Rasgulla / Roshogulla

Rasgullas need no introduction. They are a sweet lover’s delight. Spongy balls of chenna soaked in sugar syrup are just what you need when you crave for something sweet and sinfully delicious at that !! The good news is that unlike most other sweets, there is not a drop of butter / oil in it so well... a tad bit more healthy than its vicious cousins ( Just thought of gulab jamuns…Yeah, yeah…my mind races fast when it comes to anything remotely sweet :) )

This was my first attempt at rasgullas and I had the guts to serve them to my Bengali friends ( Yeah… I do have bouts of unbelievable courage sometimes ). Heart racing and fingers crossed, I waited for their comments. They were all praises and found these rasgullas just perfect. My cheeks immediately turned a scarlet pink ( See…this is what happens when you are too overwhelmed to gracefully accept compliments with a smile and a thank you…I did neither  !! )

So here’s the recipe…Make some rasgullas today and get ready for those praises flowing in ( you know  what I mean :) )

Recipe credits : My friend, Ranjeeta

Ingredients :

Chenna from 1 1/2 litre milk
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups ( 300 gms )
Water - 4 cups
Cardamoms, crushed ( optional ) - 4 -5
You can also add kesar ( saffron ) or rose water to the sugar syrup as flavoring

Method :

1.  Keand the chenna into a smooth dough and pinch out small portions( See how to make chenna here ). Make small balls with smooth surface. Ensure that there are no cracks on the surface of the balls. Please bear in mind that the rasgullas will double in size on cooking so make smaller sized balls…a little smaller than small lemons .
2.  Boil water in a large wide mouthed pan and then add the sugar. Stir to dissolve all the sugar. Now add the crushed cardamoms to it.
3.  Add the small chenna balls into the boiling water and cover the lid. Do not add too many at a time since the rasgullas will expand , thereby crowding them a bit. Boil for about 10 - 15 minutes ( first 5 minutes on high flame and then lower the flame to medium ).
4. The rasgullas will increase in size and spring back when pressed. This is when you know they are done.
5. Remove from flame and cool completely and WAIT ( I know its tough !!! ) Chuck the rasgullas with the sugar syrup in the refrigerator for a few hours ( I would recommend waiting for about 8 - 10 hrs to get perfect sweet rasgullas ) so that the sugar syrup seeps into the rasgullas.  Serve chilled.

Katherine hepburn brownies

Hello readers…I haven’t been blogging much in the past few days…a lot happening around which is keeping me occupied but that doesn’t deter me from being on the lookout for some interesting recipes which I can cook/ bake and more importantly, blog about :)

One such browsing session brought me to this brownie recipe which by its name, sounded quite interesting !! I just had to bake these beauties and was waiting for the right time ( though there isn’t any right time to bite into chocolate…chocolate is for ANYTIME and EVERYTIME..I can imagine chocolate lovers smiling out there :) ) . Ok, so the right time came soon. Some friends planned a get - together and I decided to bake these for them. 

They are so dense and chocolate-y. I just couldn’t stop at one ( err…four actually ). You will not either..Don’t trust me ? Bake them and then see… You can thank me later…just kidding : )..Do check out my other brownie recipes as well…Mocha brownie and Cocoa brownie

Credits : Joy of baking
Makes - 16 brownies

Ingredients :
Unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped - 60 gms ( 2 ounces )
Unsalted butter, cut into pieces - 113 gms ( 1/2 cup )
Granulated white sugar - 200 gms ( 1 cup )
Eggs - 2 large
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
All purpose flour (maida) - 30 gms ( 1/4 cup )
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Chopped walnuts or pecans ( optional ) - 100 gms ( 1 cup )

Method :
1.  Get some things ready  - Preheat oven to 325º F or 165º C and place rack in the center of the oven.
Grease an 8 inch ( 20 cms ) square baking pan with butter and dust some flour or line with parchment paper ( I used a slightly bigger pan and hence the flat brownies ).
2.  Melt the chocolate and butter by placing it in a heat-proof bowl kept on a pot of simmering  water (double broiler method).
3. Remove from the flame and mix in the sugar.
4. Then stir in the vanilla extract and add the eggs one by one. Whisk well to incorporate after each addition.
5.  Finally, stir in the flour, salt and nuts , if using.
6.  Pour this batter into the pan and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

