Ragi Banana Kozhukattai, a delicious and healthy snack made from finger millet and banana. It's one of the easiest snacks that you can make  for the evening time. 

I make this kozhukattai often for my kid's snack. He loves it so much. The banana adds the nice flavor to the kozhukattai. 

If you're making this kozhukattai for your little ones under 2 and you haven't introduced any sugar to them, then you can totally skip the jaggery and use a very well ripe banana alone. It still has enough sweetness and tastes awesome. I did the same before i had started the sugar for my kid. 

Flour 

In this recipe, i have used the combination of ragi and rice flour. Make sure that both the ragi and rice flour are very fine. 

Roasting the flours before making the kozhukattai enhances the flavor so i highly recommend to roast the flour for a couple of mins even if you have roasted packed flours.

Jaggery

As i said earlier, the jaggery is totally optional. You can skip it if you want very mild sweetness. 

Now, let's check out on how to make this delicious Ragi Banana Kozhukattai.

Ragi Banana Kozhukattai | Kezhvaragu Sweet Kozhukattai

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ragi Banana Kozhukattai, Kezhvaragu Sweet Kozhukattai, Ragi Kozhukattai Ragi Banana Kozhukattai, a delicious and healthy snack made from the finger millet and banana.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Ragi flour - 1/4 cup

Rice flour - 1/4 cup

Banana - 1

Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp

Grated Jaggery - 2 tbsp*

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Ghee - 1 tsp

*Jaggery is optional so you can skip it if you want mild sweetness.

Procedure

Peel the banana and put it in a bowl and mashed it well. 

Next add coconut, jaggery and cardamom powder and mix it well & keep aside.

Then dry roast the ragi flour and rice flour until it's aromatic without changing its color and add it into the banana mixture and mix it well.

Next add the ghee and make a soft kozhukattai dough. 

Take a small portion of the kozhukattai dough and press in between your palm and finger. Place the kozhukattai in the greased steamer / idli plate(you can use ghee or sesame oil for greasing) and steam it for 8-10 mins in the medium flame.

Delicious and Healthy Ragi Banana Kozhukattai is ready to serve. For quick video recipe, check out here.

Related: How to make Ragi Dosai using Ragi Flour

Notes:

• Tastes great when it's warm.

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Milk Powder Burfi, a delicious and easy to make burfi within 15 mins. It's one of my favourite sweets and I often make them for various occasions as it comes together so quickly. 

If you're looking for any last minute sweets to make for this Diwali, then definitely give this a try. It's such a foolproof recipe and even the beginners can make this sweet without any difficulties.

Milk Powder 

I have used the full fat milk powder for this burfi and i got mine from the "Bulk Barn" store here in Canada. Make sure to use the full fat milk powder. 

In the past, i had tried it with low fat milk powder and the result was very disappointing and the burfi turned out so chewy which i don't like.  

Milk 

Again, i have used full fat milk for the richness. But you can use 2% milk as well. But i don't recommend using non-fat milk. 

Lemon Juice

I have used a little bit of lemon juice in this recipe. It gives such a grainy texture to the burfi. If you don't prefer that, then feel free to skip it. 

Nowadays, life seems so busy as the kiddo starts school. Adjusting to the new routine is a little bit hard for me too. Every day the moment i drop him at the school, i start to think of the time when i will pick him :-)

Though i'm not very active in blogging now, somehow, i managed to post three recipes for this Diwali. If you have tried any recipes from my blog for this Diwali, do share your feedback.

Wishing you all a very happy Deepavali / Diwali.

Milk Powder Burfi | Plain Burfi Recipe

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Yields : 12 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Milk Powder Burfi, Milk Burfi, Milk Peda Milk Powder Burfi, a delicious and easy to make burfi within 15 mins.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Milk Powder(full fat) - 1 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Butter - 1/4 cup

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp(optional)

Cardamom  powder- 1/2 tsp

Saffron - a few strands

Procedure

First in a non-stick pan, add the butter, milk and the sugar.

