Mysore pak - Indian Sweets

Here comes a very authentic and traditional sweet that is prepared in our houses almost in all festive occassions.. It is said to have originated in Mysore (Karnataka), it is a very popular sweet and is made in many functions.. We make mysore pak also for parupu thengai. Parupu thengai is a cone shaped presentation of sweets prepared during marriages and authentic occassions. From wiki – “Mysore pak was first prepared in the kitchens of the Mysore Palace by a palace cook named Kakaasura Madappa”. Make sure you have everything ready before you start the process as you will have very little luxury time. Also keep a close watch when the color changes as you skip the time, then your mysore pak will not come correctly.. Next time I make this sweet I will try to take step wise clicks..

Potato Bajji - Indian Snacks

Bajji is a famous snack in South India. It tastes best when served hot. Bajji can be done with a variety of vegetables like Potato, Carrot, Brinjal (Eggplant), Snake gourd, plantain, bell pepper, onion, bottle gourd, chili etc. Famous ones are potato, chili, plantain and onion. Adjust salt and chili powder to taste.

Carrot Almond Laddu–Diwali Sweets

Laddu - this word makes a lot of people drool... For my daughter it relates to strength and power.. All thanks to the Chhota Bheem cartoon she loves where laddu is a symbol for strength.. And traditionally laddu is made by frying gram flour and dipping them in sugar syrup.. Today we are going to see a laddu, a recipe I got from Priya’s space which requires no frying..

Milk Powder Burfi–Double Color Burfi–Diwali Sweets

My daughter loves the double color sweets on the sweet shelf.. And the ones that we normally do is with maida.. Today I am making a similar looking sweet with no maida or flour but with milk powder as the main ingredient.. This sweet will also be a treat for people looking for gluten free recipes..I got this recipe from here and made the changes according to our taste.. Make sure to adjust the sugar as per your taste… Artificial sweetener also works great for this recipe.. So if you are making this for people who use artificial sweetener, feel free to substitute.

Moong Dal Fry–Microwave Method–Guilt free Snacks

Want a healthy snack that you can munch guilt free??? So in perfect for holidays or for watching TV.. Moong dal / Paasi Parupu is a healthy dal which is easy to digest but loaded with proteins.. Ask a person with fever or stomach flu or people who have just delivered, paasi parupu (moong dal) will be part of their diet as it is easy to digest, loaded with proteins and so healthy. I have heard that it also helps in healing the wounds.. There are so many items that we make with this dal. Some are -. This is a different one with it being a snack which is so similar to the fried one. I have the Moong Dal Fry recipe here which is a very famous snack. I got the idea from here to make the similar moong dal fry without actually frying it.

Thirattipaal / Theratipaal using Ricotta Cheese / Microwave Thirattipaal

One of my favorite sweets is enjoy is thirattipal, but it takes for ever to do them. But the taste and the end result is so worth the time, effort spent. Here I came across a simple recipe and got the thirattipal in 15 minutes... Now that is so delicious and also the time and effort is much less..

Javvarisi Payasam / Sago Kheer

A delicious payasam made from javvarisi. It is quite easy to make.. There are so many varieties of Payasam and kheer we make.. Each is so unique in taste, texture and appearance. This payasam looks so beautiful with the transparent tiny balls floating in it.. I remember my child hood days where we used to play with the balls when this payasam was served. We press with the finger and the balls with move slipping under your fingers and it will be so much fun!!! We make this payasam for a lot of festivals. This can be served both warm and chilled!!

Karchikaya / Sweet Somas (Somasi)–Diwali Sweets

A delicious sweet that is prepared for Diwali.. This recipe will make 12 - 16 medium sized somasi and there will extra filling, that you can eat as is or as a stuffing for parathas..  This is a traditional sweet!!!

Godumai Halwa–Tirunelvelli Halwa–Diwali Sweets

This very traditional halwa has been on my list for such a long time.. We make this halwa for Diwali and what a better time to try this one than now.... I fell in love with this halwa and it is so addictive!!! I would not classify this one as easy, but not too hard as I had imagined!! You can eat this as halwa or make it into pieces and enjoy!! Also food color here is optional... If no food color, then it will in rich honey color!!! Cooking time for this quantity was 30 – 40 minutes from the time sugar syrup is started..

