Sweets Archives - Susmita Recipes

Rava Ladoo with Coconut and Khoya

August 18, 2015 By susmita Leave a Comment

With festivals and religious occasions just around the corner, we all gear up to make various sweets and delicious snacks at home. One such easy and mouth watering sweet is the rava laddoo. There are different variations for making rava laddo. The one I have made and which I will be sharing with you all is the rava ladoo made with coconut and khoya or Mawa. (How to make Khoya/mawa)

Rava ladoo is a simple, and quick to make dessert that is usually made during Diwali or on festive occasions. Addition of khoya or mawa, dessicated coconut and dry fruits and raisins to this recipe make this rava ladoo even more appealing and satiating.

For a more richer version of this recipe, you can increase the amount of ghee. If you also wish to add condensed milk then skip adding the sugar. One can add any type of dry fruits. You can see only almonds and cashews in my recipe since I ran out of my stock of raisins.

Rava ladoo can stay good at room temperature for 6-7 days if stored in an air-tight container.

You can also check out some of other sweet recipes that I have shared in my blog like Gulab Jamun, Gajar ka Halwa, Seviyan Kheer.

Ingredients for Rava ladoo with coconut and Khoya

Khoya/Mawa – 2 cups
Semolina/Suji – 1 cup
Grated dessicated coconut – 2/3 cup
Granulated sugar – 2/3 cup
Almonds – 15-20 (chopped finely)
Cashewnuts – 15-20 (chopped finely)
Cardamom – 5-6 (powdered)
Clarified butter/Ghee – 1 tbsp

How to make Rava Ladoo with coconut and Khoya:

Grate the coconut.
In a pan melt 1 tbsp of ghee.
On a low flame roast almonds and cashews. Remove and keep aside.
In the remaining ghee, roast the semolina or suji till it turns slightly pink and aromatic. Remove from heat and keep aside.
Now roast the dessicated coconut for a few minutes. Don’t dry it too much. Remove and keep aside.
In the same pan add the khoya.
When it starts turning soft add the powdered sugar and mix.
After 1-2 minutes the sugar will liquify with khoya and turn into a mushy mixture.
At this stage immediately add the roasted semolina, grated coconut and dry fruits and cardamom powder.
Evenly mix all the ingredients till the liquid is completely absorbed. This may take about 1-2 minutes.
Grease your palm with ghee and make lemon-sized ladoos while the mixture is still warm.
Store it in an air-tight box and enjoy whenever you like!!

Footnotes:

The mixture should be slightly warm while making ladoos or else it will be difficult to gather the mix once it has been cooled completely.
If you feel the mixture has become too dry, warm the mixture again and add a few tablespoons of milk and mix again.

Vermicelli (Seviyan) Kheer – How to make Semiya Payasam

August 5, 2015 By susmita 1 Comment

Seviyan kheer or Vermicelli kheer also known as Semiya payasam in south India is one of the simplest yet incredibly one of the tastiest sweet dessert that is made throughout India. It is a regular during festivals and for special occasions.

My mum used to make one of the yummiest seviyan kheer and most often I used to urge her to make it for me. It was such a comfort food for me at that time. What I like about this dessert is that it is very quick to make and you can quickly prepare it for kids or for guest in no time at all.

Seviyan or vermicelli is usually available in two forms in the market – one is the traditional thin and roasted form, and the other is a white in colour and is usually bit thicker as compared to the traditional one. Making kheer with the thin and roasted variety is quicker since it doesn’t needs to be roasted.

In this post I have made the kheer using the thicker variety of seviyan and therefore, I have roasted it prior to adding the milk.

You can add any type of dry fruits like cashew-nuts, raisins, almonds or pistachios according to your choice.

Ingredients required for Seviyan Kheer / Semiya Payasam :

Broken Seviyan/Vermicelli (Roasted/non-roasted)- 1/2 cup
Whole milk – 2 1/2 cups
Sugar – 3-4 tbsps
Cardamom – 4-5 (powdered)
Cashew-nuts – 10-12 (split in half)
Raisins – 1 tsp
Saffron – A few strands (optional)
Clarified butter/Ghee – 2 tbsps

How to make Vermicelli Kheer / Semiya Payasam:

Heat 2 tbsps of clarified butter/ghee in a pan.
Roast the cashewnuts on a very low flame till they turn slightly pinkish in colour. Don’t brown them.
Separately roast the raisins. Drain and keep them aside.
Now in the remaining ghee add 1/2 cup of vermicelli.
Roast on a medium flame till vermicelli starts turning brown in colour. This will take around 3-4 minutes. Skip browning the vermicelli if it is the roasted form. In this case you just need to roast it for 1 minute or so.
Add milk and cook on a medium flame.
After 10-12 minutes the vermicelli will turn soft. By this time the milk will also start to thicken. If you feel the kheer is very thick add some more milk.
Now add 3 – 4 tbsps of sugar.
Dissolve a few strands of saffron in 1 tsp of warm milk.
Add the dissolved saffron to the kheer mix.
Now add the roasted dry fruits.
Finally add 1/2 tsp of cardamaom powder and mix.
Cook for further 1-2 minutes till the kheer thickens some more.
The kheer can be served hot, warm or chilled – It tastes equally good in every form !!

