Bread Pudding

This is a good recipe to make if you have lots of leftover bread at home. A good choice when entertaining a crowd as it can be prepared ahead of time.

Ingredients:

8 bread slices with edges cut
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts(cashews,walnuts,raisins)

For custard:

1 tbsp custard powder dissolved in a tbsp of cold milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk

Method:

For the pudding:

Blend the sugar, milk, essence and egg in the blender to get a smooth liquid. Grease a rectangular deep pan with butter and place 4 slices of bread to cover the bottom. Sprinkle one tablespoon of the nuts on it. Now pour the blended egg/milk mixture on top of it. Place a second layer of the remaining 4 bread slices, sprinkle the remaining nuts and pour the remaining mixture on it. Bake it in a oven for about 35 minutes(approx,may vary depending on the oven) at 375 deg F till done.


When tested with a thin knife(toothpick), the knife(tothpick) should come out clean. Take it out and cool for 10 minutes.

For the custard:

Heat the sugar and milk. When sugar is dissolved completely, add the custard and keep stirring. When the mixture thickens, take it off the fire and let it cool for 10 minutes. Pour this custard mixture on top of the baked dish and let it chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Cut it into slices and serve.



Serves 4

Semolina Burfi (Rave Burfi)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup semolina or fine rava(chiroti rava)
1/4 cup ghee
1/4 cup powdered cashews
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
1-2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
saffron strands(optional)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except cardamom powder, in a pan. Cook on medium high heat until the mixture comes together like a ball, without sticking to the pan. Swtich off the heat and add the cardamom powder. Spread on a greased plate and allow to cool. Cut into pieces and serve.

Makes 10-12 pieces

NOTE: Cashews can be substituted with almonds.

Deepavali Special - Paneer Burfi, Kaju Burfi & Paneer Pista Rolls

Deepavali was just around the corner. I was looking to make something new that was quick and tasty. Found two recipes - Paneer Burfi and Paneer Pista Rolls. Both the recipes have similar ingredients, and you can make them in a jiffy. Since my kids love kaju burfi, I decided to make some of those. I have posted the recipe for kaju burfi in my older posts.

Wishing you all a happy and fun filled deepavali!


Paneer Burfi:

Ingredients:

200 gms(7 oz) crumbled paneer/cottage cheese
3 tbsp crumbled fresh khoya/mawa
5-6 tbsp powdered sugar
2-3 drops yellow food color(optional)
1-2 drops rose essence

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except the yellow color in a bowl, knead it till the mixture becomes smooth. Add a tbsp of water if required. Divide this mixture into 2 equal portions. Add yellow colour to one portion and mix well. Keep aside. Spread the white mixture on a greased plate. Spread the remaining yellow coloured mixture over the white coloured mixture. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and just before serving cut into pieces.


Serves 4

NOTE: You can also add almond extract instead of rose essence and garnish with slivered almonds. Adjust the amount of sugar as per your taste. I prefer it not too sweet, so added 5 tbsp of sugar.


Paneer Pista Rolls:

Ingredients:

7(200 gms)oz crumbled paneer/cottage cheese
3 tbsp fresh khoya/mawa
6 tbsp/3 oz powdered sugar
4 tbsp roasted ground pistachios
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1-2 drops of rose/kewra essence(optional)
finely chopped or powdered pistachios for garnish

Method:

Knead the paneer, khoya and sugar very well until smooth. Add the ground pistachios, cardamom powder and essence. Shape the paneer dough into small rolls. Roll into chopped nuts and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Serves 4

Bread Basundi

I saw this recipe on television and gave it a try. It uses very few ingredients and is a good way of using leftover bread.

Ingredients:

~5-6 slices of bread(1 1/4 cup bread crumbs)
1 cup milk
1/2 tin condensed milk(14oz tin)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
sliced almonds (optional)for garnish
1 tbsp ghee

Blend the bread into a coarse powder and keep aside. Heat milk until warm. Heat ghee, add the bread powder and fry until golden brown. Add this to warm milk and mix well. Add the condensed milk. Turn off the heat, add the cardamom powder and allow to cool. Garnish with almonds.

Serves 4

Banana Halwa

Hi all,

Greetings from Bangalore! Its been close to three months since we moved, these last couple of weeks has been crazy. My kids started school and we are slowly settling into the routine. I finally managed to find some time for myself and couldn't wait to get back to my blog world.

A few days ago, I heard about this recipe from my aunt, tasted it and loved it. It is very similar to banana sajjige (popularly known as satyanarayana prasada)that we make, but uses wheat flour instead of rava/sooji. Easy to prepare, tastes good and makes a great quick snack for the kids.


Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup ghee
2 ripened bananas
cashews and raisins for garnish

Method:

Cut the bananas into thin slices and keep aside. Roast the wheat flour on a low flame until light golden brown. Roast the cashews until golden brown and keep aside. Add the remaining ingredients to the flour and mix well. Cook until the mixture comes together in a halwa like consistency. This takes around 10 minutes. Switch off the flame and serve warm.

Serves 5

NOTE: Bananas can either be sliced, cut into small pieces or mashed. The wheat flour has to be dry roasted on a low flame until you get a good aroma.

Strawberry Cheesecake

Cheesecakes are usually prepared with a special pan called springform pan. But if you dont have one, you can make them with a normal cake pan. Just line the pan with aluminium foil or parchment paper, with ends of foil extending over the sides so its easier to lift the cheesecake.

My son turned 3 last week. He loves cheesecakes so I made this for his birthday. It is a very rich, moist decadent cake with strawberry jam on top.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup honey graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp butter
3 pkg(8 oz each)cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam

Method:

HEAT oven to 325°F. Cover the outside of a springform pan with foil. Mix cracker crumbs, 2 tbsp sugar and butter, press onto the bottom of pan. Bake for 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream, mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over the crust. Heat 2 tbsp of jam in the microwave for about 30 seconds and stir well. Gently drop small spoonfuls of jam over batter, swirl with a knife.


BAKE 45-60 mins or until center is almost set. Its done when the center is still a bit wobbly when you tap the pan. It will set once cooled. Cool completely. Refrigerate for atleast 8 hours.



To remove the springform pan ring, take a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry and run it around the edges of the pan once and slowly unlock the pan. Serve as is, or spread the rest of the strawberry jam on top with a spatula. Cut into slices and serve!





Serves 6-8

NOTE: Before removing the cheesecake from the pan, it has to be CHILLED for atleast 8 hours. If using a normal cake pan, line the pan first with parchment paper/aluminium foil and then grease the bottom and sides of the pan well. By using low fat ingredients(low fat cream cheese and sour cream), you can cut the calories by half!

White Chocolate Strawberry Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup white chocolate morsels, divided
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract/1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam
toasted almonds
pinch of salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Grease and sugar a square baking pan. Melt butter in a bowl in the microwave for 1 minute. Stire and add 1/4 cup morsels, do not stir.

Beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar, beat until light colored. Stir in morsel-butter mixture. Add flour, salt and extract. Mix at low speed until combined well. Spread 1/2 of the batter onto the pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Heat jam in the microwave for 30 seconds. Spread jam over warm crust. Stir the rest of the morsels into the remaining batter. Drop the batter over the jam. Swirl with a knife. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars.


Makes around 8 bars