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Today is Shree Rama Navami which is one of the most important festivals for us. We Konkanis make many dishes today dedicated to Shree Rama which I have already shared in my Rama Navami recipe collection page. I also made Paanak and moong dal kosambari to celebrate this occasion.
Along with that, like always, I had to make a sweet too. Usually it would be jaggery Poha or godu phovu as we call it. But today I decided to make something different yet very tasty Aval Payasam. It’s easy and hardly take 15 mins to make but is delicious. Today as I made it on a special day, it was extra tasty due to Shree Rama’s divine grace. 🙏
I sat quickly to write the recipe as well so that it’s helpful for those of you who are looking for easy sweet recipes. Hope you all try and like it too. Wishing you all a very blessed Shree Rama Navami. Jai Shree Ram 🙏
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { Serves 3 to 4 people }
1 Cup = 240 ml
1/2 Cup thick Poha/ flattened rice/ Aval
2 Tbsp Ghee
Handful of Cashews and raisins
1 Cup thin Coconut milk (1/2 Cup thick coconut milk + 1/2 Cup water)
1 Cup thick Coconut milk ( I used canned)
1 Cup Jaggery powder
2 tsp Cardamom powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan. Add cashews and raisins. Roast till it turns slightly brown in colour.
2. Now add 1/2 Cup thick Poha. Roast for couple of minutes till it turns crisp.
3. Add 1 Cup thin Coconut milk. I had used canned coconut milk. I took 1/2 Cup of thick Coconut milk and added 1/2 Cup of water to make 1 Cup thin Coconut milk. Allow it to boil for about 5 mins.
4. Add thick coconut milk and jaggery, 1 Cup each together. Allow it to boil for about 5 to 8 mins till the Poha turns soft. Adjust the consistency of the Payasam if needed.
5. When the Payasam turns thick, add cardamom powder. Mix well. Done! Enjoy hot Payasam.
Notes:
* Use thick Poha and not thin as thin Poha will not give the desired texture of the Payasam.
* I have used canned coconut milk. You can use fresh one by grinding fresh coconut and sieving to extract the milk.
* You can increase the coconut milk depending on the Poha, if it absorbs and becomes thick.
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My first blog this year and so glad I am starting on a sweet note ❤️ I have a special relation with sweets, my name Mitha meaning sweet in Hindi, my best friends call me Ladoo and most of all, I can’t resist any kind of sweets. 😍 Be it our authentic Konkani godshe, payasams from Kerala, kesari from Tamil Nadu, Mysore pak, gulab jamun and all milk based sweets too.. I can just go on and on.. 😀 Being in Qatar since more than 12 years now, Arabic sweets have a special place in my heart ( and tummy 😅) too ❤️
Since I am such an ardent fan of sweets, I have learned to make many at home over the years. Have shared most of the recipes here on the blog. One sweet dish that I make regularly specially during winters is this Carrot halwa or lovingly called as Gajar ka halwa 😍 I rarely eat this dessert from outside and I truly love the way I make my halwa ❤️
So here’s sharing this easy yet finger licking delicious recipe with all of you so that you can try at home too. Dedicating this to all sweet lovers like me ❤️ Happy and healthy cooking ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { Makes about 4 half cup servings }
1 Cup = 240 ml
2 Cups Grated Carrot
1/2 Cup Milk
3/4 Cup Jaggery powder
3 Tbsp Ghee
About 5 to 7 Cashews
About 8 to 10 raisins
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Take carrots, cut off the ends, wash and peel them. Grate using a grater. I took two large carrots and it gave me 2 Cups of carrot gratings. Keep it aside.
2. Heat a thick bottomed pan. Add 1 Tbsp Ghee and add chopped cashews and raisins. Fry on medium flame till cashews turn light brown and raisins plump up. Remove it onto a plate.
3. Now heat the rest of the ghee (adding around 2 Tbsp more). Add the grated Carrots and fry continually for 5 to 7 minutes till the rawness of carrots goes away.
4. Add milk and cook the carrots in milk for about 10 mins till the milk gets absorbed by the carrots. Keep the flame on medium to low always, mixing every couple of minutes.
