Celebrate Radhastami by worshipping Radha and Krishna and offering Them delicious dishes. Try out this recipe for Malpua.

Malpua

Cooking time: 60 mins

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients

Milk – 500ml
Plain flour – 3 to 4 tbsp
Sugar – ½ cup
Water – ½ cup
Oil for deep frying – approx. 300ml
Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
Saffron strands – a few

Method

• Boil 500 ml of milk in a heavy bottomed vessel on a low flame. Keep stirring for about 20 to 30 minutes till the milk gets thicker and reduces to ¾th of its quantity.
• In the meantime make sugar syrup by boiling sugar, cardamom and water. You can dissolve a few saffron strands in a small quantity of warm milk and add it in the sugar syrup anytime.
• Allow the thickened milk to cool. Add 4 tbsp of plain flour and whisk generously to make a lump-free batter.
• Take oil in a flat bottomed frying pan and heat it.
• Carefully spread a ladle full of batter in oil to make a small pancake. Fry on medium or low flame. Turn it gently and fry on the other side till it is crisp brown from all sides. [If you find the batter separating out, add very little flour to thicken it and try again. Or if the batter is too thick add some milk. Keep trying with little batter till you are sure that the batter doesn’t separate out when you pour.]
• Remove the pancake from oil and dip it in sugar syrup (warm) for a minute and then drain it in a colander.
• Repeat the procedure for the rest of the batter.

Puran Poli / Obbattu (Maharashtra, Karnataka)

Ingredients:

• 300 gms chana dal
• 300 gms jaggery
• 1 tsp. cardamom powder
• 150 gms plain flour
• 1 tbsp. ghee
• Warm water to knead the dough
• Ghee to serve

Method:

Boil dal in plenty of water till soft but not broken. Drain in a colander and pass through an almond grater till all the dal is grated. Mash jaggery till there are no lumps left. Mix this well into the dal. Put mixture in a heavy saucepan and cook till a soft lump is formed. Take care to stir continuously, so as not to char. Keep aside. (This is for the filling)

Mix ghee, flour; add enough water to make soft pliable dough. Make a small ball of the dough, roll into a four inch circle. Place a similar sized ball of filling in the centre, close all around and seal. Reroll carefully to a six inch diameter circle. Roast on warm griddle till golden brown. Repeat other side. Take on serving plate. Apply a tsp. of ghee all over top. Serve hot with milk and ghee.

Note: The water drained from boiling dal is used to make the amti (obbattu saaru – a thin curry made using garam masala and some mashed dal.)

Chana Usal

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sprouted chana cooked
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1/4 tsp. crushed cumin seeds
• Salt to taste

Grind to a paste:

• 1 small bunch fresh coriander
• 8-10 green chilies
• 1/2 cup fresh coconut grated

Method:
Heat oil in a large heavy vessel. Add paste and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Add all other ingredients, stir and boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook till oil separates, floats on top and chanas are soft.

Sonth (Ginger) Panak (Maharashtra)

Ingredients:

• 4 tsp. wheat flour
• 125 gms. jaggery grated
• 1 tbsp. ginger powder
• 1 tbsp. grated dried coconut
• 1 tbsp. almonds pounded coarsely
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder
• 4 tbsp. ghee

Method:
Heat 2 tbsp. ghee in a pan, add flour. Let it cook till light brown. Empty and keep aside. In the same pan, add remaining ghee, add jaggery, mix. Cook till all jaggery has melted to a smooth paste. Do not overcook or else sonth will get hardened. Remove from fire, add all ingredients.

Coconut Milk Kheer

Ingredients:

• 5 cups coconut milk
• 1 cup boiled milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp rice
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder
• 5 pistachios crushed coarsely
• 10 almonds crushed coarsely.

Method:
Bring to boil the coconut milk. Add rice, and let it cook fully. Add boiled milk. Allow the mixture to become semi-solid. Add sugar and stir till it dissolves. Add remaining ingredients. Serve hot.

Masala Vada

Ingredients:

• Chana dal 500 gms
• Peanuts 50 gms
• Urad dal 50 gms
• Ginger grated 1 tsp
• Small cut green chillies 5-6
• Red chillies 5-6
• Coriander leaves 1 bunch
• Small bunch curry leaves
• Fresh grated coconut – 1 cup
• Salt
• Oil for deep frying

Method:
Soak separately chana dal, peanuts and urad dal in water for about 2 hrs. Grind coarsely chana dal, peanuts and urad dal together. Mix all the above ingredients and shape it like a vada and deep fry.

