Ladoos are must on any indian festival and these nutty beauties are super easy to whip up. Mawa makes them so creamy and melt in the mouth and the floral notes of rose water together with meaty pistachios is a match made in heaven. If you are still looking for something easy to make on Holi, try these ladoos.
These are ridiculously easy to whip up and all you need is 3 ingredients. When a recipe calls for few ingredients, I recommend good quality ones since it makes all the difference in the taste. Use fresh pistachios which are sweeter in taste, mawa with a good quality of fat content(you won’t need much ghee then) and rose water or rose essence that is not more than 6 months old.
These ladoos are not overly sweet and I like them that way, you can increase the powdered sugar by couple tablespoons if desired. I like to chop the pistachios on a cutting board instead of using a grinder, I feel that way I can control the texture of the nut powder and the taste is better too.
1-2tspghee (optional, if needed for rolling ladoos)
Instructions
Add mawa/mava to a nonstick pan. Place the pan on stove,switch on the stove on low heat. Let the mawa soften. Mawa softens very quickly and needs attention so that it dosent get burnt. Keep stirring using a spatula.
I didnt need to add any extra ghee to mawa, if you feel your mawa is on a dry side add a tablespoon or so of ghee.
Once mawa is soft(dont let brown), immediately add the sugar and pistachios together. Mix well untill nicely combined. Keep the heat low, cook everything for 1-2 minutes.
Switch off the stove and mix in the rose water and chopped pistachios(if using). Wait for 5 minutes or until the mixture feels cool enough to handle. Dont let the mixture completely cool down.
Smear some ghee on your hands and divide into 8-10 equal portions. Roll into smooth ladoos. Store for 3-4 days refrigerated.
Notes
I lightly dry toast the pistachios for 2-3 minutes on a hot skillet. Don’t let the color change, toasting helps in blooming the oils of nuts.
The sugar quantity can go up to 9-10 tablespoons if you like sweeter ladoos.
I chop the pistachios on a cutting board to a coarse fine powder instead of using a grinder. It takes a bit of effort but the texture and taste of nuts is really better that way.
You can replace rose with cardamom or saffron flavor if desired.
Deep fried kachoris stuffed with all sorts of fiery filling are are huge hit on festivals. Holi is just around the corner and I made a batch over the weekend, these Kachoris last well for a few days and are an amazing snack or a full meal if you wish to. Kachori is a deep fried, unleavened, stuffed flatbread from northern parts of India and is usually filled with a stuffing of lentils, potatoes, onions or dry fruits(a sweet version) and they are quite popular on festivals.
Pyaz or onion stuffed kachoris are a famous street side snack from the State of Rajasthan in north western parts of India. Rajasthai food is high on spice levels, almost fiery, the desert terrain demands that kind of spice levels in cuisine since it helps survive the brutal heat of summers. These kachoris are no exception. There are full pf punch of spices and I serve them with a hot lehsun mirch ki chutney (garlic- red chilli chutney) which takes them to next level. So so good with a cup of chai for evening snack or brunch on weekends.
The stuffing is made with a full head of onion or two to which fresh ground masalas are added and a little potato for binding. The onion filling is super flavorful with generous dose of hing and coarsely ground cumin, fennel and coriander. If you wish, a knob of this filling is so good even on sandwiches or with parathas. YUM!
Keep the below things in mind when you make kachoris:-
The dough should not be too tight or too sticky. We need a firm pliable dough with good amount of moyan(the oil/ghee/shortening that is added to dough while kneading so that the kachoris come out flaky. Keep in mind that the dough is softer than poori dough.
Rest the dough for 30 minutes after kneading. In the meantime you can make the stuffing.
Fry the kachoris on low heat. Don’t fry on high heat else they want cook inside and will not all all be flaky.
A good indicator of a well made kachoris is that their skins are golden brown and have no to few bubbles, this is achieved by patient frying on low medium heat.
When you make the stuffing, don’t brown the onions, we just want the moisture to dry out but we don’t want them to be jammy. They should have a bite. I usually mix in a little bit of raw chopped onions so as to pronounce the onion flavor and texture.