Mullu Murukku–Indian Snacks/ Indian Savories - Diwali Recipes

Mullu thenkuzhal is a savory which is a famous South Indian snack. It tastes best when served warm or at room temperature. It goes well as an accompaniment with coffee or juice. This is a quick savory and can be done in less than 30 minutes. This can be stored in an airtight container for at least 2 weeks. This variation is used in occasions like marriages, festivals and celebrations.

Pineapple Thinai Kesari / Pineapple Foxtail Millet Kesari

Today is first day of Aadi month and is celebrated with a sweet, special food items. Here is a delicious and a almost guilt free sweet which has no processed ingredients. We would have heard about rava kesari and also flavored ones like mango kesari, pineapple kesari etc. Today I added a little more extra twist by including healthy items and excluding the unhealthy ones. So here are my changes – ravai to thinai ravai, sugar to panam kalkandu and have reduced the ghee a big extent. It was very tasty and delicious. I have also not added pineapple essence or food color. That is optional. This kesari with thinai is so perfect to start this week’s marathon with the theme as millets!!

Bombay Halwa / Karachi Halwa / Sogan Halwa / Corn Flour Halwa–Maharashtra

Welcome to state of Bollywood, Cricket, Fashion and all that shines!!! State of Maharashtra is one of the very popular and advanced state in the Country. From Wiki – “Maharashtra (/mɑːhəˈrɑːʃtrə/; [məharaːʂʈrə] ( listen))(Marathi: महाराष्ट्र), is a state in the western region of India. It is the second most populous state after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India. Maharashtra is the wealthiest state in India, contributing 15% of the country's industrial output and 13.3% of its GDP (2006–2007 figures).  Mumbai, the capital city of the state, is India's largest city and the financial capital of the nation. Maharashtra is the world's second most populous first-level administrative country sub-division”. Coming to today’s recipe, it is very famous halwa that is a quick and tasty sweet which tastes best when served warm. This can be done in less than 15 minutes from start to finish. Most of the cooking is done in microwave here. This halwa is also called as Sogan Halwa, Corn Flour Halwa, Karachi Halwa.. This halwa does not have a very long shelf, so please use it up in a few days. I got this recipe from here

 

Gajar Ka Halwa – Delhi

Today we travel to the Capital of India – Delhi. Delhi is an Union Territory more closely resembling a state having its own High court to Chief Minister. The Delhi city is the second most populous city in the World. From wiki – “The NCT and its urban region have been given the special status of National Capital Region (NCR) under the Constitution of India's 69th amendment act of 1991. The NCR includes the neighbouring cities of Alwar, Baghpat, Gurgaon, Sonepat, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida and other nearby towns, and has nearly 22.2 million residents”. Delhi was the site of the ancient Indraprastha, the capital of Pandavas during the Mahabharata. There are many historical sites in Delhi. Some to name are – Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun’s TOmb, India Gate etc. Delhi cuisine is largely influenced by the Mughals and this is where the Mughlai cuisine in India originated. There is street in Delhi called the “Gali Paranthe Wali”. Gali means street and Paranthe is Indian bread. There is an entire street that is full of varieties of Paranthe.. Delhi is a great place for foodies.. From Wiki – “The Gali Paranthe Wali (the street of fried bread) is a street in Chandni Chowk particularly for food eateries since the 1870s. Almost the entire street is occupied by fast food stalls or street vendors. It has nearly become a tradition that almost every prime minister of India has visited the street to eat paratha at least once”. I have made carrot halwa before but that was a much easier one, but this one tastes more yummy and more authentic!!

