We are getting past the summers, which simply to me signifies the end of mango season. The rains will kick in hopefully, which officially is June, yet we’ve not had the first showers, blame the climatic changes, cite environment reasons or simply the delay. Even as I look forward to the much indispensable rains, I am mourning at the end of summers. I have a heart ache as I frantically look around for the disappearing Alphonsos, only to find they are almost end of season. Our splurge in mangoes will soon come to a slow end. Sigh!

This season we raced on mangoes boisterously. We’ve had a good dose, real good if I can say so, still I can’t seem to get enough of it. In all honesty they were never used in any desserts, never adulterated, only stripped and eaten pure. So this space was left void of any mango desserts as you can see. While I’ll be welcoming jackfruits, jamoons, watermelons, guavas and papayas warmly this monsoon, a part of me does not want to bequeath this vibrant summer fruit. These sweet, succulent, juicy, sun kissed ocher-shaded luscious fruits that made our faithful summer indulgences will be missed till next summer.

While these seasonal beauties are fading away from the market, I found my answer in the Aam Murabba, a preserve made from raw mangoes that can stay well for a long time. I found solace that I could still relish some real mangoes in form of preserves long after mangoes have washed-out from the season. Unlike the ones where that are artificially flavored with synthetics, are tooth-achingly sweet with deep ambers from synthetic coloring and taste very little close to the real mangoes, these are mild, tart and deliciously fragrant.

A murabba is an Indian jam, grated tart mangoes in a sweet suspension of sugar syrup, often warmly spiced and flavored with cardamom and/or spices.

Aam Murabba / Mango Jam

INGREDIENTS

2 cups raw mangoes, grated (Totapuri mangoes used here)
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
1 tsp. freshly ground cardamom powder
A few saffron strands, optional

DIRECTIONS

Wash and grate the raw mangoes. You may peel or leave the green skin on for a coarser jam. Heat a cup of water in a pan, add the grated mangoes and cook uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes stirring constantly. The mango pieces will turn softer.

Once the mangoes are soft and cooked, add in the sugar and stir well to cook further. Dissolve saffron in some of this sugar syrup and add to this. Allow the murabba to cook in sugar syrup and reduce to a double string consistency.

Remove from the fire, add the ground cardamom seeds and mix well.

All it cool down completely. Bottle in a sterilized glass jar and store refrigerated for up to 6 months.

This Aam murabba or mango jam is a good way to preserve raw mangoes in a thick cardamom flavored sugar syrup. They stay long, at least for a few months refrigerated, though I doubt it would even last that long considering how lip-smacking it is! You can enjoy this jam/murabba spread on bread, toast, rotis and puris.

As a kid, one of my favorite pass-time sweet snack was Chikki. Like I guess for many too. And that meant home-made ones only. Growing up years saw us primarily eating healthy good food. Mom hardly allowed us to buy these bars from market as she feared the hygiene factors involved in these 'unbranded products' which were sold mostly in small tea-stalls and bakeries as loose unpacked products with no manufacturing date, expiry date or content information. She concerned the quality of product and to satisfy our cravings would make them often at home.

And even today as an adult, having crossed 2 decades and now closing to my 3rd decade, I have not run out of love and cravings for them. Seriously, I am hooked to it. I walk up to the snack counter at my work place, almost daily, just to grab a few pieces of these nutty caramelized peanut bars, post my lunch, to relish a healthy favorite treat. Of course, they come from a known manufacturer and I like to bite into their fresh, crisp polythene wrapped bite sized portions. It's an alternative for healthy dessert. And at a gullible price of Rs 1 for a piece each, I can't ask for anything better than this to satisfy my sweet cravings.

I am sharing this recipe which I got to learn from my mother, her way.

Caramelized Peanut Bars / Chikki

INGREDIENTS

2 cups peanuts
1 cup regular sugar
1-2 tbsps. ghee/ clarified butter
1 tsp. cardamom powder
1 tsp. ginger powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Grease a flat steel plate with some ghee and set aside.

Roast the peanuts on a medium low flame, stirring frequently till they change their color to golden brown and become aromatic.

