Coconut Almond Burfi | Coconut Burfi

Coconut Almond Burfi , an easy to make delicious sweet with just a handful of ingredients. It was one of my recent experiments at my kitchen and it turned out way more delicious than i had expected. 

In the past, i used to make coconut burfi with only freshly grated coconut. But here in Ottawa, i can source desiccated coconut more easily than the good-quality fresh coconut. So i have been experimenting with desiccated coconut  in place of fresh coconut in my cooking. Some dishes have turned out well, while others have been big flops.

This Coconut Burfi is one of the huge hits and it tastes as good as the burfi made with fresh coconut. So if you're looking for some easy to make sweet with desiccated coconut, do give this a try and I'm sure that you would be impressed by the taste and the texture of these burfis.

Desiccated Coconut

Here in this recipe, i have used the un-sweetened and fine desiccated coconut. You can also use the coconut flakes that are available in the market. But make sure that you pulse that coconut flakes once before using it in this recipe. Fine coconut makes it easier to cut the burfis into desired shapes.

Also, if you're using the sweetened desiccated coconut, make sure to reduce the sugar a little bit otherwise it would be too sweet. 

Almond Flour

Adding almond flour in this burfi makes it so rich and improves the taste and texture of the burfi overall. I have a recent obsession of using almond flour in my cooking so i tried to incorporate it in many of my sweets. If you have been following me for a while, you might already know this :-)

  

Flavouring Agent

Cardamom goes really well with any coconut sweets so i have used the cardamom powder. In addition to that i have used a few strands of saffron for that exotic flavor. You can use both of them like me or any one of those too. 

Additionally, if you like vanilla flavor with coconut, you can also use the vanilla essence. 

Ok, now let's check out how to make this delicious coconut almond burfi.

Coconut Almond Burfi

Preparation Time : 2 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 24-28 pieces  
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coconut Burfi, Coconut Almond Burfi, Thengai Burfi description.

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

Ingredients

Desiccated Coconut - 1 & 1/2 cups

Almond Flour - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp(crushed)

Ghee - 1 tsp

Saffron - a few strands(optional)

Procedure

Heat a thick bottomed pan, add the sugar and water, let the sugar melt and come to boil.

Let the sugar syrup boil until it reaches the one string consistency. Then add the desiccated coconut and almond flour.

Mix it all well together. Within a few minutes it all comes together and then adds the ghee.

Next add the cardamom powder(here i was using some crushed cardamom seeds) and saffron(if you're using) . Mix it all well and then transfer the mixture into a ghee creased pan/plate.

Smoothen the top with the back of  the spoon. Rest it for 5 mins and then cut into desired shape.

Delicious Coconut Burfi is ready. Cool it completely and then store it in airtight container.

Related: How to make Khoya Burfi

Yummy it is !!

Notes:

• Cut into desired when the burfi is warm itself and then let it cool down completely 
• It stays well for up to 15 days at room temperature.

Continue Reading »

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

Continue Reading »

Pineapple Kesari, a delicious sweet made from semolina and pineapples. It's one of the famous sweets that's usually served in the South Indian marriage feast. 

The pineapple gives such a nice aroma to this kesari and truly elevates the taste of the kesari to the next level. This recipe is so similar to the regular kesari recipe just with the addition of pineapple. So you can make this very quickly for any occasion. I'm sure that your family and friends go on praising you for making this yummy sweet.

Pineapple

Pineapple is the key to this kesari so make sure to use well ripened and sweet pineapple. Here in the recipe, i have used fresh pineapples. But you can also use canned pineapples. 

While using fresh pineapples, make sure to remove all the eyes of the pineapple(a tiny thorn in the pineapple which gives itchiness in the tongue)

If you're using canned pineapple, use only pineapples and leave out the juice.

My pineapples are very sweet so i used 3/4 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of rava. If the pineapples are less sweet, you may need a couple of tbsp of more sugar.

Finally, don't use the sour pineapples, it won't taste good  and ruins the whole recipe.

Related: How to make Pineapple raita

Water

For any kesari recipe,  the water quantity is very important to get that perfect texture. In general, 2 to 2.5 cups of water is needed for 1 cup of rava to get that soft and well cooked kesari depending on the rava quality.

