(H)ap(p)y 4th B'day Apy Cooking! Celebrating with Churmundo (Wheat Flour Laddoos)

Long before I relished rasgullas and rasmalai, tasted tiramisu and tres leches, or polished off pies and puddings, the homely, humble and hearty burst-in-the-mouth churmundo, stood tall as one of my most favourite desserts in my early childhood. Memories of my granny, Amma and Pachi (aunt) sitting around a huge vessel and shaping these laddoos as I hovered around 'sampling' a couple here and a couple and a half there are still very vivid.  

Today being the 4th 'Bloggiversary' of Apy Cooking, I thought of making these simple, easy laddoos  just to walk down the memory lane a little bit, and sought help from my Pachi for the measures. There are a few variations to this laddoo - some people add besan (gram flour) and some prefer to throw in raisins and cashewnuts.  I have kept it simple with the usual four ingredients.

Ingredients :

2 cups wheat flour (chapati atta)

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp ghee

1 1/4 cup sugar

7 to 8 cardamom

Note: Reduce sugar if you don't like the laddoos very sweet.

Method:

Pour 1/2 cup ghee into a  heavy bottomed pan and place on low heat.  When the ghee turns slightly warm, add wheat flour little by little and keep mixing and roasting for about 10 to 15 minutes on low heat till you get a nice aroma and the flour appears to change in colour. Remove from heat and keep aside till it cools completely.

Meanwhile, grind sugar along with cardamom (skin removed) in a blender for about 15 seconds till you get a fine powder. Add this powdered mixture to the roasted flour. Mix really well. Add another 2 tbsp ghee and mix well (knead with your palm).  Grease your palms with a little ghee and taking about a fistful of mixture at a time, shape into lime-sized balls.

To shape the laddoos, press the mixture by tightening your fist and move it along the fist as you press it hard. As the laddoo gets it's shape, decrease the pressure, or else it can collapse in your palm. 

You can add a little more ghee to the mixture if the balls don't hold their shape. Just mix well again and rework the laddoos.

The recipe yields 20 to 22 laddoos.

Bhapa Doi

[Video Update on March 18, 2015:

]

Whenever I make Mishti Doi, I always make a mental note to try this dessert in the microwave or pressure cooker so that I could share the recipe with people without an oven. A friend recently asked me if this dish can be made in the microwave and I was trying hard to find some time to experiment. So imagine my surprise when I found a recipe for Bapa Doi in "Hawkin's All India Cookbook". The recipe was very similar to Mishti Doi except that milk was used instead of evaporated milk and the dish was steamed in the pressure cooker as opposed to baking in an oven. Just like I haven't tasted the authentic Mishti Doi, I haven't tried authentic Bapa Doi either, but for now, I will just go by this book.

I have made a couple of minor changes - the orginal recipe asks us to mix in some chopped nuts- almonds, pistachios and raisins, into the mixture before steaming. I did not add any nuts while steaming, but sprinkled a handful of chopped pistachios while serving. I also added some cardamom powder for an extra kick.

Ingredients:
1 cup curd, beaten
1 cup milk
1 tin (400g) sweetened condensed milk

Optional:
Chopped nuts (the recipe calls for 5 almonds, 10 pistachios and 5 raisins)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Method:
In a large bowl, beat together curd, condensed milk and milk. I used a handheld electric mixer. Beat for a few seconds till you see froth on top. Scrape the sides as you beat to make sure the ingredients have mixed well. Add nuts [I did not add] and mix well. Sprinkle cardamom powder (optional).
Pour into a 1 liter pudding mold or any vessel that goes in the cooker [ till 3/4th full]. Cover vessel tightly with grease-proof paper [I used aluminium foil].
Pour some water into the cooker. Place a grid or a perforated plate (plate with holes) into the cooker [this way the vessel will not tilt]. Place the vessel in the cooker. Close the cooker [do not put the whistle].
Turn the heat to medium-high or high and bring the cooker to full pressure, about 5 minutes. Reduce to medium low and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow the cooker to cool completely. Remove the vessel. Bring to room temperature. Refrigerate for atleast 3 hours, or until you serve. [Doesn't taste great at room temperature].

If you did not mix nuts while cooking, sprinkle chopped nuts on top.

If you wish to invert the dish, place a serving plate on top of the vessel and invert. Pat lightly and gently remove the vessel.

I personally found Mishti Doi sweeter and tastier whereas my husband liked Bapa Doi better. Either ways, the easier versions of both these Bengali desserts are a delight to make and are heavenly in taste!