Take the sugar in a kadai or a heavy-bottomed pan. Heat it on a medium low flame stirring continously till the sugar melts and begins to turn golden brown. At this stage we need to keep a constant eye on the sugar syrup. When all of the sugar melts completely, switch off the flame and add in the peanuts quickly. You need to be swift and quick here. Just before you stir in the peanuts, add in the cardamom and ginger powder. Quickly stir all of the peanuts into the sugar, mix well and transfer it to the greased plate. Smooth the prepared chikki with the back of a flat wooden spoon. Using the tip of a knife, drag lines across to form sqaure/bite sized pieces. Allow to cool then break them off.

These can also be made with jaggery as well. Infact, traditionally I believe jaggery was used. Jaggery takes more time generally than sugar and getting right consistency is a bit tougher than that with sugar.

These chikkis can be stored for a couple of days in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place. I have made similar chikkis with Til/Sesame in the past. I could cut them into prefect squares, however this time around I delayed a bit and couldn't get them in desired shapes. Nevertheless, they taste great. So who's complaining!

We celebrated Makar Sankranthi on the 15th Jan at home in a small way. Nothing much really, except when it comes to food I wouldn't want to miss any kind of celebration. Since it's my daughter's first Sankranthi, keeping in mind the festive mood, I made two versions of Pongal, the sweet and the spicy version. Gud Pongal or Sihi Pongal, (sihi meaning sweet) is made of jaggery and is one of the easy and healthiest desserts that I have ever learnt to make. Though I don't often make this, Sankranthi gives me the best occasion to make and share this simple and easy recipe.

It also happens to be one of my husband's favorites... he often tells me that during Pongal festival, their neighbors would often send them both sweet and spicy pongal and as kids they would go raring over it and relish it unendingly. I rarely find him asking me to make something specific, but when these reminiscences of childhood bring back fond memories and he insisted I make some of this for him I couldn't refuse. This happens to be a common dish in most Tamilian homes during this festival.

Sihi Pongal

INGREDIENTS

3/4th cup moong dal
1 cup rice
1 cup milk
2 1/2 cups jaggery
1 tsp freshly pound cardamom powder
Handful of raisins and cashewnuts
3 tbsp of clarified butter / ghee
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut

DIRECTIONS

Wash, clean and pressure cook the dal and rice with 4 cups of water for 3-5 whistles. Alternatively cook them in a vessel till they are well done and mushy. Once cooked, add a cup of milk and jaggery and bring it to a gentle boil. Gently mash them using a spatula.

In a separate pan, heat 3 tbsp of ghee. Fry the cashewnuts and raisins and add to the pongal. Add the powdered cardamoms finally in the end. Mix well and serve hot.

Be sure to serve this with a massive dollop of ghee. Every morsel of this sweet pongal is heavenly and that dollop of ghee only elevates this experience. Rice and dal have starch which make this sticky on tongue if no fat is added. Adding ghee will balance the starch and enhance the flavors. Our fussy daughter is too choosy about food and variety. While she shuns the regular dal-chaawal combo, she happily enjoyed this Pongal and that gave me immense satisfaction.

Here's wishing all my readers a very Happy Diwali. Sorry about being away from sometime. I am here, back again after a short hiatus. Work and personal life has been keeping me on my toes, to an extent blogging had to take a short backseat. I did intend to post something earlier, but time has been a bitter enemy! Now that Diwali is right here, I nudged myself to post this for my readers.

Indian sweets are comfort food for me, after all this is what I grew up eating all these years. Diwali or Deepawali is perhaps the most beautiful of Hindu festivals in India. Diwali signifies the victory of good over evil and is commonly celebrated across most states in India. Personally for me each festival brings hope, life, energy and happiness. This Diwali has been special to all of us, especially since it's our daughter's first one. Festivals for us are incomplete without sweets and delicious good food. It's true essence lies in enjoying the company of our loved ones and indulging in our favourite foods. Food that give us joy and comfort.

The store I hit often has been flooded with Diwali goodies. Supermarkets boast of Diwali festivity with neatly stacked gift boxes of dry fruits and sweet-meats beckoning every nook and corner. Ofcourse, then when you talk about Diwali, how can you not picture traditional Indian sweets? While traditional desserts may not be a part of daily Indian menu, they do feature on festivals making them an integral part of our festive celebrations.

