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Dates & Nuts Gujiya

Gujiya is a one of very popular festive season sweet snacks in Northern part of India. It’s generally made during festivals like Diwali or Holi, however it is readily available in sweet shops but homemade always better. There are many kinds of Gujiyas based on the filling in it, like milk mava, rava, coconut with nuts and so on. This Gujiya recipe is made from filling of dates and nuts and flavored with cardamom powder. The outer layer is crispy and flaky. In sweet shops you can also find  Gujiya which are dipped in sugar syrup. Enjoy this very tasty Gujiya though keep in mind the calories. 

Sweet Potato & Carrot Soup

Soup, generally used as an appetizer in Indian cuisines comes in variety of flavors based on ingredients. There are soups with ingredients such a lentil, tomato, beans, chicken and so on. The Chinese noodle soups are a entree rather than an appetizer. The two main kind of soups are clear and thick soups. This thick soup is prepared using sweet potato and carrot as main ingredients. It has beautiful red-orange color of carrot & beetroot, naturally sweetened by sweet potato and has hint of spices. This healthy and delicious soup is easy to prepare and best served with garlic bread and croutons. This is a favorite in my family and I keep getting demands for making this very often.                                                                   

Phool Surprise

Phool Surprise is a signature dessert from chef Kunal Kapur which was showcased on MasterChef TV program. I was awestruck when I saw this program as the Phool surprise was really so beautiful and awesome. I was so impressed that I wanted to try it out, though I knew it would a tough task. After couple of attempts I was able to prepare it although its not as perfect as the actual recipe. I have also uploaded the video of the petals opening from my recipe. This recipe has four components, first one berry cheesecake, second one crispy ghevar, third one white chocolate petals and finally french vanilla & turmeric flavored custard. I have shared the Ghevar recipe separately and remaining three recipes are part of this recipe. This dessert is as delicious as beautiful. Berry cheesecake gives a sweet and sour tingling taste to otherwise sweet chocolate and custard. It could look like a daunting task however if you have patience you can certainly make this recipe and surprise your friends and family with it. Some important aspects of the recipe are mentioned in the recipe notes so please read them before you start preparing this recipe. 


Ghevar With Raspberry Rabri

Ghevar is a very popular Rajasthani dessert which is prepared during festivals like Teej, Rakshabandhan or any other special occasion. Traditionally, this awesome dessert goes really well with milk rabri. In this recipe, I have used rabri with raspberry and mango yogurt which gives it a sweet and sour taste and neutralizes its sweetness.  At first it is a little complicated recipe to prepare however once you get a hang of it, it comes out really well and the effort is worth it. Ghevar is made using all purpose flour batter and deep fried in oil or ghee. Ghevar has a light, lacy and crispy texture. The two very important aspects of making Ghever are batter consistency and oil/ghee temperature. The right batter brings out the lacy texture and oil/ghee temperature helps it to rise and give the right shape and texture. Once ready, it is soaked in sugar syrup before serving. The ghevar can be stored in air tight containers for up to 2 weeks, and just before serving, soak in warm sugar syrup and garnish with raspberry rabdi and mango yogurt. I am so excited to share this recipe as it is my first time making it, and took me couple attempts to get it right.

ghevar

Strawberry Modak

Wishing you all a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi!!

Ukadiche Modak is a very famous Maharashtra sweet dumpling which is offered to Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebration. Modak is made using rice flour shell which is filled with a sweet mixture of grated coconut, jaggery, poppy seeds and flavored with green cardamon and nutmeg powder. The Ukadiche modak is steam cooked. As such there are varieties of modak’s recipes like mava modak, puran modak, kesari modak and dry fruit modak. I have also published couple of modak recipes Ukadiche Modak and Indian blackberry Modak. This recipe is a another variation of modak recipe which has a filling based on strawberry. Straberry gives a unique fruit flavor as well as sweet and sour taste to the modak. Rest of the filling ingredients are same like coconut, mava and jaggery. Preparing modak first time or first few time could be a daunting task as it requires patience and some practice to get the right texture and shape. There are some modak mold available and you can try that. Strawberries