Quick Sooji ka halwa |Rava Halwa|Semolina Halwa (Microwave recipe)

What will be your answer if I ask you,what would you do to go to heaven for sure (after your expiry date:P)? Mmmmm,let me guess,some of you may say,"Good karma" ,some of you ,"Swarag-naath baba ki sharan...jai ho", some would for sure complete reading the holy books like Gita,Bible,Quran etc ,some would even say "Heavenly affirmations - I can,I will go to heaven" :D etc etc..

Well...I am not sure about you but "Me",I would say give me a bowl of ,"Sooji ka halwa".Yep ! Sooji ka halwa a.k.a Rava Halwa,(my bowl of heaven) is one of my most favorite Indian sweet.The reason being, its preparation is not time consuming at all like other sweets and are usually made at home with easily available ingredients from pantry .

Once you know how to make this dessert quite well ...in no time, it will change into one of your favorite go to breakfast (well..my story !!:P).... and not only me even my God would be glad to have this sweet as prasadam/offering . That reminds me, during my childhood days,my friend's mom would invite me and our friend gang for a small treat on the occasion of her Navratri vrat, which had this very tasty halwa ,some coins and then bangles,earrings etc thereafter...Oh I loved it !!

My amma's rava halwa used to be quite simple one which had more of a South Indian touch to it .However,I love the typical North Indian version the most.

The yumminess of this halwa relies on the rava aka semolina roasted well until light brown and the addition of enough ghee and sugar.Traditionally, it would take like 10-15 minutes to just roast the semolina but then,how about if we can make this halwa within just 10-15 minutes.My tummy is rumbling with happiness and yelling "Awesome"!! Sure it is !!

Because if you have a microwave at home,"Jai ho"! Within no minutes the rava halwa will be ready to EAT !! It's like my prayer that I vaguely prayed got answered.

So,Sooji ka halwa aka rava halwa aka semolina halwa is a very famous Indian dessert made with semolina,milk and ghee .


This is how I make my quick sooji ka halwa,make it anytime,everytime...and get hooked !
                                                   

          Sooji ka halwa

          Ingredients

Semolina/Sooji/Rava - 1/3 cup

Milk - 2 cups

Sugar - 5 tablespoons

Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Saffron strands - a pinch (optional)

Raisins & cashewnuts for decoration - 1 tablespoon

Ghee - 4-5 tablespoons

Method:

1.   

OR,

1. *In a microwave safe bowl,put the milk ,saffron and sugar and microwave it for 5 minutes.Stirring every one minute.
2. In another microwave safe bowl,add the ghee and semolina,mix well and microwave it for 3 minutes until semolina's color changes to light brownish.Do check every one minute to make sure it is not burnt.
3. Now add the milk* ,cardamom powder to it and mix everything well.Microwave it for 1 1/2 minutes,stirring every 30 seconds.
4. Decorate it with raisins and cashewnuts.
5. That's it yummy rava halwa is ready to eat.
6. Serve hot or cold.

Now tell me ,isn't that heavenly ? Oh yes,for ME,it is a slice of heaven !! You see,there is infact a shortcut to heaven...Free advice hai ..lena hai toh lo ..warna jaane do... :P...

Eat,Love,Live DELICIOUSLY,

Tri Color Panna Cota

Vaishnov Jan to taynay kahyeeye
Jay peerh paraaye janneyray
Par dukkhey upkar karey teeyey,
man abhiman na anney ray

Sakal lokma Sahuney bandhey,
Ninda Na karye kainee ray
Baach kaachh, Man nischal Raakhey,
dhan-dhan jananee tainee ray..........

Meaning:               A Godlike man is one,
                       Who feels another’s pain
                       Who shares another’s sorrow,
                       And pride does disdain.

           Who regards himself as the lowliest of the low,
          Speaks not a word of evil against any one
         One who keeps himself steadfast in words, body and mind,
         Blessed is the mother who gives birth to such a son.....................

