Trifle

Trifle is an English dessert made by layering cake, custard, fruits, cream and jelly/jello. It is one of the easiest and commonly prepared desserts, not just in this region but all over the world. Trifle is also served at different celebratory and religious occasions along with the other traditional sweet dishes like Gajjer ka Halwa and Zerda. A great choice to have it anytime of the year, I must say and its a family favorite as well. My mother has always prepared it not just for us over the weekend but even for the dinner parties we'd have at home for friends and family. Growing up, whenever we had Chicken Biryani for dinner, she used to make Trifle for dessert on the weekends. Later I started helping with the preps and loved setting the layers. She'd do the basic preparations and the rest was my job :D We always use homemade Pound Cake in this gorgeous dessert and I took on the task of baking it when I grew a little older. I have shared the recipe of it in my next post. Please click on the highlighted text.
The best thing about this dessert is that it is visually very attractive cause of the different colors of the layers showing through the transparent glass bowls/dishes and for that reason also it is a favorite of almost everyone and is a center of attention at your dinner table :) 

I am a dessert lover and I love and enjoy making desserts too. I've learnt making it from my Mom but she has taken a backseat and I make it now :) The first time I prepared it on my own was for a dinner we organised for my newly wed aunt and her husband and I remember being too happy and proud of my creation that I was not able to wait till the dessert would be served and that happiness and pride was doubled when I received so many compliments from everyone esp. the guests of honor! :D

I like using seasonal fresh fruits in it rather than the canned mix fruit as the fresh fruit really enhances the flavors of this refreshing dessert. It's quite pleasant and thoroughly enjoyed during the hot weather and for that very reason, I prefer making it when it's hot here. Last time when I made it for my family, I used fresh cherries and kiwis along with bananas and some canned pineapple chunks; that's the only canned fruit I use since, fresh pineapples are not that easily available here. I also like to make individual servings of Trifle as its more convenient and looks pretty too. Cake and custard both can be used store bought but I'll also be sharing how to make custard at home by using custard powder. Its a quite diverse dessert so feel free to use whatever fruits custard flavor you want and treat your family and friends with some prettiest and tastiest desserts :)

Let's get some sweet-tooth Unleashed today! :D

Trifle

Ingredients:

Milk: 1 liter+1/4 cup

Custard Powder: 2,3 tbsp 

Sugar: 4,5 tbsp.
Pound Cake: 1 (sliced)

Mixed Fruit: 2 cups (pineapple, bananas, kiwi, pitted cherries or any other of your choice, cut into pieces)

Heavy Cream: 250 ml

Jelly/Jello: 2 packs (green and red prepared according to the instructions on the pack and cut into cubes)

Pitted Fresh Cherries , Kiwi Slices and Jelly/Jello Cubes: for garnishing.

Method:

1. Boil milk and sugar together in a heavy-bottomed pot. Dissolve the custard powder in the 1/4 cup of the milk and slowly pour it into the boiling milk. Let it thicken over medium flame. Take off the stove, cover with the lid and let it cool down before using.
2. Mix all the cut fruit with the cream in another bowl and keep it aside.
3. Take a large and tall walled glass bowl and pour some custard into the base of it.
4. Now place some cake slices over the custard in a way that they make a second layer by covering it completely.
5. Next, put some of the fruits mixed with the cream over the top of the cake layer and spread it evenly.
6. Now put some green and red jelly over the fruit and cream layer.
7. Repeat the layers according to the height of your serving bowl.
8. Cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate to chill it completely.
9. Garnish with some fresh cherries, kiwi slices and jelly/jello cubes before serving.
10. The same method can be followed in preparing individual servings.
11. Serve chilled.