How to make Besan Boondi at home

April 14, 2015 By susmita Leave a Comment

Boondis are small round shaped deep fried balls made from gram flour or besan. It can be used to make different recipes like sweet boondi, boondi raita and home made namkeen/mixture. During summers and I usually make this and stock it enough for 15-20 days so as to make raita.

Making boondi is quite simple, since it doesn’t call for too many ingredients, all you need is gram flour and water. Yet, making perfectly round balls is a bit tricky process. The batter consistency for making boondi is very crucial for making perfectly round boondis. Thick batter will have a hard time falling through the spoon and thin batter will yield flat and tailed boondi. Next comes the size of the perforated spoon, small holes can yield small sized balls which can be used for making boondi laddoo and medium sized perforations can be used to make the regular sized balls which I have used in this recipe.

Boondi can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for about 2 weeks.

Ingredients required for Boondi Recipe:

Gram Flour/Besan – 2 cups
Water – As required
Oil – For deep frying

How to make besan boondi:

Sieve the gram flour to remove any lumps.
Add water gradually to form a lump-free flowing batter. One should be very careful while adding the water, as too much water will make the batter thin and the resultant boondis will not have a round shape and will instead have tails. (You can check the consistency of the batter by dropping few drops of the batter in oil, if it is forming a round shape, the batter is ready for making boondis).
Heat enough oil in a frying pan. Keep on high heat before you proceed to pour.
Take a ladle full of the batter and hold it above the perforated spoon. The perforated spoon should be about 3-4 inches above the oil. If you drop the batter from too above, the balls will not form a round shape.
Now pour some amount of batter in the perforated spoon and move the base of the ladle slowly over the perforated spoon in a circular motion. The batter will fall in the form of small droplets and will form small round balls. Avoid adding too much batter at once since the balls may stick to each other.
Reduce the flame and fry them on a medium heat.
Keep stirring in between and fry the balls till they evenly attain a faint golden colour.
Remove with a slotted spoon.
Drain on a filter paper or kitchen napkins.
Wipe the perforated spoon from both sides before you start making the next batch of boondis. Boondi can be stored in an air -tight container for 15-20 days.

Gajar ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa)

April 10, 2015 By susmita Leave a Comment

With the arrival of winters, the one sweet dish we all often crave for is Gajar ka Halwa or Carrot Halwa. Since winter season brings is laden with so many festivals in India like Dusshera and Diwali, Gajar ka halwa becomes a staple indian dessert in most indian homes. I must say that after gulab jamuns the one dessert that i truly love to have is carrot halwa. What can be more comforting than warm carrot halwa on a cold and frosty winter day!!

Gajar ka Halwa is basically a famous North Indian sweet desert pudding that is made from grated carrots which is slowly cooked in milk with sugar. I have posted the traditional way of making the gajar ka halwa that is a bit time consuming process and usually takes an hour or more. But the final flavour and texture of the slow cooked halwa is indeed to die for.

Gajar ka halwa is usually made from red juicy carrots also sometimes referred to as Delhi carrots. These carrots have their own natural sweetness and a vibrant colour that enhances the overall taste of the halwa. However, you can make this halwa using the regular carrots as well but the taste might be a bit different. Care should be taken to avoid using the more fibrous carrots as they are less juicier and may also be devoid of its sweet taste.

The carrots can be grated manually or in a food processor. Gajar ka halwa can be prepared in a variety of way either using milk, khoya or condensed milk. For those who intend to make this recipe a bit quicker, they can prepare it in microwave or in a pressure cooker. But the slowly cooked halwa is beyond comparison. Since the halwa is simmered for a good hour or so, one should use always use a pan with a thick base or go for non stick pan.

Gajar ka halwa can be stored for a week in refrigerator. I usually prefer to warm it before serving but one can also prefer eating it cold.

