Halwa Poori is a traditional Bangalore dish, popularly made by Muslim
families specially during weddings. During a wedding, a no. of food items go
from the Bride’s side to the Groom’s side, which also includes Halwa Poori.
There are also numerous occasions when they are made at home, but they kind of
always need a special reason. I have no idea where the tradition came from, but
it does have a little Mughlai influence and that’s why the traditions are
carried on by Muslim families.
The reason probably is also because it a tedious job making them, requires
time and effort and usually made in a large batch too. When made, its always
distributed among relatives, friends and neighbors. When I first saw Halwa
Poori, it reminded me of Diwali Gujiya and honestly I have never been a fan of
Gujiya. I always found them too coconuty and I also felt that it was always too
dry and the dry coconut would start falling out if not careful. I also felt
that if there was something that was nicer, softer and sweeter and Halwa Poori
seemed to be a perfect answer to it.
Halwa is made of Chana daal, coconut, Khoya, Milk and sugar cooked together
in ghee/ Oil. The poori is made from All purpose flour. The halwa is filled in
the poori and then sealed and fried. The traditional recipe is great and
awesome if you are serving a large no. of people in a day or two. After that
they kind of get a little mushy unless you keep them in a perfect airtight
container.
When I started making Halwa Poori, it always is great in taste. And then I decided to bring a little twist to this recipe and instead of the regular dough, I switched to Puff pastry dough. So there is also a recipe with Halwa Puff Pastry. And, for the Halwa, I can make and refrigerate it for up to 15-20 days. The Halwa can also be eaten minus the poori or puff pastry.
I hope you enjoy making this as much I do..Its definitely a great recipe.
Every city/ place is has certain dishes that are extremely popular. But, a lot of times, that popularity is restricted to a certain community. Not that other communities would not be willing to try it, but to try some very authentic dish of a certain community, you need to be friends with people. Like Swami Narain Temple serves the world’s best Sambhar, for that irrespective of your religion, you have to just walk in one day and try out the Sambhar, which honestly is flavorful and pretty simple, but satisfies your soul. This statement was given by Mr. Parveez, who actually promised me 15 years ago that one day he will take me to one of the temples in Bengaluru and have me try their Sambhar, and with all that wait I think soon I will be seen walking in a Swami Narain Temple myself [just for love of Sambhar] 😉
Coming back to this dish. Khoya Naan and Chobe ke naan [which are made from sweet coconut] are very popular sweet dishes in Muslim community. I am sure loads of other communities enjoy them too, as long as they know about them. I had first tried them a few years after my marriage and though I am not a fan of coconut, but I did try them and they were fairly good and if you love coconut, you should try them. But if you like mawa’a or Khoya based sweets, you will definitely love this one. We would always buy them for USA as well and bring some for our friends here and everyone loved them. But, travelling back home starts reducing with time and that’s exactly what happened with us too. And the cravings fail to understand that. This is when people like me are always thankful for our extra ordinary taste buds and skills to cook.
So, one fine day when my cravings were over the top and I got restless, i got down to making my own. The outer layer is made from pie dough and it tasted great, but I believe the outer layer that they use in Bangalore is the puff pastry dough. I personally feel that using Pie dough is better than the latter, because mawa’a filling by itself is pretty heavy and puff pastry makes it even more buttery and heavy leaving a thick after taste on your tongue, which does not happen with the pie dough. Though I did make small balls and rolled each one around 6 inches in diameter and further put them together by spreading a little oil between each one. Further I rolled them like a cigar and cut them out equally and rolled them out again. This way I was able to make it more flaky and add more layers.
The filling is made with ghee, shredded khoya, sugar, heavy cream, Rose water, cardamom powder and saffron. This dish does not have any nuts. Its supposed to be crunchy, and sweet. This can be made a few days in advance and refrigerated as well. It should always be served warm, so you can always warm it up in the oven for around 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!!
The secret to a perfect Pizza dough recipe? Easy to follow step by step photos that will give you the perfect Pizza dough. You will never have to look for another Pizza dough recipe ever. I have actually been waiting for so long to write down the recipe for this dough, since I know there are so many like me who would love to make pizza at home. One of the best things about making homemade Pizza is that you can always involve your kids and family and it can be so much fun.