Koshambir (Kosambri Salad)

Ingredients:

• Moong dal 100 gms
• 2 cucumbers
• Carrot 1 grated
• Salt
• 1 lemon
• Green chilly 5-6
• Coriander leaves small bunch

Method:
Soak moong dal in water for 1 hr., drain the dal, and mix to it finely cut cucumber, grated carrots, lemon juice, salt, coriander leaves. For seasoning heat oil in a small kadai, add mustard, cut green chillies, curry leaves. Mix it to the salad.

Kabuli Chana Usal

Ingredients:

• 100 gms Kabuli chana soaked overnight
• Lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 4-5 curry leaves
• ½ inch ginger grated
• Mustard seeds
• Jeera
• Salt to taste
• 1 small bunch fresh coriander
• 8-10 green chillies
• 1 cup fresh coconut, grated

Method:
First cook Kabuli chana in a cooker. Heat oil, add mustard, jeera, curry leaves, green chilli, ginger, boiled and cooked Kabuli chana. Garnish with lemon juice, salt, coconut, and coriander leaves.

On the auspicious occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtmi (Gokulashtami), it is customary to prepare a few traditional sweets and savories. As Lord Krishna was very fond of milk and milk products, devotees make various dishes of milk to please the Lord. Given below are some recipes – murukkus, chaklis, chikkis, different varieties of laddus, burfis, etc.

Try these mouthwatering recipes to get the festival feel and offer them to Lord Krishna, before partaking of the same along with your near and dear ones.

Coconut laddus

Ingredients: Condensed milk one tin, desiccated coconut powder 2 cups, cherries half cup.

Method: Mix the condensed milk and one and a half cup of desiccated coconut powder in a bowl and stir on a low flame for about ten minutes. Set aside until the mixture has slightly cooled down and shape into laddus. Roll each laddu in the desiccated coconut powder and decorate with cherries.

Sesame laddus 

Ingredients: White sesame seeds 100 gms, jaggery 150 gms, a little grated dry coconut.

Method: Wash the sesame and dry it on a white muslin cloth. After it dries, roast it till golden brown. Powder it coarsely in a mixer. In a kadai put the jaggery with little water and bring it to a thread-like consistency. Switch off the gas and add dry coconut powder, sesame powder and shape into laddus when still hot.

Groundnut laddus

Ingredients: Groundnuts 1 cup, jaggery half cup, dry coconut (grated) 1/4 cup, rice 100 gms, and green gram dal 100 gms.

Method: Roast the groundnuts until the skin comes out. Fry rice and green gram dal till golden. Powder both in the mixer. In a kadai put the jaggery with little water and boil till it reaches a thread-like consistency.

Add the roasted groundnut, rice and dal flour and dry coconut and shape into laddus while still hot.

Chaklis 

Ingredients: Rice flour 4 cups (washed and dried), urad dal 1 cup, hot oil or ghee for dough, 75 ml, salt to taste, white sesame seeds 2 tsp.

Method: Pressure cook dal in just enough water for 10 minutes. Drain excess water and grind dal to a smooth paste.

Mix it with rice flour, salt and sesame seeds. Pour hot oil on top and mix well. If necessary, add a little water. Pass through a well-oiled chakli making device with a single or three-holed plain disc to prepare small chaklis on to the top of a thick polythene sheet.

Deep fry a few at a time. Store in an air-tight container.

Bread murukku 

Ingredients: Bengal gram flour 1 cup, rice flour half cup, bread 8 to 10 slices, powdered salt 1 tsp, red chili powder 3/4 tsp, asafetida powder 1/4 tsp, hot oil for the dough 1 1/2 tbsp, oil for frying.

Method: Remove the brown crust from bread slices. Dip one slice at a time in water, remove immediately and squeeze out water. Add rice flour, gram flour, salt, chili powder to the squeezed bread and mix well. Pour hot oil, asafetida powder and then sprinkle water to prepare thick dough. Using a star disc or ribbon disk, fill dough in a well-oiled chakli making device and squeeze directly in hot oil to prepare murukkus. Fry till light brown over medium flame.

