Ultimate Wheat Halwa!

The Ultimate melt in your mouth "WHEAT HALWA" ! 
Recipe Courtesy : My grand mother.

A traditional south Indian delicacy which is highly labor intensive  and extremely rewarding.
If the recipe is followed, you get the most smooth, buttery & delicious treat ever.. Please make sure to follow every single step for amazing results else you will land up with either a hard candy or a super sticky goo :)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole wheat grains ( Any variety is ok). Organic is even better!
2 cups Sugar ( I used fine white sugar)
little water to soak the sugar
1 cup - boiling water
1cup - ghee ( more if needed )
3/4 tsp of cardamom powder ( freshly ground please)
10 cashew nuts chopped & roasted  in ghee.
couple of generous pinches of Saffron strands
edible colors ( I used Ameri color yellow and red )

UTENSILS NEEDED

Sieve ( fine holes )
Tawa or a pan ( I prefer a non stick)
strong wooden ladle

Some tissues or a towel to wipe away all the sweat from the  work out :))

METHOD

Soak the whole wheat grains in water overnight or upto six hours atleast. Make sure they are completely submerged in water. They will look fatter and can be crushed easily with your fingers.

REMOVING THE MILK FROM THE WHOLE WHEAT GRAINS

Drain the water and with little water mash them up well in a mixer. Make sure to keep adding water
in between so that they are thoroughly ground.  At this stage they will be sticky a bit grainy and paste like.  At this stage, remove from the mixer add it to a quarter cup of water and knead it well with water. Put this in the strainer and make sure to remove the all the contents from the sticky dough. Use the mixer If needed, ound it a few more times and again strain it with a little water.  We do this a few times till we are left with a coarse grainy whey which can be discarded ofcourse.

Once the liquid is extracted totally, let it sit for at least 3 hours or so.. The excess water we have added is on top and can be discarded. Make sure to be extremely careful to do that ( shouldn't waste any of the milk  collected)

In a tawa add the sugar and little water till the sugar is just wet and tun on the heat on a medium low flame. Make sure to be by the side of your tawa...  make sure to keep stirring. After about 10 min you see the sugar tends to get a bit sticky single thread consistency. Keep a close watch!

Add the Milk to the sugar syrup and keep stirring, as the mixture takes in the heat, the milk turns into a transparent  jelly like mass.. KEEP STIRRING! when it becomes a bit hard, add little boiling water at a time and keep stirring. Little by little, till you use up all the boiling water !

"THE ORIGINAL RECIPE CALLS FOR 2.5  CUPS OF GHEE, GRAND MUM MADE IT with  just  1 CUP GHEE AND 1 CUP BOILING WATER.. HEALTHIER RIGHT? "

The mass takes up all the water and again starts to thicken, that's  when  you  start adding your ghee little by little.. KEEP STIRRING..BE CONSISTENT..DON'T LET ANY LUMPS FORM.. NICE AND STEADY HANDS..STIR AWAY.. Now is when the towels will come handy :)

Add the desired color, saffron strands & the cardamom powder and KEEP STIRRING adding little ghee at a time.. Takes about 20 min (roughly). You know it's done when you take a small ball and throw it straight on the plate and the ball retains it's shape. If it flattens out, it means the dough needs more stirring and ghee..

Once done, empty it onto a greased plate and flatten it to one inch thickness.. evenly spread the roasted cashews and slice when it's slightly warm.. I couldn't wait till then :)

Hope you enjoyed the recipe ! Do give it a try & dig into the worlds best Halwa !

Silky smooth Caramel custard!

Dear friends, Life has taken a different turn altogether since my son's arrival.. Been enjoying motherhood since then and lost track of time :) .my last post was an year and a half back :-O  Time flies!  Thanks to all the bakers on HBG for their likes and interest to know about this recipe! I'm back on track and I'm feeling great!  I promise that I will keep my blog active with some super easy and mouth watering recipes..

Easy CC

Tell me who doesn't like Caramel Custard?  It's an exotic dish with a huge fan following!
Though I'm a big fan Of  Caramel custard,  I've always found it eggy !! Even though I use
the best of vanilla pods, the smell of eggs is always overpowering in this recipe..

