Gadbad Thandai Kulfi....

As Holi is round the corner and the sun is scorching bright. Here is something traditional, but unique cool.... cool.... recipe for you. This Kulfi is a medley of flavours and colours.... with love from my kitchen...

Thandai Milk (Base for the Kulfi)

Ingredients 

1 liter Full cream Milk 

1/2 cup Banana pulp 

3 tbsp Sugar

1 Green Cardomon 

4 Pepper corn 

8 Almonds soaked and peeled 

6 Pistachios 

1/2 tsp Water Melon seeds

1/4 tsp Fennel seed 

1/4 tsp Poppy seeds 

A pinch of Saffron 

Method

Take a deep bottom pot. Add milk and simmer on a low flame till it reduces to half the quality. Meanwhile take a grinder, add cardomon, pepper corn, almonds soaked, pistachios, water melon seeds, fennel seed, poppy seeds, saffron and 4 tbsp water. Grind the ingredients in to a paste. As the milk is simmering, add the wet paste and the banana pulp. I have added banana to give a rich and creamy texture to the kulfi. Stir and cook till the milk thickens. Switch off the flame and let it cool. Take a blender and blend it until smooth. 

For the Gadbad Thandai Kulfi 

Ingredients 

Thandai Milk 

6 Betel leaves 

1 tbsp Gulkand 

1 drop of Green colour 

4 tbsp Rose Syrup 

1 drop of Red colour 

2 tbsp Sweetened Coloured Fennel seeds 

Method 

Divide the Thandai Milk into 3 parts. Take a blender, add one part of the milk, betel leaves, gulkand and green colour. Blend it till all the ingredients have incorporated well. Pour it in a bowl and keep it in the refrigerator. Wash the blender. Now add the second portion of the milk, rose syrup and red colour. Blend it well till all the ingredients have incorporated well. Pour it in the bowl and keep it in the refrigerator. Now take the mould in which the Kulfi will set. Pour 2 to 3  tbsp of the remaining milk into each moulds and keep it in the freezer to set. After an hour, remove the moulds from the freezer. Take out the rose thandai milk from the refrigerator. Add 2 to 3 tbsp of rose thandai milk in to each moulds. Keep the moulds back in to the freezer. Again after an hour remove the moulds from the freezer. Remove the betel leave thandai milk from the refrigerator. Add 2 to 3 tbsp of milk into each moulds. Sprinkle the sweetened coloured fennel seeds on top. Keep it back in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Insert a ice cream stick.  Refrigerate it back till it sets.

Happy Holi

Happy Holi to all..
Art work done with Coloured Powder Sugar on a curd based drink Piyush...

Nutty Chocolatey Mawa Donut Gujjiya.......

Nutty Chocolatey Mawa Donut Gujjiya.......

Holi hai Bhai Holi hai....

Khelo Rango ke Sath.... 

Gujjiya kha ke mast raho....

Aahi hai Subhakamnaye Hmara Apke Sangh..... 

Gujjiyas are classic dish made with all purpose flour dough and Mava filling, deep fried and dipped in Sugar syrup... 

This is a Gujjiya with a twist... 

For the Donut dough

Ingredients 

2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour + 1/4 cup extra for handling the dough and rolling the dough 

3 tbsp Melted Butter 

2 tbsp Powder Sugar 

Salt to taste 

1 1/4 tsp Dry Yeast 

1/4 cup Lukewarm Water 

1 tbsp Sugar for the Yeast 

1/4 cup or more Lukewarm Milk for kneading a soft dough

Method 

Add yeast, sugar and  lukewarm water in a cup and keep it aside till it rises. Take flour in a mixing bowl,  add salt and powder sugar. Mix it.  Mix in yeast and milk little at a time as per the milk is required for kneading a soft dough. Add a tbsp of butter and keep kneading the dough for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the remaining butter on the dough and  keep it aside cover till the dough rises. 

P. S. If the dough gets sticky sprinkle some flour and knead it. 

Knead the dough well. Stretch the dough and fold on a flat platform.

For the Nutty Chocolate Mawa filling 

Ingredients 

3/4 cup of Mawa

1/2 cup of Chocolate Chips 

Handful of Almond and Pistachio flakes or chopped

Method 

Take a pan, add the mawa and cook it till the mawa starts to form a dough, take it off the flame. Add the Almond and Pistacho flakes and mix it. Add the Chocolate chips, mix it well and keep it aside.

For the Donut Gujjyas 

Ingredients 

Dough

Filling 

Oil for frying the Gujjyas

Method 

Take the dough and knead it again. Divide the dough in to two portions. Take one portion and roll the dough, cut circles out of the sheet with a round cutter. Add the filling and fold one side to the other side. Press it and fold the edges. Keep it for 20 minutes. Heat the oil. Fry the Gujjyas till brown. Take it out. Cool it. Sprinkle it with coloured sugar powder... 

For Garnishing 

Use coloured sugar powder..... 

P. S. Take 2 tbsp of Sugar in a grinding jar and add few drop of colour. Mix it with the spoon.  Grind the sugar. The colour will get mixed with the sugar. If darker shade is required then add more drops of colour and grind again. This coloured powder sugar canbe used to decorate cakes and other desserts...

Thandai

Thandai is a refreshing drink made on Holi. It’s cooling and hence the name thandai .There are variations of thandai. It’s more popular in the north. 

