badam halwa (almond)

Ingredients:

Badam (almond) - 1 cup heaped
Sugar - 1 cup flat
Ghee - 3 tablespoons
Saffron - few strings
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Yellow food colour - little (Optional)
Almond essence - two to three drops (Optional)

Method:

Soak almonds in lukewarm water for about one hour and remove the pink skin. Grind the peeled almonds to a coarse paste.

Take a thick bottomed kadai (preferably non-stick kadai). Put the sugar and the ground almond paste into it and keep it on medium flame. First the sugar starts melting and the mixture looks liquid. Stir continuously till it become solid and leaves the sides of the vessel. Then switch off the stove. Add two tablespoon of ghee on the halwa. Ghee melt in the heat of the halwa. Add saffon and cardamom powder and mix everything. Now add the remaining ghee and once again mix well and transfer it to a greased bowl.

Note:There is no need of adding any colour or almond essence to the halwa. However, if you desire you can add two to three drops of essence and yellow food colour.

sweet poli

Sweet Poli is a festival dish and it is prepared with dhal or coconut sweet stuffing.
you can use maida or wheat flour for this.

Ingredients:

Maida or wheat flour - 2 cups (heaped)
Coconut gratings - 1 cup
Jaggery powdered - 1 cup
Dry ginger powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee - 4 or 5 teaspoons
Gingelly oil - 3 to 4 teaspoons
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Method:

Add salt and turmeric powder to wheat flour and mix well. Add water little by little and make a dough (like chapati dough) and apply little gingelly oil on the dough and keep it aside for atleast half an hour.

In a thick bottomed vessel put the jaggery powder and add 1/4 cup water and bring to boil. Remove from stove and strain it so that any mud or dust will be removed. Put back the strained jaggery water to the vessel and again allow to boil. When it starts boiling, add coconut gratings and mix well. Cook on medium flame till it become solid. Add dry ginger powder and cardamom powder and mix well. Cool it.

Grease banana leaf or a plastic sheet and put a small orange size dough and flatten it. Put lemon size coconut mixture in the centre and fold it. Then gently spread it with your fingers. Remove it and put it in a hot tawa. Pour little ghee around the poli and cook till light brown spot appears on both sides.

Dhal Poli

Ingredients:

Bengal Gram Dhal - 1 cup
Powdered Jaggery - 1 cup
Maida or wheat flour - 2 cups
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Ghee - 5 teaspoons

Cardamon powder - 1/2 teaspoon
A pinch of salt

Method:

Soak Bengal gram dhal in water for about two to three hours. Cook the Dhal in water till soft, but not mushy. Drain the excess water and cool it.

Grind the cooked dhal to a fine powder. Add 1/4 cup water to the jaggery and bring to boil. When it starts boiling, strain it and put it back in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add dhal powder and stir continuously till it become thick. Add cardamom powder, mix well and remove from stove. Let it cool.

Mix maida, salt and turmeric powder and make a soft dough using water little by little.

Take a plastic sheet or foil, flatten out small ball sized quantity of the maida dough. Place a smaller sized ball of the sweet filling and cover it completely using the flattened maida dough. Cover with another plastic sheet. Roll it round using a rolling pin. (You can also make a thin round using your fingers). Heat up a tawa and when it is hot place the poli and pour a teaspoon of ghee all around and cook. Turn and cook on other side until light brown spots appear.