Pineapple Laddoo

Today's recipe is Pineapple laddoo.  I love this sweet and never miss a chance to make it whenever I buy a pineapple.

Let me warn you friends,  these laddoo are so very addictive 😀 Whenever I make them they gets finished up on the same day 😁

Its a straight forward recipe and even beginners can make it perfectly.  Let's make it.  Happy Cooking ☺

Makes - 15 laddoo

Preparation Time - 5

Cooking Time - 15 min

Ingredients -

Pineapple pulp                   -     3/4 Cup

Sugar                                 -     6 tbsp
Milk powder                      -     1/2 cup
Desiccated coconut           -     1/2 cup
Cardamom powder            -     1 pinch

Method -

• In a non stick pan, take pineapple paste and cook it until it gets a bit thick. 
• Add milk powder and desiccated coconut. Mix very well. Add sugar and cardamom powder and mix again. Let the mixture cook until it starts leaving the sides of the pan. 
• Remove the mixture to a big bowl and let it cool down completely. 
• Take small portion of the mixture and roll it in between your palms and shape it into ball/laddoo.  Likewise, make laddoos with the remaining mixture. 
• Roll the prepared laddoos in desiccated coconut. Serve.
• Keep refrigerated in an airtight container and consume within 3-4 days.

Notes:

• 1. Adjust the sugar level as per your liking.
•  2. Quantity of desiccated coconut can also be adjusted as per liking but add more milk powder to adjust the consistency. 
• 3. Instead of cardamom powder you can add a few drops of pineapple essence.

No Bake Brownie Bites

Hello and a very happy Deepawali to all my dear readers  (sorry for wishing a bit late). After a long time I am coming back to check on my dear little blog.  Anyways, today's recipe will make up for all the delay :)  Its a No Bake Brownie that I made bite sized using my chocolate moulds.  You can make it in any shape and size.  Its pretty easy and even kids can make it with a little help.  Since I used microwave, it didn't take much time.  Just a handful of ingredients are required and you are ready to have a delightful and festive sweet in no time.  So lets start making these cute looking brownie bites.  Happy Cooking :)

Preparation time - 5 minutes

Cooking time - 10 minutes

Makes - 10-12 pieces

Ingredients:

Grated cooking chocolate   - 1/2 cup

Crushed biscuits 

(I used milk bikis)               - 1/2 cup

Condensed milk                  -  2 tbsp

Chopped nuts                      -  3 tbsp

Butter                                  -  1/2 tbsp

Method:

• Take chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 15 seconds.  Remove and stir well.  Again microwave for 15 seconds.  Remove and mix.  At this stage, chocolate would start melting.  Microwave for another 10 seconds and stir well.  If chocolates is melted then you go ahead with the process, if not then again put it in the microwave for another 10 seconds.  
• Add condensed milk in the melted chocolate and give a nice stir.  Add crushed biscuits and nuts and mix well everything.
• Shift the mixture to a greased pan or silicon moulds and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• Serve.

Notes:

1. If you are using some lightly sweet biscuits then use some powdered sugar to adjust the sweetness.
2. Any nuts of your choice can be used.

Rose & Banana Smoothie

Smoothie is a quick breakfast for many of us.  Its so filling and at the same time delicious too.  I love to experiment with fruits, so I keep making smoothies and fruit punches.  This is the one I recently tried and loved the taste to the core.  
I have a bottle of concentrated rose squash (rooh afza) and except drinking it with milk, I love to use it in different ways.  I recently posted a rose milk pudding made with the same squash and it came out so good.

This rose and banana smoothie is so refreshing with dominant rose flavour.  Addition of banana and curd makes it healthy too.  Its a no fuss recipe so you can make it fresh.  Kids going to love this smoothie.  You can serve it as a party drink too.  
So try it and let me know how it turned out for you.  Happy Cooking :)

Makes  - 1 serving
Time    -  5 min

Ingredients :

Frozen banana*	1
Concentrated rose squash (I used rooh afza)	2 tbsp
Thick curd	5-6 tbsp
Milk	2 tbsp
Cashew (roughly chopped)	6

Method:

• Take all the ingredients in a blender and process for 30 seconds or till the mixture is smooth.
• Serve immediately.

