DESERTS AND PUDDINGS

India has a large repertoire of sweets. Each region has its own specialties. Basically, Indian sweets are different forms of rice puddings, milk puddings, vegetables & fruits dipped in sweet syrup. Besides, there are varieties of fudge like sweets called Barfis. Indian sweets are decorated or garnished with raisins, almonds, pistachio and the like.
Some other popular Indian sweets are:- Kheer, Halwa (pudding), Rasgulla (spongy cheese balls, dipped in sugar syrup), Gulab Jamun, Rasmalai, Sandesh and ladoos. ‘Kulfi’ is the Indian version of Ice-cream.

Most Indian sweets are made by boiling down milk to remove the moisture. It is called khoa. Adding butter, sugar and many other flavours, these are turned into barfi, malai, kheer, rasgulla and sandesh.

SANDESH

Ingredients
Fresh chenna of cows milk 350 gm
Sugar 50-75 gm
Small cardamom powder ¼ tsp
Rose water Few drops
Pista (for garnishing)

METHOD

• Rub the chenna with palm until smooth.
• Add sugar.
• Cook in a kadhai on a slow fire, until it leaves the side of pan.
• Remove from fire.
• Add flavouring.
• Make small peadas and garnish with pista.

KESARI KHEER

Ingredients
Milk 1.5 litres Kesar 2 gm Rice
Rose Water Ghee
Almonds
Sugar
Kaju
Green cardamom 5 gm Kishmish 15 gm

METHOD 150 gm
Few drops
15 gm
20 gm
125 gm
20 gm

• Wash and soak rice for four hours.
• Blanch almonds and remove the skin.
• Dissolve saffron in milk boil milk in a handy.
• Heat fat and fry the rice.
• Add milk and stir continuously.
• Reduce heat and slimmer on slow fire till the rice is looked.
• Add sugar and cook till fairly thick.
• Add remaining ingredients and serve hot.

GULAB JAMUN

INGREDIENTS

Mawa 75 gms
Sodium bicarbonate A pinch
Sugar
Fat
Cardamom
Rose Water
Arrarot
Water
75 gms
For frying
2 nos.
Few drops
10 gms
35 ml

METHOD

• Prepare a sugar syrup of one string consistently with water.
• Sugar and rose water. Pass the Mawa through a strainer.
• Add crushed cardamom sieved arrarot and little cold water in which soda bicarbonate has been dissolved.
• Make a soft clough without reading
• Divide into equal portion and shape into small balls. Fry into a deep fat till brown.
• Frying should be done on slow fire and it should be stirred constantly.
• Remove, cool for a short while and put in cold syrup.

MOONG DAL KA HALWA

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients Qty Split green gram 150 gm Milk 150 gm Sugar 200 gm Fat 100 gm

For Decorating : Almond, colour, cardamom, cashew nuts.
METHOD

• Soak the gram for 4-5 hours.
• Grind into a very fine paste.
• Melt fat in kadhai and add grounded gram.
• Fry to a slight brown colour over a very slow fire.
• Boil milk separately with sugar.
• When gram starts browning, add milk on it and keep stirring till all the milk gets dried up and fat starts boozing out from the halwa.
• Remove and serve hot.
• Garnish with dry fruits.

SHAHI TUKDA

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients Qty Bread slices 4 no. Sugar 400 ml Milk 300 ml Cardamom 30 no. Saffron A pinch Cashew nut 15 gm Pistachio 15 gm Oil(deep fry) 15 gm

METHOD

• Heat fat and fry slices of bread, remove.
• Boil the milk, simmer and reduce to half.
• Add sugar and boil for another 10 min’s.
• Heat saffron and soak in a little milk.
• Pour on a fried bread.
• Arrange in a tray without over lapping
• Pour the milk over the bread
• Garnish with cashew nut, cardamom etc.
• Serve hot.

