Ras Malai- Sweet Paneer/Cheese Balls in Thick Milk Pudding

Hello Sweeties!!!! Its raining desserts in Ashland. After  a series of cakes, I am back today with a very popular sweet on most Indian cuisines.  Ras Malai is true to its name, Sweet milk nectar and spongy cheese balls is a match made in heaven.

You will need;
Pre made or store brought Rasgullahs
Rasgullah Recipe

Making Rabdi 2 Cans Evaporated Milk
1 cup Sugar
1 tspn Cardamom powder
Nuts Powdered, or Everest Milk masala.-Optional
In a pan empty the contents of the canned milk and boil it on slow heat. Add sugar and stir continuously, burnt milk is a disaster to clean and make the rabdi smell bad. The Milk will thicken in about 10-12 mins. Add the Cardamom Powder and nuts if using and stir again. I kept the nuts out this time.

Switch off the flame and stir for another 5 mins. The Rabdi is ready. I flavored it with kewra water to tie the Rasgullah and the rabdi together.
Assembling
In a serving dish, take the rasgullah. Squeeze out as much sugar syrup out as possible, , and add the rabdi till they float. Chill for 2-3 hrs. 

The colder they get better they taste. Serve chilled to enjoy full taste.

Gulkand/Rose Petal jam Homemade IceCream

Dear Sweeties!!! June is celebration time. I have a June Birthday and a June Anniversary which falls a day apart. So desserts and sweets are  a staple around this time.

Munchkin declared its way too weird for the birthday girl to bake her own cake, so Mr. Ash got it from a local bakery which was ohh sooo good!!!

I had gifted myself an ice-cream maker last birthday which failed me a couple of time. As a result I shoved it to the back of the cabinet to be forgotten.

But it was giving me glances/hints certifying I am good if only you know how to use it!!! My cousin moved closer around that time and has been making killer ice-cream at home ever since. I always wondered what is it that her ice-cream makes so good ice -cream and mine is a waste.

She showed me the tricks and the key was to freeze the bowls that came along with the machine for a good day or so, she keeps them permanently in the freezer. 

I tried and it sort of worked for me; I mean when I added the liquids it instantly froze in the bowls creating a thin line of cream and then the ice cream. The thin line of cream never got mixed in the ice cream.

Second try, I had some leftover icing from some cake, but no flavorings to be added and no fruit also that would taste fine. I had eaten a Gulkand/rose petal jam ice cream before, OMG!!!! what exotic flavors and what exotic taste. So It had to be a Gulkand Ice cream for our special day!!

Hamilton Beach Ice cream maker is what I used. Only prob is it makes halfpint, so its good for family of four, but for entertaining, I might have to do it a couple of times ahead and store in another box. 

You will need;

1 Cup heavy Whipping Cream

1/3 rd Cup Conf Sugar

2 tbspn Gulkand/Rose Petal jam- store brought.

 

Take a bigger bowl and keep some ice cubes in that.. Over the cubes place anr bowl. Take one cup cream and add sugar and  mix. Beat with electric mixer for about 5-7 mins on medium till soft peaks are on the blade. The icing is ready. Add the gulkand and mix well.

Pour this in the ice cream maker and churn for 10-12 mins. The frozen soft serve is ready. If you want harder ice-cream, cover the bowls with some cling film/plastic wrap and set in the freezer for 2-3 hours. Welcome the goodness and all vegetarian ice-cream at home.

Eggless Whole Wheat Mango Cake- Fathers Day Special

Hello Dearies!!!! Fathers day is just as special as Mothers day. They are probably the best mothers  and they do just as much as moms do for kids. They are truly the unsung heroes who should be receiving as much appreciation as Moms do.

Our daddy likes Mango a lot and anything with mango is his favorite for the day.  This cake is very simple and easy. I make date cake often using Aayis Recipes Recipe. This time I tried using mango pulp and it worked great.

You will need;

1 Cup Mango pulp mixed in  1/2 cup milk

1 Cup Sugar

1/2  Cup Oil

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour 
1 Tspn Cardamom Powder

1 tspn ENO-(Fruit Salt)

In a bowl , mix the mango pulp, milk, sugar, cardamom powder and oil, and whisk well till sugar melts.Then add the flour  one big spoon at a time.. keep whisking it till all the flour and the wet mix gets incorporated, and lastly ENO...

In a well greased pan, pour the mix and bake in a pre-heated oven @ 350.. for about 35-40 mins or till the knife comes out clean.

My latest addiction to Pintrest resulted in yet another cake with word Dad baked right in the cake. I had some Date cake and with cookie cutters I  cut the words Dad and arranged them on a mini loaf pan, over this I poured the mango cake batter and baked it like a regular cake. 

Hope you love the treats and ideas and keep showering your love and affection on me.

Bengali Rasgullah

Dear Sweeties!!! Hope you are all in a celebration mood. June brings tons of parties in Ashland. For Fathers day, I wanted  a light sweet and a cake off course. I made a wholewheat eggless mango cake, which was superb. The kids enjoyed the cake and it was gone in no time.

Like a true desi guy, Mr. Ash likes sweets specially bengali mithai which uses paneer/chenna/cottage cheese extensively, the sweet cheese balls are dipped or soaked in sugar syrup and chilled to perfection. They literally can make you fall in love with sweets again.

I always though that making them at home would be tough and time consuming, but in reality it is super easy and  done in steps so at no time one step takes more than 10-12 mins.