So true !!! Blessed is indeed the mother who gave birth to such a son and as a matter of fact today is one such son's birthday ,"The father of our nation" ,"Gandhi ji" or our pyaare Baapu ji's birthday and not only Baapu's mother Smt.Putlibhai but also our mother India is undoubtedly blessed to have such a son.

The son who fought for his mother's (India's) freedom with all his might ,clad in a simple dress ,walking stick in one hand , truth & non-violence as his only weapons and Bhaarat vaasis as his sena took the matter in his own hand and marched towards the enemy bravely and won the battle and made our country and all  Indians free,proud and grateful forever.No matter how much I praise him it'll be less because that much I believe we owe to this son of Mother India for our country's ultimate freedom and  if there is something like rebirth or reincarnation for real ,then once again I wish a selfless,compassionate yet powerful son like him may be born again to our Mother India. Our country needs someone like him again and that's the only thing we lack.

Shataranj bichha kar yahaan, baitha tha zamaana
lagata tha mushkil hai, firangi ko haraana
takkar thi bade zor ki, dushman bhi tha taana
par tu bhi tha baapu, bada ustaad puraana

Mann mein thi ahinsa ki, lagan tan pe langoti
laakhon mein ghoomata tha, liye satya ki sonti
waise to dekhane mein thi, hasti teri chhoti
lekin tujhe zhukti thi, himaalay ki bhi choti
duniya mein bhi baapu tu, tha insaan bemisaal  

aandhi mein bhi jalati rahi Gandhi teri mashaal 

de di hamein aazaadi bina khadag bina dhaal
saabaramati ke sant toone kar diya kamaal  

raghupati raaghav raaja raam............................(these words said it all)

Janam din mubarak ho Bappu !...India and Indians around the world miss you,remember you and salute you today and always ...There was no one like you and there won't be anyone like you ever ...

 Gandhiji's birthday is like the rebirth-day of India.On this occasion, as a tribute to Bappu and my motherland,India,I dedicate this Tri color dessert called Panna cota. 

Panna Cota is an Italian dessert which means "Cooked cream".It's like a thick version of jiggly custard that has a melt in the mouth texture.

Since the flag of Italy is also tri-colored like India's and I am using their dessert ,I thought this would honor not only India but also Italy ,as we believe in "Unity in diversity" .Aur daane daane mein basa hai mere desh ki shaan ;).

 And wherever is tri-color (Orange,White and Green/India's flag color) ,I see the effort,presence and blessings of the Father of our nation,our Gandhi ji.

Here is how I make a quick Panna cota recipe:

Tri Color Panna Cota  

Ingredients

                                                           Gelatin,unflavored - 1 envelope
                                                           Whole milk - 2 cups
                                                           Sugar - 1 tablespoon(optional)
                                                            Fat-free sweetened condensed milk - 1 cup
                                                            Vanilla extract -     1/4 teaspoon
                                                            Edible orange color - 2-3 drops
                                                            Edible green color - 2-3 drops
                                                            3 Bowls
                                                            2 Wine glasses

   Method:

• In a small saucepan, put 1 cup of whole milk and Sprinkle gelatin over it; let it stand for 10 minutes.

• Now,put the flame on and cook over medium-low heat( 5 minutes approx) or until gelatin dissolves, stirring constantly with a whisk.

• On medium heat ,add sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.

•  On low heat, gradually stir in remaining 1 cup of whole milk, 1 cup condensed milk, vanilla extract and stir everything until well combined.

• Put the flame off.Remove from the stove/gas.Divide the mixture in to three bowls equally.

• Add orange color to one bowl mixture and green to another bowl.

• Allow them to cool a bit.

• Now take two wine glasses and put them in another big bowl opposite to each other so that they are tilted to each other.

• Put a layer of green liquid into each wine glasses carefully.Freeze it for about 20 minutes or until well set .

• Once green color is set,add a white layer to it and freeze until well set.Repeat the same step with the orange color.

• Once set remove from the freezer to the room temperature for about 5 minutes until it looks soft,jiggly but firm.