Chocolate Balls / Cocoa Ladoos

Here's an easy-peasy chocolate ladoo recipe from Rekha Vishwanath Nayak, who posted it on a social networking site.

Ingredients:
50 g butter (I used 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tin (400g) milkmaid [or any other condensed milk]
3/4 cup powdered sugar (add more for more sweetness)
Dry fruits (optional, I did not add)

Method:
In a deep bottomed pan, melt butter on medium heat. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Cook for 5 to 7  minutes on medium flame. Keep stirring as you cook, specially the last couple of minutes.

Switch the gas off and allow to cool completely.
Shape into balls.

Note: If you cook the mixture too long it can get dry after cooling so if you are not able to roll them into balls, you can make burfis out of them.
If you cook the mixture for a shorter time, after cooling it may be too soft to roll into balls. Try and roll them into balls anyway and refrigerate them, they will harden in a few hours.

These ladoos taste better after they have set properly so it will be a good idea to make them a few hours or a day in advance.

Kaju Burfi

Happy Diwali!!

A tad late to wish you all, but this week's been very hectic. Sometimes I wonder whether I have too many things on my plate, other times I find life very exciting because of this and there are times when I want to do nothing but sleep!
Anyway here's a small treat to you all for Diwali. I found the recipe in Manjula's Kitchen and followed it to a T. Except that I powdered my cashews a little too coarse. Thing is, if you try to powder it too fine, it releases some oils and gets ground in it, which makes it lumpy (exactly what happened to my first batch). So grind it just for a few seconds. Mine turned out too coarse as is evident in the burfi.
I also added some ghee towards the end.

Ingredients :
2 cups cashewnuts
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 pinch saffron (optional)
Ghee 2 tsp

Method :

Powder cashewnuts. [Make sure your blender is dry. Also, powder them in small batches in the smallest chutney jar that you have.]
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and boil on medium high heat. Keep boiling for 15 minutes or so (keep stirring in between) till you get one-thread consistency of sugar. Add saffron strands and mix well.

[This was the first time I ever made a burfi which required one thread consistency. I waited too long and the mixture became too thick. As suggested by Manjula, I added some hot water].

Meanwhile dry roast cashew powder in a deep bottomed pan on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes. When the sugar solution reaches the desired consistency, just pour it on top of the cashew powder and mix well. If the mixture is too flowing, cook for a few minutes till it becomes dry.

Add ghee and mix well.

Keep a plate greased with ghee ready. Transfer this mixture onto it and spread it across. Since my mixture was too dry i put it on a cutting board and rolled it with a rolling pin. Keep pressing and rolling till you get the desired thickness.
Allow to cool for a few minutes. Cut into squares or diamonds.

Hoping you all are having a fun Diwali!

Easy Microwave Kalakand

Remember the incredible 3-ingredient dessert I posted sometime back? An easy version of Mishti Doi which is still one of my favourite desserts to make and eat, specially considering a prep time of under 5 minutes.
So here's one more. Just two major ingredients that come together in under 20 minutes to create a delicious sweet that unmistakably reminds you of your local sweet shop back in India. A couple more added ingredients for flavour and appeal and you are dun duna dun done.

I first came across this recipe on Sandeepa's blog when I was blog-hopping about 3 years back, and marvelled at how easy things could be, if you wanted them to. My husband loves Kalakand and he was the one who introduced it to me, soon after we got married. There was a sweet shop close to our place in Malleswaram, and whenever we would visit someone in B'lore we would drive a mile down the road, I would hop into this store and order a pound or two of Kalakand to go. So when I saw the recipe, trying it out sounded like fun. No kids or worries then, and I had nothing much to do anyway.

So I went to the nearest Safeway and got some ricotta cheese, without having any idea what it was. Turned out to be our very own paneer with a creamy consistency packaged in a cool container. Really?? And all this while I thought 'cottage cheese' was paneer. (Cottage cheese doesn't taste anything like paneer, btw). I guess you could substitute crumbled paneer if ricotta isn't available, but I haven't tried.

The experiment turned out fine and luckily for me, my microwave is on a table and not above the stove like you see in most kitchens here, so I did not have to stretch while stirring. If your microwave is on top, be careful while stirring or just use your oven-mitts to bring the vessel to the counter-top to mix it each time.

Recently a friend of mine, Keerthi, made this sweet using low-fat condensed milk and part-skim ricotta cheese (plus some milk powder) so if you want to feel less guilty, that works as well.