5. When the milk gets absorbed well by the carrots, it looks like this.
6. Now add jaggery powder to this.
7. Mix well and let the carrots absorb the jaggery. Cook on medium flame till the mixture turns thick.
8. After about 10 mins, the mixture looks like this. It’s perfect halwa and you can remove the pan from the flame now.
9. Add the halwa to the fried cashews and raisins. Also add cardamom powder. Mix well. Halwa is ready.
10. Serve warm halwa. Tastes delicious in this cold weather ❤️
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Notes:
* I have used orange carrots as they are easily available here but you can also use the red carrots which are regularly used to make carrot halwa.
* Three most important points while making this halwa is:
1. Fry the carrots well in ghee till the rawness of the carrots goes away. This is a very important step else the carrots will have a raw flavour.
2. Secondly make sure the milk is absorbed fully by the carrots before adding jaggery. Else the jaggery can curdle the milk (depending on the brand). Also the flame should be from medium to low while the carrots are cooked in milk, else milk can stick to the bottom of the pan..
3. Thirdly, when jaggery is added, the mixture will become liquidy but keep cooking on medium flame till the mixture thickens and the jaggery is well absorbed by the carrots.
* Don’t skip cardamom powder. Gives a wonderful flavour to the carrot halwa.
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I always make few sweets for Deepavali as we have our friends come over to wish us and they bring homemade goodies with them. It feels so happy to share our sweets and joy during festivals, specially during Deepavali where our houses are lit with lamps and lights.
Today is the last weekday here being Thursday and the next two days, my kids are at home. When they are home, my whole day gets busy cooking, with their studies and listening to them (Amma life 😀). So I decided to make the ladoos this afternoon, when the house was silent 😁 and took step by step pictures to share it with all of you. I was amazed to see how many of you liked the Instant Jowar flour Dosa recipe even though it was very simple. Hence I felt this simple recipe will be very useful to you too, during this festive season.
Jowar flour is a very tasty flour and is healthy too. I am trying to include it more in our diet and I am glad that my kids love it too. Hope you all try and love it as well. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️ Wishing all of you a very happy Deepavali. May this festival of lights bring loads of love and happiness in your lives. 🪔
RECIPE:
1 Cup = 240 ml
Ingredients: { Makes around 20 medium sized ladoos }
2 Cups Jowar flour / Sorghum millet flour
1 and 1/2 Cups Jaggery powder
1/4 Cup Ghee (plus 1/2 Tbsp to fry raisins and cashews)
10 to 12 Cashews
10 to 12 small golden raisins
Step by step recipe:
1. Heat 1/2 (half) Tbsp ghee in a pan and add finely chopped cashews and small raisins. Fry on low flame till raisins swell up and cashew bits turn golden. Remove in a bowl.
2. Now heat 1/4 Cup Ghee and add 2 Cups Jowar flour to it. Make sure the flame is medium to low, else the flour can burn. Saute the flour for about 5 to 8 mins till a nice aroma starts coming. Break the lumps using spatula while sauteing.
3. Once the aroma starts coming, saute for few more minutes (about 2 to 3 mins) till the mixture looks like in the below picture. That is when you press using spatula, it should hold shape.
4. Remove from flame and when it’s still warm, add jaggery powder and the fried cashews/raisins.
5. Now mix well till the jaggery powder blends with the jowar flour into a uniform mixture.
6. Start forming ladoos using your hands by taking a small size mixture in your palm as shown.
7. Open and close your fingers while shaping the ladoos in your palm. It is actually very easy to shape these ladoos and they hold shape quickly but if you find it difficult, you can add a little more ghee to shape the ladoos.
8. Repeat the same with all the mixture and the ladoos are ready to be enjoyed ❤️
Notes:
* Store it in a moisture free container. I usually store in a steel box.
* The ratio of ghee to jowar flour to jaggery works perfect for me. You can reduce jaggery powder if needed but I feel this much sweetness is necessary for these ladoos.
* You can skip cashews and raisins if you don’t like it or add more chopped nuts if you like.
* Important step is sauteing of the flour. Make sure the flame is medium to low and saute till the flour turns aromatic and starts holding shape. Don’t keep on high flame as it may burn the flour.