MOHAN THAL

INGREDIENTS

Besan
Pistachio Milk
Cardamom Fat
Sugar

METHOD

115gms
30gms
60ml
17nos
170gms
340gms

• Mix Gram flour with milk and 55gms fat.
• Make a thick sugar syrup.
• Blanch and slice almonds and pistachio.
• Add powdered cardamom.
• Heat the remaining fat. Add besan and than fry.
• Add sugar syrup. Mix well. Remove and pour into a guessed tray and allow to set.
• Sprinkle cardamom powder.
• Garnish with nuts and cut into piece.

MAWA KACHORI

INGREDIENTS
Ingredients

Maida Fat
Salt
Baking powder ¼ tsp Cardamom Water Making dough
Qty Ingredients

For filling ½ kg Mawa

125 gm Sugar A pinch Chirongi

For Syrup
½ kg Sugar ½ kg

50 gm Water 400 ml
25 gm lemon 2-3
5 gm Rose water Few Cashew nut 50 gm

METHOD Qty Ingredients

• Sieve flour, salt and baking powder. Rub the melted fat and knead it to a medium soft dough using water.
• Keep it aside, fry mawa till it starts changing the colour.
• Remove from fire and let it cool and add powdered sugar, Cardamom powder, and nuts.
• Mix well, divide the dough into to equal sized balls. Roll out each ball to 3 inch diameter
• Place the filling on the 20 portion and cover each with the remaining 20.
• Seal the edges, deep fry to just a pink colour on a slow fire.

• Prepare the sugar syrup. Dip the fired kachori serve either hot or cold.

PHIRNEE

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients Rice flour
Sugar
Milk
Almonds
Pistachio nuts Cardamom Qty
30gm
60gtm
300ml
15gm
10gm
A pinch

METHOD

• Mix Rice flour with a little cold milk
• Boil remaining milk, add to rice flour mixture.
• Cook on a slow fire, till it becomes fairly thick
• Draw the pan to the side of the fire and sprinkle sugar.
• When sugar is dissolved powder.
• Pour into flat dishes. Recorded with shredded Nuts.
• Cool and serve.

GAJAR KA HALWA

INGREDIENTS

Carrot
Milk
Mawa
Clarified butter Sugar
Dry fruits
Cardamom

METHOD

250gm
100gm
250gm
55gm
115gm
20gm
5gm

• Wash carrot, peel and grate
• Add carrot to the milk and cook
• When milk dries, add fat and fry.
• Add half Mawa and cook
• Add sugar, add dry fruits and crushed cardamom
• Sprinkle over with left over Mawa

SUJI HALWA

Ingredients Qty
Semolina 100 gm Sugar 100 gm Fat 40 gm Cardamom 4-5 no. Water 200-300 ml.

METHOD

• Melt fat and roast semolina. Till it is light brown.
• Add hot water and mix well.
• Keep the pan cover for 2 min.
• Add sugar and mix well
• Add cardamom powder.
• Cook for 5 min. till all the sugar melts.
• Remove from fire and serve.

Shrikhand

This is a simple Indian dessert from Western India, made with strained yogurt and flavoured with cardamom, and saffron and garnished with almonds and pista. It is important to use freshly ground cardamom seeds.

Ingredients: Servings 4 to 6
1 quart whole milk yogurt
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 tsp. cardamom powder
few strands saffron
1/2 tbsp. pista & almond crushed Method:
Tie yogurt in a clean muslin cloth overnight. (6-7 hours).
Put the yogurt into a bowl, add sugar and cardamom and mix.
Rub saffron into 1 tbsp. hot milk, in a small bowl, until the colour spreads and dissolved and add to the yogurt

Empty into a serving bowl, and garnish with nut crush. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

Kheer

For 1 or 2 per person.

Ingredients
1/2 cup basmati rice
2 cups water
2 quarts milk
5 green cardamom pods ground
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbs. rose water

Method:
1 Wash the rice and boil in the water over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, until the rice is one quarter done. Drain in a colander.
2. In a saucepan, bring the milk and cardamom pods to a boil over medium heat. Add the rice and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until the rice is soft and the milk is very thick. Stir occasionally at first and then constantly when the milk begins to thicken, to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the sugar, almonds, ground cardamom, and nutmeg and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Remove from the heat and set aside. Sprinkle with the rose water. 5. Serve warm or chilled in dessert bowls.

