*Jalebi(deep fried spiral shaped desert deeped in syrup )

Jalebis are one of festive sweets in India.In northern part of India it is served in breakfast also, but rest of India it is a desert.My husband loves this a lot,Today while talking with my in-laws,,jalebi topic came so i though of posting this recipe.It is easy but little tricky.Traditionally they ferment the dough over-night,but here I use yeast for doing the same thing but save some time.It can se served hot or cold.
Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:

Batter:

1. 1/2 cup All Purpose flour
2. 1 tsp besan (gram flour)
   
3. 1/2 tsp yeast
   
4. 1/2 tsp oil
   
5. 1/2 tsp sugar
   
6. About 1/3 cup of lukewarm water (as needed)

Syrup:

1. 1 cup sugar
2. 1/2 cup water
3. Pinch of cardamom powder
4. Few strands of saffron(optional)
5. 1 teaspoon of lemon juice(to control the cristalization)

Oil for frying
Squeeze bottle

Prparation:

batter:

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in luke warm water and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
2. Mix the al purpose flour,gram flour(besan),oil.
3. Pour the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and make a smooth paste.
4. Let the batter sit for 1 hour.Don't let it over ferment.

Syrup:

1. Boil the water and sugar together 10 minutes.
   
2. Add cadamom and safron to the water and switch off the flame.

Jalebi making procedure:

1. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.Test the oil putting a drop of batter.if it floats immediately then the oil is ready for fryingJalebis.
2. Pour the batter in a squeeze bottle as shown in the picture.You can replace the zip lock with a hole in it.But I always use the squeeze bottle.
   
   
3. When oil is ready squeeze the batter on hot oil making a spiral shape of 2-3 inch diameter.
4. When the Jalebis are brown on both sides then take it out of oil and deep in syrup for few seconds and serve hot.

Tips: If you like crispy jalebis then add 1 tbsp rice flour to the batter

*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.

*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.