Firni/Phirni#AlphabetChallenge

Firni / Phirni is a sweet pudding, made by boiling milk, sugar and rice, it's popular creamy sweet dish of India, made for festivals or important occasions/celebrations. The rice used in this sweet dish is coarsely powdered, it has dry fruits and am, sure you will love it.

Ingredients  

500 ML Milk
2 Tablespoons Heaped Basmati Rice 

½ Cup Fresh Cream  

¼ Cup Sugar  

2 Tablespoons Each Almonds & Pistachio - silvered 

½ Teaspoon Cardamom powder
Method 

Wash the rice and soak it for 2 hours.  After that drain all the water in a fine mesh colander and then dry it on a clean cloth  for an hour or so ( it should be slightly wet not completely dry).  After that grind it to a coarse powder. 

Boil milk, add  rice, bring it to boil, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Reduce the flame on medium low and stir continuously. Add more milk if starts to thicken and cook till the rice is done. 

Now add the sugar and again stir till the sugar melts. Then add the fresh cream stir it and switch off flame. Add half of the pistachio and almond slivers, cardamom powder and stir well.  Refrigerate it for few hours.  

Serve  this cold in kullad pots (terracotta clay pots) garnished with pistachio and almond slivers.

Enjoy!!!

Labels : Sweets & Desserts, Firni, Pudding, Rice, Almond, Pistachios, Milk, Festival Sweets, Kullad, Alphabet Challenge

Let's take a look at the recipes being shared today with Alphabet "F"

Jolene’s Recipe Journal: French Onion Soup

Blogghetti: Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Fluffy Focaccia with Garlic Oil and Herbes de Provence

Sneha’s Recipe: Firni/Phirni

Food Lust People Love: Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken

Mayuri’s Jikoni: Fattoush Salad

A Messy Kitchen: Fennel, Tangerine & Olive Slaw

A Day in the Life on the Farm: Roasted Vegetable Farro Bowl

Culinary Cam: Fig Leaf-Wrapped Cheese 

Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Sausage Meatballs with Vodka Fennel Sauce  

Magic Crust Custard Pie#SundayFunday

This  easy and delicious dessert Magic Crust Custard Pie  which is a Crustless Pie recipe. Its' a  No Fuss Baked Dessert.

Took this  dessert  for a potluck at my friend's place.  This was relished by all.  So easy, quick and a absolute no fuss baked dessert, just blend, pour it into Pyrex pie dish and bake.  After 45 to 50 minutes ta da.. dessert is ready.

Ingredients  

2 Tablespoons Heaped Margarine
4 Eggs
¾ Cup Sugar
Pinch of salt
500 ML Full Cream Milk
1 tsp heaped Vanilla essence
½ Cup All Purpose Flour
¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg powder

Method

Place all the ingredients into a blender except the nutmeg powder, blend for a minute, pour into greased 10 inch deep pie pan (mine was not so deep had to pour some of the batter in another small pyrex dish)

Sprinkle nutmeg powder. Place this dish on a baking tray.
Bake on 180°C for 45 to 50 minutes. The flour will settle to make its owns crust.

When it's ready you will see the sides have loosened.  

Cut into slices and serve.  This is a mouth melting dessert. You will love it.

My Notes

Do not fill the pie dish up to the rim, fill it only 3/4th as this rises while baking and it was spill and may cause fire in the oven.  Once out of the oven this will fall flat like a souffle.

Labels : Sunday Funday, Crustless Pie, International Cuisine, Eggs, Baked, Sweets & Desserts, Easy

National Pie Day

• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Apple Cider Pie 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Impossible Lemon Pie 
• Sneha's Recipe: Magic Crust Custard Pie
• Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking: Mini Berry Pies
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Mini Pumpkin Pies with Cinnamon Swirl Crust 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Mini Spanakopita Pies  

Red Velvet Parfait#SundayFunday

Red velvet cake is so pretty and the perfect dessert to take to any party. These Red Velvet Parfait so easy to make and taste so good you’ll be going back for more. This is delightfully easy, mouthwateringly delicious

Dessert Parfaits are fun and easy to make. It’s literally just layers of dessert components. Parfait layered dessert served in a clear glass. You can add whatever you want to like cake, brownies, cookies, ice cream, whipped cream etc. 

Ingredients 
Leftover Red Velvet Cake
For The Cream Cheese Frosting 
10 Grams Unsalted Butter 
10 Grams Icing Sugar 
50 Grams Whipping Cream 
For The White Chocolate Ganache 
10 Grams White Chocolate 
1 Tablespoon Fresh Cream 
A Drop Vanilla Essence 
Method 

Make white chocolate ganache by melting the chocolate and fresh cream on a double boiler.

