When I got married and moved  to a foreign country I wanted a piece of the food culture from my mom’s place to go with me. Didn’t want to miss out the delicacies I enjoyed from childhood so decided to write down the recipes from my mom and grandma, just like a souvenir. And in that long list of recipes I had collected, this was the first recipe. To date I cherish the book in which I had written down all such tried and perfected recipes from my family. And I still remember the first time I made Paal PoLi, it was no way close to what my mom made. Over the years I’ve tried to perfect the recipe and this 100th post in my blog is dedicated to my dear grandma and her awesome cooking.

Happy to share a piece of my treasure with you guys

Ingredients

Fine semolina – 1 cup

Salt – a pinch

Ghee – 1 1/2 tbsp

Water – as needed

Full cream milk – 750 to 800 ml

Demarara sugar or any unrefined brown sugar – 3/4 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Saffron – 1/4 tsp

Almonds (sliced) – 20 pieces

Pistachios (chopped) – 10 pieces

Cooking oil – as needed for deep frying the puris

Yield
~ 15 pieces

Prep time
1 hr to soak the dough

Cook time
30 mins

Method

1)   In a wide bowl take semolina, salt and ghee together. Mix and rub the ghee thoroughly into the semolina with your fingers. Slowly add water to the semolina mixture and knead this into a soft pliable dough. Apply few drops of ghee on the surface of the dough ball to avoid the outer surface drying out. Cover the dough with a damp muslin cloth or a kitchen towel. Let this rest for an hour.

2)   While the dough is resting, take the milk in a thick bottomed wide pan and boil it. Keep stirring continuously to avoid the milk sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the milk reduces to nearly two thirds of the original quantity simmer the heat fully and add saffron and cardamom powder.

3)  Then add sugar and mix well. Boil the milk for a further 5 to 7 mins on medium heat. At this stage add most of the dry nuts (reserve some for garnish), mix once and switch off the heat. Cover the pan and set aside to avoid skin formation on the surface.

4)   Heat a thick bottomed deep pan and add oil for deep frying. While the oil is heating take the semolina dough and knead gently for 2 to 3 mins. This will make the dough stretchy and soft. Keep stretching and folding inward and repeat this for a further 3 to 4 mins. Now divide the dough into small portions to make around 14 to 15 puris.

5)   Place each portion of the dough between your palms and make it into a smooth round ball. Grease the surface and the rolling pin with some ghee and roll the dough balls into thin round puris about the size of your palm. Place them side by side on a parchment paper or a big plate.

6)   Now gently slide each puri into the hot oil and wait until it puffs up. Carefully flip the puri and let the other side fry too. Remove each golden fried puri from oil and drop it directly into the warm milk mixture. 

7)   Press the puri gently into the milk without breaking it. Let it soak for a minute. Remove the soaked puris and stack them side by side on a wide plate. Keep repeating the process until you are done with all the puris. Pour the leftover milk onto the puris. Garnish with some chopped nuts and few strands of saffron. Your rich, tasty Paal PoLi is ready to be served now.  

Notes

1. Resting of the semolina dough is very important. Semolina soaks up liquid and tightens the dough. So make your dough a little too soft and allow the semolina to do the tightening work. Add a few tsp of milk if dough is not very soft. After the resting period, stretching and kneading the semolina dough is very important. This process helps to get soft puris.
2. Do not reduce the milk too much because the puris will not soak properly if the milk is very thick. The milk also has to be reasonably warm for the puris to soak and
   absorb the milk. If the milk has cooled down then heat it a bit on low
   heat before you try to soak the puris.
3. I’ve suggested to use brown sugar in this recipe for convenience. Originally my grandma used to make Paal PoLi with jaggery. If you are familiar with it and like to use jaggery, then make a thick syrup with jaggery and add it to the boiling milk. Don’t add the raw jaggery directly to boiling milk without making it into a thick syrup because the milk will curdle.
4. If you like this one, try my Paneer Kheer recipe as well!

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These delicious laddus are a great option to gift when you visit friends and family. It is also ideal for growing kids as a snack in their lunch box or as an after school snack because it is packed with protein and tastes awesome. This recipe is quite versatile and you can play around with the ingredients according to your choice or availability. Stays fresh for 10 to 15 days at room temperature and for a month when refrigerated.

With minimal cooking involved this Protein Laddu will be a great addition to your quick fix snack list!

Ingredients

Roasted bengal gram – 1 1/2 cups

Flax seeds – 1/4 cup

Walnuts – 1/2 cup

Almonds – 1/2 cup

Pistachio – 1/2 cup

Jaggery (powdered) – 1 1/2 cups

Salt – a pinch

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Saffron – 1/4 tsp

Ghee – 1/2 cup (Use plant based oil/butter for vegan option)

Yield
25 lime sized laddus

Prep time
10 mins

Cook time
15 mins

Method

1)   On minimum heat, dry roast the flax seeds and the roasted bengal gram until aromatic (approximately 3 to 4 mins). Set aside in a bowl. Let cool.

2)   In the same pan, dry roast walnuts, almonds and pistachios until warm to touch. Transfer this to a plate and let it cool down.

