Bhapa Sandesh/ Steamed Sandesh/ Steamed Cottage Cheese Fudge

'Bhapa Sandesh' or steamed milk fudge need no introduction to any Bengali , for others it is a specific type of sweet or dessert created with chenna (Indian Cheese), sugar and are available in many types and shapes. Bhapa Sandesh is made by steaming home-made cottage cheese and that's why the name is Steamed Sandesh. 'Bhapa' in Bengali means steamed. This steamed Sandesh is usually decorated with saffron streaks or dry fruits or rose petals.

Sandesh are made from Chhena or cottage cheese which is the solid form of milk collected after it is curdled . The process involves  kneading  of chenna along with some sugar and tossing it on slow heat till it leaves the sides of the pan and then after cooling , various shapes can be given to the sandesh with the help of moulds which are mainly made of stone or wood.  

Ingredient :

• 2 litre full fat milk
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
•  8 to 10 tsp  sugar
• A pinch of green cardamom powder
• a generous pinch of Saffron
• 1 tbsp hot milk
• 1 tbsp chopped pistachios

Let’s Learn how to make this Steamed Sandesh

• Boil the milk in a big pan and stir continuously. Once the milk starts boiling, lower the flame. Pour the lemon juice and stir. Once the milk starts curdling , you will notice the greenish water called whey, switch off the gas and remove the milk.Leave the chenna in this condition for 5-7 minutes.

• Pour the chena over a soft cheese cloth and let all the water drain away.Now put this cloth with the chenna under running cold water for 2-3 minutes to  help removing the smell of lemon.

• Hang the chenna along with the cloth for 30 minutes or till all the water drains away.Soak the saffron in the hot milk.

• Soak the saffron in 1 tbsp warm milk and keep aside.

• Now transfer the chenna to a large plate and the sugar and start kneading with the back of your palm till  it gets soft and smooth, add the cardamom powder. Again knead it nicely, until you feel oil on your palm. 

• Take a container; line it with parchment paper. Pour the cheese mixture into the container, sprinkle the saffron strands and cover it with aluminum foil and put it on a steamer and let it cook on low to medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. 

• Once it is done, let it cool down first at room temperature. Then put the container into the refrigerator for half an hour and serve .

• Cut it into the pieces. Bhapa Sandesh is ready. Sprinkle or decorated with some chopped pistachios and serve!  

Note: Please note that the Chenna shouldn’t get too dry. If it gets dry, the Sandesh won’t be soft enough.

Shrikhand-Creamy Yoghurt infused with custard apple and Cardamom

Shrikhand, creamy sweet hung curd, mildly flavored with crushed cardamom and saffron strands is  a  magical transformation of simple curd into a sweet delicacy befitting for GODs. That’s why "Shrikhand" is supposed to mean "Ambrosia of the Gods".  This traditional Indian dessert uses Low fat, rich and creamy Greek yogurt and involves no cooking and is a standard feature of many households especially in Gujrat and Maharastra. Shrikhand is generally flavored with saffron, cardamom or diced fruits and served with masala puri or as a standalone dessert. 

If like flavored yogurt, then  this homemade  flavored yogurt – Shrikhand will surely satisfy your taste bud . The main ingredient for Shrikhand is hung curd. For shrikhand your curd needs to be thick and no water in it. For this, you have to tie the fresh curd in a cotton Or linen cloth to let the water droop down from the cloth. Keep tied for 3 to 4 hours Or overnight. Let the whey flow down. Now unwrap the cloth to use your hung curd. Hung curd is known as chaka in India.

Hung yogurt is like a blank canvas and you can paint it with the flavors you want. If you like a fruit based shrikhand, just add the puree or the pulp of the fruit after blending the hung curd and blend everything again. You can add any fruit, dry fruits with sugar and yogurt to make your fruits shrikhand. One of its most popular variations is  aam Shrikhand or Amrakhand where mango puree is added to this dessert . I have already posted Amrakhand recipe earlier.

