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

Brownie Sundae

Brownies are one of my favorite desserts! They taste good just as is or make a sundae out of it, which is what I did! A warm brownie topped with ice cream and nuts, is just heavenly!

Brownies:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter(1/2 stick)softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz chocolate syrup(I used Hersheys)
4 oz semisweet chocolate chips
pinch of salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts(optional)

Method:

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture and beat well. Add the vanilla and chocolate syrup and mix well. Fold in half of the chocolate chips with a spatula until mixed. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Pour into a baking pan, top with the rest of the chocolate chips and walnuts.



Bake for 25-30 minutes. Its done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool and cut into pieces.


Serves 8

To assemble the sundae:

Place a piece of brownie on a plate. Add one scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzle caramel syrup, chocolate syrup and top with chopped walnuts.

NOTE: If you prefer a dense fudge like brownie, reduce the amount of butter and chocolate syrup in the recipe. The sundae tastes better with a warm brownie. Can use any combination of syrup/sauce/nuts.

Eggless Cake

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter - 1 stick (At room temperature)
Condensed milk - 1 tin (14 oz)
Water or orange juice - 3/4 cup
Orange zest - 1 tsp
Plain yogurt - 5 tsp
Baking soda - 3/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Chopped mixed nuts and raisins - 3/4 cup (optional)

Method:

Take a mixing bowl and mix in the butter and condensed milk. Mix well until the butter is blended. Add all the other ingredients and beat well until there are no lumps. Pour the batter onto a greased baking pan.


Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting into pieces.

Serves 8

NOTE: For chocolate cake, add 4 tbsp of cocoa powder to the above recipe.