3)   In a mixer grinder grind the flax seeds and the roasted bengal gram until powdered. Then add walnuts, almonds and pistachios and pulse a few times. Transfer this mixture to a wide bowl. Now take the jaggery and pulse this also few times to break any lumps. Transfer this jaggery to the ground mixture.

4)   Add salt, cardamom powder and saffron to the nuts-jaggery mixture. Mix well. Heat ghee in a small tempering pan until just warm and add it to the mixture. Mix roughly with a spoon and pack the mixture tightly in the bowl like how you would do for cheese cake biscuit base. Set aside for 5 mins.

5)   After 5 mins mix everything with greased hand until incorporated well. Take a handful of laddu mixture and press firmly in your palm to make small round balls/laddus. Place it on a plate until the protein laddus cool down completely. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

1. I’ve used good quality jaggery powder in this recipe. You can replace jaggery with brown sugar or country sugar.
2. Pulse the mixer when processing the nuts. Running the mixer continuously will release the natural oil in it. So instead of a nice sandy texture you will end up with a lump that will stick to the sides of the mixer jar.
3. I’ve used cardamom powder and saffron to add a nice flavour to this dish. You can use nutmeg powder in this protein laddu too, as an alternative. 
4. I’ve used walnuts, almonds and pistachios, but you can use any dry nuts. Adding roasted peanuts instead of pistachios is also a great option.
5. To give a totally different flavour to this protein laddu you can add 2 tbsp of unsweetened peanut butter and vanilla essence. This way you can reduce the amount to ghee/oil and avoid cardamom powder totally.
6. Make sure the laddus are at room temperature before storing it in a clean container.
7. For some similar quick bite recipes check out my No Bake Chocolate Biscuit Bars and Walnut Cashew Chikki recipes.

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Puttu is a traditional South Indian dish. It is made both in sweet and  savoury varieties. This recipe is for a sweet puttu variety made with yellow lentils (split and skinned green gram), jaggery and coconut, and flavoured with exotic cardamom.

When I was young my grandmother made dishes like puttu, poLi, fire roasted sweet potato, boiled sweet potato with jaggery syrup, sundal and many more simple yet healthy snacks. These kind of dishes are definitely nutritious and can be a great option for after school/work snack.

Go ahead and make this protein rich Moong Dal Puttu and satisfy your sweet tooth craving anytime of the day.

Ingredients

Yellow moong dal – 1 cup

Ghee (Neutral oil or vegan butter for a vegan version) – 2 tbsp

Cashew nuts – 20

Raisins – 2 tbsp

Fresh grated coconut – 1 cup

Jaggery (powdered) – 1 1/2 cups

Salt – a pinch

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Yield
Serves 4

Prep time
2 hrs to soak moong dal

Cook time
45 mins

Method

1)   On low heat dry roast moong dal for 5 to 7 mins until fragrant. (Make sure the colour of moong dal doesn’t change). Transfer to a bowl and let it cool down a bit. Then wash twice and soak in water for 2 hours.

2)   After 2 hours drain the water completely and grind the soaked moong dal in a mixer. Add just enough water to run the mixer. The consistency of the moong dal batter should be thick and grainy.

3)   Now grease a shallow pan with a few drops of ghee/butter and transfer the moong dal batter into this. Place this batter in a steamer and steam until an inserted knife comes out clean. Remove from heat and let it come to room temperature.

4)   Now make rough chunks of the steamed moong dal using a knife and carefully pulse the chunks in a mixer. Don’t run the mixer continuously. Pulse until you get a breadcrumb texture. Set aside.

5)   Heat a pan and add the jaggery powder in it. Add enough water to cover the jaggery and stir continuously. Add salt and keep stirring until the jaggery dissolves fully. Now strain the jaggery water through a fine strainer to remove any impurities.

6)   In a wide, thick bottomed pan heat 1 tbsp ghee. Add cashew nuts and fry until golden. Then add raisins and fry until they swell. Add grated coconut and fry all together for 2 to 3 mins. Remove the nuts, raisins and coconut in a plate and set aside.

7)   In the same pan take the jaggery water. Boil jaggery water on medium heat until syrup comes to soft ball consistency (refer video). When syrup reaches soft ball consistency, simmer and add the crumbled moong dal, fried nuts, raisins and coconut mixture to the syrup and mix fully.

https://www.thepearpapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WhatsApp-Video-2021-09-05-at-08.34.15.mp4

8)   The puttu will resemble wet sand texture now. To this add a tbsp of ghee and cardamom powder. Mix well. Simmer for 2 to 3 mins, then remove from heat and set aside. Your tasty Moong Dal Puttu is ready. Wait until it comes to room temperature to store in an airtight container.

9)   Refrigerate leftover puttu and use up to 3 to 4 days. Heat it up a bit before serving.