I have been dreaming of making Kalakand since a long time now, ever since I saw the recipe in Nestle recipe book that came with Milkmaid. The book itself is named as Diwali special sweets with 9 traditional Indian recipes, all worth trying. I am glad I tried this out and was loved by all.

Kalakand

Recipe by Nestle's Milkmaid recipe booklet, also available on Nestle.com

INGREDIENTS

1 tin (400g) Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 heaped tbsps Milk powder
500 g Paneer (Cottage Cheese)
3-4 powdered Cardamom (Elaichi)

For Garnish

Silver leaf
Pistachio and Almond slivers

DIRECTIONS

Mash paneer coarsely and mix in milk powder and condensed milk. Heat the mixture in a thick bottom pan. Cook on medium heat with constant stirring till the mixture becomes thick and starts leaving the sides of the pan. Remove from the fire and spread onto a greased plate. Sprinkle elaichi powder & top with silver leaf or sprinkle kesar soaked in water & top with almond slivers. Cool and cut into squares.

Kalakand is expected to have a soft, crumbly texture with every bite. Don't be alarmed if you have some whey leaving from the edges while spreading the Kalakand. Good, soft Kalakand has some whey water seperating from it when it is spread on the tray. Most of it gets absorbed as the Kalakand cools. For this dessert in particular, I suggest it's best to make cottage cheese at home using fresh milk. However, if you are short on time, a store bought paneer works equally good. I have made this dessert a couple of times and it does feature on my favorites.

I used cardamom to flavor this dessert, but saffron flavored, Kesar Kalakand is definitely on my to-do list. Place each kalakand on paper cup and pack them to be shared with your family and friends. With subtle warm hints from cardamom, this dessert is rich and makes a great give away as gift.

How to make Shankarpali | Tambittu Recipe

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi. Even before I have recovered from the heavy feasting we had on Krishna Janmasthami, we already have Ganesh Chaturthi here. More festivals to follow and I am looking forward to them eagerly. Festive season is here again and with good things happening in our life this year, I am all the more determined to celebrate our festivals with grandeur.

Ganesh Chaturthi is the festival I never miss to celebrate. The festival marks the birth of Lord Ganesha. Just like many, Ganesha happens to be my favorite God too. Our childhood did revolve around listening to mythological stories woven beautifully by my paternal grandma during our bed-time.

Larger than life-like clay models of Lord Ganesha have been making rounds in market, weeks before the festival. That's good enough an hint that the festival is just round the corner. Public celebrations of the festival, tableau and processions are hugely popular with streets laced with rice bulbs, music and heavily decorated pandals that host the God for 10 odd days.

Lord Ganesh is often associated with food and is known for his fondness for sweets like modaks, laddus, karjikai and savories like chakklis, kadabu and kodbale. Every Chaturthi, we have a ritual at home of waking up early for the bath, followed by puja. An array of dishes, both sweet and savory made at home by my mom a day before the festival are offered to Lord Ganesha on this day. The celebration goes on for 11 days, hence the sweets and savories are made in large quantities so that can last long. Like every year, Modaks will be made to offer the Lord this year too. Apart from this, we have Shankarpali, Nippattu, Huri Shenga, Tambittu and Panchakajjaya to offer our Ganesha this year. Fortunately, I have my mom close by, so it's been a combined effort. I shall share the recipes for Shankarpali and Tambittu today. Nippattu shall be on another post.

Shankarpali

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup ghee
Pinch of salt
Oil or Ghee for deep-frying

DIRECTIONS

Mix the milk, sugar and ghee in a kadhai and heat to a boil. When it is warm enough to touch add the salt followed by flour and stir well. Add the flour till it comes to a kneading consistency, good enough to form a soft dough.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough flat to a centimeter thick. Using a pizza-cutter cut into diamond shapes. Deep fry them in hot oil/ghee till they turn golden brown. Fry on medium low heat. High heat will result in dark brown crust on the outsides and under cooked beneath. Remove and drain on a kitchen paper.

The amount of sugar mentioned above is the right amount of sweetness we like. If you prefer it more sweeter, you may increase the amount of sugar as per your taste. The amount of flour mentioned above is an approximate number. While preparing the Shankarpalis, add in flour till it comes together to form a soft dough.

