Anshu's Food Odyssey

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

Diwali is fast approaching. Here's a list of most sought after Diwali recipes from my blog. Click on the image to redirect to the detailed post. CHAWAL KI KHEER CHIROTE BHAKARWADI KHOYA PANEER GULAB JAMUN BASUNDI PETHEY KA HALWA CHOCOLATE MALAI PEDA GUJARATI SATA NAMAK PAAREY ANGOORI GULAB JAMUN

" Gajar ka Halwa ", " Gajrela " or the " Indian Carrot Pudding " is a quintessential winter delight for every Indian. One of the most popular Indian desserts , it is heavenly delicious and finds its origin in the kitchens of Punjab Sikhs who are also believed to have first introduced it to the Royal kitchens of the Mughals. A tasteful aroma, vibrant color and a chewy texture is what that must have greatly enticed the emperors about this halwa. It was in no time that the Gajrela made its way from the royal culinary repertoire to the commoner's kitchen and became widely popular across the country. Today, it won't be incorrect to say that more than food, "Gajar ka Halwa" is an emotion that reminisces a lot of fond memories of those chilled winter evenings when we would all be cozying up in our warm blankets and quilts watching TV; and Mom would get those little bowls of piping hot gajar ka halwa to comfort us even more...aah, that

Rasgulla  or Roshogulla is one sweet delicacy which is synonymous to the Indian state of West Bengal. The soft and spongy cottage cheese dumplings cooked in sugary syrup, make for an ultimate delight for all those with a real sweet tooth. Though this palatable Bengali dessert is quite common and is easily available in every sweet shop throughout India, yet nothing can beat the satisfaction which you get making it with your own hands. But let me tell you, making this dessert demands a lot of patience and skill. I tried making the rasgullas couple of times, but every time the result was a disaster; either my rasgullas turned out to be flat, remained uncooked from inside or turned out to be hard with a thick sugar syrup coating. After about 5 to 6 tries and after seeing couple of recipes on the internet, finally I got what I was waiting for, the perfect spongy rasgullas with a juicy inner core. I flavored them with a little saffron that made them all the more delectable. One can abs

Phirni is the classical dessert that finds its origin in the Indian state of Punjab. Thick, luscious and creamy dish made by thickening the milk along with coarsely ground rice, phirni is traditionally served in little earthen pots and you would mostly find it being served during festivals and weddings.  While phirni itself is quite a simple recipe, I have given it an interesting twist by adding mini gulab jamuns to the same. This delectable fusion dessert is sure to add to your list of traditional party recipes; serve it during your Diwali get-together , Holi lunch or any pooja ceremony at home. I guarantee it would be loved by your guests. Scroll down for the complete recipe. Click here if you want to know how to make homemade Angoori Gulab Jamuns . Gulab Jamun Phirni  Ingredients Full fat milk - 1 litre Rice (soaked in water) - 4 tbsp Sugar - 1/2 cup Green cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Rose water (optional) - 1 to 2 tsp Saffron strands - a few Mini gulab j

" Nan Khatai " are the Indian style shortbread cookies that are egg-free, super flaky and melt-in-mouth. These delectable cookies are a kind of must-bake during festive season in most of the Indian households and that obviously make for some awesome home-made goodies to be gifted to friends and family. While traditionally these biscuits are flavored with fragrant spices like cardamom, nutmeg and saffron, I have tried to give them some chocolaty twist which certainly lends them a contemporary taste and texture. If you too are fond of nan-khatais and love to indulge in them often, then I am sure you are gonna love these chocolate nan-khatais that are damn easy to make and require only a handful of ingredients that are often available in Indian pantries. Chocolate Nan Khatai | Eggless Chocolate Indian Shortbread Cookies Ingredients (yields around 20 khatai) Maida (all purpose flour) - 1 1/4 cup Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup Semolina - 2 tbsp Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup G

Since the time this food blogging bug has bit me, I am always on a lookout for ocassions when I can prepare something new and special (especially sweets and desserts) for my family and share its pictures and recipes with all my foodie friends. With last 15 days brimming with celebrations for Navratri , Dussehra and Karva Chauth , I was overwhelmed with such opportunities and came up with quite a number of festive sweets and dessert recipes including that of Meethi Mathri , Balushahi, Badaam aur Makhaane ki Kheer  and off-course my favourite, Bengali Sponge Rasgulla . The quest is not over yet and I am all geared up for trying few more traditional sweets before the Indian festive season comes to an end. So, here's one such mithai specially made for the upcoming Diwali celebrations - soft and melt-in mouth " Kesar Kalakand ". It has been prepared with the traditional method of thickening milk with the freshly made chhena until the mixture attains all that fudgy cons

When festive season is knocking the doors and you are living out of India, few things that you surely miss are all that glitter of the decked up markets, the hullabaloo of the festive noises reverberating in the air and off-course, an infinite range of those lip-smacking mithais, without which the celebrations for us Indians are absolutely incomplete. It's been 2 years since we moved to Singapore and this food blogging bug bit me; and since these two years around September-October I gear up to try my hands at some of the traditional Indian sweets which have been part of our celebrations since ages. This Gram Flour - Semolina Fudge was one of the initial few sweets that I tried after moving here; a variant of traditional Besan Ladoos , they are absolutely lip-smacking with semolina lending them a beautiful texture and crunch. If you too are looking for some easy Indian sweet recipes to try out this festive season, this barfi recipe is certainly a keeper. Do try it out and let me

A traditional sweet delicacy from North India, " Meethe Chawal " or " Zarda Pulav " is usually made using long grain Basmati Rice which are flavored with whole lot of aromatic spices and dried fruits & nuts. The dish normally makes for an integral part of all auspicious occasions and is essentially served during festive meals, pooja ceremonies and wedding functions. The " zard " or the yellow color is the distinguishing feature of these awesome delectable sweet rice and which is primarily imparted using strands of saffron. At my home, though this pulav is a favorite of all, it is still made quite rarely because of its high sugar and carbohydrate content. This time also, I prepared it after a gap of almost one year when we kept a small pooja at our home, inviting all friends and family. Needless to say, it came out really well and was loved by all the guests. If you too are organizing a festive treat or a pooja at your home, do try ou