Rava Kesari

This is also called Sojji in Tamil,  Sheera in Marathi  Kesari Bath in Kannada.

This is a sweet which can be made  very fast and in a jiffy.  If you get unexpected guests and has to serve them some sweets (as is (was)  the tradition in India ) this was one sweet made  quickly.

This was also part of  Tamilian culture of making this   'Sojji'    along with a savory called 'Bajji'  when a prospective Groom visited the house of the Bride to   'see'   the Girl which was called as 'ponnu pakkarathu'

Ingredients:

1. Rava or Semolina  1 small cup
2. Sugar 1and 1/2 cups to 2 Cups (same size as you measured the Rava)
3. Ghee 1/4 Cup or little less than that
4. Water 2 cups.
5. Dried grapes (kismis) Cashew nuts   both of these few pieces.
6. Permitted food Colour Orange very little 
7. Few strands of kesar (saffron or Kumkuma poo)
8. Elachi or Cardamom Powder 1 tea spoon.

Method.

Fry the Cashew nuts (light golden brown) and kismis in little ghee and keep aside.

Fry the Rava in a thick bottomed vessel with a Teaspoon of Ghee till light brown. Boil water in a separate stove and add the boiling water to the fried Rava.  Add the water slowly and keep stirring so that there are no lumps of Rava  in the Vessel.  Keep stirring for some time till the Rava is cooked and add the sugar and the  color mixed in a little milk and also the Kesar mixed in little milk.   (Colour need not be added, but  only  Kesar without orange colour  will give a lighter tinge to the Rava Kesari )

Add Ghee bit by bit and keep stirring.   when the whole mixture evenly comes to boil with a good texture without lumps add elachi powder and the fried cashew nuts and kismis.  switch off the stove. and serve the Rava Kesari hot.

Slight Variation:

Instead of Water, Milk can be used   (half milk half water or completely Milk) to make  Rava Kesari.

One Ripe Banana can be mashed and added after the milk is added and Rava cooked. Sugar can be reduced a little.  The Banana, Milk , Kesari is made without adding any colour (not even Kesar) for the 'Satyanaryana Pooja' and it is given as prasad and is white in Colour.

Pinappple pieces  (cut into very  small pieces) can be fried a little  bit in ghee and added after adding the Water/Milk. Then This becomes the Pineapple pudding.  For this Kesar and Colour can be added.

Vanilla Ice Cream

This is a recipe for home made Ice cream which tastes very good.

Ingredients:

1. Full Cream Milk  1 litre.
2. Sugar   1/2 Cup
3. Cashew nuts  100 gms.
4. Custard Powder  Vanilla flavour 1 to 2  T spoons.
5. Vanilla Essence   few drops.

 Method.

Boil the Milk.    Keep aside little milk to cool  for dissolving the custard powder.  Let the Milk boil for some more time in Sim flame .(less heat.)

Soak the Cashew nuts for one hour and grind it to a smooth   paste with little cold milk. 

When the milk is boiling  add the cashew paste and stir well.  Keep stirring and add the sugar.  Keep stirring.

Add cold milk to the custard powder and make it into a watery paste and add it to the boiling mixture.  Keep stirring.  This is the thickening agent and the whole thing will become little thick. Add the vanilla essence and stir well.  switch off the stove.

 When this mixture cools,  pour it into a flat vessel (preferably an aluminium vessel as it cools faster)  and keep it in the freezer.  (you can  just line the vessel outside  with salt as it will be easier to remove from the freezer).

After 5 to 6 hours take out the vessel.  The mixture inside would be hard.  Take out with a hard sharp  spoon bit by bit and put it in a mixer and beat  it.  It will be tough to do it as it will be very hard and the mixture very cool.  do little by little not damaging your mixer.  (Indian made mixers are sturdy and I have never damaged my mixer while doing this.)

Once the whole thing becomes smooth paste put it back in the vessel and keep it again in the Freezer.

Repeat the process of beating the hard mixture once more after few hours.

After two/three hours in  the , freezer,  Ice cream is ready to serve and this will be a smooth sweet    Ice cream.

You can do different flavours of ice cream like strawberry, using strawberry flavour and little  red edible  colour added to it.  You can make into a two or three fold colour ice cream by pouring one above the other in the last stage .