Serves 6

That's all dessert fans! :) The amount of ingredients can always be adjusted according to your taste and desire. I hope you enjoy making and having it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you 

2 Min. Fudgy Mug Brownie

Now-a-days, everyone is in a hurry and want to do everything in a jiffy. Not many of us have time and most importantly, patience to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare our favorite meals esp. desserts. For that reason, many smart people out there have created shortcut recipes to make the favorite desserts for those times specially, when you're craving for something sweet and neither have time nor the patience to make and later to wait long to have it. I'm one of those impatient people too, who would crave for a dessert at an odd hour and have to have it at that very moment too hence, the recipe of this 2 Min. Fudgy Brownie came upon me during one of those bad craving moments. 

I was working late at night and at around midnight, I had a sudden urge to get up and make a quick brownie in the microwave and satisfy that stubborn craving that wasn't leaving me at peace for a couple of days. Now, you'd find thousands of mug cake recipes on the internet easily and that's something which almost everyone has tried making at least once by now. I've read and watched and even tried a lot of mug cake recipes but I didn't want any of that spongy, leathery stuff that goes hard upon cooling down a bit (based on personal experience) Plus, for not being an egg fan, I didn't want it in mine as adding one whole egg into a single serving of cake is something that's not a comfortable idea for me besides, I wanted a hot, ooey-gooey, fudgy brownie and was not finding what I was looking for. I looked at some ideas on Pinterest but almost all of the Pins I came across were of the recipes that either added Nutella or peanut butter or banana in them. I didn't want any of those ingredients in mine so the quest was getting tougher and I was getting more eager to whip up something of my own. 

I then checked my pantry and took out the simplest ingredients needed to create my quick-dream-brownie. Mixed Cocoa power, plain flour, brown sugar, white sugar, a pinch of salt and bi-carb of soda and then added just 3 wet ingredients; water, oil and a drop of orange essence (because I wanted a hint of orange flavor in it) to this dry mix. Mixed until everything was just well combined, microwaved it for 2 minutes and Ta Da! A delicious looking and divine tasting brownie was ready for me to savor! I made the brownie batter in a bowl and let it bake in the same bowl and once it was ready, just sprinkled some desiccated coconut on top and indulged myself into the goodness of this wonder I created just under 5 minutes! 

I have made it a number of times ever since and have topped it with different toppings such as my homemade orange marmalade, banana slices, icing sugar, chocolate sprinkles and again with the desiccated coconut. The first fudgy brownie I made was enough for two people that I shared with my sister cause no matter how greedy I could be, I still feel guilty and stopped myself from eating that sinful dessert all by myself therefore, I halved the recipe for the single serving later. I have even tripled the original recipe for my whole family yesterday and both my Mom and Dad really loved it! My Dad is really picky about his food choices so if he liked it, I can vouch for its deliciousness with full confidence ;) One of my sisters ate this brownie cold and was singing its praises for long! So folks, I'm sharing with you the secret to making a wonderful brownie in no time not just for yourself, but serve it to your guests too with some ice-cream and get ready for future requests ;)

Let's get some brownie making Unleashed quickly! Shall we? :D

2 Min. Fudgy Brownie in a Mug

Ingredients:

All-Purpose Flour: 4 tbsp.

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: 2 tbsp.

Brown Sugar: 2 tbsp.

Granulated White Sugar: 2 tbsp.

Baking Soda: a pinch
Salt: a pinch

Oil: 2 tbsp

Water: 4 tbsp

Orange Essence: a drop (can use Vanilla instead)

Desiccated Coconut, Icing Sugar, Chocolate Sprinkles, Orange Marmalade, Bananas: For garnishing.

Vanilla Ice Cream: 1 scoop (to serve with)

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in one coffee mug and set aside.
2. Add oil, water and essence to the dry ingredients and mix everything together.
3. Microwave for 2 minutes. The time can vary depending on the power of your microwave but start with 1 minute and increase the time if its not cooked in 2 minutes.
4. Take out and garnish with the topping of your choice and serve. 
5. Can be served hot with vanilla ice-cream or let cool completely if you want to eat it cold.

