Watermelon Berries Popsicles

Summer time and Popsicles are inseparable. Simple joys of life is what I say! A sense of happiness, coolness, liveliness, and all that goodness bundled on a stick! Not to mention all the pleasing colors and flavors (of your choice) will definitely bring out the happy child in you. As summer holidays kicks in this season, what better way to start treating kids than a healthy fruity popsicle(s)? You may see many such colorful additions on my blog this season.

I am not an ice cream or a popsicle person (yes call me weirdo :)), but I take immense pleasure when I watch people enjoy it! Though these days I have taken a liking for eating Godiva and Magnums ice cream bars a lot!

My kid is a crazy fan of popsicles. Any day better than other calorie loaded sweet treats. So thought of kickstarting it with watermelon berries popsicles. Watermelons have become synonymous with summer and picnics, and for a good reason. Their refreshing quality and sweet taste help to combat the heat and also provide a guilt-free, low maintenance dessert for kids and adults alike to enjoy. One of the easiest treats one can make for their kids :)

So here we go to check the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups watermelon roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp yogurt (dahi)* 
• 1/2 cup berries (took black and blue berries half and half)
• 2 tbsp honey (or add 1 tbsp sugar as per your taste)*

Preparation:

• Blend all the ingredients together. (pour it over a sieve to take out any coarseness or seeds)
• Fill 3/4th of the popsicle mold.
• Add 4-5 whole blueberries in the molds.
• Freeze it for a couple of hours till it is set and ready to eat. 

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

notes:* adjust the quantity of honey(sugar) depending on how sweet you want and also the sweetness of fruits that you are using. You can also substitute any ice cream in place of yogurt.

Health Benefits: Watermelon is considered as a nutrient dense food, a food that provides a high amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for a low amount of calories. Watermelon, because of its water and fiber content, helps to prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract. Made up of 92% water and full of important electrolytes, watermelon is a great snack to have on hand during the hot summer months to prevent dehydration.


Blueberries are believed to contain the highest antioxidant capacity of all commonly consumed fruits and vegetables. Low in calorie and high in nutrients, who doesn't want that in this diet conscious era:) They are so good for our health that just add it in your cereals, pancakes or just munch on it! But get it in your system :)

So sit back and enjoy this yumilicious treat guilt free!

Puran Poli (Holige, Ubbati, Bobatlu)

Many names and one magical sweet dish that melts in the mouth. Holi, festival of colors and Puran Poli go hand in hand, it is a must to do dish during this festival in the state of Maharashtra. It is offered into the fire which is lit for Holika Dahan and after that everyone gets to eat and enjoy it. It is a fun dish and one may need a little practice to roll out these stuffed polis. It basically contains 2 parts, puran(huran) the stuffing (chana dal/jaggery mixture) and all-purpose flour dough called kanik. It feels like an accomplishment when you make these polis successfully :)
Let's quickly check the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chana dal
• 1 cup jaggery (grated)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (maida)
• 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
• 4 tbsp Oil (vegetable)
• 1 tsp cardamom powder

puran and dough

 Preparation:

• In a pressure cooker, add 3 cups of water and washed chana dal. Pressure cook for 3 whistles, then switch off the gas and let the cooker cool down.
• Open the pressure cooker, strain the cooked chana dal and reserve the water. This water can be used to make katachi amati. Drain water completely from the dal. Then add this dal into a deep pan. 
• Add jaggery in it and let this mixture cook over medium heat. Keep stirring over medium heat until the mixture becomes thick (keep stirring for like 7-8 minutes). 
• Let it cool down a bit. Then using a mesh strainer try to gather all the smooth mixture and keep aside else you can use mixer to blend this mixture smoothly too or if you feel lazy you can skip this step, just see to it that dal and jaggery is nicely mixed.
• Add cardamom powder and mix. * Keep aside, this is your puran.
• In a mixing bowl take all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and turmeric pwd. Add 4 tbsp oil and mix well. Now add water little by little and make a smooth consistency dough. 
• Knead the dough until the it becomes very elastic. Put this dough into a bowl and cover it with lid. Let it rest for 30 minutes atleast.
• Make small balls of the stuffing. Then make balls (smaller than stuffing) of the dough. Grease your fingertips and spread one dough ball gently to make a small round disc. Put one stuffing ball on it. spread the dough gently over the stuffing with fingers and cover the stuffing. Use dry rice flour to roll the poli. Heat the frying tawa, place rolled roti in the center and roast on both sides over medium heat, add little ghee while roasting. Serve hot with Ghee. Puran-poli tastes good with cold milk too.
• These puran polis stay fresh for approximately 1 week at room temperature.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Note*: The huran has to be nice and dry for rolling out the Poli without breaking it. If you feel that the huran has moisture you can either freeze it for some time or microwave it for a couple of minutes stirring it after every minute. Knead the kanik nicely for couple extra minutes before making balls and rolling out. 

