Sing pak (Crushed peanut bars) with jaggery

Sing pak or crushed peanut bar is my childhood favorite winter goodie that my mom prepared for us every year in winter. Mostly people either prepare this delight at home but you can easily buy it from the street side vendors or local grocery stores. Sing pak is prepared specially around the festival of Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti when Sun enters into Makar rashi (Capricorn zodiac) - moves northwards - indicating end of winter and beginning of spring season. It is also called a harvest festival and is celebrated across India. 

It is very easy and simple to prepare Sing pak (Crushed peanut bar) with just 3 ingredients - peanuts, jaggery and ghee or coconut oil. These ingredients boost immunity and help our body fight against changing season. Sing pak is protein rich and provides energy to keep up with change in the season. I have seen sometimes people add dried ginger powder or cardamom powder to it but I just love the original plain Sing pak without any add-ons. Sing pak (Crushed peanut bar) can be a healthier snacking option for kids and adults. Once you learn how to prepare the Sing pak, you can prepare the same using any type of nuts like cashews or almonds. 

What is Sing pak?

Sing pak is a winter delicacy from Gujarat, where Sing is a Gujarati word for peanuts and pak is something very close to a texture like fudge. Sing pak is completely different in texture from Sing chikki. Sing pak has texture like fudge that is hard enough to hold together peanuts and jaggery but easy to break and bite on it without much efforts. While Sing chikki has a texture like brittle or candy. 

Jaggery vs Sugar?

Sing pak can be prepared using either jaggery or sugar. However, using jaggery is not only healthier but also more nutritious and of course it tastes so much better in my opinion. Even though jaggery and sugar both have same amount of calories, jaggery is rich in iron, magnesium and potassium. To prepare Sing pak (Crushed peanut bars), you just need to learn how to obtain the correct texture for jaggery. 

Sing pak - Crushed Peanut bar

Prepare time - 10 minutes

Cook time - 5 minutes

Yields - 10 to 12 squares

Ingredients

3/4 Cup Raw Sing/Peanuts (blanched)

1/2 Cup Gol/Gur/Shaved/powdered Jaggery

2 Tbsp Ghee or Coconut oil 

Instructions

Begin with greasing a tray or a plate with high rims with some ghee. 

Now roast peanuts in a kadhai or heavy bottom pan on a medium heat. Be sure to stir peanuts frequently to evenly roast them without burning them. After 2-3 minutes, you will notice brown spots on peanuts, indicating peanuts have turned crisp and you can easily remove the skin (if using peanuts with skin). Turn off the heat and transfer the peanuts in a plate. 

Once the peanuts cool down a little, take a paper towel or cloth napkin and rub the peanuts to remove skin easily. This is just one additional step to perform if using unblanched peanuts. 

Now, add the blanched roasted peanuts in a blender and grind them in pulses. This will ensure the oil from peanuts does not separate. Transfer the crushed peanuts in a bowl. 

Next heat up the same kadhai or heavy bottom pan and add ghee. Once ghee is melted, add shaved or powdered jaggery to it. Once jaggery start melting, it will turn bubbly and mix well with ghee. Be sure to stir jaggery frequently so that it melts evenly. 

Quickly turn off the heat and add crushed peanuts to jaggery. Combine jaggery and peanuts well and transfer the mixture to greased plate. Spread and flatten the Sing pak with the help of a flat bottom bowl or spatula. Alternatively, you can place parchment or butter paper on top and spread it by rolling pin. 

Mark the lines on Sing pak (Crushed peanut bars) using knife while it is still warm. 

Allow Sing pak (Crushed peanut bars) to cool down completely before cutting into pieces. Store in airtight container and enjoy this winter goodie! 

Flourless Chocolate chip cookies

Holiday season is incomplete without some home baked delightful chocolate chip cookies. The sweet aroma of freshly baked cookies just fill up the house with the Holiday spirit. The best part of baking cookies is that you can involve kids in this activity and they will gladly do so just because its cookies. 

