Sweet Mewa Samosa or Khirer Singara(a samosa with sweet fillling)

Holi is an important festival in India. It is also known as the festival of colours or the festival of sharing love. Obviously, there can be no holi celebrations without homemade sweets and delicacies.

MODAK..A TRADITIONAL MAHARASHTRIAN SWEET DISH.

TIRANGA OR TRICOLOUR SANDESH (A INDIAN DESSERT WITH THREE COLOURS OF INDIAN FLAG)

Tomorrow  69th Independence Day will be celebrated throughout India. It is a great day for us as we got freedom on 15 th Aughust of 1947 from the British  rule almost after 200 years of slavery.

 It is celebrated  with many cultural  programmes, among  them Flag Hosting  is main...our beloved Tricolour  National Flag is hosted  by different people of through out the nation. I can easily  recall  the Independence  Day ceremony  of my school  where after Flag Hosting  we used to sing National  Anthem and get sweets.

To celebrate  this great day..I wanted to post something  special. .and what else is better than a sweet dish  to celebrate  this occasion.

Being a Bengali..I love to eat  Sandesh...and also make.All of you know that Sandesh  (Shon-Daesh) is a sweet  treat that can be made at any festival  in a Bengali  Household

To celebrate  ours 69 th Independence Day I made Tiranga or Tricolour  Sandesh. ..it is a layered  sandesh mixing with  Carrot or Gajar Sandesh, Chena or Paneer Sandesh   and Pista or Pistachios Sandesh.

Firts we will learn how to make chena or paneer or ricotta cheese.



INGREDIENTS OF MAKING CHENA OR PANEER OR RICOTTA CHEESE 


Milk-2ltr

Lemon juice or Vinegar-3tbsp (if required, add more lemon juice or vinegar to curdle the milk)


METHOD OF MAKING CHENA OR PANEER OR RICOTTA CHEESE 

Take a heavy bottomed vessel, add milk


Bring it to  boil and keep stirring to avoid burning of milk..


Once the milk comes to boil, simmer the gas, start adding the lemon juice and keep stirring( if required,add more lemon juice) cook for few seconds until the milk solids gets separates from the whey. Switch off the heat.
Pour this curdled milk to the already lined muslin cloth over a strainer,squeeze out all the whey water then  rinse   chena under the tap water  as much as possible....if you do not rinse the chena or paneer  proper. .you will  get the smell  of lemon while having it.


Now hang the cloth covered  chena or paneer tap for 30 minutes. It will help to squeeze  more water from chena or paneer...Now divide the chena into 3 equal portions.

To make Tricolour  or  Tiranga Sandesh. .we will start from bottom  means green parts of our flag.

INGREDIENTS OF MAKING GREEN OR BOTTOM  OR PISTA SANDESH PART OF TIRANGA OR TRICOLOUR SANDESH 


Pista or Pistachios  (without  shell)-1 cup

Powdered sugar - 1 cup

Chena or Paneer or Ricotta  cheese -1 Portion

Ghee-1tbsp

METHOD OF MAKING PISTA OR BOTTOM OR GREEN PART OF SANDESH.

Grind pista in a grinder  to make a fine powder.


Heat ghee  in a heavy bottomed vessel. .add powdered  pista..and toss slightly. .it will change the colour.

Make a paste of chena or paneer with pista powder in a blender  without adding water.


Put the sugar  into a heavy bottomed vessel on slow flame and wait until sugar form a thick liquid...(Don't overcooked. .otherwise  it will get caramelized ) ercooked. .otherwise  it will get caramelized )

Add pista   and chena or paneer paste and stir continously  with a wooden  ladle for 5 to 6 minutes  or till  the whole thing will be

thickened to a consistency  that coats the ladle.

Grease a pan or thali with some ghee

Now pour the this mixture  in this prepared plate or thali.

Now level the mixture with a spatula.



