Mango Kulfi / Popsicle

Who will say no to Kulfi in this burning hot summer?:-) Making Kulfi at home is one of my longtime wish & finally it came true. Yay!! I made it successfully! I decided to make Mango Kulfi as I got to see both Kulfi mould & ripe mangoes at Walmart. But it was quite tricky to get a clean demoulded Kulfi & a bit challenging to make perfect clicks before it started to melt. I tried my best to click attractive pictures, but not much satisfied though. Trust me, it tasted heavenly.

Kulfi is a popular frozen dairy based creamy dessert widely available in India. It is almost same as icecream in taste & appearance. Kulfi can be made in different flavours. But the more traditional ones are Cream(malai), mango, saffron, cardamom and pistachio. This dessert likely originated in the Mughal Empire.

Mango Kulfi Recipe
  
Preparation Time : 30 mins | Freezing Time : 6-8 hrs | Serves : 8
Recipe Category : Dessert | Recipe Cuisine : Indian

Ingredients

Mango Pulp - 1 cup

Whole Milk - 2.5 cups 
Sugar - 1/4 cup 
Condensed Milk - 1/4 cup 
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Almonds - 10
Pistachios - 6
Almonds & Pista(Crushed) - 2 tsp for garnishing
Saffron strands - 4

Method 

1. Soak the nuts for atleast an hour before the preparation. Then grind it to a smooth/coarse paste. Add the Saffron strands to a tsp of warm milk and set aside. Prepare mango pulp and keep it ready.

2. Boil milk in a heavy bottomed vessel in medium flame. Then in low flame, till it reduces in volume. Make sure to stir it continuosly to avoid burning of milk at the bottom. Add Sugar, Condensed milk and Saffron milk. Let it boil in low flame for 10 mins.

3. Now add the pasted nuts and cardamom powder to it and allow it to boil till it becomes creamy. Switch off the stove and allow it to cool completely.

4. Once cooled, add mango pulp to it and whisk well with an egg beater or in a hand whisk.

5. Pour it in Kulfi moulds and freeze it for 6 to 8 hours. Once done keep the moulds in running tap water. Carefully pull the lids of the moulds.

Garnish with the crushed nuts & serve it chilled.

Points to be noted:

• Choose less fibre, ripe mangoes. 
• Adjust the quantity of sugar based on the sweetness of mango.
• Stir the milk continuosly to avoid burning odour. 
• Taking out the moulds without sticking is a bit tricky. Show it in running water just for few seconds or else it will start to melt.
• No worries if you dont have Kulfi moulds. You can use disposable plastic cups covered with aluminium foil and insert popsicle sticks.

 

Paal Kozhukattai (With Jaggery + Coconut milk)

Paal Kozhukattai is one of the authentic Chettinad recipes. It can be made with either jaggery or sugar according to the preferences. But preparing it with jaggery is the traditional way of making this recipe. The rice dumplings blended with the coconut milk and jaggery tastes heaven. Here comes the recipe...

PAAL KOZHUKATTAI RECIPE

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 4
Recipe Category : Dessert | Recipe Cuisine : South Indian

Ingredients : 

For making Kozhukattai Dough:
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp

For the milk sauce:
Jaggery (powdered) - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Coconut (Shredded) - 3 tbsp
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Dissolve jaggery with immersing level of water. Heat it up till jaggery is dissolved completely and switch it off once you see the bubbles. Strain it to remove the impurities and keep aside. 

2. In a mixing bowl add the rice flour, salt, milk & water and mix well without lumps.

3. Now heat a tsp of ghee in a nonsticky pan and pour the mixture to it. Keep stirring till you get a dough consistency. Switch it off once you get the dough consistency.

4. Allow it to cool for a shortwhile. When it is warm knead it to a smooth dough. Now form small balls or elliptical shaped out of the dough based on your preference. Make sure to always cover it with a wet cloth to prevent it from drying. 

5. Once you make all the balls, start to prepare the milk sauce. For making it heat milk and water in a heavy bottomed pan. When the milk starts to boil, add the balls to it and keep the stove in low flame and close it with a lid. The ball will raise slowly once it got cooked. Allow it to cook till it becomes soft. Stir it now & then carefully without breaking the balls. Meanwhile prepare the coconut milk & keep it ready.

6. Once the balls are soft and cooked add the coconut milk and give a quick stir. Then add the prepared jaggery syrup to it & give a stir. Allow it to cook in low flame for 3 mins. 

7. Add cardamom powder & Shredded coconut and switch off the flame in 2 mins. 

Make it to rest for 20-30 mins for the sauce to get well blended with the balls. Serve warm/cold.

Points to be noted:

• Do not over cook after the coconut milk & jaggery syrup are added. It may curdle.
• You can even cook the balls in hot water & then add them to the milk sauce to save time. 
• If you don't prefer to add jaggery, you can even replace it with sugar with the same process. 
• Always cover the dough & the balls with wet cloth to prevent them from drying. 

