Name: Date and Toffee Pudding
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 12 pieces
Ingredients: 8 oz Pitted dates; 1 1/2 cups All purpose flour (Gold Medal); 3 tbsp Apple Sauce; 1 tbsp water; 1 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/8 tsp Salt; 1 stick butter; 1/3 cup Light brown sugar; I 12 cup muffin or ice cream cone tray (for baking); oil or ghee for greasing the muffin/cone tray; 1 cup Whole Milk Heavy Cream; 1 stick butter; 1/2 cup Light brown sugar

Date and Toffee Pudding

Celebrations galore! New Years Eve, happy birthdays of niece and nephew, kids back from college for winter break and me just excited for the new year to begin on the right note! Anything good or auspicious is always invited by making something sweet! So here I share Date and Toffee pudding as a harbinger for peace, calmness and healthy new year that also lets you achieve your personal goals in life!

The chance to taste this exquisite pudding was at Rasika over anniversary celebrations! It was warm, sweet, with a bit of caramel and fruits, topped with ice cream! More interestingly it had the dates as a base, which made it even more delicious for me. Dates are something I enjoy,(pun intended)! The iron and fibre in dates pack some powerful nutrients in a colorful warm dry fruit, and hence are often used by soldiers on the front to get their instant shot of energy,

I enjoyed learning how to make caramel syrup, as had no clue about it earlier, and the brown liquid reminds me of rolling melted gold over a brown date pudding. I personally preferred this without the ice cream but with some fruits in it. Best would be to serve it with the ice cream on the side, so you can pick and choose what you want to taste.

The shape at the restaurant was simple muffin shape, however I wanted to make it more fancier, as well as try something new in the baking shape. Recently I came across this ice cream corn kind of moulds, which to a garden lover like me looked more like small flower pots! The fruits arranged in the center made it a more real flower pot. The recipe has been adjusted for making it egg less.

The taste is exquisite, so is the shape making this Date and Toffee pudding, one of a kind! With the sweetness of dates, gold of caramel, colors of fruits and coolness of ice cream, I wish all of you a very Happy New Year and a spectacular 2018!

Date and Toffee Pudding

A warm pudding with caramel syrup, fresh fruits and ice cream

Course

Dessert

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

30 min

Passive Time

20 min

Servings

pieces

Ingredients

Making of Date Pudding

8 oz Pitted dates
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour Gold Medal
3 tbsp Apple Sauce
1 tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1 stick butter
1/3 cup Light brown sugar
I 12 cup muffin or ice cream cone tray for baking
oil or ghee for greasing the muffin/cone tray

Making of Toffee Syrup

Course

Dessert

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

30 min

Passive Time

20 min

Servings

pieces

Ingredients

Making of Date Pudding

8 oz Pitted dates
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour Gold Medal
3 tbsp Apple Sauce
1 tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1 stick butter
1/3 cup Light brown sugar
I 12 cup muffin or ice cream cone tray for baking
oil or ghee for greasing the muffin/cone tray

Making of Toffee Syrup

Instructions

Finely chop the dates in a grinder till it becomes a round ball.
Add baking soda and warm water and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Mix the all purpose flour, salt, and baking powder in a deep bowl.
With a whisk blade, fluff the butter for 5 minutes, till the butter is 3 shades lighter. Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar and mix in for a minute.
Pre heat the oven for 375 degrees at convection oven or 350 degrees regular oven.
Combine the soaked dates, butter sugar and flour mixed with all ingredients.Add apple sauce and water and blend well everything into a batter for about 4 minutes.
Great the muffin moulds or cone moulds thoroughly with ghee or butter. Fill the batter
If using a cone mould, layer the filled cups tray with the indent tray to make a cone shape
Bake on the second rack for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes,
Cover slightly so that warm air can escape.
Boil heavy cream, 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of sugar to make the toffee syrup.
Cool the toffee syrup for 5-7 minutes.
Prick with a fork all over the date pudding. Then pour 2-3 tbsp toffee syrup over each of them.
Soak the date pudding in the toffee syrup well, ensuring that they are well coated and let them cool for half an hour at the least.

Serving the Date and Toffee Pudding

When serving, microwave each pudding for about 30 seconds. Arrange the fruit/berries in the centre. Scoop an ice cream of your choice, and then either layer it on the top of pudding, or by the side.Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Tips

If the toffee syrup becomes thick, put to warm on low heat, so it is easily absorbed by the pudding.

Serving ice cream on the side, will avoid it from melting fast.

Check if the date and toffee pudding is properly baked by sticking a toothpick/fork in the middle.

Instinct Factor

A new shape for a pudding for the new year! if the pudding mix does not drop well, add another tbsp of water. Softness of the pudding will depend on how well the butter has been fluffed.

Feel Factor

Ringing the new year 2018 with this warm fuzzy Date and Toffee Pudding !! The perfect warmth,, texture softness, and caramel sweetness, surrounded by the colorful berries and coated with an ice cream of your choice! A combination of hot and cold, in this delicious dessert. The sweetness of dates combined with the toffee syrup makes this pudding a one of kind and will certainly make your family and guests feel on top of the world! Here's to more sweet recipes in 2018!

Sandesh Chocolate Grape

Sandesh Chocolate Grape was my creation for a milestone birthday that we just had celebrations for! As a young kid, memories of Sandesh made by my mother linger in my mind even now, and Sandesh is perhaps the first dessert that I really was fond of! Even more than Rasgulla or Rasmalai, which also use the same paneer base. My mother used to put orange segments in it, but I decided to use red grapes, as I am more fond of grapes than oranges. Red grapes would go well with the fall weather and dark chocolate flavor is what I thought. I have a deep weakness for dark chocolates and in particular Godiva Dark Chocolates. Godiva has various levels of cocoa but decided to go for safer 50% dark level then the 75% , as I was going to offer the Sandesh Chocolates Grape to guests. Making this was a very last minute decision. I had a Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt flavor in my house, which was used and in my opinion the sea salt further enhanced the flavor of Sandesh.

