khubani ka meetha

Made with apricots and sugar, this dessert hails from Hyderabad and is often used in combination with Vanilla ice cream. Khubani/Qubani means apricots in Urdu.
I ate one of the best in a restaurant called ' Waterfront' on Necklace Road in Hyderabad. Very well made with just the right amount of sweetness...That was the best. This is a try to mimic that.

1 box Turkish Apricots; I got them in Fresh Market. They are dark brown unlike the regular ones which are golden yellow in color
1 cup fine sugar
1/2 - 1 cup of water
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 cup blanched almonds
Soak the Apricots in water overnight.Heat a pan and place the soaked apricots in the panStir in the sugar and add half a cup of water and cook until it is saucy, about 20 min.Stir the mixture occasionallyAdd more water as necessary just to make it similar to tamarind pulp, Don't add water if it is of the right consistencyAdd the Cardamon powder and mix in the blanched almondsCool it downServe it over a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream

gujia

Gujia is a fried pastry filled with an aromatic nuts mixture. In India, Gujia is traditionally made for the holidays like Diwali and Holi and is a must have treat.

Recipe makes 20 to 24 gujia.

Gujia

Ingredients:

Crust:

    * 1 cup all purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
    * 1 tablespoon sooji (semolina flour)
    * 2 tablespoons oil
    * 1/3 cup lukewarm water or as needed

Filling:

    * 1/2 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
    * 1 cup milk powder
    * 1/4 cup coconut powder
    * 1/4 cup sliced almonds
    * 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
    * 2 tablespoon sugar
    * 2 tablespoon melon seeds (optional)

Garnish:

    * 1/2 cup sugar
    * 1/4 Water
    * 2 tablespoons sliced almonds and pistachios

Also needed:

    * 1 tablespoon all purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
    * 2 tablespoon water
    * Oil to fry

Method:

Crust:

   1. Mix flour, sooji, and oil in a bowl, make a soft dough adding water slowley as needed. Knead the dough until the dough becomes soft and pliable.
   2. Set the dough aside and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough sit for at least ten minutes.

Filling:

   1. Mix the cream and milk powder in a frying pan.
   2. Cook on medium heat until mixture starts leaving the sides of the frying pan and becomes soft runny dough. Stir continuously so the mixture does not burn on the bottom of the pan.
   3. Turn off the heat and add coconut, almonds, melon seeds, sugar, and cardamom powder. Mix together well.
   4. After cooling, the mixture will be lightly moist. Keep aside.

Making the Gujias:

   1. Mix 2 tablespoons of water with 1 tablespoon of flour to make a paste. Set aside.
   2. Knead the dough again for a minute.
   3. Divide the dough into about 20 equal parts and roll into balls with the palms of your hands.
   4. Roll each ball into about 4-inch diameter  (like a roti or chappati).
   5. Dip your finger in the flour paste and spread it around the rim of the rolled dough, but just on the half the circle.
   6. Take the rolled dough in your palm and put about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the filling mixture in the center and fold it into a semi-circle. Now press the edges together with your fingers. Make sure the edges are completely sealed otherwise they will open while frying and oil will get in and filling will come out.
   7. Continue filling the rest of the gujia in the same manner.
   8. Heat about 1-1/2 inches of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. It should sizzle right away but come to the surface slowly.
   9. Place the gujia in the frying pan few at a time.
  10. After gujhias are floating on top of the oil, turn them slowly. Fry the gujias until they turn light golden-brown color on all sides. Don’t fry on high heat; the gujia crust will be too soft and not crispy.
  11. When they are done cooking, lift them out of the oil with a slotted spoon.

Garnishing:

   1. Boil the sugar and water on medium heat until syrup is about one thread or 230 degrees (Fahrenheit) on a candy thermometer.
   2. Dip the gujias into the syrup making sure they are coated with syrup all around.
   3. Place the gujias on a wire rack to allow the extra syrup drain.
   4. Garnish the gujias with sliced almonds and pistachios while the gujhias are still moist with syrup.
   5. Gujias will be dry in an hour.
   6. Gujia can be stored in airtight container up to a month.

vermicelli laddu

Simple Vermicelli Laddu

Semya Laddu.
Vermicelli / semya is roasted in ghee till it turns golden brown in color. It is then cooled and ground into fine powder using a grinder. It it then mixed with ground nuts and sugar. The mixture is then made into lime sized balls with help of warm ghee.
Makes: around 5 Vermicelli Coconut Laddu.
Ingredients:
Vermicelli 1 Cup
Sugar 1/4 Cup
Green Cardamom 1
Cashews 4
Almonds 5
Ghee 2 tsps
Method of preparation:
Bruise the cardamom pods and grind the seeds into fine powder.
Grind sugar into fine powder using a spice blender.
Warm up the ghee and keep aside.
Blanch the almonds and peel off the skin.
Grind blanched almonds and cashews into fine powder.
Heat half a tsp of ghee in a pan on low heat, add vermicelli and fry till vermicelli is golden brown in color.
Cool the vermicelli to room temperature and grind it into fine powder using a grinder.
Use a sieve to separate coarse vermicelli and grind them again into fine powder.
Remove the ground vermicelli into a mixing bowl.
Add sugar, cardamom powder and cashew nuts and almonds powder to the mixing bowl.
Mix well, pour ghee and form the mixture into lime sized balls.
Can store vermicelli laddu in a jar for couple of days and serve as a snack.
Notes: Make sure to roast and grind the vermicelli well.
Suggestions: Adjust the sugar according to taste.