Notes:

1. Make sure your curd is not sour.
2. Use thick curd.
3. For best results, make this smoothie fresh.
4. You can substitute frozen banana with fresh banana and 2 ice cubes (for above quantity).
5. For a healthier version use low fat curd and low fat milk.

*For frozen banana - keep the whole banana in the freezer for a day and use.

Nan Khatai

I love Nan Khatai.. It has been my favourite cookie since childhood.  I used to have it in old Delhi.  If I am in Old Delhi the first thing I would do is looking for these cookies.  The heavenly aroma of these cookies can make your day and the melt-in-mouth texture oh my is simply divine.  I can have lots of these cookies in one go :D

After leaving India, like so many other things, I miss my Nan Khatais too :(  I tried to make them at home twice with different measurements but didn't get the desired results.  Though the taste was good.
Last week I tried one more time and finally nailed it.. yes yes yes I nailed it :)  Just seeing the final product, I started jumping with joy as they were so perfect.  I got those beautiful cracks on top too.  I took the first bite and it just melted in my mouth.  mmmmm.. The whole batch finished up in no time.  My toddler loved them too as they were so soft.  Needless to say my nan khatais were super duper yummilicious :)

While making the dough I used only 6 and a half tablespoons of Ghee / clarified butter as my dough got the desired texture with that even I had to add one more tablespoon flour.  As nan khatai is famous (infamous) for its ghee content, I was not so sure about the texture with so little ghee but it came out delicious just like the market ones.  Finally my efforts paid off.  Its my NO-FAIL recipe that I am proud of :)

I was so full of confidence that on the same day I tried another cookies with orange flavour.. that too came out well.  (will post the recipe soon).

I was dying to share this recipe here.  So don your aprons and start making Nan Khatai.  Simply follow the recipe (read the notes before making) and enjoy a mouthful of heaven. Happy Cooking :)

For more cookies recipes:
Vanilla Horlicks Cookies
Bakery Style Cake Rusk
Eggless Whole Wheat Cumin Walnut Cookies
Eggless Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies 
Eggless Whole Wheat Oats and Ragi Cookies

Makes- 13 cookies
Baking time -  20-22 minutes
Temperature -  170 degree

My 1 cup measure 250 ml

Ingredients:

All purpose flour/Maida    -    1 cup + 1 tbsp

Ghee/Clarified butter         -    6 and a half tbsp

Castor Sugar                      -    1/2 cup

Baking soda                       -    1/4+1/8 tsp

Baking powder                  -    1 big pinch
Green Cardamom              -    3 (crushed)

Method:

• Mix together all purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Set aside.
• Take castor sugar in a mixing bowl.  Melt ghee and add to castor sugar.  Mix together till it becomes a smooth paste.  Add crushed cardamom and mix again. Add in all purpose flour little by little and make a soft dough.  Chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven at 170 degree.  Lightly grease a baking tray.  Set aside.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and pinch out a small portion and roll it to a lemon size ball.  Likewise make balls with the remaining dough and arrange them in the greased baking tray.  Press the balls a little on the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or till the bottom gets a little brown,  You will get beautiful cracks on top.  
• Remove and let them cool for 2 minutes in the tray.  Carefully shift to a wire rack and let them completely cool down.
• Enjoy and store the remaining cookies in an airtight container.

