Anshu's Food Odyssey

Season of festivities is just around the corner. Raksha Bandhan , Krishna Janmashtami , Ganesh Chaturthi , Navratri and then Diwali ....need not say, the second half of the year is always so full of fun, frolic and excitement. Though the pandemic has been a show spoiler, but, we can always keep our spirits high and give a kick start to the celebrations by making some delicious, hygienic and preservative free mithais at home. So, here is my first mithai of the season - Kesar Sandesh Barfi - super yum and melt-in-mouth....if you too are looking to celebrate the festivals with some home made sweets, this is one easy recipe, super yummy and a must try.... YOU MAY ALSO LIKE... Bengali Sponge Rasgulla Chocolate Malai Peda Kesar Kalakand Gujarati Sweet Sata Kesar Ras Malai Gurudwara Kada Prashad Kesar Sandesh Barfi INGREDIENTS Full fat milk - 1 liter Juice of 1 lemon Super fine sugar - 3 to 4 tbsp Milk powder - 2 tbsp  Few strands of saffron soaked in 1 tbsp of warm milk Ghee

Luscious, creamy and so delightful, Aamrakhand is one of the most classic and easiest Indian dessert recipes that finds its origin in the state of Gujarat & Maharashtra. The beautiful dessert has to it, a thick yogurt (that we also know as hung curd or chakka in Hindi) base which is flavored with some sweet and fresh mango pulp, mostly of the Alphonso or Hapoos mangoes. However, if you can't lay your hands on the said variety, any Indian mango variety would work just as fine. For that matter, if you get the canned mango puree, you can even go ahead and use that too. So, not wasting any time further, let's move on to the recipe and the ingredients below... Aamrakhand - Mango Shrikhand Recipe INGREDIENTS Yogurt (I used the home-set curd) - 3 cups OR  Greek Yogurt - 1 cup Powdered sugar - 6 to 8 tbsp Mango puree, preferably of Alphonso or Kesar Mango - 1/2 cup Cardamom powder ( optional ) - a pinch Kesar/saff

Sponge Rasgulla is one of the most popular and delectable sweet recipes from East India, particularly Odisha and West Bengal. The beautiful dessert is made from fresh chhena or the curdled milk solids, which are kneaded to a smooth dough and then boiled in sugar syrup until light and spongy. Not to mention, the juicy milk-based dessert is loved by people all across India and besides being addictive, it is also quite light on the palette unlike other heavy Indian sweets  that are usually made using khoya. Though making rasgulla is not difficult, it still requires a little practice and patience to get that right texture, which means it should have that porous net like appearance inside when cooked. This porous net ensures that syrup is perfectly absorbed making them immensely juicy. And it is due to this net that when rasgullas are squeezed, they get back to their shape again. Having said that, getting that perfect texture requires few points to be taken care of:   Qualit

The very humble, creamy and yummilicious Indian dessert, Chawal ki Kheer or the Indian Rice Pudding does not need any introduction. One of the most common desserts across the nation, it is known with different names, aka kheer and payasam. What makes it so popular is the use of just three basic ingredients: rice, milk and sugar. Yes, the traditional recipe called for only these three ingredients; but, with growing times, people have started flavoring it with nuts, saffron and rose. Many a times, a lot of people also sweeten in with condensed milk instead of sugar; though, undoubtedly, kheer gets more creamier somehow, it loses its original flavors. Therefore, I always keep it simple and use sugar. Keen to learn the recipe? Scroll down below. Rice Kheer | Indian Rice Pudding Rice Kheer | Indian Rice Pudding Ingredients Whole milk - 1 liter, do not go for the low fat or skimmed version, please. Small grain rice - 1/4 cup  Sugar - 6 to 8 t

I am a big pumpkin fan since my childhood days. Seriously, I love this vegetable in any form and the khatti meethi pethey ki sabzi is my absolute favorite. Coming to the halwa, my mum always used to make it during the Navratri fasting and its flavors, texture and aroma is something that I remember even till date. After I got married, pumpkin was a rare treat for me because none of the family members at my in-laws side liked this vegetable. Gradually, I too stopped making it. But, this time during Navratri, I thought making this divine halwa and remember my good old days. If you too are a pumpkin lover, this is a must for you to try as well. And don't worry, the recipe is very simple and easy and comes together in just few minutes. Kaddu ka Halwa INGREDIENTS Kaddu/Yellow Pumpkin/Butternut Squash (shredded) - 4 cups Sugar - 1/2 to 3/4 cup Milk - 1/4 cup Ghee/clarified butter - 4 to 6 tbsp Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Nuts (melon seeds, chopped almonds, chopped pis

With nation celebrating the beautiful festival of 'Ganesh Chaturthi' with all pomp and show, the much awaited season of festivities in India has formally come to a kick start. Lined up from now, are some of the most popular festivals of India - Dussehra, Diwali, Chhath Pooja, Bhai Dooj and Christmas. I have already begun with the preparations for all these celebrations; first on my list is this  beautiful, delicious, flaky and crusty, " Chirote " or " Chiroti ". A traditional Maharashtrian sweet delicacy, it is made using refined flour, deep fried and coated with powdered sugar. For those who love their snacks to be uprightly sweet, can also dip it in sugar syrup. Melt-in-mouth and highly addictive, I promise you will not be able to resist yourself from eating more than one in one go. Looking for the recipe? Here you go .... Chirote Recipe | Chiroti Recipe Ingredients Maida/all purpose flour - 1 and 1/2 cups Ghee - 2 tbsp + 3

Its raining mangoes and all I can think of is making use of these delicious fruits in one or the other way. There are numerous dishes that I have tried with mangoes in the past; Fresh Mango Cake , Mango Kulfi , Mango Lassi , Gujarati Mango Kadhi , the ever popular Raw Mango Panna and Mango Sabudana Kheer are few of them. As its the holy month of Ramadan , I thought of trying yet another dish with these sunshine fruits that could be made well ahead of time and enjoyed during Iftari ; at the same time it had to be light and cooling to the palette considering how hot and scorching the weather is. So, here I have on my blog today, the extremely easy MANGO CUSTARD which is made with readymade vanilla custard powder and fresh mango puree. A little hint of saffron adds that much needed royal touch to this sinful dessert. Do try and I promise you will fall in love with it!! Mango Custard | How to Make Mango Custard | Mango Custard Recipe Ingredients Milk - 2 c