The secret to making a perfect Pizza dough at home is the water temperature. You just have to make sure that your water temperature is perfect. I am not going to ask you to boil it, or microwave it , even the water that comes out of the fridge or tap, all work different ways. The temperature should be between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit or between 43 to 46 degrees Celsius. The best thing would be to use a thermometer. If the water isn’t hot enough, it won’t wake up the yeast. If it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast. Only the correct temperature will bubble up the yeast perfectly. I have wasted loads of dough, thinking even if my yeast didn’t bubble up, my dough will work out fine, but it failed to rise resulting a wasted dough. Until I realized that the temperature has to be perfect. After a few trials you will be able to tell by touch. A candy thermometer should work just fine. Dump your water and restart if its not correct. You add around 2.5 tsp of yeast and little sugar. It doesn’t need stirring. Let it sit for around 5-7 minutes and it will be nice and frothy on top and this is when you know that the yeast will make the perfect dough.
When you are measuring you flour, make sure you scoop the flour in a measuring cup and level it. If you scoop it out right from the container, you might end up getting more flour than needed. If your dough isn’t coming together well, because may be accidentally added more flour than required, then add a tiny bit of warm water, just few teaspoons at a time until it comes together.
If you like the pizza dough recipe, leave me a 5 star and a comment. I would also love to know what your favorite toppings are. Enjoy!!!
It is the month of September and despite the pandemic, the festival mood has been set all over the world. Autumn season is coming and the cool breezes brings nice nip in the air and declares the beginning of the festivities. Besan ka Halwa is the quintessential dish to celebrate the season for every reason. The rich and decadent Besan ka Halwa takes you over the moon and make you fall in love it.
Besan is also known as Chickpea Flour or Gram Flour. Besan has a high protein content that makes it good for weight watchers. It is also good for heart health and managing the cholesterol. But, I don’t mean you eat Besan ke Pakode and Halwa everyday, I wish we could but NO. But, what you can do is eat this Halwa with a little lesser guilt than what you would usually do.
There are many ways that people prepare Besan ka Halwa. Everyone makes it super amazing. Honestly, I don’t think there is any way you can go wrong with Besan ka Halwa, its so easy to fix if you do go wrong by any chance. I start with roasting besan in ghee and once it is done roasting, I add hot milk infused with little saffron and once the milk is all absorbed, I add sugar and cardamom powder for sweetness and enhancing taste and cook till desired consistency.
A lot of times people turn on their “guilt mode’ while cooking sweets and substitute Ghee with a healthy Oil. What you need to understand is that you cannot make such changes and complain of the flavor. If you are avoiding any dish for health reason then either you do not make it altogether or make it only once in a while, but do not substitute Ghee or Sugar. Using the right quantity of ghee will also give your halwa the right texture.
There are few things to remember while making besan ka halwa.The Besan flour needs to be sifted through a sieve, to make sure that there are no lumps. Besan flour has tendency to clump up into mounds, so make sure it is a fine flour. The Besan tends to burn easily, therefore the roasting needs to be monitored at all times, while you saute’e and roast the besan.
Besan ka Halwa is more regularly made during winters. My Grandmother and Mother and My Mother in law always say that Hot or warm served besan Halwa is great during winters specially because it keeps our body warm and also is soothing when you suffer from cold and congestion. I also feel that Autumn brings in ,more Orangish and Golden foods, specially the sweets, Pumpkin pies, Apple pies and Besan Halwa. This moreish halwa redolent with fragrant ghee, saffron and dry fruits is perfect for celebrations or any time you crave a sweet treat. So, make it and Enjoy!!!
Chawal ki Kheer is a popular meetha/sweet dish in all Indian/ Pakistani/ Bangladeshi homes. For every special occasion when Kheer is supposed to be made, of all the different varieties of Kheer, Chawal Ki Kheer is made the most.