Notes

1. I’ve used good quality jaggery powder for this recipe. You can replace jaggery with brown sugar or country sugar.
2. Pulse the mixer when processing the steamed moong dal. Running the mixer continuously will make moong dal stick to the sides of the mixer and you will end up with big lumps of steamed dal.
3. I’ve used cardamom powder to add a nice flavour to this dish. You can use nutmeg powder too, as an alternative. If you are familiar with edible camphor, then add a pinch of edible camphor along with cardamom powder to enhance the flavour of this puttu. 
4. I’ve used only cashew nuts and raisins, but you can use any variety of nuts to add crunch to Moong Dal Puttu.

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For a very long time I’ve been wanting to make marble cake. I love how two different flavours hit your taste buds in each bite because of the marble effect. As much as I love the concept of marble cake, I didn’t want to try only the basic flavours. So instead of the usual vanilla-chocolate marble cake I tried mango and blueberry to create the marble effect. When I made this marble cake with two totally different flavours, to be honest I was a bit skeptical about the final taste. To my joy, with a burst of fresh mango flavour in each bite this unique Mango Blueberry Marble Cake turned out super soft and delicious. A vegan version is possible too by just using a plant-based milk. So here’s the recipe for yet another tasty dish with mangoes for this season.

Ingredients

MANGO CAKE BATTER

All purpose flour – 1 cup

Baking powder – 3/4 tsp

Bicarbonate of soda – 1/4 tsp

Salt – a pinch

Milk (any kind!) – 1/8 cup

Saffron – 1/2 tsp

Mango essence – 1/2 tsp

Olive oil – 1/4 cup

Sugar – 1/2 cup

White vinegar – 1/2 tsp

Mango puree – 1/2 cup

BLUEBERRY CAKE BATTER

All purpose flour – 1 cup

Baking powder – 3/4 tsp

Bicarbonate of soda – 1/4 tsp

Salt – a pinch

Milk (any kind!) – 1/8 cup

Cocoa powder – 1 tbsp

Vanilla essence – 1/2 tsp

Olive oil – 1/4 cup

Sugar – 1/2 cup

White vinegar – 1/2 tsp

Blueberry puree – 1/2 cup

Yield
16 slices

Prep time
30 mins

Cook time
50 mins

Method

1)   Sieve flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt separately for each cake batter. Set aside.

2)   Preheat the oven to 180℃ for 10 mins. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.

3)   Heat the milk (for both the batters) in two different mugs. Add saffron in one mug and mix well. Add cocoa powder in another mug and mix well. Set aside both the mugs.

4)   In a mixing bowl take mango essence, olive oil, sugar, vinegar and mango puree. Beat until the sugar dissolves and well combined. Set aside.

5)   In another mixing bowl take vanilla essence, olive oil, sugar, vinegar and blueberry puree. Beat until sugar dissolves and well combined. Set aside.

6)   Now take one set of dry ingredients and add the mango puree mixture and the milk saffron mixture to it. Mix everything gently using cut and fold method. Your mango cake batter is ready now. Set aside. 

7)   Take the second set of dry ingredients and add the blueberry puree mixture and the milk cocoa powder mixture to it. Mix everything gently usind cut and fold method. Your blueberry cake batter is ready. Set aside.

8)   Now take the prepared loaf tin, add 1/4 of the mango cake batter. Next add 1/4 of the blueberry cake batter on top of the mango cake batter. Keep alternating both the cake batters one on top of the other until all the batter is used up. Now to create the marble effect, with the back of a spoon make zigzag pattern on top of the batter. Both the batters will blend mildly with each other to create the marble look.  

9)   Gently tap the tin twice to remove any trapped air bubbles. Place the loaf tin in the middle rack of your preheated oven and bake at 180℃ for 45 to 50 mins. Switch off the heat after 50 mins and let the tin sit in the oven for a further 5 mins.

10)   Remove the tin from the oven, and place it on your counter top for 10 mins. After 10 mins upturn the tin on a wire rack and gently tap the back of the tin. Your Mango Blueberry Marble Cake will easily slide off the tin onto the wire rack. Allow it to cool completely.

11)   After the cake comes to room temperature, slice it up with a sharp knife. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or drizzle some warm mango preserve on top of the cake slice and enjoy.

Notes

1. To create a more intense flavour and colour I’ve added saffron and cocoa powder to both the cake batters. You can skip these two if you want. In that case add plain room temperature milk along with the wet ingredients and continue with the other steps.
2. You can bake this Mango Blueberry Marble Cake in any baking tray instead of a loaf tin.
3. You can add a pinch of cardamom powder to the mango batter to enhance the flavour more.
4. If you don’t have olive oil, you can use any neutral oil instead.
5. When alternating both the batters into the baking tray, be gentle and don’t try to even out the batters then and there. Let the batters settle one on top of the other in a natural pattern.
6. Also while making the zigzag pattern don’t go deep, cutting across the layers. Just make a pattern on top of the batter gently.
7. This  Mango Blueberry Marble Cake stays fresh for a couple of days at room temperature. By any chance if you have a few leftover slices then refrigerate and use within 4 or 5 days of baking.
8. Finally, if you are a fan of mango like me, then do try out my other mango based dessert – Mango Crater Bun.