Gulgula / Gulgule –Chhattisgarh Cuisine

Today we travel to Central India to the State of Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh is a newly formed Indian state and was born on November 1st, 2000. Chhattisgarh is known as the rice bowl of India and has a rich varieties of rice and rice based dishes. A lot of the traditional foods are prepared with rice, rice flour, curd and green leafy vegetables. When coming to sweets, Gulgula is one of the popular sweets from this state. I got this recipe from here. A delicious sweet from the state of Chhattisgarh. This is so quick to make and also very delicious…

Cocoa Cake / Chocolate Maida Cake–Indian Style

Yaay!!! My blog crossed 1000 Facebook likes!!! So excited and am so thankful to all who supported me.. Hope to receive the same love and support.. What can be a better way to celebrate the 1000 likes than with a sweet.. Sharing this simple and delicious sweet virtually!!Cocoa Cake is a quick and easy sweet. It is also called as Chocolate burfi.. This is one of the very popular burfi made in Indian homes during Festivals..  This does not require much preparation and can be made quite quickly.. I enjoyed this as a kid when my mom made these and my daughter also loves these… Surely a kid friendly sweet.. Make this for your family and you will be happy you did!!!!

Then Vadai / Sweet Medu Vadai

Vadai is my favorite deep fried item.. So perfect for tiffin or for breakfast. This is the sweet cousin of the Spicy Medu Vadai. This gets its taste and sweetness from the honey added. You could add more honey if desired. I saw this in a TV show and loved it.. It will be in darker color compared to its spicy cousin due to its sugar content..

Lavang Latika / Labongo Latika

Lavang Latika, known by several names like Lavanga Lata, Labongo Latika etc is a very delicious and flavorful sweet.. It is a small pocket filled with mawa, sugar and nuts, deep fried in oil and coated with sugar syrup. They look so cute from their tiny pocket appearance with the clove acting the beautiful and elegant accent to the bag... I have bookmarked this sweet from a cooking show sometime back, but never got to try it until now when Sanoli announced it as a challenge for this month’s Southern Team of SNC which was started by Divya and I am so happy that I finally made this…This makes 20 pieces.. The flavor of the clove, the delicious filling and a lightly crispy outer with a  sugar coated exterior makes this delicious sweet..

Thinai Laddu - Quick Easy and Healthy Sweet

Thinai is a whole grain that I got introduced recently.. It is very healthy and nutritious.. The first recipe I tried with Thinai is Thinai Pulao (recipe coming soon)and now Thinai Laddu. I got this one from Arokya Unavu TV Show. This is one of the sweets that you do not feel guilty gobbling a few.. It is so good for you and very quick to make.. One change I would do is - Next time I will grind the thinai little more. Now it was like ravai / sooji. I think we would prefer more smoother one..

 

Roundup of Only–Diwali Treats

Here is a delicious roundup of Diwali Treats. Thanks to all who sent delicious entries and thanks to Pari for letting me host her event. Let me know if I have missed anyone by mistake. The event comes with a giveaway sponsored by www.tarladalal.com will be a cookbook.  Please click on the recipe name to go to the recipe.
Moong dal Mini Samosas, Mohanthal, Coconut Rice Pudding, Coconut Burfi

Microwave Mysore Pak, Alu bhujiya sev, Ribbon pakoda, Maavu urundai

Kaju Katli, Kala jamun, Pasiparuppu Urundai, Ribbon Pakoda

Wheat Laddo, googras, santra basundi, Mixed Nuts Burfi

Besan Ladoo, Vella paniyaram, Colored Shira, mirchi bajji

Carrot Payasam,  Moong Dal Laddu, Atte ka Laddu, pineapple kesari

Boost Fudge, Kalmi Vada, Ada pradhaman, Ragi-Moong dal murukku

Barley Sweet Pongal, Chocolate Peda, Poori and rajma gravy, bisibelabath

aval ladoo, Malpua, Naturally coloured Rasgullas, Chapathi ladoo

Choco Marie Triangles, Chatti Pathiri, Patra, Sweet corn pudding

Chocolate oats laddoo, Baked Mawa Gujiya, Pineapple Halwa, Coco-Coconut fudge

coconut chocolate, Seasoned Patra

Thanks again to all who sent their delicious entries!!! Winners will be announced on Pari’s blog.
Please do send more entries to the on going event on my blog -
Kid’s delight – Indian Festival Sweets in 1 Hour