You will need; to make Paneer for Rasgullah
3 cups Whole Milk
1 tbspn White Distilled vinegar
Cloth to strain and tie the milk
Boil the milk. When it comes to a slow boil, reduce heat and start adding the vinegar tspn by tspn. I needed 1 tbsps to get the milk to tear and the whey to separate.

When the whey and the milk solids separate, drain the solids in a cotton cloth and save the whey. This whey can be used for other recipes. Wash the milk solids to remove the sourness from the vinegar, squeeze the cloth with the milk solids and remove as much water out as possible. 

Tie it around the cotton cloth and keep weight over it to form a cheese ball. Once set for about an hr the paneer is ready to be used.
Making Rasgullah
Take the paneer and crumble it and knead it. The paneer should be kneaded till there are no wrinkles in it and it is so soft that the balls are markfree. I kneaded the paneer for 10 mins. I got around 10-12 small balls.
You will need;
Paneer from -As Above
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 tspn kewra Water
 
In a pressure pan take 3 cups water and add 1 cup sugar to make syrup. When the syrup comes to a small boil, start adding the rolled paneer balls over the boil, take care that the pan is big enough and they have enough room to swim and not break. The balls will grow bigger as and how they cook. 

Cover and let cook on low heat for 1 whistle. The rasgullahs are ready. Add in a tspn of kewra water to the syrup for essence.

Serve chilled.

Pani Puri/Puchka/GolGappa

Hello Dearies!!! Now that we are at the start of the summer months, I am back with a series of chaat basics. Indian women and chat ( spelt  as Chaa-aat) have a deep and strong bond. 

Pani puri is one of my 2 Am snacks. I mean I usually don't eat at that time of the night, but if I ever wake up for food, it has to be pani puri.  Its easy to make if you have basic stuff handy. One is the basic green chutney and other is date and tamarind chutney or Khajoor chi chutney.  

If I have these 2 chutneys in my fridge, any time of the day or night can be turned into a chaat night. Another staple is a recent find in my local Indian grocery store; the microwaveable Pani Puri puris. 

They are super easy and a minute or so in the micro puffs them into nice rounds of puris. They are way off from the deep fried semolina puris, but hey its the thoughts that count. 

The assembly was so easy, that my kids served these gol gappas/pani puris. They might have forgotten adding the chutneys in a few, but for me they were the best I have had so far.

You will need;
 1 packet the microwaveable pani puris or ready made puris. ***Deep fried ready to use are also  available in packets in 50-100 count in any Indian grocery store. 
Sprouted Moong/Mung bean- Lightly steamed
Boiled Potato- mashed + sprinkled with some pani puri masala
Green chutney
Date and tamarind Chutney

To Make Spicy and tangy pani
1 Litre cold water
few mint leaves
1 tbspn green chutney
1 tbspn date and tamarind chutney
Black Salt and
Pani puri masala as per taste

In a pitcher, combine the ingredients from the list to make tangy water and muddle the mint leaves and  set aside in a cool place. I usually do this ahead of time and usually keep this water for 3-4 hrs in a fridge  for all flavors to mix well.

Serving;
In a plate arrange the puris, make holes in the centers fill the hollow with spouted moong bean, boiled potatoes, green and date chutney and dip this whole puri in the tangy water and eat right away. The stuffed puri fill the mouth and makes it fun to eat. Levels of heat can be adjusted by using the sweet date or  spicy green chutney in the stuffed puri.

The way my mom served us was make us sit around her in 2 pairs on each side and  go in a pattern serving one kid at a time, by the time the first pair stuffed its mouths, the second pair was served.  This was a tedious job, but she oh so lovingly did it and even does it so today!!!

I, for a change was served by my boys with one stuffing the puris and other filling it with water. Using hands to dip in tangy water freaked my son and he used a deep spoon to fill the puris. However slow and  meticulous job he did, with stopping in between, cleaning every drop that spilled; it brought great pride and pleasure to a moms heart. Thank God for such loving Kids!!!

One in a Minion Cake with Handmade cake toppers!!!!!

Hello Sweeties!!! Today I bring to you One in a Minion cake that I made way back in December, but forgot to share the pictures. Well as they say better late than never!!!!

 Cake recipe-- Try my perfectly Chocolate cake
Whipped Cream Choc Frosting

 These little minions are rolled fondant figurines and hand made. I have a Minion Crazy family. They even talk like Gru and Minions at times.

Hope you love my efforts and make these buddies soon for a One in Minion kid in your life.!!!

Peanut Butter And Honey Bunches of Oats Cookies

Hello Sweeties!!! Summer break and kids at home means constant I am hungry and I am bored song. Cooking with kids is a fun activity and these cookies  are made just for that. Kids can help mix, drop and press the cookies with fork to make patterns. They surely love such activity.

I tried to make the cookies healthy by using powdered honey bunches of oats cereal instead of using flour entirely. They tasted yummy. I shared these with my school friends whom I met after 20 years.

You will need; Makes 18-20 
8 tbspn/1 stick butter at room temperature 
1/2 cup peanut butter butter 
0.5 cups Whole Wheat Flour
0.5 cups All purpose flour
0.5 Cups powdered honey bunches of oats cereal.
 1 tbspn Vanilla extract 1 egg  
1 cup Sugar-  **Mix white and brown or use brown entirely.
 
Preheat the oven at 350F. Line the cookie tray with some parchment paper. 
  In a bowl cream the butter, egg and sugar and then add in the vanilla extract, slowly add the flour + powdered cereal till everything gets mixed and the flour does not lump.
 
Drop the cookies and press with a fork. Bake at 350 F till they turn slight brown...for abt 9-10 mins.