Qubani ka Meetha / Apricot compote

Qubani - This name reminds us of Hyderabad ALWAYS! Hyderabadis are known for their love for sweets. No Hyderabadi meal can ever be complete without the finishing touch of 'meetha' (sweet). One of the hot favourites is the `Qubani Ka Meetha`. This sweet Temptation is served at most Hyderabadi restaurants. This dessert can be served with fresh cream, custard or even vanilla ice-cream which will be appreciated by all palates. This dessert is an essential part of any wedding feast in the city. The best part is that this recipe can be easily made at home too.

My Ammi learnt this from one of my aunt and she makes it just like how a hyderabadi would make it to perfection. We make it usually on Eid and my neighbors and cousins just wait for us to serve this every single time!! Yesterday we had a party at home for one of my cousin who loves this sweet, so we made it for her and this time i made it! ;) And it tasted awesome like always! It is simple yet a rich sweet dish which will definitely be loved by all :)

The soaked seeds on the right and when it is de-seeded on the left

Ingredients:
Dried whole Apricots - 200 gms
Sugar - 1 cup ( You can add more as per your taste buds)
Fresh cream - 100 ml


Method:
1.Wash and soak the dried apricots overnight with surplus water so that the water covers them by about 2-3 inches. The next day, slit the sides of the swelled up apricots to remove their seeds and keep them aside.

2. Put the slit apricots into a large thick bottom pan with the soaking liquid. Let it cook on medium heat for about 45 minutes or until the apricots are cooked very well. Keep stirring in between. Add more hot boiling water if needed.

3. Meanwhile, crack open the apricots kernels and soak the badam/ nuts in a cup of water to loosen their skin.

4. Once the apricots are cooked real well and the consistency is fairly thick, add sugar and keep stirring for sometime.

5. Taste for sugar and add in more if needed or else just switch off the heat and allow it to cool.

6. Remove the skin of the soaking apricot nuts or badam. This should be pretty easy as they have been soaking.

7. Garnish with the badam/nuts and serve it chilled topped with fresh thick cream, custard or a generous dollop of vanilla ice cream.

This is an instant hit whenever it is made, so do try it out! I am sure every one will keep asking for more ;)

Sending this to Any one can cook -Series 10 hosted by Taste of Pearl City

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Ragi Falooda

 

This sweet dish is made in our house ONLY when we keep fasts. Muslims fast on the 9th and 10th of Moharram. Since today is 10th Moharram ( First month in Islamic Calender), we are fasting and we made this sweet today. Ashura is a religious observance marked every year by Muslims. The word 'ashura literally means "10th," as it is on the 10th day of Muharram. It has a lot of historical significance. During the time of the Prophet Mohamed ( peace be upon him), local Jews observed one day of fasting at this time -- their Day of Atonement. The Prophet Mohamed ( Peace be upon him), learned of of this tradition, and stated that the Muslims should also fast. He himself fasted for 2 days, and recommended that all Muslims fast for two days as well. This fast is not required, simply recommended.

Ingredients:
Ragi - 1 cup
Dosa rice ( Kacchi chaawal) - 1/2 cup
Sugar or Jaggery - 3/4 cup ( add more if needed)
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Cardomom (peeled and crushed) -10-12
Ghee (to grease the plates)

For Garnishing:
Badam / Almonds AND Pistachios -Peeled and slivered


Method:
1. Wash the Ragi and rice. Sieve and grind with coconut and water.

2. Once we get a fine paste, take a thin cloth or strainer and strain the paste.

3. The paste should neither be thick nor too thin.

4. Heat a steel vessel and pour the paste into it and start stirring it. The main thing while making this dish is to stir it right, to avoid it getting burnt and to cook it well. As you keep stirring it, add sugar/ jaggery and continue stirring it till its dissolved well and all the lumps in the paste vanish!

