is ready.

Heat oil in a large shallow flat bottomed plate as shown in the picture. We call it tambalam. Now dampen the cloth a little so that the batter will not stick to the cloth. Place a ladle of batter in it. Fold it diagonally, gather all the corners, twist the cloth and hold it tightly. Now you are ready to pipe jangiris.

make jangiri 

Once the oil is heated, reduce the heat and then start piping out jangiris.(you will find it difficult to pipe if the oil is too hot, that is why I am asking you to reduce the flame) Once you finish, turn the heat to medium flame. Be very careful and do it patiently. First pipe 2 circles, then on the top of it make smaller rounds without stopping as you see in the picture below. Got it. With practice, you will master it.



Now cook the jangiris in medium heat. Cook the other side also by flipping it over gently using a stainless steel rod.

How to prepare jangiri

Touch the jangiri with the rod, if it soft, then it has to be cooked for some more time.

How to make jangiri

Once cooked, remove it from oil and drop it into the prepared sugar syrup. Press it gently with a ladle inside the sugar syrup. Let is soak, meantime we will prepare the second batch.

Jangiri sweet

Now prepare the second batch in the same manner as mentioned above.

Jangiri sweet

Remove the first batch from the sugar syrup and keep it on a plate to dry. Then drop the second batch of jangiris into the sugar syrup. In this way repeat the process for the rest of the batter.

Jangiri Recipe 

Yummy and delicious jangiris are ready. I throughly enjoyed making jangiris and writing this post. Hope you also enjoyed it.

Tips 

In case if sugar syrup thickens by the time you finish making jangiris, add a little hot water to it.

Remove watches, bangles and make yourself comfortable as you are piping jangiris into the hot oil directly. Be cautious.

Easy Diwali Recipes both sweet and snacks which you can prepare at home. Enjoy!!

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sweets

gajar ka halwa for diwali

Gajar Ka Halwa-Easy Carrot Halwa Recipe in pressure cooker

Carrot halwa or gajar ka halwa is one of the post popular Indian dessert. I have prepared it in an easier method using the pressure cooker without khoya. Even beginners can try this fool proof recipe with confidence. Today we will learn how to make carrot halwa-gajar halwa following this easy recipe with step wise pictures.

Gajar Ka Halwa-Carrot Halwa Recipe in pressure cooker

Gajar Ka Halwa-Carrot Halwa Recipe
 Prep Time : 15 mins
 Cook Time : 25 mins
 Serves: 2
 Recipe Category: Indian Dessert
 Recipe Cuisine: North Indian
 Author:kusuma

   Ingredients needed

   Grated carrots -2 cups
   Milk -3/4 cup
   Sugar -1/4 cup
   Ghee - 2 1/2- 3 tbsp
   Cashew nuts -10
   Raisins -2 tbsp
   Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp

Preparation 

Wash, peel the skin and grate carrots finely. (use the small hole for grating)

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp of ghee and fry the raisins on low heat until they puff up. Remove and keep it aside. In the same pan, fry cashew nuts until golden brown.Remove from pan.

preparation for carrot halwa

If required, add another tsp of ghee and fry the grated carrots on low flame stirring continuously for 3-4 minutes.

Method 

Add milk to the carrots and pressure cook for 1 whistle.

frying grated carrot

Once the pressure subsides, open the cooker and cook on high flame stirring continuously until all the milk evaporates.

gajar ka halwa in pressure cooker

Once the milk dries up, add sugar and continue to cook on medium flame until the mixture is thick.

Add a tbsp of ghee and cook for a further 3-4 minutes stirring continuously until the mixture thickens.

how to make carrot halwa

If using, you can add little grated unsweetened khoya at this stage and cook for few more seconds. I did not add.

Add cashew nuts, raisins, cardamom powder, mix well and cook for another 2-3 seconds.

easy carrot halwa recipe

Serve this delicious gajar ka halwa hot or warm. I did the whole process in my small pressure cooker.

If you love halwa, then do not miss my delicious Beetroot Halwa Recipe, Easy Wheat halwa recipe and Badam Halwa (almond halwa).

If you found this post useful, I would really love it, if you pin it or share it with your Facebook fans or Twitter followers or Google+ circles today. All it takes is a simple click on the “pin it” “like,” “share,” “tweet,” or Google+ buttons below the post. It will keep me motivated. Thank you!

sweets

rasmalai sweet for diwali

Rasmalai Recipe-How to make Rasmalai-Diwali Sweets

Rasmalai is a very popular Indian (Bengali) sweet prepared with paneer (Indian cottage cheese). Ras means 'juice' and malai means 'cream'. Rasmalai is actually rasgulla soaked in rich saffron flavored creamy milk. This rich dessert is usually prepared on special occasions and is served after meals. As Diwali in nearing, I wanted to post something special for all my readers, so here I am with this very popular dessert. Today we will learn how to prepare Rasmalai at home with step wise pictures following this easy recipe.