On reading the blog of Cosmpolitan Curry Mania, I got to know a lot about the various ways Sandesh is made and the types of shondesh/sandesh available in West Bengal. The way I made was more of the Kachha Gola (raw uncooked sandesh), in which , the kneading of the sandesh is the key to the softness and texture of the desert. This has a different texture than the one which is mixed with Khoya and cooked on a flame. It is interesting to note that people in Bengal have even explored with flavors like olive oil too in making Sandesh!

Reading this, made me even more happy with my creation of Sandesh Chocolate Grape which hints at flavors of Red Grapes, Paneer, and Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt. And the sugar level in this variation has been purposely kept at low levels, to feel the dark taste of chocolate.

The texture of the Sandesh Chocolate Grape was smooth, and the topping of semi sweet mint chip chocolates gave it a colorful and tasty appeal. The grape filling was well appreciated with the chocolate flavor. This dessert was definitely the preferred dessert of the evening. What a great way to celebrate a milestone, with a favorite dessert in a favorite chocolate flavor with sea salt! A five star dessert for me for sure! And I am positive, once you try this super easy, super quick dessert, you will be making many new and exciting flavors in Sandesh. Do send me a sandesh (message) with a newer version that you created by submitting a recipe on this blog!

Sandesh Chocolate Grape

Chocolate Sandesh from Chocolate Bar and Fruits

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

Indian

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

30 min

Passive Time

3 hours

Servings

Ingredients

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

Indian

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

30 min

Passive Time

3 hours

Servings

Ingredients

Instructions

The chhena or paneer should be freshly made. If you need instructions on how to make fresh panner from milk, please read my recipe on Rasgoola for detailed process.
Once the chhena is cooled, knead for 8-10 minutes using the palm of your hand. Continue kneading till all the paneer forms into a ball, and the grainy look of chhena turns into a smooth look.
Melt 3 squares of the Godiva Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Bar in microwave for 40 seconds. Stir the squares to liquid form and immediately pour 2 tsp of melted chocolate into the paneer.
Add sugar and continue to knead for 4-5 minutes. The dark chocolate will slowly spread and change the color from white to completely brown. If you see white portions then continue to knead some more.
Divide the paneer into 24 parts. Roll each part into round ball, and then flatten with your fingers.
Put 2 pieces of sliced grapes on the flattened part and then again make a round ball.
Give it an elongated shape by pinching with all your fingers at the top like a modak shape.
Garnish it with a mint chocolate chip and chill for 3-4 hours.
Enjoy chilled , fruity Sandesh in Chocolate flavor!
Sandesh Chocolate Grape cut into half to get the inside view. The images were taken at different light environment, hence the change in the colors of the Sandesh

Recipe Notes

Tips

Fresh paneer that has some liquid in it still is the best consistency, as it will give it a good smoothness to the texture. Hence I do not hang the paneer or put weight while making the paneer.

Chocolate powder can be also used, as mentioned in another recipe http://cookingbyinstinct.com/chocolate-sandesh-cheese-fudge/

Instinct Factor

Making use of things available at hand and creating something new out it, is truly inspiring and instinctive! That is when the best satisfaction comes to a passionate foodie! Get your instincts to guide you as you make a flavor of your choice!

Feel Factor

Its celebration time with chilled, soft, smooth, bittersweet dark chocolate flavored grape sandesh! Everyone was curious as to what is this new dessert, as the shape was different, color was different, and the taste was also very different. This dessert is healthy, as cottage cheese is healthy, not too sweet, and good for the mind and soul as well because of its chocolate flavor. The grape filling gives a nice crunch as well as sweet tangy taste in between the chocolate flavored cottage cheese.. Something made in a jiffy and the end result was a winner in the evening dinner! This was definitely the icing on the cake in my view! And I am sure your guests will also remember this modern flavor fruit filled Sandesh Chocolate Grape!!

Chikoo Ice Cream with Cinnamon Rose MintChip

Chikoo Ice Cream with Cinnamon Rose Mintchip is made from a highly popular Asian and Mexican fruit. “Chikoo” is also a pet name for young kids, in many Gujarati households, including mine! The fruit is also known as sapodilla or zapota or sapota. A berry like fruit with dark black almond shaped seeds. Its skin is rough brown and the ripened flesh has a nice brown color. It is known for its sweetness and malty flavor, and this has been a favorite fruit of mine. The chance of getting to eat fresh chikoo that is nicely ripened is very slim in US. Even if I get some fresh chikoos, they do not ripen well. So in the twenty-five years that we left India, eating this favorite fruit has been a rare opportunity. Frozen chikoo slices have a sourness and so does the pulp of chikoo, with its dose of preservatives.

Casual wandering around a newly opened a grocery store , I spotted a Chikoo Pulp can, and was immediately excited to use that. If nothing else, I can have the popular chikoo milkshakes which have a flavor of the malted milkshakes, the older cousins of the current milkshakes. I always liked the grainy texture in this fruit which only recently I realized gave it a malted taste.

Now came the part of trying this in an ice cream. Naturals brand in Mumbai and many other local ice cream shops across Gujarat have this chikoo ice cream readily available, but they also have a dense taste of chikoo in it. I have primarily used only fresh fruits in my ice cream so this was a bit of challenge for me as to how reduce the taste of preservative in the ice cream? Not afraid to experiment, I let my creativity guide me. I decided to throw in some cinnamon to bring some fragrant sweetness, added rose essence for hiding the sourness on account of preservatives, and gave it the quintessential topping of chocolate mint chips to give it a texture and appeal similar to the popular ice creams! Not knowing how the combination is going to turn, I eagerly waited for the ice cream maker to churn and for the clock to turn full twenty four hours, for me to dig in a bite of my very own concoction!

I liked the pale pink color ice cream in which the brown mint chips were sticking out their sunny heads! The rose essence also aligned well with pink color of the ice cream. The freshness and cooling feeling of rose fragrance went well with the cinnamon sweetness . As you eat the ice cream, the first flavor that hits you is the rose essence, then you are introduced to the cinnamon flavor and finally you are left with the hint of the chikoo flavor. And if this is not exciting enough add, some toasted coconut chips were great as extra toppings!. You will probably say, this was worth my time and effort for being able to relish so many different flavors in a scoop of my favorite colored ice cream!