Carrot Halwa

Ingredients:
1 lb. Carrots peeled and thinly grated and sautéed in ghee
Half and Half 1 pint
Sugar to taste sugar
4 Cardamom pods ground
Raisins handful
Cashew nuts handful
Ghee

Method:
1. Add a little ghee to a frying pan and heat to coat the pan. Roast cashew nuts until golden brown and add the raisins to the pan for a few seconds. Remove the cashews and raisins and keep aside.
2. Add the carrots to the pan and sauté the carrots. Add Half and Half, and heat for about an hour. Add cardamom and starting with medium heat, stirring, and lowering the heat after the mixture starts boiling. Heat until almost dry. 3. Add sugar, mix, and continue to cook until the carrot halwa is semi dry. 4. Remove from stove and add cashews and raisins.

Sheera

Ingredients:
1 cup semolina (or cream of wheat)
1/4 cup sugar or more to taste
1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
3 cups water
1/2 tsp. cardamom powder, chopped nuts (like cashew nuts and almonds) and raisins

Method:
Heat ghee (clarified butter) in a pan on medium level till it is hot. Add semolina. Stir well and fry on low heat for 7 minutes or till the semolina is lightly roasted. Keep aside
Mix the sugar, cardamom and water in a vessel. Bring to boil and keep on medium / low heat uncovered for 2 minute(s) stirring periodically.
Now add the water mixture. Stir well. Bring to boil and turn heat on low immediately. Keep on low heat, stirring periodically (after every minute), till the mixture is dry.

Sprinkle chopped nuts and raisins. Serve with a dollop of ice-cream.

Kahara Prasad

a variation of the above recipe – This prasad or temple offering is given in Sikh temples during the full moon day around October-November when Guru Nanak was born, and during Guru Parab, the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh. It is a day when they rededicate themselves to unity, brotherhood and equality among all human beings. After all this religion was created to bring Hindus and Muslims together.
Ingredients:
5 cups rava or coarsely ground wheat flour or mixture of both 5 cups ghee
5 cups sugar Method:
Heat ghee and add the rava or the flour. Fry, stirring constantly, till each grain is brown. Add sugar little by little and continue cooking till ghee separates and the sugar is blended. No flavouring must be added. Serve hot

Seviyan

Ingredients
6 nos. Dry dates
1 tablespoon Raisins
1 tablespoon Cashew nuts
1 tablespoon Sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon Blanched almonds
1 tablespoon Blanched pistachio
21/2 tablespoons Ghee
1/4 cup Vermicelli
4 cups Milk
2 teaspoons Cardamom powder
3 1/2 tablespoons Sugar

Method:
Soak the dates overnight. De-seed and chop into 4 pieces.
Heat ghee and sauté the raisins, cashew nuts, chironji seeds, almonds and pistachios for 2-3 minutes. Drain and mix with the chopped dry dates. Set aside. In the same ghee, fry the vermicelli on a low flame for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and keep aside.
Boil the milk in a deep bottomed pan and add the vermicelli and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Cook uncovered on a low flame for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the fried dry fruits and cardamom powder, cover and cook for 3 minutes.
Serve hot or cold in individual bowls.

Kalakand

Ingredients:

2 cups full fat milk
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:
Boil milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan until it reduces to half. Add cottage cheese and sugar and mix well till it attains a semi solid consistency. Preheat the oven. Transfer the mixture to a square shaped oven proof dish and bake at 425F for 10 minutes. Let stand in the oven for half and hour. Cut into squares and serve.

Rice Pudding (Payesh)

Ingredients

1/2 gallon full fat milk
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar

Directions

Boil milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan until it reduces to half. The key to this dessert is vigilant, constant stirring to ensure that the contents do not stick to the bottom of the vessel. Add cooked rice, raisins and sugar and mix well till it attains a thick sticky consistency