* If you find it difficult to bind the ladoos, you can add more ghee into the mixture or grease your hands with ghee. I do not do both as it was quite easy to bind the ladoos.
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Kids’ schools have started after Eid holidays and days have started flying again. Waking up early, preparing their snack boxes, sending them to school, morning walk, cleaning the house, relaxing till they come back and after that hearing about their day at school, teaching them, walking again in the evening while they play outside, finally preparing for their next day at school and putting them to sleep.
Days are super busy but I would not want it any other way. I have realized being busy is actually great than sitting idle and overthinking. So it’s a blessing in disguise for me. ❤️
In midst of this, is cooking which I love and which brings me happiness. I listen to bhajans and songs while cooking which makes it so peaceful. Music is truly therapeutic. ❤️
Apart from breakfast, lunch and dinner, there is one meal of the day which is most difficult for me – Snack time. Finding a quick, healthy and tasty snack which the kids also love is very hard. So when I tried this Ragi ada inspired by my Kochi memories of the regular ada and it came out so well that we all loved it, I knew I had to share it with all of you too. ❤️
I don’t know why some people think Ragi is bitter. Ragi is such a tasty millet and I use it regularly in my cooking. It is tasty and very healthy too. Have shared all the recipes that I make using Ragi in the notes section towards the end. Do try and I think if you follow the recipe well, adapt it in your cooking, in few days, you will love Ragi too, just like we do. ❤️
Happy and healthy cooking ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { to make about 5 adas }
1 Cup = 240 ml
Banana leaves to make the ada
To make outer covering:
1 Cup Ragi flour ( finger millet powder)
Salt to taste
Approx 1 Cup hot water
To make inner filling:
3/4 Cup Jaggery
3/4 Cup freshly grated Coconut
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Dry roast Ragi flour ( do NOT add oil while roasting) on medium flame till you get an aroma of the flour and it changes colour to a darker tone.
Note: Even if you have roasted ragi flour with you, dry roast for few minutes as it enhances the flavour a lot.
2. Transfer it to a bowl. Add salt.
3. Now add hot water, little by little. Mix as you add water.
4. As you add hot water, little by little, after mixing, the dough will look like this. Do NOT add water after this.
5. Now the dough will be warm. Using hands, mix together to form a smooth and soft dough.
6. Now make the inner filling. Take coconut and jaggery in a pan. Heat it together on medium flame till the jaggery melts and coconut will stick to jaggery. Remove from flame. Add Cardamom powder. Mix well.
7. Now cut the banana leaf into rectangle pieces as shown. Clean it with water and wipe it dry.
Also divide the ragi dough into equal sized balls. If you have taken 1 Cup (240 ml) of Ragi flour, you will get 5 balls.
8. Take a ball of ragi dough and spread it using slightly wet fingers as thin as possible.
9. Take a spoonful of the filling and place it on one half side. Spread it on the half side using spoon as shown in the image below.
10. Fold the banana leaf while closing both the halves as shown.
11. Seal the edges of the dough using fingers so that the filling does not come out.
12. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough balls. Place it on a idli steamer.
13. Steam for 20 to 25 mins on high flame till the ada cooks thoroughly. Remove from flame. Allow it to cool for 5 mins.
14. Now peel off the banana leaf, discard it and enjoy the warm Ragi ela adas. 😍
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Just look at the inside of the ada. Sweet, juicy and so delicious 😍
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Notes:
* As you can see from the above picture, the ada is of the right thickness and also steamed fully. This is due to spreading the dough thin over the banana leaf and also steaming for atleast 20 mins.
* Even if you have roasted ragi flour with you, dry roast for few minutes to get perfect aromatic ragi adas.
* Do use only hot water while preparing the dough. It took me around 1 Cup hot water for 1 Cup Ragi flour. Add only 1/4 Cup at a time and mix well till you get the dough as in step number 4. Then mix using hands to form a smooth dough.
* Don’t add a lot of water while making dough. It will be difficult to spread if dough is too soft.
* For 1 Cup Ragi flour, 3/4 Cup coconut and 3/4 Cup jaggery made the right filling for me. If you add a lot of filling, it will be difficult to seal the edges. So add only a spoonful to cover half of the ada.
