Vanilla mousse

Perfect dessert for any kind of parties.  Very simple to make & delicious to eat.  Vanilla mousse can be prepared overnight & served next day, needs no last minute touch.  Rich & creamy texture normally served with custard sauce.  Kids will enjoy this !!!!

Ingredients :

1. Eggs - 3 nos
2. Unsalted butter (melted) - 2 tbsp
3. Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
4. Heavy whipping cream - 1 cup
5. Sugar - 1/2 cup

Direction to cook :

1.   Separate the egg yolk & whites.  Whisk the egg yolks, sugar & the melted butter.  Add vanilla essence & whisk.

2.   Whisk the heavy whipping cream till soft peaks adding 2 tbsp of sugar.  Keep aside.

3.   Whisk the egg whites till soft peaks adding 1 tbsp of sugar.  Keep aside.

4.   Now gently fold the whipped cream to the egg mixture.

5.   Finally, fold the beaten egg whites to the above mixture.  Pour the mousse in the serving bowl & refrigerate it.

Serve cool.

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Jelly with homemade vanilla custard

Simple & easy dessert perfect for kids.  I made strawberry flavoured jelly & microwave vanilla custard.  Taste & texture is perfect.  Even fruits can be served along with the jelly custard or just fruits & custard.  To me jelly custard is the comfort dessert & can eat anytime of the day.  Quick & contains protein & calcium.

Ingredients :

1. Egg yolks - 2 
2. Cornflour - 1 heaped tbsp
3. Milk - 2 cups
4. Castor sugar - 3 tbsp
5. Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
6. Instant jelly mix - 1 packet

Direction to cook :

1.   Follow the instruction as given & prepare the jelly.  Refrigerate it.

2.   Whisk the egg yolks & cornflour to a smooth paste with little milk.

3.   Place the remaining milk & sugar in a separate microwave bowl.  Heat the milk until it boils.

4.   Remove from microwave & add egg yolk mixture to the milk.

5.   Whisk until thick & add vanilla essence to taste.  Refrigerate it.

Serve the  jelly with the homemade custard.

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Basundi

Basundi is my DH favourite sweet.  He likes to have this as a dessert after his meal.  Sometimes, I like to serve it in earthenware pots.  Any kind of nuts can be used & it taste simply delicious.  This needs to be cooked on low flame & it takes little longer time.  Perfect dessert to host the prepared guest.

Ingredients :

1. Milk - 1 litre
2. Sugar - 1/2 cup
3. Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
4. Saffron (optional) - a pinch
5. Nuts (almonds / cashewnuts / pista) - 1/4 cup

Direction to cook :

1.   Bring the milk to boil in a non-stick pan & simmer it till it get reduced to half.

2.   Add sugar & cook for some more time till it gets thickened.

3.   Add cardamom powder, saffron & switch off the flame.  

4.   Allow it to cool.  Garnish it with the chopped nuts.

Serve chilled. 

Sending this post to the event "Sizzling Summer contest" hosted by Spicy tasty.

MY AWARD TIME

Maya & lakshmi of Yummy o Yummy tagged me this award where in I need to post my favourite pic.  Thanks a lot,  U made my day :)  

 

My little prince

Thank you again & I would like to share this with Priya,  PranisKitchen,   Nitha,   Sushma Mallya   &    Suja Sugathan.

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Kaju Katli

This is my first attempt of making this delicious kaju katli.  It was 100% perfect & just tasted like store bought sweet.  Even cardamom powder instead of saffron for unique flavour.   Very simple & quick indian sweet yet delicious.

Ingredients :

1. Cashewnuts - 1 cup
2. Sugar - 3/4 cups
3. A pinch of saffron (optional)
4. Water - 1/4 cup
5. Ghee - 1 tsp
6. Silver leaves (optional) - for decorating

Direction to cook :

1.   Grind the cashewnuts to powder form.

2.   In a heavy bottomed pan, combine the sugar & water.  Allow it to boil till you get one-string consistency.  Add saffron at this time (optional).

3.   At this point, add the cashew powder, ghee & keep stirring until you get the soft dough.  

4.   Grease the plate & spread the dough.  Spread the dough using rolling pin to the desired thickness.

5.   Finally, spread the silver leaves & cut them in the desired shape. 

Serve.

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Butterscotch Bread pudding

 Simple, quick & easy bread pudding taste great with vanilla icecream.  Butterscotch flavour makes this dessert very unique & exotic.  Addition of custard powder is optional.  Perfect for special occasion & get-together parties. 

Ingredients : 

1. Warm milk - 1 1/2 cups
2.  Butter - 50 gms
3. Eggs - 2 nos
4. Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp
5. Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
6. Brown sugar - 3/4 cup
7. Raisins - 1/4 cup
8. Bread slices - 4 nos

Direction to cook :

1.   Dissolve warm milk, butter & eggs. (keep whisking continously)

2.   Add cinnamon powder, vanilla essence & brown sugar to the liquid mixture.

3.   Remove the side parts of the bread & roughly chop them & layer them in the greased baking pan.

4.   Sprinkle the raisins over the bread pieces & pour the prepared syrup.

5.   Bake at 180 C for 30 mins.

Serve warm with vanilla icecream.

