Boondi Ladoo

Wishing all my friends a Happy and Blessed Deepavali!
I don't make Boondi Ladoo that often. But when I made it this time, I was wondering why I wasn't making it more frequently. I found it almost as easy as making instant gulab jamuns. All these times when I had some guests over at short notice, I used to go for the instant gulab jamuns. But that does't give the "wow" effect like the boondi ladoos. And the best thing is that these tastes much better than those store bought ones. I would recommend this recipe to those who are a little apprehensive about making laddos. Contrary to what you might have heard, it's no rocket science :)
Ingredients:
Chickpea Flour (Besan) – 1 cup
Rice flour - 1tsp
Cooking soda - a pinch
Salt - a pinch
Water – 1/2 cup
Oil – for deep frying
For Syrup:
Sugar – 1 cup
Water – 1/2 cup
Yellow color - 2 drops
Cardamom Powder and cloves – 1/4 tsp
Cashews/Almonds/Pistachio – 1/4 cup, powdered
Cashew - 1/4 cup split
Method:
Mix sugar & water, let it boil till it reaches almost a one- string syrup consistensy (a string that breaks after it forms).
At this stage remove the syrup from heat mix in the color and cardamom powder and clove. Keep it aside.
In a mixing bowl, mix chickpea flour, cooking soda, salt and rice flour. Add 1/2 cup water. Mix well until there are no more lumps and keep aside. Start heating oil for deep frying.
Once oil is hot, place a small amount of boondi batter onto a boondi maker or flat ladle with holes and gently tap the sides with a spoon to allow batter droplets to fall into the oil. Don't hold the boondi maker more than 1 1/2 inches above the oil, as this would result in elongated boondi. Fry boondi until light golden,do not fry boondi till crispy as the ladoo won't be soft,. remove them from the oil allowing excess oil to drain off and place them directly into the sugar syrup. Mix the fried boondi into the sugar syrup until they get coated.
Note: Wipe the bottom of the boondi maker clean (each time) before continuing to fry remaining boondi.
Once all the boondi is fried and submerged in the sugar syrup, add the nuts and mix well.
Let boondi soak in the syrup for 10 mins to 15 mins.If  your boondi's are large you can slightly crush a bit with your hand before shaping them into balls.
Do not cool the boondi mixture completely , then it will be hard to shape it.While still warm  take a scoop full of boondi mixtrue into your palm and gently squeeze the mixture between the palm to make a round ball.
Ladoos can be kept at room temperature for 1-2 days but should be kept in the refrigerator for any longer time. They should be served at room temperature.
Makes approx. 15 ladoos.

Easy Rasmalai

With Diwali around the corner,I thought of posting an easy and delicious dessert.This has been my go to dessert for Diwali potlucks and parties.You can make this a few hours before your party or a day or two before. Personally I like to make mine atleast a day before,as it tastes so much more better with time.
Ingredients
 15 oz ricotta (use a paper towel to absorb as much water as possible)
 1/2 cups sugar
 5-6 cardamom (get the seeds from the pods and powder it with a mortar and pestle)
 a pinch of saffron (optional but adds a lot of flavor)
 1/2 pack of MTR badam drink mix
 500 ml whole milk
 1/2 cup Cream
Method:
 Pre-heat oven to 350°C. Drain water from ricotta using paper towel or cheese cloth.  In a baking dish, mix ricotta, sugar, powdered cardamom and saffron together.Or you may line muffin tray with liner and spread an even layer . Spread into an even layer.Bake for about 50 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
When the ricotta has cooled, slice into squares. Mix cream,milk and badam drink mix together simmer this over medium heat for sometime till the milk mix thicken a bit and pour over the baked cheese ,remove the liner if used . Let it soak for at least a few hours but best to leave it overnight. Cover in plastic wrap and store in fridge.

Japanese Curry Rice

  

A friend of mine asked me if I knew how to make the Japanese Curry. I was taken aback a little - may be due to my ignorance of Japanese cuisine. I told her that the only curry I know of is the Indian curry, but I was curious to know what this is. Then I came across another friend of mine, who shared with me some instant curry sauce as well as the recipe for making this. Once I made this curry with the instant sauce cubes, I wanted to try making it the traditional way, as this was well liked by my family.
As per what I have heard this is a very popular dish in Japan and the instant sauce cubes are the most widely used ones because of its convenience.
Ingredients:
for the roux
1 and 1/2 Tbs butter
1/8 C flour
1 Tbs garam masala (or curry powder)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (add less if you want it mild or more if you want it spicy)
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tbs tomato paste
1/2 tbs tonkatsu sauce (or worcestershire sauce)

for the curry
2 tsp oil
1 large onions sliced thin
1 package  mushroom (you could also use beef, shrimp,chicken or tofu)
1 carrots cut into chunks
1 sweet potato
1 cup sliced beans
4 C water
2 large yukon gold potatoes cut into large chunks
1/2 C peas
1 tsp kosher salt (use less if you use regular salt)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbs tomato paste
4 to 6 garlic cloves
Cilantro a few
Method:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium low heat and add the onions along with garlic cloves. Saute the onions until they are turn translucent add the tomato paste and saute for about 2 minutes,now add the curry powder or garam masala saute for another minute. Add potato , sweet potato, salt and add water and simmer.When the potato is half done add the carrots and sliced beans.Cook till you can pass a fork through the carrots and potatoes .
For the roux, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the flour and garam masala, stirring until you have a thick paste. Add the cayenne pepper and some fresh ground black pepper and incorporate into the roux. Add the ketchup and tonkatsu sauce and combine. Continue to cook until the paste starts crumbling. Remove from heat and set aside until the veggies are ready.
To make the curry, just laddle about 2 cups of liquid into the roux then whisk until it’s smooth. Pour this mixture back into the other pot and gently stir until thickened. Add the peas and  mushroom and heat through.Garnish with cilantro.
Serve over rice or noodles.

Caramelized Apple

Even if you are a big fruit lover I know there would be days, especially cold ones , when you are in no mood to have fruits. Last few days were such days - all wet and cold with frequent showers. So I thought of making this warm and comforting caramel apples which no one would have a problem having despite the weather. I was right and ended up making it twice in the last 3 days
Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 tart apple (peeled, cored, sliced)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup apple juice/cider
a pinch of salt
Method:
Melt the butter in a pan. Add the apples, sprinkle on the sugar, cinnamon and salt.Add apple juice or liquid of your choice and let it come to a boil. Stir until it reduces to a syrupy consistency.  Once syrupy, remove from heat. Have this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.