Makes 1 serving

That's all dessert lovers!:) Baking time can always be adjusted according to the 
power of your ovens. I hope you enjoy making and eating it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.

Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you! 

Mango Cheesecake

This is quite amazing and interesting at the same time that I am a popular baker amongst my friends and family yet, I have posted just one cake on my blog so far but I have shared recipes of some other baked goods like muffins, rolls, cookies and stuffed bread that you can check the recipe of in my previous posts (click on the highlighted text to get the recipes) There is a valid reason behind not doing more cake posts yet which is that, I have been covering seasonal recipes mostly but you will see a lot of baking; cakes and muffins in the future, In Sha Allah (God Willing)

The recipe that I am going to share today is something that I tried both my hand at making as well as for tasting it for the first time. It is a cake, yet a no-bake one and a very delicious, rich and decadent dessert that almost everyone loves and is known as a Cheesecake! 

I've eaten a baked cheesecake many times and it is one of my most favorite desserts but unfortunately, I've never tried making it at home ever besides, in this scorching heat, I am avoiding turning my oven on and then sweat away while trying to prepare some baked goodies! Hopefully, as soon as the weather gets a little mild, I'll get my baking mode on again but I do have a few recipes saved in my archives that I shall be posting on my blog in future.

Since cheesecake is also a family favorite so I thought to try making it with mangoes but keeping in mind the heat index, I wanted a no-bake version of it. I then looked for different recipes on the web and came up with a recipe by making a few exceptions to the ones I liked. I used fresh Pakistani mangoes for this recipe but you can use the canned pulp in place of the fresh mango's puree. Another great thing about this recipe is that you can use any other fruit you like instead of mangoes to make your favorite fruit flavored cheesecake. You can make this cake into single servings too if you like. The wonderful thing about this dessert is that my parents loved it though they are not a fan of these kind of cakes so, I was one happy being! This recipe has undoubtedly become another family favorite now :)

Get your dessert cravings unleashed today! :D

Mango Cheesecake 

Ingredients:

Base:

Digestive Biscuits/Graham Crackers: 20-24 

Butter: (softened) 1/2 cup/113 gms/4 ounces 

Granulated Sugar: 4 tbsp.

Filling:

Mango Pulp/Puree: 1 cup
Cream Cheese: 8 ounces/225 gms

Heavy Whipping Cream: 250 ml/1 cup

Gelatin Powder/Agar Agar Powder: 3 tbsp.Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp.

Topping:

Mango Pulp/Puree: 1 cup

Gelatin Powder/Agar Agar Powder: 3 tbsp.

Method:

1. Put the biscuits/crackers along with the sugar into a chopper and chop them into fine crumbs. 
2. Add softened butter to the crumbs and put this crumb mixture into a 9 inch round spring-form tin.
3. Press down the crumbs in to the base of the cake tin either with the help of the back of a spoon or a bottom of a glass. Let it reach up to an inch around the walls of the tin. Refrigerate till set. 
4. Whip the cream with a help of a stand mixer or a whisk till stiff peaks are formed. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, add the softened cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add lemon juice and mix well.
6. Prepare the gelatin/agar agar powder according to the instructions on the package. 
7. Add whipped cream and the mango pulp/puree to the cream cheese mixture and mix well. 
8. Add the gelatin/agar agar to the filling mixture and mix well.
9. Take out the prepared base tin from the refrigerator and pour the cream cheese mixture over it. Level it with the help of a spatula. Cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate until set. Takes about 6-8 hours.
10. Once the cheesecake sets in the fridge, prepare the topping by mixing mango pulp/puree with the prepared gelatin/agar agar. 
11. Take out the cheesecake and pour the topping over it. Cover with the cling wrap and refrigerate again till sets. Better to leave overnight in the fridge before serving.
12. At the time of serving, loosen the sides of the cake with a knife by running it along the edges against the sides of the pan. You can wet the knife with hot water to do this step more easily.
13. Remove the sides of the spring-form pan and gently lift away the side. Slide the spatula under the pan bottom and keeping sliding as far as possible to loosen the base from the cake. Remove it carefully. This step can be left out.
14. Gently lift the cake and place it onto the serving platter.  
15. Serve chilled.