Notes:

1. In place of Castor Sugar you can use powdered white sugar also.
2. The consistency of dough should not be too loose or too firm.  You should be able to roll the soft balls without any cracks.
3. If your dough doesn't come out together you can add 1/2 tbsp more ghee.  Do not add milk or water to make the dough.
4. Do not let the top get the browning while baking.  Check the bottom after 18 minutes, if it gets brown your cookies are ready, if not bake for another 3-4 minutes.
5. As oven settings varies, keep an eye on the cookies after 15 minutes.

Vanilla Horlicks Cookies

I am back.. Yes, I am cooking and experimenting like before but sharing it with all of you my lovely readers becoming a little less as I feel so lazy to type :D But now I have recharged myself and am going to post more frequently :)

Today’s recipe is Vanilla Horlicks Cookies.  The easiest cookies one could ever make.  You would be surprised to see that so little effort and easy peasy ingredients could do such a magic. I bought a small pack of vanilla horlicks to make my double decker choco vanilla horlicks burfi that I totally in love with.  I also tried some cakes with it (vanilla horlicks) and they too came out nice. I do not like vanilla horlicks with milk but love it in my bakes. It takes the baked goodies to another level. 

When I started making these cookies, I had no idea what I was going to add other than horlicks.  Whatever came to my mind I simply added and trust me I was clueless what was going to come out from the oven.  And when I took the first bite, it was simply divine.. so delicious and crunchy cookies were ready right in front of my eyes.  I kept them a bit healthy by adding wholewheat flour and oats flour. 
I liked these cookies so much and so did V and my baby. I think now I am going to get another pack of vanilla horlicks just to make these beauties. 

Making these cookies is just like 1-2-3.  Recipe is so easy to follow so I hope you won’t feel any kind of difficulty while making them. I baked my cookies till I find the top slightly brown. They would be so soft at first but let them completely cool down and they would become crunchy. 
Do not forget to go through the notes given at the end. Happy cooking :)

Makes-20 cookies

Temperature - 180 degree

Baking time – 18 minutes

Ingredients:

Horlicks (Vanilla Flavour)	1 cup
Oats flour	¼ cup
All purpose flour / Maida	¼ cup
Whole wheat flour / Atta	1 tbsp
Salted butter (softened)	½ cup
Caster sugar	¼ cup
Baking powder	½ tsp
Baking soda	1 big pinch
Tutty fruity (I used my homemade tutty fruity)	6 tbsp

My 1 cup measures 250 ml.

Method:

• In a wide bowl, mix together Horlicks, oats flour, all purpose flour, wheat flour, castor sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Add in softened butter and mix well with your fingers. Add in tutty fruitty and knead the mixture to a soft dough.
• Make three logs with the prepared dough and cover them with a cling film. Chill them for atleast 30 minutes.

• Meanwhile, take a baking tray and line it with aluminium foil. Grease the foil. Set aside.
• After 30 minutes, with a sharp knife cut the logs into round cookies. Arrange the cookies in prepared baking tray. Set aside.
• Preheat oven at 180 degree and bake the cookies for 18 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Shift to a wire rack and let them cool down completely.
• After cooling down cookies would become crunchy.
• Store them in an airtight container. 

Notes:

1. In place of castor sugar, you can use powdered sugar.
2. Instead of tutty fruity, you can add your choice of nuts or dried fruits.
3. If you find the dough a bit dry, you can add a tsp of milk.
4. Do not skip the chilling part, it would make the cutting easier.
5. You have to be very patient while cutting the cookies as they may get broken so do it very carefully. If it gets broken while cutting then don't worry, you can take the broken pieces in your hand and press them a little and your cookie is good to go. 
6. Do not over bake the cookies. Once they get slightly brown on the top, remove from the oven. 
7. Cool down the cookies completely before storing them.

Chhenar Payesh / Paneer Kheer

Chhena/Paneer is a versatile ingredient. You can make endless things with it.  Be it different kind of starters, snacks, main course or desserts/sweets, you can never go wrong with Chhena/Paneer.  

