Malpua

 Ingredients:

 2 cups plain flour (Maida)
1 cup sugar
2 bananas
Groundnuts, Almonds, Cashew nuts chopped.
5-6 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1 cup grated coconut
2 tbsp Low fat milk
Oil (Groundnut/Sunflower)

 Ingredients for sugar syrup (Chaashni)
Sugar 2-3 cups
2 cups of water
(Prepare sugar syrup by putting sugar in boiling water and stirring it until a thick consistent solution is attained)

Steps:
1. Mix flour, Coconut, bananas, saunf, sugar, chopped dry fruits in a bowl.
2. Add enough milk to make this into a paste.
3. Heat a non-stick tawa (flat griddle) and put 2-3 tbsp. oil in it and spread it with wooden spatula.
4. Take a small bowl full of paste and spread it in round fashion in the heated tawa. Cook it in the slow heat for some time and then turn all puas to other side using a thin flat spatula.
6. When it’s done (10-12 minutes) put it in an absorbent paper for a while

 Alternatively, you can also deep fry the paste in a pan in making round shapes but the tawa method absorbs less oil. The above is the recipe for pua that can be eaten both hot and cold. For malpua, soon after you take the pua from the tawa you dip it in the chaashni.

Thandai (Indian tea-like sweet beverage)

 Ingredients:
4 cups Water
1 ½ cups Sugar
1 cup Milk
1 Tbsp Almond
1 Tbsp Dried watermelon seeds (Zarboogth)
½ Tbsp Poppy Seeds
½ Tbsp Saunf (Fennel seeds)
½ Tbsp Cardamom powder
½ Tsp Rose Water
¼ cup Dried or fresh Rose Petals (Gulab)

 Method:

Soak sugar in 2 cups of water. Wash clean all other dry ingredients except the cardamom powder. Soak them in the remaining water (2 cups). Allow all soaked items to stand for at least 2 hours. Grind all soaked ingredients to fine paste. When the paste is ready then mix it to the remaining water. Place a muslin strainer over a large deep bowl. Strain the mixed water and add little more water to it. Press and extract until it becomes dry.

 Add milk, sugar, and rose water to the extracted liquid. Mix cardamom powder in the milk. Mix well. Chill for an hour or two before serving.  Makes 8 glasses.

Khasta Kachori

 For the filling
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon cumin powder
 1/8 teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
1 cup white urad dal (soaked in water and ground in the mixer/blender)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp red chilli powder
 2 teaspoons powdered saunf,
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp corainder powder
3/4 tsp amchur powder
(Mango powder)

 Fry the above ingredients in a pan of oil and cook for a few minutes till the oil leaves the mixture and a wonderful aroma emerges. Remove and keep aside.

For the kachoori

2 cups all purpose flour
 2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
 1/2 cup ghee
Water to knead
Now start making the kachooris.
For this, take all the kachori ingredients and mix well in a bowl until dough is formed.(Mix using your hands like for rotis).Make small balls out of the mixture.Using a rolling pin, roll them out till about palm size (not very big).
Put a little of the filling in each of the balls and roll the sides so as to seal the kachoori.Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately

Gujjia
Ingredients:
16 ounces maida (flour)
34 ounces khoya
3 tbps kismis (raisins)
¼ cup almonds (cut into thin strips)
6 tbsp cooking oil. (Keep some more aside for deep frying)
¼ cup water.
16 oz sugar.

Method

Mix the six tablespoons of oil with the maida where the mixture takes the form of breadcrumbs. Now add some water and knead lightly. Keep adding water as required and knead into soft dough. Set aside and cover with a damp cloth. Put the khoya in a deep-frying pan and fry to a light brown color. Add sugar into the khoya and mix well. Add almonds and kismis. Fry for a few minutes and remove from the fire. Let it cool; roll out the kneaded dough into a chapati, thicker and smaller than a normal chapati. Fill half the chapati with the khoya mixture, fold the chapati and seal the round, twisting the edges inwards. Take care that the filling does not ooze out. Deep fry these gujjias, a few at a time, till they are a deep golden brown. Fry on a slow fire. When done, take them out with a sieve type ladle, draining the oil completely. Let them drain further on a paper towel. Store for use in an airtight glass jar

 
Shrikand
Ingredients
8 ounces cottage cheese
16 ounces plain yogurt
1 can condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 cup mixed chopped nuts

Method
Place yogurt in cheesecloth and hang from a bowl for about 30 minutes. Water will drain out and the yogurt will be more compact. Blend cottage cheese and condensed milk until creamy. Add in the yogurt. Add nuts and cardamoms. Refrigerate.

Gulabi Sandesh

Ingredients

Chenna/paneer- 16 ounces
khoya/mava- 4 ounces
rose water- 1/4 sp
green elaichi/cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp
powder sugar- 4 tbsp

Method
Prepare the fresh chenna/cottage cheese by using approximately ½ gallon milk. Curdle the milk using 1/2 tsp. lemon juice. Mash up the chenna immediately and mix with the crumbled up khoya, add in rose water, elaichi powder, sugar, and mix until smooth. Shape them into small walnut sized balls and steam for 10-12mins. Garnish with rose petals and serve.

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