Ingredients:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
About 2 tbsp chopped almonds / pistachios

Method:
In a large bowl empty out the can of condensed milk. Add ricotta cheese little by little and mix well with a whisk.
Lightly grease a large microwave safe dish [preferably rectagular] with ghee. Pour the mixture into this.

Microwave (uncovered) as per below :

Microwave for 5 minutes. Stir well.
Microwave 5 more minutes. Stir well.
Microwave 2 more minutes. Stir well.
Microwave 2 more minutes. Stir well.
Microwave 1 more minute. Stir well.
Microwave 1 more minute. Stir well.
Microwave an additional 1 or 2 minutes, stirring after every minute.

[So totally, microwave for 17 to 18 minutes. The time may vary depending on your microwave and the type of container you use].

The reason you keep stirring in between is that the sides can get burnt  because of uneven heating in the microwave. Specially towards the end, stir every minute. The mixture should appear dry, but still have some moisture.

After removing from the microwave, sprinkle cardamom powder, mix well and spread the mixture across the dish. With the back of a spatula, press it down. Allow to cool for atleast half an hour. Cut into squares / rectangles/ diamonds [do not remove yet]. Leave aside for another 30 to 50 mts, till it sets well. Remove, transfer to a container and refrigerate.

Before serving, sprinkle chopped nuts on top. Tastes great without nuts  too!

Easy to make, easy to transport, a great solution if you have to return someone's container (exactly the reason why I made it this time) - with Diwali not too far away, this sweet deserves a shot, what say!?

This goes to bookmarked recipes.

Nankhatai / Narayan Katar / Eggless Cookies

My first memories of nankhatais are of the store-bought ones which used to be hard to bite into and that's how I thought nankhatais should be. Then my aunt started making them. Melt-in-the-mouth goodies with a subtle tinge of  golden brown on the otherwise off-white outsides which would assure you that they are baked just a minute longer - exactly the way I love them. During my last India trip my aunt packed some nankhatais for me to take to my in-laws' place. Guess who ended up eating most of them - ME!

My aunt gave me the recipe of these lovelies in grams for about 7 dozen of them! I did some rough conversions, scaled down the proportions and came up with the following cup measures. Luckily they came pretty close to how my aunt makes them but still need some tweaking.

Ingredients :

1 1/4 cup maida (all purpose flour)

3 tbsp besan (gram flour. If not available, replace with maida)

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup (packed) powdered sugar

6 to 7 tbsp (little less than 1/2 cup) fairly hot ghee

1/2 tsp cardamom  powder

Method :

Combine maida, besan and baking soda. Use a large sieve to sift them.

To the above, add powdered sugar and cardomom powder and mix well. Add ghee little by little and knead into a dough.  If it is difficult to knead, just push the dough to the side of the vessel, press with your palm and knead.

[The ghee should be hot but shouldn't burn your fingers. Do not pour ghee all at once. Add about a tablespoon at a time and knead into a dough. If the dough turns out too sticky you can refrigerate it for half an hour.]

Keep aside for about an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC)

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Make equal sized balls of the dough [ I used a table spoon measure to make the balls, that way you can make them equal sized].

Place on the parchment paper atleast 2 inches apart. Flatten a little [flatter ones have a better texture compared to round ones].

Bake for 19 to 20 minutes. Makes about 18 cookies.

Next time I meet Nandini Pachi, I'm going to get the exact cup measures of these beauties. Until then, enjoy these!

Almond / Badam Burfi

A couple of years ago, my aunt Lakshmi Akka brought us some delicious almond burfis which I totally loved. We had some cousins visiting last weekend and I thought of making these burfis for them. I immediately called up Lakshmi Akka who gave me a detailed explanation of making these burfis. They came out quite good and the cousins liked them too.

Ingredients.
1 (heaped) cup almond
1/2 cup milk
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup ghee

Method:
Soak almonds in hot water for 20 minutes. Drain water. Peel the almonds and discard the skin.
Grind almonds with milk into a thick, smooth paste (add more milk if required).
In a large deep bottomed pan, transfer the almond paste. Pour 1 tbsp ghee and mix well. Turn the heat to medium and keep stirring for a few minutes.

Add sugar and stir on medium heat for about 20 minutes. Scrape the sides as you mix. [If you cannot stand in front of the stove the entire time, just reduce the flame to low and stir every minute or so. But towards the end, make sure you are right there, mixing well, otherwise the bottom portion can get burnt]. The mixture will start thickening and will leave the sides of the pan. Don't remove from heat until the mixture stars resembling chapathi dough. Now add the rest of the ghee, switch the gas off and mix well.