Spicy version of Shankarpali can also be made by replacing sugar with 2-3 teaspoons of chilli powder and omitting the cardamom powder. Shankarpali is a popular sweet all across the country. It's called Shakkarpare in the north while it's Shankarpali in the south. The names may differ, but the recipe is almost similar. It's pretty popular in Maharashtra and Karnataka and is often made on festivals in large quantities to offer the Lord and distribute among family and friends.

Tambittu

INGREDIENTS

1 cup rice flour
1/4 cup hurigadale hittu (roasted bengal gram powder)
1/4 cup coarsely ground roasted peanuts
1 1/2 cup grated dry coconut
1 cup grated jaggery
1/4 cup ghee (clarified butter)
2 tsp sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

Dry roast rice in a hot pan till it turns golden. Allow it cool. Grind it with roasted chickpeas to a fine powder.

Dry roast the grated dry coconut and sesame seeds till brown and set aside.

Take ghee in a fry pan/kadai and heat it till it's hot (not smoking). Dissolve the grated jaggery in hot ghee and stir well till the jaggery melts completely and the liquid just comes to a boil.

Mix together the coarsely powdered peanuts, sesame seeds and grated coconut. Add this to the boiling jaggery ghee mixture. Add the rice and roasted chickpea powder and keep stirring till the mixture becomes like a dough to make balls. Mix well to prevent the formation of lumps. Switch off the stove. Close and keep till it cools down. Grease your hands and roll balls to make tambittu.

A little tedious it may sound, but isn't that effort required to impress your God? Tambittu is a traditional sweet dish commonly made in Karnataka household, often made to offer God during festivals. Again, these laddus stay well for a couple of weeks, so store them well in air-tight containers and they are good to go for your evening chai. You can see above we made a big batch to go for a few days.

As everyone celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi today with religious fervor, here's me wishing our Ganapati a very Happy Birthday. May Lord Ganesha shower you with success in all your endeavours. Hope this Ganesh Chaturthi brings home all the happiness, prosperity & fortune.

Jai Shri Siddhi Vinayaka

Boy! Time has been racing real fast and I wish to hold it in hand. It's been now close to two months since a little angel came into our lives. It felt just the other day when she was born and now she's already 2 months old. From her deciphering cries to toothless gummy smiles, from her weaker neck to a now steadier head, I see her changing with every passing day. She's growing big at a rapid pace, it's a learning phase for both, her and me, an experience I shall always cherish.

As I watch my little one grow, I'm amazed to see how she expresses herself through her coos, lip smacks and jerky arm and leg movements. She loves to throw her hands up in air and cycles her feet hard. Her energy levels are high and infectious and can tire the most active ones too!

She's expressive, loves experimenting with different facial expressions — pouting her lips, raising her eyebrows, widening her eyes and furrowing her brow. She enjoys being a part of crowd, loves to be cuddled, hugged and pampered. I guess she recognizes me well now. I don't exactly remember when she smiled first, but she smiles more often now and rewards me with beaming, toothless grins and that makes up for all the sleep deprived nights I have been through. It's magical.

In the past two months, my life has changed by leaps and bounds. Along with her birth, came shoulders of responsibility for my mother too. She's stressed by the new demands of having a baby in the house as she holds dual responsibility... both for me and my baby. Primarily my food concerns her the most, since as a lactating mother, traditionally there's a diet pattern to be followed and she takes care of those needs. The recipe I post here today comes from my mother which she made specifically for my nursing period.

Gaund ke Laddu or Panjiri is a popular North Indian sweet made from whole wheat flour and edible gum fried in clarified butter, heavily laced with almonds. Gaund is an edible gum extracted from the bark of a tree and is known to provide heat to our body, hence usually consumed in the winters. Panjiri is normally given to nursing mothers as it helps in increasing the body heat, hence assist in the production of breast milk.

Gaund ke Laddu - Panjiri

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup clarified butter (ghee)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1/2 cup Gaund (edible gum)
1/2 cup puffed lotus seed (makhana)
1/2 cup khus khus (poppy seeds)
1 tsp powder ajwain (carom seed)
1 tsp dry ginger powder

DIRECTIONS

In the frying pan, add a tablespoon of ghee and fry the chopped makhana for few minutes till they become crisp. Don't let them brown too much. Mix in the khus khus and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons ghee in the same frying pan and fry gaund. Gaund comes in form of yellow translucent crystals of varying sizes. Hence the amount of ghee required to fry them will depend on the size. If you think they haven't cooked well, add in more ghee. Fry them until they puff up like popcorn. Crush them with hand or in a food processor. Set aside.