Ingredients required for Gajar ka Halwa Recipe:

Carrots – 1 kg (grated)
Whole Milk – 1 litre
Clarified butter or Ghee – 5-6 tbsp
Sugar – 1 1/4 cup
Green cardamom – 7-8 (crushed)
Raisins – 2 tbsp
Almonds – 10-12 (chopped) + some more to garnish

How to make Gajar ka Halwa or Carrot Halwa:

Wash and peel the carrots and grate them, either manually or in a food processor. However, manual grating gives a better texture.
Transfer the grated carrots along with the milk in a deep pan and keep it for boiling.
When the milk starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium heat and keep cooking. Keep stirring in between and scrap the milk sticking to the sides of the pan and keep adding it to the carrot mixture.
After 20-25 minutes you will notice that the milk has sufficiently reduced and started curdling. These small lumps are formed because milk is turning to khoya.
When the milk almost reduces to half, add 5-6 tbsp of clarified butter/ghee and stir.
After another 10 minutes add 1 1/4 cup of sugar. The mixture will once again liquify once you add sugar. Continue stirring and simmering
Now add 1 tsp of crushed or powdered cardamom.
When you notice there is only some milk left, then add the raisins and chopped almonds.
Keep on stirring till the milk is completely evaporated and the halwa attains a deep orange colour.
Your Gajar ka Halwa/ Carrot Halwa is ready. Garnish it with slivered almonds and serve warm.

How to make Khoya (Mawa) ?

October 23, 2014 By susmita Leave a Comment

Khoya or Khoa also known as Mawa is a milk product made by continuously evaporating the milk until it is reduced to a solid granular form. This evaporated milk solids is then used in various food preparations especially in making sweets.

Home made Khoya is way better and hygienic as compared to the one available in market. Making Khoya at home though is a bit time consuming process but the khoya is a lot softer and tastier which no store bought khoya can beat.

Khoya is traditionally made from full fat milk and simmered on a medium flame in an iron kadhai until all the liquid is evaporated and one is left with only coagulated milk solids. On the basis of the texture the khoya is generally of three types:

Hard Khoya: It has the least moisture content and is generally grated or crumbled for making sweets like burfi, pedha, gulab jamuns, etc. Through this post I have described the process of making this type of khoya.

Soft/Hariyali Khoya: This is the softer version of the khoya that has more moisture content and is evaporated less as compared to the hard khoya. This is generally added to gravy or vegetables to make it more creamier and denser.

Daanedar Khoya: This khoya has a grainy texture to it because the milk is curdled slightly by adding any acid (lemon juice/tartaric acid) and then the milk is evaporated. It has a moisture content that lies in a range between the above two varieties. It is used to make certain sweets like kalakand and certain laddoos and barfi.

When boiling milk one needs to make sure to choose a heavy bottom pan. It can be an iron skillet or a non stick pan. I used a non-stick pan to make khoya since the milk doesn’t stick to the pan. One needs to stir the milk continuously and keep scrapping the sides of the pan at all times.

A good amount of khoya can be obtained if full fat cow or buffalo milk is used. Generally for about 1 litre of full fat milk one should be able to get around 2o0-250 gms of khoya. However, this quantity may vary according to the quality of the milk used. At home we usually get very good quality of milk and I used around 2 1/2 litres of it and I got around 3 cups of Khoya.

I used this khoya to make gulab jamuns and gujiya. I must admit this was much much better and tastier than the store bought ones. Home-made khoya can be refrigerated and can stay good for about a week or so.

Ingredients for making Khoya at home:

Whole milk or Full fat milk – 2 1/2 litres

How to make Khoya (Mawa) with step by step pictures:

1.Take about 2 1/2 litres of full fat milk in a deep sauce pan with a thick base (non stick pan will be ideal) and keep it for boiling.

2. When the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium/low.

3. Make sure to stir the milk continuously and scrap the sides of the pan and keep adding the scrap to the boiling milk.

4. Gradually the milk will start to thicken and become creamy though the milk would still be of dripping consistency. Keep stirring quickly at this point so that the milk doesn’t burn at the bottom.

5. After some time the milk will start to appear more creamy as well as start showing a granular texture.

6. Gradually the milk will start to thicken and turn more and more granular in appearance. If you are planning to make rabri for jalebi then stop cooking at this stage. However if you wish to make gulab jamun or laddoos, continue cooking the milk further.

7. Finally the milk will stop bubbling and attains a slightly cream colour.

Finally the milk will become completely granulated and appear cheese- like.

Stop the cooking and khoya is ready to be used for making different sweets. The khoya will turn hard once it is cooled. You can store the khoya for future use by refrigerating it for 3-4 days or deep freezing it for a month or so.

Note:

Make sure to keep stirring the milk at all times. Burnt milk gives an awful taste.
If you are preparing laddus, barfi or gujiya, stop cooking the khoya when it attains a light creamy colour. But if you wish to prepare gulab jamuns the khoya needs to be cooked further till it attains a slight golden brown colour.