Keep a large plate [I used a glass dish] greased with ghee ready. Transfer the mixture to the plate. With a spatula spread it across. You can smoothen it with the back of a glass. Immediately cut into squares. Allow to cool for a bit and transfer to an airtight container.

Note : Once the mixture starts resembling chapati dough, you have to work really fast. I stopped to take pictures and the mixture became drier than I'd have liked. Make sure you have a (liberally) greased plate ready. When you cut into squares, grease the knife with ghee to avoid the burfi from sticking to the knife.
If you feel the burfi is too soft, that means you may have removed the mixture from the pan too soon. Just stick them into the refrigerator and they will harden.

Check my post on 7 cup burfi.

Disappointing Cake Disaster to Yummy Cake Custard Pudding

A few months back, I was watching Private Chefs of Beverly Hills, a reality show on Food Network and Sasha, one of the chefs was attempting a huge Maryland cake with ten, you read right, TEN layers! I was curious to see whether the cake would hold it's shape till the very end. Sasha was not satisfied with the cake as she was layering it (it did look like a leaning tower) and decided to make a pudding out of it.

Something very similar happened to me once. Oh no, I did not attempt a ten layer cake and I wouldn't for the life of me think of it, because if I did, I would probably get a nervous breakdown. 

I invited a friend and her family over for dinner. It was her b'day the previous day so I wanted to bake a cake for her. After contemplating on what cake to make, I proclaimed to my husband that I would make a swiss roll with custard and jelly filling.

The swiss roll required baking a sheet cake and making some custard. Since I was busy with cooking a few other items for dinner, I thought of skipping the custard and applying just the store-bought jam on the cake and rolling it. So I made the sheet cake, spread jam over it and as I started rolling it, my dear beloved husband entered the kitchen and with a disappointed look on his face mumbled, 'No custard, only jam?' 

Now how could I say no to that face? My husband loves custard and I thought of quickly making some.

But ofcourse, it took a good 15 minutes to make the custard and another few minutes for it to cool down (even though it was dumped into the freezer for quick cooling). By the time I started applying jelly and custard, the cake had completely cooled down and hardened and there was no way I could roll it neatly. I went ahead and tried anyway, but the cake broke in several places as I was rolling it. And ofcourse, a shabbily rolled swiss roll is an absolute no-no, definitely not for a b'day girl!

There was just about half an hour left for our friends to arrive and I was wondering whether to agree to my husband's proposition of getting a store bought cake or to pull a Chef Sasha and convert the cake into a pudding. And me being me, the store bought cake idea was smacked down.

Ingredients:

Cake pieces / crumbled cake 

Custard powder (I used Brown and Polson) 

Milk 

Sugar

Jam/ jelly (optional)

Chopped nuts 

[The quantity depends on how many pieces of cake you use.]

Method:

Prepare custard according to package instructions - Measure 1/2 litre milk. Make a paste of 2 tbsp custard powder and 4 tbsp milk. Bring the remaining milk to a boil. Add 3 tbsp sugar and the custard paste and keep stirring till custard thickens. Remove from heat. Cool. [ I eyeballed the measurements, so my custard was a little runny].

Microwave jam for 30 to 40 seconds till it becomes easily spreadable. Cool.

Spread jam on the cake pieces and place in a glass bowl. Pour half the custard on top. Make another layer of cake and remaining custard. Sprinkle chopped nuts (I used walnuts). Refrigerate for two to three hours. 

Luckily our friends liked the pudding and the b'day girl didn't seem to mind pudding instead of cake. Whew :).

So if you bake a cake anytime and if it crumbles or doesn't come off the pan neatly and falls into pieces infront of your earnest eyes, do not worry. Just make some custard, or whip some cream and layer it with whatever you can think of -  jam, nuts, fruits - and convert the cake disaster into a yummy pudding :)!

Easy, Breezy White-Chocolate Chocolate Turnovers

Last weekend one of my closest friends from New Jersey came over and I wanted to treat her to a home-cooked meal. I was so busy preparing the main course that I had almost no time for dessert. My dear husband offered to pick something from the nearby store and I refused, because a dessert was taking shape in my head.

A couple of years back I had read about making chocolate turnovers with puff pastries. I always wanted to try it out. Luckily I had a pack of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets in my freezer and some chocolate chips in the pantry. So I went ahead and put them together.
This is a very easy dessert and if you like puff pastries and chocolates, you should definitely try it.