As winter bids adieu and summer is fast approaching, this festival of colour known as Holi is round the corner which has many dimensions to it than only colours. From celebrating the change of season, get together with families and friends and preparing delectable sweets and savories, this festival reminds us that there is no bigger and vibrant festival than Holi. To celebrate the #Festivalofcolors, the Foodie Monday BlogHop theme for this Monday was Colors associated with Holi and I have decided to keep my canvas blank and fill it with all the colors of Holi by making Cardamom flavoured Shrikhand and present it with a thandai based tart and topped it with fruits of my choice to represent the true colors of Holi. 

Ingredients for the Thandai based tart.

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1/8^th tsp baking powder

• a pinch of salt

• a pinch of nutmeg powder

• 1/4th cup grated coconut

• ¼ cup thandai powder/ syrup

• 5 tbsp cold unsalted butter

• 1/4^th cup powdered sugar

• cold water if you are using Thandai powder

Ingredients for Cardamom filled custard apple Shrikhand;

• 400 grams hung curd

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup custard apple puree

• 1 tsp cardamom powder

• few pistachios for garnishing

For the garnish

• Assortment of fruits like, banana, kiwi, grapes, red apple, orange, pomegranate, cherries etc.

let's learn how to make this Shrikhand:

• To make the thandai tart,  add all purpose flour, baking powder, nutmeg powder, salt and sieve well in a bowl.

• Mix sugar and butter together till smooth and creamy add the thandai powder, grated coconut and mix well, add the all purpose flour, baking powder ,salt and nutmeg powder mix and make a dough using very little cold water. Water is not required for the dough if you are using thandai syrup. Cover it with cling film and keep it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees . line a parchment paper in a 7" tart mould . Take out the dough from the fridge and place it between two parchment paper. sprinkle some flour on it and start rolling it in a circular motion. Make a circle larger than your tart mould and take out the top most butter paper from it. Now carefully invert the dough over the tart mould and remove the butter paper. Press the dough as per the tart mould and place some cheakpeas over it which helps in retaining the shape and it won't puff up  and blind bake it the oven for 40 minutes.Take out of oven and keep on a wire wrack to cool.
• Place yogurt in double layer cheesecloth/muslin cloth, gather up the sides and put the bundle in strainer over the deep bowl. Put in the fridge over night to drain.
• Put drained yogurt, cardamom, sugar in the food processor. Mix well and adjust for sweetness.Add the custard apple puree to it and keep in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes or till you are ready to serve.
• Pour the yogurt mixture over the crust and tap the pan gently on the counter to release any air bubbles.
• Top the tart with your choice of fresh fruit or berries before serving.
• Sprinkle nutmeg powder and pistachios on it and enjoy this fruity flavoured Shrikhand.

Going by the color of the Holi , I have given a twist to the normal shrikhand by adding the subtle flavor of oranges, do give it a try and share your feedback.

For Orange Shrikhand

• 400 gms frsh thick curd

• 11/2cup fresh orange juice

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 tsp orange zest

• 10 seedless dates

• To make Orange Shrikhand, add  orange juice, sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil  at medium heat for 15 min or till it gets a thick syrup consistency. To thicken it add dates puree to it and stir continuously during the boiling process. Turn of the heat and let it cool down. Once cool, grind to a fine purree.

• For hung yogurt, tie the yogurt in a muslin cloth and hang it for about 2-3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator till all the water drains from it. Grind hung curd and orange puree at low setting till it you get a  smooth texture. 

• Transfer the mixture in to an airtight jar and  keep it in the fridge for 2 hrs before serving.You can keep this orange Shikhand in the fridge for later use. Serve on small tarts and decorate with grated chocolate.

Sending this to 32nd Foodie Monday Bloghop theme of ##Festivalofcolors.....

Have a safe and colorful Holi....