Serves 8

Note: add sugar, according to your taste, to both the filling and topping if you want your cheesecake sweet.

That's all Cheesecake fanatics! :) The amount of ingredients can always be adjusted according to your taste and desire. I hope you enjoy making and having it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you!

  

Mango Kulfa

Kulfa is a traditional Pakistani/Indian ice-cream that doesn't need to be churned. It is a summer dessert that's not just served at traditional occasions, dinners, parties but also is enjoyed regularly to beat the heat. Authentically its made with full fat milk, Khoya (milk solids), cardamom powder or saffron and nuts and then frozen till set. It is then cut into slices and served. The same mixture is poured into cone-like moulds to turn them into popsicles called Kulfi.

Kulfa/Kulfi is also added into a milk dessert-drink called Falooda in which a special kind of vermicelli is used along with thickened full-cream milk called Rabri, nuts, chilled milk, and soaked basil seeds called Thukm-e-Balanga is Urdu and is a very popular and refreshing dessert.

Kulfa mixture should be chilled before freezing to prevent crystallization.

During the mango season, I try to make full use of the fresh fruit available in abundances here by incorporating it into the desserts, jams, chutneys e.t.c. I've shared the recipe of my Mango & Coconut Frozen Yogurt on the blog already but this year I have also tried making Salsa with it. The recipe of my Mango Salsa can be found here. 

As I am more of a dessert person and I most definitely like our traditional Kulfa. My family always gets annoyed when I suggest we get the family pack of it every time we have ice-cream for dessert as no one else is a fan of it at mine :D But I had never tried Mango Kulfa before. My best friend Fayee was preparing a dessert for her sister's baby shower and during one of our conversations, she mentioned that to me. I then had to ask her for the recipe of course as I was intrigued and wanted to give it a try at home myself. I got the basic recipe from her that I had to improvise a bit cause of me being me :D I hope she doesn't get offended after reading this but I felt my version turned out more like Kulfa and hers was just a no-churn version of a homemade mango ice-cream :P She used canned pulp but I made pulp with fresh mangoes. You can use the canned one if fresh mangoes aren't available; we do not want any excuses to not to try this dessert. I also used white bread slices as the addition prevents crystallization, added cardamom powder, saffron essence and garnished the Kulfa with some chopped pistachios. I couldn't share my creation with her because of her living in a different country but she did approve of the photo of it I sent her :) My family however loved it and while I'm typing these lines, I got a request from my sister to make it again as she got a peek of the photo of the Mango Kulfa on the computer screen :D

Let's get some dessert love unleashed today, cooks! :D

Mango Kulfa

Ingredients:

Mango Pulp: 1 1/2 cups (made with 2 large mangoes or use canned instead) 

Condensed milk: 1/2 cup.

Evaporated milk: 1/2 cup.

Full Fat Cream: 1 cup.

Full Fat milk: 1 cup.

Sugar: according to taste (add only if the mangoes aren't sweet enough)

Bread slices (edges removed): 2 (the addition prevents from crystallization)

Green Cardamom Powder: 1/4 tsp.

Saffron Essence: 1,2 drops

Chopped Pistachios: 1/4 cup (save some for garnishing)

Method:

1. Put everything into a blender and whiz until well blended. 
2. Pour the prepared mixture into an airtight plastic, freezer-safe box and let it chill well before placing it into a freezer.
3. Freeze it for 8-10 hours or over-night and cut into slices/pieces once frozen. 
4. Sprinkle some chopped pistachios on top before serving.
5. The same mixture can be poured into the Kulfi/Popsicle moulds instead for the individual servings. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

That's all cooks! :) the amount of ingredients can always be adjusted according to your taste and desire. I hope you enjoy making and having it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you!