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In this recipe I’ve not completely added all the tastes because I did not have neem flowers (to bring in the bitter taste) and when the mango is used with the skin the astringent taste also is incorporated. But personally I don’t like my maangaai pachchadi to have the outer skin of the mango. So this recipe is tailor made for my taste buds. If you want to include all six tastes then use mango with skin and in the tempering add neem flowers after the mustard seeds splutter and fry till it turns dark brown.

So here’s my recipe for a tasty Maangaai Pachchadi.

Ingredients

Sliced Mango – 3 cups (heaped)

Jaggery (powdered) – 1 cup

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Dried Red Chilly – 1

Water – 1 3/4 cups

Yield
3-4 cups

Prep time
20 mins

Cook time
30 mins

Method

1)   Wash the mango, peel and slice it roughly.

2)   In a wide heavy bottomed pan take the sliced mango and add 1 1/4 cups water and salt. Mix once, cover and cook on medium heat until soft and mushy. Stir in between to avoid the mango sticking to the bottom of the pan.

3)   While the mango is cooking, take the jaggery in another pan and add 1/2 cup of water. Cook this on medium heat, stirring continuously until the jaggery melts. Allow the jaggery water to boil for 5 mins. After 5 mins switch off the heat and set this aside.

4)   Once the mango cooks completely, reduce heat and strain the jaggery water (to get rid of any impurities) on top of this cooked mango. Stir, cover and cook on low to medium flame.

5)   Keep stirring periodically to avoid the maangaai pachchadi sticking to the bottom of the pan. The mango-jaggery mixture might splatter at this stage, so use a long handled stirring spoon to mix. After 10 to 12 mins of cooking, the pachchadi will thicken to a preserve consistency. Reduce the heat completely.

6)   Now heat a tempering pan and add the oil. Heat the oil a bit and add mustard seeds. Wait until it splutters and add dried red chilly. Fry for 30 s and add the tempering to the maangaai pachchadi. Mix once, switch off the heat and cool to room temperature.

7)   Transfer the maangaai pachchadi to a clean sterilised container and refrigerate. This pachchadi will stay fresh for 8 to 10 days when refrigerated.

Notes

1. I used a mango that was quite sour and hence added 1 cup jaggery. I prefer maangaai pachchadi to be sweet and sour equally. You can increase or decrease the amount of jaggery according to your taste preference and also according to the natural taste of the mango.
2. If you don’t have powdered jaggery and have only big chunks of jaggery, then try grating it in your vegetable grater. If it is too hard to grate then just heat up the lump of jaggery in microwave for 40 to 50 s. The hard jaggery will soften and you can easily grate it.
3. Traditionally, jaggery is used to make this dish. If you don’t have jaggery then try this with raw/brown sugar.
4. This recipe is safe for children. In this case, you may choose to leave out the chilly.

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Kadalai Paruppu PoLi is made by making a soft dough with flour (for the outer covering), resting it for couple of hours, then spread with hand or rolled out, stuffed with boiled, mashed bengal gram sweetened with jaggery and coconut. This stuffed poLi is then spread out like paratha either with hand or with a rolling pin, cooked with ghee (check out my recipe for ‘How To Make Ghee‘ to make the most aromatic ghee at home) on a flat pan until golden on both sides.

The process may seem a little lengthy but you can conveniently divide the process into smaller parts and do at intervals to suit your time constraints. The outer dough can be prepared 3 to 4 hours in advance. In fact, longer the dough rests (maximum 5 to 6 hours), softer the poLi will be. The sweet filling can be done a day in advance too.

Other than kadalai paruppu, you can stuff PoLi with a variety of things like coconut, dry fruits, moong dhal, sweet potato, dates, a combination of these, or even spicy vegetables (called ‘kaara poLi’ meaning spicy poLi)!

Ingredients

Plain flour – 1 1/2 cups

Whole wheat flour – 1/2 cup

Salt – 1 pinch

Sugar – 1 tbsp

Unsalted butter – 1 tbsp

Water – as required

Sesame oil/Cooking oil – 3 tbsp

Chana dhal – 1 cup

Powdered/crushed jaggery – 1 1/2 cups

Fresh coconut (grated) – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Ghee – 3 tbsp (for the stuffing)

Ghee – as required to make the poli

Yield
12 to 15 poLis

Prep time
3 hours resting time for the dough

Cook time
30 mins

Method

1)   In a wide bowl, take plain and whole wheat flour. Add salt and sugar. Mix once for the salt and sugar to spread evenly. Add water little by little and mix the flour mixture gently to make a soft dough. Once the dough comes together add butter and knead it for at least 5 to 7 mins. This activates the gluten and the dough will become very soft and non-sticky after kneading for a few mins. Now pour all the oil on top of the dough and let it rest like this.. This oil keeps the dough supple and is also used to spread the dough later. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and a lid on top. Let it rest for a minimum of 3 hours. Can rest the dough longer too (refer note 1).

2)   While the dough is resting, take the bengal gram in a roasting pan and dry roast it on low flame for about 5 to 7 mins so the bengal gram gets roasted lightly without changing colour. After 7 mins transfer it to a bowl, add water, wash it twice and soak it in fresh water for 2 hours.

