Chikki is like sugar candy made during festival specially on Makar Sankranti (14 Jan) every year. There are many kinds of chikkis like peanut, Cashews, almonds, coconut etc. I decided to make sesame seed here. I called my mom this year on Makar Sankranti and was casually chatting thats when she gave me chikki recipe. I must say I had complex that I won't be able to make chikki ever but it came out amazing. I was so proud of my self :)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sesame seed. Roast them quicky on low flame.
• 1 cup Sugar
• little oil to grease surface.

Direction:

• Grease a plain surface very well with little oil where you can work with this candy mix. grease rolling pin also.
• Heat a pan little bit. Add sugar and stir it continouly on medium flame.
• As soon as sugar dissolves turn off gas and mix sesame seed very well.
• Pour this mix over greased surface and roll it with rolling pin.
• You can break into desired pieces.

Note: Always keep in mind if you boil sugar more, harder chikki will be. so it is necessary to turn off as soon as sugar dissolves.

Sure you can Enjoy this sweetie treat!!

I never imagined I would be able to replicate this until my mom suggested me to try it on Diwali. Pretty much everyone one lovessss besan ladoo. Absolutely divine!!

Ingredients

• 2 cup Besan ladoo flour - besan ladoo flour is little nutty as compared to regular besan flour. I will never make this ladoo without besan ladoo flour because this makes lot of difference.
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 cup ghee

Direction

• Heat ghee in pan.
• Add Besan and saute on low flame. Keep stirring it. This may take 15-20 minutes, do this until you smell nice nutty aroma.
• Turn off flame and add sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well.
• Shape into small ladoos/balls. Devour !! see below them in middle tier.

P.S. I will try this out in microwave and post receipe soon. First pic is from Diwali 2010, middle rack is besan ladoo :)

Even though this was my first time, I was completely satisfied how it turned out. Badam Halwa is well known healthy desert especially for pregnant womens. 

Ingredients

• Badam/Almonds - 2 cups
• Milk – 2 cups
• Sugar – 2 cups
  
• Ghee/Clarified Butter – 2 cups
• few Saffron Strands – optional
• Fresh cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Directions

• Boil Almonds for a few minutes until the skins are wrinkled. Immerse them in cold water. Remove the skins and discard.
• Grind Almonds and milk together into a paste. You can stop just short of making a very fine paste.
• Take a heavy bottomed vessel and heat ½ cup ghee on a low flame.
• When the ghee has melted, add the badam and milk mixture. Stir well and begin cooking. Keep the flame in low through-out the preparation. As the mixture cooks, it will thicken.
• Now add the sugar and one cup of ghee and stir and continue cooking. Be very careful not to burn the bottom, as even a slight browning can spoil the taste of badam halwa.
• when ghee starts to seperate, add saffron, cardamom powder. stir for few minutes and Serve HOT!!

Diwali seems incomplete to my hubby without Mohanthal, very famous Sindhi dish his grandma used to make :). I tried last year and it came out ok but this year it was perfect, so I am presenting to you all. Gram flour resembles corn flour so please keep them seperate and don't get confused like me, I wasted 1/2 hr roasting corn flour into ghee thinking I was roasting gramflour/chick flour ;)

Ingredients

•  200 g gram flour
•  1/2 teaspoon ghee, to grease the thali
•  80 g ghee/clarified butter
  
•  150 g sugar
•  150 ml water
•  5 g poppy seeds
•  1 cup milk

Directions

• Heat 80g ghee in Pan.
• Add gramflour to it and keep stirring it until its nice choclate brown in color.  Keep gas on low.
• While stirring gramflour, create sugar syrup seperately.
• Heat water in pan and add sugar to it.  let it cook until 1 string consistency. 
• Add milk to gramflour mix and stir it for few minutes.
• Now add sugar syrup to it and mix very well until it thickens.
• Grease thali with  remaining ghee and pour this mixture into it.
• Sprinkle poppy seeds and let it cool completely.
• Cut into pieces and enjoy!!! 

