Quick Gulab Jamun | Ricotta cheese gulab jamun | Diwali Sweets

A quick gulab jamun recipe using milk powder & ricotta cheese....

Gulab Jamun is a classic & a  traditional Indian sweet/dessert. It is deep fried milk balls soaked in rose essence sugar syrup. The mawa or thickened milk (similar to ricotta cheese) is deep fried in ghee (clarified butter) & dipped in the sugar syrup. If you have mawa (or khova) with you, making the gulab jamun is a breeze. As it is not easy to get mawa here, I always make the gulab jamuns using the milk powder. This time around, I thought of adding ricotta cheese as I had them in my pantry. They were yummy & hence sharing the recipe with you guys.

Why don't you guys give it a try during this Diwali? I'm sure it will be a hit.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Resting time: About an hour

Ingredients: (Makes about 30-35 jamun)
For the cheese balls/milk balls/jamun:
Ricotta cheese: 1/4 cup
Mawa powder or Milk powder: 1 cup (refer notes)
AP flour/Maida: 1/4 cup
Baking powder: 1/4 tsp
Ghee: 1 tsp
Water: As needed

About 2 cups of oil for deep frying the jamuns

For the sugar syrup:
Sugar: 1.5 cups
Water: 1.5 cups
Rose essence: few drops
Cardamom powder: a pinch
Lemon juice: 1/4 tsp

Method:
Add all the ingredients mentioned under the cheese ball section (except water) in a bowl & give it a mix.
Slowly add a tbsp of water at a time to make a soft and non sticky dough. You will not need more than 3-4 tbsp of water. Never knead the dough.

Keep the dough covered for about 15 mins.
Meantime, prepare the sugar syrup. Add the water & sugar in a sauce pan. Add the lemon juice, rose essence, cardamom powder to the water. Heat on a low-medium heat. Keep stirring to ensure the sugar is dissolved completely.

Increase the heat to medium & boil it for 12-15 mins until you get a sticky consistency syrup(1/2 thread consistency).
Remove the syrup from the heat.

Heat the oil in a medium wok.
Make marble sized balls of the dough. Make the balls smooth, else the dough balls will crack while they are getting fried. I got about 28 dough balls.

Add a small pinch of dough to the oil. If the dough settles in the bottom for few seconds only & then rises up, the oil is at right temperature. Oil should not be hot, when we fry these dough balls. They need to get cooked evenly. Add the dough balls to the oil & fry them on low-medium heat for about 5-7 mins. Do not touch the dough balls. Instead keep moving the oil to ensure even cooking & coloring of the balls.

Once they are golden brown, drain the fried balls on a paper towel & repeat the above procedure with the remaining dough balls.

Add the warm deep fried balls to the sugar syrup & cover it with the lid.
Rest it for a minimum of 30 mins. Allow the deep fried balls to soak the sugar syrup.
Serve it warm, cold or hot.

Notes: 

• I always use the mava powder or the milk powder available at the Indian stores. You could easily find the mava powder at the Indian stores anywhere. 
• It is important to shape the dough balls smooth & without any cracks. If there are cracks, then the gulab jamuns will disintegrate in the sugar syrup. 
• You could smear a drop of ghee to you palm for shaping the dough balls. 
• I'm repeating again. Do not deep fry the dough balls on high heat & also in very hot oil. The dough balls get browned quickly & is uncooked in the center. They become very hard & the deep fried dough balls will not absorb the sugar syrup. 
• You should never knead the gulab jamun dough. You need to mix it gently & make a dough. 
• Traditionally gulab jamuns are deep fried in ghee (clarified butter). If you wish, you could deep fry in ghee too. 
• I have added water to make the dough. You could replace water with milk. I have made them with milk before. Both taste equally good. 
• You could replace baking powder with baking soda too. If you are adding baking soda, add less than 1/4th tsp (may be about 1/8th tsp). Do not add too much baking powder or soda. If soda is more, the dough balls will disintegrate in oil. I have made that mistake once & all the efforts went waste.

Appi Payasa | Fried cream of wheat kheer

I have some distinct memories associated with some dishes. From the time I can remember, I always fascinated cooking but never took the initiation to cook, until I had no other choice! During my teenage days, whenever I got a chance to attend the weddings, upanayanam or any family functions, I used to venture into the kitchen. I used to talk to the cook & get to know the recipe of a dish with a fancy name!! I have been doing this till date. The only difference is, now I try to write down the recipe.

