Instant Wheat Jaggery Plum Cake, No Alcohol, No Maida, No Sugar, No Oven, Easy Christmas Cake

 #SweetnSpicyAromas

Try this rich and healthier version of the traditional plum cake without which your Christmas celebrations are incomplete . Ingredients -

10-12 cashewnuts (Kaju) 3-4 walnuts (akhrot) 20-25 black currants (munakke) 20-25 raisins (kishmish) 10-12 dry prunes 15-20 almonds (badam) 2 tbsp mixed dried fruits 100 gm dark chocolate compound Half cup cranberry juice 2-3 small pieces cinnamon (dalchini) Half nutmeg (jayphal) 7-8 cloves (laung) 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (adrak) 2 tbsp (25 ml) groundnut oil 4 tbsp cocoa powder 3 eggs 5 tbsp (75) melted butter Half cup (100 gms) powdered jaggery (gud) 1 cup (125 gms) wheat flour (gehu ka ataa) 1 n ½ tsp baking powder

#ChristmasSpecialRecipes #ChristmasCake #InstantPlumCake #InstantWheatJaggeryPlumCake #NoAlcoholNoMaidaNo SugarNo Oven #EasyChristmasCake

Undalkaal ( उंडलकाळ )

This is a traditional sweet dish from Konkan . 

Just as other konkan sweets this dish too has coconut and jageery . 

The simplicity and yet the amazing taste of this yummy sweet is just surprising . 

This dish is usually made during the festivals as naivedyam ( offerings to God ) . 

Ingredients - 

1 bowl ...................... grated fresh coconut 

1 bowl ....................grated jaggery 

1/2 t sp ..................... cardamom powder 

1 small cup ............... rice flour 

ghee 

almond pistachio slivers for garnish 

pinch of salt

Method 

In a non stick pan add 1 tb sp ghee , grated coconut and 3/4th of grated jaggery and cook on a low flame till the jaggery melts . 

Stir nicely and when the mixture becomes dry and sticky add cardamom pd and switch off the gas . 

In another pan heat 1 small cup water , remaining jaggery , 1 t sp ghee and a pinch of salt . 

When the water comes to boil add the rice flour and stir it continuosly . 

Let all the water absorb in the rice flour . 

Keep on stirring till you get a soft smooth dough . 

Switch off the gas and let the dough cool down a bit . 

Now greash your hands with ghee and make small pea shape balls of this dough . 

Heat ghee in a pan and shallow fry these balls till golden and crisp . 

Add the above coconut jaggery misture to these balls . 

Carefully mix everything without breaking the balls . 

Garnish with almond pistachio slivers and offer as a naivedyam to the God . 

While eating always serve hot . 

Oats and Jaggery Chikki

I made this chikki for this month's shhh-cooking-secretly-challenge an event started by Priya Suresh . My Partner for this month is Laxmi Priya and she chose oats and jaggery as my secret ingredients. I used chikki gud ( special variety of jaggery used only to make chikkis and laddoos ) for this. Nuts I used were a mix of walnuts, almonds and cashew nuts but you can add or skip the nuts as per your choice. This is a good option as a sweet treat for all of us . Even kids will find this healthy sweet very tempting.

Ingredients :

2 cup ....................oats
1 cup....................shredded jaggery ( used for chikki)
1/4 cup.................black currants
1/4 cup.................candied orange peels
1/2 cup................mixed nuts ( crushed coarsely )
1 tsp..................ghee

Method :


Heat the shredded jaggery in a thick bottom pan with ghee.

The jaggery will first melt and then start bubbling.

Keep a bowl with cold water and drop very little bubbling jaggery in this bowl.

Try gathering the jaggery in bowl and form a ball.

Hit this hardned ball of jaggery on kitchen platform.

If it makes noise like you have hit a stone then the jaggery syrup is ready for use.

Now add all the above things and mix really well.

Immediately pour this on a well greased tray.

Take a greased knife and cut the chikki into desired shapes.

Let the chikki cool completely.

Then separate it and store in a plastic container.

If it becomes difficult to remove the chikki from the tray just hold the tray for a minute on medium flame.

The chikki now can easily be removed.

Moong Daal Laddoo ( For Potluck Remake)

Today for the remake of potluck-party-cyber-style I had to make a delicious sweet made by Archana Ramachandran of Tangymind  . She had made Moong daal laddoos and they are one of my favorites. These laddoos are not only tasty but very nutritional and ideal with a hot glass of milk in the morning or even as a mid- noon snack . Hope you all too like these yummy laddoos.


Ingredients :

1 cup..................chilti moong daal (daal with skin on)
3/4 cup...............jaggery ( grated )
1/2 tsp................cardamom powder
2 to 3 tbsp..........melted ghee

Method :

Dry roast the moong daal till it becomes golden and gives out a nice aroma.

Cool it a bit and then grind in a mixer when still warm.

The mixture should neither be too coarse nor too fine.

Add  jaggery and again grind for 5 seconds .

Now add cardamom powder and grind for 5 more seconds.

Take the mixture in a plate or a vessel add the molten ghee and make laddoos.