INGREDIENTS  OF  MAKING  CHENA OR PANEER SANDESH  OR WHITE PART  OF TIRANGA  OR TRICOLOUR SANDESH 


Chena or Paneer or Ricotta Cheese -1 Portion

 Powdered Sugar-1/4cup

Rose Water-Few Drops

Cardamom Powder -1pinch


METHOD OF MAKING CHENA OR PANEER SANDESH OR WHITE PART OR MIDDLE PART OF THE TRICOLOUR OR TIRANGA SANDESH  


Put the sugar  into a heavy bottomed vessel on slow flame and wait until sugar form a thick liquid...(Don't overcooked. .otherwise  it will get caramelized )

Grind  the chena in a blender without water. .and add to the vessel...also add rose water and cardamom powder.


Sugar melts and becomes gooey, continue to cook on a low flame till it reaches a thick consistency. It also begins to leave the sides and looks crumbly.

Now pour this mixture  on the pista chena  or the green coloured mixture.

Level with a spatula.



INGREDIENTS OF MAKING CARROT OR GAJAR OR TOP OR SAFFRON PART OF THE TRICOLOUR OR TIRANGA SANDESH. 


Chena or Paneer or Ricotta Cheese -1 Portion
Grated carrot:Of  2 carrots
Ghee: 1tbsp
Powdered Sugar: 1/4 cup

METHOD OF MAKING ORANGE  OR TOP OR CARROTS OR GAJAR PART OF SANSESGMH.

Add ghee in a pan. .add carrots  paste..toss carefully  for a minute  or two ...it will change the colour .

Make a paste of chena or paneer  with carrots  in a blender  without water .

Put the sugar  into a heavy bottomed vessel on slow flame and wait until sugar form a thick liquid...(Don't overcooked. .otherwise  it will get caramelized ) ercooked. .otherwise  it will get caramelized )

Add carrots  and chena or paneer paste and stir continously  with a wooden  ladle for 5 to 6 minutes  or till  the whole thing will be thickened to a consistency  that coats the ladle.



Now pour this mixture on the chena or white mixture.

Now level with a spatula.

Now allow this tricolour  or tiranga sandesh to become cool...


Garnish with silver varak.

After it sets,slice this Tricolour or Tiranga Sandesh and serve.

Your Tricolour or Tiranga Sandesh is ready. ..now enjoy yours Independence Day with   distributing  this sandesh  to yours freinds  .

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

CHENA PODA OR PANEER CAKE OR BAKED COTTAGE CHEESE

Chena poda (I prefer to call it Paneer Cake)  is  a sweet dish from the state of Odisha in the eastern India.Chena poda literally means burnt cheese. In Odiya language,Chena means cottage cheese or paneer and Poda means burnt.

 It is made with well kneaded homemade cottage cheese along with kaju or cashew nuts, raisins or kismis ,  ghee or clarified butter  and sugar, then it is slowly baked till the brown color appears.   Chhena poda is the only well known Indian dessert whose flavor is predominantly derived from the caramelization of sugar....and this makes this sweet dish different from other Indian desserts .

In traditional way it  is   slowly baked in earthen fire for few hours and then cooled down for hours before serving.These sweets are very famous through out Orissa.This is said to be the favorite dessert of Lord Jaganath.

Before starting the recipe, I would like to thank my neighbour cum freind Mona...she is a Odiya girl married with a Gujrati boy...one day she knocked my door...and gave this delicious sweet Chena Poda ..it was  new to me...as Odisha is my neighbourhood state...but I have never heard about it...so first time I got a chance to taste it...and yes I can say it was delicious. I can assure...you will fall in love with once you have a bite of it.

Today we are going to learn how to make Chena Poda or Paneer Cake...you can bake it in OTG,or if  you have Microwave with convection mode..then you can bake  it in there also....or if you do not have both OTG or Microwave wih Convection Mode..then you do not need to be worried. .you can  bake it in Pressure cooker also.

The main ingredient of this dish is chena or paneer or cottage cheese. ..so first we will have to make chena or paneer. ..to make chena or paneer we need to have...milk and lemon juice or vinegar.