Then turn the heat on and let the milk come to a boil.

Next add the milk powder and mix it with the milk mixture using whisk(it helps to break the lumps in case there are any lumps).

Once the milk powder mixes with all other ingredients well, let it cook in a low-medium flame. At this time add the lemon juice and cook till the mixture thickens.It takes about 8-12 mins.

Next add the cardamom powder and saffron to the burfi. Mix it well. Switch off the flame and transfer to a tray.

Smooth out the top with a spoon and add a few strands of saffron on top(optional). Let it cool completely and then cut into desired pieces.

That's it. Delicious Milk Powder Burfi is ready.

Related: How to make Milk Cake

Notes:

• Cardamom powder is optional

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Munthiri Murukku, a crunchy and delicious snack made from the rice flour and cashews as main ingredients. This murukku is so easy to make and it has such a nice flavor from the cashews. It's one of my recent favorite snacks to make for evening tea.

If you're looking for something different from the traditional snacks to make for this Diwali, then i would highly recommend to try this murukku. 

Rice Flour

For this murukku, i have used the store bought rice flour. Make sure to use the fine variety of rice flour or you can use Idiyappam flour. 

In case you want to try this murukku with home made rice flour, i have a recipe for that, so do check it out here.

Cashews 

I have used 15 whole cashews for 1 cup of rice flour. If you have splitted cashews only, then  use around 30 pieces. Make sure that the cashews are well soaked before grinding, it will help to make smooth cashew paste without any grains of cashews. 

Sesame Seeds

I always add sesame seeds or cumin seeds to the murukku for the flavor. Adding those elevates the flavor of the murukku to the next level. So i highly recommend to use either one of those depending on your liking.

In this recipe, i have used white sesame seeds but of course you can use the black sesame seeds too. Taste wise both are the same.

Now let's check out how to make this crunchy and delicious murukku.

Munthiri Murukku | Cashew Murukku

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Cashew Murukku, Munthiri Murukku, Murukku Munthiri Murukku, a crunchy and delicious snack made from the rice flour and cashews as main ingredients.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Rice flour - 1 cup

Cashews - 15 

Sesame Seed - 2 tsp

Butter ( melted) - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Water - as needed

Oil - for frying

Procedure

First soak the cashews in 1/4 cup of warm water for 30 mins and then grind into smooth paste in a mixie/blender. Then in a large bowl, measure and add the rice flour.

Add salt, sesame seeds and butter to the rice flour.

Mix it all well together and then add the cashew paste and mix it with the flour.

Then add the water(i used the mixie jar washed water) as needed to make a soft dough. Next take the murukku press and use the star shaped disc for the murukku press and fill the press with the dough and close it with the lid.

Heat the oil for frying and then press the dough in concentric circles or as you wish on a wooden board or on small plates. Once the oil is well heated, then gently transfer them into the oil. Cook till the shhh sound stops and then take it out of the oil.

Delicious and crunchy Munthiri Murukku / Cashew Murukku is ready.

Related: How to make Mullu Murukku

Notes:

• Store it in a air tight container and it stays well for up to 7 days.

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Rava Badam Ladoo, a delicious and rich sweet made from the semolina, almond flour and sugar as the main ingredients. If you're looking for a new variety of ladoo to make at home for this Diwali, then try this simple yet amazing Rava Badam Ladoo.

Couple of months back, i had some almond flour at my pantry which was bought a while ago so i wanted to finish it off before it goes rancid. And i had this idea of making ladoo with it so i gave it a try and it turned out so good with little overpowering of sweet. 

So next time, i made this ladoo again for Krishna Jeyanthi with reduced sugar and it was a perfect melt in your mouth ladoo.  

Sugar 

Normally for the regular rava ladoo, i add 1/3 cup of sugar for 1 cup of rava which is perfect for our taste. Here, even though i added 1/2 cup of almond flour in addition to the rava, i have added only 1/3 cup( heaped ) because generally almond flour doesn't need much sugar.