Ingredients :
1 sheet puff pastry
Chocolate/ chocolate chips
Butter or egg wash

[I used white chocolate chips (because I love them) and semi-sweet chocolate chips. You can use just the semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips or even chopped chocolate].

Method :
Thaw puff pastry according to package directions. [Usually room temperature for 40 minutes].
Preheat  the oven to 400º F. Lightly flour a clean countertop. Spread the sheet on it. Cut the sheet into 9 squares.

Place chocolate chips on each square. I put 2 heaped tsp of white chocolate chips and 1 heaped tsp of semi-sweet chocolate chips on each square. [Use atleast 1 heaped tbsp in total; if you can accommodate more, go for it!].  Fold the top carefully [for triangular turnovers, fold along the diagonal] and try to spread the chips as much as possible, so that the sides are not deprived of chocolaty chocolaty-ness (!)

Press the edges with a fork [press hard and pull lightly], making sure you seal them well, otherwise the chocolate will ooze out. I tried a couple of different shapes.

Line a cookie sheet (baking tray) with parchment paper. Place the turnovers 2 inch apart. Brush butter or egg wash generously on top.

Bake for 18 minutes, till the turnovers turn golden brown.

Looks like I missed a spot. See what I mean?

Melt some chocolate and drizzle on top. Serve immediately. 

If you refrigerate the turnovers, the  chocolate inside will harden. So microwave 15 to 20 seconds before serving. Also, I found the triangular shape the best, as the chocolate was evenly distributed.

 The white chocolate freak that I am, I loved this combination. And so did everyone else at home. Cheers to semi-homemade cooking!

7 Cup Burfi and Celebrating 50th Post!

Wishing you all a Happy Diwali!

I first had this burfi at an aunt's place a couple of years back and loved it. When she told me it's called 7-cup burfi, I thought it was made of a cup each of seven different ingredients. After that I forgot about it. When I came back home two months later, I was suddenly curious to know what the seven ingredients were. At that point of time, my aunt was fast asleep in India, so as usual I resorted to the internet for the answer. And that's when I realised that there were seven cups in total, and just 5 ingredients - besan (1 cup) , ghee (1 cup), milk (1 cup), coconut (1 cup) and sugar (3 cups).

The first time I made this, I used the exact same measures. It tasted great but I found it a tad too sweet for my liking. The next time, I reduced the sugar by 1/4th cup and added 1/4th cup of cashewnuts instead. And that's how I've been doing it since then.

Ingredients :
1 cup besan (gramflour, chickpea flour)
1 cup ghee
1 cup grated coconut
1 cup milk
2 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cashewnuts

[Note : If you are making a burfi for the first time, I suggest you reduce the portions and use a 1/4 cup measure - 1/4 cup besan, 1/4 cup ghee etc. Cooking time will reduce accordingly].

Method:
Blend the cashewnuts with coconut and milk for 10 to 15 seconds, to get a coarse runny mixture.

In a deep bottomed pan [I prefer non-stick], with the flame on low, heat ghee and add besan. With a manual whisk or a large spoon, mix well to get rid of any lumps. Add the blended coconut, cashewnut and milk and keep stirring. Pour in sugar. Increase the flame to medium and keep stirring.

 The mixture will start to thicken.

If you have to run around to attend to other chores and cannot be in front of the stove the whole time (just like me), just reduce the flame to low but make sure you stir the mixture atleast once every minute or else the bottom portion will get burnt. Otherwise, just continue to keep the flame on medium and stir every few seconds.

Keep stirring till the mixture thickens so much that when you move the spoon in the mixture, the mixture should move along with the spoon (but should still be pour-able). This can take anywhere between 30 to 50 minutes, depending on how low or high the flame is.

Sometime in between, grease a large plate [I used a 9X14 glass dish] with ghee. When the mixture attains the desired thickness, just pour it onto the plate.

With a spatula or spoon, spread the mixture evenly.

Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. With a butter knife greased with ghee, cut into desired shape [ I cut mine into squares]. Do not remove from the plate yet.

Once the mixture cools completely (this can take an hour or two) transfer into an airtight container and refrigerate. (If the burfi hasn't hardened by then, refrigerate it for a few hours so that it sets completely before serving).

And thus I celebrated my 50th post :)!

Easy Mishti Doi

I haven't tried the authentic Mishti Doi (a famous Bengali sweet) yet, so I don't know what it tastes like, but boy, this easier version just blows me away. It is super simple to make and completely and totally a joyful experience to consume. 