* I have not made this without banana leaves. So can’t say the alternative to it. Spreading the dough on the leaf is easy and the ada turns aromatic too. So try to get the leaves if you can.
* These adas are best eaten soon after they are steamed but tastes yummy even after few hours too. So you can carry it in tiffin box and during travel too.
* A similar recipe with coconut jaggery filling is this Kerala style Nendrapazham nirachathu or stuffed Nendran Bananas..
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In three days, it’s Deepavali and we will all soon be busy decorating our houses, lighting lamps, making sweets and savouries, enjoying this festive time with our families. Even though Deepavali is not the same here in Qatar, being far away from our dear ones, I still make sure kids don’t miss out on the essence of the festival by telling them the story of Ramayana, lighting lamps, wearing new clothes and making sweets to celebrate the festival. ❤️
Today morning I made these Coconut Badam ladoos which are the kids’ favorite as they love coconut based sweets a lot. They have holidays for the next four days and I will be busy with them, listening to their chatter. 😍 So I decided to share this recipe today itself to wish all of you a very Happy Deepavali. ❤️
Hope this beautiful festival of lights bring peace and happiness into your lives. Happy Deepavali to you and your family. Jai Shri Ram. 🙏
Do try these easy ladoos if you find time and you are sure to relish it. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️
1. Soak Almonds one night before making the ladoos. Just immerse in little water for about 8 hours.
2. Drain the water and peel the almonds. The peels come off easily as they have been soaked well.
3. Add to a mixer along with 1/4 Cup water and grind to a fine paste.
4. In a thick bottomed pan add coconut gratings or desiccated coconut, jaggery powder or grated jaggery and the almond paste. Don’t keep it on flame yet.
5. Now mix well using a spatula.
6. Now keep the pan on medium flame and start mixing using the spatula. Jaggery will melt and the mixture will start becoming soft and blend well. Keep mixing for about 8 to 10 mins. Add cardamom powder.
7. Mix once and remove the mixture into a bowl.
8. When the mixture is warm, start making ladoos using your hands. It is very easy to make when the mixture is warm and moist. Take a small portion and open close your right hand till the mixture binds well to form a round shaped ball.
9. Make ladoos with all of the mixture. You can also decorate the ladoos with fine sliced Almonds. Done ❤️
Notes:
* I have used desiccated coconut to make these ladoos. You can use freshly grated coconut too.
* Soaking Almonds overnight makes it easier to peel and also increases the nutrition of the Almonds.
* Once you mix coconut, jaggery and almond paste before keeping on the flame, it might seem dry but when you heat it, the jaggery will melt and help combine the mixture well.
* Heat it on medium flame though, else jaggery will burn if heated on high flame.
* When the mixture is warm and moist itself, make ladoos as it is easy that time.
* Store in a dry container for a day or two and then if leftover, you can refrigerate.
* Jaggery can be substituted with sugar too in case your family does not like jaggery flavour.
* Almonds can be substituted with Cashews too.
* I make Coconut Burfis with Cashews and sugar which I learnt many years back from Konkani Saraswat Cookbook by Asha Satish Philar mai. Here is the recipe – Coconut Burfis.
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Though I am not an expert at making traditional Konkani dishes, if there is one Konkani sweet dish I can make really well, it is Madgane. Madgane is made on Ugadi day which is new year for us, as per Hindu calendar. When I made it for Ugadi few months back, I realized I had not shared this delicious recipe on the blog.
That’s when I decided to make it again during Navaratri which is yet another important festival for us and share with all of you. Today is a final day of Navaratri, tomorrow being Vijayadashami or Dussehra. 🙏
If there is something I miss the most living in Qatar, it is going to temples specially during festivals. My dad has been going to all Devi temples across Udupi and sends me pictures of beautifully adorned Devis. 🙏 Feels so happy for him. ❤️ It is a great blessing from the divine which we don’t realize the value untill we are away from it.
Wishing all of you a blessed Navaratri and Vijayadashami. 🙏
Hope you all try Madgane and relish it like we do. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: ( makes about 6 bowls/ servings)
1/2 Cup Chana dal
1 3/4 Cups Coconut milk ( about 400 ml)
1 Cup Jaggery powder
2 Tbsp Rice flour
1 Tbsp Ghee
About 10 Cashews and few raisins
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Roast Chana dal on medium to low flame till it starts letting out an aroma and starts browning.