 

Carrot Kheer

Carrot Kheer/Payasam is one of the delicious and also a nutritious dessert. This dessert can be prepared easily and consumes less time. It can be served hot or chilled. But I prefer to have it chilled:) This dessert is more suitable for small parties. You can even prepare this a day before & refrigerate it. What a lovely color it is!! Come on..lets get into the preparation of this Kheer.

Carrot Kheer Recipe

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Soaking Time: 1/2 hr | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 3
Category : Dessert | Cuisine : Indian

Ingredients
 Carrots - 2 medium sized (grated)
 Milk - 1/2 liter
 Sugar - 4 tbsp
 Ghee - 1 tsp
 Cashews - 6
 Almonds - 6
 Cardamom powder - a generous pinch
 Saffron - 4 strands
 Broken cashews - few for garnishing

Method

1. Soak the almonds and cashews in warm water for half an hour. Remove the skin of almonds. Grind both almonds and cashews together coarsely. Soak saffron strands in a tbsp of warm milk for 5 mins.


2. Wash and remove the skin of the carrots and grate them using the blade with small holes.

3. Heat a tsp of ghee and fry the cashews. In the same pan add the grated carrots and saute it till the raw smell leaves.

4. Boil the milk in medium flame and keep stirring in between till it reduces in volume.

5. Now add the carrots and cashew-almond paste to the boiling milk. Cook for few more minutes stirring in between so that the carrots are cooked well.

6.  Add sugar and give it a quick stir.

7. Add cardamom powder & saffron soaked milk. Garnish it with fried cashews.

Serve it hot or chilled as per your choice. 

Bread Rasmalai 

Bread rasmalai is an apt dessert after having a heavy lunch. It is so easy to prepare and also tastes as good as rasmalai. The method is same as rasmalai where rasgullas are replaced by bread slices.

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 2 
Category: Dessert | Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Bread - 4 slices
Milk - 500 ml
Ghee - 1 tsp
Condensed milk - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Mixed Nuts(almonds, pista & cashews) - 2 tbsp chopped
Saffron - 4 strands
Cardamom powder - a pinch

Method

1. Heat milk + condensed milk in a heavy bottomed pan. Bring it to a boil and reduce the flame. 

2. Keep stirring occasionally until the milk starts thickening and it is reduced to about half the quantity.

3. Meanwhile, soak the saffron in 2 tablespoons of warm milk. Crush it well and set aside.

4. Now add the sugar and saffron added milk to the boiling milk and mix well. Let it boil for a couple of minutes. This mixture is called rabri, which tastes divine.

5. Keep it in low flame & stir till it reduces in volume. Fry the nuts in ghee and add it to the rabri and mix well.

6. Switch off the flame once it gets thick and let it cool completely. Refrigerate it for sometime.

7. Now take the bread slices, trim the corners and with a small lid press it gently on the bread slices into small circles. 

8. At the time of serving take a bowl, place the bread circles and pour the chilled rabri over it. Serve chilled.
 
  Now delicious easy Bread rasmalai ready in minutes.

Points to be noted 

• You can also slightly toast the bread in ghee and add it to rabri.

•  Do not pre-soak bread, just add it while serving.

 
 

Ada Pradhaman

Ada Pradhaman is a traditional payasam of Kerala. Ada pradhaman (prepared with jaggery, rice ada and coconut milk) is especially popular during the festival of Onam. It is an integral part of Onam Sadhya menu.

Ada Pradhaman Recipe

Preparation time : 20 mins | Cooking time : 40 mins | Serves : 3
Category : Dessert | Cuisine : Kerela


Ingredients

Rice ada -1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 1/4 cup
Thin coconut milk - 1 1/4 cup
Thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Coconut bits or thin small pieces - 2 tbsp
Cashew nuts -2 tbsp or 5-6
Raisins -2-3 tbsp
Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp
Ghee - 1-2 tbsp +2 tsp

Method

1.Bring water to rolling boil, switch off and add the ada. Let it soak for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain the water completely and rinse the ada in cold water. This is done to prevent the ada from sticking to each other. Drain the water completely. Keep it aside.

2. Dissolve jaggery in half a cup of water and strain it to remove impurities if any.

3. Heat 2 tsp of ghee and fry the cashew nuts, raisins and coconut pieces separately.

4. In the same pan, heat some more ghee and fry the ada in medium or low flame for 4-5 minutes.

5. Now add jaggery water to the ada and cook in medium flame until it thickens.

6. Once it starts to thicken, add the thin coconut milk (1 1/4 cup). Cook on medium flame until it    thickens again.

7. Once it got thickened further, add the thick coconut milk, fried cashew nuts, raisins, cardamom powder and coconut bits. Mix well and switch off the flame. Do not cook after adding the thick coconut milk. 

Delicious Ada Pradhaman is now ready to serve. Serve it hot or chilled.

Points to be noted

•  It gets thicken by time, so switch it off accordingly.
• You can get the readymade rice ada or rice flakes in Indian grocery shops.