Caramelized peach

If you love extremely quick processes, then this 'quick dessert' is going to be in your good books forever.

I made this for a simple dinner when our Amalraj anna visited us. Summer is the peach season after 'mango time' here. It comes around 99 cents/lb - $ 2.99 / lb  depending upon the store. I wanted to make some dessert with seasonal fruits on that day. So I bought some 3 medium size peaches from stop and shop. Preparation is the key to any dinner. So I had cut the fruit and kept it handy  in fridge and started cooking while serving the dinner.  I made this in low heat in my cast iron skillet (which is my new favorite toy) . I got it from camping section of Walmart (3 various sized skillet set for $9 in their roll back savings offer price). I felt very happy to see how much anna love it. The hot caramelized peach served with homemade mango ice cream and store bought hagen dazs caramel ice cream became the center of attraction on that day.  

Saute' the peach slices in butter.

Cooking the peach slices with butter , brown sugar, cinnamon powder.

Cook in low heat till caramelized (say 10 mins).

My lil menu planning board 

Mint Lemon juice, onion uthappam, coconut chutney, sambar, Poori, kilangu, caramel peach with icecream.

Caramelized peach with mango ice cream and hagen dazs caramel ice cream.

Ingredients:

Peach (ripe) - 2

Brown sugar - 4 tbsp

butter - 2 tbsp

cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Wash and slice the peaches into long wedges.

Discard the seed.

Heat butter in a thick bottom skillet or vessel.

Arrange all the peach pieces and cook for 5 minutes in low heat.

Turn over. Spread the brown sugar, cinnamon powder and cook till the sugar gets caramelized (flavorful and brown color). 

Caramelized peach is ready !

Serving suggestion:

Serve HOT along with any ice cream of your choice.

Note:

This dessert can be traditionally prepared in oven too. But the above said method is quicker.

Shahi tukda (double ka meetha)

Shahi tukda or Shahi tukra , otherwise known as double ka meetha is a popular Hyderabad recipe. Frankly speaking, I have never tasted it in India. But after moving to US, I could taste this yummy dessert in almost all the buffets in Indian restaurants (if they don't have gulabjamun) . The secret behind its omnipresence is due to the simplicity of this recipe. I am sure anyone can make this dessert and can definitely become the favorite guest in a potluck :) It doesn't need much basic preparation, but we have to buy and keep the ingredients ready. Most important requirements are white bread (no substitution), ghee (definitely not oil please) and for my recipe I used condensed milk to quicken the process. So I am giving out my short and sweet recipe for this shahi tukra using little ghee and condensed milk.

But the traditional recipe calls for deep frying the bread in ghee. The traditional rabdi is made by boiling whole milk for long time (to get a condensed milk consistency), but I have used readymade condensed milk.

This is my version of shahi tukra and I am sure it will be helpful when we need a 'quicker version of shahi tukda'.

Shahi Tukda (double kaa meetha) with lot of rabri

Steps involved:

Making milk sauce (rabri)

Cut the bread slices to 1.5" squares

Pan fry or deep fry the bread slices in ghee

Bring the sugar solution to one thread consistency

Dip the bread slices in sugar syrup

Arrange the sugar coated bread slices in a tray

Sugar coated fried bread slices

Shahi tukra with milk sauce (rabri)

Shahi Tukda (double kaa meetha) with lot of rabri

Ingredients:
White sandwich bread - 4 slices
ghee - 4 or 5 tbsp (to shallow fry)
Sugar - 1 cup
water - 1/4 cup
For rabdi (milk sauce):
Condensed milk - 1/2 cup
whole milk - 2 cups
almond , cashew , pistachio - handful
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
saffron - few (optional)
sugar - 1/4 cup (to taste)
Rabdi:
Put the nuts in boiling water and let it cook for 2 minutes (till almond wrinkles). Peel the almond. Crush the nuts in a hand mortar to small pieces. keep aside.
Bring milk to boil. Let it reduce to 1 cup. Add sugar and keep cooking. Add condensed milk and stir well. Put the nuts, saffron, cardamom powder. Switch off. Keep aside. (Yellow food color is added mildly by restaurants instead of saffron).
We can prepare this rabdi a day ahead and keep refrigerated for better taste (and for our convenience too).

