easy to cook

Gajar Ka Halwa

Gajar ka halwa is my favouritest sweet dish ever! Easy to make and yummy to eat! Since the time I learnt to make it, I used to wait for the winters for the red carrots to flood the market. The halwa tastes best only with these ones. 🙂

Since it is the first day of the year, I wanted to make something special. I had planned to make carrot cake earlier but somehow halwa was beckoning me 😀

Ingredients:

1/2 Kg Carrot

1/2 Litre Milk

1 Tablespoon Ghee (Optional) – I used it for the first time today

1 Cup Sugar (As per taste, also depends on sweetness of carrots. If carrots are sweet, don’t add too much sugar)

Pinch of Cardamom powder

Dryfruits for garnishing

How to?

First peel the carrots nicely.

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Then Grate them.

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Add ghee in a nonstick pan and heat it. This is optional. Doesn’t matter if you don’t add it. I added today just to see the difference.

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Add the grated carrots and roast for couple of minutes. Add the milk and simmer on low flame. No need to add Khoya.

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Let it simmer for a while. Keep stirring occasionally. When most of the milk is evaporated and the consistency is semi solid, add the sugar.

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Add cardamom powder. Once the milk is evaporated completely, turn off the gas. Allow it to set. Garnish with dryfruits. I didn’t set it before taking this pic as wanted it to look warm and soft 😉 )

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Happy Eating! And Happy New Year!! 😀

Suji ka Halwa and Akhrot ka Halwa

On a fine Saturday morning, I realised that I am not cooking as much as I should / as much as I promised myself.

A chance comment by dad on walnuts inspired me to cook something with walnuts in it. I looked for recipes and wondered whether we could make akhrot (walnut) ka halwa just like we make badam ka halwa (only heard, never eaten). The recipes that I found on net required khoya / mawa to make the halwa. Since I didn’t want to make complicated recipes & wanted to use everything that was at home (not well and no inclination to move out of home), I decided to make it just like suji ka halwa I made a week back. (Suji ka halwa is also easy peasy to make)

The beauty of this recipe is, you can use suji (rava / semolina) or akhrot (walnut) alternatively. It is easy to cook, fast to make and can satisfy hunger pangs if you don’t mind eating sweets.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Suji / rava / semolina

or

1 cup coarsely crushed walnuts (2 cups whole walnuts crushed in a mixie)

1 Cup milk

1 Cup Sugar

1.5 ladle full ghee (Sorry calorie conscious people 😉 )

Process:

Add ghee to a pan. Melt the ghee. Turn the flame to low. Add Suji / crushed Walnuts. Roast till pinkish in colour and fragrant. Add a cup of milk and mix well. Roast till the mix is soft and the milk is not entirely absorbed. For suji ka halwa you will need to add a bit of water as Suji absorbs milk fast & you don’t want the halwa to be too dry. Add sugar & roast till the sugar is absorbed. Garnish with dry fruits.

Walnut Fudge:

If you let the akhrot ka halwa sit for a while, it will harden a bit. Tastes like Walnut Fudge. If you want choco walnut fudge, add half tablespoon cocoa powder while it is soft & mix properly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Choco Walnut Fudge is ready!

 

Suji Ka Halwa

Suji Ka Halwa

 

Akhrot Ka Halwa

Akhrot Ka Halwa

Hope you guys try this instant recipes and enjoy them as much as I did 🙂

Little Bites of Heaven!

Mung ki daal (Green, split) is such a multi tasker! It can be used to make daal, It can be combined with rice to make khichadi, it can be used to make pakode & also the ever healthy snack mung ki daal ka chilla!

After Rabdi, my dad loves the mung ki daal ke pakode I make. It is easy & fast to cook. Except that it requires 8 hours of soaking daal.

You can make it even on weekdays to spice up your day!

How to make the yummy pakodas:

1. Soak one cup moong daal (Enough for 2 people) overnight / 8 hours.

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2. Remove water from the soaked daal, put it in a blender, add 2-3 green chillies, salt as per taste and grind into a smooth paste. You can add red chilli powder to the batter instead of green chillies. I use this trick for emergencies. Add half a tsp of black pepper powder for that extra zing!

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3. Make small balls of batter with your fingers and push them into the frying pan with the help of your thumb.

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4. Fry them till golden brown on medium high flame. Pro Tip: If you cook them on high flame, chances are they will remain raw from inside & crispy outside.

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5. Yummy pakodas ready to be served. ^_^

DSC_0572These are amazing to have with Hot tea. These can also be used to make Dahi Wada. You can serve ketchup or tamarind chutney on side or eat them just like that as the pakodas are moist enough.

So what are you thinking? Make this pakodas and give delightful surprise to your family / friends 😀