CHOCOLATE BARFI

 

CHOLATE BARFI

 

3 cups full cream milk powder

2 tablespoons melted ghee

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup chocolate chips (melt for 30 seconds in a microwave, or until melted)

 

combine ghee and milk together and  add the mixture to the milk powder. Mix till you get crumbs, cover and  keep this mixture a side for about 30 minutes. Sieve this mixture through chaini ( large sieve) this will give a grainy texture,  Set aside.

 

Sugar syrup

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Mix sugar and water in a souse pan. simmer until you  get 2 thread consistency .Add the powder mixture, mix well and turn the heat off. Pour the mixture in a greased tray, level using flat steel bowl set aside. Melt   the chocolate and pour the melted chocolate on prepared barfi  and spread evenly. Let it cool for about 2 hours and cup into equal size pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOMBAY HALWA

WITH LOVE AND BLESSING FROM THE JIKONI

 

 

My Nephew Alok is getting married soon and the Jaan takes off to sunny Mwanza where the wedding takes place.  There is so much excitement brewing in the jikoni as all the kids get together to discuss the upcoming wedding and their plans to see and do stuff when they reach Tanzania.

Its going to be a grand wedding with the finest hotels booked for the guests, the venue is delightful and with all the nieces and nephews attending, it will certainly be a noisy, jolly and fun affair.  As I am unable to attend this event, I am sending  love from the Jikoni. This love comes in the form of ice halwa and barfi. As the groom’s Fui (paternal aunt) I want to ensure that the Jaan should get a traditional send off from Charleston and no Gujarati tradition is complete without sweets or mithai.

As my brother Nilesh and Bhabhi Nayana get ready to see their youngest son wed and prepare for the band baja baraat, Manu and I send, along with the mithai, all our love and blessings to our darling Alok and the beautiful Hiral…. band baja wage aje Kotecha building ma or should I sing faiba vina kem chalse ho raj….

 

1 cup  white flour

1 cup milk

1 cup ghee

3 cups sugar

few strands of saffron

1 teaspoon cardamom crushed

handful almond slivers

 

In a heavy bottomed pan, mix flour, milk, ghee , sugar and saffron.  Stir well until well combined. Turn the heat on and cook on high heat until it starts to boil stirring continuously. Turn the heat on medium  and keep  stirring for about 20 minutes .It will get thicker and will start living the sides of the pot and forms like a soft dough.  Pour the mixture on the parchment paper  and spread little with spatula .cover with another piece of parchment paper. Start rolling immediately .Once almost rolled out remove the top paper and   sprinkle  crushed cardamom and almond slivers. cover with parchment paper and roll again.  Remove the top paper , cut in to squares  Let it dry for about 8 to 10 hours and flip them upside down for about 8 hours or completely dried. Put the parchment paper between each slice and store in an air tight container. Enjoy  Bombay halwa

 

       

 

RINGNA NO ORO

RINGNA NO ORO

 

1 eggplants

1 tomato diced

1 cup chopped spring onions

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

handful finely chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons oil

  

 

 

Prick the eggplant with a knife and apply oil all ever the eggplant. Bake in the pre heated oven for about 30 minutes or until done. Remove the skin and mash completely. Heat the oil  in a saucepan, add diced tomatoes and sauté until cooked. add spring onions, sauté for a minute, add mashed eggplant  mix all together and add  salt, chili powder, turmeric powder and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on a low heat or until oil ooze out from the sides. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

 

PAAN SHOTS

 

PAAN SHOTS

No meal is complete without the perfect beverage. This spicy paan shots has just the right balance of minty, rosy, creamy flavors that sure to tingle your taste buds.

 

 

2 betel leaves

1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon paan masala

1 teaspoon gulkand

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

I/4 cup ice cubes

Place all the above  ingredients in the food processor and  grind into a smooth paste. Pour into glasses and serve chilled.

 

 

NAVRATNA MAGAZ

NAVRATNA MAGAZ

Now here is one of my successful experiments, a recipe I am delighted to share with you all.  I love the Gujarati sweet called Magaz, it’s an easy to make sweet without elaborate sugar syrups and the need to check the thread consistency.   Magaz, is made in most Indian households and has different names such as “besan ka ladoo”. Made with chickpea flour (besan), ghee and sugar this mixture can then be garnished with a multitude of items such as nuts, saffron, cardamom, nutmeg, pistachios.  The mixture can set in trays and cut into cubes or it can be rolled into ladoos or even shaped with cookie cutters and moulds.

The Maharaja Magaz is my twist on the above.  I wanted to elevate this simple mithai to a platform where it transforms into something utterly delectable and divine. Filled with the fragrance of roses, nuts and spices the Magaz looks deceptively like an ordinary besan ladoo from the outside.  It is only when you bite into it that the treasure is revealed so sit back and wait for the gasps of delight from your family and friends. I deliberately keep it plain and simple looking from the outside so that we can appreciate the beauty that lies within.  Maharaja Magaz has been a super hit in our home and with our friends. It’s a mithai worthy of a grand feast and will take its place right at the top at any event.  Do try making it and let me know how you get on.

 

FILLING

 

2 tablespoons golden raisins

1 tablespoon gulkand

1 tablespoon’s cashew nuts

2 tablespoons almonds

1 tablespoon pistachio’s

few strands of saffron

1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

1 teaspoon confectioner sugar

 

Place the roasted nuts, raisins and  gulkand,  in the food processor. Pulse until finely minced. Add sugar ,saffron and cardamom powder mix well. Roll in to small marble size rounds and set on the side.

 

 

NAVRATNA MAGAZ

1 cup gram flour

1/2 cup ghee

2 tablespoons milk

few strands saffron

1/2 cup confectioner sugar

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

1 tablespoon khuskhus ( for garnishing)

 

In a wide skillet warm the ghee and add gram flour. sauté on medium heat until pink in color. sprinkle milk and mix well.Turn the heat off and let the mixture get completely cold. Add the sugar, saffron and cardamom powder mix well. Divide the mixture in to 12 portions, roll into ball and flatten with your palms. Place the mixture  in the center and bring the edges together . form small ball and sprinkle khus khus. Enjoy Navratna magaz !!