In same frying pan, add the remaining ghee and fry whole wheat flour on low flame till it is aromatic and has changed it's color slightly. Add in the chopped almonds, ajwain and ginger powder to the fried flour and stir fry for another 10 minutes. Stir the mixture continuously to prevent burning.

Add the remaining fried ingredients, the gaund, khus khus and makhana to the flour mixture. Mix it well and roast for another few minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately add in the powdered sugar and mix the entire stuff well quickly. Shape them into laddus while the mixture is hot or serve as is. Store them in an air tight container. Since there is no water content, these laddus will stay fresh for long.

The makhana and the gaund here is deep fried in ghee and then added to the dish. However you can try roasting them with lesser amount of fat to cut down on those unwanted calories. My mother substituted khus khus in place of melon seeds which are traditionally used.

These delicious gaund laddus are rich in taste and may sound heavy on calories, but who cares? I'm going through 'once a lifetime' phase and during this period I am pampered for a festive indulgence. I relish this traditional winter delicacy with a glass of warm milk for breakfast. They make up for a great dessert too.

I am without my camera from past few days and I feel totally handicapped. With it becoming a part of my routine life, just like any other day to day activity like cooking, serving and then photographing the cooked :). Just being left alone without it pushes me to be impulsive and is driving me crazy. It's one of those essentials without which I am not at ease. For the moment, I am left with my Sony Ericsson C510 which I hardly use and most definitely not when it comes to food photography!

I feel almost guilty posting this here. This one comes from my drafts that's been sitting idle for long. With the day being fairly warm and sunny, what followed was a very simple South Indian lunch. And to end it's simplicity, we treated ourselves with this gorgeous Indian beverage dessert, Falooda. I am not sure if I would call this a beverage or a dessert! Either ways, they are great for sure!

Falooda, a popular chilled beverage dessert is served in tall glasses, filled to the brim and topped with dollops of ice cream is made primarily by mixing delicately flavored rose milk with vermicelli and tapioca seeds. What a perfect way to cool off the summer heat! With the addition of vermicelli, tapioca seeds and rose milk, this can get quite filling. So make sure you have your hunger pangs on, else this can get too stodgy.

This is one such treats that brings reminiscence of my childhood. Those evening hangouts on Mumbai streets or Pabbas Ice cream parlors in Mangalore, where shopping craze were endless and when hunger pangs meddled us through those moments, a dash into these ice cream parlors with family and friends meant time spent over good food, chit chat talks and stress unwound.

Falooda

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup falooda sev (fine roasted vermicelli)
1 cup chilled milk
Sugar, to taste
Few almonds and pistachios, chopped
2 tbsps sabza, (basil seeds, tukmaria)
1/4 tsp rose essence
2 scoops ice cream of your choice

DIRECTIONS

Into the chilled milk, add the sugar and rose essence to taste and mix well. Add one scoop of vanilla ice cream to this and churn well. This gives it a nice thick texture. Chill this in refrigerator till it's needed.

Next, boil the vermicelli in water till cooked al dente. Strain the cooked vermicelli and keep them aside to cool. Discard the water. Chill this as well in refrigerator till needed.

In a bowl, submerge the sabza seeds (also known as Basis seeds) in sufficient water for about 20-30 mins. These seeds swell up beautifully and will look transparent with an eye at the center. Strain and discard the excess water. Reserve the puffed up subza for assembling the falooda.

Assemble the Falooda:

I chose shot glasses to assemble the Falooda. Traditionally, this is done in tall glasses. So make your choice. In each glass, place the vermicelli till it reaches 1/5th the glass height. Top this with a tablespoon or more of soaked sabza seeds.

Pour in the chilled rose milk till just below the rim. Add the chopped nuts and top it a scoop of ice cream of your choice. Garnish with candied cherries. Serve chilled.

Most ice cream parlors add jelly cubes to this. I opted to leave it as I am not very fond of them. You may add them as per your preference. Also care for how much of rose essence you use. The one I used was pretty strong, just a few drops were sufficient to bring deep flavors and colors. You may opt for rose syrup too. But judge how much of it you would need.