Mango & Coconut Frozen Yogurt (Soft Serve)

Summer in this region is not the season that we look forward to but the only thing that makes us to welcome it with the open arms is that it brings sweet, juicy, pulpy and aromatic mangoes with it! So despite the scorching heat we have to endure with, we never say no to the king of fruits known as Mango! :)

The mango season is in its last leg now so for the love of mangoes, I thought to share a few recipes that are my favorite and are prepared by using this lovely and flavorsome fruit as the main Ingredient. Pakistani mangoes are undoubtedly one of the most delicious kinds and we have over 150 types of mangoes cultivated and available around the country. Mango in its raw form is used to make chutneys and pickles and when its ripened, you can not only make different types of drinks, desserts, salads, cakes, curries with it but in my opinion, its the best fruit to eat on it's own at any time of the day. Yes, I even eat it as my midnight snack :D 

That's how we eat it :D

I like having frozen yogurt that I make at home. Its not only easier to make but healthy too since it uses 'real' ingredients and I can eat a bowl full of it without feeling any guilt. I have already shared the recipe of my homemade Strawberry-Banana Frozen Yogurt with you and you can check out its recipe here. So this time when I planned to make frozen yogurt (honestly speaking I don't plan to make anything but it happens in a whim of the moment most of the time) and when I chucked the fresh mango cut into cubes in the freezer, I thought why not give this 'ordinary' mango yogurt a little special twist by adding some coconut to it so, without any further ado, I took out some dried coconut from my pantry, soaked it into some warm water for a few minutes and the next thing I know that it was cut into pieces and was blending away into my blender jug along with the mango cubes and the other ingredients :D So, ladies and gentlemen, here I present to you my another love which is known as Coconut! 
I love coconut so much since I was a little girl that my first baby tooth fell out while munching on the piece of the fresh coconut that my dad brought for us :D It was kind of a weekly practice of bringing fresh vegetables and fruits from the local vegetable market in Jeddah, K.S.A and along with the other fresh produce bought, coconut was a must. We siblings sometimes used to accompany our dad to the market but I wasn't that fond of going to it cause of it being too big and crowded plus the smell mixed together of all the vegetation being sold there never fancied me. 

The cracking of the coconut, draining its water and then taking out the flesh of the fresh coconut from its shell was done by my dad always. It was always an interesting sight for me to witness. The fresh coconut water was given to us that we hardly used to get a sip or two of but my most favorite part was the delicious fresh coconut that I still love eating with a passion. Ah memories! Before I drift away with my memories, let's get back to the recipe :) 

I blended the frozen mangoes and coconut with the chilled yogurt, I tasted the mixture to check the sweetness and guess what, I decided to take it out into the serving bowl and have it as a soft serve :D the sweetness of the fresh mangoes, nuttiness of the dried coconut and a little tanginess of the fresh, homemade yogurt was something that couldn't stop me from eating it right away like a greedy kid :D

Let's get some froyo love unleashed today, shall we? :D

Mango & Coconut Frozen Yogurt (Soft Serve)

Ingredients:

Unsweetened Plain Natural Yogurt: 2 cups (thick and preferably homemade. Greek yogurt can be used too) 

Fresh Mangoes: 2 medium sized Dried/Fresh Coconut: 1/2 cup (cut into small pieces)

Sugar: according to taste (leave out if the mangoes are sweet. I didn't add any)

Lemon juice: 1 tbsp.

Fresh Mint Leaves, Desiccated Coconut, Mango Cubes : for garnishing

Method:

1. Peel the mangoes, slice them and discard the core. Now cut the sliced mangoes into small cubes. Put them into a freezer safe box or a zip-lock bag and freeze for a couple of hours.
2. If using the dried coconut, soak it into the warm water for a couple of mins to soften it and then cut it into small pieces without any difficulty.
3. Take out the frozen mango cubes from the freezer and put it into the blender jug along with the yogurt, coconut pieces, lemon juice and sugar (if using) A hand-held blender can be used too for this process.
4. Whiz/blitz all the ingredients together for a couple of mins till everything is well combined.
5. Take out into the serving bowls, garnish and serve immediately.