BAKED MAWA GUJIYAS- HOW TO MAKE BAKED MAWA GUJIYA

Any festival in India is incomplete without dessert. Holi is one such festival which is about a riot of colors and can hardly be complete without a hearty dose of mawa gujiyas – a recipe made with dough stuffed with a sweet filling mawa and deep-fried. Gujiya which is a fried crispy flaky pastry stuffed with sweet mawa filling is one of the staple dessert prepared especially on Holi festival. On this Holi, let us learn how to make gujiyas/mawa gujiyas at our home and serve it  with thandai, which is a delicious beverage. 

Gujiya, Karanji or Chandrakala is a very popular dessert which is prepared in most households during festive occasions like Holi, Diwali, Dushera etc. This sweet dish is a celebration of deliciousness in the festive season of Holi. Traditionally this Holi special gujiya is stuffed with Khoya/mawa, chopped almonds, walnuts, pistachios raisins, green cardamoms, and nutmeg to enhance the flavor . Gujiya is known as different names in different parts of the country like Kajikalayu in Andhra Pradesh, Nevries in Goa, Karachika in Tamil nadu, Ghughra in Gujarat, Karanji in Maharastra & Odisha, Chandrakala in northern part of India, They all are similar in making but have different ingredient in stuffing.

The outer layer is made from all purpose flour. While the stuffing is made from mawa, sugar and nuts. Gujiya is not an overly sweet dish. It has a crispy, flaky exterior with a cardamom flavored sweet filling. Today, am blogging Mawa Gujiya where khoya/mawa is used in place of sooji (semolina).  There are many different variation is stuffing recipes like made with sooji or dried fruits and jaggery. The authentic gujiya has stuffing of sweet mawa or khoya. Hence it is known as Mawa gujiya as well.

  Gujiyas have come a long way now, and along the way, new shapes and fillings have emerged. You can try the croissant shaped savoury ones, the rich shahi gujiyas, the sweet samosas, the fragrant clove flavoured laanglata, the saffron tinged kesari ones, the coin purse-like potli gujiya and the phool gujiya, that are garnished with petals from the Lotus. 

But gujias can be calorie-rich due to the fact that it is fried and filled with mawa or khoya. If you are watching what you eat this Holi, and would like to cut back on the calories, you can try this Potli Gujiyas  which is not fried but Baked. This will help you keep the weight off this dessert and will allow you to enjoy it, minus the guilt.

Cuisine: Indian

Cooking Time : 30min

Preparation Time : 20min

Servings : 4-5 (makes 15-20 gujiya)

Ingredients :

For Outer Layer

• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 4 tbsp Ghee or Oil
• 1 tsp salt
• water for kneading

For Filling

• 1 Cup Mawa/Khoya
• 1 Cup jaggery
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder
• 1/4 Cup  Grated Coconut
• 2 tbsp Raisins
• 1/4 cup powdered Cashewnuts
• 1/4 cup powdered almonds
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 

Let's learn how to make mawa gujiya:

•  For the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the ghee with your fingertips till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add one-fourth cup and one tablespoon of cold water and knead into a stiff dough. Cover with piece of damp muslin and set aside for fifteen minutes. 

• If using frozen mawa, microwave for 20-30 secs or let sit on the counter for 20-30 mins to thaw. Once thawed, gently crush with your fingers making sure to break all the lumps for a crumbled mawa. If using freshly home made mawa, make sure it is crumbly before use.

• For the filling, heat a non-stick pan; add the khoya and sauté for three minutes or till the fat separates. Set aside to cool.Add the cashew nuts, almonds and raisins, grated coconut, jaggery and mix well.

• Divide the dough into equal portions and shape into balls. Roll out each ball into a puri.

• Place one portion of the stuffing  in the middle  , lightly moisten the edges, and bring all sides together to make a potli like design as shown in the picture above.

• This is not tough at all. Here you have to pinch it upwards and bundle them.It doesn’t have to be perfect,just make sure it sticks well so that it doesnt open up during the baking process. 

• Preheat oven to 180 degree centigrade. Grease the baking tray or line a butter paper in a baking tray. Line the gujiyas in baking tray. Coat the gujia with ghee (clarified butter)  and honey. Bake for 18-20 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the sides and brush with ghee and bake till they are golden.