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Rava Kesari

Simple & easy dishes always taste great.  Especially for hosting the surprise guest  this delicious rava kesari is my comfort dessert.  Bright orange color with nuts & butter makes this sweet rich & yummy :) 

Ingredients :

1. Rava / Sooji - 1/2 cup
2. Sugar - 3/4 cup
3. Water - 11/2 cup
4. Butter - 1/4 stick
5. Ghee - 1 tsp (optional)
6. Nuts (Cashewnuts, raisins, almonds) - 1 tbsp
7. Orange food color (kesari color) - a pinch
   

Directions to cook :

#   Heat butter in the pan, roast the rava till light brown & add the nuts.

#   Meanwhile warm the water in a  seperate pan.

#   Add the sugar, kesari color to the rava mixture & immediately add the warm water.  Stir continously to avoid the lumps.

#   Once cooked, add the ghee & switch off the flame.

Serve warm.

Note :

After switching off the flame, cover the pan & serve after 10 mins. 

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Moong dal payasam (paruppu payasam)

My husband likes inviting his relatives to home frequently.  And this time he informed me just half an hour before.  Menu ideas started overflowing & finally I decided to make ghee rice, kuruma & this delicious moong dal payasam.  It never took me more than one hour for my whole preparation yet it tasted great. Moong dal can be substituted with channa dal or combination of both. Addition of condensed milk will makes this dessert more tasty :)

Ingredients :

1. Moong dal - 1/2 cup
2. Water - 1 cup plus  1 tbsp
3. Jaggery - 1/2 cup
4. Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
5. Nut meg powder - 1/4 tsp
6. Nuts (Cashewnuts, almonds, raisins) - 1/4 cup
7. Milk -1/2 cup (depending upon the desired thickness)

Directions to cook :

#   Cook the moong dal in water.  Keep aside.

#   Dissolve the jaggery in a tsp of water & filter it.  Keep aside.

#   Heat the pan, add the jaggery & allow it to boil on a lower flame.

#   Add the moong dal & milk.  Allow it to boil. (adjust the quantity of milk based on the consistency you are looking for)

#   Add the cardamom powder, nut meg powder & fried nuts.

Serve warm or cool.

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Sweet pongal (Sakkarai pongal)

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Sweet pongal is the famous Indian sweet prepared during pongal festival. Sprinkling the nuts roasted in the ghee, makes the perfect starter for the special occasion. And, I made this to celebrate my parents anniversary today. There are many variations of sweet pongal and this how my amma makes it. In most of the temples in south India, this type of sweet pongal is served after pooja.

Happy Anniversay dad & mom :)

Ingredients :

1. Rice - 1/2 cup
2. Milk - 2 cups
3. Jaggery - 1/2 to 3/4 cup ( to ur sweet level)
4. Water - 2tbsp
5. Cardamom powder -1/2 tsp
6. Nuts - 1/4 cup (Cashew nuts, raisins)
7. Ghee - 2 tbsp
8. Edible camphor - a pinch

Directions to cook :

# Clean & wash the rice well, add 2 cups of milk & pressure cook them.

# Heat the water in the pan, add the jaggery. Keep stiring continously. Once the jaggery melts, strain them to remove the sand if any.

# In the non-stick pan, add the strained jaggery & cooked rice. Cook on medium heat for 5 min till it becomes thick.

# Meanwhile heat the ghee & fry the nuts. Keep aside.

# Add the cardamom powder, edible camphor in the rice & stir. Switch off the flame & add the roasted nuts and ghee. (Dont stir immediately - standing time : 15 min)

Serve them warm.

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Thai Fried bananas

Thai cuisine is famous for its addition of coconut in almost all the dishes. And fried bananas r the most popular & commonly eaten dessert which also includes shredded coconut as the main ingredient. It is very simple to make just like our bajji.

This is commonly served with the vanilla icecream or if not we can have it with our fav icecreams too. The split bananas r dipped in the prepared batter & deep fried it. Its a simple Thai dessert which taste heaven :)

Ingredients :

1. Bananas - 3 nos
2. Rice flour - 5 tbsp
3. Tapioca starch - 2 1/2 tbsp (or use corn strach)
4. Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
5. Sugar - 3 tbsp
6. Sesame seeds - 1/4 tsp
7. Salt - 1/2 tsp
8. Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
9. Water - little more than 1/4 cup
10. Vegetable oil - 3 cups

Direction to fry :

# Spilt the banana length wise.

# Combine all other ingredients except vegetable oil & stir well till u get the thick consistency.

# Heat the vegetable oil in the frying oil.

# Now, dip the banana slices into the thick batter & deep fry them.

Serve them warm with vanilla icecream.

TIPS :

1. Dip the bananas very carefully in the batter, bcoz it tends to break into half.

2. The batter should be really thick, so that it would run in the oil while frying.

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