3)   After 2 hours, cook the soaked bengal gram until soft (you can pressure cook for 2 whistles or cook in an open pan until done). Once cooked, drain the bengal gram in a colander and let it cool to room temperature.

4)   While the cooked bengal gram is cooling take the jaggery powder in a pan, add enough water to cover it and heat it on medium flame, stirring continuously until all the jaggery melts. Now strain this jaggery water through a fine strainer to remove any impurities.

5)   Take this strained jaggery water and boil on medium heat for nearly 5 to 7 mins. Switch off the heat then and let the jaggery water cool to room temperature.

6)   Now take the cooked bengal gram in a mixer, add coconut and pulse it a few times. Add the jaggery water little by little (for the mixer to run) and grind into a smooth paste (use up all the jaggery water to grind the entire bengal gram and coconut to a smooth paste).

7)   Take a heavy bottomed pan, heat it a bit and add 3 tbsp ghee. Add the ground bengal gram-jaggery mixture and start stirring. Keep the heat on medium and stir continuously until it thickens (takes around 8 to 10 mins) (see beginner’s tip). The stuffing should be thick, leave the sides of the pan and move with the spatula. Now add cardamom powder and mix completely. The stuffing for Kadalai Paruppu PoLi is now ready. Transfer this stuffing to a plate and allow it to cool down completely. 

8)   Once the stuffing cools down, take smaller portions to make lemon sized balls and set aside.

9)   Take a small portion from the well rested dough and spread it on a greased wax paper with the tip of your fingers. Spread gently so that the edges are thinner than the center. Place the stuffing in the middle. Gently stretch and pull up the edges to close the stuffing in completely.

https://www.thepearpapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/WhatsApp-Video-2023-04-09-at-11.42.11.mp4

10)   With greased hands or rolling pin gently flatten this stuffed dough ball evenly (make sure the stuffing doesn’t come out).

11)   Heat a flat pan/tawa and grease it with 1/2 tsp ghee. Now gently lift the poLi from the wax paper and place it on the tawa. Drizzle some ghee around the edges and cook the poLi on low heat until both sides are cooked well and brown spots appear all over the poLi. Remove from heat and serve hot with some extra ghee (purely optional) on top.

Notes

1. Resting the dough is very crucial for this recipe. A well rested dough will be super soft, nice and stretchy. You can make the dough even 5 to 6 hours before the actual cooking time. Though I wouldn’t recommend anything above 6 hours at room temperature as it starts to become stale beyond that.
2. Normally the dough for any poLi is made with plain flour. The disadvantage with only plain flour is that the poLi tends to get a bit rubbery after one day. Adding a portion of whole wheat flour with plain flour keeps your poLis soft for longer.
3. Traditionally, people would use fresh banana leaf as a base to flatten out the poLi instead of wax paper. Use banana leaves if you can get some!

Beginner’s Tips

1. Use a long handled spatula while cooking the stuffing. The mixture splatters a bit until it thickens!
2. If you are a beginner, use your finger tips instead of a rolling pin (like I’ve shown in the video) to flatten out the stuffed poLi. I wouldn’t suggest using rolling pin as it is difficult to control the pressure. The stuffing might squish out if more pressure is applied.
3. Adding ghee gives great flavour to the Kadalai Paruppu PoLi. A mix of ghee and oil can also be used. Use at least half a tsp of ghee for each poLi so they stay soft for a long time.

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Ingredients

Brown Sugar – 4 tbsp

Unsalted butter – 1 tbsp

Salt – a pinch

Sweetened condensed milk – 200 g

Unsweetened cocoa powder – 3 tbsp

Chocolate chips/broken chocolate pieces – 1/2 cup

Walnuts (crushed coarsely) – 1/2 cup

Cashews (broken coarsely) – 1/2 cup

Marie/Lotus biscuits – 400 g

Yield
~16 square bars

Prep time
15 mins

Cook time
15 mins

Time to set
2 hrs

Method

1)   Crush the nuts and biscuits coarsely.

2)   Heat brown sugar (keep the heat low) in a thick bottomed pan. Keep stirring constantly to avoid charring. Let it melt and caramalise (check out my walnut cashew chikki recipe for tips to caramelise sugar).

3)   Once the sugar caramelises, add butter, salt and mix. Then add the condensed milk, cocoa powder and chocolate chips/pieces to this caramelised sugar and mix thoroughly.

4)   Grease and line a 20 cm square tray with baking/parchment paper and set aside.

5)   To the condensed milk-cocoa powder mixture add the crushed nuts and biscuits. Mix once so that the dry ingredients are properly coated with the wet ingredients and lump together.

6)   Remove the mixture from heat and transfer it to the greased/lined tray. Use a flat spatula to gently press down the mixture and even it out properly. Refrigerate this for a minimum of 2 hours. 

7)   Before serving, unmould the ‘no bake chocolate biscuit bars’ and cut it into squares. Serve chilled with a scoop of icecream.

Notes

1. You can use any nuts and any kind of chocolate from white to dark to suit your taste.
2. Be careful when adding butter to the caramelised sugar. It will splutter!