5. Add the powdered cardamom to the paste and stir well. 

6. Once its cooked well and you get a nice not-too-thin-nor-too-thick paste, grease 2-3 plates with ghee and transfer the paste onto these plates. Do not use any spoon to transfer the paste to the plates, but pour it directly holding the steel vessel itself. This is done so that its evenly spread and this looks neat too ;)

7. When you have all the ragi falooda paste on the plates, garnish it with Almonds, pistas and sprinkle some cardamom and allow it to cool.

8. It can be eaten while its warm but its best to refrigerate it and have it after 2-3 hours. Before serving, make horizontal and vertical lines on the falooda, so that it is cut into medium sized pieces.

As you all know the health benefits of Ragi, you will agree with me that this is one healthy sweet dish! Do give it a try :)

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Fruit Trifle

I Love this!

If u love Fruits, cakes, custard, or simply desserts, you gonna drool over this one! I too did. I saw the pic of this recipe on my friend's facebook profile pic and i fell in love with it. Ofcourse i wanted to know how she made it and she did tell me. Thank you soo much Ayesha for this :)

I made this for my elder bro's birthday last month and we all finished it in a matter of few mins!! A perfect dessert after a heavy meal. Fruit trifle.. here you come!

Things needed:

A sponge cake
Tinned pineapple- 1
A Chocolate bar
Whipped cream
Vanilla custard ( i used half litre milk for the custard)
Strawberries ( For the topping)
Tutti frutti & Cherries ( Topping)

Method:

1. Slice the sponge cake horizontally into two parts. Soak both the parts in the pineapple syrup till It is completely soaked. ( from the tinned pineapple). Best to use fresh pineapple juice.

2. In a dessert bowl, spread one of the layers of the cake. Spread a layer of whipped cream. Add small chunks of pineapple.


3. Add a layer of custard after this.

4. Add chopped apples and pomegranate ( optional but i did it and it added to the awesomeness) ;)

5. Next, Place the second layer of soaked cake and once again spread another layer of whipped cream.

6. Repeat the custard and fruits layer if u have it remaining. Top it with a layer of whipped cream again.

7. Now to deck it up. Try to be as creative as you can. Here, I first sprinkled grated Kit kat chocolate bars and topped it with cherries and tutti frutti, since i could not get strawberries!

Till date, this has been my favourite dessert and my siblings just cant get enough of it! Nor do i ;) I love trifles and if any one of you know any such mesmerizing trifle recipes, Plzzzzzzzzzzzzz do let me know! Till then happy drooling ;)

Rice pudding/ Chaawal ka meetha

Eid Al Adha Mubarak to all! :)

This Bakrid was my first Eid without my parents being around, as they are on the holy pigrimage- Hajj! Usually Eid is a time when we are all happy and excited, but this time though we were happy, we missed our parents ALOT! But when we think about the amazing time they are having on their pilgrimage, we feel sooo happy for them and pray that all their worship and dua's are accepted and pray that everyone gets a chance to do their hajj, Insha'Allah!

Its Eid and how can we not make a sweet dish on this special day! Alhumdulillah ours is a big family and we have guests coming over to our house from dawn to dusk! Maasha'Allah! So i had to think of a sweet dish which every single person would love! From elders to kids. And the Rice pudding came to my mind! It is such a simple but delicious dish which absolutely everyone loves. So here's how i made it.

You will need:

Rice ( We use Pulao rice) : 100 gms
Milk : 1 litre
Sugar : 1 cup ( or as your sweet tooth demands) :p
Almonds : 8-10
Pistachios- slivered or roughly chopped : 1/4 cup

How we make it:

1. Wash and soak the pulao rice for 10 minutes.
2. Soak the almonds in hot water for few minutes so that it can be peeled off easily.
3. Grind pulao rice till you get a coarse paste. It should neither be too thick nor too thin.
4. Grind the almonds to a thick paste.
5.Boil the milk with the grinded pulao rice and stir it till it boils. Make sure you keep stirring it all the while.
6.Add sugar and almond paste when it starts to boil.
7.Take it off from heat and allow it to cool down.
8.After half an hour, refrigerate it.
9.Before you serve, garnish it with Pistachios and make others drooooooool over it. ;)

Sending it to Akheela's Event on Torview toronto!