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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Homemade Badam Milk Mix | Badam Milk Recipe

Badam Milk Mix, a delicious and healthy nut mix that is used to make a healthy drink by mixing it with milk. Badam milk is quite popular throughout India and even considered as a luxurious food because of the addition of almonds which is quite expensive. 

Badam Milk can be made either with the freshly grounded almond paste or with the instant powdered mix. Making badam milk with the freshly grounded almond paste is little time consuming however making and storing this Badam milk power/mix in a container comes handy for making instant Badam milk.

So if you have never tried this homemade badam milk mix then do give a try ! It's so easy to make with a handful of ingredients and the taste and flavor are really amazing and way better than any store bought instant mix.

Almonds

Almonds are the key ingredient in this mix. So use a good quality of almonds for great flavor and richness. In this recipe, i have used cashews in addition to the almonds. In our family, we like the combination of almond and cashew more than the almonds alone.

But it's really a personal choice so you can make this mix only with almonds too. It tastes equally good.

Saffron 

Saffron is the key ingredient for that typical badam milk flavor. So buy a good quality of safron and use it generously. I'm the person who rarely uses saffron in my cooking and rarely buys & stock it in my pantry.  So always skip when the recipe calls for it.

But for this mix, i wouldn't make it without saffron so i highly recommend to use it generously in this recipe.

Sweetener

Today, i have used panam karkandu / Palm sugar candy for the sweetness since i'm giving this to my toddler also. However you can use plain white sugar too. 

Also i have used only 1/3 cup of sugar candy which is very less for the given quantity so you can use up to 1/2 cup of sugar. Keep in mind that you can add more sugar later while making the badam milk too if needed. So keeping the sugar as minimal in the mix would be great.

Other uses of Badam milk mix 

• You can use a couple of tsp of this mix in the pancakes , it would tastes awesome.
• You can also use it in the onion tomato based curries like paneer masala, chickpeas curry. Add a few tsp of this mix in the end of making curries, it gives thickness and richness to the curry and also the mild sweetness balance out the other spices.
• You can use this mix for making Badam kesar kulfi too.

Ok, now let's check out how to make this Badam Milk Mix.

Homemade Badam Milk Mix

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Health Mix | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Homemade Badam Milk, Badam milk, Healthy mix Badam Milk Mix, a delicious and healthy nut mix that is used to make a healthy drink by mixing it with milk.

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

Ingredients

Almond - 1/2 cup

Cashew - 1/4 cup

Cardamom - 7

Palm candy sugar / Panam karkandu - 1/3 to 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Saffron - a big pinch

For Badam Milk

Milk - 1/2 cup

Badam Milk Mix - 1 tbsp

Procedure

First heat a thick bottomed pan, add the almonds and roast till the skin starts to turn brown and then transfer the almonds into the mixie/blender jar.

Next add the cashews and roast till dark spots appear here and there and then transfer the cashews into the mixie/blender jar.

Finally add the cardamom to the pan and roast it for  2-3 mins and then  transfer that into the mixie/blender jar. Let the roasted ingredients cool a bit and then grind into a coarse mixture.

Then add the palm candy, turmeric powder and saffron and grind into a smooth mixture. That's it! Badam Milk Mix is ready. Store it in the airtight container and use as needed.

To make Badam Milk.

Pour the milk in a saucepan, add the Badam milk mix and bring into a boil. Delicious Badam milk is ready. 

Pour into the serving glass and garnish with a few strands of saffron.

Related : How to make Rosemilk at home

Notes:

• Badam milk can be served warm as well as cold. It tastes good either way.
• For 1 cup of milk, you can use up to 2 tbsp of badam mix. 
  
  
  

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Kalakand , a rich and delectable Indian milk cake made with milk and flavored with cardamom. It's one of the popular milk based sweets from North India. South Indian sweet palkova is something similar to this kalakand.

I came to know about this sweet years ago through blogging. Even though i have been making this sweet for a while now, i was waiting for an occasion to share this sweet recipe on the blog. What would be a better occasion than Diwali for making sweets, right? So here i'm with this yummy sweet recipe !

Milk 

Milk is the prime ingredient in this sweet. So use the full fat whole milk for this recipe for better flavor and taste. Don't use the skimmed milk or non-fat milk in this recipe, it doesn't taste  the same. 

