It's that time of the year when celebrations abound. And what are celebrations and festivals without sweets? So we won't ask you to skip eating sweets. Instead, we will help you whip up desserts that are healthier, low on calories and super simple to make. Read on...
Fruit Sandesh Sandesh is a classic Bengali sweet made with fresh paneer or chenna which is flavoured in a variety of manners. The recipe for making Sandesh given below barely takes 10 minutes for preparation, is low on calories and is a good source of Vitamin C. Serves 4.
Ingredients: 100 gm low fat paneer (can be prepared at home by curdling the milk) 4 tsp sugar / 4 sachets of splenda (WHO approved sweetener) 2 tsp low fat milk powder 1 tablespoon low fat milk
For garnish: ½ cup chopped fresh fruits (oranges/strawberries/guava)
For orange sauce: 1/3 cup fresh orange juice (no sugar) ¼ tsp corn flour 1 tsp sugar 2-3 drops of lime
Instructions for preparing Sandesh 1. Combine all the ingredients and blend into a smooth paste in a blender. 2. Spread the sandesh evenly in a 100mm (4") diameter serving dish and chill for atleast 30 minutes.
Instructions for preparing the sauce 1. Combine all the ingredients in a pan and mix well. 2. Cook till the sugar has dissolved. Cool completely
Final step Garnish the sandesh with chopped fruits. Cut the sandesh in to squares and serve with the orange sauce. Enjoy!
Fruity Yoghurt This one is an instant dessert preparation for people who feel lazy about elaborate cooking.
Ingredients: 1 cup low fat pro biotic curd 1 cup seasonal fruits (peel and cut into small cubes)
Preparation Whip the curd well and chill for 30 minutes. Add chopped and frozen fruits to it like banana, sitaphal, chickoo, pear, apple etc. Now, garnish with pomegranate and serve chilled. This fruity yoghurt is quite rich in antioxidants because of the presence of fruits so is a perfect dessert to binge on. You can also add nuts like almonds and walnuts to make it taste better and crunchier.
2 cups of milk 2 cups of cream 1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon peppermint extract 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Method Heat the milk till it gets thick in consistency. Set it aside to cool. Add sugar, salt, peppermint and vanilla extract and keep stirring till sugar has dissolved. Pour mixture into a container and freeze. After about ten minutes, add the chocolate chips. Check on the consistency of the ice cream after about an hour, and it should be ready to serve! Season with more chocolate chips in serving bowls.
Frozen desserts are usually relished by the entire family, especially when they're presented in these two creative avatars!
Almond Kulfi
Kulfi -- one of the country's most popular traditional desserts -- is a quintessential part of any Indian celebration. With the delicate flavor of dry fruits and a hint of spice, this dessert promises to be huge hit with family and friends. Here's a quick recipe.
Method 1. Take the milk in a large pan, add cardamom and bring to a boil. 2. Reduce the flame and make sure that the milk is simmering till it is reduced by one third. 3. Remove the cardamom from the milk with the use of a strainer. 4. Add the sugar and almonds and keep stirring till the sugar dissolves. 5. Now, pour the mixture into a container and cover with a lid. 6. Freeze it until firm, stirring it every 30 minutes. 7. Remove the container from the freezer 10 minutes before you need to serve it. 8. Garnish with almond flakes and cardamom seeds.
Watermelon Sorbet
Watermelons are the fruit of the season! And one of the best ways of enjoying them is to indulge in a cool scoop of mouth-watering watermelon sorbet! Not only is it quick and easy to make, it's also the perfect and healthy way to beat the heat!
Ingredients
1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup lemon juice 3 cups watermelon
Method
1.
Put the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a vessel and cook the mixture till the sugar is dissolved. Stir occasionally.
2.
Remove it from the flame and chill.
3.
Cut the watermelon into small cubes and de-seed thoroughly. Puree it in a food processor or a blender.
4.
Add this to the chilled syrup and stir to aide mixing.
5.
Put it in a freezer container and deep chill.
6.
Remove the container from the freezer 5 minutes before serving.
7.
