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.

Kashi Halwa/Ash Gourd Halwa/Kushmanda Halwa/ Winter Melon Halwa

Days are passing by too fast! 

Well, that is an understatement YEARS are passing by - I remember last Diwali was just a few months ago and one fine day I wake up to realise that the next one is here already!

I refrain generally from commenting on religious sentiments however today I recounted an instance couple of years ago which made me think. It was the last day of work before the Diwali holidays and in one of the calls to a non - Hindu colleague I wished him Happy Diwali. (In India, you wish everyone greetings of every festival. We are country of many religions, cultures and traditions yet there is a unity in the way of our festivities.) His next comment took me aback - do you celebrate Diwali - are you not a Christian?  I only expected a Happy Diwali in return and now I am supposed to respond to his question! I kept it simple - I told him I am an Indian. It did not stop there - he went on to explain why as a Christian I should not celebrate Diwali! I could take no more of it - I explained to him what Diwali meant to me and why I would enjoy celebrating it and my religion has got nothing to do with it. That was the end of it and I made sure to never strike up a conversation as similar with him.

Diwali for me may not be of religious significance but more of ideological, familial and aesthetical! Diwali I was taught at school symbolises the victory of light over darkness or good over evil. I completely believe in that ideology and I love the lamps and lights lit up that dispel the darkness not just around but within us to give way for the light.  Like any other festivity, it brings together families and friends who forget their worries and come together to celebrate. Aesthetically, do I even need to comment - the cleaned and decorated houses, lights, rangoli and plate loads of goodies!! I love the Diwali season - back at home we go out on drives to see the beautifully lit houses and even in Dubai last year we went for a walk and saw quite a bit of decoration and fireworks. That makes my heart joyful and that is Diwali for me.

Over to my recipe - Kashi Halwa/Ash Gourd Halwa/Kushmanda Halwa which I thought was a Mangalore/ Udupi favorite cuisine but internet proved me wrong it is equally popular in Tamil Nadu as well.

Ingredients

(Serves - 2)

1. Ash gourd - 2 cups ( peeled, de-seeded and grated)
2. Sugar - 1 cup
3. Ghee - 2 tbsp
4. Turmeric - 2 pinches
5. Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
6. Cashewnuts - 6 to 7
7. Raisins - 6 to 7

Method

Measure 2 cups of the grated ash gourd. You may need approximately 750 gms of ashgourd for this.

Transfer this to a hard bottomed pan and cook till the water evaporates. 

At this stage add the sugar, combine it well and stir until the raw smell of the ash gourd vanishes and the mixture begins to thicken and hold together.

Meanwhile heat ghee in a separate pan and fry the cashews and raisins. Pour this into the halwa mix.

Add cardamom powder and turmeric powder. Stir well until the halwa thickens and leaves the edges as you stir. Switch off the flame when it reaches the consistency. 

You may also note -

• Kashi Halwa is not cooked till very dry. It is generally moist - so ensure you switch off the flame at the right time.
• Turmeric powder is added for color, this can be replaced with saffron.