Serves 4 Notes:

1. If you don't wish to have the soft serve then follow the instructions of Strawberry-Banana Yogurt on the blog.
2. The reason of adding coconut into the small pieces is to have tiny bits of it into the yogurt at the time of serving. Desiccated coconut can be used instead if you do not wish for any texture.
3. Coconut can be omitted altogether for those who doesn't like it for any reason.

That's all mango lovers! :) the amount of ingredients can always be adjusted according to your taste and desire. I hope you enjoy making and having it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you!

And the remaining of the soft serve that I made two days ago and was frozen. I took out some and enjoyed while typing this post. Such bliss! :D 

  

 

Gulab Jamun

Eid Mubarak everyone! Yes, I know Eid was last week and I am late in wishing it you all plus, I haven't posted anything for a month now but, its better late than never ;) Because of my quite busy and occupying schedule during Ramadan (Muslim's month of fasting), I haven't  been able to share anything new on my blog after my last post but I had been posting some easy and quick Iftaar (breaking of the fast meal) recipes on my Facebook page so, I had been very much around :) I hope you all had a wonderful Eid, had loads of sweet delicacies and shared them with not only your friends, family and neighbors but with everyone alike :) 

Eid is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan and every Muslim celebrates it with much zeal and religious fervor. We are advised to make our fellow Muslims and the other believers the part of our celebrations. This gives the message of love, peace and universal brotherhood and that's the true beauty of Islam. Eid is celebrated for three days but the whole month of Shawaal (the 10th month of the Islamic calendar) becomes a month of celebration as the dinners and family get togethers are planned over the weekend just to be able to spend more time with our loved one's. As desserts are a universal symbol of celebration, we Muslims around the world prepare and eat different kind of desserts and sweets for Eid and in this region, we make Sheer Khurma (vermicelli cooked in milk with sugar and nuts) traditionally which is eaten on the Eid day after offering Eid Namaaz (Muslim's form of prayer) along with other sweets and confectioneries. Mostly people buy Mithai (Pakistani/Indian confectionery) from the Mithai shops but some like to prepare different kinds of it at home too and Gulab Jamuns are one of them.

Stuffed Gulab Jammuns look more fancy

These beauties called Gulab Jamuns are certainly one of the easiest Mithais that can be made at home without going through any hassle and that also in not more than 30-35 minutes! Isn't that great! :D It is also one of the first desserts I learnt to make from my Mom and I remember, I was 14 at that time and wasn't able to contain my excitement at the first successful attempt of making them and not only did my Dad love them who is a Meetha (sweet/dessert in Urdu) lover but served them to my Chacha (paternal uncle) with a cup of tea and he literally loved them; the entire plate of the hot, syrupy, sweet and aromatic Gulab Jamuns was gone in no time!:D So you can have the idea yourself that they turned out just perfect, Alhumdulilah (Praise Allah) This Chacha of mine is so fond of tea that as soon as he used to enter our house, always requested me to make tea for him once he started liking the tea made by me and the same happens to date :) The love and appreciation of your family and friends not only encourages and motivates you to do your best always but gives you hope and strength to go through every ups and downs of life while keeping your head high so, make this addictive sweet by following this easy and a never-go-wrong recipe and share with your loved one's and with everyone who needs something/someone to put a smile on their face :) I make them by stuffing each Gulab Jamun with an almond but the choice of nut entirely depends on your desire; you can even leave it out and make plain Gulab Jamuns too. No hard and fast rule :)

Let the love of Mithai get Unleashed today! :D 

Gulab Jammun

Ingredients:

Milk Powder: 1 cup (any good quality brand but I use Nido)
All-purpose Flour: 3/4 cup
Semolina: (Sooji) 1 tbsp. (heaping full)
Ghee/Butter: (melted) 1 tbsp.
Egg*: 1 (medium sized)
Baking Powder: 1 tsp.