Besan laddu 

Ingredients: 225 gms ghee, 225 gms besan flour, 350 gms castor sugar, 1 tsp cashew nuts chopped, 1 tsp almonds chopped, 1 tsp pistachio.

Method: Roast besan in ghee on low flame. Keep stirring the mixture to avoid lumps. Remove and set aside to cool. Add sugar and cashew nuts to the besan mixture and mix well. Shape it into laddus.

Groundnut chikki 

Ingredients: Groundnuts one and a half cup, sugar one cup, ghee 2 tbsp.

Method: Roast the groundnuts in a kadai over moderate heat. When cool, brush off the skin. Melt sugar on a low flame in a thick pan without adding water, stirring continuously. When it has melted and turns light brown in colour remove pan from fire and add the nuts stirring briskly. Quickly pour on a greased plate and cut it to required shapes.

Shankarpali 

Ingredients: 1 cup sugar, half cup oil for deep frying, 2 cups maida, a pinch of salt.

Method: Mix sugar, oil and one cup water in a vessel and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool. When cooled, add a little salt. Add maida little by little and knead to soft dough. Mould into big balls. Flatten each ball into round shapes with a rolling pin. Using a knife, make diamond shaped pieces. Carefully lift and deep fry in oil till golden brown in colour.

Chithundai (Sweet balls) 

Ingredients: For the filling, coconut gratings 2 cups, jaggery powder 1 cup, cardamom powder 1/4 tsp, a few cashew bits and raisins, oil for deep-frying. For the covering: Urad dal half cup, rice flour half cup, butter 1 tbsp, salt – a pinch.

Method: Soak urad dal for 2-3 hours, drain and grind to a smooth paste until fluffy. Mix salt to butter and rub till fluffy, add rice flour and mix well. Add this to the ground paste and mix thoroughly to make a batter of very thick coating consistency.

Cook coconut gratings with jaggery till well blended and dry. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and mix well. Make into lemon sized balls.

Heat oil, dip each ball into the batter and deep fry till brown and crisp. Drain and store when cool.

Rave Unde (Semolina balls) 

Ingredients: Chiroti rave 1 cup, sugar 1/2 cup, grated coconut 1/2 cup, ghee 2-3 tbsps, cardamom powder 1/4 teaspoon, cashew nut pieces 1-2 tbsps, raisins, 1-2 tbsps.

Method: Take one tsp of ghee in a kadai and fry cashew nuts till golden brown along with raisins. Keep aside in a bowl.

Add the remaining ghee to the kadai and when it melts add both the chiroti rave and grated coconut and roast till the rave turns golden brown and gives a good aroma. Transfer this to the above bowl.

Now add sugar to the kadai and just enough water to cover it, and heat it till the syrup boils. Remove kadai from the stove and add cardamom powder, mix well and then transfer the contents of the bowl to the kadai and mix well. When this mixture has cooled, take small portions and make lemon-sized balls. Store in an airtight container and this will stay fresh for about a week.

Puri Unde (Puffed rice balls) 

Ingredients: 2 cups puri roasted (puffed rice), ¼ cup peanuts (roasted and split), 2 tsp sesame seeds (roasted), 3 tbsps fried gram dal (hurigadale), 3 tbsps dried coconut pieces, one cup jaggery powder, 5 tbsp water.

Method: Dry roast the sesame seeds and peanuts. Remove the skin from peanuts. (To easily do this you may put the roasted peanuts in a clean cloth and rub gently, it will peel the skin and also split them) If the puri is not crunchy enough, warm it up and keep it aside. Now in a bowl, mix the puri, roasted peanuts, coconut pieces, and hurigadale / fried gram and keep it aside. Add the sesame seeds at the end.

To prepare the syrup:

Keep the jaggery along with 4 to 5 tbsps water in a pan on medium heat. Allow the jaggery to melt completely and then strain it through a clean cloth. Boil this clean syrup in a kadai on medium heat till it reaches a thread-like consistency. You may add a drop of syrup into a bowl of water. The syrup should not dissolve. When it reaches this consistency, turn off the stove and pour it onto the prepared mix and add sesame seeds.

