*Gajar ka Halwa(carrot pudding-indian mouth watering desert)

Now it is that time of the year when kids enjoys the treats and 'trick or treat' is a buzz word:) and you can see costumes and black and orange colour all over.Frankly I'm not a big fan of Halloween.But I have been busy decorating for Halloween today at office,,teamwork also means something and it is some fun time at work too.My husband has a potluck in his office ,so though of making some Halloween colour food for his potluck and 'gajar ka halwa' looked just perfect for it.This awesome desert is definitely makes one of the top rated deserts amongst Indians. So here comes the recipe......

Ingredients:

1.Shredded carrots(4 cups-use the manual shredder)
2.milk(3 cups)
3.sugar(1 cup or as per your taste)
4.Khoya(dry whole milk)
4.dry fruits(3/4 cup,I used cashew,pistachio,raisins,almonds)
5.Ghee/ clarified butter(3 tbsp)
6.cardamom powder (1/2 tsp)

preparation:

1.Pressure cook carrot and milk for 1 whistle.
2.In a non-stick pan, heat 2 tb sp ghee and fry the dry fruits till light brown make sure to add the raisin in the end so that tehy don't get burnt.
3 Then add the cooked carrot and milk mixture from the cooker to the pan and saute till the milk completely evaporates
4.Add khoya and cook for another 5 minutes in medium flame.
5.Add remaining 1 tb sp ghee and fold it in .
6.sprinkle the cardamom powder and turn the heat off.
You can serve it hot or cold.
I prefer chilled.
Tips: I pressure cook the carrot because it makes the cooking process faster and the mixture smoother.

*Zafrani Pulav...........

Here is another main dish that I made for diwali party--> Zafrani pulav.It is also known as saffron rice.Initially I thought of making plain rice but got some extra time and though of making this elegant looking aromatic saffron rice. It is festive delicacy of north India. Zafrani Pulav basically belongs to the Nawabi delicacies of India.

Ingredients:

2 cup Basmati Rice (long, grained,I used India gate basmati rice)
1 tsp biryani masala
1/2 tsp shahi zeera
4 tsp butter/ghee
15 Chopped Cashew nuts
10 Chopped almonds
20 raisins
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
3/4 cup yogurt
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 Chopped onion
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds ripe
1 pinch Saffron
1/4 cup milk for safron
1tsp salt/as per taste

Preparation:

1.Wash rice and soak in just enough water to cover it for half an hour. Drain excess water.
2.To get a wonderful saffron colour:warm up the saffron strands on a spoon on stove top for few seconds, then crush them and add to warm milk ,mix well.Keep it aside.
3.In a pan heat oil , add cumin,fry dry fruits(except the raisins )

4.Once the dry fruits are golden brown ,add onions ,sprinkle some salt and raisins ,saute for few min.

5.Add ginger garlic paste when it leaves good smell then add chopped coriander,mint leaves,yogurt and biryani masala,cook for 2 minutes.
6.Add water to the pan (for each cup of rice add 1.5 cup of water)and when water starts boiling add rice, mix once(don't mix rice often this way the rice will remain whole) and cook covered till the water is almost absorbed and small holes appear on top.Then slow down the flames.
7.Now it is time to add saffron milk mix and pomegranate seeds to add nice colour and aroma to the pulav.Also add little butter cubes on top.
8. Let it steam for another 5 min in low flame and keep it covered for next 5 minutes with the gas switched off.
serve with curries like paneer pasanda which I will post some other time.

*No Bake Mango Pie

Diwali is one festival very close to my heart.It reminds me of my childhood when our family used to sit together in kitchen and make sweets for guests who used to visit us and bring sweets and different savoury.So every year my moms staple for Diwali was gulab jamuns,gujia,home made mixture,suji laddu.More than anything I used to enjoy the Diwali eve,because of the family togetherness.When I go back in time they always seem so special.I really miss Diwali away from my family.Still Diwali keeps a special position in my heart and always will remain so.Well,they are now memories,,,,,sweet memories..
So here comes the new recipes and my first recipe for my blog-Mango pie.The fact that it doesn't have to be baked made it simple make ahead desert and you have time for other dishes on any party day.
This was my first experience of making this desert.I had this desert in one of the party at my friend Divya's place and liked it a lot and got the recipe almost 2 years now :) The reason for delay ,,well it called for sour cream and it is not a staple in my kitchen.So the purchase of sour cream took me two years.So on Diwali party I made this mango pie but was very doubtful if anyone will like it or not.So I didn't serve it on the table.But one friend was not having rasmalai,so i asked her with hesitation if she would like to try some mango pie.And then took it out of the freeze and sliced and it was over within minutes.The wives made sure their husbands had a peice and thats the reason why it was over.And it is worth a try,,,,the fact that it is mango there is a very little chance that you can go wrong with it.
Ingredients:
2 cups Mango puree(I used store bought)
2 sachet unflavoured gelatin(I used Knox gelatin)
1 cup hot water
1 pie crust(I used graham cracker crust-the stored bought,you can make your own by crushing
graham crackers and mixing with butter too)
200 gm of SOUR CREAM :)
2 tb sp cream cheese(I used Philadelphia brand)
3-4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 t sp strawberry flavour jello(optional red colour just gives it a spark )
3-4 tb sp hot water for strawberry jello

Preparation:
1.Mix 2 sachet of unflavoured gelatin in 1 cup of hot water.let it dissolve completely
2.In a blender pour mango pulp,sour cream,cream cheese,sugar,vanilla essence and blend well until the desired consistency is reached.
3. Fold in the mango mixture in gelatin water mixture and keep it in freeze.
4.After 30 minutes prepare the strawberry jello with 3-4 tb sp hot water.
5.Take the pie out of freeze and pour the strawberry jello water on top to make some design.
and keep it back in freeze it will take 4-6 hours to set completely.
So it is a good idea to make it a day ahead of the time you are planning to have it.