Linking this recipe to “Bake fest “ hosted by Palachinka flagged off by Vardhini of Cook’s joy

Cocoa brownies

Im back with another recipe of a sinfully delicious brownie. It has been a while since I baked anything with chocolate in it but was warding off this (EVIL ) thought ever since I dumped off yet another set of clothes since I couldn’t fit into them. Well, thats  another sad story….Sigh !!

Yesterday, we had a friend and her husband drop over to invite us home for dinner. How I beamed ear to ear at the thought…No, not of the feast that lay ahead but that I now have an opportunity to bake something as a gift when I visit them. Also, this would be such a guilt-free trip. I get to have that heady feeling on baking something and also I don’t necessarily have to eat it : )…Yes, I surprise myself quite often nowadays by being just happy baking and not wanting to lunge at my bakes…hope this continues till the discarded set of clothes reappear in my wardrobe…OK , I promise I am not going to talk about my sob story anymore.

So finally I decided to make some brownies since the friend and her husband are both lovers of brownies. I searched and searched for a good brownie recipe and found it here. What struck me about this recipe is that it is purely made out of cocoa powder…yes, no chocolate bar here !! I definitely wanted to try this since I had baked one using melted chocolate before ( Check out the Mocha brownies recipe )…So try I did and it baked wonderfully. I gave in to my temptation and bit into just a teeny weeny piece and I had to resist the urge to take another…So addictive they were !!

One note of caution…If you want neat pieces of brownies, please please please refrigerate for a while and then cut the chilled block . I didn’t and the pictures say it all !! So don’t be like me unless of course you don’t care how they look :)

The recipe ??  Here goes….I have given both the volume and weight measurements …but I personally prefer the weight measurement since they are more accurate.


Credits : Alice Merdich's recipe from FOOD52
Makes 16 large or 25 small brownies

Ingredients :

10 tbsp OR 1 1/4 sticks (140 gms ) of unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups ( 250 gms ) granulated sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp ( 87 gms ) of unsweetened cocoa powder ( natural or Dutch process )
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup ( 65 gms ) all purpose flour
2/3 cup ( 75 gms ) walnut or pecan pieces ( optional )

Method :

1.  Preheat the oven to 325º F or 165º C . Line the bottom and sides of 8 x 8 inch square pan ( I used a 9 x 4 inch loaf pan ) with parchment paper leaving a little to overhang on two opposite  sides ( makes it easier to lift the brownie when done ).
2.  Take the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a heat proof bowl. Place this bowl over a pot of simmering hot water and keep stirring while the butter melts. Once the butter has melted completely and you get a shiny dark mixture, turn off the flame and keep the mixture to cool until it is only warm.
3.  Now, add in the vanilla extract and the eggs , one at a time. Stir vigorously until well blended.
4.  Then stir in the flour and mix well so that no traces of the flour remain. Beat the batter vigorously for 40 strokes. The author mentions this so as to straighten the batter.
5.  Lastly stir in the nuts and spread the mixture evenly into the pan.
6.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs still sticking to the toothpick. It takes about 20 - 25 minutes ( depending upon your oven ).
7.  Remove and cool completely by placing on a wire rack. Refrigerate and then cut if you desire neatly cut pieces.
8.  Serve with a glass of milk or a dollop of vanilla ice-cream. Enjoyyy !!!

Linking this recipe to Shruti’s ‘Sweet Celebration’ Event 

Also sending this recipe to “ What’s with my cuppa “ event hosted by Avika flagged off by Nupur

and to “ Bake fest “ hosted by Marija of Palachinka and flagged off by Vardhini of Cook’s joy

Sweet coconut milk

Krishna Janmashtami brings fond memories from the past. One of them is this sweet coconut milk which was a part of our janmashtami celebrations. Team it up with Neer dosa or any other dosa/ idli/ steamed rice balls / string hoppers and you will know what bliss means !!