Mix it with a spoon at first, and once it is warm enough, either make your palm a little wet and make the balls or rub your palms with little rice flour and make the balls.

Salt Seedai

Ingredients: Rice flour 1 cup, urad dal flour 1 tsp, freshly grated coconut 2 tsps, chili powder 1tsp, hing ½ tsp and melted butter ¼ cup.

Method: Roast the urad dal till it is brown, and make a fine powder out of it. Dry roast the rice flour till it becomes light brown evenly.

In a mixer, make a paste of coconut, chili powder by adding some water. To this coconut paste, add rice flour, urad dal flour, besan, a pinch of hing and salt to taste. Mix it well by adding some water. This Seedai dough is now ready to go into the hot oil.

Grease your palms with some oil and make small marble-sized balls by rolling them onto your palm. Make sure the oil is hot enough; you could add a small ball to check if the oil is ready. Gently, toss-in these tiny snow-balls into the kadai and keep stirring till they are evenly cooked. Use a frying ladle to drain-out the excess oil.

Phirni 

Ingredients: 800 ml milk, 100 gms sugar, 3-4 strands saffron dissolved in milk, 40 gms basmati rice, 1 pod green cardamom, a few cashew nuts and pista, 2 drops rose water, 2 drops kewra water, 2 drops kesari essence, 1 pinch kesari food colour.

Method: Take the basmati rice and sugar and grind it to a coarse mixture. Boil the milk till it reduces to three-fourths quantity. Grind the cashew nuts, pista, and green cardamom (with skin) into a fine powder separately. While the milk is still boiling add the rice and sugar mixture, pista and cardamom powder to it and continue boiling. Add kesari essence, rose water and kewra water and the kesari colour. Remove the container from stove.

When cooled, transfer the mixture into a kullad (clay bowl). Garnish it with chopped pista, almonds and saffron strands. Refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes. Serve chilled.

Lord Ganesh is very fond of Krishna prasadam, and this is why a long list of recipes is prepared on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

It is said that if you want to please Lord Ganesh, all you have to do is offer him his favourite dishes. Prepare these delicacies and offer it to Lord Krishna and then to Lord Ganesh before relishing it.

Moong dal halwa

Ingredients
1½ cup moong dal, soaked
¾ cup mawa, well crumpled
1 cup sugar
1½ liter milk
½ tsp saffron, soaked in a little milk
5 cardamoms, powdered
6 tbsp ghee

Method
Grind the moong dal coarsely. Heat the ghee and fry the dal till golden in colour.
Add milk and cook till the milk has been absorbed. Add mawa and cook on a low fire, stirring continuously till the dal and mawa are well blended.
Make sugar syrup of one thread consistency and add saffron and cardamom powder to it. Add the fried dal to the syrup and stir quickly till it mixes well. Top with thin slivers of blanched almonds.

Sundal
Ingredients:

Chana dal – ½ kg
Red chilies – 5
Curry leaves – a few
Shredded coconut – 5 tablespoons
Mustard seeds – for seasoning
Oil – for seasoning
Salt – to taste

Method:

Soak chana dal for at least eight hours.
Pressure cook it with a little salt.
Heat oil in a pan.
Season mustard seeds.
Add curry leaves, red chilies, shredded coconut, salt and the cooked chana dal.
Mix well and serve.

Kayi Kadubu

Kayi kadubu is a traditional sweet dish of Karnataka. Kayi Kadubu is steam cooked. It is usually prepared during Nagarapanchami and Ganesh Chaturthi.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
½ cup coconut, grated
1 cup jaggery, powdered
1 tsp cardamom powder

Method:
1.    Soak the rice overnight in enough water. Drain out the water thoroughly and powder it in a mixer. The powder should be very fine.
2.    Boil 1 ½ cups of water in a kadai. To this, add the rice powder and stir continuously to form a single dumpling.
3.    Remove from stove and knead well, like chapati dough.
4.    Make small balls and roll them out into chapati like circles.
5.    Place about 2 tsps of filling in the centre and fold the rice chapati. Seal the ends with the help of some water.
6.    Place the kadubu prepared above on a plantain leaf and steam cook for about 7-9 minutes.
For the Filling:
1.    Mix jaggery and coconut in a kadai and place on stove over low heat.
2.    Stir continuously until the jaggery melts and blends well with the grated coconut. You can adjust the quantity of jaggery according to your taste.
3.    Add elaichi powder and remove from stove.

