Kitchen Corner-Try It

  Bengali Sweet Kachagolla/ Easy Paneer Ladoo  Kachagolla/paneer ladoos is a festive Bengali sweet that you can easily make at home. It is perfect for entertaining or for festive occasions like Holi and Diwali. It is luxurious milk sweet with a unique melt in the mouth texture. The most important ingredients of paneer ladoo are fresh chena/ or coagulated milk solids and sugar. Pranhara Kachagolla is light and mildly sweet when compared to other sweets and ladoos. It is always good to make it with homemade fresh paneer , but you can also make it with ricotta cheese. Kacha means raw or uncooked, so there is a little cooking process involved in making this ladoo. It is gently laced with the flavor of cardamom and rose water. Just one bite and these fragrant and exotic sweet will make you fall in love with it, and the best you can ever imagine! Calcutta is one of my favorite cities to travel to, and it is a foodies paradise. The food of Calcutta is an unforgettable experience, es...

  Thenga Mittai/ Easy Coconut Burfi- Diwali Sweet  The festive season is already here. Diwali festival, the festival of lights, is one of my favorite times of the year. How is the Diwali planning coming along for everyone? It is exactly a week for Diwali, and I am here to share some easy to make Diwali sweets.  Tengai mittai is a traditional sweet made on festive occasions and is pure coconut indulgence. It reminds me of the tiny coconut candy squares that you find in small street shops in Kerala. It invokes the childhood nostalgia of sweet treats that you buy on your way to school, with the meager pocket money that you have. Well, now you can make them at home! To make this mittai/ burfi, all you need is freshly grated coconut, sugar, and some milk, preferably coconut milk. It is simple and unassuming, sweet but tastes divine. Mittais are bite-sized Indian confectioneries made with milk, nuts, or coconut. If you love coconuts, you will find this mittai/burfi an absolute ...

Mango Kalakand-Mango Milk Sweet-Indian Mithai Kalakand is a soft, creamy, milk fudge, served during festive occasions like Holi and Diwali. It is a luxurious sweet with a unique texture and taste. The key ingredients of this sweet/mithai are milk and sugar. I have shared several Indian sweets made with milk like Sandesh, Milk Peda , Cham Cham, etc. Each of these is unique in their way. Kalakand sweet belongs to the category of traditional old-fashioned milk fudge.  It became popular in the early 1900s with a uniquely moist, grainy texture due to the addition of chenna/ fresh paneer or coagulated milk solids. It is popular in North India but, I find that it has a similar texture and taste to South Indian sweet Thirattupal.   It is gently laced with the flavor of cardamom powder and rose water.   Now coming to today's recipe, there is a delicious twist to this classic sweet. It has the added sweetness and taste of mangoes. If you are a mango lover, here is a decade...

Cham Cham - Bengali Sweet Happy Diwali to all my friends and readers! The festival season is here and I am here to share with you a delicious sweet for Diwali. We have already decked up our home for the festival of lights and no celebrations are complete without sweets and desserts. Like most Indians, I love shopping for colorful diyas and sweets when it is Diwali time. Walk into an Indian store and you will be amazed at the astounding variety of Indian mittais or sweets confectioners in all textures, shapes, and color. Do you like Indian sweets? For me these colorful decadent treats are irresistible. The recipe I am sharing today is an easy recipe that you can easily make at home. Cham Cham or chom chom is a Bengali delicacy. Cham cham invokes the nostalgia of one of my favorite cities -Calcutta and its rich vibrant culture. Calcutta is beautiful with its magnificent British-era colonial buildings, slow-moving trams, street vendors, temples and festivals. As you get to k...

Mawa/ Milk Powder Burfi Burfi is one of my favorite sweets and this milky fudge candy is undoubtedly one of the easiest to make. If you have mawa milk powder in hand you can make this in less than 15 minutes.This delicious milk candy/fudge is a yummy treat for any festival or holiday season. If you do not have mawa milk powder you can substitute it with full fat milk powder. Try this, you will surely love it. Ingredients Mawa powder- 250 grams (or full fat milk powder) Milk- 1 cup Sugar- 1 cup Cardamom- 3-4 Ghee- 3 tbs Sliced almond or pistachios-  to garnish Make a fine powder of sugar and cardamom and set aside. In a heavy bottom melt butter and add milk and mawa powder/milk powder. Mix well till it well combines and there is no lumps. Keep stirring in low flame for two to three minutes. Into this add powdered sugar and cardamon and mix. The mixture will start to loosen a bit, but it will soon thicken and come together. Continue to stir till it leaves t...