My love for Chawal ki Kheer is probably since birth. I have never come across any chef/cook or for that matter any person who can make Chawal ki kheer as good as my mother. Since I could understand things well, I would always look forward to days when she would make Kheer. A spoonful in your mouth was enough for anyone to experience a taste of heaven. The funny part is that I never liked the Kheer anyone else made, it was in my view a complete injustice to the dish. I expected people to work harder and make it just like my mom. Since I was a kid, I never realized the amount of effort and hard work she puts into it. When I grew up, and with time started getting ready to explore the world of spices and learn the art of cooking good food is when I saw how many hours it took her to actually make something so deliciously wonderful and that’s when I understood why I see so many faces of relatives and friends on Eid, that I do not see all year round and requesting for my mother’s special Kheer.
There is no way that I will be able to describe the number of hours she gave into it, but I can definitely give you an idea. So, we are a family that comprises almost 150+ members, almost. Please do not get shocked reading this. This includes my grandfather’s children and their families and considering that my grandfather had 9 children, all kids have large families and most of my aunts had grandchildren while I was still in my teens. So it was this plus distant family and friends. Making Kheer for these many people made my mom look like a “Khansama”. I am sure she felt that at times too. She would get around 40-50 liters of milk, maybe more and slow cook that milk till it reduces to almost 2/3 of the original quantity. Now, reducing the milk isn’t as easy as it sounds. That’s actually the first and the most important step. The Milk has to be stirred continuously so it’s evenly cooked and it shouldn’t get burnt at the bottom either. The flame or heat should be kept low. The process is tiring but worth it. The way my mom taught me was to stir once in a circular way and the second time makes the number eight. Honestly, I never realized till I was a grown-up that this is the best way to cover the whole base of the pot.
So, once the milk is reduced, you add cashew powder to it. The cashew powder does not just add some thickness and texture to it but also gives out a little sweetness and nutty flavor that is super amazing. Besides that adding, chopped almonds are a delicious add-on as well. After that, add khoya/maawa or Khoya powder, but that’s completely optional. I prefer using small grained Rice for the kheer because they are easier to mash and the texture is perfect for the Kheer after being mashed. You can use Kani ke chawal or Kaima Rice or any other small grained Rice. My mother always added condensed milk to her Kheer and some people thought that was the secret ingredient, but honestly, it’s just the magic of her hands and all the hard work. Only ingredients never make a dish great, it’s mainly the effort put in by the person cooking.
This is a wonderful way of making Kheer. I am still not as good as my mom when it comes to making it but it still comes out delicious and each spoonful makes you crave more.
Seviyaan are an integral part of Ramadan and Eid celebration in every Muslim. Seviyaan can be made in different ways and this is one of those ways. Though Vermicelli is made in almost all Indian Families, sweet and spicy, but there is something very special about “seviyaan Zarda” or sweet seviyaan that is cooked in Muslim families during the holidays. The taste is awesomely delicious and is always treated as something very special. I personally always looked forward to the seviyaan made by my mother every Eid.
I have a funny story with this dish. So, after I got married, during my initial “cook to impress hubby” days, I asked my mother for the seviyaan recipe. Back home, in India, people like my mother don’t cook with proper measurements, but its mostly a calculation done while cooking and always comes out perfect. So, my mother gave me the recipe based on her calculations, but what she didn’t realize is that I required perfect measurements. Anyways, I started cooking and was happy that it smelt and looked like what my mother makes. Once done, I decorated my seviyaan and started waiting for Mr. Parveez to get back from work. I felt he will be super impressed and happy and honestly, he did love the look but just as he took a spoon to dig on, he just couldn’t stop laughing. My seviyaan, once on room temperature got so hard that it if thrown at someone, the other person could get injured. Mr. Parveez though behaved like a good husband and tried his level best to break that rock solid seviyaan. That time I didn’t understand what went wrong but now I do. I put too much sugar and very little water . The imbalance of ingredients made the dish terrible.
After that episode, Mr. Parveez cooked seviyaan and since then seviyaan became his dish, which he would cook on Eid and other special days… and I always enjoyed them and so did my boys, till one day I learnt that seviyaan can also be made with Khoya and I felt that this recipe is pretty different from what Mr. Parveez cooks and it should come out good. I must say, this is one of the best kinds I have ever eaten.