Fresh Cream: 3 tbsp.
Almonds: 20 (for stuffing) 

Saffron Essence: 1,2 drops (1/4 tsp of Green Cardamom powder can be used instead)

Oil/Ghee: 2,3 cups (for deep frying)
Desiccated Coconut/Mixed Nuts: For garnishing

Ingredients for the Sugar Syrup

Sugar: 2 cups
Water: 3 cups

Green Cardamom: 6-8


Method: 

1. Make the sugar syrup first by putting all the ingredients into a wide saucepan and cooking over medium heat while stirring to dissolve all of the sugar completely.
2. Bring to the boil and let it simmer over lowest flame for 3,4 mins. Turn off the flame and keep the prepared sugar syrup warm while you make the Gulab Jamuns.
3. Put the oil/Ghee in a frying pot/wok and place it over low flame to get warm. 
4. In a mixing bowl, put all the dry ingredients and mix them well.
5. Now add the egg, butter/Ghee, fresh cream Saffron essence/green cardamom powder. 
6. Mix all the ingredients until well combined and knead for a minute or so to form a smooth dough. If the dough feels sticky then cover the bowl and place it in the fridge for a few minutes to firm it. 
7. By working quickly, pull out a small piece of dough and flatten it a bit over the palm of your hand, place one almond in the middle, close and seal the dough by shaping it into a small ball. Repeat the process to make all the balls.
8. Start frying the balls into the medium hot oil over low flame in batches. Once they rise to the surface, continuously but very gently move the Gulab Jamuns around while frying, so that they get evenly browned.
9. Fry each batch for 6-7 minutes to make sure they are cooked through.
10. Drop them into the syrup and let them soak while you fry the next batch.
11. Let the Gulab Jamuns simmer for 10 mins. into the syrup over the lowest flame possible so that the Gulab Jamuns absorb almost all of the syrup. 
12. Take out all the Gulab Jamuns in to a serving bowl with/without the syrup and garnish with the desiccated coconut or any chopped nuts of your choice.
13. Serve warm or cold but Gulab Jamuns are best enjoyed warm. 

Makes 20 approx.

*To make Eggless Gulab Jamuns, simply replace egg with 2,3 tbsp. of milk.

That's all Mithai fans!:) I hope you enjoy making and having it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you! 

Gujjia- Fried Sweet Crescents

Another unique fried food which is best as an Iftaar (breaking of the fast meal) special and the beautiful thing about it is that its sweet! Now, for a person like me who has a massive sweet-tooth, something sweet has to be present on the Iftaar spread at mine hence,  these sweet stuffed pastries are a great choice that I do make at least twice during the month of Ramadan (Muslim's month of fasting) besides, its favorite of one of my sisters too :)

I didn't know that this flaky pastry stuffed with roasted semolina and nuts is called Gujjia until recently. We've always called this delectable treat 'Meethay Samosay' (sweet triangular fried pastry) and still prefer calling it that. The memory of eating them first goes back to the time when I was a little girl (not so long ago :P) There was one of Dad's friends whose wife came from Pakistan and my mom and she became friends too esp. for the reason that they belong from the same town. She used to visit us often and one day during our Summer vacation, she came to visit us during the day and brought some homemade Gujjias (at that time introduced to us as Meethay Samosay) She called them Ladoo and I don't know why :D out of curiosity, I nibbled on one and to my pleasant surprise, liked the taste and crispy, flaky texture of the pastry along with the deliciously sweet stuffing!  