Instead of serving these in tall glasses, I chose for smaller treats in shot glasses since it was our post lunch dessert. We loved this thought. They were neither too filling nor heavy, just right. This pot of falooda gorgeously topped with ice cream went on a melting spree and it played a spoilt sport for my photography that sunny day. Rose is one of my favorite flavors and least exploited one too, so that gives me another excuse to make these more often. Nevertheless, this is something I will make more often, not just for us, but for future get-together parties too.

Halwa is one of the most popular traditional Indian dessert, made from rich and fresh ingredients by cooking in milk, simmering till it reduces along with clarified butter/ghee and adorned with nuts and raisins. They are rich in taste and flavors and can be served warm or cold. Various kinds of halwa can be made, depending on the ingredients they are prepared from. The commonly loved Gajar ka Halwa is best tasted warm with a dollop of ice-cream. My version with beetroot is no different.

The story goes this way. We had an over dose of beet roots a few weeks ago and I had to finish them off with hitting boredom or seeing them end up in the trash. A few stir fries and curries had already made us see enough of the fiery deep crimson red color that it's hang over would last for months! I used the final batch of 4 beetroots to make this halwa and it was worth every effort.

Beet is a popular tropical reddish purple rooted vegetable liked or disliked for it's odd color. I know many who don't like beets, don't cook them or even eat them. I guess it's probably due to it's intense color. I have less liking for it as a vegetable, but still cook them once a while. But this dessert is one which you shouldn't stop from giving a try. If you admire carrot halwa, then you will surely love these too. Except the color, there it isn't much different.

Here are a few tips that can help you. You can use canned condensed milk or khova for this recipe instead of reducing the milk over the stove. Low fat milk with few tbsp of milk powder would work equally good. Take care not to grate the beets too fine, they may dissolve while cooking. Squeeze as much juice as possible from the grated beet and use it to make red velvet cake.

Beetroot Halwa

INGREDIENTS

1/2 kg beetroot, grated
1/2 litre Milk
225 gm Sugar
1 tbsp clarified butter
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
Nuts and Raisins for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Wash and grate the beetroots. Sauté the beetroot on a pan till it softens a little, approximately for about 5 minutes. Add in the milk. It will bubble up as it boils. Cook on a gentle flame for about 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. Add in the sugar, stir well and cook till the sugar melts and dissolves well. Cook until all the milk is reduced and has been absorbed. It will result in a mushy mass. That's how we want it.

Add a tbsp of clarified butter/ghee and cook further for 2 minutes. Add in plump raisins and freshly crushed cardamom seeds.

Fry the cashew nuts in a tsp of ghee. When it turns golden, transfer it to the halwa. Set a few aside to garnish the halwa while serving. Serve warm.

My parents visited us the day I made this and they throughly enjoyed it. Warm servings of this halwa, freshly seasoned with cardamom and nuts made an exotic treat for all. A dollop of vanilla ice cream would elevate this dessert to a greater extent.

Do not leave the cardamom out. It has an impeccable luxurious flavor that it imparts to this dessert making it warm, rich and endearingly good. A single bite of this simple looking, yet rich, sweet and calorific dessert will leave you craving for more.

Note: Apologies readers! I shall take a month's break from blogging as I am tied with work and personal needs to cater to. But I promise I shall be back soon. Till then, happy reading and cooking! Chio!

I love Indian festivals not just for the traditional, fun moments we have with family and friends, but for the great food each festival has to offer. As kids, we looked forward to those moments of feasting at home. A wide spread platter of food ranging from feisty meals to dessert treats awaited each festival.

Ganesh Chaturthi meant Modaks (kadabu) made by amma just once a year. Yeah, just once and that too on this day alone. Imagine the torture and desperation that makes us wait a year long! Then, Diwali had treats like Karjikai, Shankarpoli, Payasa, etc... Tulsi Pooja made us wait long for the Panchakajjaya. The Til laddu was the most awaited for Sankranti. While at my paternal grandma's place, festival like Navratri mean huge feasting for 9 long days with 20 odd dishes for each day followed very religiously as a mark of respect, tradition and offerings to Goddess.