INGREDIENTS OF MAKING CHENA OR PANEER OR COTTAGE CHEESE

Milk-2ltr
Lemon juice or Vinegar-3tbsp (if required, add more lemon juice or vinegar to curdle the milk)


METHOD OF MAKING CHENA OR PANEER OR COTTAGE CHEESE

Take a heavy bottomed vessel, add milk

Bring it to  boil and keep stirring to avoid burning of milk..

Once the milk comes to boil, simmer the gas, start adding the lemon juice and keep stirring( if required,add more lemon juice) cook for few seconds until the milk solids gets separates from the whey. Switch off the heat.

Pour this curdled milk to the already lined muslin cloth over a strainer,squeeze out all the whey water then  rinse   chena under the tap water  as much as possible....if you do not rinse the chena or paneer  proper. .you will  get the smell  of lemon while having it.

Now hang the cloth covered  chena or paneer tap for 30 minutes. It will help to squeeze  more water from chena or paneer.

Make sure you do not drain it for too long and the chena does not get too dry. It should be moist enough to knead it smoothly.

Now you chena or paneer or cottage cheese are ready...now we will make Chena Poda or Paneer Cake by using this homemade Chena or paneer.



INGREDIENTS OF MAKING CHENA PODA OR PANEER CAKE

Home made chena or paneer-:1and1/2cup(approximately )

Granulated Sugar:1cup (add normal sugar in a blender, blend it on medium speed for 10 -15seconds)(if required add more )

if you have more or less chena..then just adjust sugar quantity  according  to the above chena  and sugar  measurements

Raisins(chopped)-2tbsp

Cashew nuts(chopped)-2tbsp

Green cardamom powder-1/2tsp

Sooji or Semolina -1tsp

Baking powder:1/2tsp

Ghee or Clarified Butter-1tbsp


For Caramelizing :
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp  ghee or clarified butter


METHOD OF MAKING CHENA PODA OR PANEER CAKE

In a big plate, take homemade Chena or paneer...knead it very well til you found no lumps

Add Suji and powdered sugar and rest of the ingredients.....mix it well....mash it thoroughly using hands just like a soft dough.

To get a caramelized effect on the top, apply a tsp. of ghee to the baking tin. Sprinkle 1 tsp. of sugar on the tin. Hold the tin with pot holder slightly above gas stove for few minutes to melt the sugar. Spread the melted sugar evenly.

Then pour the chenna mix over the caramelized sugar.


FOR BAKING IN OVEN

Preheat oven of  180 degree C 350 degree F for 10 minutes.  Then put the chena mixed baking tin in oven and bake it for 45 minutes or Insert a toothpick to check.... if the toothpick comes out cleanthen it is done. Cool it for 2 to 3 hours and then turn it upside down. Slice and serve. It stays fresh for a week in the refrigerator.

FOR BAKING IN PRESSURE COOKER


Use a pressure cooker that's at least 3 litres, but 5 litres is a good size  what I would recommend.

Remove the gasket (the rubber insulation thing) on the lid of your pressure cooker. This is an important step. You also do NOT need the whistle.

My pressure cooker came with this stand that goes at the bottom of the cooker pan. It distributes heat more evenly and is especially useful when baking in the pressure cooker. If you don't have, try to find a substitute. Maybe a small, thick steel plate would do the job as well.

It's better not to have the cake pan touch the bottom of the pressure cooker directly since that may cause the bottom of the cake to cook more rapidly.


you need to pre-heat the pressure cooker. For this, just place the lid (without gasket) on the pressure cooker (which should contain no water) and cook on high heat for 2 mins.


 Now, keep the flame in low and place the aluminium vessel with the cheese batter carefully inside the cooker. Close the cooker without gasket and weight,... cook for 30 minutes to be done.

Check it after 30 minutes by inserting a knife or toothpick in the centre of the batter, if it comes out clean, means it’s done, otherwise cook for some more time. (Mine took 30-35 minutes)

Cool it for 2 to 3 hours and then turn it upside down. Slice and serve. It stays fresh for a week in the refrigerator.