Ready to be fried and the other half can be frozen

My Mom never made them but upon our visit to my Mom's hometown next time, while being out in the local Bazaar (market) with one of my Khalas (maternal aunts) I saw a Halwai (confectioner) frying these tasty Gujjias and later displayed some freshly taken out of the oil Gujjia over a large sieve like platter. I instantly asked my Khala to buy me some and I got to taste it again after a few years. But to my surprise this time, those were stuffed with Gajjer ka Halwa instead of Sooji (semolina) but I still liked them. For some strange reason I never found out that what they are called exactly and kept on calling them Meethay Samosay or Crescents because of their shape. 

The memory of the ones I got to taste for the first time hovered over my mind once in a while and the craving for this exquisite snack persuaded me to try making it on my own. After looking at different recipes online, I found out that the pastry is similar to how I make Papri (fried crispy dough) thus, the quest got easier for me and I rolled up my sleeves and got ready to try my hand on making these utterly delish sweet treats. The stuffing I prepared by simply following my memory of it to be like when I had Gujjia for the first time. Another best thing about this snack is that you can make them days ahead and fry them later. The fried ones can even stay good up to 2,3 days in an airtight box. Some people immerse them in to warm sugar syrup after preparing but I've neither eaten nor have tried making them that way. 

So shall we see how these lovelies are made? Lets get some sweet cravings Unleashed today! :D 

Gujjia

Ingredients for the dough:

Flour: 2 cup

Ghee (clarified butter): 1/4 cup

Semolina: 2 tbsp. (soaked in 4 tbsp. of water and then sieved)

Salt: 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds:1/4 tsp

Water: as required for kneading the dough

Oil: For deep frying

Ingredients for the stuffing:

Semolina: 1/2 cup

Desiccated Coconut: 1/4 cup

Mixed nuts (any of your choice): 1/4 cup (chopped)

Sultanas: 2 tbsp.

Fennel Seeds: 1 tsp. 

Sugar: 1/2 cup

Powered Milk: 2 tbsp.

Water: 5,6 tbsp.

Method:

1. Put the flour along with the soaked and sieved semolina and ghee. Rub with your finger until the mixture resemble breadcrumbs like texture.
2. Add enough water to knead it into a stiff dough. Cover with a damp tea-towel and put aside.
3. In a pan, dry roast all the dry ingredients over low flame except for the powdered milk and sugar. 
4. Once the aroma is released and the color of the ingredients slightly changes, add sugar and the milk powder.
5. Mix everything together and add the water. The mixture will be partially sticking together yet would be dry still. 
6. Turn off the flame and put the prepared stuffing aside to let it cool down completely.
7. Prepare small dough balls by taking some of the kneaded dough and rolling it in between the palms of your hands. Grease your hands a bit with some oil if needed. Cover the prepared balls with a damp tea-towel to prevent drying. 
8. Flatten one dough ball over your working surface and roll it out around 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thickness. Prepare all the dough ball rounds in the same manner and again cover with the damp tea-towel
9. Place a generous amount of the stuffing in one half of the rolled out dough ball with a help of a spoon.
10. Now fold the other half over the top of the filling and press the edges together so its sealed. 
11. Pinch and twist the edges to obtain the design you see on the Gujjias.
12. Prepare all the Gujjias in the same way. At this point they can be frozen by laying them over a freezer-safe tray without overlapping them. Once frozen, put into a freezer-safe bag and freeze for the later use.
13. Heat oil in a large frying pot or wok over medium heat.
14. Once the oil is hot enough to start frying the Gujjias, lower the heat down a bit and carefully put 3,4 Gujjias into the hot oil. 
15. After a minute or two, change sides of the Gujjias with a help of a slotted spoon. Fry till they're golden brown and take out into a sieve or on an absorbent paper. Fry all the Gujjias into batches.
16. Serve warm and enjoy.

Makes 10-12

That's all Cooks! :) The sweetness level can always be adjusted according to your taste buds. I hope you enjoy making and eating them. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please this Ramadan do remember everyone esp. The Ummah-e-Muslimeen (Muslim Nation) in your Du'as/prayers including me :)

Jazak'Allah Khair! (May Allah reward you)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you!