Appi payasa/payasam is one such dish learnt during a conversation with one of the cooks. Here is how "appi payasa" is made. A tight dough is made with cream of wheat. They are rolled & deep fried in ghee like pooris(Deep fried Indian bread). These pooris are crushed & added to the milk.

Though I don't have a sweet tooth, this is one of the kheer/payasam to which I can never say "no". Absolute delish!! It is also known as happala karda payasa (Thanks to blogger world!).

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Ingredients: (Serves 4-6)
For the happala/flat poori:

• Cream of wheat/Chiroti Rava/Fine rava: 1 cup
• Cold water: Less than 1/4th cup
• Ghee/Clarified butter: 2 tsp
• Salt: a small pinch
• Ghee/Oil: As needed, for deep frying the pooris

For the payasa/kheer:

• Full cream milk: 1.5 litres
• Sugar: Around 3/4th cup, adjust according to your family needs
• Chopped dry fruits: 2 tbsp (I used almonds, cashews & pistachios)
• Saffron: a big pinch

Method:
Mix the cream of wheat, salt & ghee together.
Slowly add the cold water & make a stiff dough. Cover the dough & let it rest for at least a couple of hours. More the better...
Once the dough is well rested, divide the dough into big grape sized balls. I got 7 dough balls.
Dust a very little flour & roll it thin using a rolling pin. (just like a poori). 
Heat the ghee/oil on a medium heat. When ghee is hot, deep fry the pooris on both the sides until golden brown. Remove it on a paper towel to remove the excess ghee from the fried pooris. Repeat with the remaining pooris. Let it cool.

Meantime, boil the milk on a med-high heat. Keep stirring in between. When the milk starts boiling, reduce the heat.
Add sugar & allow the sugar to dissolve. 
When the sugar is dissolved, crush the saffron in between your palm & add it to the milk. 
Crush or roughly tear the cooled pooris & slide them onto the boiling milk. Add the chopped nuts.

Turn off the heat & let the payasam cool completely.
Once cool, mash the crushed pooris gently. 

You could serve this payasam, warm or cold. 
I generally warm it again & serve as my family prefers it that way!

Notes:

• It is very important to make a stiff dough to ensure crunchy pooris. Soft dough will absorb more ghee & become soggy.
• The more you rest the dough, the more elastic it becomes. It will be easier to handle a well rested dough. (You can see little cracks on the edges of my poori. That is because I did not rest the dough! Do not do that)
• Roll the pooris very thin. Thin pooris wont puff up & become soft. They will become crunchy!
• If your poori is still puffing up, gently prick it in 4-5 places with a tooth pick before frying them.
• This is unlike other kheer that demands milk quantity to be reduced by boiling. The crushed pooris will absorb the milk & the kheer/payasam thickens gradually. 

Milk cake / Kalakand Recipe

Happy Rakshabandan to all. Last year, I was in India & enjoyed the festival with my brothers & cousins. My son was happy that he got 2 rakhis from his two cousin sisters. This year too, I got 2 rakhis for him & tied him on behalf of his sisters. He was all excited & asked me, if rakshabandan is his birth day!! I had to explain him that Rakshabandan is brother-sister day :)

To celebrate the festival, I made a quicker version of kalakand. This gets done in around 20 mins.

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 20-25 mins
Cooling time: About an hour.

Ingredients: (Makes around 12 pieces)

• Soft paneer/Ricotta cheese: 3/4th cup
• Condensed milk: 3/4th cup
• Crushed almonds or pistachios: 2 tbsp

Method:
Grease a plate & keep it aside.
Pour the condensed milk & paneer to a thick bottomed non-stick pan.

Keep stirring the mixture on a low-medium heat. The mixture will first become thin.

Keep stirring continuously until the mixture leaves the edges of the pan & forms a ball.

Scoop the mixture to the greased plate & spread the mixture evenly.

Let it cool for 10 mins.
Sprinkle the crushed almonds all over the mixture & let it cool completely. (You could refrigerate it for 30 mins)
Cut them into desired shape & enjoy it with your loved ones.