SHEER KHORMA OR SHEER KHURMA (A MUGHLAI SPECIAL RICH VERMICELI PUDDING)

Sheer Khorma or Sheer Khurma  is a vermicelli pudding. It is a  very popular dessert throughout South Asia and Central Asia. It is a traditional Muslim festive breakfast,  prepared by Muslim people on Eid. The main ingredients used in Sheer Khurma are vermicelli, whole milk, sugar and  dates. In Persian language,Sheer means milk and  Khurma means dates.This dish is made from dried dates though here I used both dried and ripe dates.



PREPARATION TIME - 15 MINUTES 
COOKING TIME -1HOUR (INCLUDING SOAKING TIME ) 
SERVINGS -4


INGREDIENTS 
 Milk-1ltr

Ghee or Clarified Butter -2tbsp

Sugar -1/2 cup or as required ( the dates and raisins add a lot of sweetness to the milk, so add sugar accordingly.

Seviyan/ Vermicelli/Simui-1/2cup (Broken into small pieces )

Cashews or Kaju-10

Amonds Or Badam-10,(soak into water for 5 minutes)

Unsalted pistachios or Pista-10 (soak into  the water for 5 minutes)

Dry Seedless Dates -6(soak into the water for  minimum 1 hour...and then cut into thin slices)

Ripe Seedless Dates-4 Sliced (soak into 1/4 cup  hot milk..can take this milk fro 1 ltr milk )

Cardamoms Powder-1pinch

Chironji/charoli(Sunflower Seeds)-1/2tsp (skinned) (optional )

Golden raisins or Kismis -2tsp

Rose water -few drops

Varak(Edible Silve Foil used for garnishing sweet -Few

METHOD 
Take a heavy bottomed vessel, add milk, bring it to boil, when it will start boiling, simmer the gas, add sugar..mix well..stirring continuously otherwise it will get burned ..cook on low heat  till the milk is reduced to 3/4 of its quantity.


In the meantime, boil the nuts(except Raisin ), blanch and cut them finely nto thin slices,



Take  a pan,heat  1tbsp ghee  on low heat and fry the vermicelli till golden, about 1-2 minutes...remove from pan and keep aside.

Add ramaining  1 tbsp ghee in the pan,add the dried dates,  kismis ,chiroli and all the chopped nuts and fry gently for a few minutes more...take out from the pan and keep aside.

Add this fried nuts and dried dates into the milk ..add also the ripe dates soaked milk now and cook again till desired consistency is obtained..(as shown in the picture.)..Add few drops rose water and mix

Remove from heat. .transfer to a serving bowl. garnish with varak or edible silver foil...let it be cool. .serve when it is chilled.

CHOCOLATE RASGULLAS (CHOCOLAT FLAVOURED CHEESE BALL DIPPED IN SUGAR SYRUP )

I had some milk in the fridge....thought of making rasgullas but not the old one.Though I love traditional  white rasgullas..but this time I wanted to do some twist with the regular  rasgullas  by adding  some flavour. .but which flavour? Few days back, I had  bought  a big packet  of cocoa powder..so  decided  to  make  Chocolate Rasgullas by adding  the cocoa powder. It taste  awesome. Today I am going to share a moist,delicious, spongy, chocolaty flavour  rasgullas  with you.

HOW TO MAKE CHENA OR PANEER OR COTTAGE CHEESE BALL FOR CHOCOLATE  RASGULLAS 


INGREDIENTS OF MAKING CHENA OR PANEER OR COTTAGE CHEESE BALL 

Milk-1ltr or 4 cups+ 4 tbsp

3tbsp Lemon juice or Vinegar 

Cocoa Powder -1/4Cup

Sooji or Rava-1tsp

METHOD OF MAKING CHENA OR PANEER OR COTTAGE CHEESE BALL 



In a small ball mix 1/4 cup cocoa powder with 4tbsp milk,mix it well...make sure there is no lumps


Take a heavy bottomed vessel, add 1 litre milk and  milk mixed cocoa powder...mix well...make sure there is no lumps


Bring it to  boil and keep stirring to avoid burning of milk..