Today's recipe is a Bengali dessert called Chhenar Payesh or Paneer Kheer.  I like quick desserts so tried to make an instant version of this dessert too and it came out to be so delicious.  I loved the creamy and melt in mouth texture of it.  
Its a no fail recipe that is so quick to make.  It was my first attempt to make this dish and I was so happy with the results.  Would love to make it again and again.

Here is the recipe for you.  Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Fresh Chhena/Paneer	¾ cup (crumbled)
Milk	¼ cup
Condensed milk	2 tbsp
Sugar	3 tsp
Thandai powder	2 tsp
Milk powder	3 tbsp
Desiccated coconut	2 tbsp
To decorate
Honey	¼ tsp
Brown sugar	1 tbsp
Almonds	1 chopped lengthwise
Choco drop	1

Method:

• In a non-stick pan take condensed milk, milk, milk powder, desiccated coconut and sugar.  Mix them well and put the pan on stove.  Keep the heat medium.  Cook for 2 minutes and add crumbled chhena.  Mix well and cook till it gets a bit thick.  Add thandai powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  You can adjust the consistency by adding some more milk.
• Remove from flame and let it cool down.
• Meanwhile take the bowl/glass you want to serve the dessert in.  Brush the rim of the glass with honey.  Spread the brown sugar in a plate and dip the glass rim in it.  Coat it well with brown sugar and set aside.
• Take the prepared Chhenar Payesh and carefully fill the decorated glass with it.  Garnish the top with chopped almonds and choco drop.  
• Chill for 1-2 hours and serve.

Notes:

1. You can use packaged paneer too but for best results use fresh chhena/paneer.  
2. Instead of thandai powder you can use 2-3 crushed cardamoms or saffron.
3. Sugar level you can adjust as per your taste.
4. Desiccated coconut is optional but it gives a nice texture to this dessert.
5. You can also add your choice of nuts in it.

Phirni

Phirni is an extremely famous North-Indian dessert.  So simple ingredients yet so delicious.  Like so many of you I like it too and love to make it at home.  

There are so many versions of Phirni in Indian Cuisine like Mango Phirni, Orange Phirni, Strawberry Phirni and so on but this one is the most authentic and traditional version. It just needs three main ingredients and you are good to go.  Milk, Rice and Sugar.. a perfect combo that makes so many desserts and sweets and today we are going to use this combo to make this super yummy and creamy Phirni.  

If Phirni is new for you then you would be amazed to see how simple it is to make.  A perfect dessert to end a hearty meal.  So lets start making Phirni.. Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Full Cream Milk  -  1/2 kg
Basmati Rice       -   3 tbsp
Sugar                   -   6 tbsp
Cardamom          -   2 (crushed)
Tutty Fruitty 
or Almonds         -  To garnish

Method:

• Wash rice very well and soak them in water for minimum 1 hour.  Strain and grind them coarsely with 1/4 cup of milk.  Set aside.
• In a deep pan, boil the remaining milk and add the rice milk mixture.  Keep stirring on medium flame to avoid sticking. Keep mixing and scraping the sides till the mixture thickens.  It would take approx 15 minutes.  Add in sugar and crushed cardamom and mix well.  Keep stirring till sugar melts.  Cook for another 4-5 minutes and remove from the flame.
• Garnish with tutty fruity or almonds.
• Serve chilled.

Notes:

1. Do not grind the rice to a fine paste.  Keep it coarse.
2. You can use low fat milk too but for best results use full fat milk.
3. Adjust the sugar level as per your taste.
4. Instead of cardamom, you can add a few strands of saffron too.
5. You can add some dried fruits too.

No Bake Mini Strawberry Cheese Cake

Today's recipe is a no-bake cheese cake that I made using my homemade cream cheese.  

Yesterday I shared my cream cheese recipe with the detailed description of my love for cheese cakes :)  I made that cream cheese especially for this cheese cake.