Condensed Milk 

Adding condensed milk enhances the richness of the sweet. However you can use the regular white sugar too in this recipe. In the past, i made this recipe with sugar and it tasted good too.

I have used 3/4 cup of condensed milk for this recipe. It has moderate sweetness. If you like more sweetness in general, you can use up to 1 cup of condensed milk. 

Start with 3/4 cup of condensed milk, once the kalakand reaches thick consistency, do a taste test and if it need more sweetness then add more condensed milk at that time and cook it for a couple of more mins. 

Adding condensed milk at the final stage of the sweet wouldn't affect the taste or texture.

Flavoring Agent

I have used only the cardamom powder in this recipe. Rose water / Rose essence is the other common flavoring agent used in Kalakand. So you can use whatever flavor you like or combination of both too.  

Garnish the Kalakand

I have used only the chopped pistachios for garnishing. Chopped almonds , edible silver leaf are also great options for garnishing the kalakand.

Tips for beginners 

• Stir often while cooking the kalakand so that it doesn't get stuck to the bottom. It it sticks to the bottom, there is a high chance of burning at the bottom. Even the slightest burning would ruin the whole dish.
• Highly recommend using a non-stick or heavy bottom pan for making this sweet.

Now let's check out how to make this delectable kalakand !

Kalakand Recipe | Indian Milk Cake

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Yields : 12 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Kalakand, Paneer Kalakand,Milk Cake, Kalakand , a rich and delectable Indian milk cake made with milk and flavored with cardamom.

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

Ingredients

Milk - 6 cups

Condensed Milk - 3/4 to 1 cup

Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

Chopped pistachio - 1 tbsp

Procedure

First let's make fresh paneer. Heat 4 cups of milk in a sauce and bring it to boil. Once it starts to boil, keep the flame  low and add the lemon juice little by little.

Stir the milk continuously. Once all the milk curdles, switch off the flame. Place a cheese cloth on to the strainer and pour the curdled milk. Rinse the paneer in the running water well so that the lemon tartness will be removed. 

Squeeze the water from the paneer well and keep it aside.In a non-stick / thick bottomed pan, add the remaining 2 cups of milk and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, add the condensed milk(I used only 3/4 cup of condensed milk and it has mild sweetness, for sweeter version, use 1 cup of condensed milk)

And the prepared paneer. Mix it all well together.

Stir the milk mixture now and then. Cook the mixture till it thickens and is able to scoop it on the ladle(it takes approximately 15-20 mins in medium flame). Then add the ghee and cardamom powder.

Mix it all well together and when the mixture starts to leave the pan, switch off the flame. (The last pic in the below collage in for your reference on how the mixture looks on the day light)

Pour the mixture on to the ghee greased pan and level the top with a ghee coated spoon/any small bowl. Finally garnish the top with chopped pistachios and let it cool for 2-3 hrs. Then slice and enjoy!

                        My little one is helping me with garnishing :-)

Delicious Kalakand is ready ! 

Related: How to make Kaju Katli 

Notes:

• Store the leftovers in the refrigerator for longer life
• It stays well for upto 7 days in the refrigerator.
• Tastes great when it's fresh.

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Paal Kesari | Milk Kesari | Milk Halwa | Sweet Recipe

Paal Kesari, a delicious and easy to make sweet pudding with semolina, milk and flavored with cardamom & ghee. Traditionally, for kesari, water is used to cook the semolina. But for this kesari, milk is fully used to cook the kesari. 

Using milk for cooking the semolina gives great flavor and is rich in taste. And also, here in this milk kesari, i have avoided using any food color like traditional kesari and want to keep that rich cream color as it is. But if you like bright colored kesari, you can add a pinch of orange or red food color in this kesari too.

In our home, kesari is one of the common sweets that we used to prepare for serving with breakfast or as an evening snack. We all loved it very much and this milk kesari is our recent favorite. 

Before moving on to the recipe, let's answer some of the FAQs about kesari. 

What is the proportion of semolina to milk in this kesari?

For all types of semolina / rava kesari, the proportion of rava to liquid ratio is 1:2. The liquid may be water,  milk or any puree like mango or pineapple.

What type of milk is best for this kesari ?

I have used full fat milk for richness. But you can also use 2% milk or even you can use 1/2 amount of milk and 1/2 amount of water for this kesari.

