THANDAI

Thandai

In India, all foods are believed to be either heat-giving or cooling. Thandai is a North-Indian drink made especially when the hot, dry summer winds blow through the region leaving everything and everybody parched. This thirst-quencher is tasty and cooling. The recipe below makes 6 glasses.
INGREDIENTS:

* 1 litre milk
* 1 can sweetened condensed milk
* 30 almonds blanched
* 6 tsps whole pumpkin/sunflower seeds (unsalted)
* 1 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
* 3 tsps rose water (optional)
* Crushed ice
* Rose petals to garnish

PREPARATION:

* Grind the almonds, sunflower/pumpkin seeds, cardamom powder and rose water into a fine paste in a food processor.
* Add the milk, condensed milk and crushed ice to the paste and blend well.
* Strain the drink through a fine seive or muslin and serve in glasses, granished with rose petals.

LASSI

Lassi
Yogurt Drink

Besides Indian tea known as "Chai", Lassi is the most popular drink of the people of India. Lassi is made in two ways either sweet or salty. On a hot sunny day it is only natural to quench one's thirst with a tall glass of Lassi.

* Sweet Lassi
* Salty Lassi
* Mango Lassi
* Pineapple Lassi




Sweet Lassi

1 cup of yogurt
½ a cup of water
½ a cup of ice cubes
3 to 5 teaspoons of sugar
A pinch of salt

A dollop of plain yogurt for garnishing


Blend all the ingredients at high speed till frothy.
Add a dollop of fresh yogurt on top.
Makes two to three glasses of Lassi.



Salty Lassi

This Salty Lassi is spiced with cumin and is a great refreshing drink in the summer.

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup chilled milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup of ice cubes

A dollop of plain yogurt for garnishing


Dry roast ( What is Dry roasting?) the cumin seeds for a few minutes until you start getting a wonderful aroma. Cool and grind to a coarse consistency. In a blender blend all the ingredients. Top it up with a dollop of yogurt. Serve chilled.

Makes 4 servings.

Note : Using fat free yogurt is a splendid way of making a "guilt free" cool summer drink.



Mango Lassi

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup mango pulp (fresh or canned)
1 cup crushed ice
3 table spoons sugar / Use sugar substitute if desired

Blend all of the above. Add a little water if the consistency is too thick. Keep refrigerated.
Serve chilled. Makes 4 servings.



Dry Roasting : This term is used to describe the process of heating spices on medium high heat in a shallow frying pan without any oil. This dry sautéing is done until the natural oils in the spices start emitting their natural aroma and the spice is lightly toasted. Individual spices are lightly toasted this way before they are ground so as to extract the maximum flavor from the spice.

This process works very well to rejuvenate the old spices sitting in your cupboards. Dry roasting them will bring out their flavors.



Pineapple Lassi

1 cup ripe, fresh pineapple (peeled and diced)
125 ml/1/2 cup plain, natural yoghurt
125 ml/1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
cup ice cubes

Place all ingredients in the jug of an electric blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately.

GULAB JAMUN

Gulab Jamun

Ingredients:

1 cup Carnation Milk Powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tablespoons butter -melted
Whole milk just enough to make the dough

For the Sugar Syrup
2 cups Sugar
1 cup water
Oil for frying

How to make gulab jamun:

* Make the dough by combining the milk powder, Bisquick, butter. Add just enough whole milk to make a medium-hard dough. Divide the dough into 18-20 portions. Make balls by gently rolling each portion between your palms into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a plate. Cover with a damp yet dry kitchen towel.
* Heat the oil on high and then lower the heat to medium. Slip in the balls into the hot oil from the side of the pan, one by one. They will sink to the bottom of the pan, but do not try to move them. Instead, gently shake the pan to keep the balls from browning on just one side. After about 5 mins, the balls will rise to the surface. The Gulab Jamuns should rise slowly to the top if the temperature is just right. Now they must be gently and constantly agitated to ensure even browning on all sides.
* If the temperature of the oil is too high then the gulab jamuns will tend to break. So adjust the temperature to ensure that the gulab jamuns do not break or cook too quickly.
* The balls must be fried very slowly under medium temperatures. This will ensure complete cooking from inside and even browning.

Sugar Syrup

* The syrup should be made earlier and kept warm. To make the hot sugar syrup add mix the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water. Add 4-5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed and a few strands of "Kesar". Mix with a spoon and then heat at medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar is all dissolved in water. Do not overheat, that will caramelize the sugar.
* Transfer this hot syrup into a serving dish. Keep warm on stove. Add the fried gulab jamuns directly into the warm syrup. Leave gulab jamun balls in sugar syrup overnight for best results. They can be served warm or at room temperature.

Jalebi

Jalebi

Ingredients

plain flour 200 gms (maida)
gram flour 20 gms (besan)
sugar 200 gms
few drops yellow colour
Milk 2 tbsp
ghee to deep fry
a plastic easy squeeze bottle


Method:

* Sieve 100 gms maida and besan together.
* Make a batter using warn water.
* Keep aside for 24 hours.
* Add remaining maida and food colour and more warm water if required.
* The batter should fall easily when poured Keep aside.(Not too thick not too thin)
* Make syrup of the sugar by adding water and boiling.
* Add the milk and all the scum to form while boiling.
* Make one string syrup. Strain.
* Fill bottle with batter.
* Heat ghee well in a shallow frying pan and form jalebis in the form of concentric circles about 2 inches on the outside.
* Fry till crisp, drop into hot syrup.
* Drain with a perforated spoon, serve hot.


Tips The nozzle of the easy squeeze bottle should have a hole the thickness of a knitting needle.

RASGULLA

Roshogolla



Ingredients:
1/2 Litre Milk
2 tsp. Flour (maida)
1/4 tsp Lemon Juice
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Water
4-5 drops Rosewater Essence

Method:

* Heat milk in a pan and bring it to boil. Remove from heat.
* Add lemon juice. Stir slowly and gently until white curd forms on the surface and separates from whey. On straining this milk, the curd that is obtained is called "chenna".
* Wash chenna well under cold running water and twist the cloth that was used for straining to extract water.
* Knead chenna to make a smooth dough. Add flour and knead again.
* Make small balls of equal size (6-7) of the dough and keep aside. Next make sugar syrup.
* Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring it to boil.
* Add chenna balls to the syrup and cook for 15 minutes with lid partially covered.
* Chenna dumplings will puff up.
* On cooling, add rose wateressence.