I first had this at a cousin's place. When I asked Aruna for the recipe, I was expecting a long list of ingredients and an even longer procedure, but when she told me it involves just 3 ingredients and a prep time of under 5 minutes, I couldn't believe my ears. She got this recipe from a friend and does not know the original source, but whoever he/ she is, they sure did me a great favour by coming up with this creamy, super-easy, finger-licking yummo that has made me quite popular among my friends!

Ingredients:

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz, 354ml)

1 can condensed milk (14 oz, 396 gm)

8 oz yogurt (I prefer 1 cup of fairly thick curd)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 300ºF.

In a fairly large bowl, pour all the ingredients and beat with an electric mixer till they get mixed well and froth forms on top.

Transfer to an oven safe square dish (I generally use a 9" round cake pan). Bake for 40 minutes. (You need not check with a fork - this does not bake completely like a cake).

Turn off the oven and leave the doi inside the oven for a few hours (overnight). Don't open the oven door during this time. You can lightly cover the doi with a foil.

Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving. 

I would suggest you do this at night, just before you call it a day, because the lonely doi inside the oven can be very very tempting!

Check my post on Bhapa Doi. It is very similar to Mishti Doi, except that milk is used instead of evaporared milk and the dish is steamed in a pressure cooker.

Shrikhand

We visited my husband's cousin Divya last month. After dinner, as we got talking, she told me about how her friend made Shrikhand using Greek yogurt. I had seen Greek yogurt being mentioned in lots of dishes, but had never tried my hand at it. So I was excited and jumped at the idea of making Shrikand with Greek yogurt. Both of us experimented a little and with prior kowledge of how Shrikhand tastes, came up with a pretty tasty dish!

Today being Krishnashtami, I thought of making it again. This time I used regular yogurt because I was curious to see how it turned out. The difference is, Greek Yogurt is already strained and thick so if you use it, you are saving yourself a great deal of time and cleaning! If you use regular yogurt you will have to hang it in a muslin cloth and leave it for a few hours till all the water (whey) drains out and you get thick yogurt called 'hung curd' or 'Chakka'.

Here's the recipe :

Ingredients :

2 cups (about 17.6oz  / 500 g) hung curd or Greek yogurt

3/4 cup sugar*

1/4 tsp saffron

1 tsp warm milk

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

1/4 cup crushed pistachios or almonds

Method :

Lightly crush saffron, dissolve in milk and keep aside. In a large bowl, mix yogurt thoroughly with sugar. If the curd is sour, you may need more sugar. If you are using Greek yogurt, start with 2/3 cup of sugar and adjust accordingly. Add saffron and milk. Sprinkle the cardamom powder. Add half the quantity of nuts and mix well.

Refrigerate for atleast one hour.

Garnish with remaining nuts and a few saffron strands.

My li'l muddu krishna enjoyed the Shrikhand! He was very curious to know what I was making. And when I gave him a small bowl of Shrikhand he gobbled it up and asked for more!

Sending this to 'Flavors of Gujrat'.

Apple Kheer (Microwaved)

My son loves fruits. Apple is among his favorites. When I came across this website, I was motivated to make Apple Kheer. However I had neither apple butter nor applesauce at home. So I referred to this website, combined the two recipes and came up with the following recipe. The result was not too bad. Also, I had just one apple at home. If you want a stronger apple flavor, you could try using 1 and 1/2, adjusting sugar accordingly.

Ingredients :

1 apple, grated.

2 cups milk

1/2 cup condensed milk

3 to 4 tbsp brown sugar (as per taste)

1 pinch cardamom powder

1 pinch nutmeg powder

A few strands of saffron

1 pinch salt

1 tsp ghee

2 tsps cashewnut pieces

Microwave the grated apple in a microwave safe bowl for 3 mts on high. Allow to cool. Take half the quantity and blend with  a few spoons of milk to form a paste.

Mix remaining milk, condensed milk and sugar and microwave on high for 5minutes (keep stirring). Add saffron strands, grated apple, apple paste and microwave for another 2 minutes.

Remove from microwave, add cardamom, nutmeg and salt and mix well.

In a small microwave safe bowl mix 1 tsp ghee with the cashewnuts and microwave for 1 minute. Pour on the kheer. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Sending this to MEC - Favorites hosted by PJ, started by Srivalli, to EFM- Sweets and Savories for Diwali, to Akila's Dish name starts with an A and to Microwave Easy Cooking - Potluck Party by Srivalli.