Serve in an ice cream bowl and garnish scoops with a mint leaf or a slice of freshly cut watermelon.
Frozen desserts are usually relished by the entire family, especially when they're presented in these two creative avatars!
Almond Kulfi
Kulfi -- one of the country's most popular traditional desserts -- is a quintessential part of any Indian celebration. With the delicate flavor of dry fruits and a hint of spice, this dessert promises to be huge hit with family and friends. Here's a quick recipe.
Method 1. Take the milk in a large pan, add cardamom and bring to a boil. 2. Reduce the flame and make sure that the milk is simmering till it is reduced by one third. 3. Remove the cardamom from the milk with the use of a strainer. 4. Add the sugar and almonds and keep stirring till the sugar dissolves. 5. Now, pour the mixture into a container and cover with a lid. 6. Freeze it until firm, stirring it every 30 minutes. 7. Remove the container from the freezer 10 minutes before you need to serve it. 8. Garnish with almond flakes and cardamom seeds.
Watermelon Sorbet
Watermelons are the fruit of the season! And one of the best ways of enjoying them is to indulge in a cool scoop of mouth-watering watermelon sorbet! Not only is it quick and easy to make, it's also the perfect and healthy way to beat the heat!
Ingredients
1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup lemon juice 3 cups watermelon
Method
1.
Put the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a vessel and cook the mixture till the sugar is dissolved. Stir occasionally.
2.
Remove it from the flame and chill.
3.
Cut the watermelon into small cubes and de-seed thoroughly. Puree it in a food processor or a blender.
4.
Add this to the chilled syrup and stir to aide mixing.
5.
Put it in a freezer container and deep chill.
6.
Remove the container from the freezer 5 minutes before serving.
7.
Serve in an ice cream bowl and garnish scoops with a mint leaf or a slice of freshly cut watermelon.
Try this easy-to-make rich chocolate mousse cake and you won’t have to place an order for a cake again. Neither will you have to run across the street to buy some ready-made dessert. This recipe is a guaranteed solution to all those after-dinner sweet cravings.
Serves: 8
Ingredients
For the cake:
4 egg whites ½ cup (100 g) sugar 140 g hazelnuts, finely ground 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C or 350 deg F 2. Line a 9-inch cake tin with greaseproof or other non-stick paper and grease the tin. 3. Whisk the eggs whites until stiff and in peaks preferably by using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar and whisk well each time sugar has been added. 4. Mix with finely ground hazelnuts and cocoa powder. 5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool.
For the filling:
250 g dark semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate 4 egg yolks 1/3 cup (60 g) sugar 1/4 cup + 1 cup whipping cream
Procedure:
1. Melt the finely chopped dark chocolate over hot water. 2. Beat the egg yolks with sugar until white. 3. Heat 1/4 cup whipping cream to the boiling point and whisk in beaten egg yolks. 4. Fold in the melted chocolate. The mixture will immediately thicken. Cool to approximately 100 deg F/38 deg C. 5. Whisk 1 cup of whipped cream. Fold with the egg and chocolate mixture, one tablespoon at a time, until the filling becomes soft, then the remaining part of the cream. 6. Transfer this to the cake tin and refrigerate for a few hours.
If served cold, the filling appears more like chocolate truffle than mousse. If you prefer a more sweet flavor of the filling, you can use semisweet chocolate instead of the recommended dark chocolate.
The concept of preparing elaborate desserts at home can seem tiresome after all the time and energy spent on cooking lunch or dinner. For this reason, many of us would rather just settle for an ice cream pack from the local grocer’s. Here, however, is a short and easy dessert recipe that’s easy to prepare and will go down well with everyone in your family.
