Milk Mava Powder Modak (खवा पावडर मोदक)

Every year when I visit my friends’ place for ganpati, I try to make homemade “prasad” to offer bappa. This year I made these super easy milk mava powder modak. It hardly takes half an hour to make these sweet delicious modaks. I have made them in four different flavours. You can customise them as per your choice of flavour.

Ingredients

Makes 5-6 modak

For Chocolate modak
Milk mava powder 1 cup
Cocoa powder 1 tsp
Milk ½ cup + 2 tbsp
Powdered Sugar ¾ cup, add more or less as required

For Rose modak
Milk mava powder 1 cup
Rose syrup 2 tbsp
Milk ¼ cup
Powdered Sugar 1-2 tbsp if required, as rose syrup is already sweet

For Kesar modak
Milk mava powder 1 cup
Milk ½ cup
Kesar strands ½ tsp, add them to milk and keep it aside to release flavour and color
Powdered Sugar ¾ cup

Recipe (same for all)

1. Mix milk mava powder and milk and make lump free paste in a pan. (for chocolate flavour add cocoa powder and extra milk)

2. Cook on a medium flame till it starts to come together and starts to become dry. It takes around 8-10 mins.

3. Take it out from flame and add sugar and mix. Let it cool down. 

4. Now you can use modak mould to make modak.

Asparagus Fry

We like to eat asparagus a lot, so we buy it quite often. We blanch it, we grill it. But as it usually comes in a big bunches, many a times we can not finish it in time. Once I saw somewhere on a blog that we can make it in indian sabji style. I didn’t remember that recipe, so I tried on my own and here it is, asparagus fry. It tastes like our kurkuri bhindi or bhindi fry. I am a fan of bhindi, so say no more.

This is very easy to make. It could be a side dish or very quick fix with your roti, paratha, chapati(पोळी). You can eat it with rice as well. I mostly add this to our scrumptious, healthy salad. 


Ingredients

Asparagus 1 bunch finely cut
Oil 1-2 tsps (add little extra if needed)
Salt to taste
Red chili powder or black pepper to taste
Lemon juice

Recipe

1. Cut the asparagus in fine pieces. 
2. Heat oil in a pan, then add asparagus
3. Fry them until they become crunchy
4. Once asparagus are done, add salt and black pepper according to taste. 
5. Add a little lemon juice and your asparagus fry is ready. 

Nachani (raagi) Ambil (नाचणीची आंबिल)

One more recipe that I have learnt from my MIL. Every summer, every day, after every meal we drink this cool refreshing drink with little buttermilk at my in laws’ house. This drink is good for digestion, keeps you cool in summer and, last but not the least, very tasty. Plus raagi has lots of nutritional values. This is also good for kids. This can make good snack for kids, if you make it a little thick. It also has sweet version called “nachani satva”, which is a good meal for toddlers who just started eating food.

My mother used to make it with garlic. But I learnt it from my MIL who makes it without garlic, but both versions tastes equally good. You can make it according to your choice. You can serve this as a refreshing drink.

Ingredients (for 3-4 glasses)
Raagi flour (नाचणीचं पीठ) 2 tbsp
Water 2-3 cups
Salt to taste
Pinch of asafoetida
Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Recipe

1. Pour water in a saucepan and bring it to boil. Add salt, asafoetida and cumin seeds in that water. (Add 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic if you like)
2. Meanwhile, take raagi flour in a separate bowl and add a little water. Make smooth, lump free paste.
3. When water starts to bubble, add this paste into the saucepan and mix it very well with continuous stirring.
4. Once it starts to thicken up, switch off the flame. If it's too thick then add little more water and let it cook for another minute or so. Let it cool before serving. Or you can refrigerate before serving.

You can have it as it is, but it tastes good with little sour buttermilk. Enjoy your cool refreshing drink.

Rava Thalipeeth (रव्याचे थालीपीठ)

This is my MIL's recipe. She makes it so perfect and so tasty. It is very easy to make. It can be quick and filling breakfast/snack. Here is the recipe for 2-3 medium thalipeeth.

Ingredients

Fine sooji (बरीक रवा) 1 cup

Buttermilk (आंबट ताक) १/२ cup

Salt to taste

Chilli powder 1-2 tsp

Turmeric powder 1 tsp

Pinch of asafoetida

Cumin seeds 1 tbsp

Coriander 1-2 tbs finely chopped.