Since Diwali is around a corner I thought of sharing this sweet recipe with all of you. So far my favourite homemade sweet. Some people like to soak almonds overnight , peel it next day and grind it to make badam barfi. This gives barfi little creamish color but I think below receipe is quick and if we are making badam barfi then I think it should look like one ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Badam/Almonds(finely grinded)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 ghee (clarified butter)

Directions:

• Heat ghee in pan.
• Put Almonds and Sugar in Pan.
• Keep stirring it on medium flame for about 15-20 minutes. make sure it does not burn.
• Add milk and stir it until you see thick batter consistency.
• clean a flat surface/tray and oil it properly.
• Pour this batter over it and let it cool for about 15-20 minutes.
• Now cut into desired pieces.

Enjoy!!

This is my first receipe to write in new year 2009, so I thought I should start this by writing something sweet. Malpua is one of favourite dish to eat in breakfast. We can make this pancakes more special by adding Slivered almonds and pistachios. There are several ways to make this pancakes but this is my favourite and quickest way to make, it hardly takes 15-20 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup atta/Wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar or as per you taste
• 1/2 tsp elaichi/cardamom powder
• 1/2 cup water - we can use milk instead
• Butter/Ghee to fry pancakes 
• few strands of saffron - optional
  

Direction

• Mix all ingredients to desired consistency except ghee and make a smooth batter without any lumps.
• Heat little butter on skillet and pour batter on it, spread batter to make size of pancake. If needed add extra ghee or butter.
• flip overand cook another side. 
• Use rest of batter to cook more pancakes.
• Serve them with papad to make good combination of spicy and sweet breakfast.
  

 Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1cup Seviya (Vermicelli) broken into 4 cm bits
• 5 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup almonds (sliced)
• 1/4 cup unsalted blanched pistachio, silvered
  
• pinch of ground cardamom
• Saffron 3 strands-optional

Direction

• Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed non-stick pan over medium heat and add seviya and fry till golden brown, stirring constantly...don't let it burn
• Pour the milk and wait till first boil.
• Add almond and pistachio. You can add Kesar now.
• Let it boil for 15-20 minutes or till you get your desired consistency.
• Finally Add sugar and boil for couple of extra minutes.
• Let it Cool completely or Chill before Serving.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 Cup all-purpose Flour , plus 1 teaspoon for blueberries and zest
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups blueberries
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• Nonstick cooking spray, for pan
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

Direction:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk 2 1/2 cups flour with baking powder and salt; set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in three additions
• In a bowl, toss blueberries and zest with remaining teaspoon flour; gently fold into batter. Coat a 12-cup nonstick pan with cooking spray. Spread batter in prepared pan.
• Bake cake on bottom rack of oven until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes.
• Invert onto a rack; cool completely, top side up. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving, if desired.

Enjoy with Tea or Coffee!

In Sindhis "Kutti"  is very significant receipe, it is often used as "Food of God" and also know as "Churi". It is one of my favorite Breakfast with Papad ;) Sindhis do Satyanarayan Puja every poornima (full moon day). Along with Fruits we Kutti - Churi as Prasad to God.

Ingredients:

• Wheat flour 2cup
• Pinch of salt
• Ghee /Clairified butter 2 tbsp
• Sugar 3-4 spoons(or as per taste)

Direction:

• Mix wheat flour,pinch of salt and oil and make a tough dough
• Take a small ball size portion of this dough and roll it thick
• Cook it on a tawa/Skillet like tortilla ,pour little oil while tossing and cook it on medium flame till small brown patches appear on both surfaces just like chapati
• While it is still hot crush/crumble it in small pea size coarse mixture.
• Now add sugar,and temper it will a spoon full of hot Ghee
• Serve it hot with papad

 Enjoy!

My favourite healthy sweet dish :)

Ingredients:

• 2 Cup Cracked Wheat/Daliya
• 3 Cup Water/ 1 Cup Milk and 2 Cup Water
• 1/2 Cup Jaggery /Gur
• 2 tea spoon Ghee/Clarified Butter
• cardomon little
   

 Direction:

• Heat ghee in Pressure Cooker, add Cardomon.
•  Add Daliya and keep stirring it till it gets brown and aroma comes out.
•  Add Water or Milk/Water .
•  Add Jaggery and cook it till 3 Whistles or more