Mango Shrikhand - Creamy Sweet Mango Yogurt with crunchy nuts :-)

The Mango season is about to be over and now I rush to the Indian store to grab a few and make some Mango specialties :-)  I have been thinking of making Shrikhand at home ever since I shortlisted it as a fat-free recipe (basically if u make yogurt with fat-free milk, that is :P)  Finally, got around to make this delicacy for my hubby who said it's equivalent to Meiji/Marigold Mango yogurt :-) That's a compliment, I suppose! :-)

Mango Shrikhand

Yield - 4 ramekins (as in the picture)

What You Need-

Ripe Mango - 1 (medium size)
Fresh Yogurt/ Curd - 1 litre
Sugar - 3 to 4 tbsp (adjust according to the sweetness you prefer)
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Nuts of your choice - I used Almonds and Cashews

Mango Shrikhand

Procedure -

1. Make Greek Yogurt following the procedure here. This takes 6-8 hours in the fridge. But you don't have to do much actively!
2. Blend mango in a mixer and get the puree.
3. Powder sugar.
4. Mix in powdered sugar, cardamom powder and the mango puree into Greek Yogurt and whisk them all together until you get a smooth texture. This is reallly important.
5. Chop some nuts and mix them too. Almonds would need to be blanched. Pistachios would be awesome, but I didn't have any yesterday. Reserve some nuts to garnish on top later.
6. Pour into ramekins or ice-cream cups and decorate with nuts. Refrigerate for another 3 hours to let it set well.
7. Serve chilled.

Simply awesome! Don't go by my words, try for yourself :-)

Umm...Slurp!

Oats & Dry Fruits 'n' Nuts Ladoo / Laddu - A Healthy Sweet - With No Added Sugar

My (kid) sister wanted to surprise my parents on their wedding anniversary and asked me for a recipe that's quick and easy to prepare. Of course, a sweet would be very apt and better yet, if there's no cooking involved. She doesn't like to sweat long hours in the kitchen and wanted to come up with something smart yet elegant and yummy. Dry Fruits and Nuts Laddu was the result!

I vaguely remember spotting Haldiram's Dry Nuts Laddu on the racks when I shopped at a local Indian store. But I haven't tried it and didn't even look at the ingredient list. But something magical happens when you're quizzed by your younger sister, especially when you have claimed yourself to be a much better chef than she is! I looked into my fridge and pantry and there was a quick train of ideas. I know amma always stocks up her kitchen with Oats. Some dry fruits like Dates, Raisins, Figs would also be generally found in the fridge. So, here comes the Laddu with Nature's richest sources of nutrition.

 Oats & Dry Fruits Laddu

Yield - About 12 Laddus 
Time - 40 minutes

What I Used -

Oats - 2 cups
Cashewnuts - 15 + 12
Almonds / Badam - 15 nos.
Walnuts - 8 nos. (can add other nuts like pistachios, macadamia  and much more)
Raisins - 50 grams
Dates (Seedless)- 100 grams
Dried Figs - 10 (optional, I didn't have figs, so I increased the quantity of Dates)  
Ghee - 2 tsp (optional, for flavor)
Cardamom - 3 pods (crushed)

You can also add Chocolate chips or Butterscotch chips. I was really tempted to add Choco chips but omitted them at the last moment, wanting to keep this sweet purely Indian.  Whatever! :P

How To -

• Fry Oats in a teaspoon of ghee on medium flame and roast it a bit. Allow to cool then powder using an electric mixer/ food processor. You can actually skip ghee, I just added it for the flavor :) 
• Oats gives the mass required. 

• Microwave the Nuts - Cashewnuts, Almonds and Walnuts , for about 2 minutes. Alternatively, toast the nuts (without oil/ghee) on a tawa / shallow pan on low heat. This helps to release the natural oils in them, which is essential to bind/hold the laddus together.

• Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then powder each of the nuts separately, really fine. You can see that they might be slightly sticky.

• Crush the cardamoms as fine as possible. Do not use the outer covering. Save that while making Masala Chai. :)

• Mix together, powdered Oats, Nuts and Cardamom powder. These are the dry ingredients.

• Meanwhile, microwave Dates for a minute (if you're taking it out directly from the fridge) and then grind to a paste.

• Grind raisins separately into a paste.

• Mix the Dates-paste and the Raisins-paste with the dry ingredients using your fingers first. Then, give all of them a whizz together, in the food processor.

• Here's when you taste if the sweetness is sufficient for you or not. If less, grind more dates or raisins or figs and add. 

Dry Fruits n Nuts Laddu

• Now, make small balls/laddus and stud a cashew in each one, if you like. I fried about 12 cashews in ghee and then picked one each for every laddu.

Oats & Dry Fruits Laddu

Sending this to  Khushi's My Diwali, My Way, Serve It- Festival Potluck and  Dr. Sameena's Diwali Sweet recipes

Bee hoon (Rice noodles) - Singapore-Indian fusion

Bee hoon is synonymous with Singapore food courts. Of course, they coat it with soy sauce. Now, that's not something commonly found in Indian kitchens. But I love their fried onions on top. Hmmm...Here's what I did...  I bought a packet of Bee hoon from NTUC and it was sitting on the shelf for a month, until one day, when I was inspired to finally make Beehoon, this way!

Bee hoon closely resembles our Instant Rice Sevai, although it is longer and curlier.

What I Used -

Bee hoon - 1 packet (~200 grams)
Oil - 2 tsp
Black mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 3 (slit)
Onions - 2
Tomatoes- 3

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Kitchen King - 1 tsp
Salt ~ 1 tsp (to taste)

To garnish -

Fried Onions
Fresh Coriander

How I Made This -

Cook Beehoon in salted boiling water according to packet instructions. Drain and keep aside.

Take a pan/kadai/wok, heat 2 tsp of oil and pop mustard seeds followed by urad dal and channa dal and fry in medium flame till they turn reddish-brown. Awww...the cruncy channa dal!

Slit green chillies and add chopped onions.

Add chopped tomatoes to this.

 

Add cooked beehoon and gently mix with the ingredients in the kadai.

Add turmeric, Kitchen King and adjust salt.

Finally add fried onions and garnish with coriander leaves.

This is my customized beehoon :)

A sumptuous one-pot meal indeed!  Feel free to add grated carrots, ghee-roasted cashews and more! :)