Adding too much water makes the kesari sticky and slimy. And too little water makes it undercooked.

Therefore, when boiling the water, don't let it boil for a long time because some of the water evaporates and it affects water and rava ratio . So turn off the heat when the water comes to vigorous boil and pour that immediately into the roasted rava. 

How to avoid lumps in the kesari ? 

This is one of the common questions from the beginners while preparing the kesari. Here is my tip that i learned from my Amma. 

Make sure that both the rava and water are hot when they are mixed together. That way, there won't be any lumps in the kesari.

Hence you have to roast the rava and boil the water side by side at the same time. So that when the rava is well roasted, the hot water would be ready to pour. 

If you haven't tried this way of making kesari, do give it a try and i'm sure that there won't be any lumps. I have been following this method ever since i started cooking and so far, i never had any lumps in my kesari :-)

Ok, now let's check out on how to make delicious pineapple kesari.

 

Pineapple Kesari | Pineapple Sheera

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Pineapple Kesari, Pineapple sheera Pineapple Kesari, a delicious sweet made from semolina and pineapples. It's one of the famous sweets that's usually served in the South Indian marriage feast.

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

Ingredients

Ravai/ Rava / Semolina - 1/2 cup

Pineapple(finely chopped) - 1/2 cup(heaped)

Sugar - 3/4 cup*

Ghee - 2 & 1/2 tbsp

Cashew - 8 to 10 

Water - 2 & 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp(optional)

Yellow Food Color - a few drops(optional)

*For more sweetness, you can use up to 1 cup of sugar.

Procedure

First in a saucepan, add the pineapple, sugar & mix it well. Keep it aside for 10 mins.

After 10 mins, the sugar starts to melt a bit. Now add the water, mix it well and place the sauce pan in the heat and bring to boil.

In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp of ghee in another pan, add the cashews, roast the cashews for about 1 min.

Keep the heat in medium and then add the rava, roast the rava in the ghee until it's very aromatic.

By the time the rava is well roasted, the water should also come to a boil. Add a few drops of food color(if you're using)  to the water and then pour the hot water into the rava(keep the rava at the lowest possible heat.). It splatter a lot, so be careful. 

Once all the water is poured, give a gentle mix and then cover it with a lid for about 2 mins.

Now, the rava would be  well cooked , add the cardamom powder(if you're using) and the remaining 1/2 tbsp ghee on the top. Switch off the flame and keep it covered for 2 mins.

Delicious Pineapple Kesari is ready to serve. 

Related: How to make Paal Kesari / Milk Kesari 

Notes

• It tastes great after a few hours of making so that the pineapple flavor is well infused in the kesari and give such a nice flavor and taste.
• Adding more sugar gives the glossy texture to the kesari. You can add up to 1 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of rava. However i find that 3/4 cup of sugar is just enough sweetness without overpowering.

Continue Reading »

Shakarpara using leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup| Shankarpali Recipe

Shakarpara / Shankarpali, a delicious, crunchy and mildly sweetened deep-fried biscuits. It's usually made with all purpose flour/ wheat flour and sugar, but today let me show how to make this yummy treat with the leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup/ any sugar syrup.

Mostly after deepavali/diwali festival, many wonder what to make with the leftover sugar syrup from the gulab jamun. If you ever wonder like that, here is the solution for using that sugar syrup. 

Though, there are many options available to use that sugar syrup, making Shakarpara is one of the easiest and delicious options that would be ready in minutes. 

Leftover Gulab Jamun Sugar Syrup

Gulab Jamun soaked sugar syrup is thick and has wonderful flavor, so without much effort, we can make flavorful shakarpara using this syrup. 

Depending on how thick your sugar syrup is, you may need less/more  sugar syrup to make the dough. So keep this recipe as reference and add as you need.

My sugar syrup has a cardamom flavor(since i used that for flavoring in  gulab jamun) so it gives such a nice cardamom and milk flavor(from the jamun) to the shakarpara. But you can use any flavored sugar syrup, just remember that the shakarpara also would have the same flavor.

Also you can make this shankarpali using the same method for any leftover sugar syrup. 

Tips to make delicious and crunchy Shankarpali/Shakarpara

Though it's such an easy recipe, here are a few things to take care of for making delicious shankarpali.

