A celebration of the special bond between a brother and a sister, Rakshabandhan is just two days away. And like any other festival celebrated in different regions of the Indian subcontinent, the celebrations are not complete without those decadent desserts. Time to channel your inner chef and prepare these quick and easy recipes that are just perfect for the day.
Almond & cherry kulfi by Chef Manish Mehrotra
Ingredients
Fresh cherries, pitted 2 cups
Water ½ cup
Almond milk 4 cups
Condensed milk ½ cup
Heavy cream ½ cup
Sugar 1/2 cup
Almond meal ½ cup
Toasted almond flakes 1 tbsp
Method
Place cherries, water and ¼ cup sugar in a pan over low flame. cook, stirring 5-6, minutes till the cherries soften and mixture thickens. allow to cool and set aside.
In a pan, add almond milk and put it on a low flame. keep on stirring; do not let the almond milk burn. the milk will start to thicken.
Once it becomes half the volume add the almond meal, condensed milk and sugar and mix them well. allow it cool slightly and stir in the heavy cream. strain the mixture.
Add cooked cherry compote and mix well. allow the kulfi mixture to cool, pour it into kulfi moulds or small bowls and freeze them
Demould the kulfi and serve it garnished with toasted almond flakes.
Berry and Brioche Tukda by Chef Ajay Jain, Chef de Cuisine Saffron, JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu
Ingredients
Butter – 60 gms,
Refined flour – 120;
Sugar — 50 gms;
Milk — 120 ml;
Ghee — 25 gms
Rabri –50 gms
Mix Berries – 20gms
Sugar syrup – 50
Eggs – 2
Pistachios – 10gms
Gold leave – 1no
Method
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the bowl and mix in the eggs and yeast mixture. Beat well until the dough has pulled together, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.
Flatten the dough and spread it with one third of the butter. Knead this well. Repeat this twice to incorporate the remaining butter. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes between additions of butter. This process may take 20 minutes or so. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume.
Deflate the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. It needs time to chill in order to become more workable.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, form into loaves and place into prepared pans. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, about 60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans. Beat the egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water to make a glaze.
Brush the loaves with the egg wash. Bake in a preheated oven until a deep golden brown. Start checking the loaves for doneness after 25 minutes. Let the loaves cool in the pans for 10 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool completely
After the loave is completely cooled off, cut in thick slices and deep fry in ghee and later on dip in the sugar solution
Cover the soaked slice of brioche with rabdi and fresh mixed berries. Garnish with gold leaf and finely chopped pistachios
Eggless Mango and Cinnamon Entremet by Chef Tejasvi Chandela, pastry chef and a chocolate maker, Dzurt Patisserie
Ingredients
250g mango puree
50g caster sugar
350g water
1tbsp Agar-Agar
Method
In a saucepan combine water, agar-agar. Let sit for 3 minutes
Then add the mango puree and sugar
Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil
Strain through a sieve to remove any undissolved agar-agar
Set aside to cool slightly – 2 minutes
Pour half the jelly in a 6inch silicone mould
Freeze it for 2 hours.
Now for the mousse, Place the mango puree, and agar-agar in a saucepan
Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil
Then cook for 2 minutes to concentrate the mango flavour and evaporate excess moisture
Remove from the heat and strain through a sieve
Let cool for a few minutes until cool but not set (2 to 3 mins)
In the meantime whip the whipping cream until medium peaks
Add the cooled mango puree mixture and gently fold it in until well combined
For the Eggless Sponge
Ingredients
100g curd
100gms sugar
20gms almond powder
100gm flour
40gms oil
2gms baking soda
1.5gms Cinnamon powder
Method
Pre-heat oven at 175 degrees C
In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, cinnamon powder and sugar together until the sugar dissolves
Now add the flour and almond powder and combine it well with the yogurt and sugar
Incorporate the oil slowly into the mixture and keep whisking as you go along
Now add the soda bi-carb and give the mixture a good mix
Pour the batter into a (1/2kg) ring mould or a loaf tin that’s been oil and lined with flour or baking paper and bake for 25-30mins
Once the sponge is baked, let it cool on the wire rack
Rajasthani Ghevar by Shriya Naheta Wadhwa, Health Coach and Founder Zama Organics
A Rajasthani delicacy that is mostly prepared during the festival of Raksha Bandhan. This irresistible sweet is made out of flour, ghee, and milk mixture which is then deep fried and then dipped in a sugar syrup
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (maida)
5 cups water
½ cup milk
1 cup ghee (dry batter)
2 cups ghee (for deep frying)
3-4 strands of saffron soaked in 1 tsp milk
2 cups jaggery powder
2 tsp. Chopped almonds
2 tsp. Chopped pistachios
1 tsp. cardamom powder
5-6 drops of vanilla or kewra essence
Method
In a bowl, add milk, and 1 cup of ghee, and mix well. Add flour and water to it then mix it to obtain a batter consistency
Add kewra or vanilla essence to the remaining water and add it to the batter. The batter must be smooth without any lumps
Fill a deep pan with the remaining ghee and heat it on medium flame
When the ghee is hot, add about a glass of the batter to the ghee, this will cause the batter to rise. Allow it to settle and add another glass of batter, as per the size of ghevar desired. Make sure to add the batter to the center so that it spreads out and fills the corners of the container.
Using a skewer, pierce the ghevar at some places to loosen it. Let it fry for about 2 minutes until it changes color to a deep golden.
Remove the fried ghevar from the ghee carefully using skewers and drain out the excess oil. Allow it to cool.
Take 2 cups of jaggery or sugar along with 3 cups of water and heat it in a pan until it comes to a boil. Lower the flame and let it simmer for 7 to 8 minutes.
Take a small amount of syrup in a bowl and allow it to cool.
Put the syrup in a flat-bottomed container and dip the ghevar in it. Drain out the excess syrup.
Let it cool for a few minutes and top it with the pistachios, almonds, and cardamom powder. It is ready to serve now
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