I was determined to get an eggless version for this one and jumped at this recipe as soon as
I saw it online! I give all credit to Madhura's cooking for this one!  Of course, I have added my
touch to it which I will elaborate below!

Guys, this is a fool proof recipe Please follow it step by step and I'm sure
it will put a smile on your and your loved ones :)

Creamy & Scrumptious 

A piece of heaven!

My quest for a good Banana Bread recipe began when I had my first best slice at an organic farm called Bollywood Veggies In Singapore. When I say every bit of it is divine i mean it one hundred percent!  When I'm in Singapore I make sure to visit this place often.. It's an enjoyable 45 min drive from the City to the outskirts of Singapore. It's in a place called Kranji.. If anyone is keen on visiting Singapore , this place is a must see.. Check out their website, I'm sure you will like it! 

      http://www.bollywoodveggies.com/ 

On a cold day Imagine sipping a hot cuppa tea with a slice of home made Banana bread.. Yumm!! I have been making this for ages and it has always been a winner!!  So, here  are the Ingredients you need to make a wonderful loaf of Banana bread! 

With these basic Ingredients you can make a great loaf in no time! feel free to add in chopped walnuts or pecans If you fancy! I like it plain , warm right out of the oven! 

This banana bread is so moist and delicious with loads of banana flavor!

Ingredients 

2 big overripe bananas

3 Cups Flour

1.5 tsps of Baking soda

1/4 tsp of salt

3/4 Cup Butter ( Unsalted)

2 cups packed light Brown sugar, you could add 1/8 cup more If you need it a bit sweet.

3 eggs

2 tsps of Vanilla essence ( I use the Pure Madagascar Bourbon)

1.5 Cups of Buttermilk 

If you fancy you could add one of these or a combination to give it a different taste! a cup of Chopped Walnuts / pecans / chocolate chips /caramel bits.

Preheat the oven to 160 deg C  

Grease and flour a 9x13 " pan or 2 smaller loaf pans.

Method

In a small bowl mash the ripe banana with a fork and set aside. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking soda and salt ans set aside. In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar until fluffy and add in the eggs one at time mixing well. To this, add the Vanilla and the banana mixture and beat well. Alternatively fold in the flor and the butter milk and mix until Incorporated. Make sure not to over mix the batter, carefully fold in the nuts at this stage and fill the prepared tins. 

Voilà ! The best banana bread  is ready! This is an easy recipe that gives perfect results every time. Be sure to use overripe bananas and use  the right sized tin,I guarantee you that you will never need another banana bread recipe again!  Happy Baking!!

Tip:  To me, Banana bread tastes best with out the banana essence. So, first try it with out the essence! Also, make sure to fill the pan slightly more than half. This cake will definitely rise and crack on top! Finally,This can me made into banana muffins aswell, just fill muffin cases half way and bake for about 22 - 25 min. Make sure to use the middle rack all the time. If baked in one pan, it takes about 1.45 hours, two smaller loaves gets done in one hour! 

Hope this was helpful! Enjoy! 

Gift ideas!

Now that I made the Brownies ( Pls check my previous post for recipe) I tried my hands on the presentation part a bit! I added a little bit of  glamour to my goodies! Check out my ideas.. Hope you like them!

Gift set! 

I cut my brownies into 2"x2" squares approximately and placed them in the decorated boxes. Made sure to line my boxes with a butter paper.. so that they don't stick to the base.. I made this batch of brownies with dry fruits so, they tasted more like a fruit cake than a brownie.. Isn't that a perfect gift for Christmas!

My santa! 

These  cute little parcels didn't take time to do but I thought they added more beauty to the brownies.I used Green color candy melts, Edible gold dust and rolled fondant for decoration.
                                                                                                                                              

  

More boxes! 

I will be updating my blog with Egg free Sugar cookies and fruit bread shortly! Hope you all liked this one! Cheers! 

Home made goodness!

As promised In my previous post, I'm revealing the simple  Fudgy 
brownie recipe..  I will be talking about the secret Ingredient that 
makes it gooey and chewy as well! 

My take on Fudgy Brownies..