Thandai Masala

Ingredients 

30 Almonds 

20 Pistachios 

4 tbsp  Melon Seeds

8 Rose Petals 

1/2 tsp Poppy Seeds

2 Green Cardamom 

6 Peppercorns 

1 tsp Fennel Seeds 

1 tsp Rose Essences

Few strands of Saffron 

2 tbsp Sugar

Method 

Grind all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Thandai Drink

Ingredients 

2 to 3 tbsp of Thandai Powder 

1 glass of Cold Milk 

Sugar as per sweetness

Few Almond flakes and Saffron strands for garnishing 

Method

Mix in one glass of chilled milk and add sugar according to the sweetness required. Add the thandai powder and mix well. Garnish it with Almond flakes and few strands of Saffron. Let it stand for sometime for the taste to enhance. Serve it chilled.

Malpuas

Malpuas

It is like sweet pancakes, it is popular in India and Bangladesh. It is also served to Lord Jagannath Dev in his Sakala Dhupa (morning food served to the lord). During Paush Sankranti, Malpuas are prepared in Bengali homes. Malpuas along with mutton curry is served in many non-vegetarian Maithil homes during Holi. 

Net Resource...

It is made in many ways... All purpose flour (Maida) mixed with fennel seeds, sugar, curd and milk.. Or some times rice flour or Simolina along with banana is mixed with curd and shallow fried and dipped in sugar syrup. 

Here is my version of the Malpuas... 

Sugar Syrup

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cup Sugar 

1 cup Water

Pinch of Saffron

Method

Add all the above ingredients in a pan and let it simmer on medium heat till 1/2 string consistency is acquired. Take it off the flame and keep it aside. 

Malpua Batter 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour 

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

2 tbsp Cottage Cheese

2 tbsp Mava

Pinch of Salt

1 tbsp Sugar

2 Pinches of Cardomom powder

1/4 tsp Fennel seed powder

1/4 cup Curd

2 cups Milk or more as per requirement 

Ghee to Shallow Fry 

For Garnishing

1 tbsp Almond and Pistachio Flakes

4 tbsp Rabdi or Condensed Milk 

Method 

Take a mixing bowl,add all purpose flour, wheat flour, Mava, cottage cheese, salt, sugar,fennel seed powder and Cardomom powder. Mix it well. Add curd and milk as required to make a medium thick batter. Like a crepe batter. It's better to churn it in a blender to get a smooth batter. Take a pan, add ghee. Let it heat. Take a ladle full of the batter and pour it into the ghee. Fry the Malpuas till golden in colour on both the sides. Arrange the Malpuas on a plate, pour in the hot syrup on the the Malpuas. Pour the Rabdi or condensed milk on the Malpuas and garnish with almond and pistachio flakes... 

Thandai Chocolate

Thandai Chocolate
Ingredients
250 grams of White chocolate compound
Some candy colours of your choice

Ingredients for Thandai powder
10 Almonds
10 Pistachios
2 tbsp  Melon Seeds
8 Rose Petals
1/4 tsp Poppy Seeds
2 Green Cardamom
4 Peppercorns
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Rose Essences
Few strands of Saffron

Method
Grind all the ingredients together and keep aside. Take white chocolate and melt it. Temperature of the White chocolate should be 100 – 110° F (37 – 43° C). Be very careful as the high milk and sugar content in white chocolate will cause it to burn easily.
Add the powder to the melted chocolate . Mix it. Add colours to the mould and fill the moulds with chocolate . Keep it in the fridge till it sets.
The Thandai powder can be used in the milk adding sugar to it to make Thandai drink...

Whole wheat,Samolina and Oats Bread Thandai Mava Gujjya.....dipped in sugar syrup...

Healthy Whole wheat,Samolina and Oats Bread Thandai Mava Gujjya.....dipped in sugar syrup...a baked fusion recipe for Holi

Ingredients for the Bread
2 cups whole wheat
1 cup Simolina
1 cup Oats
1/2 cup Maida
300 ml Milk or more
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp Yeast
2 tbsp Ghee
1/2 tsp Salt
Method
Mix all the dry ingredients. Take Luke warm milk mix sugar and yeast. Let it rise. Make a soft dough with the yeast milk. If needed add more milk... Add the ghee and knead it for 5 minutes. Keep it cover till it rises.

Ingredients for the Stuffing 
250 grams Mava
2 tsp Thandai powder
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp Raisins
2 tbsp Almond flakes
Few strands of saffron
1/2 tsp Cardomom powder
1/2 tbsp ghee
Method
Take Ghee and heat it. Break up the Mava and add to the ghee. Add cardomom powder, Thandai powder, saffron, raisins and Almond flakes. Mix it. Keep on stirring occasionally on low flame till the Mava becomes a bit dry and starts to leave the sides of the vessel. Take of the gas and keep it aside.

Ingredients for sugar syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Few strands of saffron
Method
Boil all the ingredients till the syrup reduces and becomes a bit sticky.

For the Gujjyas
Take the dough and knead it again. Roll the dough and cut circles out of the sheet with a cutter. Add filling and fold one side to the other side. Press it and fold the edges. Brush the tray with ghee. Keep the Gujjyas and brush ghee on the Gujjyas too. Garnish with almond flakes, saffron and Pistachio powder. Keep it for 20 minutes.... Bake in a pre heated oven for 30 minutes at 180 degrees. Take it out of the oven and pour hot sugar on the baked Gujjyas and Enjoy.......