THANDAI PHIRNI

Phirni is a easy traditional Indian rice pudding like dessert which is prepared with full cream milk, basmati rice and sugar as main ingredients. The cooked rice milk mixture is poured into small earthern clay pots garnished with mixed nuts and edible silver leaf. You will find this easy sweet dessert prepared in the homes of Hindus and Muslims to celebrate festivals like Eid, Holi and Diwali. Phirni  has got it’s origins in the Middle East and has made its way to the Indian sub continent through the Mughals. 

I shall never forget the first time I had made Phirni. I had never tasted anything quite so delicious, I remember thinking when shall be the next occasion where shall I be able to make this dish once again. The first time I made it I had set it in ceramic ware but later I learned that if Phirni is set in clay, it  absorbs some of the fluid from the Phirni and helps it set, contributes a very special flavor of its own, and also helps keep the Phirni cool — important because this is one Indian dessert that should always be served chilled. You can make a lot of variation with this Phirni by adding almonds, saffron, rose, Pistachios, Mango, strawberry and even chocolates. 

While Holi is all about colours, like every other festival the celebration is incomplete without some delicious sweet dishes that will  keep your mood upbeat. Different delicacies are prepared in various parts of India to bring in the festival with great zeal and enthusiasm.  On the onset of Holi, the festival colors, you can try this Thandai Phirni to serve your family and guests. 

Ingredients

• 1 liter full cream milk
• 1/4 cup rice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 2 tablespoon Thandai Powder* 
• Pistachios,  almonds, rose petals and few strands of saffron for garnishing

*Thandai Powder : 1/3 cup almond ,2 tbsp cashew nuts, 1 tsp fennel seeds , 1 tbsp poppy seeds , 1 tbsp melon seeds, 1 /2 tbsp black pepper, 4 to 5 green cardamom, . Dry roast everything , coo and make a fine powder of it.

Let's learn how to make the Thandai Phirni: 

• Wash and soak the rice for 1 hour. Drain and pat dry on an absorbent cloth. Once dry, blend the rice into a coarse powder.

• In a heavy bottomed pan; add the milk and bring it to a boil. Once it begins to boil, turn the heat to low and add the ground rice to milk. You will notice that the milk will begin to thicken.Keep stirring the milk while it is simmering. Once it starts thickening, add the sugar, cardamom powder .

• Add the Thandai powder and keep stirring for another 5 to 10 minutes till the mixture attains its full flavor and has an almost pudding-like consistency.

• Turn off the heat and allow it to cool completely. 

• Pour this mixture into small earthen pots and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

• Serve with chopped pistachios, almonds, rose petals and saffron.

Sending this Thandai Phirni to Holi Collective Recipes by Sonal Gupta of Simplyvegetarian777.

STUFFED DATES TOFFEES

Hey, we are once again back with our 28th Foodie Monady Bloghop event and what a fun choosing the theme for this time. It's always a pleasure to visit my co-blogger friends blog and see what amazing recipes they have....and when the theme for this week was " Inter Blog challenge" , everyone including me were excited. This is the chance to cook something from each other's blog but wait who will cook from whose blog was the question in everyone's mind. Here comes the savior of our group Krithika ...the lively girl that she is always has surprises up her sleeves.....and comes this unique way of choosing the Blog by picking up a random draw. Personally, I would have been happy to cook from anyone's blog as I know each one of them are fantastic cooks and passionate Bloggers. I have been given to try recipes from a very talented and sweet friend Habeeba Nisa who blogs at Flavour Diary .

Nisa is born and raised in India and moved to UK with her family consisting of her hubby and two extremely sweet kids. She is a Software professional and was working  before she left India and currently work with her husband in his Company. Her Blog has  a collection of wonderful recipes to cook from. I have personally used one of her recipes of Chocolate cups in SPICY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE. Apart from this, some of the dishes which I like from her blog are Cute Deviled eggs, Chocolate Cardamom Sandesh, Dahi Vada . 