In a large bowl whip the cream till stiff peaks form. Then add the white chocolate ganache and fold in well. Keep aside. 

Beat the butter and icing sugar till smooth and fluffy. Add in the cream cheese, vanilla essence , cream this well. Now fold in the whipped cream, white chocolate ganache till nicely incorporated. 

Place half of the leftover cake cubes in a glass. Pipe the cream cheese icing on top and continue to layer. Top each parfait with chopped walnuts. Chill this and then Enjoy!!

Labels: Parfait, Sweets & Desserts, Leftover series, Serves One, Sunday Funday

The theme is Parfait

Rhubarb Breakfast Parfait from Amy's Cooking Adventures

Red Velvet Parfait from Sneha's Recipe

Figgy Breakfast Parfaits from Food Lust People Love

Eton Mess from Karen's Kitchen Stories

Peaches & Cream Parfaitt from Mayuri's Jikoni

Savory Chickpea Avocado Lunch Parfait from Cook with Renu

Savory Grits and Mushroom Parfait from Culinary Cam

Banana Cream Pudding Parfait from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Khabeesa- Oman#EatTheWorld

Khabeesa is a traditional sweet dish popular in Arab States of the Persian Gulf, and common in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It's commonly served during Eid as it's packed with flavor to make the day extra special. Some used all purpose flour and some use semolina to make this dish.

This dish is similar to what we make in India and called it kesari rawa. They add condensed milk, caramelize the sugar and use lot of flavorings like, rose water, saffron and ground cardamom. It is a very flavorful dessert that takes hardly any time to put together. Made this for high tea for friends they enjoyed it!

Ingredients
1 Cup Semolina/ Rawa
2 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
3½ Cups Milk
1 Cup Condensed Milk
50 Grams Butter or Desi Ghee- I used butter
½ Teaspoon Cardamom Ground
1 Tablespoon Rose Water
A Large Pinch Saffron

Method

In a pan, add the sugar and occasionally swirl the pan to mix the sugar and help it caramelize evenly. Then pour three cups of milk into the pan. Add the saffron and condensed milk, rose water, cardamom powder & butter stir let it come to a boil on medium heat. 

In a large pan, add the semolina/rawa and roast it until the color changes to just light pink color. Add two cups of the caramel mixture to it and mix for a minute. Next, add the remaining milk mixture and mix very well, so that no lumps are formed. Now cover and let is cook covered for 7 minutes on medium low flame. Keep a check and give it a stir after every 2 minutes so that it does not burn at the bottom of the pan.

The Khabeesa mixture will look like big wet clumps but within seven minutes, it will turn to a lighter texture and more like wet fluffy crumbs. 

Your delicious Khabeesa is ready to be served. Fluff it with a fork. When you serve the Khabeesa, garnish it with chopped nuts or shredded coconut.

Labels: Rawa, Semolina, Middle Eastern, Oman, Eat the World, Sweets & Desserts, Condensed Milk, Saffron, Cardamom Powder, Rose Water 

Join us as we Eat the World!!!

Check out all the wonderful Omani dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Find out how to join Eat the World here and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us! 

 Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Omani Bread (Khubz Ragag) 

Culinary Cam: Squid Mishkak and Majboos 

Sneha’s Recipe: Khabeesa- Oman 

Kitchen Frau: Rosewater Lemonade 

A Day in the Life on the Farm: Chicken Mishkak 

Eggnog Carrot Kheer/Pudding#SundayFunday

Winter carrots have started to flood the market. When we were doing our weekly grocery my hubby seen the carrots and said make carrot kheer. It just then clicked why don't I make this with a twist. So used my Eggnog to make this creamy delicious Kheer.

Ingredients 
2 Cups Grated Winter(Red) Carrots
1 Cup + 1½ Cup Whole Milk
1 Cup Homemade Eggnog 
¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoons Cardamom powder

½ Cup Fresh Cream
For Garnish
A few silvered Almonds
A few Raisins
A Dash Cinnamon & Cardamom powder
Method

In a heavy bottom pan add the grated carrot and a cup of milk
Bring this to a boil and then reduce the flame and let it simmer till the carrots are nearly cooked. 

Then add the sugar and  1½ cups milk let this cook till the carrots are softened and are fully cooked.