Chikoo Ice Cream with Cinnamon Rose Mintchip became a topic of conversation in a couple of different groups of parties, with this flavor being more popular amongst the westerners, as it was definitely a fruit that they were not aware of, but still appreciated the flavor and texture!

Chikoo Cinnamon Rose MintChip Ice Cream

Chikoo ice cream from Chikoo pulp

Course

Dessert

Servings

1 quart

Ingredients

Course

Dessert

Servings

1 quart

Ingredients

Instructions

Ensure that the ice cream container is well frozen for 24-48 hours before using it. Mix in all the ingredients and churn the ice cream for 25 minutes, till it all forms a lump.
Transfer the mixed ice cream base to a freezer container and let it set for at least 24 hours.
Serve in a cone or a cup and top it with few roasted coconut flakes or any other favorite topping of your choice.

Recipe Notes

Tips

Keep the whole milk and heavy cream well chilled before using it, which will give it a great consistency while churning it.

Taste for sweetness halfway through churning to make any necessary modifications.

Instinct Factor

Let your instincts guide you in modifying this flavor as it truly as no original flavor !

Feel Factor

A totally exotic creation with a hint of boldness that people with a penchant for trying new flavors will certainly like it! For folks in India and Asian countries this will be flavor close to home, with its use of cinnamon, rose and chikoo. And for those who do not like chikoo that much, will not be too disappointed with so many other flavors to satisfy their taste buds. Give it a shot and you might just discover something interesting in this Chikoo Cinnamon Rose MintChip Ice Cream!!

Guava Ice Cream

An ice cream with Guava flavor? This was the question on my mind as I was presented this highly unique and refreshing flavor in Mumbai on my recent visit to India. Today I salute the spirit of Mumbai by posting this recipe of Guava Ice Cream made famous in Mumbai, by Apsara Ice Creams. Apsara is a chain that has been in existence for the past 50 years or more, and surprisingly I never encountered it during my younger days. Its first location was in Walkeshwar and it is believed that all the ice creams at Apsara are made in hand ice cream machine and hence has a rich texture and flavor. I am not too sure of this fact, but if it is true, it is truly worthy of respect for ensuring that the quality has not been compromised,

Mumbai is a town which really comes together in the face of disaster and shows what a humane spirit it has. Right from 1993 blasts to various calamities, it is the spirit of Mumbai that is indescribable, but one has to live there for a few months, to fall in love with the madness and chaos along with its gutsy, warm community.

Back to the Guava Ice cream, I had the privilege of having this on none other than the 75th birthday of my mother who is a BIG ice cream fan. The reason why this ice cream holds a special place in my heart, is because of its topping of red chili powder and salt. That combination, gives you the feeling of earring raw guavas topped with salt and red chili powder! Kind of like the Mexican chocolates which has cayenne peppers in it! That is true creativity at heart and a big salute to Apsara for retaining this flavor with its true taste.

When you eat this ice cream, you get the kick from not only the guava itself, but also from the spicy flavor on the top mixed with the sweetness of the cream and sugar. The challenge to a great flavor is having the guava ripened to the correct level. My initial try had been made with somewhat raw guavas that were more greener, and hence the taste did not compare with the one at Apsara. On later modifying it to more yellowish guava, I was able to recreate the taste to the one I had in Mumbai. Matching this to Apsara flavor brought big smiles on my daughter’s face!

A Guava ice cream treat for my readers,who have really been engaging with the blog and coming back to it, even when there were no new posts for some time. Hope you enjoy this Guava Ice cream, as much as I fell in love with its sweetness and spicy tinge! My apologies to the readers for being quiet for almost three months, as got busy with high school graduation, summer break and college preparations, but now I look forward to sharing many interesting recipes with you all. Bon Appetit!

Guava Ice Cream

Eggless Guava Ice Cream

Prep Time

45 min

Passive Time

8 hours

Servings

Quart

Ingredients

1 cups Whole Milk
2 1/4 cups Heavy Cream Full Fat
3 medium-big Ripe Guavas
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
2 tbsp sugar for guava pulp

For the Topping

1/2 tsp red chilli powder
3/4 tsp Salt

Prep Time

45 min

Passive Time

8 hours

Servings

Quart

Ingredients

1 cups Whole Milk
2 1/4 cups Heavy Cream Full Fat
3 medium-big Ripe Guavas
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
2 tbsp sugar for guava pulp

For the Topping

1/2 tsp red chilli powder
3/4 tsp Salt

Instructions

Chill the ice cream making container for at least 24 hours before making the ice cream.
Skin the Guavas, and de seed them. Chop them into small pieces.
Mix the sugar with chopped Guava and blend it into pulp.
Set the ice cream container into ice cream maker, and start the ice cream maker. Once it starts, pour the whole milk, essence, heavy cream, a pinch of salt, balance sugar and guava pulp. Let it mix for about 25-30 minutes, till it binds into a lump.
Remove the soft ice cream into a freezer container and let it set for about 10 hours minimum before serving.
Prepare the topping by mixing salt and red chili powder thoroughly, till no white salt crystals are visible.
Sprinkle this topping before serving and enjoy the multi flavored sweet and spicy Guava Ice Cream,

Recipe Notes

Tips

Ensure that the container is pre chilled for a long period of time, otherwise the ice cream will not bind well.Also ensure that the Guavas are ripe enough.

You can even try this with Pink Guavas, which apparently is a famous Italian Ice cream, where they also use some spicy toppings on it!

Instinct Factor

Re creating this flavor was possibly only as I relied on my tastebuds, memory and instinct! And the beauty of making ice cream is that even if you mess it up, you can adjust the quantities of sugar, essence, fruit pulp by thawing the original, mixing the added ingredients and re setting it in the freezer. It does not required to be churned again!

