Cashew-choco balls- NO cook/ or bake !Real quick

 I wanted to give to the kitchen staff, who slog for us 365 days of the year, on New Year morning, I give them some sweets made by me or chocolate packet. Today I decided to make the quick, no-cook/ bake balls.

 

Ingredients

sugar 1 cup

cashews 1/3 cup - more or less

powder both these in the mixer jar to a fine powder along with 2 tsp of cocoa pdr. 

put this powder in a big bowl

desiccated coconut 1 cup

milk pdr 1 cup 

I powdered both coconut and milk pdr along with another 2 tsp of cocoa pdr

added all the powders together, mix well

I'ld not make balls, I added 4-5 tbsp of ghee, mixing after each tbsp of ghee, till I'ld roll it. I made small balls, as it is easier to pop into your mouth. Normally when some ladoos are made big, some people try to break with hand, then small particles of the balls fall down. To prevent the mess, I started making  small balls.

Some balls to distribute among my friends here, especially to elders to get their blessings on the New Year day. 

 

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Gond Pak

Ingredients

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour / Atta 

1 Cup Sugar

1/4  Cup ghee

1/4 Cup Khova

1/4  tsp Cardamom Pdr

100 gm Gond / edible gum

1/4  tsp Whole Black Pepper 

1 tbsp Cashew Nuts

1 tbsp Raisins 

 

Preparations

Heat clarified butter in a wok/ kadai

Add gond fry and strain it.

Add cashew nuts, almonds, and whole black pepper fry and keep aside.

Again heat clarified butter in a pan.

Add whole wheat flour and stir continuously and roast till it turns brown and give out the fragrance.

Add mawa and mix well.

In another pan, add sugar and water till sugar dissolves.

Keep it on medium flame for 8-10 minutes.

Add roasted whole wheat flour, fried gond, whole black pepper, and cardamom powder and mix well.

Garnish with roasted almonds, cashew nuts, and raisins. 

 

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Banana Halwa

   

Ingredients

1 kg banana, ripened

¼ cup ghee

½ kg jaggery

¼ cup water

¼ tsp cardamom powder

3 tbsp cashew, roasted

 

Preparations

 peel the skin of the bananas and cut it into slices. make sure to use over-ripened banana for better taste.

grind to a smooth puree and keep aside.

in a large kadai heat 2-3 tbsp ghee and add the banana puree.

cook on medium flame stirring continuously.

keep cooking until the mixture turns glossy and the raw smell disappears.

in a pan take ½ kg jaggery and ¼ cup water, stir and dissolve the jaggery.

strain and pour the jaggery syrup over banana mixture and mix well.

continue stirring until everything is well combined.

once the ghee is absorbed, add ghee in batches and keep stirring.

continue to cook until the mixture starts to hold the shape and the ghee separates from the sides.

now add ¼ tsp cardamom powder and 3 tbsp cashew. mix well.

transfer the halwa into the tray lined with baking paper.

level up and rest for 3 hours., cut into desired pieces.

 

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https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

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Paruppu Payasam

   

 Ingredients 

200 gm moong dal

400 gm jaggery crushed or to taste

1 1/2 cups thick coconut milk

4 cups medium thick coconut milk

4 cups light coconut milk

3 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp cashew nuts chopped

2- 3 tbsp coconut pieces

 

Preparations

Dry roast the  dal for 5-6 minutes. Wash it well and cook with boiled water.

Melt the jaggery by adding 1 cup water. Add the melted jaggery to well-cooked paruppu and stir well.

Add 2 tablespoon ghee to this and mix well.

Add light coconut milk and when it starts boiling add medium thick coconut milk.

When this mix evaporates and reduces by half, add the thick coconut milk.

Stir well  and remove from gas.

Fry the cashew nuts and coconut pieces in rest of the ghee and add them to the payasam. 

Enjoy the payasam hot / warm. 

 

 Normally the paruppu payasam is made as an offering to God on festive days.

 

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https://GSiyers home remedies.blogspot.com   is the latest addition to my blogs

 

Beetroot Kurma

 Ingredients

2 cups beetroot chopped into small cubes

1 cup onion finely chopped

½ cup tomato finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp chili pdr

1 tsp coriander pdr

½ tsp jeera/ cumin pdr

1 tsp  garam masala

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp coriander leaves chopped for garnish

1 tbsp lime juice

water as required

For Grinding

¼ cup grated coconut fresh 

6-8 cashew nuts soaked in warm water for at least 15 minutes

cinnamon 1"

1 tsp saunf ( optional)

water for grinding

 

 Preparations Peel the beetroot and cut it into small pieces Grind coconut, cashews, cinnamon to a smooth paste. IN a Pressure cooker, add oil  Once oil is hot add onions, ginger-garlic paste and saute until onions turn light brown. Next add chopped tomatoes and cook till they turn soft. Then add in the chopped beetroot, red chili powder, garam masala powder ,coriander powder , jeera powder , ground coconut-cashew paste , salt and mix well.cook for 1-2 minutes.Then add water and give a stir. Close the lid place a whistle and cook for 2-3 whistles on medium flame. Switch off the flame and let the pressure from the cooker release naturally. Open lid and add lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves.Mix well. Beetroot Kurma is ready, serve with hot with pooris, chapatis, roti or paranthas.

Tips

you can add green peas,white / red lobia , potato with beetroot. Choice of vaggies as per your choice.

You don't have cashew, add some roasted dal or soak some kaskas/ poppy seeds to grind with coconut.

 

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Bread barfi

 Ingredients

Soft breadcrumbs 2 cups

Milk 1 cup

Fresh coconut, scraped 1 cup

Castor sugar 1 cup

Cashew nuts, chopped 20

Rose essence 2 to 3 drops

Ghee 4 tbsps

Halved cashew nuts a few to garnish

 

Method

Take breadcrumbs in a bowl, add milk and soak for about 10 minutes. Grease a barfi tray with a little ghee.