This tradition is now slowing drifting away from my hands and I am unable to live up to what my parents and grandparents followed, though I try my best to follow when ever I possibly can. It's my hectic work schedules that seizes away at least 10-11 hours of my time at work, the rest for home chores, while I am drained and left with little sleep for the day. It's no excuse, I know. But with posts like these, I am trying to compensate on what I have lost.

Til laddu is a common traditional recipe for Sankranti, a festival that marks the beginning of Spring or the harvest season. The recipe remains the same, irrespective of the laddus or chikkis. I opted to make these chikkis as they were quicker and easier. Time saving factor, again for ease??? With Ugadi that went by more than 2 months ago or Sankranti about 4 months ago, I do not mind making these again to review those festive spirits again and again. I am here with these simple and traditional Til chikki.

Til Chikki/Sesame Bars

INGREDIENTS

1 cups white sesame (til) seeds
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp butter

DIRECTIONS

Roast sesame seeds in a saucepan till they become light brown. Keep them aside.

Grease an inverted stainless steel plate (flat side) and knife.

Heat 1/2 cup brown sugar and butter so that it melts to a syrupy consistency. Allow it to heat up till it comes to a boil. Remove from flame. Add in the white sesame seeds to the syrup and mix.

Immediately transfer this mixture to the greased plate. Using a rolling pin spread the mixture across uniformly. This needs to be done very quickly, else the sugar will start setting up making it difficult later. While it's hot, run a greased knife across it to serrate it into squares or rectangles as preferred.

Traditionally these are made with jaggery. But getting the right consistency is not an easy task, especially if you are a beginner. It needs a little practice to master. My mom and grand-mom mastered that art well. I have a long way to go till I reach that stage! I opted brown sugar which was the closest I could get with jaggery. They still tasted exactly similar. You may use normal white sugar instead of traditional jaggery or brown sugar, which will work excellent. These caramelized nutty bars with delicate flavors of sesame and cardamom will stay for long when stored in air-tight containers.

Wishing all a Happy Ram Navami. Today being Ram Navami, I bring forward this sweet & spicy, yet refreshing drink called Paanaka, which is a must along with Kosumbari or an Usli served on this festival day. Having celebrated Ugadi on the 15th of this month, but not having published a post with a traditional recipe for that festivity did leave me with a guilty feel. To compensate, I promised myself that I would come back with a traditional recipe for Ram Navami.

Ugadi signifies the beginning of a new calender, the Hindu New Year. Ram Navami is celebrated to signify the birthday of Lord Ram and falls on the 9th day from Ugadi. While in North India, the festival lasts for nine days, beginning from day of Hindu New Year and ending on this day, called as the Navratras. Fasting is observed all along these 9 days. Contrary to North, South India observes feasting ;) Especially in Karnataka, Ram Navami is observed very ritualistically in all pomp and glory in most temples with various programs ranging all nine days.

The delicious spread of prasad generally offered by temples to it's devotees consists of a ginger-pepper drink called Paanaka/Panankam and a green gram salad called Kosumbari, which is most common in Bangalore. Back in my native, most temples offer Channa Usli or Green gram Usli along with Paanaka, which is a must for this occasion. For today, I am sharing our favorite Paanaka here.

Paanaka

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp jaggery
1 cup water
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder

DIRECTIONS

Dissolve jaggery well in water. Then, add the cardamom powder, pepper powder and ginger powder and blend them all into it. Simple and easy. This drink is not just refreshing and good, but also healthy with medicinal properties.

Ginger and pepper have been known to possess immense medicinal values from long. Jaggery is pure and unrefined sugar made from molasses and is also known to possess high nutritive values. This drink has medicinal properties that is excellent for throat infections.

I love to see those settled ginger and pepper powder at the bottom of my glass. Shake it well before you sip! It's common to use watermelon or musk melon pulp for thickness and added flavor.

A simple, healthy, sweet and spicy drink in celebration of Ram Navami. My wishes to all again!

I have been showered with yet another award on this auspicious day! Thanks Suma for showing such affection and love towards Veg Bowl! It's wonderful to receive an award from you! Suma from Cakes and More!!! has some wonderful desserts and more whipped, all to satisfy your craving taste buds. Thanks for the honor. I am having a real tough time to forward it to the deserved! You've hardly left anyone out!

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Congrats guys! Well deserved award for some of the fellow bloggers whom I follow often.