Recipe for Rasgulla

Ingredients:

4 cups milk
5 tbsp. Lemon juice
4½ cup water
1½ cup sugar
1 tbsp. all purpose flour


Boil milk in a heavy bottom pot. Add 3 tbsp. water to lemon juice. Line up a muslin cloth to a colander and keep it ready in the sink. When the milk starts to boil put lemon juice in it and stir. Boil till you see milk solid (chenna) and water separating. Strain it through a muslin cloth and wash the milk solid in cold water properly. Now squeeze the water from the chenna and keep some heavy pot on it while still wrapped in the cloth and in the colander so that all the water squeezes out properly.
Meanwhile in a pressure cooker bring sugar and water to boil. When most of the water has drained, remove the chenna and knead and make it smooth, dust a little bit of flour and make a smooth dough. Divide the dough into twelve equal parts. Roll into balls and put into boiling sugar water. Cover the pressure cooker lid. Take three whistles. Shut off the heat. Let the pressure cooker cool down. Open it and transfer the rasgullas into a bowl. When they are cool refrigerate them. Serve cold.

Recipe for Mango Murramba (Mango Murrabba)

Ingredients:

3 cups Firm Alphanso

   Mango peeled and cubed

3 cups sugar

1½ cup water

6-7 Cloves

7-8 Pods of Cardamom

Pinch of saffron strands

Heat water, sugar, cardamom, cloves and saffron in a pan. When the sugar dissolves add the mango pieces and cook uncovered until the syrup has two string consistency. Remove from the heat, cool completely and bottle it in a sterilized glass jar. Store refrigerated for up to 1 year.

Recipe for Jilebi ( Jalebi)

Ingredients:

Batter:

1 cup Maida
2½ tbsp. Cornstarch
1 tsp. Yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2½ tbsp. Yogurt
2 tbsp. Oil

Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
5-6 strands of saffron (crushed)
1 tbsp. Lemon juice

Ghee for frying

For batter:

In a bowl dissolve 1 tsp. sugar with lukewarm water and add yeast to it. Dissolve the yeast in it and let it sit for about five minutes. Mix the flour, cornflour, and turmeric powder together. Add yogurt, oil, yeast and lukewarm water to make a smooth paste like batter. Cover it and let it rest in a warm place for one hour. If the batter looks bubbly that means it is fermented and ready to use.
For Syrup:

In a saucepan, boil sugar and water together. Add saffron to it. When it starts boiling add lemon juice stir well and turn the heat off.Now heat the ghee in a frying pan. When the ghee is hot enough (check this by putting a drop of batter in it, if the drop sizzles and come up immediately.) Fill the batter in an empty ketchup bottle.Now squeeze the jilebi batter in hot ghee in a circular coil shape. Fry until light gold in color and feel hard when you touch it with a fork. Remove from ghee and immediately soak in the warm syrup for 15 to 20 seconds, then remove. Serve hot.

Recipe for SKP Karanji (Gujia)

These karanjies are a must-have in the Somvanshi Khsatriya Pathare community for Diwali.

Ingredients:

2 cups Maida (all purpose flour)

½ cup Cornflour (cornstarch)

1 cup Ghee

1 cup Grated dried coconut
¼ cup Chopped pistachios
¼ cup Chopped almonds
¼ cup Raisins
1½ cup Sugar
2 pinches Saffron
½ tsp. Nutmeg powder
1 tsp. Cardamom powder
2 tbsp. Poppy seeds
2 tbsp. Wheat flour
Make the filling a day earlier.
Filling :
Soak the nuts for 1 hour and shell them. Let them dry on a paper towel. Now slice them thinly. Dry roast coconut. Put it in a plate. In ½ tsp ghee fry the chopped nuts till their color changes slightly. Put it in the same plate as coconut. Like this fry poppy seeds, raisins, and wheat flour separately and add them to coconut. Grind the sugar in a grider to make it very fine. Mix coconut mixture and sugar. Also add cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and saffron to it. Now mix everything very well.
On the day you want to make karanjies follow the following steps.
Saran:

Put ½ cup of ghee and soften it by using your fingers and make it fluffy. Add cornflour (cornstarch) to it and mix it so as to get smooth and fluffy texture. Keep it aside.

Cover :
Melt the ghee. Mix maida (all purpose flour) and ghee. One should get crumbly texture.
Add chilled water to it so as to get dough which is a little firm, not too soft. Cover with a damp cloth.
Stuffing the Karanji :
Knead the dough very well. Divide it into 3 equal portions. Roll them into three thin chapaties.
Now take one chapati and spread thin layer of saran evenly on it. Place second chapati on top of it and again spread saran on it. Place the third chapati on it and roll the whole thing evenly from all the sides to make it little bit thin. Now spread the saran evenly on it. Start to roll these three chapaties together like a log. Slowly squeeze the log to stretch it a little longer. Cut it into evenly into ¾ inch discs. Take a disc and roll it flat and thin. Put 1½ spoonful of filling in the center and apply milk around the edges. Fold it over and join the edges and seal it very well. Now take a karanji cutter or fork to give it a nice shape. Now put it in a plate and cover with a damp cloth. Like this make 5-6 at a time and deep fry them in ghee on medium heat till its pale pinkish in color.

Recipe for Badam Pista chikki (Almond, Pistachio brittle)

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 cup raw almonds

1 cup pistachios
pinch of saffron threads
2 Tbsp. butter

In a heavy bottom saucepan fix a candy thermometer. Heat sugar, cornsyrup, and water together and stir till the sugar dissolves. Cook over medium heat till the thermometer reaches 250 degrees. Now add Saffron, almond and pistachios. Stir often and cook till the temperature reaches 290 degrees i.e hardcrack stage on thermometer. . Now remove from heat and add butter stir very well. Pour it on a silpat mat or a buttered pan. Quickly spread evenly with a spatula. When it is cooled slightly make square shapes with a knife. When completely cold break along the grooves with your hand.

Tip: Use the silicon silpat mat its not messy and much easier. If you have edible rose petals use ½ cup and add it at the same time as nuts and skip saffron, it tastes even better.

Recipe for Ukdiche Modak

Ingredients (makes 12 modaks)

1 cup rice flour
1¼ cup water
2 tsp ghee
¼ tsp salt
1 cup grated fresh coconut
½ cup jaggery
1 tsp cardamom powder

Filling:
In a heavy bottom pot mix coconut, jaggery and cook over slow heat covered. When the jaggery melts take off the cover and cook till it becomes soft and there is no more liquid. Now add cardamom and let it cool.

Covering:
Now take a medium size pot and add water cover it. When the water boils add salt and ghee. Now reduce the flame to minimum and add flour. Mix it very well and cover, after 2-3 minutes shut off the flame. After 10 minutes knead the dough with hands till its soft and smooth. This is called Ukad. Divide Ukad into 12 equal balls.

Putting the modak together:
Take two small bowls in one take couple of tablespoon water and the other take a tablespoon of melted ghee or oil.Smear oil and water on both hands and keep the Ukad ball in left hand and with the thumb of your right hand make indentation onto the ball. Keep on doing this, also smear water and oil on both hands as you are doing it so that the dough doesn’t crack. Now make a small bowl out of this. Add two teaspoon coconut filling in it. Now start pinching the rim all around and make it like a frilled skirt. Now a modak by sealing at the top. Keep them under a wet cloth so that they don’t dry and crack. Put these modaks in a modakpatra (a steamer) and steam it for 15 minutes.

Serve warm. You can make a small opening at the top and pour ¼ tsp of ghee and serve, it really tastes amazing.