• Serve it cold!!

Happy Gandhi Jayanthi !!

P.S.- Gandhi Jayanthi Cake

Checkerboard cake (made without any special pan )

Wedding Anniversary special- Checkerboard cake

  When I ate Kitkat ,I got bewitched  ...as I got the curse it carries with it,"Have a break,Have a kitkat "! in my case as always it was vice-versa though :0))...and that's how & why I was on a break :P......well,kitkat apart :P,it's been a while since I did any mishmash , any golmaal here in my virtual home..I thought of sparing everyone with my yada yada yada for a while because your brain doesn't taste yummy anymore..so I stopped eating it for a while but I am back to eat your brain,steal your heart,shake your hands and rock and roll....wat sayy ??...

Well,last week was one "HELLuva" one ....I was not well ...still my mood is swinging to and fro ...but my baby blog felt abandoned,was crying for my immediate attention ....and that's untolerable and I understand afterall,"The show must go on"........and moroever,it was our wedding anniversary so like every year it's must for me to bake and make something special for my better half for making me the best half this day ;P (actually it's the other way :P)....so,I am glad I had no choice but to roll up my sleeves,get my b..body off :D,make my hands dirty and my wonder kitchen smell wonder full ....

This time I wanted to make it extra special by baking one of a kind cake and a menu unusual and lip smacking....So,the menu of the day was Spicy Kerala Crab curry,Kappa/tapioca,Ivy Gourd stir-fry/kovekya thoran with hot rice and the dessert of the day was, "The checkerboard cake" ,which I always wanted to bake once for sure....and I did...and the best part of it is baking without using any specific fancy pan , piping those roses and making those dolls representing me &honey P using cake fondant was super fun  (hope they do look like dolls though:D )....to be frank I was skeptical in the beginning about the checkboard cake but the outcome certainly blew my doubts away ...and I send half of the cake to hubby's workplace and everyone loved it but he was little sad ..I asked ,"Why?" ...he said he didn't even get a single piece :P...but he was v.glad that I did save a slice or two for him aside :D...(Bu then that's all he eats!)

This is certainly a foolproof recipe but needs more patience and effort ..all you need are a batter divided into a vanilla one and a chocolate one and two piping bags with each batter and three round pans to make three cakes in three layers respectively - 2 cakes with chocolate batter+vanilla batter+chocolate batter (again)and the third cake with the vanilla batter,chocolate batter and vanilla batter (again)and then stacking three cakes after frosting each one of them and finally frosting the entire cake with the chocolate frosting and when you slice it..tadaaaa...the cake just got transformed into an edible checkerboard..so are you ready to play ??

Checkerboard cake 

Inspired by Goodhousekeeping's 

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 2 cups

Baking powder - 2 teaspoon

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Sugar - 1 1/2 cup

Eggs ,large - 4 nos.