 This recipe requires no cooking ( happy ?? :) ) . Here goes the "no cook " sweet coconut milk recipe which is simple to make but is great on the palate. You are going to love this, trust me !!

Ingredients :

You can skip the jaggery and cardamom to make plain coconut milk used in preparing various delicacies. The method to be followed is the same.

Grated coconut - 1 cup
Scraped jaggery - 1/4 cup ( you can increase the quantity if you like it sweeter )
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp ( if using whole cardamoms, use 3-4 and grind along with the coconut )

Method :

1. Grind grated coconut to a fine paste by adding water ( approx. 3/4 cup or a little more if required ).
2.  Take a strainer and place a bowl beneath it . Pass the ground coconut through the strainer . Thick coconut milk ( 1st milk ) will get collected in the bowl.
3.  Do not discard the coconut remnants in the strainer. Grind them once again with water ( approx 3/4 cup ) and repeat step 2. This coconut milk ( 2nd milk ) will be thinner than the first. You can repeat the procedure of grinding and straining once again if you wish to.  Give a quick stir so that the thick and thin coconut milk gets mixed well.
4.  Add cardamom powder and scraped jaggery to the coconut milk and mix well. Continue stirring till all the jaggery gets dissolved. Serve immediately or refrigerate, if using later since it might go bad pretty soon because of uncooked coconut.
5.  Serve with neer dosa or any dosa / idli/ string hoppers

Sending this to "Walking through memory lane " hosted by Avika flagged off by Gayathri 

Nankhatai

I remember my aunts ( my mom's sisters ) making nankahatis when I was a child. My grandmother didn't own an oven so my aunts would just make the dough and off they would march to the friendly neighborhood bakery to bake them in their large ovens. These are my earliest memories of nankhatais. I have gobbled up a number of them ever since and fell in love with them. But I never summoned up the courage to bake them myself assuming that so much of culinary expertise would go into making these beauties. But I was wrong and well, I was happy about being wrong :) These are really simple to bake and gets done in no time. Nothing could stop me now !!! I went ahead to bake them and so wonderful they turned out to be.

Nankhatais, like most Indian dishes, can be made in a variety of ways. Here I have made nankhatais using maida only. It can be made various combinations of maida, sooji and besan.


Recipe source : Shab's cuisine
Gives : 18 - 20 Nankhatais.
Ingredients :

Plain flour - 1 cup
Ghee / Unsalted butter ( softened at room temperature ) - 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Almond, cashew or pistachios ( optional ) - for garnishing

Method :

1. Sift together plain flour, cardamom powder  and salt and keep aside.
2. Cream butter ( or ghee ) and sugar together until the butter turns pale.
3. Add the flour mixture to the butter - sugar mixture in three parts and mix well to form a smooth dough. The dough should just come together to form a ball. Resist the urge to add more flour if you can easily pinch off balls from the dough.
4. Preheat the oven to 180  degrees celcius and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
5. Make about 18-20 balls from the dough and place them on the baking tray. Take care to leave space between two balls since they tend to expand on baking. If you want flattened nankhatais, gently press the dough balls before baking. You can place almonds, cashews or pistachios in the center of each ball and press the nut.
6. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 15 minutes.  Check once at the end of 10 minutes because the surface of the nankhatais must not change color.

Notes :
1.  The surface of the nankhatais might appear soft at the end of baking but don't over bake them. They will harden once cooled.
2.   Bake only till the underside and the edges of the nankhatais turn (very) slightly brown.
3.  Traditional nankhatais have a flat bottom and dome shaped surface. Do not press the dough balls if you wish to have this shape. But if you want flattened cookies, press the dough balls gently and then bake.

Sending this recipe to "Whats with my cuppa 2 " hosted by Avika and Nupur's blog

and to “Bake fest “ hosted by Palachinka flagged off by Vardhini