Amrakhanda

Amrakhanda, looking gorgeously delicious :)

I dont dabble much in desserts. They seem to be my weak point. they come in second to baking. But I actually enjoyed making this gorgeous dessert. Infusion of hung yogurt with s rich mango pulp and some cardmom powder, makes this dessert very velvety. Good when eaten on its own, tastes best when eaten with hot Puris. Though I have heard of people eating this with rice. But hey! who am I to judge. To each his own.

Recipe:

32 oz carton of yougurt (I get the low fat dannon variety)

1 small sour cream (8oz)

1 container mango pulp (you can use fresh mangoes, make sure they are ripe,3-4 of them)

5 cardmom powdered very fine

about sugar: i never add any sugar in amrakhanda because of the mango pulp and this type of dessert sweetens more the next day . The best thing is to make this dish a day in advance as the flavors blend and deepen the next day. If the pulp or the fresh fruit is not as sweet as you prefer, add sugar freely.

Procedure:

Tie up the yogurt overnight in a cheese cloth over your sink with a pot underneath it to catch the cloth if it slips from the faucet. This yogurt is called as hung yogurt where the water or the whey is removed from the regular yogurt. Take this in a mixing bowl, add sour cream, pulp and the powdered cardmom and mix well. I use a hand mixer for this. Chill in the fridge and serve it with hot puris.

If you are using regular yogurt, by that I mean yogurt with fat and if the amrakhanda is too thick for your liking, add some milk and thin it out.

Enjoy,

Dipti!

Sheera

Sweet Sheera- an all time favorite
Now here when I say all time favorite, I dont mean mine. I mean favorite for people in general like my husband who would devor it gladly anytime of the day: breakfast, snakcs, lunch or dinner. Sheera is made from sooji also known as wheat creamlets. This sheera is also prepared duirng any auspicious occasions or even whenever we have a simple puja at our home. Personally, I am not a big fan of sheera, but when S proclaimed his love for this simple dessert, I decided to give it a try. I usually have this after my meals, as a dessert. I kow people who would gladly have this for a main course.
Recipe:
1 cup sooji
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tsps milk masala (crushed powder of almonds, cashew, pistachios, cardmoms and saffron)
1/2 cup clarified butter (ghee), more if you are not watching your weight.
pinch of salt (to bring out the sweetness)
1 heavy bottom pot just so that sooji doesnt get burned while roasting
Preparation:
Heat the pot and keep it on medium-low flame. Add the sooji to this and start roasting slowly. add clarified butter slowly. Sooji should be medium brown and soon you will be able to smell the it. Take care not to burn this. Then in a separate container mix the milk and water together and microwave on high for 2 min. Add the hot milk to the roasted sooji immediately and carefully and add the pinch of salt too. Mix well. Lower the flame to "low" and cover the pot. Check after sometime to see if the sooji is cooking properly. you can check by pressing some between your fingers to see if is cooked properly. When cooked completely, add sugar and milk masala to it. Mix well and cover it. Let it steam twice and serve hot.
SOme poeple like it cold, some hot while some at room temperature
Some add fruits like pineapple, banana and mango while adding sugar. Lessen the quantity of sugar accordingly.
When heating it the next day, add some milk and microwave it.
Enjoy
Dipti

Cupcakes- but I cheated

Yummy cupcakes made easy by cheating!!!!
I call this as my quick fix for dessert. So whenever I am in a time crunch, have some unexpected guests coming over or am making dessert under protest...this is what I do. Let me tell you something, I am scared of making desserts of any kind. But i have decided to experiment more and more ..on S ofcourse. The poor guy bears the brunt of my cooking.
These packaged cupcakes are great though. They stay longer...because of the preservatives and they taste moist too, again because of the preservatives.
Recipe:
1 box of your fav. cupcake mix
I usually halve the recipe just so that S, duckie and our many other guests do not get too greedy with them.
Decorate with sprinkles, frosting, sugar, whipped cream, ice cream or gobble it just plain. They tastes great anyways.
Enjoy your quick cupcakes
Dipti

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Banana Bread cut and ready to serve

Warm Banana Bread...made mine in a cake pan

The batter ready to be put in the oven

The ingredients

My ex-colleague often used to get great banana bread to office. That's when I fell in love with it. She told me the best way to eat banana bread is warm, with little butter on the top. Ofcourse the banana bread she used to get was from a ready-mix packet, but still it was great. Many months and a pregnancy with banana bread craving later, I had my first home-made banana bread at a friend's baby shower. And guess what???? It was whole wheat bread AND instead of butter used olive oil. Now some people (my husband S) might argue that banana bread tastes great with all-purpose flour and butter, but with a kid now, I am looking for heathier options.

This bread had more of cake like consistency and it was moist and tasted great.

The best part about banana bread??? the way the entire house smells when baking it. For me, some smells remind me of my childhood and the fun I had. Banana bread smell makes me feel warm and comfortable and safe. :)

Recipe:

3 very ripe bananas

1 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup sugar, take little more if you like it sweet

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon powder - optional

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl.I donot like big chunks of banana in my bread, so i mashed mine extra fine. Mix in all the ingredients one by one, add the flour in the last. You just need a spoon to mix the ingredients. I did not have vanilla so added just the cinnamon. Pur the mixture in a baking pan. Cake pan, in my case:) bake for 1 hour and your house will smell wonderfully delicious. Cool and cut and serve. Moist and wonderful banana bread is ready.

Like my friend said, the best way to eat banana bread- Warm with butter spread on the top.

Dipti