Butter ,room temperature- 3/4 cups / 1 1/2 sticks

Vanilla essence/extract - 1 1/2 teaspoon

Milk - 2 tablespoons

Semi sweet chocolate,melted - 1/2 cup

Unsweetened chocolate,meted - 1/2 cup

Chocolate frosting as needed

Cake fondant ,a ball size

Edible colors as needed - I used black,red,golden,light brown

Icing for making roses ,2 piping bags - red color and yellow color

Tip 12 and tip 104 and a flower nail

square cuts of parchment paper

white and green edible pearls

Method:The video will give you the idea-

 OR,

• Preheat oven to 350 degree F and grease the pans ,dust the flour and keep it ready aside.
• In a medium bowl,mix together the flour,baking soda and salt and keep aside.
• In a large deep bowl, beat butter and sugar until well blended with a mixer at low speed.Then increase the speed to high ,beat until it becomes light and creamy for 5 minutes approx.
• Reduce the speed to medium low and add one egg at a time and beat well after each addition.
• Reduce the speed to low,add the flour mixture and the milk (1 tablespoon) and beat it until smooth .
• Pour half of the batter into another bowl and mix melted chocolate and milk (1 tablespoon) into it. So,now you've two bowls - one with vanilla batter and other with chocolate batter.
• Now take two large piping bags and fill each one of them with vanilla and chocolate batter respectively and make 1/2 inch opening in each of them .
• Pipe 1 1/2 large inch wide band of chocolate batter around inside edge of two greased pans ,followed by piping 1 1/2 large inch wide band of vanilla batter and the third center layer filled with the chocolate batter in those two pans.
• Similarly in the third pan,do the opposite,alternating rings of batter starting with vanilla,then chocolate then center again with vanilla.
• Place two pans on a single rack and the last one on the second rack of the oven so that they all are not directly above each other.Bake them for 20 minutes or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.Allow them to cool on racks for 10 minutes.
• Loosen the cakes carefully and invert onto wire racks to cool off properly.
• Place one of the identical cake on a cake plate and apply chocolate frosting all over and top it with the non-identical cake and frost it completely.Top with the third cake and frost the entire cake properly.
• I placed my dolls with toothpicks into the cake and covered with my red and yellow roses and edible green pearls.

I made dolls like this using cake fondant- Let the pics speak for themselves...

I froze them for a day

 I piped roses referring this Youtube video ...I know I've to improve a lot in making perfect roses ...

I saved a slice just for U...

Hope you'll like it.Hope you all are doing well.

Love,

Cake Pops

If lollipops are for kids (which is not applicable for me though ..I still love those little suckers :P),then cake pops are for EVERYONE.Hardly anyone can resist by their cutie beautie looks and yummy delights all in a bite.It is something rising in fame and name all over the blogosphere especially .

I always wanted to try making them but since I am not a hardcore baker as of now ,it was in the waiting list . When it's Christmas , there's no more waiting and if you have a baked cake ,it's really a piece of cake ..I mean not just the saying ,it is !!..as all you need to do is crumble a portion of a cake depending upon how many you wanna make,mix something like frosting,icing that can help hold them together and mold them into desired shape and some pop sticks to stick into it ,that you can buy from any craft stores like Michaels,Hobby Lobby or even from Walmart and melted chocolate to cover it to secure its shape . That's it . Cake pops are ready .

Kids will go gaga over it and anyone who is not a cake fan like Honey P will be too curious to say no and will be already eyeing on the next one...

This is how I made them .

Cake Pops

Ingredients

Ready made/homemade Cake - 1/2

Icing - 1-2 tablespoon

White chocolate - 1/2 cup

Vegetable oil ,drops- 3-4(optional)

Cake pop sticks - as you need

Sprinkles for decoration

Method:

 

• Take a bowl and crumble finely the half portion of the cake .
• Add the icing little by little  to it and mix well everything with hand till it becomes moist enough to shape it into small balls .
• Using hand or using a mini icecream scoop ,scoop out or create golf sized balls.
• Pop all those cake pop sticks into each and every ball and freeze them for an hour .
• Meanwhile ,take a (deep and narrow preferably)microwave safe dish and put all those white chocolates into it and couple of drops of any vegetable oil into it and microwave for (repeated) 30 secs (stirring at every 30 secs until the chocolate is completely melted).
• Remove from the microwave and take the cake pops out of the freezer and start dipping one by one in such a way that it should also cover the stick and the cake meeting point .
• Take a bowl with sprinkles and dip and coat the cake pops with it quickly as otherwise melted chocolate may harden quickly.
• Stick the cake pops into the Styrofoam block to allow them to set completely.
• Place them into the freezer again to speed up the setting time for 10 minutes approx.
• Remove from the freezer and enjoy . 

Notes:

• I got 10 cake pops approx.
• Use either frosting or icing to mix with the cake to make it into balls,but add little by little .
• I used straws instead of the sticks and even that worked fine.But better use the cake pop sticks.

 

Hope you'll like it..

Sending this to - Sharanya's event ,"Let's cook for christmas"