As my cream cheese was ready, I was all set to make this cake but then I realised that I had no loose bottom pan for making it.  It was so depressing :( I thought about all possible options but all in vain.  Then my toddler, who loves to explore my kitchen, came out with my plastic cookie cutters.. Then the idea came to my mind.. My very own cookie cutters. They were perfect for making these cheese cakes. Though their size was so small (palm size) but deep enough to accommodate all three layers of my cheese cake.. It was so pleasing to imagine my mini cheese cakes.  

Finally, everything was in my hands. I made these no bake mini cheese cakes without wasting any more time.  They came out very nice and cute looking.  I was not feeling to cut these little cuties but I had to :)  The taste was so good and I was fully satisfied with the results.  

For the third layer I used strawberry jam but you can use any kind of jam, jelly, fruit crush, chocolate ganache, mashed fresh fruits and so on.  The list it endless.  

I didn't follow any recipe. Added things as per my choice and measured them keeping in mind the size of my cookie cutters.  It was my first meeting with Gelatin :)  Fortunately, I got the perfect texture even without knowing the exact measurements.  Now I feel confident while doing experiments :D

These cheese cakes are just perfect to end a meal.  As they are bite sized (almost) you can serve them in kids party too. 

So here is the recipe for you to try.  Enjoy. Happy Cooking :)

                   

Makes - 3 mini cheese cakes (palm sized)

Ingredients:

For the base:

Marie biscuits / Digestive biscuits   -   7

Butter                                                -   1 tbsp

For the second layer (Cream Cheese) :

Homemade Cream Cheese      -    3 tbsp

Condensed milk                       -    2.5 tbsp

Vanilla essence                        -    few drops

Gelatin                                     -    1/4 tsp

Hot water                                 -    1.5 tsp

For the top layer:

Strawberry jam     -    5 tbsp

Gelatin                  -    1/4 tsp

Hot water              -    2 tsp

To decorate :

Glaced cherries (halved)    -    2

                              

Method:

(Here I would call the cookie cutters as Moulds).

Base:

• Take the cookies in a ziplock bag and powder them with the help of a pastry roller.  Shift to a clean and dry bowl.  Add in butter and mix well with your fingers for about 2 minutes.  Set aside.
• Take a tray or any serving plate.  Cut out three squares (big enough to accommodate the moulds) from a wax paper.  Set the wax paper squares on the serving plate.  Put one mould in the center of the wax paper square and hold it firmly.  Throw in some cookie-butter mixture and press it firmly to make an even layer.  The more firm this cookie layer would be, the more neat base your cheese cake would get.  Repeat the same process with other moulds too and put the tray as it is in the fridge to chill the base for about 30 minutes.

Second layer:

• Meanwhile, take 1.5 tbsp hot water in a small bowl and add in gelatin.  Let it melt. Once melted, give it a stir and set aside.  
• In a bowl, take cream cheese and whisk it well for about 2 minutes.  Add in condensed milk and vanilla and whisk again for 2-3 minutes.  Add in gelatin mix and stir well.
• Take the moulds out of the fridge.  Now, its time to put in the second layer i.e. of cheese cream.  Take two tablespoon of cream cheese mix and spread it evenly over the cookie base.   Repeat it for other two moulds too. Again keep it in the fridge to chill overnight or atleast for 3 hours.

Third layer:

• For the third layer i.e. of Jam.  Take the strawberry jam in a bowl and mix it well till smooth.  Take hot water and add in gelatin. Let it melt and stir well.  Add it to the jam and mix well. Take sufficient jam in a spoon to top second layer (cream cheese) and spread it evenly over it.  Again put it in the fridge to chill for about 1 hour.
• For removing the cake, from the mould, you need to be a little patient and careful.  Take one mould carefully in your hand and slowly push it upwards from the bottom with your finger.  Do not push from the center in the beginning.  Start with the sides and then center.  It would neatly come out.  Put it back on the wax paper.
• Decorate with glaced cherries and serve.