I got this KHOA JAMOONS recipe from gorgeous friend SANDHYA KAMATH who is an excellent cook & khoa jamoons are her signature dish. What i learnt while trying this recipe is if your jamoon turns harder even after soaking in sugar syrup, place them in pressure cooker along with sugar syrup & take a whistle, switch off the burner, release the pressure & now eat your jamoons. It just mels in your mouth. You can try this trick with all types of jamoons.
INGREDIENTS:-
Khoa - 200gms all purpose flour - 100 gm baking powder - 1/2 tsp milk - as needed sugar - 2 cups cardamom powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp oil for deep frying cashew nuts- few for garnishing
METHOD:-
1. Knead khove till soft. 2. Add all purpose flour & baking soda to this & knead well with required milk to make a soft dough. 3. keep covered for 15 mins. 4. Make sugar syrup by adding 2 cups of water & 2 cups of sugar in a thick bottomed vessel & boil it for 10 mins. Add cardamom powder & cover sugar syrup with a lid & keep it aside. 5. After 15 mins make balls from kneaded dough & deep fry them in oil. 6. When they turns light brown , take them out from oil & soak in sugar syrup. 7. Garnish khoa jamoons with cashew nut pieces.
I got this KAJU KAATLI recipe from my dear friend SUPHALA SHENOY who is an ace cook & lovely friend too. So many tried this recipe & got excellent results. My kaatlis in pics may not look perfect but tasted great. My hubby liked it & ate a few pieces is the proof :P. What i like about my friend Suphi is she always gives exacact measurements & mentions about timings too. So that it becomes easy to follow her recipes to get excellent results. Now onwards you can make kaju kaalis at home & gift it to your frineds & family during festivals & surprise them. Best part of this recipe is you don't need ghee/butter/oil to make kaji kaaltis.
INGREDIENTS:-
Cashewnuts - 1 cup sugar - 1/2 cup cardamom - 1 pod
METHOD:-
1. Dry grind cashews & one pod of cardamom to make a smooth powder. (it will take about 10-15 secs in small chutney jar of your mixie.) 2. Heat a thick bottom kadai take sugar & add 1/4th cup of water to it. & make sugar syrup for abou 3-4 mins. 3. Add the cashew powder to the syrup & keep stirring for about 2-3 mins. 4. When the mixture becomes little thick remove from the flame & keep stirring till you get a thick ball like cough. 5. Then transfer this dough onto a cutting board & knead it well. (unfortunately i skipped this step & realised later that it is very very important step of this recipe to get excellent results) Be careful as dough is very hot at this point of time. So switch on the fan & allow it to cool a little before kneading. 6. As you kneads grains will disappear & you will get a smooth dough. Spread this dough with a belan(roller pin) imto a big round. Then cut inti diamond shape.
Bengali holud mishti pulao is nothing but saffron flavoured rice with nuts. Its a Bengali delicacy & little sweetish in taste. I adapted this recipe from ARCHANA'S KITCHEN. I skipped mace powder & added chopped almonds instead of pistachio. & added button mushrooms too.
INGREDIENTS:-
basmathi rice - 1 cup
green peas, steamed - 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced - 1/2 cup salt - 1/2 tsp star anise - 1 ginger, grated - 1 inch sugar - 2 tblsp nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp cumin powder - 1/4 tsp turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp bay leaves -h 2 cinnamon stick, roughly torn - 1 inch cardamom pods - 3 cloves - 3 mace powder - 1/2 tsp(i skipped this) saffron strands - few
1. Cook washed & drained rice in pressure by adding 1 tblsp ghee, grated ginger + 2 cups of water until done.i 2. Once done, allow it to rest. 3, Steam sliced mushrooms & green peas, drain & keep aside. 4. In a small pan, roast he nuts & spices in ghee on medium hea until golden brown then add saffron. 5. Turn off the heat & stir in the steamed green peas & sliced mushrooms along with cooked rice & sugar into the roasted nuts. 6. Serve hot either with Shorshe Ilish(hisla in mustard sauce) or Bengali doi maach.
I found this recipe from the blog EASY RECIPES. & i realised it is nothing but baked version of amchi batate upkari i mean konkani's potatto stir fry. Here we add cheddar cheese & white sauce, thats it. But i made little varification in original recipe & used ingredients easily available here. .
INGREDIENTS:-
Potatoes, thinly sliced - 2 cups (i removed the skin actually no need to remove the skin of potatoes) butter - 25 gm OR 1&1/2tblsp all purpose flour - 3 tblsp milk - 1 cup salt - 1/2 tsp +1/2 tsp devided pasta mix seasoning - 2ttsp cheddar cheese - 3/4 cup / 100gm white pepper powder - 1/2 tsp red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
METHOD:-
1. Melt the butter in a pot & whisk in the flour, cooking for 1 min over medium heat. 2. Whisk in the milk, 1/2 tsp salt , pasta mix seasoning & white pepper powder. 3. Cook till the mixture thickens up, remove from the heat & stir in the cheese. 4. Place half of the potatoes in the bottom of a lightly greased microwave dish. 5. Pour half of the cheese mixture over the potaoes & spread around. 6. Repeat the remaining potatoes & cheese mixture. 7. Sprinkle the top with a little of red chilly powder. 8. Bake in a 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 45 mins.
1. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil & then add cualiflower pieces & cook for 5 mins.t 2. Lift out a cauliflower piece to tesr, it should be cooked. Drain the cauliflower, then tip into an ovenproof dish. 3. Heat oven to 220*C/200*C. 4. Put the sauce pan back on the heat & add the milk, flour, butter. 5. Keep whisking fast as the butter melts & the mixture comes to the boil.. Flour will disappear & sauce will begin to thicken. 6. Whisk for 2 mins while the sauce bubbles & becomes nice & thick. 7. Turn off the heat , stir in the most of the cheese & pour over the cauliflower. 8. Scatter over the remaining cheese & bread crumbs. 9. Bake it for 20 mins until bubbling.
