Apple Pudding

The Navratri (nine nights) festival which is a sign of the arrival of autumn is celebrated in different ways all over India. This festival is celebrated from the first to ninth date of Ashwin Shukla Paksha of the Hindu calendar. The Navaratri festival or ‘nine day festival’ becomes ‘ten day festival’ with the addition of the last day, Vijayadashami which is its culmination.
During all these nine days, the nine forms of Goddess Durga i.e. female divinity are worshipped.
In North India, Navratri is celebrated with much enthusiasm by fasting on all nine days, worshipping the Mother Goddess in her different forms and watching the annual Ramlila performances under the post-monsoon skies full of twinkling stars.
In Western India, mainly in Gujarat, Navratri is celebrated with the famous Garba and Dandiya-Raas dance.
In south India, people set up steps and place idols on them. This is known as “Golu”.
In East India particularly in the state of West Bengal, the last four days of Sharad Navratri take on a particularly dramatic form, where they are celebrated as Durga Puja. This is the biggest festival of the year in this state. Elegantly crafted and decorated life-size clay idols of the Goddess Durga depicting her killing the demon Mahisasura are set up in temples and other places. These idols are then worshipped for five days and immersed in the river on the fifth day.

Ingredient:

4 cup Milk
4 apples, peeled and grated
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1 tbsp sliced almonds
1 tbsp sliced Pistachios

Direction :

• Take milk in a heavy bottomed pan and bring it to boil till it reduced to half of its original amount.
• Put in sugar and stir until it dissolves.
• Add grated apples and bring it to boil.
• Add cardamom powder and stir.
• Garnish with sliced almonds and pistachios.
• Turn off the heat and serve hot or cold..!

Balushahi (Indian Glazed Doughnut)

It is an interesting thing to eat out, but I believe it loses its appeal if you do it more frequently.It’s best to get a different meal from time to time, and that we should cook at home more often. In connection with this, let’s try a new recipe. Balushahi is a traditional dessert of northern Indian and Nepali Cuisine, akin to a glazed doughnut. Only difference is that it has a depression in the middle (not hole) unlike glazed doughnut. You can easily discover this recipe in any North Indian wedding ceremony. Why delay! Let’s try this mouth watering recipe at home.

Ingredient:

For Doughnuts

2 cups all-purpose flour (Maida)
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp cardamom powder
½ cup ghee
½ cup yogurt (dahi)

For Syrup

1 ½ cup sugar
1 cups Water

For Garnishing

1 tbsp Crushed Pistachio nuts

Direction:

• Boil water in a deep pan. Add sugar and cook till a two thread consistency. Stir constantly to avoid burning.
• Meanwhile take all-purpose flour in a bowl and mix baking soda and cardamom powder in it.
• Add 1 tbsp yogurt at a time and knead well to form very stiff dough and set aside for about 10-20 minutes.
• Divide dough into 10 to 15 balls of about 1 to 1½" size.
• Flatten each ball between your palms into a disk and depress the center slightly.
• Keep in mind it is just a deep depressions not a hole.
• Heat oil in a frying pan and deep-fry the disks until golden brown; remove and drain on a paper towels or tissue paper.
• Dunk the doughnuts in the syrup with the help of tongs and make sure all disks soak up into it.
• Sprinkle crushed pistachios over the doughnuts.
• At the time of serving, pour some extra syrup over the top to make a shiny surface.

 Note: If you want to save your time you can use any brand 'Biscuit Dough' available in Grocery stores for making Doughnuts.

Shahi Toast/Tukde (Bread Pudding)

Today is my dad’s Birth day. In view of the fact that I am far away from him, I have planned to celebrate it in my way. He is long-suffering from diabetic consequently he can not have anything sugary. However there is a practice maintain by my family (that I also follow at my home) that in any major occasion a dessert is a mandatory part of the menu. No matter that person is there with you or not, we cook rather different and enjoy the event with great ardor. Just to bring a change in our life we go out to a sushi restaurant or do something unusual. Today I am going to make Shahi Toast (Shahi tukde) and I am certain that my hubby would become fond of it.

Ingredients:

4 bread slices
5 tbsp sugar
50 gm condensed milk
50 gm khoya ( Optional)
1 cup milk
½ tsp cardamom powder
Few threads of saffron
½ tsp Rose water
1 tbsp Ghee to fry

For Garnishing

Almond and Pistachio

Direction:

• Take away the crust of bread slices and slice diagonally.
• Heat oil/ghee in a deep pan and fry the slices until golden brown. Keep aside on a tissue paper to eradicate excess oil.
• In the mean time boil milk and add sugar to it.
• Boil to get a thick consistency and add condensed milk, cardamom powder, khoya, a few drops of rose water and saffron strand to it.
• Boil on low flame to a very thick consistency. Once it is done, refrigerate it.
• To serve, arrange two fried bread slices on plate, and pour 2 tbsp refrigerated mixture on top. Sprinkle nuts and silver leaves.

Fruitkhand

Other variations of Shrikhand can be made with pieces of apple, cheeku, pineapple ,cherry,strawberry or other fruits.

Amrakhand

A popular variation is of Shrikhand is Amrakhand. For this just add mango pulp in strained curd along with other ingredients of shrikhand and made uniform with mixer.

Shrikhand (Curd Pudding)

Shrikhand is very popular in western India as part of wedding banquet. In Maharashtrian and Gujarati cuisine it is one of the major desserts. It is made of strained yogurt. In Gujarati cuisine, can be eaten as a side-dish or as a desert.

Ingredients:

3 cup thick curd

½ cup warm milk

3 tbsp powdered sugar

2 tsp cardamom powder (elaichi)

a few strands saffron

For garnishing
 

almonds and pistachios

Direction:

• Tie and hang the curd in a muslin cloth for around 2 to 3 hours until all the water (whey) has drained off
• In the meantime boil the milk and rub the saffron into it until dissolve.
• Now take the strained thick and creamy yogurt in a deep bowl and add sugar, saffron mixture and cardamom powder in it.
• Mix thoroughly by using a hand blender.
• Garnished with pistachios and almonds.
• Place in the refrigerator and serve chilled to provide a refreshing counterpoint to hot and spicy curries.

Note: Other dry fruits can also be added to boost its flavor.

Rasmalai

This is my favorites sweet. In fact I make it every month. Try this easy recipe and you would love it. 

Ingredients:

7 cup milk
2 ½ cup sugar
3 cups of water
Cardamom powder
lemon juice
pistachio, almonds, saffron for garnishing

Direction:

• Bring 3 cups of milk to boil on a medium flame until it remains nearly 1.5 cup.
  On the other side boil 4 cups of milk. Add lemon juice to sour the milk.
• Stir constantly to avoid sticking.
• Drain chenna in a thin muslin cloth or handkerchief.
• Drain the extra water by pressing the cloth. Make sure that there is no water left with chenna.
• Take 3 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar in a pressure cooker.
• Take the chenna out of the cloth in a bowl, squash it and make around 12 to 15 small size of balls out of it.
• Put those balls in the pressure cooker and bring two whistles.
• Meanwhile add the rest sugar, cardamom powder in the boiling milk. Set it aside.
• If the chenna is done, open the cooker take out the flat balls of chenna with the spoon in a dish and let the water drain by pressing it a little.
• When the milk is cool add chenna balls to it.
• Garnish it with Pistachio and saffron.
• Let it cool and serve.