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To pack lots of strawberry flavour to the cake, I’ve included fresh strawberries in three different stages – small bite sized pieces, strawberry puree and strawberry sauce to top up. With a subtle taste of chocolate in every bite, this Eggless Strawberry Cake is filled with lots of fresh strawberries and loads of love! If you like this recipe, check out my strawberry filled vanilla cookies topped with melted strawberry jam!

Ingredients

Fresh strawberries – 10

Milk chocolate chips – 100 g

Brown sugar – 5 tsp

Strawberry essence – 1 tsp

All purpose flour – 140 g

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Bicarbonate of soda – 1/2 tsp

Salt – a pinch

Cocoa powder – 1 1/2 tbsp

Unsalted butter (melted) – 60 ml

Sweetened Condensed milk – 200 g

Fresh milk – 100 ml

STRAWBERRY SAUCE

Fresh strawberries – 10

Brown sugar – 5 tbsp

Lime juice – 1/2 tsp

Yield
8 pieces

Prep time
30 mins

Cook time
40 mins

Method

1)   Roughly chop 5 strawberries, add brown sugar and blend (in a mixer or using a hand blender) to a pulpy consistency. Add the essence, mix and set aside.

2)   Finely chop 5 strawberries and set aside to add to the batter later.

3)   Take all the strawberries for the sauce, chop them roughly and puree in a blender until there are no lumps. Strain this through a sieve to get rid of all the seeds and residue. Add the sugar to this smooth strawberry puree. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and add this sugar-strawberry mixture and start cooking. 

4)   Cook the sauce for nearly 8 to 10 mins on medium heat, stirring constantly. After around 10 mins the sauce will thicken slightly and look glossy. Add lime juice, mix once and switch off the heat. Remove the pan from the stove top and allow it to cool completely. (See note 2 for storage instructions of this sauce).

5)   Sieve flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cocoa powder twice. Reserve 1 tbsp of this dry ingredient mixture. Take the finely chopped strawberries and milk chocolate chips in a bowl. Add this reserved dry mixture and mix well so that the strawberries and chocolate chips get coated with flour. Set the main dry mixture and the flour coated strawberries and chocolate chips aside (separately).

6)   Preheat oven at 180° for 10 mins.

7)   In a deep bowl take the melted butter and condensed milk. Blend both with a hand blender until smooth and creamy. Add the strawberry pulp you made in step 1 and blend again until combined well.

8)   Now slowly add the dry ingredient mixture to this wet mixture in two batches, mixing each time using cut and fold method. Add milk and mix gently until everything is combined and the cake batter is evenly smooth.

9)   Now add the flour coated strawberry and chocolate chips to the cake batter. Mix light handedly using cut and fold method to incorporate all the ingredients properly. 

10)   Transfer the batter to a greased/lined 20 cm x 20 cm baking tray. Gently tap the tray a few times to remove any air bubbles. Place the tray in the middle rack of your oven and bake at 180°C for 35 to 40 mins (mine took 40 mins).

11)   Pull out the tray from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 mins. Then carefully transfer the Strawberry Cake to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely. Once cooled, cut into desired shapes with a sharp knife. Coat the top of the cake slices with strawberry sauce and garnish with some fresh strawberry slices, chocolate stars/chips. Your delicious eggless strawberry cake is ready to serve.

12)   Serve the cake slices at room temperature to enjoy its soft and fluffy texture. Refrigerate the leftover slices and warm them up before serving.

Notes

1. I’ve used fresh strawberries to make this strawberry cake. To me, fresh berries pack maximum flavour and so I prefer to use them while in season. If you are making this cake when strawberries are not in season, then go for the frozen ones as an alternative.
2. Strawberry sauce can be made in larger quantities, stored in airtight bottles and refrigerated. The same method can be followed to make other types of berry sauces too when the fruits are in season. The lime juice we add at the end acts as preservative and helps the sauce stay fresh for nearly 4 to 5 months when refrigerated. Can be used as a topping in many other desserts or as jam substitute for your sandwiches and toasts too. 

Beginners’ tips

1. While mixing the dry and wet ingredients, always use cut and fold method and mix gently. The air that is incorporated while sieving the dry ingredients and the air incorporated in the wet ingredients while blending them together, helps to make the cake nice, soft and airy. Also, mix the batter in one single direction. Mixing back and forth will make your cake dense and hard as it removes more air.
2. It’s always a great idea to use flour to coat your chocolate chips and nuts before adding it to the batter because it prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the baking tray.
3. Allow the strawberry cake to cool down completely before slicing it up with a sharp knife. The chocolate chips we have added might come in the way while slicing the cake and make it crumble unevenly if you try to cut the slices before it cools down completely. So letting the cake cool completely and using a sharp knife helps to get even slices.

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The original recipe calls for broken wheat as the main ingredient. For a gluten free option, you can use any kind of millet in place of wheat. Just adjust the amount of milk and water accordingly while cooking the millets. Broken wheat is cooked in lots of whole milk until soft and creamy. 