Once the milk comes to boil, simmer the gas, start adding the lemon juice or vinegar  and keep stirring( if required,add more lemon juice or vinegar ) cook for few seconds until the milk solids gets separates from the whey. Switch off the heat.

Pour this curdled milk to the already lined muslin cloth over a strainer,squeeze out all the whey water  as much as possible...and rinse with water...the raw smell of lemon or vinegar goes away in this way.

Now hang the cloth covered  chena or paneer tap for 30 minutes. Then remove it from tap and place a heavy weight on chena for another 30 minutes. It will help to squeeze  more water from chena or paneer  or  cheese.


After that , remove the cheesecloth from the chenna or paneer.

The chenna should not have too much moisture nor be too dry.

Add 1 tsp sooji or rava or semolina, adding sooji or semolina helps to bind the mixture.

 First mix the sooji with chenna and then begin to knead.

With the heels of your palms mash the chenna or paneer or cheese  and knead.

Keep on collecting the chenna or paneer  or cheese  from the sides and continue to mash and knead.

This kneading process is very important and it decides the texture of rasgullas .

 Now take small portions from the chenna or paneer  and roll them between your palms to a smooth round ball.

Prepare all small balls this way.


HOW TO MAKE SUGAR SYRUP 

INGREDIENTS OF MAKING SUGAR SYRUP 

Sugar-2 cups
Water -4 cups
Cocoa Powder -2tbsp

METHOD OF MAKING SUGAR SYRUP 

in a large pan, take 2  cups sugar and cups water. And cocoa powder and mix well...and bring it to boil.

You have to use a large pot or pan so that there is enough space for the rasgullas to cook and increase in size.


Mix and continue  stir the sugar syrup  until it will be dissolved....do this process on medium  flame.


COOKING RASGULLAS 

When  the  sugar syrup will start to boiling. ..drop chena or paneer  or cheese  ball gently to the sugar syrup ...drop balls according  to the size of your pan. ..rasgullas need more space to be cooked...the size of the rasgullas  will be doubled  on cooking  on sugar syrup.

Cover the vessel with  lid...put a heavy weight on the lid...cook 25 minutes on medium flame and then cook another  10 minutes  on high flame.Open the lid and gently stir every 5 minutes to ensure  even cooking and  puffing.

Turn off the gas,transfer  the  rasgullas  into a serving bowl. ..you can enjoy this hot chocolate  rasgullas  or refrigerate them and serve later.

Colourful Cookies

                        COLOURFUL COOKIES 
               
                               

                             

Ingredients
Butter - 1cup 
Granuled Sugar - 1 cup 
Egg -1 
Vanilla essence -1tsp
Flour - 2cup 
Baking powder - 2tsp 
Food Colours  (3 according to your choice)-few drops 

Method 
Cream  the butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl 
Add  egg 
Add vanilla essence 
Add flour, baking powder in another bowl 
Add flour mixture into this creamed  batter  slowly 
Mix well  with  spatula 
Make a smooth dough with hand 
   
Separate  your  cookie dough  into  3  separate servings bowls 
Add food colouring to each serving and mix well 
Chill your dough in the fridge for 30 minutes then roll each serving out to about this  1/4  inch thickness on a piece of plastic wrap. Make sure each piece is about the same size 
Layer each piece on top of each other...and put in the freezer  for a couple of hours
Once solid, remove from freezer and slice dough into 1/4 inch slices  with a sharp knife ...make sure every cookie is about the same size 

Place  cookies  carefully on parchment lined cookie sheet. ..if you don't have parchment paper...just  grease  the oven proof  tray 
Bake  at 180 degree c for 15 minutes   or until edges turn just golden.
Let them be cool completely