Feel Factor

Second time lucky in getting the right flavor and right blend of spices to recreate the famous Guava Ice cream of Apsara at home! Partially it also depends on the freshness and in season guavas. I am grateful to the Indian Grocery stores for carrying this tropical fruit that reminds me of my days in India. Next season I will definitely try the pink guava ice cream! One has to taste this just once and I guarantee, the chances are very high, you will fall in love with this unique flavor of ice cream!

Pineapple Kulfi

Pineapple Kulfi is the recipe for this week, in sync with a mug my daughter got as an appreciation for the work she accomplished for a conference, which was engraved as ” if you were to be a fruit, you would be a fine-apple” and I cannot agree more! Pineapple is a tropical fruit that I have always liked, wether it be juice, or just slices, or as pineapple cheese sandwich or my favorite flavor of fresh pineapple cake! So trying this flavor in kulfi would not be very surprising at all in my kitchen.:)

The effort was to have as much of pineapple displayed as possible, but could succeed only if when cutting the kulfi into pieces while serving. I tried to use the cupcake moulds besides the normal kulfi moulds, in order to display the pineapple rings more prominently, as part of the reason I like pineapple, is because of the thick circular slices. If pineapple is not a flavor you like, try the earlier recipe of Strawberry Kulfi Ice Cream.

Just remember to have a bucket of patience, as once you have that, making kulfi is a no brainer, specially when you cook in a non-stick pan. Watch a couple of TV shows while the milk evaporates to the right consistency and then just mix some fresh pieces and chill for 15 hours or so pineapple kulfi is ready!

Today being Ugadi and Gudi Padwa, a sweet recipe was the ideal way to celebrate and wish everyone a Happy New Year to all! The temperatures are getting warmer soon, and a nice chunk of fresh pineapple in the kulfi would be akin to sunny, sweet and juicy aspect of the traditional delicious kulfi. Hope all have a sunny, sweet and fruitful 2074 by Indian Calendar system!

Pineapple Kulfi

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

Indian

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

2 hours

Passive Time

10-12 hours

Servings

Ice pops or cupcake size

Ingredients

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

Indian

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

2 hours

Passive Time

10-12 hours

Servings

Ice pops or cupcake size

Ingredients

Instructions

Grease well a deep non stick pan with ghee at the base as well as on the sides thoroughly.
Add the milk and sugar and stir on a medium flame till the sugar dissolves completely.
Reduce the flame to low medium and let the milk boil.
Once the milk boils , reduce it to low flame and let it simmer. till about 1/2 the original quality is left.
Chop four pineapple slices into a small pieces and add to the milk to boil. Add also al 1/3 of the pineapple juice to the boiling milk also.
Simmer the milk till the quantity reaches about a third of the original quantity.
Remove from flame, add three more slices of pineapple chopped into small pieces.
Warm a tbsp of milk and dissolve saffron into the kulfi mix. Add essence and cardamom and mix thoroughly.
Allow the pineapple kulfi mix to cool completely for about an hour and a half.
Fill the ice cream or popsicle moulds. adding half ring of remaining pineapple and chill for 12 hours minimum.
Alternatively, use muffin or cupcake baking tray, fill the moulds with the Pineapple Kulfi mix and layer ring pieces of pineapple on the top and freeze for 12 hours.
Before serving, run the moulds under warm water and release the pineapple kulfi from the mould .
Cut it into pieces if serving in a bowl, that way, its easy to eat as well as it displays the fresh pineapple in it.

Recipe Notes

Tips

Using Whole mIlk and preferably organic milk , will give a rich taste and texture to the homemade Pineapple Kulfi.

Instinct Factor

Use a over boil preventing plate, will help the milk in simmering without one having to watch over it continuously, as also using a non stick pan is a must for an easy kulfi making process.

Feel Factor

If the milk has evaporated to the right consistency level, then the texture of the Pineapple Kulfi will be just right! The whole process of making kulfi is a test of patience and if one is patient, the rewards is definitely worth it! The texture of the pineapple kulfi was just right along with its sweetness and I specially liked the slightly tangy taste to the mix from the pineapple juice as well as dissolved pineapple. The fresh pineapple added last, retains its crunchiness and juiciness, which adds an extra depth to the traditional kulfi. I quite like this combination as it is something new and fun in the kulfi flavor so Pineapple Kulfi was definitely sunny and sweet for me!

Contact

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Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites

Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites is my attempt at making a dry fruit chikki in a jaggery base, instead of the traditional base of sugar, specially for dry fruit chikki. I decided to try this base, as I prefer the more nutritious jaggery as compared to sugar. No Makar Sankranti is complete without a bite of chikki, the traditional sweet of the Makar Sankranti festival. The chewy or crispy taste of the chikki depends on the quality of jaggery as well as the duration of cooking the jaggery. Jaggery from Kolhapur, works best for chikki, specially the golden colored jaggery. This time I had more darker colored jaggery, hence the color of the chikki is also slightly more darker than I would have preferred. I opted to also undercook the jaggery a bit, in order to keep it chewy, as preferred by my family members. The chewy texture would also do less damaging to the teeth when biting, as opposed to the extremely crispy traditional texture of chikki. Feeling a little creative, added a few drops of rose water were added to give a freshness of rose in the chikki,

Enjoy the fragrant, colorful, chewy and jaggery based pistachio almond chikki chewy bites, which is extremely quick to make. One can have a fresh batch of chikki in different flavors made every couple of days, since it takes very little effort and time. Check out the recipes for Sesame Chikki, Chocolate Walnut Chikki and Daliya Chikki from earlier blog posts. Tomorrow I plan to make the good old Til Chikki in the extreme crispy flavor, as that is how I like it, and sankranti is not auspicious enough, till one has had the combination of til and jaggery तिल गुड़!

Wishing everyone a happy cheerful Makar Sankranti and a season of good results and good tiding, and enjoy the display of Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites in a flying feather shape, akin to a flying kite!