I made one batch with 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup maida without adding turmeric, see the picture below. 

Maida Poli are more fluffy and soft.

                                          HAPPY HOLI 

Making of Puran Poli in pictures:

Soft Ubbati

Health Benefits: Puran Poli made with whole wheat is rich in complex carbs, fibre and certain minerals. Jaggery used in the preparation is loaded with iron, calcium, phosphorus minerals. It digests slowly and hence helps to release energy slowly. Cardamom used also aids in digestion.

Boondi Ladoo (Bundi Ladoo)

These Boondi or Bundi ladoos are the most beautiful looking ladoos that are there in the market. That light yellow /orange color makes it look so beautiful and festive! It is a collection of tiny pearly balls of gram flour, first fried then dipped in sugar syrup and then rolled into a ladoo. Boondi ladoo is a very delicious treat and is seen served on almost every joyous ocassion in India.

Never in my wildest dreams, I thought that one day I would be making this treat in my kitchen! I always thought it is a difficult dessert to make. No one made these back at home either, we always got it from the store and have eaten plenty at weddings and pooja ceremonies :)

But one day I simply pulled up my socks, said a small prayer in my mind and started making these goodies. To my surprise, they came out so good that my joy had no bounds! From then on there was no looking back. I look forward to make boondi ladoos every Diwali festival. Another reason to learn this exotic ladoos was my son, yes, he saw boondi ladoos from that Krishna animation series and wanted to have it along with rasagulla, sandesh, and besan ladoos :) Thanks to that series, my kid pushed me to do the needful and I couldn't be more happier with the end results!!

This recipe is adapted from manjulas kitchen site.

Let us take a look at the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gram flour (besan)
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water adjust as needed
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
• 5 green cardamom pods crushed
• Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

• Add the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. When the syrup comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let it simmer until the syrup is about half thread consistency.
• Mix the gram flour with water to make a smooth pancake-like batter or slightly thicker than dosa batter. You can test by pouring little batter on a perforated ladle(which we use to serve rice) and see drops of batter coming out. If it is runny you will have to add little more besan, if it's too thick add little more water to the batter.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 1/2 inches of oil. To test if the oil is the right temperature, drop a pinch of batter into the oil, if it rises immediately without changing the color then the oil is ready to start frying the boondi.
• Hold the skimmer(perforated ladle) about 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the oil over the center of the frying pan with one hand. With your other hand pour some of the batter onto the skimmer to cover all of the holes without spilling over the edge of the skimmer. If you hold the skimmer higher than 1 1/2 inches above the oil boondi will not be round.