Heat a non-stick pan, add coconut and sugar and cook on low heat till sugar melts.

Add the soaked breadcrumbs and mix for about 5-7 minutes or till well mixed.

Add chopped cashew nuts, rose essence,  and ghee and cook till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

Transfer the mixture into the greased barfi tray and spread evenly. Set aside to cool down to room temperature.

Cut into desired shapes, keep them on a serving platter, garnish each piece with a halved cashew nut and serve.

 

 

 

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Oats Nankhtais

 INGREDIENTS

oats flour  60 gm pdr in the mixer jar fine

besan  25 gm

pdr sugar  60 gm

fine rava  15 gm

ghee  50 gm

mawa essence 2-3 drops

baking pdr  1/4 tsp

cardamom pdr  1/2 tsp

chopped cashew nuts  30 gm

oats for coating 

METHOD

in a bowl take ghee, essence, pdr sugar beat well till light and fluffy

in another bowl sieve all the dry ingredients

mix the dry ing. with wet ing. using cut and fold method, last add nuts

preheat oven @ 160 deg. C for 10 minutes

roll the dough into small balls without crack, roll in oats and place on a parchment paper on the baking tray.

bake for 18-20 minutes or till done as time can vary according to voltage, size of oven.

once cool, store in an air-tight container.

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https://GSiyers home remedies.blogspot.com   is the latest addition to my blogs.

Paruppu Payasam / kheer

Ingredients

8 tbsp Coconut Milk Powder

2 tablespoon Ghee

100 gm Green Gram Dal(Washed)  

150 gm Jaggery

1 tsp Dry Ginger Powder  

1 tsp Cardamom Powder

Cashew nuts as per choice  

2 tbsp Raisins

Grated dry coconut cut into small pieces

 

Method :

Dry roast the dal in a kadai till light brown, stirring constantly. Cook the dal in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of warm water for 5 minutes after the whistle.

Melt jaggery in ½ cup of water, strain the syrup.

Add the jaggery syrup into the cooked dal, mix well and boil for a minute.

Mix the Coconut Milk Powder in 1½ cup of warm water and add to the dal-jaggery mixture.

Allow to simmer and thicken. Add the dry ginger powder and cardamom powder and mix well. Remove from fire and pour into a serving bowl.

Heat ghee in a pan, add the cashew nuts, raisins and coconut bits. Fry till the nuts turn light brown.

Pour the payasam in the bowl. Serve hot or chill in the fridge and serve cold. 

 

Payasam is a must in all our festivals in the southern part of the country, especially this payasam.

It is healthy, protein, iron rich dessert. 

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 https://cancersupportindia.blogspot.com  for info on cancer and health related topics

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No-cook Kaju-katli

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashew nuts (use the best quality)
• 1 to 1 ¼ powdered sugar/icing sugar/confectioner's sugar

Optional (choose one):

• Few Saffron strands
• 1/4 tsp Green cardamom powder
• 1/2 tsp Rose water/rose essence

Instructions

1. First step is to make cashew nut powder.

2. Just blitz 1 cup of raw cashew nuts in a blender jar.
3. The key is to powder them in batches just until powdered. Blend more and you will end up with pasty cashew butter!

4. Once powdered, sieve through a strainer or sieve to get very fine powder into a bowl.

5. If you see large bits of cashew left in the sieve, gather all the large bits and blitz this again and then sieve.

6. Ensure you have a very fine powder to get the best kaju katlis/burfis!

7. Next step is to add the sugar (either powdered sugar or icing/confectioner's sugar) and form a dough like mixture.

8. If using powdered sugar, make sure to sieve that too to get fine and smooth kaju katli! If using icing sugar, then it is ok to use as such.

9. Just add 1 to 1 ¼ the cups of either icing sugar or powdered sugar and sprinkle some water to make a dough. Start with 1 cup sugar and add more only if needed.

10. If preferred, you can add any flavor you like to make it more delicious…either cardamom powder, rose water or even some saffron powder, strands etc. Use just one flavoring.

11. I soaked some crushed saffron strands in some water and then added that to make the dough.

12. Add water by tablespoons to make a smooth dough. I needed only 2 tablespoons! Adjust as needed.

13. Once you get a smooth dough, roll it between sheets of parchment paper, butter paper or silicone mats to the desired thickness; maybe about ¼ inch.

14. Transfer the parchment paper to a tray and cut the dough into desired shapes. I prefer the traditional diamond shapes but you could cut them into squares too.

15. If you like, silver varakh (food quality, edible silver sheets available in any Indian store), place them over the rolled dough before cutting them. I don't use these in mine.

16. Now, is the difficult part…waiting for the fudge to air dry and turn into a delectable, addictive kaju katli!

    This may take 6-8 hours depending upon the room temperature and humidity in your house.

17. After a few hours, when you feel the burfi is dry enough, gently separate the diamond shaped katlis and transfer to an airtight container; but not before popping one or two into your mouth (hehe!).
18. Serve either chilled or at room temperature.
19. This type of no cook kaju burfi stays good for quite some time as it has no milk or ghee.
20. If the weather is hot and/or humid, it is best to store in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

• Make sure to make a very fine powder of cashew; sieve to get fine mixture.
• Same goes with powdered sugar. If using powdered sugar, sieve that before adding to the cashew powder. Adjust the amount of sugar to suit your taste.
• Add just enough water to bind and form a smooth dough. Add only by the tablespoonfuls only.
• Do air dry them for at least 4-6 hours depending upon the temperature and humidity of your house.                              
  

   

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