Deep fried flatbread stuffed with a spicy fiery onion filling
Prep Time40mins
Cook Time40mins
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 8to 10 kachoris
Equipment
Mixing Bowls, Saute Pan, Deep Pot/Kadhai for frying
Ingredients
For The Kachoris
1.5cupall purpose flour
1tspajwain seeds
1/2tspnigella seeds
5-6tbspvegetable shortening,substitute with oil
1/2tspsalt
1/2cupwater (I used 10 tbsp),water should not be cold
Oil for frying
For The Onion Stuffing
1tbspcoriander seeds
1tbspcumin seeds
1tbsp black pepeprcorn(adjust to taste)
1/2tbspfennel seeds
2tbspoil
1/2tsphing
1tbspfinely chopped ginger
1tbspbesan
1largeonion (yield 1.5 cups chopped onions)dont chop the onions too fine
2 smallpotatoes, boiled and peeled
2green chillies,finely chopped
1/2tsptumeric powder
Red chilli powder,to taste
1/2tspamchoor powder
Salt,to taste
For Lehsun Mirch Chutney
2heads (20-25)garlic clovespeeled
4-5dried red chillies (or use fresh red chillies)
1tspoil
1tspcumin seeds
2tspvinegar,adjust to taste
Salt to taste
Instructions
Make the Kachori Dough
Combine all the dough ingredients except water in a deep bowl/parat. Mix and rub the flour with palms and finger till you are able to form a loose ball of flour(thsi makes sure that the moyan is right and the kachoris will be flaky).
Start adding water slowly and kneading into a soft pilable dough. Your water quantity might be different than mine since different flours have different absoprtion quality. Knead well for 4 to 5 minutes.Cover and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. It will loosen a bit and will be easy to work with.
Make the Onion Stuffing
In a small sauce pan, dry roast the whole spices- coriander, cumin & black peppecorns. Cool a bit and grind coarsely. Set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide pan. Add asafetida to the oil and chopped 1.25 cups onions. Sprinkle 1/4 tso salt. Keep the heat on medium high and saute the onions for 3-5 minutes untill you see that they are transculent but not mushy or cooked. Dont lower the heat else the onions will get watery. Dont let the onions brown. Cook till the moisture is dry.
Add ginger, green chillies, tumeric and red chilli powder next. Saute for a 3-4minutes.
Add potatoes, crumble them in the pan as you add, add besan, mango powder and salt to taste.
Mix well, and mash potatoes using back of the spoon. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the 1/4 cup chopped onion and mix well. Cool down completely.
Make the Kachoris
Divide the rested dough into 8-10 equal portions. Set aside a small portion of dough to test the oil.
Roll out each portion of the dough into a 2.5-3 inch diameter circle.
Place 2-3 tbsp of the onion filling in the center.PInch the extra dough as you close the parcel.
Press gently and pat with hands to flatten the kachori, try to make the edges a bit thin.
Prick the kachoris 1-2 times with a fork. Keep all the kachoris ready before you start frying.
Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a wide pot/kadai over medium-high heat till you see ripples on the surface.
Turn the heat to medium-low and wait for 2-3 minutes. to check the temperature of oil, add a pinch of dough, it should noty come up to surface sizzling (oil is too hot). If it comes very slowly(oil is cold). It should rise to the surfce slowly(not very slowly)
Slowly slide 2-3 kachoris at a time into the hot oil. Dont crowd the oil.
Deep-fry the kachoris till golden.Drain on an absorbent kitchen paper and serve hot with chutney (recipe below) and chai.
Make The Chuntey
Soak the dried red chillies in 1/4 cup hot water for 15 mins. Skip this step if using fresh chillies.
Place the garlic, vingear, salt and soaked chillies in a blender. Blend to a smooth paste using soaking water as need. Keep pasty dont make too runny.
Heat oil in small pan, temper with cumin seeds, add the chutney paste. Mix and cook for 6-8 minutes. Store refrigerated for 2 weeks.
Crumbly, nutty nankhatai are everyone’s favorite. I make them often especially for the kids with different flavors and nuts. I make them with besan only, or sometimes with a mix of different flours- all purpose & semolina. There are truly so many combinations of flours and flavors.
This was the cookie which I grew up with. We had a round aluminum oven at my grandma’s place and it saw light of the day just to bake nankhatais. Every two weeks we had a fun baking session with my siblings, aunts and mom and we made tons of nankhatai. The texture of nankhatai is unique- its crumbly yet soft and mouthful. They should be crisp outside but still have a melt in the mouth centre. These nankhatai are super easy to make, just need a handful of ingredients and make for a good treat anytime.
Some tips to keep in mind when making Nankhatai.
I use ghee to make the dough. The ghee should be softened, it should not be melted. Itshould not be solid. It should be similar to softened butter. The flours bind using just ghee and no other wet ingredient, so its important that the ghee is measured properly(too much will make the cookies spread) and is of the right consistency .
I make nankhatai using just chickpea flour many a times (will share recipe sometime), however I feel using all purpose flour gives a nice body to the cookies and besan gives an amazing taste. Semolina can be added as well for extra crispiness.
The kind of sugar which is suitable is confectioners sugar or powdered sugar. Please dont use granulated or raw sugar ground at home. Store bough powdered sugar has a little bit of cornstarch which helps in the texture of the cookies.