But if you have a really sweet tooth or your kids prefer more sweetness in their sweets then you can add up to 1/2 cup of sugar for the given quantity.

Now let's check out how to make this yummy Rava Badam Ladoo.

Rava Badam Ladoo | Diwali Recipe

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Rava Badam Ladoo, Badam Ladoo, Ladoo Recipe Rava Badam Ladoo, a delicious and rich sweet made from the semolina, almond flour and sugar as the main ingredients.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Rava - 1/2 cup

Almond flour - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/3 cup(heaped)

Cardamom - 2 

Ghee - 2 to 3 tbsp

Cashew - 8 to10

Procedure

Heat a pan with a tsp of ghee and then add the rava and roast till it's aromatic.

Transfer the rava into the mixie/blender jar and let it cool a bit. In the meantime, add the almond flour in the same pan and roast till it's aromatic.

Transfer the roasted almond flour into a big bowl and then grind the rava into fine powder and add into almond flour.

Next add the sugar into the mixie/blender jar along with the cardamom seeds and grind into fine powder and add into the rava-almond flour mixture.

Mix it all well together and then heat the remaining ghee in a pan and add the cashews and roast till it's golden brown. 

Then add the roasted cashews along with the ghee into the rava mixture and mix it all together well.

Take a small portion of the rava mixture and start making the ladoos.

Delicious and flavorful rava ladoo is ready.

Related: Rava Coconut Ladoo

Notes:

• Cashews are optional and you can totally skip it.

 

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Cream Cheese Danish Pastry, a delicious pastry made with cream cheese and puff pastry. It's one of my favorite pastries to make at home with store bought puff pastry. 

It's such an easy recipe to make for tea-time get together or on weekend evenings to enjoy with friends / family. 

Here in this recipe, i have used strawberry jam for the filling along with cream cheese. But you can use any of your favorite jams in this recipe. My other favorites jams to use in this recipe are raspberry jam / blueberry jam.

Tips to make perfect cream cheese pastry 

• Make sure to take out the puff pastry from the freezer a couple of hours before.
• Make sure to use the room temperature jam and cream cheese.
• Lemon zests add an amazing flavor and it also helps to balance out all the sweetness.
• Though i skipped the egg wash in this recipe, you can do it for even more coloring on the top. 

Like any pastries, this too becomes soggy as it cools down so i highly recommend to serve this fresh out of the oven. However, you can store the remaining in the refrigerator for a couple of days. 

Don't microwave the leftover pastries, it softens the pastry further. Leave it on the counter top for 30 mins or more and serve it as it is ! 

Now let's check out how to make this delicious Danish cream cheese pastry.

Danish Cream Cheese Pastry | Eggless Cheese Danish

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Pastry | Recipe Cuisine: Danish
Danish Cream Cheese Pastry, Eggless Cheese Danish, Eggless Pastries Cream Cheese Danish Pastry, a delicious pastry made with cream cheese and puff pastry.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Puff Pastry -1

Cream Cheese - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 2 to 3 tbsp

Lemon zest - 2 tsp

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Strawberry jam - 1/4 cup

Butter - 1 tbsp

Procedure

Take the puff pastry out of the refrigerator and let it thaw. In a bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Give it a good mix until it all comes together.

Next take the puff pastry and roll into a thin sheets and make a angled slit on the sides as shown in the below pics.

In the center of the puff pastry, add the cream cheese and spread it evenly and then add the jam and spread it well.

Then cover the cream cheese and jam filling with the puff pastry from the sides overlapping one another like shown in pics below. 

Preheat the oven @375 F. Transfer the puff pastry into a parchment line baking tray and brush the top with some butter. Bake it in the oven for 20 mins or until the top becomes golden brown.

Delicious Cheese Danish is ready. Let it cool a bit and then cut into desired shapes and serve.

Related:How to make Egg Puffs

Notes:

• Depends on how sweet you want, you can add more or less sugar.

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