Taler Bora

Ingredients:


Tal sap from 5 kernels
Sugar  2 cups
maida  2 cups
Grated coconut 2 cups
Suji 2 cups
Bananas half dozen mashed
Oil for deep frying


Steps:


Separate kernels from the fruit (Remove top portion of fruit & tear out the fibrous portion , kernels will come out)
Pour some water on kernel , rub it on some sieve or grater to squash out juice which will be thick consistency.
To this now add all above ingredients. Mixture should be of dropping consistency.
Heat oil in a pan 
Take a small amount of mixture and drop in oil in form of ball. Similarly add more balls.
Fry till golden brown .
Serve.

Sohan Halwa

Ingredients:

1 cup Milk
1 kg Sugar
1 tsp Kesar
2 litre Water
500 gm Ghee
100 gm Pistachio
250 gm Almonds
50 gm Cardamom
 500 gm Cornflour


Steps:

Heat half of the water, add sugar and boil for 5 minutes.
 Add 1 cup milk and boil for 5 minutes. .
Dissolve the cornflour/maida in a little water. Add the remaining water and sugar syrup.
Dissolve 1 tsp kesar in warm water. Add to the cornflour mixture and cook over low flame.
When cornflour becomes thick , add 1 tbsp ghee. Continue adding Ghee slowly during cooking to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Stir it well.
As Ghee separates from the mixture. Add almonds, pistachio & cardamoms.
Grease a pan or tray with oil. Spread Halwa in it.
Garnish with almonds, pistachio and cardamoms. As it cools down, cut it into pieces and serve.

Calicut Halwa

Ingredients:

Sugar 2 cups
All purpose flour 1 cup
Water 1/2 -1 cup
Cardomem seeds crushed 1 tsp
oil 500 ml

Steps:

Mix the flour with 8 cups of water and leave it covered for a day. Remove the water from top and add new  again and leave it for one more day. Flour will start to ferment by this time. You may keep it refrigerated on the second day to prevent over fermentation.

Remove the water form top and filter out any lumpy portions from the flour paste.
Heat the oil  and keep it aside. Boil the sugar with 1/2 cup of water and add the flour paste and cardamom seeds.
Stir everything together and add the hot oil. Stir continuously on medium/high heat until the halwa separates from oil and starts to sticks together.
Continue stirring for two more minutes and transfer to a greased pan and add the coconut slices. Cool down and cut into desired size
.Oil will separate out and can be reused later. 

Banana Calicut Halwa

Ingredients:

Ripe Banana 1 1/2
Sugar - 2 and 1/2 cups
Water - 1/2 cup
 Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Ghee - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
 Cashews for garnish
All purpose flour - 3 tsp

Steps:
 
Pressure-cook the bananas until soft. Remove the outer skin .
Mash the bananas to a paste in a  blender.
Make syrup of sugar by dissolving in 1/2 cup of water. It should be of string consistency. When this consistency is reached add the lemon juice and again allow it to reach the same thick consistency. To this add the mashed bananas.
To thicken the halwa, at this stage add flour dissolved in 1/4 cup water. Keep on stirring the mix to attain a thick mass. Add ghee little by little. When this becomes a thick mass add the cardamom powder.
Mix well and pour into a pan greased with ghee. Decorate with cashews.
 Enjoy when cool.

Chocolate Burfi

Ingredients:

Rava or semolina - 1/2 cup.
Coco powder - 1/2 cup.
Sugar - 1/2 cup.
Butter - 1/4 cup.
Milk - 1 cup.
Cashew-nuts - 2 tbsp.

Steps:

Heat 1 tsp if butter n stir fry cashew-nuts till golden brown.
Add in add semolina n stir fry till golden brown n set aside.
In an other pan bring milk 2 boil and add semolina mixture.
Dissolve choco powder in milk and bring to boil.
Mix in semolina mixture, sugar. Add chopped nuts.
Now add in rest of the butter.
Pour it in a greased pan , let it cool and cut into pieces.
Garnish the burfies with chopped cashew-nuts

Sabudana Kheer

Ingredients:

1/4 cup small sized tapioca pearls/sabudana
3 cups whole milk
scant 1/2 cup sugar
a pinch of saffron
4-5 small green cardamoms seeds ground
5 tablespoons slivered almonds
chopped pistachio for garnish


Steps:

Crush the cardamom seeds and the saffron to a powder with a mortar and pestle.
Roast the nuts very lightly.

Wash the tapioca pearls; soak the pearls for about 5-8 minutes and drain them. Set it aside and let it sit for about 60 minutes. They will plump a little.

In a thick bottomed pot, bring the milk to a slow boil at low to medium heat. Keep stirring the milk to prevent it from sticking at the bottom of the pot and scorching. Add the ground cardamom and saffron to the milk.

Simmer the milk for about 15 minutes while constantly stirring. Add the toasted nuts and tapioca pearls to the pot and cook with the milk till they plump and softens. This should not take longer than 5 minutes. They will get bigger, swollen and kind of translucent. Press a pearl between your fingers; the center should be cooked too. Now add the sugar and the slivered almonds. Simmer, while stirring till the sugar is dissolved. Switch off the heat and cool.

Chill the pudding till ready to serve.
Garnish with nuts and serve chilled.