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Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites

Cuisine

Indian

Prep Time

Cook Time

Passive Time

Servings

pieces

Ingredients

5 tsp Ghee Unmelted
1 cup Whole Pistachio Roasted and Salted preferable
1/3 cup Crushed Pistachio Roasted and Salted preferable
1/2 cup Slvered almonds
3 tsp water
1/4 tsp Rose Water Optional
1 1/2 cup Jaggery Thinly sliced

Cuisine

Indian

Prep Time

Cook Time

Passive Time

Servings

pieces

Ingredients

5 tsp Ghee Unmelted
1 cup Whole Pistachio Roasted and Salted preferable
1/3 cup Crushed Pistachio Roasted and Salted preferable
1/2 cup Slvered almonds
3 tsp water
1/4 tsp Rose Water Optional
1 1/2 cup Jaggery Thinly sliced

Instructions

Grease the chopping board, or a plate, or sheet of aluminum foil or wax paper with some ghee and keep it aside.
In a thick bottom pan, put the ghee to melt on a medium flame gas.
Once it melts, add the jaggery and water and let it melt. Keep stirring on medium flame, till the color becomes dark brown like a melted chocolate for about 6-7 minutes. If you want it more crispier heat the jaggery for about 8-9 minutes.
Once the jaggery is cooked well, reduce the flame to the minimum and quickly add whole pistachios, crushed pistachios, silvered almonds and rose water and mix everything into a nice big lump, stirring for a minute or she on the gas.
Quickly transfer the mixture on to the greased board. Using a roller pin, roll down into as far thin as you can roll, without breaking from between. Alternatively, press it with the base of steel bowl to flatten it further.
Cool for about five minutes, and make diamond pieces, by first making vertical lines, and then turning the board to an angle, and making diamond kite shapes.
Cool completely for 20 minutes, and then store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

Tips

The type of jaggery you use will also determine the texture of the chikki. To make it crisper, cook the jaggery for at least 9 minutes on medium low flame.
For Vegan recipe, add oil, instead of ghee.
Add cashews, split chickpeas, peanuts, coconut, whole almonds as optional flavors.
If the chikki is not as crispy, or too sticky, just reheat the whole lump adding a tsp of water and cook for 2-3 minutes, till it binds well.

Instinct Factor

Adding rose water was a result of listening to my instincts! Be creative and add some essences to give it a different feel!

Feel Factor

If you cannot fly kites in USA, at least lets have chikki and celebrate the Sankranti in some way! The roasted salty pistachio flavor goes well with jaggery and my family appreciated the chewy texture of this and I loved the green color of pistachios in the chikki!

Posted on December 26, 2016 January 3, 2017

Eggless Christmas Sugar Cookies

“Santa will not leave you gifts if you do not leave milk and cookies for him!” This is a sentence parents tell their children very often on Christmas Eve, so we decided to really believe in this statement and make some quintessential Christmas cookies, sugar coated and Christmas themed! This whole effort was done by the mischievous elf (my daughter) who has recently gotten into baking, and bakes whenever she has time in the holidays! Knowing that only eggless recipes will work in the house, she found this cool recipe on delish.com for cookies that she wanted to try out. And interestingly enough, I had bought a Kuhn Rikon Cookie Press that I thought I would use one day but had never gotten the chance. She was the one to try it out for the first time and the result was awesome! If you don’t have a cookie press, it can be rolled into a dough and be made into different shapes using cookie cutter, but I recommend buying the cookie press if you plan on using it often. The effort required is significantly lesser than using a rolling pin.

The texture is crispy and crunchy on the outside because of the sugar, but a warm, chewy inside; when it bakes, it has the rich aroma of butter and sugar.

We hope Santa likes these delicious cookies in the shape of wreaths, candy canes, snowmen, and christmas trees, which are really a treat for the family. They’re colorful and delicious in taste, and my teenage daughter was so proud when she successfully charmed all our guests with her cookies! I am so glad that she is finding her love for cooking and baking; it reminds me of a comment a very close friend made: “cooking is love expressed at so many levels!” I guess this is the best Christmas present for me 🙂

Wishing you all a very Merry (late) Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Eggless Christmas Sugar Cookies

Recipe makes 30-40 sugar cookies

Time to make -20 min.

Time to bake -16 min.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp sour cream, or (1 tbsp heavy cream plus 1 tsp yogurt)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup soft butter, or 1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp water
Sugar sprinkles (or any type of cookie decoration you would like. If you want to put icing on the cookies, bake them first and then decorate with icing and sprinkles.)

Method

Mix the sugar and butter using a whisk blender for 4-5 minutes, till the color of butter is two shades lighter, and the butter is also fluffy and soft.
Add vanilla essence and whisk for another two minutes.

Sieve the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt together or dry mix all of them.

Add the flour mix to the butter/sugar mix.
Gently combine the butter in o the flour.
Add upto two tbsp of water and bind into a dough, using your palm or using a paddle mix of the food processor.

If you want to roll the dough for using cookie cutters, wrap the dough in a plastic film and refrigerate for an hour.
We used the Kuhn Rikon cookie press which had Christmas shape inserts, which was much easier to use and make festive shapes.

Insert the dough into the cookie press, and drop in cookies of the shapes of your choice.

Sprinkle sugar sprinkles in different colors *(not if you are using icing and sprinkles, do that after you bake the cookies and skip this step.)
Pre heat the oven at 350 degrees F and line the parchment paper on a baking tray.
Bake for 6 min on the center level.
Shift the center to bottom level and flip the tray back to front and bake for another 6 minutes.
Increase the oven temp to 375 and bake for 5 more minutes, until the edges turn gold.
Remove the cookies from the oven on to a wire rack and cool completely.

Tips

If using salted butter, omit the salt requirement. One can even use cream of milk in place of sour cream

Instinct Factor

One can also pour sugar in a plate and dab the cookies int he front and back with sugar, instead of sprinkling, as it can cause wastage,

Feel Factor
Eggless Christmas Sugar Cookies looked perfect,and tasted delicious with the perfect crunch of sugar and crispiness and the bite size of each cookie gave the flexibility of eating more than one, and not feeling guilty at all!. The real christmas present for me by my daughter as we shared the kitchen space, passion for christmas and baking and enjoyed the bonding over baking treat! Colorful times with colorful memories with these highly inviting eggless christmas sugar cookies!!