2. Immediately remove from flame and wash well. Add fresh water, a little above the level of Chana dal, as shown in the picture.
3. Pressure cook till soft but not mushy. Chana dal should retain shape. I cook on high till 2 whistles, then keep on medium flame for 10 mins in my electric stovetop.
4. Now add cooked Chana dal, coconut milk and Jaggery in a thick bottomed pan.
5. Mix well and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 mins on high flame.
6. Take 2 Tbsp Rice flour and mix with 2 to 3 Tbsp water to form a paste free form lumps.
7. Add it to the Chana dal payasa while stirring continually so that it does not form lumps. Cook for 5 to 10 mins on medium flame till the mixture becomes thick. Remove from flame.
8. In another pan, take ghee, add cashews and raisins. Fry till raisins plump up. Add to the payasa. Also add Cardamom powder. Mix well.
9. Serve warm.
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Notes:
* I have used tinned coconut milk from Lulu hypermarket. If you are making fresh coconut milk, then take about 2 Cups of coconut gratings, grind it with little water to a fine paste in a mixer. Sieve it once to get thick coconut milk. Grind again with water, sieve to get thin coconut milk. Add thin coconut milk along with jaggery in step 4 and thick coconut milk along with rice flour paste.
* Be careful while roasting Chana dal as it burns very quickly. Roast on medium flame and remove as soon as it starts turning brown. Roasting is an important step as it gives a wonderful flavour to the payasa.
* While pressure cooking Chana dal, ensure that it retains shape and is not mushy. In Madgane, the bite of chana dal is important.
* Don’t add a lot of water while pressure cooking and even after that as that payasa will become watery.
* 1/2 Cup Chana dal to 1 Cup Jaggery works perfectly for me. You can vary as per your taste.
* Rice flour paste is added to give thickness to the Madgane. Don’t skip it as it enhances the texture so much.
* Traditionally, fresh Cashew or Bibbo is added to Madgane. I don’t get it, so I add regular Cashews roasting only slightly along with raisins.
* Don’t forget Cardamom powder as it gives a wonderful aroma to Madgane.
* Leftover Madgane can be refrigerated and had next day.
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It’s a special weekend day today as my daughter Ashritha’s half yearly exams are finally over and it really feels like my exams are over too. 😅 Teaching her for her second standard exams was not less than my engineering semester exams for me. 😁
Planning her lessons, teaching her, preparing notes, asking her questions while I do my work, then finally heaving a sigh of relief when she says the exams were easy… All of these were my last two weeks in short. 😄 So since yesterday, I have been making her favorite dishes to celebrate “freedom from exams” and today was the day to give freedom to these fast ripening Nendran Bananas too. 😍
Nendran Bananas are her favorite and apart from slicing round, frying in ghee, I also make this Nendran Banana Halwa when the bananas turn overripe. I also learned to make this Nendrapazham nirachathu last month which she loved a lot. So I decided to make it today with these bananas and took some pictures to add on the blog too.
This is very easy to make and tastes so delicious for words, specially if you love Nendran Bananas. Hope you all try it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { For two stuffed bananas }
Two Ripe Nendran Bananas (should not be very soft or over ripe)
4 Tbsp Freshly grated Coconut
2 to 3 Tbsp Jaggery powder
1 tsp Ghee + 1 Tbsp Ghee
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Heat 1 tsp Ghee in a small pan and add freshly grated coconut and jaggery powder.
2. On medium to low flame, fry the coconut- jaggery well in ghee for a minute.
3. Remove from flame. Add Cardamom powder. Mix well.
4. Take the ripe Nendran Bananas. If they are very soft, we can’t use it as it will break when we fill and fry it. Just see that they are ripe yet firm.
5. Peel the bananas. Make a small slit with knife in the center leaving the ends as shown. Don’t make a very deep cut too. Just slit until 3/4th depth of the banana.
6. Now stuff the bananas with the coconut jaggery mixture using hands. Divide the mixture between the two bananas.
7. Now heat 1 Tbsp Ghee in a pan and roast all three sides of the bananas till they turn slight brown. Do it on medium to low flame, else they can burn.
