Baked Mava Coconut Potli

     

Hope you all had a wonderful Diwali. I wanted to post this earlier, but got busy with other things and found no time to edit the pictures. Besides Diwali was a little different this year, we were unable to meet any friends or go to the temple. It was a hectic week for Manoj at work and I had a class that evening. Yesss....I have finally enrolled for the Wilton Cake Decorating Course (I've been soooo eager to go )!! I made Rava Laddoos to take along with me to class and everyone loved it. All the discussions that day were centered around Diwali, Indian food and our traditions. Everyone wanted to taste some Biryani and I've promised to make some for the last class. 

Well today is Halloween and Anushka will be a "Pink Leopard". I can't wait to take her for 'Trick or Treat' around the block. She is too young to understand any of it, but she sure will be excited seeing all the colorful candy!!

                             

Back to the recipe, I made these Mava Potli's on the morning of Diwali. It's adapted from a recipe from the Femina Book of Anytime Treats. The original recipe calls for steaming the potlis, but I baked them because I wanted them to be crisp on the outside. I used AP Flour, but I'm sure it will be great to substitute some of it with wheat flour. Make sure to roll the dough as thin as possible. They taste best when hot, just like samosas.

Baked Mava Coconut Potli

Ingredients:

For the shell:

250 gms all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

30 gms sugar

1 tbs ghee

For the filling:

150 gms mava (milk reduced to a granular consistency)

75 gms icing sugar

100 gms fresh coconut, grated fine

2 tbs cashew nuts, chopped fine

Method:

For the shell:

Mix all the ingredients for the shell. Add enough water to make a smooth dough. Knead well. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for about 30 mins.

For the filling:

Roast the coconut on medium flame till it dries out a little, do not brown it.

Add the ghee, mava and sugar to the pan. Keep stirring on low heat till the mixture comes together and leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped cashew nuts. Keep aside to cool.

Divide the dough and the filling into 16 portions. Roll into thin discs and keep a portion of the filling in the middle. Pull up the edges to form a dough and seal securely.

Bake at 350 F/ 180 C for about 20 - 25, turning once till browned.

Serve hot.

P.S.  I thought my potlis looked more like one-eyed monsters with their head blown out!! Perfect for Haloween too, don't you think :)

 -

Sending this to 

Only Sweets & Desserts guest hosted by Gayathri, event by Pari 
Anu's Diwali Event
Khushi's My Diwali My Way

Chocolate Ice Cream...In Memory of Jayasree

Earlier this month, a fellow blogger, Jayasree of Experiments in Kailas Kitchen, passed away suddenly. I did not know her personally, but having read about her in various blogs, it is obvious that she was a warm, loving and talented person who will be missed dearly. I really regret not knowing her. I hope her family and friends find the strength to deal with their loss. Rest in peace Jayasree, you will be loved always. 

Tribute to Jayasree is an effort to honor her memory, by cooking recipes from her blog. Jayasree has an amazing collection of traditional recipes and I had plans to make a rice dish when I saw this Ice cream recipe. I had all the required ingredients in my pantry and started immediately. I made the ice cream in the ice cream maker and ice cream was already set when I remembered the chocolate chips. The ice cream was chocolaty enough even without them.

Triple Chocolate Ice Cream

                           

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped chocolate

1 tbs cocoa powder

2 tsp corn flour

2 tbs chocolate chips

Method:

Melt the chopped chocolate in a microwave or in a double boiler. Add the cream and mix well. Keep aside.

Dissolve the cornflour in a little milk. Bring the remaining milk and then add the cornflour paste and cocoa powder. Mix well to remove lumps. Add the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved completely, remove from heat. Stir in the chocolate cream mixture and keep aside to cool. 

Freeze according to your ice cream makers instructions. To freeze without one, pour the mixture into a shallow dish and freeze till it begins to set. Brake the ice crystals with a fork, cover and freeze again. Repeat the process 2 more times. When leaving it for the final setting, stir in the chocolate chips and freeze till completely set.

Gajar/ Carrot Burfi

I'm sure everyone is busy preparing for Diwali. I soo miss India during this time. Cleaning our homes, making all kinds of sweets and distributing them to friends, getting all dressed up and the sound of fireworks throughout the day. This weekend was all about getting our home ready, putting up the lights and making some sweets.

Our Diwali celebrations began yesterday at our local library. The family story time session was focused on Diwali which included a short video showing the celebrations in India and a story that was narrated in Hindi. We were all given a sticker in the shape of a footprint, 'Goddess Lakshmi's footprint', and there were all kinds of stuff to decorate it. It was fun and another chance to dress up my doll :)

Manoj has been asking me to make gajar ka halwa for a while now. When I showed him how simple the recipe actually was he offered to make it himself. That's not an offer I receive very often, so of course I accepted. We just decided to make it into a Burfi so we could control the portions we ate, much better than having bowlfuls of halwa.

This recipe is almost the same as halwa, just added more milk and cooked it for a while longer to help it set.

Gajar/ Carrot Burfi
Ingredients:
2 tbs ghee
3 cups of grated carrot
3 cups whole milk
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup sugar, depending on taste
1/4 cup almonds, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
any nuts, raisins for garnish

Method:

Heat 1 tbs ghee in a heavy bottom or nonstick pan and saute the carrots till it changes color and looses some moisture. Add the milk and cook over medium heat, till the milk is completely absorbed.

Add the sugar and cook till the mixture is thick and comes together in the middle of the pan. Add the remaining ghee, cardamom powder and chopped almonds and mix well.

Remove from heat and spread onto a greased dish. Cut into pieces when cold and store in the refrigerator.

Sending this to
Only Sweets & Desserts guest hosted by Gayathri, event by Pari 
Denny and Krithi's Serve It - Festival Potluck
Anu's Diwali Event
Khushi's My Diwali My Way


  

Sweet Corn Soup

   

When planning my trip to India, I made several lists. Things to take, things to buy, places to visit and so on. One list was all about food, dishes I had to have, some homemade and some from my favorite restaurants. I was able to satisfy all of my cravings, except one. That was the Sweet Corn Chicken Soup from Mainland China. I just love the soup they serve there and the quantity, really satisfies you.

I'm not a big fan of soups, especially the kind in which you puree vegetables, reminds me of baby food and really puts me off. But I love the chinese soups served in Indian restaurants, Hot and Sour, Manchow Soup and Sweet Corn Soup. Very often I make a big pot of soup for dinner, with a lot of vegetables and chicken. A big bowl of that, and you wont need anything else.

Sweet Corn Soup

Ingredients:

15 oz can sweet corn, cream style

5 cups vegetable/ chicken stock

1 big carrot, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup green beans, chopped fine

2 stalks spring onions, whites and greens separated

1/2 tsp pepper powder or to taste

salt to taste

3 tbs cornflour, dissolved in some cold water

1 egg, beaten ( optional )

1 rottisserie chicken breast, cut into small cubes                      

Method:

Bring the vegetable/ chicken stock to a boil in a big vessel. Add the sweet corn, spring onion whites, carrot, beans, chicken (if using) salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the dissolved cornflour. Stir for about 30 seconds. Check the seasonings. I don't like to add too much pepper as I like my soup to taste slightly sweet. Beat the egg lightly with a fork, and add it to the soup in a slow drizzle, stirring constantly. Garnish with the spring onion greens and serve hot.