Recipe

1. In a bowl mix all ingredients except buttermilk. Mix them well.

2. Now slowly add buttermilk. Use extra buttermilk if needed. The dough should be wet. If it becomes dry, you will not able to flatten the dough properly.

3. On flat pan (tava) add little oil and flatten the prepared dough on it as thin as you can. Make holes in between. Add little oil in that hole.

4. Cook it covered on high flame for 2-3 minutes. Flip it and cook for another 1-2 minutes and your rava thalipeeth is ready.
5. It tastes best with butter (लोणी, मख्खन) or curd (दही). You can also eat it with peanut or coconut chutney, sweet lemon pickle or mango pickle. Kids can eat it with tomato ketchup or ranch.

   

Easy Mango & Rose Mousse

I like this light, airy, fluffy and creamy dessert. I don’t remember when I first tasted this dessert but whenever it comes in front of me, I just finish it in no time. I was trying to make gelatin free, egg free recipe for making this mousse. And here it is, the hassle free and very easy recipe for mango mousse. I happened to have rose syrup in my pantry so thought of adding it to give a little twist.

I used mango pulp, as I had it in my fridge. You can use fresh mango puree in mango season and use some mango chunks as well. In that case you will need to add sugar as per taste. I didn't add sugar as pulp already has sugar.

Ingredients
Alphonso mango pulp 5 tbsp
Heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup
Rose syrup 1 tsp

Recipe
Add all the above ingredients in a mixie jar and blend it until it comes to smooth creamy consistency. Then just divide the mixture in cups, add 2-3 drops of rose syrup over it and keep it in the refrigerator to chill before you serve.

Panera Style Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I am sure many of you love Panera Bread’s “Broccoli Cheddar Soup” like me . I tried many recipes to replicate that soup but till today, I didn’t have any success. It’s not like I ruined the soup. Every time, soup tasted good but it was missing that texture, taste which I find in Panera’s soup. I had almost given up trying to recreate that soup. This time when I started making broccoli cheddar soup, I just wanted to make good tasty soup. But to my surprise, I made the soup which replicated Panera’s soup. So here is the recipe,

Ingredients

Broccoli florets 1 cup
Carrots 1 cup, cut into small pieces
Onion 1 small roughly chopped
Potato 1 roughly chopped
Red capsicum ¼ cup roughly chopped
Butter 1-2 tbsp
Flour 1-2 tsp
Milk 1 cup
Mexican Cheddar cheese ½ cup
Vegetable stock 1-2 cups (if not available just use water)
Salt and Pepper


Recipe

1. Cook broccoli florets and carrot pieces until they become tender and keep them aside. Do not overcook. You can use the remaining water as vegetable stock in the soup.
2. In a pan, add little butter, once melted add onions and saute for a minute. Now add potato and capsicum and saute for another one or two minutes. Now add half of the stock or water and cook them for 4-5 minutes.
3. Once they are cooked, blend them to a smooth consistency in blender and keep aside.
4. Now if you are using the same pan then just clean that pan with kitchen towel. Now add a tablespoon of butter and let it melt. Then add flour and stir continuously, be careful, do not let it burn. Now add little milk and stir again, it should form paste like consistency. Now add remaining milk and stir it, once it becomes thick add remaining vegetable stock and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the blended potato mixture to it and mix well.
5. Now add cheese and mix well. Then add broccoli and carrots. Now season it with salt and pepper. Let it cook for another minute and your soup is ready. Serve hot with your choice of bread loaf.

Halivache Laadu (हळीवाचे लाडू)

I grew up eating these laddus in winter seasons. My grandmother and mother always make them in winter with lots of coconut in it. Also ‘halive’ is one of the ingredients our mothers and grandmothers would give to new-moms after delivery, whether it is in the form of laddu or kheer. ‘Halive’ has lots of health benefits. In english it is called garden cress seeds and in hindi halim.

Ingredients
Halive 1 cup
Freshly grated coconut 2 cups
Grated jaggery 1 ½ cup
Pinch of cardamom powder

Recipe
1. Soak haliv in water for 2-3 hours. You can use coconut water or milk as well to soak them.
2. Mix haliv, jaggery and coconut in a pan. Let it sit for 5 min.
3. Cook it on medium high flame with constantly stirring.
4. Once the mixture starts thickening, switch off the heat and take off the pan. Now add cardamom powder. At this stage, you can add powdered almond and cashews as well, if you wish.
5. Let it cool down. Once the mixture becomes cool enough to handle, make small laddus. Keep them in cool space, such as fridge. Otherwise finish them off.