Here the Vermicelli is cooked with milk solids and is very different from the seviyaan we normally make. The dish is cooked using Ghee and its a request that if you decide to make this dish Please use Ghee. No matter what oil you use, it will never make the dish appear, smell or taste this amazing unless you make it using Ghee. Please follow the recipe properly in order to get a perfect dish. This dish serves as a great sweet dish for parties, specially Eid and Ramadan. It can be prepared a day before and just needs to be reheated.
If you like this Please do have a look at Gulbahar as well.
The name suggests what this beautiful recipe is about. Before I start, I have to say that this has been one of my most awaited recipes ever. Living in USA, along with so many things that we have to get accustomed to, one is being away from Mangoes. Trust me, its one of the most difficult things to be, almost like celebrating Eid without family, ….if not same then close. So, this drink is from Mangoes and I waited almost 2 years to make it. Yupp!!! sounds funny but its true.
So, the internet was all hyped with this Mango mania with Mango Mastani making to the top of the chart. I still remember drooling over the pictures and wanting to make it so bad. Now the twist in this is, that I am not a big fan of Mango. Yeah!!! weirdo right??? But I am not, prone to breakouts I kind of stayed away from the King of fruits since teenage, and as much as I love taking a bite or two, I never let my heart fall in love 😉 . But the point is that I have desperate urges to cook things even if I am not the one who will eat it and this happened to be one of those dishes and it took me 2 years to get my hands on good quality mangoes. I am so happy that I finally made this amazing Mango delight which honestly cannot be expressed in words.
The amazing flavor of Mango shake which has been made using Vanilla ice cream and milk, giving it thick and smooth texture, topping it with sweet and soft Mango pieces, adding crunch of sliced nuts and cover it with a few dollops of vanilla ice cream. You are allowed to go all out when it comes to decoration. Unfortunately, I tried making this at quarantine time and didn’t really have proper supplies to decorate it the way I’d love to but I think I managed pretty well considering my hubby felt it looked wonderful and he was pretty impressed. So, a few fruits, fresh or frozen to cut out the monotonous look of mangoes and mango shake with vanilla ice cream, so a few raspberries, strawberries, or whatever looks great with the combination, for that matter even mint leaves would go great. I even chopped up some pistachios, which actually went great with the look and flavor. I got my hands on some colorful cake sprinkles, so they made it to this mango mania too. So, basically go all out, anything and everything that you feel can look good and will blend in with the flavors of mango can join this party.
This recipe should not take more than 10 minutes and is an easy one to impress guests who drop in without a prior notice. Just don’t serve it to someone who counts calories…this is for the brave heart. Enjoy!!!
Kulfi or Qulfi is an indian word derived from the persin word “Qufli” which means covered cup. The dessert was likely originated during the Mughlia Reign in the 16th century. The Mughal Khansamas or cooks were already popular with their mastered skills of creating sweet dishes with dense evaporated milk.
Kulfi is traditionally prepared by evaporating sweetened milk. The key is constant stirring and slow cooking. The milk has to be reduced, thickened and later add your favorite flavors. The best thing about kulfi is that once the milk is thickened, it accepts all flavors , be it fruits, dry fruits or even just plain essence. Reduced milk is very accepting when it comes to other flavors and the blend is delicious. The thing that most people don’t understand is a basic rule of constant stirring to keep milk from sticking to the bottom of the vessel where it might burn, until its volume is reduced by a half, thus thickening it, increasing its fat, protein, and lactose density. The semi-condensed mix is then frozen in tight sealed moulds and put in the freezer.
Desserts are every family’s favorite and Kulfi for us seems to top the chart during summer. My homemade kulfi is always loved by my family and friends. After trying different types of Kulfi using a variety of dry fruits, I decided to venture out using fruits. One of the first fruits I experimented with was Lychee and though the end product wasn’t a disaster, the Kulfi never came through.
I believe after that failed experiment that fruits for Kulfi should always be fresh. The Lychee I used was canned, but this time when I tried the delicious Mango Kulfi, I wanted to make sure nothing goes wrong and we get to enjoy the most loved fruit combined with the most loved dessert.