Posted on December 2, 2016 December 5, 2017

Apple Pie

APPLE PIE

Apple Pie is the very essence of the fall season! Falling leaves, falling temperature, falling for pies of all kinds fruit and non fruit!! Making every fall(pun intended) worthwhile:) .Technology is moving at a very fast pace , so I try to keep up as much as I can with it! So decided to enroll in an online cooking class with #Sur La Table, a kitchen store I really really like! They have some awesome stuff, not seen elsewhere, and also I love the french name, having learnt some french while growing up. Literally Sur La Table means ” On the Table”. It reminded me of attending Alliance Francais classes in Ahmedabad and Bombay, and how I wish I had continued with that language,. Maybe next year I will enroll for french classes!

So the online class had four different pies shown, with each video lasting for about half an hour with detailed explanations. I decided to try out the apple pie, as I love apple pies, and pies as such have such a complicated look, I thought it was really gonna be tough, but to my surprise making the pie dough was as easy 1.2.3! My daughter was also excited to join me in making this pie for Thanksgiving dinner, as having pie for Thanksgiving is a must! She laid out the lattices and I cut the leaves, and we decorated the pie to give a classic fall look!

The best part was that the recipe did not need eggs, and we just have to give it a little bit time to let the pie chill before baking. Other than that, I think its pretty simple recipe and accurate recipe to follow, So am very happy to discover this recipe and share it with you all, and hope that the fall season at your home is full of pies and family gathering!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I would like to extend my gratitude and give thanks to you all through this Classic Apple Pie recipe, that has the perfect sweetness, crunchiness and easy to follow and for very warm neighbors who brought me the pie baking dish, all the way from Maine! Can’t thank enough for all the love and blessings!!

Apple Pie

Recipe makes one 9 inch pie

Time to Prep :20 min

Time to Bake 1 hour

Time to Chill 40 min

Ingredients

Flaky pie dough for the base of the pie

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour(I Used Gold Medal’s All purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick( 4 oz) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tbsp ice water – or if need be 3 tbsp.

You will need to use the food processor. Alternatively you will have to cut in the butter using the pastry tool

For the top layer of the pie

Make another pie dough, using the ingredients listed above.

For the Apple filling:

2 1/2 pounds big Fuji or Golden Apples ( or 6 cups of medium sized apple pieces)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 stick (or 4tbsp) unsalted butter divided into two parts
3 tbsp unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp whole milk and 1 tsp butter melted and combined together, for glazing the top of the pie.

Method

Making of the pie dough

In a food process mix in all the ingredients and give 5-6 two second pulses.

Alternatively if using a bowl, mix everything in a bowl and use a pastry tool, to mix in the butter into the dough. Mix in till all dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
The mixture should not be totally fine, but should show some butter pieces.
Add one tbsp of ice water at a time and mix in further and give 2-3 one second pulses.

Add another tbsp of ice water and pulse two more times, lasting a second each.
Check the consistency of dough that it binds.

Pour the flour on the counter or flat surface.
Gently gather the flour into a round ball with hand and bind it all in one piece.

Wrap the pie dough in a plastic sheet and freeze for half an hour.

Making of the apple filling

Peel and cut the apples into medium size pieces after removing the core
Half way through cutting, sprinkle some lemon juice into the bowl, in order to prevent browning of the bowl. It might be good idea also to rub the lemon juice on the inside surface of the bowl , before starting to cut.
In a large thick skillet, put half the butter to melt. Add half of the apples to it and 1/3 cup sugar.
Stir and cook for 7 minutes, till the apples have slightly softened or barely tender when touched with a tip of knife.

Remove from flame and let it cool.
Repeat the above process for the rest of apples , butter and sugar and cool the same for at least an hour
Mix both the portions of apple filling and add cinnamon powder,nutmeg and all purpose flour.

Rolling the pie

Use the two sets of chilled pie dough.
Unwrap the dough one at a time.
Using a pie roller or with hand or any other rolling pin, roll the dough to about 10 inch wide, or at least 1 -2 inches longer than the pie dish width. While rolling, use the all purpose flour on the bottom and top, so that the dough does not stick to the surface
Lift the pie dough, using a thick roller pin, or a big spatula and lay it on the pie baking dish.

See that it is evenly laid out, fold backwards and inside any remaining edges and pinch the top edges to give it a smooth look.Chill this base for 15-20 minutes, This will give it a good finish.
Roll the second set of pie dough into the same width as the first one.
You can either cut the second round into strips, or use as it is to cover it completely or make some cutouts to make it more decorative.

Assembling the pie:

Remove the chilled base. Fill in the thickened apple mix and spread it evenly on to the base.

If making lattice patterns, start laying the one inch strips in L shape,( one vertical and one horizontal). So if first strip is vertical, second is horizontal( like x,y axis).
Third strip is again vertical , about inch away from the first one. towards right.
Fourth strip is again horizontal, about inch higher than the first horizontal strip. (My daughter decide to follow her own way, and hence the picture does give clear indication of the method written over here)
Continue till the space on the top is covered, leaving some spaces open for the warm air to pass out.
From spare strips, using cooking cutters, make cut outs of leaves or any design you may wish and add them on the top.

Another pattern that I made was all out of leaf pattern made with the help of leaf cookie cutters.

Baking

Brush the top of the pie with milk and butter paste.
Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees celsius in convection oven.
Bake the pie on the lower middle rack for 30 minutes.

Shift the pie to the higher middle rack for another 30 minutes.
Remove and cool for about 20 minutes.

Slice into triangles with a serrated knife and serve the beautiful Apple Pie!

Tips

Do not double the quantity of the pie dough and do it together. I prefer doing it twice, so that the measurements stay accurate.
Flakiness of the pie will come if the butter is not totally incorporated, but has some small chunks in it.
Alternatively you can, just cover the apple filling with the second round and make some open cuts in the center with a knife for the air to pass out.
The color should be beige to golden to ensure that the pie is well done
Most fruit based pies do not have eggs,so you can use the dough recipe for all kind of pies in my view.

Instinct Factor

Roll the dough with hand, if it is difficult to roll with a rolling pin and if it breaks while lifting just patch it up.