1. Make sure the dough is stiff like the poori dough. If your dough is too soft, then it absorbs a lot of oil.
2. Cook the shankarpali in low-medium heat. If you have the number system in your stove, keep it in between 3 and 4 once the oil is heated.
3. It takes time to cook and get that golden brown, so be patient while frying. If you increase the heat, the outside turns brown easily but the inside would be raw.
4. Finally, once it's out of oil, it's soft in the middle. Let them cool completely for that crunchy bite.

That's it. Now let's check out on how to make this delicious and crunchy Shankarpali/ Shakarpara.

Shakarpara using leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Shakarpara,Shankarpali,leftover jamun syrup,leftover gulab jamun syrup recipe, Shakarpara / Shankarpali, a delicious, crunchy and mildly sweetened deep-fried snack.

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

Ingredients

Wheat Flour/ Aatta -1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Leftover Gulab Jamun Sugar Syrup- 1/2 cup(approx)
Baking soda - a pinch
Oil - for frying

Procedure

First in a bowl, add the flour, baking soda and ghee, mix it all together well with your hand until the ghee is incorporated into the flour. Then add the sugar syrup as needed.

Mix it well and make a dough. The dough should be like  poori dough. Divide the dough into four equal parts.

Next roll each portion into a thick disc using a rolling pin and then cut the dough into small squares. Do the same for all the dough. Heat the oil for frying and then add the squared dough in batches.

Cook it on low-medium flame until it's golden brown. Drain the shankarpali from the oil and place it on the paper towel. Do the same for the remaining. 

Cool it completely and then store it in an air-tight container. Delicious and crunchy Shakarpara/Shankarpali is ready.

Related: How to make Traditional Shakarpara

Notes:

• No need to knead the dough for long time. Stop kneading once it all comes together.
• It stays well for upto 10 mins in room temperature.
• Use dry hands every time so that it stays crunchy.

Continue Reading »

Chocolate Covered Strawberries, an easy to make sweet treat with just 2 ingredients. If you love chocolate and strawberries then you must try this to know how delicious they are !

To be honest, it's not a recipe, just a simple DIY treat. Even kids can make these treats on their own. But they are a few things that you should take care of ! So that' what i'm going to explain in this post.

Strawberries 

First thing first ! Let's talk about the strawberries. Make sure the strawberries are fresh, brightly colored and sweet.  

Make sure to wash and pat dry them well before melting the chocolate. Also don't trim the green part of the strawberries because that will be helpful to hold the strawberries while dipping in the melted chocolate. 

Chocolate

You can  make this with any type of chocolates like milk chocolate, semi-sweet or dark chocolate. I had tried this before with milk chocolate and i felt it was too sweet. So my personal favorite is dark chocolate. It nicely compliment the sweetness and the freshness of the strawberries.

In today's post, i have used the double boiler method to melt the chocolate but you can melt the chocolate in the microwave too.

Finally let's answer the FAQ while making this Chocolate Covered Strawberries

How do you get chocolate to stick to strawberries?

• Water and chocolate don't work together. So make sure that the strawberries are dry. After washing the strawberries, dry them well with the paper towel to absorb all the excess moisture
• Let the melted chocolate cool a bit so that it sticks to the strawberries well.

Now let's check out on how to make chocolate covered strawberries.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 5 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Dessert | Recipe Cuisine: American
Chocolate Covered Strawberries,Valentine day Dessert, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, an easy to make sweet treat with just a 2 ingredients.

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

Ingredients

Strawberries - 1 lb

Dark Chocolate - 1 bar

Procedure

First wash the strawberries and pat them dry well. Then break the chocolate into chunks and put it in the glass bowl/stainless steel bowl. 

Fill half of the sauce pan with water and bring into boil, place the chocolate bowl on the sauce pan. Stir it now and then until the chocolate melts completely. 

Remove from the heat and then start coating the strawberries with the melted chocolate. Arrange it on the parchment lined baking tray. Let it cool completely till the chocolate sets.

Delicious chocolate covered strawberries are ready to enjoy!

Related: How to make Strawberries Sorbet

Notes:

• Chocolate Covered Strawberries tastes best when they are fresh. 
• Once the chocolate are hardened, you can store them in the refrigerator and try to finish off with a day.  

Continue Reading »