  Linking it to Jagruti's Potluck Party Cyberstyle

Puran Poli ( Chana daal stuffed sweet parathas )

Hi everyone ,

                       Let me first wish all of you a very happy holi. 


Holi is the Hindu festival of colours  celebrated in the hindu month of Phalgun.

And now the indispensible part of the festival i.e the sweets and other delicacies prepared during Holi.

Holi is usually related with puranpoli, bhaang and many many more delicious things.

Today I made puranpoli on this auspicious day and am posting the recipe .

I just cant think of celebrating this day without puranpoli. If we dont have it I keep on feeling that the celebrations are incomplete.


Ingredients :

2 cups ....................chana daal
1 cup.......................jaggery
1 cup .....................wheat flour
1 cup.....................maida
2 tbsp....................semolina (rawa)
1/2 cup ................oil
1 tbsp...................cardamon powder
1 tsbp....................nutmeg powder.
1 tbsp .................ghee

Method :

Soak the chana daal in water for 2 to 3 hours.
Knead wheat flour, maida and rawa with little water to a slightly loose and sticky dough.
Now add 1 tbsp oil at a time and keep on kneading till all the oil is used and the dough
becomes sticky and oily.
Keep the dough aside .
Pressure cook the chana daal with little water till it is properly cooked
This should be done with 3 to 4 whistles and 10 minutes cooking after that on slow flame.
Drain out any water if left in daal .
Now in a non stick pan add 1 tbsp ghee and add daal and jaggery and go on stirring.
First the jaggery will melt and the mixture will become diluted but stir continuously.
After about 25 to 30 minutes the mixture will start thickening.
If you insert the spoon in the mixture it should not fall and remain straight.
This is the test that you have got the correct consistency.
Now either grind this on the grinder to get a smooth paste or mash it properly till smooth.
Form medium balls and keep them aside.
Now take a small ball of dough and flatten it on your palm.
Keep the daal jaggery ball in the middle and close the dough from all sides.
Now roll this like you would for a stuffed paratha .
Cook on Non stick tawa on both sides till done.
Serve with a dollop of ghee .
Some people like to eat this puranpoli dipped in milk.



Linking this to following events ,

sumeesculinary kids-delight

foodabulous-fest-celebrate-march-masti

jagrutis event  know-your-dairy-series-ghee

my-event-spotlight  hosted by cuisinedelights 15th april

celebrate-easter-event of jagrutidhanecha

cooking-with-seeds-dals

Ukdiche Modak

Ukdiche modak are loved by all and really don't need any introduction as such.
Till day I have rarely come across a person whose face hasn't lit up at the idea of eating hot ukdiche modak with pure ghee dripping over it.
Its a heavenly feeling ..........personally to be experienced.............

Ingredients :

For the filling :

2 cups...................fresh coconut grated
1 1/2 cup...................jaggery
3 to 4 tbsp.................milk powder
1 tbsp......................charoli (chironji)
1 tbsp................kismis (raisins)
1/2 tbsp.................freshly crushed cardomom powder
1 tbsp.....................ghee

For the covering :

2 cups....................rice flour for modak (bought ready made )
2 cups ..................water
1/2 tsp..................salt
1 tbsp.....................ghee
1 tbsp...................sugar

Method :


For the filling :


Mix the grated coconut with jagerry pieces and ghee and heat till the jagerry melts.

Add charoli, kismis, cardamom powder and stir till little sticky.

In the end add milk powder and mix well.

Remove from the fire and let it cool.

Instead of milk  powder you can also add 3 - 4 crushed pedhas or barfees if you have .

Then according reduce the quantity of jaggery.




For the cover :


Heat 2 cups water with salt , sugar and ghee.

When it is about to boil add the rice flour and mix well .

Cover the lid and keep just for 2 minutes.

Switch off the gas and mix well.

When still warm knead it well into a soft smooth dough.

Keep the dough covered with a wet muslin cloth.


Method to make modaks : 

Take a lemon sized ball and flatten it into a thin round puri shape with fingers. 

If you find using fingers difficult then you can also roll it into a round puri. 

Now take this puri on your palm and make pinches with your fingers all over the edges as shown in the video.

Put 1 tbsp filling in the centre. 

Now carefully bring all the edges close together and form a modak shape as shown in the video. 

Spread a wet muslin cloth on a plate and keep the modaks on the plate. 

Keep this plate in a steamer or a pressure cooker without the pressure. 

Steam for half an hour. 

While serving serve hot with ghee. 

Linking this to festive food ganesh chaturthi @ priti's  indiankhanna

and also to Sharan's  vinayagar-chaturthi-festival-event

and  Indrani's event @   festivals-of-india

Patoli ( Steamed stuff pancakes)

I feel nostalgic about certain dishes . Patoli is one such dish . This is a very traditional sweet made by using fresh turmeric leaves that come in the market during monsoons.  The leaves are smeared with ground rice paste and stuffed with sweet coconut jaggery filling . They are then steamed . The resulting dish is very very delicious and tasty. Turmeric leaves  lend a very unique flavour to the dish .