Brownies are the easiest to bake and and If done right, can make you a  star overnight. Often, people think otherwise :-O

My very first oven project was making a small batch of Brownies. You will be surprised If I tell you that it takes only 15 min to put together all the Ingredients. Literally, the time it takes to preheat your oven.. One Important thing I love about baking Brownies is, It just takes one bowl for the preparation! So, there is little mess to clear up !! 

How cool is that? Trust me, it's super easy..

So here we go..Revealing the secret to a great BROWNIE recipe :) 

Ingredients

3/4 Cup All purpose Flour.
150 gms good baking chocolate ( I use Ghiradelli or Valrhona ) 
1/4C Cocoa powder ( Good baking cocoa, quaity does matter) 
1C Semi sweet chocolate ( Vanhoutten or  hersheys or Ghiradelli) 
3 Eggs 
1.5 tsps of Vanilla essence ( I use Madagascar Bourbon pure extract) 
1/4 tsp of salt 
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar or white sugar If you have a sweet 
tooth please make it 1 Cup packed.
1/2 Cup butter 
3/4 Cup of chopped walnuts  ( If you fancy the texture) 
Now my secret Ingredient 
1/2 cup of condensed milk.. yes, you read it right! I use 
milk maid brand, you could use any brand of your choice..

Method 

Please bring the Ingredients to room temperature before stating work! 

Step 1 : Preheat the oven at 175 deg C for 10 min 
step 2 : Melt the butter and and chopped chocolate in the microwave on high 
            for a minute. Make sure you use a big glass bowl, so that we can 
            make the batter in the same bowl! saves the cleaning time:)    
step 3 : Using a balloon whisk mix the melted butter and chocolate into a 
            super smooth paste. 
step 4: Check the temperature. If the mixture has cooled down, add the eggs.
           You don;t want to scramble your eggs in the mixture. So, make sure 
           to check the temperature. Also, add one egg at a time  mix well and          
           then add the next till you get a fluffy, thick batter. The trick is, to lift
           the whisk above the bowl. If the batter drops down like a ribbon then
           the mixture is perfect..
step 5: 1.5 tsps of good vanilla essence. I use Bourbon Madagascar Pure 
           vanilla extract. 
step 6: Add the condensed milk to this secret Ingredient .. and mix well.. 

Remember we are still using the same bowl! 

step7: Sift the dry Ingredients into the batter and make sure the dry stuff is 
          Incorporated well into the batter. Take care not to OVERMIX as it will 
          result in tough brownies..
Step 8: Add in the nuts ( If needed)  I dust it will a couple of pinches of flour 
           and throw it into the batter and give it a  swift whisk.
step 9: I butter & line my nonstick 9x13 inch pan and pour half of the batter.

AT THIS STAGE, YOU COULD GO CRAZY WITH YOUR IMAGINATION. I SOMETIMES THROW IN A CUP OF WHITE CHOCO CHIPS OR MARSHMALLOWS OR EVEN CARAMEL BITS OR SMARTIES EVENLY INTO THE BATTER and top up with the left over batter. If your guests like surprises then this tip is very valuable :)   

step 10: Bake exactly for about 30 to 40 min ( depending on the oven). I do a 
             a tooth pick test at 30 min. If there I see little crumbs clinging on 
            the toothpick. Its done. Make sure not to over bake as it tends to dry
            up the brownies. 
step 11: Cool the brownies slab for half an hour cover and refrigerate for an 
             hour before slicing. This will give you clean sharp edges..

TIP: Even If you dry them up the first time.. never mind freeze the bars and break them up and add it to your Ice cream with some Hersheys chocolate syrup.. It surely does make it look extra special.. But, you and I know the secret!!  Happy Baking Guys!! 

I will be showing my gift ideas for Brownies In my next post !  Cheers! 

Greetings!

Wishing you all a very happy 2013!  

This being my first post, I would like to share the joy I experienced while making
these delights!

So, let's celebrate this year with some home made STOLLEN,  SUGAR COOKIES &
FUDGY BROWNIES!! 

This Christmas, I took a task of decorating 40 gift boxes for my clients and It was truly
a great experience both decorating the gift boxes and baking the goodies that went into them!

So, do Check out my December tasty treats! 

I hope you enjoyed my first post, I shall update you all with the recipes shortly!
Till then, don't think twice to keep yourselves busy in the kitchen ;) cheers!