Desi sweet treats

Gajar Halwa

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Carrots - 1 kg
• 2 1/2 cup Milk (boiled). You can also use dry milk powder
• Sugar to taste
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
• 3 tbsp Butter
• 10 Almonds
• 10  Pistachios
• 10 Cashews
• You can add nuts of your own choice like walnuts, etc.

Method:

• Wash, peel and grate the carrots.
• Heat a pan with butter and put the grated carrot and cook on low flame till the raw smell disappears.
• Add milk and boil on low flame till thick.
• Once it starts thickening add sugar and stir continuously.
• Cook on low flame for further thickness. Add cardamom powder and nuts and stir continuously till the ghee separates from the mixture.
• Finally garnish with nuts and your carrot halwa or gajar ka halwa is ready.
• Serve hot.

Adidya Pak

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Coarsely ground black urad dal flour
• 2 cups+ 1/4 cup Ghee
• 1/2 cup Lukewarm milk
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1-3/4 cups Khoya, crumbled
• 2 tbsp Goond (edible gum) shallow fried in ghee and crushed
• 1/4 cup Raisins, chopped
• 1/3 cup Cashew nut, chopped
• 1/2 cup Almonds, chopped
• 2 tbsp Pistachios, chopped
• 2 tbsp Cardamom powder
• Finely sliced almonds and pistachios for garnishing

Method:

• Sieve the flour in a broad flat dish.
• Sprinkle the lukewarm milk and ghee over the flour a little at a time. Combine the flour along with the ghee and milk until well mixed.
• Cover it and keep it in a warm place for at least 3 hours. Gently crumble the mixture and then sieve it in a medium sized sieve.
• In a sauce pan add 1 cup of water and prepare sugar syrup of less than 1 thread consistency and keep aside.
• Heat a heavy bottomed sauce pan; add the crumb mixture and saute on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the crumbled khoya and continue to saute on low heat.
• Gradually add a little ghee at a time and keep stirring the mixture until you get a roasted aroma. The mixture will have turned a light golden brown.
• Add in the chopped nuts and raisins and continue to keep stirring. You will notice that that the ghee begins to leave the sides of the pan.
• Add the crushed goond and sauté on low or medium flame till it turns golden brown.
• Finally add the almonds and pistachios.
• Stir all ingredients until well combined and turn off the heat.
• After about a minute, stir in the sugar syrup to the above ladoo mixture.
• Spread the mixture onto a flat dish and allow it to cool completely.
• Shape the  mixture into balls .
• Garnish with finely sliced badam and pistachios.

Goond ke Laddoo

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp Edible gum (goond)
• 4 1/2 tbsp Ghee- 4 1/2 tbsp
• 1 1/4 cups Whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta) -1 1/4 cups
• 1/2 cup Powdered sugar- 1/2 cup
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom (elaichi) powder- 1/2 tsp
• Ghee for deep-frying

Method:

• Heat 3 1/2 tbsp of ghee in a broad non-stick pan, add the whole wheat flour and roast it over a medium flame for 6 minutes, while stirring continuously. Keep aside to cool completely.
• Heat the ghee for deep-frying in a deep non-stick kadhai and deep-fry the goond till the pieces puffs up. Drain and keep aside.
• Combine the powdered sugar, fried goond, cardamom powder, the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee and roasted whole wheat flour in a deep bowl and mix well.
• Divide the mixture into small equal  portions and shape each portion into a round ball.
• Serve and store in container.

Recipe courtesy— Maharaj Jodharam Choudhary, Khandani Rajdhan