Now add in the Homemade Eggnog and on low flame keep stirring continuously till the pudding / kheer thickens. 
Please note if you do not stir continuously it will curdle. So take care at this stage. When it thickens switch off the flame add the cardamom powder and fresh cream give it a good mix. Add in the chopped nuts. Reserve some for garnish.

Serves chilled with a dash of cardamom and cinnamon powder. Enjoy this delicious Creamy Eggnog Carrot Kheer.

Labels: Kheer, Pudding, Eggnog, Homemade, Carrot, Sweets & Desserts, Sunday Funday

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Eggnog Carrot Kheer from Sneha's Recipe

Eggnog Cookie Bars from Karen's Kitchen Stories

Eggnog Mini Flans from Mayuri's Jikoni

Eggnog White Russian from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Family Style Eggnog from Palatable Pastime

Homemade Eggnog from Amy's Cooking Adventures

Snowy Eggnog Melt-Away Cookies from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

Mahalabia#SundayFunday

Mahalabia, also known as Mahalabi or Muhellabia , is a Middle Eastern dessert / pudding / custard made with milk, sweetened and flavored with rose or orange blossom water. Delcious and you will love it and takes just 10 minutes from start to finish. So easy and quick. While the dessert is called Muhallebi in Turkey and Iraq, the Egyptian variant is called Mahalabia.

Serves Two 
Ingredients
250 ML Full Cream Milk
50 Grams Sugar
2 Tablespoon Water
1 Tablespoon Level Corn Flour
100 ML Fresh Cream
1 Tablespoon Level Rose Water
Pistachios for garnishing as required

Method

Combine milk and sugar together in a saucepan; bring to a boil, let it boil till sugar dissolves.
Mix water and corn flour together in a bowl until smooth; stir into boiling milk. Cook milk mixture over medium heat until thickened to the consistency of a thick pudding, for 2 -3 minutes, add the rose water and give it a quick stir.. Remove saucepan from heat and add the fresh cream mix it well and keep stirring it till it cools / comes to room temperature or else a scum will form on the top. Pour into into two pudding glasses garnish with silvered pistachios. Refrigerate the pudding to chill. 

Serve this pudding chilled. Yum and delicious. 
Labels: Sweets & Desserts, Pudding, No Bake Desserts, Milk, Corn Flour, Fresh Cream, Middle Eastern, Glass Verrines, Vegetarian, Egypt  

We are sharing Egyptian recipes for this week's Sunday Funday.

• Culinary Cam: Hawawshi and Other Egyptian-Inspired Dishes 
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Egyptian Borek (Cheese Filled Hand Pies) 
• Palatable Pastime: Baked Chicken with Baharat 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Salata Baladi 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Mahalabia
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Egyptian Sweet Rolls
• Pandemonium Noshery: Molokhia
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Egyptian Cookies

Varicha Tandalacha Sheera/ Bhagar Sheera#SundayFunday

Sharvan has began in Maharashtra, in this season many fast. There are many who do not eat onion and garlic too during this period. This is a pefect recipe to make it's tasty & easy upvas sheera also know as Varicha Sheera.
Sheera is mainly made with rava/semolina but this is made for fasting, hence used samo/varicha tandul. This sweet dish is made from Samo rice, which is a gluten free millet known by different names like, Moraiyo in Gujarati, Kuthiraivali in South, Bhagar/ Vari Che Tandul in Maharashtra and Barnyard millet in English. This millet mostly consumed during fasts. I have made gluten free puris , pulao, dosa with this.

Ingredients
1½ Cups Milk
¼ Cup Desi Ghee
½ Cup Samo Rice - washed and drained
¼ Teaspoon Kesar/Saffron Strands
7 - 8 Almonds - chopped

7 - 8 Cashewnuts
2 Teaspoon Raisins -
¼ to 1/3 Cup Sugar - according to the sweetness you want
¼ tsp Cardamom Powder 

Method
In a sauce pan heat milk on medium flame. 
In another pan heat ghee on medium low flame, fry all the cashewnuts,  almonds, raisins, remove and keep aside.

In the same pan add the samo rice/variche tandul  and fry till it releases an aroma, do not change the color of the rice. 

Add the hot milk, stir well, bring it to a boil, add kesar and cover and cook till rice is nearly done and all the milk is nearly absorbed.

Then add the dry fruits and sugar, cook till sugar melts and all the milk is absorbed. Stir at regular intervals. 

When done add cardamoms powder and the fried raisins and almonds, mix well, sheera is ready.

Serve & Enjoy!! 

