MAKHANA RASMALAI/ मखाना रसमलाई

 Roasting the fox nuts (makhana) until they are completely crunchy allows them to beautifully absorb the aromatic, saffron-infused milk while retaining a delightful texture. I've gathered some popular recipes from the web, or you can follow the creamy and festive recipe below. 

  Makhana Rasmalai, is a Creamy, milk-based dessert that combines golden roasted fox nuts with lots of whole milk. Many dry fruits and saffron infused milk give it a decadent taste and rich flavor. Many people consider it Vrat food. Makhana or Foxnuts are excellent potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc sources. They are a superfood, hence great for snacking. Sweet or savory, in any form, they are just delicious.

So enjoy and try the recipe and share your feedback . It’s perfect for festive season and comes together in just 10 minutes. Chill it before serving and enjoy your Makhana Rasmalai.

📌Watch the full video recipe here📌

INGREDIENTS -

1/2 cup Makhana

1 tbsp Cashews

1 tbsp Pistachios 

Saffron – a pinch, soaked in 1 tbsp warm milk

2 cup Milk 

3-4  tbsp Sugar

1 tbsp Extra pistachio, cashewnuts, sliced

Dry rose petals – for garnish

METHOD -

STEP 1 - Heat a pan, add ghee followed by makhana. 

STEP 2 -    Roast makhana on low flame until crisp, stirring continuously to prevent burning.

 STEP 3 - Remove and transfer on a plate and keep aside.

STEP 4 -  Heat milk in a pan on low heat.

STEP 5 - Let it boil for 8-10 minutes until it thickens little bit.

STEP 6 - Add sugar and mix well.

STEP 7 - Add saffron infused milk and chopped nuts and cook for 2-3 minutes.

STEP 8 - Transfer to a serving bowl and let it come to room temperature.

STEP 9 - Add the roasted makhana to the prepared rasmalai mixture and mix well.

STEP 10 - Add sliced cashewnuts and pistachio and garnish with dry rose petals.

STEP 11 - Refrigerate for 2–3 hours for best taste. Makhana Rasmalai is ready  to serve. 

Garnish and serve chilled.

EGGLESS IYENGAR STYLE RAVA CAKE / SEMOLINA CAKE / सुजी केक

 Eggless Rava cake recipe – Semolina cake – Iyengar Bakery style Sooji cake recipe – Soft, moist, and spongy rava cake recipe with full video and step-by-step pictures. Rava in Marathi also known as sooji, सुजी are Hindi words for semolina. Hence this cake is also known as sooji cake or suji cake! 

This eggless rava cake is an incredibly easy cake recipe for beginners. It is sweet, dense, and moist. It can also be enjoyed as a quick snack.

Rava cake is a pretty popular Indian cake and is really easy to make at home. It does not require any special equipment or expertise, which makes it a perfect beginner’s cake. You can hardly mess up this cake, it is so forgiving!

What is Rava/ सूजी / Semolina?

Semolina is a product of durum wheat. It is made by grinding husked durum wheat grains. Since it is derived from wheat, rava is not gluten-free. The use of rava is quite popular in Indian cuisine, from savory to dessert recipes.

Rava cake is a simple cake made primarily with rava and other basic ingredients that go into making a cake, and hence the name!

It’s been ages since I baked a cake in my kitchen. Off late I use my oven for making Roasted veggies only. This Iyengar bakery Rava cake was on my to-do list for a very long time. A few days back when I had all the ingredients handy at home, I decided to make this cake.

This eggless rava cake is an incredibly easy cake recipe for beginners. It is sweet, dense, and moist. It can also be enjoyed as a quick snack. Rava cake is a pretty popular Indian cake and is really easy to make at home. It does not require any special equipment or expertise, which makes it a perfect beginner’s cake. You can actually see each and every semolina particle perfectly fluffed up in the baked cake! You can hardly mess up this cake, it is so forgiving!

I love the rava cake from Iyengar bakery. In fact, they have such an awesome array of tea-time cakes that are really simple yet so good. Just like the kinds I love!But honestly, you don’t need to visit the bakery to enjoy this cake, especially if you live out of India! You can easily make this cake at home and enjoy it as much as you’d from the bakery!