• The batter will start dropping through the holes into the oil. Drop enough boondi into the oil so they just cover the surface of the oil in frying pan in a single layer
• Fry them until the sound of sizzling stops and boondis are light gold in color but not crispy. Lift the boondi out of the oil with a slotted spoon (this allows excess oil to drip back into the frying pan) and put them directly into the warm syrup and mix.
• Before making the next batch of boondi, wipe clean the skimmer. This helps to keep the boondi round.
• Repeat the process of making boondi and adding to the syrup with rest of the batter. You may have to adjust the heat in between making boondis.
• When finished frying the boondi, let them soak in the syrup for few minutes.
• Add the crushed cardamom seeds and sliced almonds to the syrup.
• Now drain off the excess syrup.
• If the boondis are still hot, let them sit only until they are warm enough to handle  but don’t let them to cool off. If the boondis become cold you will not be able to form them into ladoos.
• Grease your hands with some ghee, to make the ladoos, scoop up some of the boondi mixture into your palm with a spoon. Gently squeeze the mixture between both palms to shape into a round ball about the size of a golf ball. As you are squeezing some of the syrup will come out. Dont worry about it.
• Repeat the process till all the boondi is used up to make ladoos.
• As the ladoos cool to room temperature they will become firm but they should still be moist.
• Serve it as a dessert or snack.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!
Notes:*
If the syrup is not of the right temperature, you will not be able to form the ladoos. If the boondis cool down to room temperature before being shaped into balls, the sugar will crystallize. If you are not able to make ladoos, don’t worry. You can still enjoy them as sweet boondi or use it in boondi raita without adding the fried boondi to the syrup.

Dates and Figs Burfi (Energy Bites)

When I think of burfi, the first thing that comes to my mind is oozing ghee, sugar and maybe khoya, besan etc.. But this particular burfi has no such thing, just plain main healthy ingredients. You will want to keep this in your pantry to chomp off whenever you will have a sugar craving :) and go guilt free :) It is more like an energy bite which will calm your sugar cravings too. Win Win situation!

So not wasting any more time here, am going straight to the recipe details!

Let us take a look at the Dates and Figs Burfi (Energy Bites) recipe.


      Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups dry figs 
• 1 cup dates 
• 2 tbsp ghee 
• 1/2 cup sugar(optional) 
• 10 cashews (roughly chopped) 
• 10 pistachios (roughly chopped) 

Preparation:

• Soak dates in hot water and keep aside for 10 minutes. Then cut dates finely with a knife. 
• In a processor grind figs. 
• Take a pan and warm ghee in it, now add the figs and saute on medium flame for around 6-7 minutes.  
• Add the dates and sugar if you need that extra nice sweet taste and saute till it leaves ghee at the side of the pan (like 5 more minutes) 
• Add the chopped nuts and mix everything well. 
• Grease a tray or plate with ghee or on a wax parchment sheet, add this mixture, spread it evenly with a flat spoon. 
• Refrigerate for 10 minutes, cut into desired shaped pieces and keep it back in the refrigerator for an hour. 
• You can roll it into bite size balls too. Get creative and give your own twist :)

njoy!! happY cookinG!!

Health Benefits: Figs are a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps to control blood pressure. Very good source of fibre, magnesium, vitamin b6 and copper. Good news is dry figs are available easily in the market. 


Dates: again high in dietary fiber helps prevent LDL (bad) cholesterol. Good content of iron, potassium, B-vitamins along with vitamin A(for eyes, skin), Vitamin K(for bones).

Apple Walnuts Oatmeal Cookies

I always get fascinated looking at the freshly baked goodies whenever I visit grocery stores and bakeries. The aroma that lingers around these goodies is awesome. Brings in so much of warmth and happiness. I start baking hysterically once in a while, for no particular reason :)
Also the season of holidays gets me inspired to bake the goodies and I get comfortable doing so!

Here are some freshly baked oats cookies loaded with apple sauce, apples cubes and walnuts. Yummy in everyone's tummy :) Ingredient line up is healthy and outcome is very delicious too.  Its chewy and soft. One of the healthiest cookies that's out there, if your kids fall for this, there is no second thought. Just put this recipe on a repeat mode. It is a winner recipe.

I have already made it thrice and thanks to sallys baking addiction blog. She tried it few times to get a correct measurement for this recipe. I try to tweak it every time I make by just adding extra nuts or switch the main fruit that goes in it. Like once I added small chunks of persimmon fruit. I also added cranberries. So you can play with it once you get a hang of it.