Labels: Sweets & Desserts, Vrat, Indian, Millets, Gluten free,
Kuthiraivali, Barnyard Millet, Festival Sweets, Sunday Funday, Breakfast

• Herby Garlic Rice from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Mexican Rice from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pineapple Rice Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Quick Mushroom and Onion Rice from Palatable Pastime
• Stir-Fried Brown Rice with Vegetables and Ginger from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Varicha Tandalacha Sheera/ Bhagar Sheera from Sneha's Recipe 

Palada Payasam#SundayFunday

Payasam prepared with palada (rice ada) is common gluten free sweet delicacy prepared in almost all Kerala households during festival of Onam and many other occasions. There are many variations of  this is gluten free desserts which uses only basic ingredients like rice ada ( Ada made of raw rice), milk, sugar to make best palada payasam. 

I used store bought rice ada from the Kerala store. Try this and you will love it, this rice ada you will find it online too.

Ingredients
3 Tablespoons Palada/Rice Ada
2 Tablespoons Chopped Almond
1 Tablespoon Raisins
1 Liter Full Cream Milk
1/4 Cup Heaped Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Cardamom Powder
1 Tablespoon Rose petals
A Big Pinch Kesar

Method 

Heat the milk add the palada and cook till the milk reduces and palada cooks and thickens. Then add sugar and rest of the ingredients. Cook till sugar melts. Stirring continuously. Take off flame.  

Serve warm with garnish of nut and rose petals.

Labels: Desserts, Kerala, Kheer, Gluten Free, Navratri, Vrat, Rice, Milk, Sunday Funday, Payasam

Sunday Funday

Gluten Free Desserts

• Motichoor Rabri Parfait by Cook with Renu
• Gluten-Free Matcha Chocolate Pie by Culinary Cam
• Palada Payasam by Sneha's Recipe
• Snickers Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Raspberry Mousse by Mayuri's Jikoni
• 3 Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cookies by Amy's Cooking Adventures   

Eggless Layali Lubnan#EattheWorld

This is a delicious and easy Lebanese dessert which can be made for Ramadan or any other time. This Lebanese Nights Dessert (Layali Lubnan), is a very famous Lebanese dessert widely served all over Lebanon. It is one of the most served dessert at home because it’s easy to make and tasty.

Ingredients
For The Semolina Layer / First Layer
4 Cups Milk
½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Semolina
1 Teaspoon Rose water
For The Sugar Syrup
½ Cup Sugar
1 Cup Water
1 Teaspoon Rose water
For The Second Layer
2 Cups Milk
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Corn flour
½ Cup Cream Cheese

For Garnishing
½ Cup Finely Chopped Pistachios 

Method
For the Semolina Layer

Add all the ingredients into a pan and cook the first layer till t becomes thick.

Pour it in a greased pan and set it in the refrigerator for an hour.
For The Second Layer 

Mix together all the ingredients in a pot with a whisk without any heat at first until there are no lumps. Then, bring to medium-high heat and keep whisking until it starts to thicken. It should look creamy and pourable. 

Pour on top of the first layer and keep it in the fridge for 6 - 8 hours.

Cling wrap it and refrigerate.

After it is cooled and set 

then loosen the sides with a butter knife and take this onto serving plate. 

Garnish it with pistachios. 

To Make The Sugar Syrup

Make the syrup in the meantime by mixing together the sugar and water. Let it come to a simmer for about 5-10 minutes until it slightly thickens. Let this cool completely.

Then drizzle all over the dessert as much as you like or drizzle to each person's slice. This is up to you. I cut a slice and then poured the sugar syrup on top.

Enjoy .. this is simply delicious...

Labels: Lebanese, Eggless, Eat the World, Sweets & Desserts, Dessert, Semolina, Middle Eastern

Join us as we Eat the World!!!

Each month Evelyne of CulturEatz invites us to visit a country and explore their foods. This month it's Lebanon. 

Check out all the wonderful Lebanese dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Find out how to join Eat the World here and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us! 

 Culinary Cam: Some Lebanese Favorites: Lamb Ummo, Lubyee Bi Lahmi, and Mujadara

Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Ka’ak (Lebanese Purse Bread) 

Pandemonium Noshery: Halawet el Jibn - Lebanese Semolina Cheese Dessert 

Sneha’s Recipe: Eggless Layali Lubnan 

Cultureatz: Lebanese Shish Tawook 

A Day in the Life on the Farm: Instant Pot Beef Shwarma 

Magical Ingredients: Malfouf Salad