8. Done. Slice into three to four pieces and serve. Enjoy! ❤️
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Notes:
* If you have very soft or over ripe bananas, you can make this Quick Nendran Banana Halwa that I make regularly.
* This recipe requires the bananas to be ripe yet firm to hold.
* While frying the bananas, be careful while turning and see that you do so on medium to low flame, else the stuffing can burn as it has jaggery in it.
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Don’t the ladoos look pretty? I loved how this picture came out. 😍 Even though I have been making these ladoos since some time now, the cashew bits idea came while presenting them for the blog and they looked so cute that I felt so happy. ❤️
I have a Microwave Mango Coconut ladoos recipe on the blog which many of my readers have tried but the recipe is with condensed milk which they wanted to avoid and I got requests for alternatives. So, I started experimenting and substituted condensed milk with cashew paste. And it worked very well. 😍
The ladoos come out very soft yet melt in the mouth delicious. I still remember the first time that I made it, I shared it with my neighbor Trinita and she showered me with so many wonderful words saying it tasted really delicious. Happiness is sharing, everything tastes much more yummier once you have shared it with your loved ones! ❤️
Wish I could share with all of you too 😍
Similar is with my daughter. She can’t colour alone and needs me (only me, mind you! Mr daddy is invisible to her 😅😁) to colour along with her. I guess sharing the colouring page and pencils make it much more pleasurable an activity. So, we both colour together listening to our favorite songs. Her current favorite is “Mere Sohneya” from Kabir Singh movie. Listening with her, I too love the song now (super cute music and lyrics ❤️) which is coming very close to “Tujhe kitna chahne lage” which has been my most favorite from the movie. How kids change our song choices too! 😍
On the note, sharing this sweet recipe made from my favorite Mango. Hope you all try and love it. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { About 15 small ladoos }
2 Cups Freshly grated/ Desiccated Coconut
1 Cup thick Mango Pulp (fresh/canned)
1/2 Cup Cashews
1/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Jaggery powder
1 Tbsp Ghee
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
Step by step recipe:
1. Grind 1/2 Cup Cashews with 1/4 Cup Milk to a smooth paste.
2. In a pan, add 2 Cups desiccated Coconut, 1 Cup Mango pulp, 1/4 Cup Jaggery powder along with cashew paste.
3. Now mix everything well into an even mixture.
4. Keep this pan on medium flame and cook till moisture evaporates and the mixture turns dry. Takes about 10 mins depending on the moisture content of the mango pulp. Now add ghee.
5. Remove from pan and allow to cool. Add cardamom powder and mix well.
6. When it cools, using your palms form ladoos. It will be very soft and you can make ladoos easily. If the mixture sticks to the palm, apply ghee on your palms while making ladoos.
7. Repeat the same with the rest of the ladoos. Garnish with bits of cashews for it to look pretty. 😍
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Notes:
* If using freshly grated Coconut, dry roast in a pan first to remove the moisture and then mix in mango pulp, jaggery and cashew paste like in step 2. Do not brown the coconut though. Just light toasting will do.
* You can use both fresh or store bought mango pulp during off season. If using fresh pulp, do not grind using water. Just slice mangoes and grind the mixer without water for a thick pulp.
* During off season, I use Mother’s recipe brand of Alphonso mango pulp. It works really well for this recipe.
* You can skip jaggeryif the mangoes are very sweet. You can taste the mixture slightly and then add jaggery only if needed.
* You can use grated Jaggery in place of jaggery powder as anyhow it will melt when we cook it.
* For a Vegan version, you can skip milk and grind cashews with equal amount of water. Also you can skip ghee and use any neutral flavoured oil while greasing your palms while forming ladoos.
* Cook the mixture really well such that the moisture evaporates. Else it will be difficult to form ladoos is the mixture is sticky. But don’t cook a lot that mangoes lose flavour. It took me about 10 mins on medium flame in my cooktop.
* These ladoos are not like regular ladoos and very soft but tastes delicious.
* If you have difficulty forming ladoos even after applying ghee on your palms, then refrigerate the mixture for an hour or so. You can form ladoos easily after that.
* After a day, refrigerate the ladoos in a moisture free container.
