Gharge:Laal Bhoplyachi Puri (Sweet Pumpkin Puri)

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
Laal Bhopla/Red Pumpkin( peeled and grated) - 2 cups
Jaggery (grated) - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
Sooji/Semolina - 1/2 cup
Ghee- 2 tsp
Oil to fry

Preparation

• Peel and then grate the Pumpkin and Jaggery. Keep aside. 
• Now in a kadhai/pan combine the grated pumpkin and jaggery and cook together. 
• Once the the mixture comes together and the pumpkin is cooked add 1 tsp of ghee to it. 
• Remove from the heat and then mix in the wheat flour and rawa to the pumpkin mixture till everything comes together like a dough.
•  The dough should not be too tight nor too elastic. 

Note: The wheat flour and sooji have to be in 1:1 ratio. 

• Let the dough cool. Once cooled roll the dough in to 1 inch balls
• Take the inch dough on a plastic sheet(grease the sheet and your palms with ghee) and pat it into a small puri with your hand. 
• Heat the oil and then fry the puri until golden brown. 
• Drain the these on a tissue paper.
• Serve them hot.

Note: Gharge can be consumed hot or can be stored in an air tight container for days at room temperature

Gud ki Roti

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients 
for the stuffing

Jaggery (grated) - 2 cups
White Sesame Seeds (roasted) - 1/2 cup
Poppy seeds (roasted) - 1/4 cup
Dry grated Coconut (roasted) - 1/4 cup
Besan- 1/4 cup
Ghee- 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Pinch of Nutmeg Powder/Jaifal powder (Optional)

for the dough

Wheat Flour - 1 cup
All-Porpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup
Besan - 2 tbsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Pinch of Salt
Milk (can substitute with water) - 1 cup

Preparation Method

• Sieve and mix all the flours .Add Salt according to taste.Heat the oil and add it to the flour.
• The oil should be sizzling hot .Then mix it nicely. Make a soft dough adding milk / water little at a time.
• Knead the dough well for 5 mins.The dough should be medium soft.Cover it with a plastic wrap/cling film/muslin cloth.Let the dough rest for atleast 1 hour.
• For filing, grate the jaggery.
• Heat Ghee in a pan add Besan and roast it. Add Ghee as required little at a time.Keep stirring continuously.Roast on low heat till it changes its colour. It will take about 6-7 minutes.Then switch off heat and keep it aside. Let it cool completely.
•  Roast sesame seeds, poppy seeds and coconut one by one and keep them aside.
• Grind the poppy seeds, sesame seeds and coconut to powder.
• Mix the powder, Besan and jaggery together grind this mixture till they are well combined.
• Add the cardamom and  nutmeg powder to this and mix well. Make 10-12 balls for filling.
• Make equal portions of dough. Sprinkle some all purpose flour on rolling board. 
• Roll the dough to the size of puri. Place a ball of tilgul filling in the center close it by covering the edges at top so that the fiiling will not come out. R
• oll it till it become normal roti size.
• Heat the tava put some ghee. Roast the roti  both the sides using on medium flame till it turns golden brown. 
•  Serve hot  with ghee

Tilgul/ Nuvvula laddu

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes


Ingredients
White sesame seeds - 3 cups
Jaggery  - 1 1/2 cups
(usually jaggery required for Tilgul is stickier than the normal one and called 'chikkicha gul' in Marathi. ),
1/4 cup peanuts
cardamoms
Ghee: 1 tbsp

Preparation

• Roast sesame seeds over medium heat. When they turn slight golden, remove and keep aside
• .Roast peanuts, remove the skin and powder them.
• In a clean heavy-bottomed, nonstick pan, heat jaggery over medium heat. 
• Add 1 teaspoon ghee into it. After some time, it starts bubbling up and changes to light red. Pour sesame seeds, peanuts and cardamom powder immediately and mix well.
•  This mixture is little sticky and thick.Rub some ghee to the palm of your hands.
•  When the mixture is still hot, take some in your palm. Roll into 1 inch diameter ball. If the mixture gets cold, heat again to make the rolling easier.
•  Make all the laddus and let them cool. They turn hard and crisp once cool. Store in an airtight container. 

Tip: Increase the amount of jaggery if it is less sweet.

Gaajar ka Halwa (seasonal red carrots)

This is one dessert which suits all the climates...My personal favourite !!Come winter and the vegetable markets are filled with Red carrots (Delhi Gaajar)...and what's more apt for a dessert than Gaajar ka Halwa on a cold day ...yummmm!! Here is a quick and easy version of the recipe.

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients
Carrots(Red Carrots)- 1Kg
Condensed milk- 400 gm
Ghee- 5 tbsp
Raisins- 2tbsp

Cashew/ Almonds/ Pistachio nuts (chopped) - 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1tsp

Preparation

•  Wash, peel and grate the carrots.
• Take a heavy bottom non stick pan, heat 2 tbsp of ghee and add the grated carrots to it, saute the carrot to get rid of the raw smell.
• Once the carrot is done, add the condensed milk while stirring the contents steadily.
• Cook on a medium flame for 15 mins stirring it occasionally,
• Remove the pan from the heat and add 2 tbsp of ghee, 1 tsp of cardamom powder and mix well.
• Garnish it with chopped cashew nuts and raisins
• Serve Hot or at room temperature or cold.(depending on the climate)

Pure Ghee Besan Ke Laddu

Ok go ahead kill me!! I know I was supposed to post this before Diwali, well I couldn't find time. Well we don't need an occasion to eat sweets now....do we??So here you go,

Preperation Time:  45 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

Besan (Gram Flour) - 4 cups

Castor Sugar/Powdered sugar - 2 1/2 cups

Ghee -  1 1/2 cups

Powdered Cardamom - 2 teaspoons

Almonds/Cashew (chopped) and raisins - 1/2 cup

Gram flour fried in ghee kept aside for cooling

Method

1. Heat ghee in a kadhai
2. Add Besan (gram flour) while stirring and fry it on low flame.
3. Once it is browned to the desired level, take the kadhai off the flame and allow it to cool
4. Add cardamom powder and powdered sugar and mix well
5. Add chopped dry fruits and raisins
6. Roll them in to laddus and store them in an air tight container

Rabri - Quick and easy

Dessert for a starter!! ;)


Preparation time : 10 mins
Cooking time     :  15 mins
Serves : 4

Ingredients
Milk   : 2 cups
Sugar : 1/4 cup
Condensed milk: 1/4 cup
Bread Slices : 2

Garnish
Cashew/Almonds  chopped :1/4 cup
Raisins
Saffron (optional)
Green cardamom powder

****

Method 

1.  Cut and discard the crust of the bread
2. Grind the slices in a grinder/processor
3. Heat milk in a thick bottomed pan and bring it to a boil
4. Add the bread crumbs, condensed milk, sugar to the pan
5. Stir continuously while you cook on a medium flame for 10 minutes
6. Add safforn and cardamom powder and mix well.
7. Garnish it with chopped almonds/cashew
8. You can either serve it hot/cold

** Picture of the recipe has been uploaded from the web