And that’s when I thought of making Mango Kulfi. Although I would have loved to make this delicious treat with Hapus Mango, but unfortunately Hapus isn’t available here like India, so I had to bear with the best ones we get here and so I did. Remembering Hapus, I was actually challenged by someone recently claiming that with the confusion I have with Mangoes, I surely have never tried Hapus. Honestly, I am one of the weird ones who isn’t a big fan of Mangoes and as much as people find it insanely funny, its a fact that I can look at a wonderful and beautiful mango and walk away. So, I will definitely share my hapus story another day but for for now, Please enjoy this wonderful and beautiful recipe.
After Moong Daal ka halwa, Badaam ka Halwa has been my favorite. I just love the flavor of Almonds with the grainy texture cooked in ghee with the sweetness that can melt hearts.
Halwa are the innovative creations a gift from Mughla or Persian rulers. The halwas were introduced in wide range from Moong Daal Halwa or Chana Daal Halwa to those made with Carrot and Bottle Gourd and if you can dare to be more exotic one is made with just Almonds. All Halwas are rich, full-of-ghee fudges and are cooked to perfection in milk solids and milk.
Badaam Ka Halwa of course, is the quintessential rich man’s dessert. The expensive sweet dish is cooked simply, adding richness with Saffron or Zaafraan and Milk solids like Khoya. A little flavor of Screwpine water or Kewra adds a lot fragrance when added with Saffron. Kewra and Zaafraan together not just enhance flavor and fragrance but also enhance color. I always love decorating my sweet dishes with Silver varq, and I always feel that silver varq adds a lot of glamour to a dish. And for something that looks beautiful always wins the first food serving battle of presentation, since it’s a feast for the eye. Of course, if the flavors aren’t doing justice to your taste buds, then the eye feasting doesn’t do much. In this case the sweet dish is very easy to make. All you have to pay attention to is adding the right quantity of ingredients at the right time. Almonds are known to absorb flavors while maintaining their own. So you wouldn’t want anything to be added in quantity more than required specially if things cannot be reversed. Because of the copious mounts of ghee and heavier grain, this Badaam Halwa is basically a winter delicacy.
Halwas made using vegetables were invented in the kitchens of the Mughlia Empire when the Mughal culture was at its zenith of cooking. The use of lavish Almonds, pistachios, cashews , walnuts and saffron added to those delicious inventions made them more desirable and put them under the category of celebration food. Though I am not a big fan of dishes like Apple Halwa and a new known mango Halwa. I feel a hint of those fruits with Flour or Semolina and serving it as a Halwa is fine. But the moment the entire halwa is made using a single fruit, as much as people feel its something innovative, my personal opinion differs. I feel a hint of a fruit gives out lovely flavors as opposed to an entire fruit that might leave you with a very strong taste for hours and I am someone who enjoys a mix of flavors in a bite than one flavor over powering the others.
Coming back to Badaam ka halwa. This sweet dish is rich and extremely loved in every family I ever made it for.
Scones are one of the most delicious breakfast food in the UK. Actually, not just breakfast, its an anytime snack as well, quick to make, quicker to eat and hardly ever has any left overs.
Delicious, buttery, and airy, these little goodies of flavor make your kitchen smell like heaven, so even before you eat them and fall in love, the smell enchants you and keeps you entertained and impatient to try what ever the oven stores…wow sounds really romantic. I guess food brings the best out of me 😉
With maternal family in UK, I have seen my aunts and a cousin make them pretty often, and my mom was in love with them. As much as I wanted to learn how to make them, I was always the age where they felt either I would hurt myself or would mess something up, so kitchen was not the place for me, so this recipe is not from my maternal home, but something I found in some of my old notes taken during my college days.
Honestly I had no idea that scones had such a large variety, this happens to be the basic ones and the reason I tried them was to see if my boys liked them and they actually loved and I am determined on making more variety in the future. But, for now, serve these flaky and scrumptious goodies with some fruit, jelly and whipped butter.
Many scone recipes call for an egg, and that usually means a large batch of scones. Plus, it makes the dough kinda gooey. So I experimented with a batch, omitting the egg and increasing the amount of milk till I get the consistency required. And it worked! Taste wise, they are just as good too..