Nut powder- If you have allergies, you can skip it and substitute it with equal quantity of flour. Or substitute with any kind of nut powder you fancy- cashew & pistachios work great. However keep in mind to use finely ground nuts in this recipe. Finely ground almonds are different from almond meal. If you have almond meal at home, process it to fine before using.
Th best way to know the if the dough is right is so feel it. The dough should come together in a ball and it should be soft yet firm. The dough should not be sticky at all. If it sticking to your hands, that means that you added more ghee and this will make the cookies spread too much when they bake, so add little flour to firm up the dough.
I used thandai spices(not powder) to spice up these nankhatai, you can use just cardamom powder if you wish.
I used gel colors to the dough in the spirit of festival of Holi, you can skip the colors and make them traditional as well.
Crumbly ghee loaded indian shortbread which are suitable for festivals, as a snack or any occasion.
Prep Time30mins
Cook Time22mins
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 20one bite shortbreads
Equipment
Mixing bowls, cookie sheet, measuring spoons and cups
Ingredients
For The Nankhatai
75 gms (3/4 cup)all purpose flour
25gms(1/4 cup)besan
20gms (about 1/4 cup)finely ground almond powder
75gms(10tbsp)powdered sugar
75-100gms (1/3 cup – 1/2 cup)softened ghee, not meltedadjust depending on consistency of dough
1tspthandai spice powder (recipe below)
Thandai Spice (makes extra)
1tsp (8-10)black peppercorns
1tspfennel seeds
4green cardamom pods, seeds only
3-4saffron threads
Instructions
Add all the thandai spices to a mortar and pestle and grind to a fine powder.
Place a sieve over a large bowl and sift flour, almond flour, powdered sugar and besan. Make sure that there are no lumps.
Add the thandai spice powder and mix with fingers to combine.
Add softened ghee in parts, a little at a time and start mixing with the other hand(or a soft spatula) at the same time to incorporate the ghee. Mix very well, we want to moisten each and every speck of flours with ghee- makes for a crumbly nankhatai.
Incorporate ghee as needed to make a soft yet firm dough. You will use anywhere from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup depending upon the absorption quality of your flour.The dough should not be loose or sticky. If needed due to wamr weather, refrigerate the dough to make handling easier.
Once the dough is formed, divide into 4 portions and and add gel color of your choice to dye each portion.
Pinch small portions (these spread a bit) of the dough and place on a baking sheet lined with paper. You can press a whole raw almond on top or any nut of choice. Place the cookies a bit apart since these spread a little(not much).
Refrigerate for 10 minutes(dont skip). Meanwhile preheat the oven to 325F.
Bake for 18-22 minutes till the bottoms are light golden in color. Cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!
This recipe is my take on the popular indian dessert called ‘rabdi falooda‘, which is basically vermicelli (falooda) soaking in sweet thickened milk(rabdi) and consisting of a burst of texture in every bite, studded with chopped nuts & soaked basil seeds and is usually topped with a big scoop of ice-cream.
To me this dessert brings with itself the memory of my college days. When we set out in the wee hours of the morning for a tour of the city. Shopping in our minds and skipping breakfast so that we could start as early as possible, hopping on to three or four buses (the Delhi metro was not operational back then) and changing routes as per bus schedules that day, we measured length and breath of the city to reach our favorite area in the south of Delhi. If you reached the place by 11 in the morning, the day presented myriad way to shop, eat and relax.Not only you could choose and bargain with the vendors for chunks of bohemian jewelry but reaching early would also mean that the time spent in queue at the eating joints would be less. What I would have on my mind since morning were the silky smooth milk shakes and dense rabri falooda in the tallest tumblers available. After a tiring day, I inhaled the chilled rabri falooda like a portion of ambrosia – full of textural bites and smelling of rose and cardamom.
The weather in my part of the world has already touched 80 F and we could not have asked for a better dessert for Holi (indian color festival) last week. This dessert, or if you want, call it a thick sweet cold beverage is served with a straw as well as a spoon.It is an immensely popular as a street food in Delhi but maybe not so much in the rest of India(I could be wrong!) since it was the husband’s first time sampling it.
There are many flavors and combinations that can be done- strawberry, orange, vanilla or butterscotch but my favorite has always been the rose. Prepare the ingredients before you start layering. Add as much or as little of whatever you want. You can use any flavor of jelly or icecream. The loaded the better!So exotic and extremely cooling on a warm day. It is something you are bound to like. I made it last week and served along with homemade rose jelly thrown in. It was well received and all I could say is that I wish I could have made a little more.
Prepare the ingredients before you start layering. Add as much or as little of whatever you want. The loaded the better!
