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..

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..

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!!

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!!!!

Ghee / Nei / Clarified Butter

A key ingredient in many recipes to help it be elevated to the next level in taste and flavor is GHEE!! Ghee or Clarified butter originated in India and is part of many delicious recipes like Indian Sweets, some gravies, some Indian Breads etc. Ghee also plays a part in pooja, homam and fire sacrifices. A great advantage of ghee is its shelf life.. Ghee can be stored in room temperature for many months. It needs to be stored in an airtight container to have that long shelf life. Also make sure to use a moisture free spoon and dirt free spoon every time. Ghee is used in many homes to light vilakku (deepam).

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..

Sakkarai Pongal

Today is Vaikunda Ekadasi festival and happy to share this nivedhanam!! Sakkarai Pongal is the sweet made for the Pongal festival.. It is simple and easy to do..  Love these food that are so simple, yet so traditional and so authentic.. I have added 6 table spoons of ghee, but feel free to add more.. Sakkarai Pongal can take all the ghee and will not complain. You could also make this like a evening tiffin..

Kalkandu Saadam / Kalkandu Pongal

Festivals are fun and we prepare so many delicious prasadam. Pongal / Sankranti is celebrated in many parts of the country. The God celebrated here is Universal one – The Sun. There are lots of delicious food prepared during this festival. Some we make at home are Sakkarai Pongal, Ven Pongal, Kalkandu Saadam, 7 Kari Kootu, Akkaravadisal, Poli, Mixed rice etc.. This Kalkandu Pongal is a delicious preparation made with rock sugar and tastes so divine.. A delicious and easy sweet preparation which is very festive and mouthwatering.

Badam Halwa / Almond Fudge

Badam Halwa is very popular sweet in India. It is a rich food and can grace many occasions and festivals with richness and sweet! Main Ingredients are almonds, ghee and sugar and it can be served both hot and cold.

Kalakand / Kalakandh

Kalakand is a Bengali sweet made with milk and paneer. I love milk sweet for their mild sweeter taste and the flavor of milk. This one has a very different texture compared to other milk sweets. I got this recipe from here and we loved it. This takes a lot of time to make, but is a serialized and simple process. For paneer, please try to use home made paneer as it has better taste and is more moist and soft.

Kaaramani Sweet Sundal / Kaaramani Vella Sundal

Kaaramani sweet sundal is a interesting and a different type of sundal. Unlike the regular sundals which are on the spicier side, this one is sweet and takes little more effort than the spicier ones. We make this authentic sweet sundal for Navarathri. I have used red kaaramani here. Kaaramani is a kind of a legume which is very very similar to Lobia (Black eyed pea)

Besan Laddu

Besan Laddu is a sweet made with gram flour. It is a very simple and quick food to make and is mouthwatering. The Ingredients for this recipe are in the many pantries. This is also a recipe which does not need much planning or preparation and can be done in less than an hour from start to finish.

Mysore Rasam (மைசூர் ரசம்)

Mysore rasam is an interesting variation of rasam. This one has a grinded mixture added to it which makes it taste very interesting and the aroma is very good. Method is actually a mixture of sambar and rasam!!!

Inji Rasam (இஞ்சி ரசம்)

Inji Rasam is a quick and easy rasam that has many dimensions in taste.

Poli (போளி)

Poli is a very popular festival food and it is called by various names across India. Some names of Poli are Tamil: போளி Poli, Puran poli (Marathi & Konkani: पुरणपोळी or पुरणाची पोळी, Gujarati: પોળી, Kannada: Obbattu/Hollige, Telugu: Bobbattlu... This is a like a stuffed paratha with a sweet stuffing. Ensure that there is no moisture in the kadalai parupu. Also DO NOT pressure cook the kadalai parupu, it may get mushy. Traditionally poli will be pressed on plantain leaf. Now we can use plastic paper if you cannot lay hands on plaintain leaf. It is served hot with ghee. The size of the poli should be similar to a puri and not bigger. This makes 12 polis. This is made on Tamizh Varuzhapirappu (Tamil New Year) which is celebrated today (14.4.2013) this year.

Killipotta Rasam (கிள்ளிபோட்ட ரசம்)

Killipotta Rasam is a very quick and easy rasam. It can be done in less than 15 minutes and tastes very refreshing. It has to be served very hot or hot. Serve it hot with rice and you will feel so energized and so refreshed!!

Pineapple Rasam (அன்னாசி ரசம்)

Rasam is one of the most comforting food on Planet... There are so many varieties to it and it is so versatile, so flavorful and so delicious. This rasam is also similarly very flavorful, very aromatic, very comforting.. This rasam is made in a lot of Tamil marriages. It is very simple to do. Do not be intimidated with the number of ingredients, most of them are in our house Pantry.

Chickpea Halwa / Channa Dal Halwa

The word halwa can make some people drool.. It is smooth, silky and is sinfully delicious with loads of ghee and sugar.. This halwa is no exception. This is the first time I making it and it tasted so awesome. It can be called the cousin of badam halwa for its consistency and taste. Thanks to Kirti for choosing this delicious recipe for the SNC Challenge which is the brain child of Divya. This recipe is from kirti’s mom.