KALAKAND

• Ingredients

• 1 cup ricotta cheese 
• 1 cup condensed milk
• Chopped nuts for garnish (optional)

• 
  

Method

Grease a plate or baking tray with butter or ghee and keep ready
Place the ricotta cheese and condensed milk in a pan on medium heat. I recommend using a non-stick pan and a flexible silicon spatula for the job
Mix frequently as the mixture starts to simmer. The cheese will begin to harden and become crumbly
Keep mixing and cooking on medium-low heat and let the mixture bubble
The moisture will start leaving the kalakand mixture and the crumbly texture will increase
Keep mixing occasionally and make sure you scrape down the sides of the pan with the spatula to ensure no bits are burning on the edges
It took me about 14 mins to reach the right consistency. This will depend a lot on the moisture in your ricotta cheese and the temperature you are using to cook the kalakand
Once the texture is crumbly mostly and there's no extra moisture in the mix, remove from heat and transfer the mixture to the greased plate or tray
Flatten with the top of the spatula and let it cool completely

1. Cut into squares and serve
2. Refrigerate the remaining and serve within 2 days for maximum freshness
3. You can garnish with slivered almonds (like I did), or chopped nuts, etc

MILK BARFI

Ingredients

1 cup milk powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
saffron strands, dry fruits or nuts of your choice for garnishing (optional)

Method

Butter a tray or plate and set aside.
Heat butter in a non stick pan on low flame until melt.
Add milk and milk powder and mix thoroughly.
Now mix in the powdered sugar and keep stirring continuously.
Cook till it becomes a lump in the middle and butter starts leaving the sides of the mixture.
Transfer this mixture to the buttered tray or plate and flatten in with the back of a spoon.
Allow it to cool and set. Now cut into desired shape and garnish with the soaked saffron and nuts of your choice. 

Serve at room temperature.

RAVA LADOO

Ingredients

1 cup Rava

3/4 cup Sugar

10 pieces cashews (optional)

10-15 raisin

4 cardamom

1/4 cup ghee

2-3 tbsp milk

Method

Heat 1 tsp of ghee in a kadai and roast the rava in it until nice aroma comes out in a low flame. Keep stirring continuously, make sure the rava does not get burnt.

Cool down the rava and grind the rava to coarse powder, transfer it to a mixing bowl.

Grind the sugar and cardamoms together in the mixer to a fine powder and transfer it to the mixing bowl. 

Mix the rava and sugar powder really well.

Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai and roast the cashew nuts and raisins to golden brown color. Add the cashew nuts and raisins to the rava mixture.

Heat the rest of the ghee in the same kadai and add it to the rava mixture and mix them really well with a ladle.

It will start looking crumbly, add little milk and mix with your hand. When the mixture is still warm make small balls/ladoos.

If the mixture gets dried up sprinkle some more milk or warm ghee to it, mix well and make the ladoos. Arrange the ladoos in a plate and let it cool for some time.

Super delicious Rava Ladoos are ready for neivedhyam or just as a quick sweet.

Notes

Store the rava ladoos in airtight containers it stays fresh for 4 -5 days.
I personally prefer to grind rava to a coarse powder, so that it will not be very sticky when you eat and gentle to your throat. If you want you can make it to fine powder.
If you want to use less amount of ghee, then increase the amount of milk when making the ladoos.
For more shelf life of ladoos, do not add milk. Instead use warm ghee to make the ladoos, which will stay fresh for about 10 days.

WHEAT ELLA APPAM WITHOUT FILLING

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup wheat flour
2 ripe bananas mashed
1/2 cup jaggery grated
2 tbsp chaka varatti
water as needed
Banana leaf/Vazhanayila/wax paper

Method

In a large bowl add wheat flour, mashed bananas, jaggery and chaka varatti alongwith little water ,
Add water little by little till you get a chapati dough.
Then add little more water to make a dough like clay form but should not stick to hands for easy spreading.
Cut the banana leaf from midrib around 15-20 cm length and width.
Divide dough into small lemon sized balls.
Spread the balls into round shape on the banana leaves a sa think layer. Dip the fingers in water and spread if needed. Fold the banana leaf .
Heat water in a idli steamer and allow water to boil.
Spread the ela appam evenly over the steamer base plate.
Close the lid ad steam for 10-15 minutes till appam cooks properly.
If the appam cooks , you will be able to peel teh banana leaf form the appam easly from both the sides.

SWEET PONGAL

Ingredients

½ cup rice

⅓ to ½ cup moong dal

½ cup powdered or grated jaggery or palm sugar

⅛ tsp green cardamom powder

2 to 3 tbsp Ghee (you can reduce it to 1)

1 tbsp raisins

1 to 2 tbsp Cashews broken

few chopped coconut pieces sliced or chopped (optional)

Method

Add moong dal to a heavy bottom pan or pressure cooker and roast it till they turn fragrant.
Add rice to the same pan and wash them at least twice.
Pour 2 ¼ cups of water. Cook till soft either in the pressure cooker for 2 whistles or in the pot.
Pour ¼ cup water to grated jaggery. On a low flame stir and melt it. Keep this aside.
When the pressure from the cooker is down, remove the lid and mash the rice.
Filter jaggery syrup to the cooked rice dal.
Add green cardamom powder. Mix and cook on a medium flame till the jaggery syrup blends well with rice. It should begin to bubble up well. Off the stove.
Heat a pan with ghee, add coconut pieces and fry them till they turn aromatic. Add them to the rice. To the pan, add cashews and fry till golden, off the stove and add raisins. Mix this with the rice.

Notes

Before you add jaggery to the rice, make sure it is cooked thoroughly soft. Rice tends to harden if the rice is not mashed or the sakkarai pongal is overcooked.

OATS PONGAL

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Oats
400 ml  milk
3/4 cup Jaggery
1 tbsp Ghee
Few Almonds ,Cashews

Method:

Chop nuts into small pieces and fry them in ghee and keep it aside.
Take a tsp of ghee in a pan and fry oats for few minutes and keep it aside.
Take the milk in a thick bottomed vessel and allow it to boil in low flame until it boils.
Reduce the flame and add oats to milk. Now simmer the flame and allow the oats to cooked.
Once it cooks and thickens, add jaggery to it and mix well.
In a few minute entire jaggery will melt and blend with oats.
Finally add nuts to pongal and mix well.

CROISSANT

Ingredients

1 can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method 

Heat oven to 350F . Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Separate crescent roll dough into 8 triangles. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp chocolate chips on top of each triangle. If you think your triangle can hold more , add more. Press chips down lightly to get them to stick. Reserve remaining chocolate chips.
Roll up, starting from wide end and rolling to opposite point, Place into baking sheet and curve into croissant shape.
Bake 15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool for 5 minutes. serve warm. Try adding whipped cream on top. Leftovers keep well covered tightly at room temperature for 3 days.

QUINOA PAYASAM

I usually have cooked quinoa in my fridge. I saw this recipe and tried it. My kids don't eat quinoa but they really liked this payasam.

Ingredients

1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup Demera brwon sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp saffron strands
3 nos cardamom seeds (crushed)
2 tsp ghee
10 nos raisins

Method
Cook quinoa in the ratio 1 cup quinoa and 2 parts of water.
Now take 1/2 cup quinoa and add milk, brown sugar, saffron strands, crushed cardamom seeds. 
Cook everything until quinoa ,mixture turns thick.
Heat ghee and fry raisins.
Add this to quinoa payasam and enjoy hot or chilled.