Ingredients • 2-3 cups whole milk • 1 egg • 2 tbsp. sugar • A pinch of salt • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips • 2 tbsp. hazelnut liqueur or dark rum • 4 serving cups (these hold twice the amount a tea cup does) • 1 cup whipping cream • 2 tbsp. sugar • Mint leaves/sprigs for garnish; optional
Procedure
1. Heat the milk in a small pan over a moderate flame until it comes to a boil. 2. In a blender or food processor, combine the egg, sugar, a pinch of salt, semisweet chips and liqueur. Run the processor or blender on a low setting. 3. Pour in boiling milk in a slow stream. The hot milk will cook the egg and melt the chocolate. 4. Process or blend for 1 minute until smooth. 5. Spoon chocolate into 4 serving cups and chill. 6. Just before you serve the dessert, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Then, add a little sugar and beat to combine. 7. Top the chocolate cups with a dollop of cream and garnish each cup with mint sprigs.
Tip: Prepare the chocolate cups before you set the dinner table. This will allow them to chill just enough while you have dinner.
The festival of Makar Sankranti falls in the mid of January every year, close to the festival of Pongal celebrated by the people of Andhra Pradesh. Keeping in mind these festivals, Tips4me has decided to feature four recipes you can enjoy.
TILACHE LADOO
Laddoos made from Til and Jaggery.
Ingredients:
White Seasme seeds 1 cup *Jaggery/Gud 1 cup Raw Peanuts 1/2 cup Roasted channa daal (split and ready to eat) 1/4 cup Ghee/Clarified butter 1/4 cup Cardamom powder 1/2 teaspoon *Note: This jaggery is specially called "Chikki cha gul". It is meant for making ladoos and is less brittle when cooked. You can use the regular jaggery if it not available in your local Indian grocery store.
Method: Roast the sesame seeds and peanuts separately. Keep aside for cooling. After the peanuts are cold, skin it and crush them in a mortar and pestle, into big pieces.
Heat the ghee in a vessel. When hot, add the jaggery. The jaggery will liquidify and start to foam and froth. Remove the vessel from heat source and add the sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, roasted channa daal and cardamom powder. Mix well and keep stirring.
Using a little ghee to coat your hands take a piece of the warm mixture and form very small balls/ladoos, 1 inch in diameter. Store in a container.
GAJAK (SESAME CANDY)
Ingredients:
10 Almonds 10 Cashewnuts 20-25 Peanuts 1/2 cup Walnuts shelled 1/4 cup White Melon seeds shelled (Kharbuje Ki Giri) 1 cup Sugar 1 tablespoon Ghee 6 Green Cardomoms (Elaichi) 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice 1/4 Boond Kewara essence (Alternative : Vanilla essence) Khoya/Mewa (dough made from cooking milk for hours)
Method: Melt the sugar on the fire. Put in lemon juice, khoya, kharbuje ki giri, kewara essence in the melted sugar and make the mixture of dropping consistency. Mix ghee in the sugar mixture. Add all the dry fruits in the mixture until they are evenly spread. Set the mixture flat in a thali preferably on a plastic thali and cut it into round, square or rectangular pieces. Allow it to cool or eat it fresh. The Gajak or Burfee is ready.
VEN PONGAL
Ingredients:
1 cup Rice 1 cup Moong dal 6 cups water 3 Green chillies ¼ inch Ginger 2 tsp. Ghee 1 tsp. whole black pepper. 1 tsp. Cumin seeds Turmeric powder - a pinch 10 - 15 Cashew nuts Curry leaves
Method: Mix 1 cup rice and 1 cup moong dal. Add 3 times water (6 cups) and steam until it is over cooked. Cut 3 green chillies and 1/4 inch ginger into fine pieces. Take 2 tsp ghee in a frying pan and add 1 tsp whole black peppers, and 1 tsp cumin seeds. When the peppers burst add chillies, ginger pieces and a pinch of turmeric powder. Add cashew nuts and remove the pan when the cashews are roasted and begin to smell. Add this to cooked dal-rice mix. Add 1/2 tsp. salt, a sprig of curry leaves and mix well. Add some ghee while serving.
Method: Take rice, moong dal, gram dal in the ratio 2:2:1.Add water and pressure cook. Take vellam (amount should be 2/3 of cooked mixture) and dissolve in little water so that it just completely dissolves and heat it separately. Add the liquid part of this juice (which will be at the top) to cooked mixture. Roast cashew nuts, raisins, grated coconut in ghee and add this to the mixture and stir well. Add some extra ghee while serving.