How to make Rasmalai at home

Cook time -under 40 mins
Yields - 6 rasmalais for 110 grams of chenna

I am going to make this recipe as easy as possible.There are 3 steps in making Rasmalai sweets

1. Preparing Paneer

2.Preparing Rasgulla

3 Preparing the Creamy saffron flavored milk or ras for rasmalai

Step -1 Preparation of Paneer

I am going to start with paneer. I am not going to explain how to prepare paneer as I have already done a detailed post on how to make paneer at home. Kindly refer that. You need homemade paneer to make rasgulla and rasmalai. Now you have paneer ready with you.

Step- 2- Preparation of rasgulla 


Ingredients needed

For the Rasgulla discs

Homemade paneer (chenna) - 110 grams (make paneer from 1 liter of milk)
Semolina/rava (any rava) - 1 tsp
Cardamom - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 2 tsp

All purpose flour or maida for dusting -1 tbsp

For the sugar syrup

Water - 2 1/2 cup
Sugar -1 cup

Method

Knead paneer well into a pliable paste or until your hands become oily.Knead using the heel of your hands. Then add a tsp of rava, cardamom powder,sugar and knead lightly. (picture below shows paneer which is not kneaded)

Then divide the paneer into equal pieces and make smooth balls. Ensure that there are no cracks. Then flatten it in the shape of a disc and place it on a maida dusted plate.(if you are going to stop with preparing rasgulla, make balls and not discs)

Heat sugar and water over low flame. Once the sugar dissolves, increase the flame. When the sugar water comes to rolling boil, reduce the temperature to medium and gently drop the prepared discs. See to it that the paneer discs do not touch each other. Close it and let it cook for 15 minutes. Check in between. After 15-20 minutes, the rasgullas would have doubled its original size (see picture below). Switch off the flame and let it cool. This is rasgulla. Let the rasgulla remain soaked in sugar syrup for 1-2 hours. We will prepare the saffron flavored milk for rasmalai.

 How to make rasmalai

Step-3 Preparation of Rasmalai

For the saffron flavored milk

Milk - 2 1/2 cups or 1/2 liter
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp
Saffron -7-8 strands
Pistachio -chopped - 2-3 tbsp
Almonds (blanched and thinly sliced/slivered) -2-3 tbsp

For garnishing

Blanched almond slivered
Pistachio chopped

Method 

Boil 2 1/2 cups of milk until it reduces to 1 1/4 cup. Keep the flame in medium low and keep stirring from time to time to prevent the milk from getting burnt.

Add sugar, cardamom powder and mix until the sugar dissolves.Switch off the flame. Add almonds, pistachio and saffron soaked in a tbsp of milk. Mix well.

Now take the rasgulla from the sugar syrup, squeeze out the excess sugar syrup gently (Keep it between 2 flat ladles and press it gently as shown below in the picture below).

Then drop it into the creamy milk and let it cool. Once it cools, refrigerated it and serve chilled garnished with more almonds and pistachio.

The rasmalai was very soft and we all enjoyed it a lot. It was more delicious than what we get in shops. Just with 110 grams of paneer, you get 6 rasmalais. This is a perfect dessert for parties and get togethers. You can prepare it a day before and keep it in the refrigerator.

Note - You can prepare rasgulla in pressure cooker also but do not put the weight.

Check out more than 50 Diwali Recipes (both Diwali snacks and sweets) or click the 7 Cup Burfi picture below to take you to that page. Enjoy this Diwali  with homemade sweets and snacks.

sweets

diwali sweets- badam halwaa

Badam Halwa Recipe-Almond Halwa

Badam Halwa-Almond Halwa
 Prep Time : 10 mins
 Cook Time : 20 mins
 Serves: 2-3
 Recipe Category: Dessert
 Recipe Cuisine: Indian
 Author:kusuma

   Ingredients needed

   Almonds-Badam -1/2 cup
   Sugar -1/2 cup or 3/4 cup if you want more sweetness
   Milk -1/2 cup
   Ghee -1/4 cup ( in Chitti's recipe, it was 1/2 cup ghee)
   Saffron - a pinch/ few strands (soak it in a tbsp of milk)
   Kesari color - a pinch for color (optional)

 paste, remaining milk, kesari color, saffron and cook on medium flame stirring continuously.

Once it starts thickening and the sides start getting a little dry and flaky, add all the ghee except 2 tsp and cook stirring continuously on low flame.

The ghee will be completely absorbed and the halwa will start leaving the sides of the pan. Now switch off the flame, add the remaining 2 tsp of ghee and stir for about 3-4 minutes.(this makes the halwa softer when it sets)

Once it cools the halwa will thicken. The badam halwa turned out very soft and yummy and we all loved it very much.

Note - Use fresh ghee and good quality sugar for best results.

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