If you are a beginner in baking, you should start off with this easy semolina cake. It is one of the simplest cake recipes ever!

Enjoy Iyengar bakery style rava cake | eggless semolina cake | suji cake | with detailed step by step photos.

            Watch the video recipe -->>

INGREDIENTS :

1 Cup fine Rava (suji/ रवा / सुजी )

1 Cup All Purpose Flour / Maida ( मैदा )

3/4 Cup Sugar 

1/2 Cup Oil

1-1/2 Cup Milk at room temperature 

1/2 Cup Milk Powder ( optional, for creaminess and mawa like texture )

1/2 tsp Baking Powder 

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Pinch of Salt 

2-3 Green Cardamom 

METHOD : 

STEP 1 - Prepare a 8" * 8" cake with butter paper. Preheat the oven @180° c for 10 minutes.

STEP 2 - In mixer pot, add rava, sugar, and cardamom and blend until you get a fine powder.

STEP 3 - Sieve all the dry ingredients ( suji, maida, baking powder, baking soda,salt  )with a strainer.

STEP 4 - Add in milk powder ( for that rich bakery mawa feel ) and mix well.

STEP 5 - Then add oil and milk in small batches and whisk it very gently.

STEP 6 - Whisk until all the ingredients are well combined and you get a lump free batter. (Do not overmix the batter.)

STEP 7 - Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles.

STEP 8 - Bake on the middle rack, for about 25 –30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

STEP 9 - Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 15 to 20 minutes.

STEP 10 - Then remove from the pan and cool on the rack completely for about 50 minutes to 1 hour 

 before cutting into neat bakery-style slices.. 

STEP 11 - Cut into desired pieces and serve.

Enjoy the cake as a snack or with a hot cup of masala chai.

MASALA JEERA ALOO

Masala Jeera Aloo is one of the most popular, delicious, and flavourful North Indian side dishes made with potatoes, cumin seeds, and spices. Gets done in 30 minutes. The name of this dish is Jeera Aloo  where ‘Jeera’ is the Hindi name for cumin seeds and ‘Aloo’ is the name for potatoes. Aloo Jeera or Cumin Potatoes are one of the most popular and easiest Indian side dishes. It makes a healthy, comforting, nutritious, and filling lunch or dinner when paired with some plain roti, dal, and jeera rice. With this jeera aloo, you get an overall taste profile of spicy and tangy flavors which are warming and comforting.

📌📌Watch the full video recipe here 📌📌

INGREDIENTS -

4-5 Par- boiled Potatoes

2 tablespoon Oil

1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds 

1/2 teaspoon Asafoetida 

2-3 Dry Red Chillies

Curry Leaves 

2-3 slit Green Chillies 

1 teaspoon grated Ginger/  paste

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder 

1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder 

1 teaspoon Coriander Powder 

1 teaspoon Cumin Powder 

1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder 

1 teaspoon Kasoori Methi 

Salt to taste

Fresh chopped Coriander leaves 

1/2 Lemon juice

METHOD -

STEP 1 - Add enough water to a pressure cooker/ pot, and then put whole potatoes in it. Pressure Cook / Boil them covered over medium heat until they are soft and cooked through. To check doneness, prick the boiled potatoes with a fork or insert a knife. If it slides gently, then they are done. Let them cool completely, and then peel the potatoes.

STEP 2 - Cut boiled potatoes into cubes. Keep them aside. Also, grate/ make paste of ginger, chop green chilies, coriander. Set them aside.

STEP 3 - Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. After that, turn the heat to medium-low and then add cumin seeds and asafoetida. Saute them for a few seconds until they splutter and turn fragrant. 

STEP 4 - Now, dry red chillies, curry leaves and green chilies to the pan.   Fry chopped green chilies for about 1 minute, or until they are cooked and don't smell raw.

STEP 5 -  Now add ginger and par- boiled, peeled and cubed potatoes and gently mix it.

STEP 6 - Now add turmeric powder,  other spice powders, salt and kasuri methi ,stir everything well. 