One cup of milk and 2 oats cookies will make SantaClaus happy too :) What say? :)

Let us take a look at the recipe of Apple Walnuts Oatmeal Cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3/4 cup packed dark or light brown sugar (or white granulated sugar)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup finely diced apple 
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Either take the following ingredients 

• 1 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

OR

• 1 cup of ready to make Maple or Apple Cinnamon flavored 3 min Oatmeal packets.

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
• Whisk the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon- together in a large bowl.
• Whisk the butter, applesauce, brown sugar(or white sugar) together until combined. Then whisk in the egg and vanilla. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined. Fold in the apples and walnuts. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky.
• Using a medium cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop cookie dough into balls (about 2 Tbsp of dough each) and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Slightly flatten the balls out- as the cookies won't spread much.
• Bake for 17-18 minutes or until lightly browned and set on the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheets.
• Enjoy with a nice cup of hot cocoa or milk or Tea.

You may also like 

Eggless Coconut Cookies

Crinkle Cookies

Saffron Cookies

njoY!! happY bakinG!!

Recipe adapted from Sallys Baking Addiction. 

Fruit Rum Cake

Whoever frequents my blog and reads a little bit of the description (rant :)) will  know how much I love pound cakes. Now here comes the ultimate King of cakes, RUM cake with fruits! It is a festive cake and brings back nostalgic memories of year ending (christmas and new year!! ) Rich, drenched, decadent, dense and a bite to die for- Rum Cake is here!

As I step into the last 2 days of the year 2016, emotions of mixed feelings starts to get heavy on me. Taking a moment to look back and see what the year had to offer - Ummm other than a few glitches, it went on very well. Thankful and grateful to the almighty for a 'No Drama' year :):) Strapping myself to take on 2017!

Coming to the cake, I have tried few different kinds of rum cake, last year baked a brown rum cake with caramelized sugar and all, but did not have an opportunity to click and document. Will do that some other time! This year made this super fantastic fruit rum cake, had to say a prayer before I started whipping butter and eggs :), because I tried to bake one with readymade chocolate cake mix and it did not turn out good taste-wise :(

So was very happy with the results of this sesky cake! :) Go ahead and give it a try! You have my blessings! hehe

Let us take a look at this Fruit Rum Cake!

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots (can add any kind of dry fruits or tutti fruitti that you have)
• 1/4 cup dried tart cherries
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons gold rum, divided
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 tablespoons  plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoons (or more) sour cream
• 1 cups raw sugar, plus more for serving
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preparation:

• Combine apricots, cherries, raisins (or tutti fruitti) and 1/4 cup rum in a small bowl and let sit 30 minutes to allow fruit to rehydrate. Drain, reserving rum. Sprinkle fruit with 1 1/2 tbsp flour and toss to coat, set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350F(180C). Thoroughly butter pan, making sure to get into all the curved or ridged places, dust pan with flour (do this even if your pan has a nonstick coating). Whisk baking powder, salt, cloves, and 1 1/2 cups flour in a medium bowl to combine. 
• Whisk reserved rum, oil, and 3/4 cup sour cream in another medium bowl to combine.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat 1 cup raw sugar and remaining 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. 
• Add egg yolks and egg one at a time, beating to blend after each addition; beat until mixture is light and very fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add vanilla extract and beat for few seconds. 
• Reduce speed to low. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. 
• Fold in reserved dried fruit. Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth top. Tap pan firmly a few times on counter to force batter into edges of pan.
• Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60–70 minutes( I baked exactly for 60 min). Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. 
• Invert cake onto a serving plate; carefully remove pan and brush warm cake with remaining 1 tbsp rum. Let cool completely, about 3 hours.
• Mix powdered sugar and remaining 1 tbsp sour cream in another small bowl, thinning with more sour cream if desired (the thinner the glaze, the further it will drip down the sides of the cake, so keep it nice and thick), until smooth. 
• Drizzle glaze over cake, working along the center of the top of the cake for even coverage, and sprinkle with raw sugar. Let sit 10 minutes for glaze to set before slicing with a serrated knife.

njoY!! happY bakinG!!