Ingredients (Makes 2-3 servings)
1 package faloodasev ( 2 oz, or use colored or plain vermicelli)
Rabdi, as much as you like(recipe below)
Whipped Cream, as much as you like (recipe below)
Ice cream, as many scoops you like
Rose Jelly, as much as you like (recipe below)
Rose Syrup, as much as you like
Chopped pistachios or almonds, as much as you like
Chopped fruits, any kind, as much as you like
Tutti fruitt
Soaked holy basil/tukamaria/sabja seeds, as much as you like
For the Rabdi
2 cups whole milk
2-4 tablespoon sugar (adjust quantity depending on how sweet you desire)
1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
For the Rose Jelly
3 tablespoon water, room temperature
1.5 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin
4 tablespoon rose syrup (easily available in indian/pakistani/middle eastern stores, I use this )
3/4 cup hot water
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
For the Whipped Cream
1/2 cup cold whipping cream
1.5 tablespoon powdered sugar
pinch green cardamom powder (optional)
Notes
Use a dollop your favorite ice cream on top.
You can add chia, sunflower seeds for extra crunch.
If you do not get rose syrup, use strawberry syrup at the bottom layer and for making jelly.
Method
Making Rabdi (This can be done 1-2 days in advance)
Pour whole milk into a heavy, deep bottom pot (preferably non stick) and put on stove on medium low heat. Let the milk cook till it is reduced to half the quantity.You will need to stir every few minutes or so, make sure that it does not stick to the bottom of the pot. You can scrape the sides as you stir(this kurchan or lacey thick milk is important to the the texture of rabdi). The milk will thicken and change color to pale. After about 30-40 minutes, you will see that the milk liquid has evaporated and thick solids remain. is thickened. Take off the stove.
Let cool down slightly (about 5-8 minutes). Th milk will be almost custard like. Add sugar & cardamom powder and mix well. Let sit to cool down completely.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or till ready to use.
Making the Rose Jelly (This can be done 1-2 days in advance)
In a small bowl, add 3 tablespoon water and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Let bloom.
Meanwhile, in a small jug/tumbler, mix together hot water, rose syrup, sugar and lime juice. Stir so that sugar has dissolved. Add the bloomed gelatin to it.
Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to cool down.
Pour into a small square glass dish and refrigerate for at least 5 hours. Once chilled and set, unmold (by running a sharp knife along the edges and tapping the bottom of inverted dish) and using a sharp knife cut into squares.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Making the Whipped Cream (This can be done 1 day in advance)
In a cold bowl, using a whisk or hand mixer, whip up the cream to soft peaks. Add powdered sugar 1/2 tablespoon at a time and whip to incorporate.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Making Rabdi Falooda
Cook the falooda sev or vermicelli as per package instruction.Let cool completely. Toss the noodles with rose water.Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Keep all the components ready to go.
Layer however you like. I never make tow falooda same! Start with 1 tablespoon rose syrup at the bottom of a tall glass. Add the chilled faloooda(or vermicelli). Add 2-3 tablespoon of cold rabdi. Top with 1 tablespoon chopped nuts, add ice cream scoops and 1-2 cubes of rose jelly.
Repeat 2-3 times to make a layered dessert. Top with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. Scatted nuts or tutti frutti.
4 cups of whole milk (substitute with low-fat/almond milk/soy milk)
1/4 cup heavy cream
½ cup almonds
1/4 cup unsalted cashews
4 tbsp pumpkin seeds [or melon seeds if available]
2 tsp white poppy seeds [available in indian stores under the name ‘Khus-Khus‘ or ‘Posto‘]
2 tsp whole black peppercorns [adjust to taste]
7-8 green whole cardamom pods
2 tsp fennel seeds [or aniseed]
1 tbsp rosewater [use 1-2 drops if using rose essence]
pinch of saffron dissolved with 1 tbsp of warm milk
4-5 fresh mint leaves [don’t use too many else drink will turn bitter]
Sugar to taste
Nuts and ice cubes [optional] for garnish
Method:
Soak almonds,cashews, fennel, poppy, pumpkin seeds, cardamom & black peppercorn in enough water overnight or for at least 5-6 hours.
Once soaked, drain the water and discard it.
Tip in the soaked nuts& spices along with rosewater and mint leaves in a blender and grind to a smooth paste.
At this point, refrigerate the paste if you want to use it later.The paste keeps fresh for 4-5 days,refrigerated.
For making the Thandai: Tip in the milk, cream,dissolved saffron along with sugar to the taste in a blender on smoothie mode and churn for 3-4 minutes on high till everything comes together.
Pour into glasses, garnish with nuts and serve chilled.
Variations :
You can use the cold milk mixture to make a thandai ice- cream.
Blend it with lots of ice and 2-3 tbsp condensed milk and make a smoothie.Adjust sugar in that case.