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This picture of Amrakhand or Mango Shrikhand is making me drool now and I am so sad that it’s already finished off. 😅 Had made it as it is my brother’s birthday today and I wanted to post a sweet recipe on the blog dedicated to him. As my regular readers know, Mango is my most favorite fruit among all and making mango sweets are my favorite pastime during mango season. 😍
This dessert hardly takes any effort (just mixer jar washing 😂) but looks so beautiful (all credits to my fav Mango ❤️) and tastes so delicious that whenever I make it, the kids can’t get enough of it. They call it mango ice cream. 😍
Just received a picture of my brother cutting his birthday cake. He turned 25 years today and this picture amazed me as to how much he has grown from a little baby on my lap to a handsome man. ❤️
He works for IBM, Bangalore but is at home due to the work from home situation now. Grateful to God for that as I am relieved that my parents have company and also he’s much safer in Udupi. This picture also shows my home, Amma’s dream flat amidst nature near Shri Krishna temple, Udupi and makes me miss all of them so much. ❤️
Also sharing a collage of pictures of my journey with my brother from when he was a baby, born 6.5 years after me, to our childhood memories to growing up together. ❤️
Here’s wishing you a very happy birthday dear Madan. Loads of love and blessings on this special day as you turn 25. Dedicating this sweet to you. ❤️ The big heart is me, being your Akka and the small heart is you, my little brother.😍😍
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On this note, sharing the recipe with all of you. Hope you all will try this sweet recipe and I am sure you will love it. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
RECIPE:
Ingredients: { Makes about 3 Cups }
2 Cups Curd / Yogurt
1 Cup thick Mango pulp
1/4 Cup Jaggery (about 3 to 4 spoons)
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
Saffron strands and mango pieces to garnish (optional)
Step by step recipe:
1. Make Hung Curd from the regular curd. It is very easy to make and I have shared all the step by step pictures in this Jaggery Shrikhand post. You can check that.
2. Once hung curd is ready, keep all the other ingredients ready too. In this picture you can see, freshly made hung curd, mango pulp, jaggery powder and cardamom powder.
3. Now add all these ingredients in the mixer jar and blend till the mixture turns smooth and creamy.
4. You are done. Now pour into bowls, garnish with saffron and mango pieces. Serve chilled.
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Notes:
* This sweet tastes best with Alphonso mango pulp due to the natural sweetness of the mango.
* You can use fresh or canned mango pulp. When making the mango pulp at home, just blend the mangoes to a thick pulp without adding water. Else the Amrakhand turns watery.
* You can skip jaggery too if the mangoes are very sweet.
* The thicker the yogurt, the quicker you will get hung curd. I hung the curd in a bowl only for two hours and it came out to be a thick hung curd. That’s because the curd or yogurt that we get here is very thick.
* For making hung curd using regular curd, check my Jaggery Shrikhand post.
* You can also add dry fruits to it. I skipped as my kids like it only with mango pieces.
* I have added a lot of mango sweet recipes on the blog. You can check them here – Mango Recipes.
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So happy to be posting this super healthy, easy to make, heavenly tasting ladoo recipe on Hanuman Jayanthi today. The thread you can see above in my hand is from Shri Hanumantha temple in Moodbidri near Udupi. It’s been around 2 years that I got it as a prasad from the temple but I am happy that the thread has not deformed nor lost its beautiful colour. Grateful to God for that. This thread is a constant reminder to me that I have Hanumanji’s blessings always and it has removed fear completely from my mind. 🙏
My devotion to Hanumanji started when we shifted to Elamakkara, Kochi when I was in 9th std. Elamakkara is a place with so many temples located very close to each other. My dad used to go to each of these temples on weekends and I would accompany him too. In the Dattatreya Swamy temple, there is a Hanumanji gudi ( a smaller temple) where I started going quite often and I always felt so peaceful standing in front of that gudi while sharing both my happiness and sorrows with Hanumanji. 🙏
During college days, I also started wearing his pendant which had Shree Ram on one side and Hanumanji on the other. Found this picture from exactly 10 years back and sharing with all of you along with the pendant’s picture as it not clear from my photo.