 Rice murukku/ Chakali   Happy Diwali to all my friends and readers!  Are you looking for a savory snack for Diwali? Then why not try this irresistible salty, and savory snack. It is known as murukku in South India and Chakali in Northern India and is always for Diwali at home. Murukku is the perfect tea time, and at my house, murukku is everyone's favorite. My mom often makes big batches of murukku, and it can be stored at room temperature for over a month. So whenever, you are craving a snack in the evening, along with tea, try this recipe. It is simple to make. Murukku is a deep-fried crunchy and delicious snack. They are made, with rice flour and urad dal. I am also sharing a second recipe made with maida or all-purpose flour. The word murukku means twisted, and the dough is twisted in spirals or coils using a mold or sometimes by hand. The one made with the hand is called kai murukku and needs the practice to form the perfect shape. The mold makes it easier to shape....

Coconut Rose Burfi Burfi is an Indian fudge made with milk and milk solid/khoya .It is a sweet confectionery that is usually made on festive occasions. There are different kinds of burfi. This one is made with coconut milk,khoya and grated coconut. It is flavored with cardamom powder and rose essence.Try this sweet,you will surely love it. Ingredients Grated coconut- 2 1/2 cup Khoya- 1 cup Coconut Milk- 1 cup Water - 1 cup Sugar- 1 1/2 cup Rose essence - a few drops Rose water- 1 tsp Ghee- 3 tbs Cardamon- 1/2 tsp In a mixer pulse the coconut and coconut milk into a course mixture. No need to make it into a paste. In a heavy bottom pan add sugar and water and simmer till all sugar dissolves and the consistency thickens (one string consistency). Add the coconut and khoya and mix well. Stir continuously   to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add half of the ghee and cook the mixture till it becomes thick and leaves the edges of the pan.  A...

Pori Unda/Sweet Puffed Rice Balls Puffed rice is a good tea time snack in itself. Pori unda is yummy balls made with puffed rice and jaggery. These ladoo/balls are yummy and  crispy to munch on. I  have nostalgic memories about this snack. We used to buy them at temple festival fairs. Vendors used to carry around baskets filled with pori unda and they were super yummy. At home too we make them on special occasions like Onam, Diwali and Karthika Deepam. For sweetness you can also use caramelized sugar. Try this you will surely love it. Ingredients Puffed rice/pori- 5 cup Jaggery powdered- 1 cup Water- 1/2 cup Ghee- 1 tbs Cardamon powder- a pinch Dry ginger powder- 1/8 tsp (optional) Heat jaggery and water and allow it to melt. Strain the impurities and return to stove. In medium heat allow it to boil and thickens to one thread consistency.  Reduce the flame and simmer  for another 5-6 minutes till it thickens. To test the perfect syrup consis...

Maa Ladoo/Maladu/Pottukadalai Laddu- Easy Diwali Sweet Indian festivals and celebrations are incomplete without delicious homemade ladoos. Diwali is the time to indulge in delicious food and traditional sweets are made and exchanged as gifts amongst family and friends. Ladoos make cute gifts and are loved by young and old. If you are new to Indian sweets, Ladoos are traditional ball-shaped sweets made with flour, lentils, or nuts. Maa ladoo/ pottukadala laddo is the easiest sweet recipe you can make for Diwali . It is a traditional ladoo more popular in South India. Maa ladoos are delicious and aromatic with the aroma of roasted Bengal gram and ghee/ clarified butter. It has an interesting texture that is unique to this ladoo. It has a soft crumble, melt in the mouth texture. Maa ladoo is a fuss recipe that involves little or no cooking. They are sweet but not overly sweet. So you can enjoy it as a snack with tea and also serve it on festive occasions. And the best part, it is ready ...

Easy Rava Coconut Ladoo/ Sooji Ladoo - Diwali Sweet Ladoos is a delightful Indian sweet made on important occasions, and Indian festivals and celebrations are incomplete without delicious homemade ladoos. Ladoos are traditional ball-shaped sweets, and there are so many varieties of ladoos. Some ladoos are time-consuming, but some are easy to make with minimal ingredients. Rava ladoo is a South Indian favorite anyone can make easily at home. It is sweet and crunchy with roasted rava/semolina and freshly grated coconut. Do you love coconut? I am addicted to coconut, big time! If you are like me and love coconut flavor in desserts, you will surely enjoy these ladoos. It is my all-time favorite, and semolina is a staple in my pantry. If you have a sweet tooth, try these ladoos. They are sweet but not overly sweet. So you can enjoy it as a snack with tea and also serve it on festive occasions. And the best part, it is ready in less than 20 minutes! Roasted semolina/rava has a sweet...