For Variation, in Mango season,   Mango ice cream can be prepared.  Method is same.  Ripe mangoes can be cut and beaten in mixer to a smooth paste and added when the milk is boiling , after adding the cashews and before adding the sugar.  In this case the quantity of sugar can be reduced little bit as the sweetness of mangoes will be there in the ice cream. Beating from the freezer is same as for the  Vanilla ice cream.

CHOCOLATE

Here is a simple recipe for home made chocolate which is a great favourite with my kids.

Ingredients.

1. Milk Powder 2 cups
2. Sugar 1 and 3/4th cups
3. Butter 1 cup should be soft should be kept outside the fridge for at least few hours.
4. Unsweetened cocoa powder 4 to 5 table spoons
5. Water 3/4Th cups

Method
Mix the soft (kola kola) butter, cocoa powder and milk powder well softly and keep it in a vessel.
Keep a metal tray or plate ready greased with butter.
Take a thick bottomed pan ( a pressure cooker can be used as it has thick bottom). add sugar and water and make it into a syrup. You have to boil it till you get the right consistency. The method to test this consistency is to put the syrup a drop or two in a small cup of water. you should be able to make a small ball out of the syrup with your fingers. (If not yet the right consistency the syrup will just dissolve in the water).
Now switch off the stove and put the milk powder, butter, cocoa powder mixture into the sugar syrup and stir thoroughly for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Pour this into the already greased tray . After fifteen minutes cut them into pieces with a buttered knife. This chocolate can be decorated with grated and slightly roasted almonds or cashew nuts or raisins. This should be added immediately after pouring into the tray.
Take out the pieces after it cools and eat it.

Custard with Fruits

This is a Dessert which can be made very easily and Served
Ingredients.

1. Milk Half Litre + quarter glass
   
2. Sugar 1/2 cup (or little more if you want it to be sweeter)
3. Custard Powder 2 and 1/2 table Spoon.
4. Fruits of your Choice

Method
Cut fruits like Apple (peel the skin), Banana, Mango, Pappya, Pineapple, Grapes . Add 1 t spoon of sugar and Mix well in a bowl. for the Above quantity of Custard, One Apple, one or two banana, a few pieces of Pineapple and few grapes and a bit of Pappaya and mango (if available) will be enough.
Take a thick Vessel for boiling the milk. Take 1/4 glass of milk boil it and cool it and keep aside first and then boil the remaining milk. Once the milk starts boiling put the sugar and keep stirring. Once the sugar dissolves, mix the custard powder in the cooled milk well and add it to the boiling milk and sugar mixture. Stir well. This will thicken the milk . Stir for 2 to 3 minutes and switch off the Stove. Custard is Ready.
Cool the Custard and keep it in the Fridge. Keep the cut fruits also in the fridge.
While serving put the Cut fruits in the serving Bowl and put the Custard on the top and can decorate it with a (preserved) cherry and Serve.

Gulab Jamoon

Gulab jamoon is an Indian sweet made out of Milk Khova. Milk Khova is what you get when you go on heating the milk and it solidifies into Khova. If sugar is added to the Khova it becomes a sweet called pal khova.
In some Indian cities you get unsweetened khova which can be used to make many sweets and one of them is jamoon. Khova can be made at home but it is a laborious process.
The easiest way to make jamoons is to buy the ready to make packs of instant gulab jamoons. it is available in all Indian Stores. The method is given in the pack as to how to make the gulab jamoons.
if it is the batter from the ready pack Just mix with water (take lesser quantity of water than specified so that the batter does not become watery) and mix very lightly and add 1 t spoon of ghee and set it aside for 5 minutes. make into small round balls.
if it is the khova you are using to make the jamoons mix the khova with maida (white flour or all purpose flour) (1 or 2 table spoons for 1/4 kg of Khova ) add 1 t spoon of ghee and make into small round balls.

Sugar Syrup.

if it is ready made mix the quantity of sugar would be specified on the pack. If with Khova for 1/4 kg of khova you would require around 1kg of sugar.
mix equal quantity of water as the sugar and boil it in a hard bottomed pan. Let it boil for around 15 minutes. switch off stove.

Frying the Jamoons

In another stove keep a Frying pan and add cooking oil. once the oil is heated reduce the stove to sim postion .(lower heat) Add the round balls of jamoon one by one. when the jamoons turns dark brown take them and put them into the hot sugar syrup.
Serve the jamoons hot with the syrup .