This picture brought back so many memories of our house in Elamakkara. ❤️ Our mandir which you can see behind, the showcase with photos and soveigners, our old computer in which I used to do my college work, the wooden sofa with velvet seating and a glimpse of our kitchen where my grandmother and mother used to make so many dishes very lovingly for me. One photo, hundreds of memories. 😍😍
Talking about photos, my devotion to Hanumanji also was through collecting his pictures, his books, his keychains, in fact anything with Hanumanji in it. I have saved all of it even now and had brought them along with me to Qatar. Looking at them makes me so so happy. Sharing a glimpse with all of you.
My treasure. ❤️🙏
There is a story behind Hanuman chalisa book in my life. During my final college trip to Hyderabad, my Amma was very scared to let me go. But for my happiness, finally she agreed reluctantly. Alongside, she prayed to Hanumanji that if I come back safely, we would give Hanuman chalisa books to my Hindu classmates (I know it might sound childish but a mother’s love is something which only a mother can understand ❤️). And you know the most divine part?
On the way to Hyderabad in the bus, while my friends were dancing, me being a very bad dancer (😅), just sat looking outside the window and what do I see! Small Hanumanji temples in every few kms!! It made me feel so happy that I wanted to call Amma then and there to share my happiness. I saw so many idols of Hanumanji together that evening that I have not seen in my entire life. Such a blissful and unforgettable experience it was! 🙏 And yes, I did reach back safely and we distributed the Hanuman chalisa books to my classmates, much to their surprise. ❤️ My best friend Sunanda still has that book which made her a Hanumanji devotee too. 🙏
Sorry for so many nostalgic stories today but Hanumanji is so close to my life that I just went on writing. Thank you so much for reading. Here’s wishing all of you a very blessed Hanuman Jayanthi. 🙏
Hope you all try these delicious ladoos for your family. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️
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RECIPE:
Ingredients: { Makes 20 small ladoos }
1 Cup deseeded Dates (I used Khudri variety)
10 dried Apricots
3/4 Cup Mixed Nuts { I took 1/4 Cup each of Cashews, Almonds and Walnuts }
1/4 Cup Raisins
1/2 Cup Desiccated Coconut
Step by step recipe:
1. Soak dried apricots in hot water for about 10 mins. Also soak dates if using hard variety of dates.
2. Meanwhile, dry roast the Desiccated Coconut in a pan on medium flame till it starts changing colour and turns light brown. Immediately transfer to a bowl. (Don’t allow it to turn dark brown. Just a light colour change as shown below is sufficient.) Keep aside till use.
2. Add the nuts to a mixer or food processor. Also keep the apricots, dates and raisins ready.
3. Powder it coarsely, not grinding continually but pulsing in regular intervals. Took me about 5 pulses for 15 seconds each for it to get powdered coarsely. { If ground continually, it will turn into paste as nuts release oil when ground too much. }
4. Now add the drained apricots, dates and raisins.
5. Again pulse in the food processor till the mixture gets blended together to almost like a coarse paste. { Do not add water while grinding.}
6. Now add to a frying pan and heat it for two mins just till it becomes dry. Remove and keep aside.
7. Now add the mixture to the dry roasted coconut and mix well using a spatula.
8. Once mixture has cooled slightly, make ladoos by taking little portions and shaping between your palms. These ladoos can be easily shaped by anyone as the mixture is not dry.
9. Repeat the same with the mixture. Enjoy these guilt free healthy ladoos!
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Notes:
* Store them in an air tight container free from moisture and it will last well atleast for couple of days in room temperature. Refrigerate after that.
* Desiccated Coconut can be substituted with freshly grated coconut. Just that it will take a little while longer to get brown colour.
* If using hard variety of dates, soak it in hot water for about 10 mins or till it turns soft.
* If you don’t have dried apricots, substitute with 1/2 Cup more of Dates. So total 1 1/2 Cup Dates in the recipe.
* In the 3/4 Cup nuts, you can use any variety of nuts. I used a mix of Cashews, Almonds and Walnuts.
* You can use either golden or black raisins.
* If you don’t want to use coconut, just skip it like I do for my Dry fruit bites.
* If you don’t want to make them as ladoos, spread onto a plate and cut once it gets hard. I do that for my Dry fruit bites.
Healthy cooking with Mitha 