Time is of key essence as the dough should not get warm, so need to work quick after removing it from fridge.

Apple pie dough can be made before or freeze upto a month. All imperfections get hidden once the pie is cooked, so do not fret!

Feel Factor

Apple Pie, the favorite flavor for many!! A pie crust is the most important part of the pie, so having it at the right consistency is crucial and this recipe does a great job at that. I love the cinnamon apple filling and the color was just warm enough for the cold windy season of fall! A classic pie that came out really classy in taste, and I love the fallen wind look atop the warm apple pie! I love to eat warm pies, however they can also be served with some vanilla ice cream on the side for added flavor. This is surely the way to get me eating apple a day to keep my doctor away!! The ease of this recipe is the making of pie dough, and next I will try some lentil pie, that I had it once at yummy Proper Pie which bakes pies like those in New Zealand.! So plenty reasons to be grateful for and one of them for the eggless classic apple pie recipe and the lovely pie baking dish and the loving family to cook with and share with!!

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Posted on November 18, 2016 November 19, 2016

Eggless Rangoli Spice Cupcakes

Autumn weather is one of my favorite weathers, as the temperature cools down, the leaves are turning color, and your body demands for some warmth from the rich spices that you are so thankful to nature for.. Be it ginger, clove, all spice, nutmeg, cinnamon. all of them giving a cozy warm feeling and a sweet fragrance in the air. Autumn spice cake, at Savory Grain, that I recently had was one of the best spice cakes I had, along with delicious vegetarian food that they serve, mostly made from vegetables sourced locally. Having tasted something so delicious, I had to try to make this on my own. So I found this recipe at Cooking classy, but had to use my past experience, trying to replace eggs, it called for. I ventured with all ingredients that I had read about, and decided to give it a chance and the result was very pleasing as well as delicious. The true test if the ingredients were correct, was to check if the cake does not leave domes at the top. What a satisfying feeling to see the cupcakes stay flat on top, like they should be!

The eggless rangoli spice cupcakes were made for Diwali celebratory event for a Hindi Kavita group that we have just started and it happened to be also my birthday! I wanted to create a dessert that matched the fall weather, bring in the color and design of Diwali, as well as make the birthday girl happy with some warm cupcakes with some fruit and spices. I am a big cupcake fan, as the best cake was what my mother use to make in a gas oven, and one that did not need any frosting , for it to be delicious. Personally I do not appreciate butter/ cream frosting. So came up with this sprinkled sugar concept that can also have some dots, akin to how dots are made for Rangoli during Diwali. Rangoli is a fine sand mandala done with hand., which I am very fond of. So wanted to see how to represent Rangoli over a cupcake. The outcome was deeply appreciated by guests as well as the birthday girl as this recipe got more attention over a nice cake from Whole Foods! Now that was a true birthday gift for someone who likes to explore while cooking!!

The flavor had a bit of banana and applesauce, as well as clovers, ginger and all spice and all together, the taste was delicious, as people wanted another! Buttermilk and brown sugar keeps the cake moist from within The hidden ingredient was avocado, whose taste could not be felt but could see it in the richness of the texture. This is a quick recipe, in the sense, because of the fruit and spices, one can skip the frosting too, and go easy on calories, and the eggless rangoli spice cupcake can be a great accompaniment along with tea/ coffee because of the masala spices in it!

Spice up the fall with eggless rangoli spice cupcakes, and happy baking to the bakers, who find baking a highly therapeutic act just as I do! I am happy baking as the weather for baking is here and plan to explore a few more cookies, as fall turns to winter and holidays are just around the corner to enjoy these treats with family and friends!!

Eggless Rangoli Spice Cupcakes

Recipe makes 36 cupcakes

Time to cook : 35 min

Prep time : 15 min

Decoration: 10 min

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
5 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
1.2 tsp ground cloves
3 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil/peanut oil
1 1/2 cup (185g)sweetened applesauce
1 banana chopped
1 avocado sliced
4 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp white vinegar
2 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
1 1/2 cup water
5 tbsp sugar
sugar sprinkles

Alternate Cream Cheese Frosting

24 oz cream cheese, nearly at room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter (4 oz), nearly at room temperature
7 cups (440g) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

For the cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves for 20 seconds, set aside.
Pour brown sugar in to the bowl. into the bowl Break up brown sugar with fingertips until no clumps remain.
Add oil and blend for 2 minutes.
Add applesauce and blend in.

Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined, then blend in buttermilk, then add remaining 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until well combined.

Set the oven to pre-heat at 375 degrees for convection baking, and 350 degrees for normal baking.
Puree the banana and avocado and add it to the mix and mix in for a minute.

Add vanilla essence and vinegar and blend for 2 minutes.

Line the muffin or cupcake tray with liners.
Fill in the cake mixture upto 3/4 of the mould.

After 10 minutes switch the tray from top tray to bottom and back to front.

After ten minutes switch the trays back to original position and bake till the cake leaves edge and the toothpick shows the cake is well baked.

Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 – 32 minutes.

Decorating the cupcake

Allow to cool several minutes and then cover it.
When completely cooled, mix the sugar and water and brush the cupcakes with this water via a brush or spoon and leave it to soak and dry for 20 minutes

Use a cookie stencil of your choice and sprinkle colored sugar on the top.

Alternate Cream Cheese frosting:

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until well blended (at this point I like to freeze the frosting in 5 minute increments, then mix again with stand mixer, then freeze another 5 and more as needed until it’s a stiffer yet creamy consistency). Spread the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle it with colored fro Recipe source: Cooking Classy

Tips

Using cake flour makes the cake more softer. One can also try with all purpose flour, but the texture may have slight variations than when made with cake flour. Using unbleached flour helps so does brown sugar. If you do not have brown sugar, use white sugar, and in case it is not that moist, sprinkle some more sugar water, for it to moisten,

Using a proper cup for measuring will help you perfect the recipe. A proper measure for Liquid as well as Dry Measure Cup.

Instinct Factor

Instinct sometimes arises from a fleeting thing that you read somewhere and remembered! Something like this happened while making this cake as decided to throw in vinegar, avocado and banana into the recipe.