Notes:

Cake can be baked 1 day ahead. Do not glaze. Store loosely covered at room temperature.
Buttering the pan and dusting with flour is a must step to get nice brown coating. 

You can make use of more rum to soak the cake after it is cooled down. Depends on your taste. I added 1/4 cup more rum for soaking. 

Please take a portion of the cake and keep aside for kids before you soak the cake further with the rum :) 

recipe courtesy from epicurious site!

Pretzel Chocolate Hugs

Now I had to come up with a cute name for this goody :) so the word 'Hug' in the name :)
A quick, no stress, fun happy treat for everyone! All one needs to do here is assemble Pretzel, Kisses (chocolates) and M&Ms.  Involve kids into doing these cute little treats.

Long time back one of my friends had made these and I loved the idea of it. Zero effort needed and it looks so beautiful. You can make it in bulk for party occasions or get togethers! My kid gets excited when I tell him that we are making pretzel hugs, his job is to peel the kisses wrapper :) I get so lazy when it comes to unwrap the chocolates. So it is a win win situation for me :)

Keep these beautiful treat in a transparent air tight container on your kitchen counter. A treat for the eyes and taste-bud! The combo of crunchy salty pretzel and soft kisses with m&m flavor makes it a perfect bite!

I have made this so many times, this batch is made with peppermint flavor for holidays! You can add your favorite flavor of chocolates and enjoy!

Let us take a look at this Pretzel Chocolate Hugs recipe:

Ingredients:

• Pretzels
• Kisses chocolates
• M&Ms

(You can take as many as you want)

Preparation:

• On a baking sheet, lay out a parchment paper and neatly place pretzel on it. Keep kisses chocolate on it. Bake on 200F(100C) for just 5-7 minutes. 
• You will see the chocolates softening up. Take the sheet out and place M&M on it in the center and gently press it down. 
• Once all the M&Ms are on pretzels, stick the tray it in the fridge for sometime or leave it on the counter-top till the chocolate hardens. 
• Enjoy the hugs as a happy treat!

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Crinkle Cookies

One doesn't need any excuse or occasion to indulge in some goodness loaded with chocolate/cocoa. Here is an awesome recipe to make these gorgeous crinkle cookies, the name because of its appearance:) It will take a 'pretty' spot on your coffee table while you entertain your guests at home and these crinkle cookies may just be the star of your conversation :) :) I promise you will love these.

Baking cookies automatically puts you into that happy mood space. The aroma that lingers in your kitchen/home is very pure and very holiday-ish :) I simply love cocoa flavor. Be it in the milk, cake or cookies. That richness, smoothness, beautiful texture- it's pure romantic :P

Try these cookies for any holiday season (or not), make it anytime you feel like!


Let us check out the Crinkle Cookies recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour (Maida) 
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp any coffee powder 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (I use hershey or godiva) 
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 2 eggs (room temperature) 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 1 tsp vanilla essence 
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preparation:

• In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and keep aside.
• Beat together cocoa powder, sugar and oil in a bowl till it forms a black sticky mass. 
• Add 1 egg at a time and beat well in a bowl. Add coffee powder and vanilla essence and beat again.
• Add the flour mixture little by little slowly to the liquid ingredients and mix well with a spatula until incorporated. Do not overdo it.
• The dough will be super sticky. Cover the bowl with a lid and chill it overnight or for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, you can leave overnight if possible.
• Make small balls from the dough and keep it ready.
• Preheat the oven at 350F/180C.
• Take the powdered sugar in a bowl and roll the balls in the sugar ensuring they are well coated and fully covered with the powdered sugar.
• Place the balls on a greased baking tray leaving 2 inch gap between them and bake for 15 minutes- 18 minutes.
• Take out the tray and leave it on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Crinkle Cookies are ready to be relished.

njoY!! happY bakinG!!

You can bag it and give away as goodies to your friends, neighbors and relatives!!

You may also like other recipes like: 

NanKhatai, 

Saffron Stamped Cookies, 

Lemon Pound Cake, 

Creamcheese Pound Cake etc.

Recipe courtesy: Radhika Subramanian.