Any other tips for beginners ?

Here are a few tips to make perfect kesari 

• Make sure to roast the rava till it's aromatic without changing its color.
• Make sure that the milk is hot while pouring into the rava, it will avoid the lump formation.
• Add the sugar only when the rava is completely cooked and the milk is all absorbed.
• If you like to cut the kesari into pieces, pour the kesari onto the ghee creased plate and let it cool for about 30 mins. It would firm up nicely and you can cut into desired shapes.

Hope i have answered almost all the FAQs about kesari, now let's see how to make this delicious rava kesari.  

Paal Kesari | Milk Kesari | Milk Halwa

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Paal Kesari, Paal Halwa, Milk Kesari, Milk Halwa Paal Kesari, a delicious and easy to make sweet pudding with semolina, milk and flavored with cardamom & ghee.

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

Ingredients
Rava /Semolina - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Cashews - 5 
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

Heat the pan with 1 tbsp of ghee and then add the broken cashews and roast till they are golden brown.

Keep the flame in medium and add the rava and roast until they are aromatic.

By the side, heat the milk in a sauce pan and bring into boil. Then pour the milk into the roasted rava slowly with one hand and mix it with another hand. 

With a min, the milk would be absorbed by the rava and it's all well cooked, then add the sugar. 

The rava mixture starts to loosen a bit because of sugar and then start thicken again. Once it became like a thick mass, add a tbsp of ghee at a time and mix it well.

Finally add the cardamom powder, mix it well and switch off the flame.

Tasty Paal Kesari is ready to serve.

Related : How to make Mango Kesari

Notes:

• When you pour milk in to the rava, be careful, it splatter a lot, use long handle spoon helps to mix easily.
• Both the milk and rava should be hot, so that no lumps will be formed.
• Here i have used whole milk, but you can 2% milk also or you can use 1/2 quantity of  milk & 1/2 water.
  

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Hot Cocoa | Easy Single Cup Hot Cocoa

Hot Cocoa, a delicious and cozy drink made from milk & cocoa powder. Couple of years back only, I tasted my first hot cocoa from the coffee shop on a snowy day and instantly loved it and it gave such a cozy feeling when I had sipped it. I'm the person who doesn't like chocolate and never ever craved chocolate in my life so far. But somehow I started liking this drink and have been making it at home more often on winter days. You know what , certain foods are delectable only in some circumstances like this hot cocoa and i can't even think of having this on hot summer days. Do you ever feel like that ? 

Hot Cocoa and Hot Chocolate are the same ?

Both words are used interchangeably in many places. Compared to hot cocoa, hot chocolate has richer flavor and thick consistency because of chocolate in it. I personally like hot cocoa more for milder flavor.

What milk tastes best for hot cocoa?

Full fat milk is great for making hot cocoa. But you can use low fat, non-fat or dairy free milk also. Even you can use 1/2 milk and 1/2 water for a milder version.

Which sweetener is best for hot cocoa?

I have preferred to use  sugar and maple syrup for my hot cocoa. But come on, it's your drink, add whatever you like.

Tips for yummy & lip smacking hot cocoa?

1. Use good quality cocoa powder.
2. Add a pinch of salt bring out the flavors well.
3. Add couple of tbsp of cream.

   

Hot Cocoa

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 5 mins | Serves : 1 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: American
Hot cocoa, Easy Cocoa, Single Cup Hot Cocoa Hot Cocoa, a delicious and cozy drink made from milk & cocoa powder..

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

Ingredients

Cocoa Powder - 1 tbsp

Maple Syrup - 1 & 1/2 tbsp

Milk - 1 cup

Salt -  a pinch

Vanilla Extract - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

In a saucepan, add the cocoa powder, maple syrup and 2 tbsp of milk. 

Whisk it together until there are no lumps. Next add the salt. And the remaining  cup of milk, mix it together and put it on heat.Bring into boil on medium flame. Switch off the flame and add the vanilla extract, give a quick stir and serve. Tasty homemade Hot Cocoa is ready. If you want, sprinkle some cocoa powder on top.

Notes:

• You can top it with marshmallows and serve.
• I have used full fat milk here.
• Little salt brings out the flavor well.
• Adjust the sweet as per your liking.

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