Spicy Chocolate Mousse

For this 28th Foodie Monday Blog Hop I have chosen this very easy and flavorful recipe of Stuffed Dates which can be done in both sweet and savory manner and like her I also tried the sweet version. You can have a look at the original picture of the recipe below. 

             

Here is what NISA has to say about her recipe: "Why to have just dates for your snack, why not have them with little more added vitamins and minerals. These lovely tiny energy bundles are easy to make and serve. Having a date a day would be satisfying to your taste buds with sweetness and also giving you all the essential nutrients for the day.  Its a blending and stuffing process".

Dates are the fruit of the date palm tree, and are often used as an ingredient in desserts and other recipes, naturally sweetening dishes and offer several nutritional benefits. Dates has been gaining popularity with more health conscious consumers who looks into the fact that dates can easily be used in cooking and baking to sweeten dishes, sometimes even taking the place of sugar or other artificial sweeteners.

The health benefits of dates are far-reaching, but one of the best things about the natural fruit is that although it is high in sugar, studies have shown that dates are actually a low-glycemic index food and do not significantly raise blood sugar levels after they are eaten. Dates are also loaded with fiber, have been shown to lower triglyceride levels, and deliver vitamins and minerals that are necessary to maintain optimum health.

Coming back to the recipe of Stuffed dates, it is an easy but impressive recipe with loaded goodness of dry fruits. This recipe is equally well-suited for an elegant dinner party or a  summer get together, as it balance sweet, nutty and crunchy flavors and  textures.I have made a few changes in the original recipe which I have marked in the Note.

Level: Easy 

Total time: 30 mins

Makes: 50 nos

Ingredients

• 2 packets dates

• 100 grams Almonds

• 100 grams Cashewnuts

• 2 tablespoon Raisins

• 1 tablespoon melon seeds

• A pinch of Nutmeg powder

• 1 tablespoon Milkmaid

• 100 grams chocolate chips(Optional)

• Few Cloves for garnishing

Lets learn How to make this:

• Cut the Dates in half and remove the seeds. You can also seedless dates.

• Dry roast the  Almonds, Cashewnuts and melon seeds separately. 

• In a blender add Almonds, cashews and blend it to a coarse powder.Add the melon seeds and nutmeg powder to it.Now add 1 tablespoon of milkmaid and knead it to make a dough consistency.Take a pinch of this mixture and stuff it inside the dates. Place a clove in the center and keep aside.The flavor of the clove and its spiciness will balance out the sweetness of the stuffed dates.
• You can have this as it is now or can follow the below mentioned procedure to make it more exotic.

• Now melt the chocolate chips  in a double boiler and mix it well. Once it melts add a a teaspoon of oil to make it smooth and easy coating of the dates.Dip each stuffed dates in it and keep on a parchment paper to dry. Place it inside a refrigerator to cool .Once cool, take out the dates and wrap it on color papers like toffees. You can have them as it is or can pass it off as a gift to someone you LOVE.

 This is such an easy to make recipe once you figure out a couple of basics, that you can easily make a few batches within  half an hour or so and have delicious gifts to share with friends and family or to serve throughout the holiday season.Believe me when I say you can make this and then invite people over for a tasting of this. Otherwise, you’ll be tempted to eat it all yourself. Promise.

 I have made the following few changes in the basic recipe adopted from Flavour Diary. 

• The original recipe calls for sugar and water , whereas I have replaced it with Milkmaid for proper binding in place of water.

• The original recipe calls for addition of food colors whereas I have kept it basic.

• I have dry roasted the almonds and cashew nuts for longer life .

• Kept the mixture a bit coarse so that it can give the feeling of chewiness.

• I have used melon seeds for crunchiness and nutmeg powder for aromatic flavor.

• I have used chocolates to cover the dates for a kids friendly version and kept it as it is for others.

Thank you Nisa for this wonderful and simple recipe and if I could have met you in person, I would have definitely gifted you the lovely stuffed dates wrapped up in chocolates for you and your kids.

Sending this Stuffed dates toffees recipe to our 28th Foodie Monday Bloghop theme of " Inter Blog Challenge".