Modak

Modak is a famous Indian sweet prepared especially for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:
¼ kg coconut (grated)
¼ kg jaggery
1 ½ tbps sesame
1 tbsp ghee
For Modak covering
Maida 400 gm
3 tbps oil
Salt to taste
Method:
Make soft dough of the flour by adding oil and salt.
Heat ghee in a vessel; add jaggery, coconut and sesame seeds. Keep stirring continuously on medium flame. The jaggery dissolves and a sticky solution is formed. Leave it to cool for 30 minutes.

Make small balls of dough and roll it, let the diameter be 3-4 inches.
Put 1 tbsp of the above stuffing in the dough and pack it by taking all the corners up giving it a shape like a cone on top. This is called modak.

Take oil in a kadai and deep fry the Modaks till brown.  Serve it hot or cold.

Puran Poli

Ingredients:

For the filling:

1 cup tuvar dal
1 cup sugar
A few strands of saffron
½ teaspoon cardamom powder (elaichi)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder (jaiphal)
A pinch of mace powder (javantri)
2 tablespoons ghee

For the dough:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons oil

For the serving:  Ghee

Method:

For the filling:

1. Wash and pressure cook the dal in 1 ½ cups of water.
2. Drain any excess water and keep aside.
3. Heat the ghee in a pan; add the dal and sugar and cook till the mixture thickens, stirring continuously.
4. Dissolve the saffron in a little water by rubbing.
5. Add the cardamom and nutmeg powders, mace powder, saffron liquid and mix well.
6. Cool, divide into 12 to 15 portions and keep aside.

For the dough:

1. Combine the flour and oil and knead into a soft dough using water.
2. Divide into 12 to 15 portions and keep aside.

How to proceed:

1. Roll out one portion of the dough into a three inch diameter circle.
2. Place a portion of the filling mixture and fold the edges of the dough over the     filling.
3. Pinch the edges together to seal the filling in.
4. Flatten the dough and roll again into a four inch diameter circle.
5. Cook on a tava over a medium flame till golden brown in colour on both sides.
6. Repeat for the remaining dough and filling.
7. Smear with ghee and serve hot.

Milk Cake

A rich cake made with thickened milk.

Ingredients:

2 liters full fat milk
¼ teaspoon alum
100 grams sugar
40 grams ghee

For the garnish:

5 almonds, slivered
Whipped cream

Method:

1. Pour the milk in a heavy bottomed non-stick pan and bring to a boil.
2. Add the alum and mix well.
3. Simmer till the milk reduces to half, stirring continuously.
4. Add the sugar and increase the flame stirring continuously, till the sugar has dissolved.
5. The mixture may appear curdled, but continue to simmer and stir till it thickens and resembles khova.
6. Keep stirring on a high flame till all the liquid evaporates.
7. Add the ghee and mix well.
8. Meanwhile, grease an 8 inch diameter cake tin and decorate the base with the slivered almonds.
9. Pour the hot milk cake mixture on it and cover with aluminum foil.
10. Cool to room temperature and then chill.
11. Upturn the cake onto a serving plate.
12. Garnish with whipped cream and almonds.

Amrit Peda

Mava pedas stuffed with pistachios.

Ingredients:                                   

1 cup grated khova
¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
¼ cup pistachios, blanched, peeled and chopped
A few saffron strands

For the garnish: 2 to 3 slivered pistachios

Method:

1. Combine the khova and powdered sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and cook on a low flame, while stirring continuously till the sugar dissolves and the moisture has evaporated.
2. Remove from the fire, add the cardamom powder and mix well. Allow it to cool completely.
3. Divide the mixture into two portions, 2/3 and 1/3.
4. In the 1/3 mixture, add the pistachios and mix well.
5. In the 2/3 mixture, add the saffron strands and mix well.
6. Divide the pistachio mixture into eight equal portions and shape into even sized balls.
7. Divide the saffron mixture into eight equal portions and shape into even sized balls.
8. Stuff each saffron round with the pistachio round and seal the edges completely.
9. Make designs on the peda using a toothpick.
10. Garnish with slivered pistachios.