Besan Laddu

I am a proud Indian. I do not live in India now but that does not make me any lesser an Indian. It hurts me to see Indians fighting in the name of religion, state, caste and anything you can possibly think of. How better a country we would be once we start appreciating the uniqueness of the country. Where else can you find a country so diverse - just imagine the number of dance forms even within a state! The state of Kerala for example boasts of Mohiniyattam, Kathakalli, Ottam thullal, oppana, Thiruvathira, Marghamkali and many more to go. If this is the story of one state in India, summing up that of all states together will have dance forms that is beyond math I can do now! The festivals , the religions, languages, food, culture also follow the same swing. India is a country that defines the spirit of UNITY IN DIVERSITY! Let that not go waste due to the selfish intents of a handful who stand to gain. I am proud I belong to a country like this and our heritage is something that needs to be preserved and not washed away. If we do end up fighting amongst ourselves, we are just heralding another era of the British invaders divide and rule policy which can be of no good - zilch economic development coupled with brain drain!

Having said that, Diwali ( I am inclined to say - the most celebrated festival in India) is just a few days away. Being a Christian, I have no religious affiliation with this festival but I do take part in the celebrations since I am an Indian. There was a time in childhood were crackers were part of my household too during Diwali - well gone are those days!  You can't take cooking away from me though - so here is our Diwali recipe. 

I loved the tiny Besan laddu at the bakeries in India which comes in small boxes and easy to gulp down. I just tried making a replica of the same. I cannot say I got it exactly the same but I would say its somewhere close!

A Very Happy Diwali to you all!

Ingredients

1. Besan/ Gram Flour - 1 cup tightly packed
2. Ghee - 1/4 cup
3. Semolina/Rava - 4 tbsp
4. Powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
5. Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Method

• In a thick bottomed pan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee. Add the semolina and roast it until color begins to lightly change. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Keep aside 2 tbsp of ghee and pour in the rest into the same pan. Add the gram flour and roast until fragrant and the color begins to change to brown. Ensure that the flame is either on low or medium low else the flour tends to burn from the bottom or get roasted unevenly.
• Turn off the flame and add the roasted rava and once the mix is warm enough to handle with bare hands, add in the powdered sugar along with cardamom powder. Combine this mix well using your hands. In case you need more ghee, use the ghee set aside at this stage.
• Make balls out of this mix and set on a plate. Give it about half an hour to set well before gobbling it down:)

You may also note -

1. It takes about 20 minutes to roast the gram flour. A bit of patience goes a long way here:)

Quick Rava Laddu/ Semolina Laddu/ Rava Unda

Glass jar full of colorful sweets, cookies and biscuits are common in local grocery stores in India. Rava/Semolina laddu was a popular sweet that adorned one of these glass jar during my childhood days. I remember making this dish  several times at home with my mom and very often instead of rolling it up into balls we just leveled into a steel plate and cut it out as barfi. I always had a penchant for these laddus. It was recently that Famidha from My Life in Yanbu expressed her love for semolina and desire to even create a semolina recipes only blog! That is when I got all pumped up to make this laddu again. It is easy with minimal ingredients and done in under 15 minutes. 

So if you have guests popping in at short notice this is a recipe for you , after all semolina is an ingredient readily available in our household.

Ingredients

1. Roasted Rava/Semolina - 1 cup
2. Dessicated coconut -  1/2 cup
3. Sweet condensed milk - 1/2 cup
4. Warm milk - 3 tbsp
5. Ghee - 2 tbsp
6. Nuts/ raisins

Method

• Heat ghee in a deep bottomed pan. Add the rava and roast it for two minutes on low flame.
• Add the dessicated coconut and stir for another minute.
• Add the condensed milk, warm milk and mix this well. Turn off the flame.
• Grease your hands with ghee and while the mixture is still warm scoop out spoonfuls and make balls of equal size.
• Addition of nuts and raisins is purely your choice. In case, you want to add roast it along with the rava.

You may also note - 

• Can be stored in airtight container up to a week.

Coconut Barfee

That was a pretty huge break from blogging. After a wonderful trip to Cyprus - (details on a travellogue soon) and also a bout of sickness, I am back in the kitchen. Now that Diwali is right around the corner, why not a sweet dish?

Diwali is probably a festival that brings together the entire country. From lighting the lamps to bursting the crackers, everyone irrespective of age and religion join in. The energy can be felt in every lane in India and the hustle bustle in every household. The earliest memories of Diwali for me is the kids in our colony gathering for Diwali celebration at a neighbors house. We joyously lined the walls with candles and lit them, took part in the pooja, burst crackers and finally gobbled down really sumptuous food. This was a day, we the kids of Vidyanagar colony looked forward to. Crackers were not my favorite but I loved lighting the lamps and loved going on a drive to see the beautifully lit houses.

This is my first Diwali away from India and discussions in office are on what to do for Diwali? That is when I felt that this was the moment to try out some sweet dishes. Barfee is what came to my mind first. Coconut Barfee, I recall my mother making it often. No time wasted, I immediately asked for her recipe and here it is. The only change from her recipe is that I used rose water instead of water.

Ingredients

1. Coconut - 1 cup grated
2. Sugar -3/4 cup
3. Rose water - 1/4 cup
4. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Ghee - 2 tbsp
6. Cashewnuts

Method

Fry the cashew nut in ghee and keep aside.

In a pan, add water and sugar. Stir on low flame and add the grated coconut. When bubbles start forming on the edges add ghee, fried cashew nut and cardamom powder.Stir until the mixture starts separating from the pan.

Move this mixture to a greased pan. Set it using a spoon or fork and cut it into desired shape while still warm.Allow it to cool down and and serve making this Diwali special.