STEP 6 -  Toss everything well so that the potatoes are well coated with the spices.

STEP 7 - Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Make sure not to overcook .

STEP 8 - Keep stirring often to prevent the potatoes from uneven cooking and sticking to the pan.

STEP 9 - Next, add chopped coriander and lemon juice/ amchur powder and toss well to combine. Amchur powder adds a nice tangy flavor to this spicy dish. 

STEP 10 - Turn off the heat, transfer jeera aloo to a serving dish.

Serve piping hot jeera aloo with paratha, puri, plain roti or as a side dish to simple Dal Chawal.

NOTES : * Instead of boiling, you can also fry the potatoes in oil, or grill them in the oven.

* Green chilies add some heat to this dish, so if you don't like green chilies or making this for kids, then omit the green chilies or reduce the amount.

* I have used freshly squeezed lemon juice for tangy flavours in this recipe. If you don’t have lemon, then you can add about 2 teaspoons (or to taste) of aamchur powder.

* Do not over boil potatoes, you just need to cook the potatoes until they are soft and tender. They need to be cooked till they very well hold their shape without turning mushy.

* If you don’t like ginger, then you can omit it. But if using ginger, then make sure not to over-fry ginger, or else it would turn bitter.

ROSE GULKAND LADOO

 Make your very own Gulkand Rose filled ladoo using eight simple ingredients. These decadent melt-in-your-mouth ladoos are incredibly easy to make and taste great. 

Ladoo is an Indian generic term used for truffles. They may be cooked or uncooked. They are shaped like balls and can be big or bite-sized. We have a variety of ladoo recipes using different ingredients and they all are delicious! 

Indian festivals are incomplete without sweets. No pooja or celebration is complete without traditional sweets. Ladoos like these can turn any occasion into a celebration ! Since I enjoy creating new and different recipes, giving my own Coconut Ladoo Recipe a new twist was something exciting for me. The base of this ladoo is coconut (similar to Coconut Macaroons) and it is infused with rose flavors to make it one delicious combo. 

These visually appetizing festive treats are also wonderful for gifting during the holidays.

📌📌 Watch the full video recipe here 📌📌

INGREDIENTS :

2 cups Desiccated Coconut

½ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 tablespoons Rose Syrup ( for that distinctive floral essence )

1 teaspoon Rose Water

1/2 teaspoon Red Food Color (optional)

1 tablespoon Ghee (for roasting desiccated coconut )

For the Gulkand Filling:

2- 3 tablespoons Gulkand (Rose Petal Preserve)

2 tablespoon Slivered Almonds, Pistachios, Cashew nuts

1 tablespoon Tutti Frutti

METHOD :

STEP 1 - Heat a pan with ghee, add desiccated coconut and roast for 2-3 minutes. 

STEP 2 - Transfer in a mixing bowl and let it cool for some time.

STEP 3 - Combine the desiccated coconut with sweetened condensed milk, Rose syrup, Rose Water, Food Colour.

 STEP 4 - Mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated. The mixture should hold its shape when pressed between your fingers.

STEP 5 - Combine the Gulkand (Rose Petal Preserve) with slivered almonds, cashew nuts,  pistachios and tutti frutti to create a flavorful filling.

STEP 6 - Grease your hands with ghee and shape the dough into round ladoos / make a bowl like we make for any stuffed paratha. 

STEP 7 - Add a spoonful of the Gulkand filling in the center.

STEP 8 - Then fold the sides of the dough to create a well-enclosed ladoo.

STEP 9 - Roll the ladoos, on dessicated coconut and set aside. Rolling in desiccated coconut is optional, but gives a nice look to the ladoos.

STEP 10 - Repeat this process for the remaining dough, ensuring that the ladoos. 

These exquisite Rose Gulkand Ladoos can be enjoyed immediately or stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, maintaining their freshness and flavor.

 Whether served at festive occasions or enjoyed as an after-meal treat.

NOTES - * You don't have to roast it until golden brown. Toast it for 2-3 minutes in a medium flame.

* The number of servings mentioned above depends on the size of the ladoo. To the above measurements i made around 10-12 ladoos.