Moong Dal Halwa

Ingredients:

1 cup Dhuli Moong Daal (split yellow lentils without skin)
1 cup ghee
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 pods green cardamom split
1/2 tsp Saffron, soaked in a little milk
1/2 cup khoya
1/2 cup chopped mixed dried fruits

Method:

Wash the moong daal and soak it in plenty of water overnight
Grind the daal into a coarse paste without adding any water while grinding.
Prepare a sugar syrup of 1 thread consistency and add saffron strands and cardamom pods to the syrup. Cover and set aside.
Now, warm the ghee in a heavy-bottomed (can use non-stick) pan on a medium flame.
Add the moong daal paste to this ghee and stir to mix. Cook the moong daal, stirring frequently (almost continously) on a medium flame to avoid sticking at the bottom till it begins to turn golden brown and the aroma eludes.
Now add the khoya and mix well. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Finally add the sugar syrup and mix thoroughly. It gets softer after this.
Cook on a medium flame for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
Lastly add the dried fruits and switch it off.
Garnish with chopped nuts and serve.

Simnel Cake

Ingredients:

 Marzipan

175g butter

175g sugar

3 eggs beaten

175g plain flour

Pinch of salt

½ tsp ground mixed spice

350g raisins and currants

55g/2oz chopped mixed peel

½ lemon, grated

1-2 tbsp apricot jam

1 egg beaten for glazing

         Steps:

Roll out marzipan to make a circle 18cm in diameter and reserve the remainder for the cake topping.

Preheat oven to 140C/275F. Grease and line a 18cm cake tin.

Cream the butter and sugar together by beating or using food processor until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs until well incorporated and then sift in the flour, salt and mixed spice ( a little at a time. Finally, add the mixed dried fruit, peel and grated lemon zest and stir into the mixture.

Put half the mixture into a greased and lined 18cm cake tin. Smooth the top and cover with the circle of almond paste/marzipan. Add the rest of the cake mixture and smooth the top leaving a slight dip in the centre to allow for the cake to rise. Bake in the preheated oven for 1¾ hours. Test by inserting a knife in the middle - if it comes out clean, it is ready.

Once baked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool .

Brush the top of the cooled cake with the apricot jam.  Roll out a circle of marzipan to cover the top of the cake.make round smalls balls of remaining marzipan.

Place the circle on the jam glaze and set the balls round the edge. Brush the cake topping with a little beaten egg.

Preheat the grill to high. Place the cake onto a baking tray and grill for 1-2 minutes, or until the top of the marzipan begins to brown. 

Serve.

Marzipan

 Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups grounded sugar
3 cups finely ground almonds/ cashews
2 large egg whites1 tsp. vanilla extract or rose water essence (optional)

 Steps:

 In the bowl, combine the sugar with the finely ground almonds until well mixed.

 Add the egg whites slowly and vanilla extract  and process/beat until forming a stiff paste. On a clean work surface, knead.

Mould into desired shapes.

Apricot Orange Cookies

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour (aata): three-fourth cup

Butter: half cup

Powdered sugar: quarter cup

Baking powder: quarter tsp

Dried, chopped apricots: one-and-a-half tbsp

Chopped cashewnuts: one-and-a-half tbsp

Orange drink mix: 2 tsp

Cashewnuts (halved) for garnish: 8

Butter for greasing: half tsp

Steps:

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to get a soft dough. Pour into a piping bag .Pipe out one-and-a-half inch diameter cookies on a greased baking tray.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 160C for 20 to 25 minutes or till the cookies are golden brown.

Pineapple Jalebi

Ingredients:

Pineapple, thinly sliced: 12-15

Maida: 1 cup

Curd: 1/2 cup

Warm water: 3 tbsp

A few drops of yellow colour

Oil for frying

For the syrup

Sugar: 1 cup

Water: 2 cups

Pineapple essence: 1/2 tsp

Steps:

Mix maida and curd. Add water and yellow colour to make a batter of smooth flowing consistency.

Leave it to ferment for eight to 10 hours.

Mix the sugar and water, and boil.

Get a syrup of one-thread consistency. Add pineapple essence.

Dip the pineapples in the batter, and deep fry in oil. Immerse the fried jalebi in the syrup, and serve.

Fried Bananas with Ice cream

Ingredients:

Bananas: 3-4

Lemon juice: 1 tsp

Maida: 1/4 cup

Oil: 2 tsp

Milk: 1/2 cup

Sugar: 2 tbsp

Cinnamon, finely ground: 1/2 tsp

Honey: 2 tbsp

Oil for frying

For serving: Ice cream


Steps:

Peel and slice the bananas into thick pieces. Sprinkle sugar and lemon juice over it, and keep it aside for a few minutes.

Make a batter of maida and oil. Add milk to make it smooth.

Heat the oil.

Then dip the banana pieces in the batter, and deep fry in oil until crisp. Drain excess oil.

Sprinkle cinnamon powder and honey over the fried bananas.

Serve hot with ice cream.

Apple Kheer

Ingredients:

Milk: 6 cups

Sugar: 1/4 cup

Apple, finely grated 2 cups

Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp

Method

Boil milk on low flame. Add sugar and keep on boiling until it has a kheer-like consistency.
Allow it to cool.
Add the apple to the milk.
Boil it one more time. Mix well.
Sprinkle cardamom powder and serve.

Mixed Fruit Rabri

Ingredients:

Milk: 2 litres

Sugar: 8 tbsp

Mixed fruits (apple, banana, strawberry, pineapple, pomegranate): 2 cups

Cardamom powder: 1 tsp

Chopped pistachios to garnish

Steps:

Boil the milk in a heavy bottom pan. Add sugar and keep stirring on low flame until it reduces to one fourth its quantity.
Add cardamom powder and mix well.
Allow it to cool.

Add the fruits and mix well.
Serve chilled.