Ksheera is sweetened with country sugar – a healthy alternative to normal sugar. That’s the highlight of this recipe. Country sugar is unprocessed sugar. It is the broken down form of jaggery, completely unadulterated and natural. There are many health benefits in using country sugar instead of normal, bleached, refined sugar in your diet. It improves bone strength, reduces food craving, detoxes, prevents constipation and reduces free radicals in your system.

A good amount of aromatic home made ghee and lots of dry fruits are added to make this dish rich and inviting. Yes, Ksheera is a dense, calorie intense dish, but once in a while it is good to indulge in such healthy desserts to satisfy your sweet cravings. So go ahead guilt free and make this healthy Ksheera. Use more of unrefined, unprocessed country sugar and avoid refined sugar as much as possible.    

Ingredients

Mixed dry fruits (broken into pieces) – 3/4 cup

Raisins – 2 tbsp

Ghee – 1/2 cup

Broken wheat – 1 cup

Fresh whole milk (full cream) – 4 cups

Water – 1/2 cup

Country sugar – 2 to 2 1/4 cups (as per your choice)

Salt – a pinch

Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp

Saffron – 1/2 tsp

Yield
Serves 6

Prep time
10 mins

Cook time
45 mins

Method

1)   Heat a pan and add 3 tbsp ghee. Keep the heat in medium and add dry fruits. Fry them until slightly golden, then add the raisins. Fry everything until golden. With a slotted spoon remove the fried dry fruits and raisins and keep aside.

2)   In the same pan add one more tbsp of ghee (along with the leftover ghee after frying the dry fruits) and add the broken wheat. Simmer and fry the broken wheat lightly until aromatic (colour shouldn’t change). Switch off heat and remove the pan and set aside.

3)   In another pan take milk and water together. Bring it to a rolling boil and add this boiling milk-water mixture to the fried broken wheat. Cover the pan and set aside for 15 mins. The wheat will absorb the milk and swell up. 

4)   Now transfer this soaked wheat-milk mixture to a pressure cooker and cook until the wheat becomes soft.

5)   Heat another wide pan, add 3 tbsp ghee. When the ghee is warm, add the cooked wheat. Mix for a minute. Then add salt and country sugar. Mix thoroughly and cook for 5 to 6 mins. At this stage add cardamom powder, saffron and the fried dry fruits and raisins. Mix well.

6)   Keep stirring the Ksheera for 5 mins or until it thickens to a porridge consistency. Now add 1 or 2 tbsp of ghee and mix well. Switch off the heat and leave the Ksheera in the same pan until it cools a bit.

7)   Serve Ksheera while it is still warm.

Notes

1. Broken wheat is cooked completely in milk, for the Ksheera to get a rich and creamy consistency. Use full cream milk to make this dish, low fat or skimmed milk may not be a good option since water is already added to the milk.
2. Many Indian desserts require good quality, aromatic ghee. It is best to make your own ghee at home. Store bought ghee can in no way match the aroma, freshness or texture of homemade ghee.
3. I’ve used cardamom powder and saffron to enhance the flavour of Ksheera. You can use nutmeg powder too, as an alternative.
4. Ksheera tastes best when it is hot or warm. You can refrigerate the leftovers and use it up to 3 days. Just heat it up and serve.
5. Try Broken Wheat Pidi Kozhukkattai for a savoury broken wheat recipe!

Beginners’ tips

1. Adding a pinch of salt to your sweet dishes, not only enhances the overall taste, but also highlights the sweetness of the dish.
2. Wheat expands almost three times in volume after it gets cooked. So choose a pan accordingly.

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These buns can be stuffed with a whole lot of other fruits or veggies too. For example, you can use apple, pear, carrot, beetroot or strawberry to make the filling, instead of sweet potato. However, try to use a flavour that is most suited to the fruit or vegetable you are using. I prefer cinnamon/nutmeg with apple/pear and cardamom with carrot/beetroot. Needless to say, you can experiment according to your choice. 

Perfectly sweetened, sweet potato and cherry buns are a must try for this festive season!

Ingredients

BUN:

Warm milk – 1 1/4 cup (see note 1 for alternatives)

Sugar – 2 tbsp

Dry yeast – 1/2 tbsp

All purpose flour – 3 cups

Salt – a pinch

Butter/vegan butter (at room temperature) – 3 tbsp

Nutmeg powder – 1/8 tsp

Cinnamon powder – 1/8 tsp

Water – as required

SWEET POTATO AND CHERRY FILLING:

Butter/vegan butter – 1 1/2 tbsp

Sweet potato (grated) – 1 1/2 cup (tightly packed)

Brown sugar – 3 tbsp

Roughly chopped glazed cherries – 1/2 cup (see note 4 for a healthier alternative)

Almond meal – 1/4 cup

Nutmeg powder – 1/4 tsp

Yield
12 to 14 medium sized buns

Prep time
2.5 hrs

Cook time
40 mins

Method

1)   In a large bowl take 1 cup warm milk. Add sugar. Mix. Then add dry yeast and mix again. Cover and set aside for 5 mins.