Method:
In a vessel, add sugar and water and bring to a boil. Continue heating till the syrup gets 1 string consistency. Take off heat.  keep this ready.
Cut and remove the crust of bread slices. Slice the bread into small squares of 1.5 inch size.
Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a tawa (frying pan). Reduce the heat to minimum and fry few pieces of bread till they get crispy.  Put the fried bread slices in sugar syrup. Dip it well and place on serving tray.
Likewise fry all the bread pieces and dip in sugar syrup.
Arrange the sugary bread slices in serving tray.
Now pour the prepared rabdi over the bread pieces. Let it soak for atleast 1 hour before serving.
Keep refrigerated.
Shahi tukda is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve chilled as dessert.

Coconut truffle

I think my readers know how much I like quick versions in cooking. Truffles come under such classification. Though there are many lengthy variations, I tailored my recipe so that I can accomplish it without much effort.
Last weekend we invited our friend Raynor for lunch and I started making dessert a day ahead. While making the dessert (what dessert? I will tell you all in another post), I had some left over sugar syrup and I wanted to incorporate it in something else. Then I remembered this easy dessert I have seen in food-network TV sometime ago.
I didn't note the exact ingredients, so I made my own. Here is the recipe for  a dessert which we can prepare very quickly and effortlessly,  but I am sure it will be liked by all.

coconut and nuts in sugar syrup

everything got ready to be rolled into balls

balls to be kept refrigerated

After dipping in white chocolate.

White chocolate coconut truffles are ready !

Ingredients:
unsweetened shredded dry coconut - 1 cup
chopped nuts (almond, cashew) - 2 tbsp each
chopped dry fruits - 1 tbsp (optional)
sugar - 1/2 cup (or) little more
salt - a pinch
cardamom - a pinch
rose essence - 2 drops'
coconut oil - 1 tbsp (I used Aldi's simply nature brand)
For dipping:
White chocolate - 3/4 cup

Method:
Put the sugar in a saucepan and add 2 tbsp water. Bring it to boil and let it thicken a little for 1 more minute (one string consistency). Switch off.
 Run the chopped nuts, dry fruits and coconut in a mixer / blender to get a semi smooth powder. (We can  use fresh or dessicated coconut. I used dried coconut).
Put this powder, salt, cardamom, coconut oil into the prepared sugar syrup. Mix well , start heating and keep in low heat. Stir continuously for 1 - 2 minutes till it gets thick. Then add rose essence and switch off.
Spread wax paper over a plate. Grease it with 2 drops of coconut oil.
Make gooseberry size small balls ( 1 inch diameter). Keep them on wax paper and chill them in fridge (not freezer) for at least 1 hour.
Before taking out, prepare the white chocolate dipping.
Put the white chocolate in microwavable bowl, heat for exactly 1 minute. Take out and mash with fork. If needed microwave for 10 seconds or another seconds more. It should be runny now.
Take one coconut ball in fork, dip it in white chocolate, roll well and take out. keep it in same wax paper. Likewise do for all the coconut balls. Immediately drizzle a few strings of dessicated coconut over all the truffles (optional). Place the truffle plate inside fridge for 1 or more hours. Coconut truffle is ready !

Serving suggestion:
Serve as snack or dessert or party favor.
Try to keep these truffles inside fridge for more crispy taste. But it holds good in room temperature for 3-4 hours.
Makes 20 truffles.

Easy Mango Shrikhand

Making shrikhand itself is an easy breezy job for a food lover. But having this recipe in hand will make the job more easy and delectable. I tasted this mango shirkhand in my neighbor aunty's house and learned to make it from sour cream instead of curd. She is known for hosting many homely dinner parties and I help her sometimes too. I always wonder how she juggles many things at a time.  I like the way she uses all kinds of short-cuts, so that the hostess also gets some time to rest and look fresh and pretty:) Isn't her confidence amazing !
I have used real mangoes in this recipe, but aunty recommends using tinned alphonsa mangoes instead of pureeing the mangoes.

Note: This is not an authentic shrikhand recipe. But comes handy when we need to prepare a dessert without much effort.

Mango shrikhand using sour cream

Ingredients:
Sour cream - 1 cup (fat free or whole)
Cream cheese - 2 tbsp (optional)
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup + up to taste
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Mango - 1 (or 1/2 cup puree)
Mango - 1/2 (chopped)

Method:
Sieve the powdered sugar to get rid off the lumps (this step is a must).
Using a fork, mix the sour cream and cream cheese separately, till they get a smooth texture.
Puree the mango. Chop another mango and take a handful for this recipe and enjoy the other half  yourself:)
Add mango puree, cardamom powder, chopped mango to the above  and mix well.
Keep refrigerated in an air tight container for almost 2 hours (or till it gets chill).
Garnish with chopped pistachios while serving.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as dessert.