Ingredients :

3 cups ............rice
1 .............. fresh grated coconut
1 ............. cut jaggery
15 to 20 .............fresh broad turmeric leaves (haldi panna)
1 tsp ............. crushed cardamom seeds
ghee.
 

Method :

                                              Soak rice in water overnight.
                         Grind the rice into very smooth paste and keep aside.

   In a kadhai add some ghee and roast the coconut for 5 minutes add jaggery.

      Let the jaggery melt , cook the coconut jaggey mixture till it is little sticky.
                                   Add cardamom powder and keep aside.

                                     Wash and wipe the turmeric leaves.
                                                 Cut little at both the ends.

             Mix little oil with water and smear one side of the leaves with this.
                                Then spread a thin layer of ground rice paste.

                           Sprinkle the cooked coconut jaggery mixture on it.

                                              Fold the leaves into half.

                       Steam in a idli maker or a pressure cooker without the 

                                         pressure for 15 to 20 minutes.

                            Separate from the leaf and serve hot with ghee.

Sending this to1)  Sangita's  spicytreats  at  Vardhini's show-me-your-hits-rice-event
2) Jagruti's event   monsoon-of-india   at sayantani's    Ahomemakersdiary
 3) Lubna's joy-from-fasting-to-feasting-v-event
 4) Sadaf's event of virtual-eid-potluck
5 ) ramadan-friendly-recipes
6) Anu's south-indian-kitchen-series-event-1
7 ) Gayatri's events walk-through-memory-lane guest hosted by smitha of  smithasspicyflavors

Til ani Gulacha Ale Paak ( Sesame Ginger Barfi )

When I came to know that  Kalyani's  magic mingle ingredients for this month are Sesame and Jaggery all I could think was Sesame chikki and Til laddoos . But since I wanted to try something different I decided on the good old Ale Paak or (Ginger Barfi) and thought of adding our versatile sesame seeds to it. The result was this delicious soft chewy chikki . To add to the nutritional value I have also used Oats.



Ingredients:

1 small bowl ..........Sesame seeds(til)
1 small bowl............ Oats
3 inch .....................ginger piece
3/4 bowl .................cut jaggery

Method :












Dry  roast sesame seeds till they start spluttering                                      Dry roast oats for 10 minutes.                 


   

Let both sesame and oats cool down a bit .
In a grinder first add grated ginger , grind for 5 secs then gradually
go on adding oats and sesame to make a coarse mixture.
In a kadhai put a tsp of ghee and add cut jaggery add 1 tsp water
make a jaggery syrup.
When the syrup starts boiling put one drop of syrup in bowl with
 cold water.
The drop should harden up to form a ball.
When you reach this consistency add the ground mixture and mix well.

Spread it on a greased plate and cut into desired shapes when still warm.
This chikki remains little soft and chewy due to addition of oats.


Sending this to Kalyani's  magic-mingle-8-challenge

Moogachi god usal (Sweet Mung khichdi)

                  Hi Wishing You All A Very Happy Raksha Bandhan  !!!!!!!

This is yet another traditional dish which makes its appearance during Narali Pournima or Sankranti in my house. It is a tasty as well as nutritious dish full of the goodness of Mung and Jaggery .





Ingredients :

Whole green mung - 1 cup
Jaggery - 3/4  cup
Grated coconut - half cup
cashews - 1tbsp
cardamom powder - 2 tsp
ghee - as per required








Method:

Dry roast mung in a kadhai till brownish green and a nice aroma comes.
In a pressure cook them for about 8 to 10 whistles or till cooked properly.
Mung should be soft but not overcooked.
Remove from cooker after the pressure goes and strain the water .
Don't throw this water.
It is very nutritional and can be added to some other dish.
Now heat ghee in kadhai ,add the mung and jaggery and mix it well, cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
Now add grated coconut and cook for another 10 minutes.
In the end add cahews and cardamom powder.
This mung usal tasted better when hot .
Don't forget to put some ghee on top while serving it.
This enhances the taste of the usal.



 I am sending this dish as my entry to event    know-your-natural-sweetness jaggery hosted by  Archana from  tangyminds  and owned by  Jagruti      from Jagruti's cooking Odyssey

Also sending this recipe to the event  Jagruti's Cooking Odessey :rakhi-thread-of-love

hosted by Jagruti

Nachani (Ragi) Ladoos

Power packed combo of Calcium and iron for kids and adults alike. They are superbly delicious and guilt free .

Ingredients :

Nachani flour - 250gm
Jaggery - 1 cup or as required
Dry Kharik - 50 gms
cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Ghee- as per required





Method :

Dry roast the nachani flour on low flame till it gives out aroma.
Dry roast Kharik and crush and powder them coarsely.
Cool down the nachani flour.
In the grinder mix nachani flour and jaggery and just run the grinder for 4 to five times stopping after every few seconds.
Take it out add cardamom powder and kharik powder and mix well.
Pour warm ghee and make ladoos.


Note : If hot nachani flour is put in grinder with jaggery , the jaggery will melt due to the heat and the mixture will become sticky preventing you from making ladoos easily.