2)   After 5 mins, the yeast-milk mixture will be frothy meaning the yeast is activated. Now add salt, nutmeg and cinnamon powder and 2 tbsp butter to this and mix well.

3)   Now add the flour and start mixing gently. Add the remaining milk little by little to form a dough (if required, add some water). Once the dough comes together reasonably well (the dough will be sticky at this point), transfer it to a counter top dusted with flour.

4)   Start kneading the dough with your greased palm. Don’t add more flour to reduce the stickiness. Continue stretching and kneading the dough to activate the gluten. After 5 to 7 mins of kneading, the dough will become very soft, smooth and non-sticky.

5)   Lift the dough from your counter top, gently stretch from the sides and tuck it at the back and form a smooth ball. Keep it in a reasonably large greased bowl (the dough will rise to double its size) and apply 1 tbsp of butter on the surface. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap/damp cloth or a firm lid. Place this bowl with the dough in a warm, dry place. Let it rest for 2 hours for the first proofing.

6)   While the dough is kept for first proofing, you can make the sweet potato and cherry filling. Heat a pan, add butter, let it melt. When butter starts melting, add grated sweet potato and saute for 5 mins. Stir frequently to avoid the sweet potato sticking to the bottom of the pan.

7)   After 5 mins, add brown sugar and saute for a further 2 to 3 mins. Then add chopped glazed cherries and nutmeg powder and mix. Now add almond meal and mix completely. The filling will come together and hold shape at this point. If it is slightly sticky, add a tsp or more of almond meal to bring it to the desired consistency. Remove from heat and let it come to room temperature. Divide the filling into 12 to 14 portions and make it into small balls. Set aside.

8)   After 2 hours the dough ball should have doubled in size. Grease your hands and gently punch it to remove the excess air. Now transfer the dough onto your counter top again. Gently knead for a minute. Roll the dough into a cylindrical shape and divide it into 12 to 14 portions (as many sweet potato balls as you have).

9)   Grease and line a round 30 cm baking tray with parchment/baking paper. Now take one portion of the dough, make a dent in the middle. Place one portion of the sweet potato filling in this dent. Bring the edges together in pleats and pinch them together in the middle to seal the filling completely like a dumpling. Gently roll the stuffed dough balls in your palm and smoothen them out. Continue the same process to make all the buns ready for the next process.

10)   Gently place the stuffed buns in the prepared baking tray, leaving enough space between 2 buns to allow them to expand during the second proofing. Cover the tray with a clean kitchen cloth and place it in a warm place in the kitchen for the second proofing. Let it sit for 20 mins or so. Preheat the oven to 180˚.

11)   After 20 mins the dough balls will double in size again. Now brush the top surface of the buns gently with a generous amount of milk (mix almond/soy/oat milk with maple syrup/agave – 2 portions milk and 1 portion maple syrup/agave for the vegan version). Place the tray in the middle rack of your oven along with a bowl of water on the side and bake at 180˚ for around 35-40 mins (or until the top surface of the buns turn golden).

12)   After 35 mins remove the tray from the oven. Dab the top surface of the sweet potato and cherry buns with butter, and allow them to cool for 10 mins. Remove from the baking tray and carefully place on a wire rack to cool completely. After they cool, store in an airtight box. Warm up the sweet potato and cherry buns before serving.

Notes

1. You can use any vegan milk in this recipe. Even coconut milk, with its strong taste, will go well with this recipe. Similarly, the vegan butter you choose should be suitable for baking purpose. Due to some amount of water content in vegan butter and the chemical composition, all brands may not be suited for baking. So choose a brand that is suitable for baking.
2. The sweet potato filling should be reasonably firm and not runny. If it’s too wet, increase the amount of almond meal accordingly. On the other hand, if you feel that the stuffing is slightly dry, then add a couple of teaspoons of honey/maple syrup (don’t add water) to the filling to bring it to desired consistency.
3. I’ve used glazed cherries in this recipe, which is processed cherries in sugar syrup. For a healthier option you can use fresh cherries in this recipe. Choose fully ripe cherries and add 2 or 3 more tbsp of sugar while making the filling. (Add 2tbsp of chopped raisins to increase the sweetness but want to reduce the added sugar content).
4. If you are a fan of stuffed buns (which you will be after making this recipe), check out my Mango Crater Bun recipe too!

Beginners’ tips

1. Always use a fresh stock of yeast while baking any kind of bread/bun. Old or stale yeast may not activate properly and will make your bread flat, dense and hard.
2. Use lukewarm milk to activate the yeast. Cold milk will not activate the yeast and hot milk will kill the yeast.
3. If you don’t have store bought almond meal, just grind room temperature almonds to a fine powder. Don’t run the mixer continuously. Just pulse a few times and grind in intervals. This is because continuous grinding of nuts might release the oil from them and make it stick to the sides of the mixer jar. To get smooth powdered nuts, always use room temperature nuts and pulse/grind in intervals until powdered fully.
4. Correct measurements and proper proofing are very important for baking bread. So follow both without compromising even a bit. Choose a warm, dry place in your house to proof the dough. 

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