Ensure that the flour is well mixed in and so are the ingredients. You can replace 1 bananas with one more avocado, if you want to avoid excess sugar.

Feel Factor

Ever thought that adding avocado to the cake can do the magic ! Well I was happy to mix in this ingredient loaded with good potassium and healthy fat into the cupcake and see it add texture and moistness to the cake. It did not overpower the other flavors of the cake, and could taste the banana, cinnamon, brown sugar, all spice as well as cloves and vanilla! What a delectable dessert to have on a chilly fall evening and the crunch of sugar sprinkles on the top was a perfect balance to the spice in the cake. I prefer a cake like this than to those with frosting, so truly enjoyed the fall spice cake that all should try, wether at home or outside!! Kida and adult will surely demand more than once as it has the fruity sweetness in in too:P

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Posted on October 27, 2016 October 27, 2016

Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge

Rajkot Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge is the “sweetmeat” that has put Rajkot on the national dessert map of India. Since I hail from this town, I have grown up seeing this dessert being made, with memory of the halwais, constantly stirring the milk, and huge quantity of kesar peda saffron milk fudge being shipped outside Rajkot. It is also one of must bought item for tourists visiting Rajkot. I had a constant order from my in-laws to get a Kesar Peda from Rajkot whenever I visited:)

Since this is a delicacy well beyond my talent, I had to do some research to find a recipe that looked closest to the ones from Rajkot, and to no surprise of mine, it came from Tarla Dalal. I am so glad they are continuing her webpage and tutorials with her assistant, as her legacy in cooking is truly timeless.

It was a labour of love, making these Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge, more so as I was making for the first time, and so was more cautious than normal and I think the final result was definitely thumbs up on taste! Texture is yet to be determined, but the house was full of the saffron milk aroma, which was the aroma you got when you opened a box of fresh kesar pedas, specially those that were bought from the most popular vendor Jay Siyaram Pedas. In their pedas, they mark the pedas with their rubber stamp mark, which means a salutation to lord Ram and Sita.

In my own way, it was a celebration for me too, as for the first time I did Mandana style Rangoli, depicting and inspired originally from Lord Mahavir. Since Deepavali, Festival of Lights, is just round the corner, what better way to celebrate the Nirvana kalyanak,of Lord Mahavir and the returning of Lord Ram and Sita, both being the reasons Jains and Hindus celebrating Deepavali, than with this golden flame colored sweet that has the texture similar to fudge and totally melts in your mouth.

Enjoy the Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge with your near and dear ones, as it is truly worth the time, as all ingredients are fresh, including khoya. I will try to make another batch with condensed milk too, and post that recipe soon too! But as they say, everything else is a copy, the original is always the best!! A step closer to home, after relishing this awesome golden color kesar pedas with a hint of cardamom The light of the lamp, mirrored in the color of the pedas, signifies the light of knowledge to me!!

Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali and wishing you a year of prosperity and knowledge!!

Recipe makes 15 Kesar Pedas

Time to cook: 1 hour

Prep time 5 min

Ingredients

Half gallon whole milk
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp milk
1 1/2 pinch of saffron
1 tsp cardamom powder
Ghee for greasing
Lemon juice 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp
Cornflour – 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp

Method

Heat two tbsp of milk for 1 minute in microwave and immerse the saffron in it. Ensure that the color is nice bright golden color. Add more saffron if needed.

Heat another two tbsp of milk and mix the cornflour in it.
In a nonstick or thick bottom pan put the milk to boil

Reduce the temperature once the milk boils over.
Continue to simmer stirring once every few minutes, till the milk reduces to half its original quantity.

Add sugar and stir a few minutes.
Add the saffron milk and boil and stir for 7-8 minutes.

Add dissolved cornflour and stir for 6-7 minutes.
Add lemon juice and stir till the mixture thickens and starts leaving the edges.

Remove from flame and let it cool completely.
Add cardamom powder and mix in thoroughly.

Using ghee to grease the palms, make round balls about 1 1/2 tbsp size.

Reshape the balls once again to ensure that they are firm and holding shape.
Use any shape to ident designs at the top or leave it plain.
Brush some more saffron dipped with milk on the top for festive look
Leave it aside for at least a few hours for the kesar peda to firm or you can refrigerate it for a couple of hours to firm it faster
Enjoy this utterly delicious kesar peda saffron milk fudge.

Tips

Waiting for milk to boil and thicken over, I went on a medium low flame, as did not want it to burn. Hence the recipe took double the time needed. However if one wants to watch it over, the cooking time can be cut to half.

Ensure that the consistency is thick enough in the end like a khoya or mara or a thick paste to determine that it is well cooked. Next time, I will try to cook a bit more so that the mixture is more drier and maybe add a bit more of cornflour so that it thickens faster,

Grease the vessel in which you are boiling milk with ghee, prior to pouring milk in it, as this will ensure it does not stick at the base.

Instinct Factor

Patience and perseverance paid off while making the Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge, as it does require a bit of watching over and since was doing this for the first time, had to ensure I do not mess it up!! A wooden spoon for stirring helps in the milk not boiling over! Kept going back to my childhood memories of strolling by the peda manufacturer’s open shop, where i recollected large trays of work in process pedas

Top it with pistachio or silvered almonds for a nutty topping, however I prefer the saffron and cardamom combination.

Feel Factor

Golden looking Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge on the DHANTERAS DAY of Diwali are akin to having gold coins on this day of wealth!! The texture was a bit softer and less grainy than the ones in the store, but it tasted better as that is how a fresh pedas tastes, and now I can have the fresh taste of the Kesar Pedas Saffron Milk Fudge much longer than usual! Achieving this level of success has made us so so very happy, for two reasons, as this is from my hometown, which is famous for its pedas and secondly as it is a favorite dessert of my husband! So definitely Diwali celebrations have started for us on the right note with rangoli mandana(inspired from Lord Mahavir and Non Violence)and perfect sweetness , shape, color, flavor and texture and freshness with this gold coin Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge!!