Since we indulge on so much of food during holidays and festive season, it is important to balance the diet with some delicious low carb and low calorie food. These chocolate chip cookies are not only flourless but also free of refined sugar. So what's inside it? The cookies are made with almond flour, bananas, maple syrup, nut butter,  cinnamon powder, chocolate chips, salt, baking powder and baking soda. The ingredients are simple and easy to find in a grocery store. These Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies are eggless, gluten free and you can easily turn them into vegan cookies by using vegan chocolate chips as all other ingredients are dairy free. 

Even though, the cookies are flourless they taste absolutely delicious. In fact, I would say these taste better than the regular cookies. They are very soft and chocolaty with all the nut butter and chocolate chips. My family enjoy these cookies so much that we just finish the entire batch of cookies in 2-3 days whenever I prepare them. 

The recipe for the Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies is actually very flexible that you can customize it and prepare your own version of cookies as long as you follow the ratio of bananas to almond flour, baking soda and baking powder. 

Important Notes

• It is ideal to use overripe bananas for this recipe but you can also use ripe bananas to prepare the cookies. Just be sure to mash the bananas properly so there are no chunks. 
• I have used store brand almond flour to prepare the cookies. You can prepare your own almond flour by grinding soaked, peeled and dried almonds. There are ton of videos available on the web to make almond flour at home. 
• For this recipe, I have used smooth almond butter. You can use any nut butter of your choice, just be sure to use smooth butter and not chunky. 
• For sweetener I have used maple syrup but honey can be used as a substitute as well. You may need to use more honey as it is little less sweeter than maple syrup. 
• Cinnamon powder is optional to use but it really helps bring out the best flavors.
• To turn this recipe vegan, just replace the chocolate chips either with the vegan chocolate chips or nuts like walnut or cashews. 
• Storage Instruction: Transfer the cookies to an airtight container using spatula. Separate them with butter/wax paper as shown in the video so they don't stick to each other. Keep the container in the refrigerator, the cookies will be good for 4-5 days. The cookies are so irresistible that they don't last longer anyways. :) 

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Prepare time - 10 minutes

Bake time - 25 minutes

Cool time - 10 minutes

Yields - 12 Cookies

Ingredients 

2 Overripe bananas 

2 Cup Almond flour 

1 Cup Semisweet chocolate chips 

1/2 Cup Smooth almond butter

1/3 Cup + 1 Tbsp Maple syrup (adjust as desired)

1 Tsp Cinnamon powder (optional)

1/8 Tsp salt (or to taste)

1 Tsp Baking powder 

1/2 Tsp Baking soda 

           

Instructions

Start by preheating oven at 350F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients - almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon powder (optional) - in a bowl. 

Now in another mixing bowl, combine nut butter and maple syrup together and melt it in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute. 

Take a large mixing bowl, peel and mash overripe bananas. To that, first add and combine the dry ingredient mixture followed by melted nut butter mixture as shown in the video. Combine everything well. 

Now, add 3/4th cup chocolate chips to the dough and give everything a good mix. Taste the cookie dough and adjust the sweetness as necessary. Our flourless chocolate chip cookie dough is ready. 

Line a baking tray with parchment paper or silicone mat. Scoop out 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp of cookie dough on the baking tray. You will be able to make about 12 domes. 

Top the domes with the remaining 1/4th cup of chocolate chips. 

Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 25-27 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.

Remove them from the oven and let them cool down for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies on a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool down completely before transferring them to a container. The cookies are going to be soft and yummy. Just the way I like them :) Delicious Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies are ready to devour. 

Happy Holidays! 

Black Forest Shrikhand Trifle

Diwali is just around the corner followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas. There will be lots of reasons to celebrate the festivals this year as we all aim for better and brighter tomorrow. We will have reasons to be thankful this year to be able to survive the biggest pandemic of the century. And as we look ahead we will cherish the memories of yesterdays. As we celebrate the festival of Diwali or as they say festival of lights, we will pray to God to spread the light of joy and happiness in our lives. What better way to celebrate these amazing festivals than with a fusion dessert that tells you a tale of yester years with the flavors of present times.

What is Shrikhand?

Shrikhand is a Western Indian dessert that is now widely known to many as it is sold in almost all Indian stores across the globe. Traditionally Shrikhand is prepared with hung curd and flavored with either Elaichi (Cardamom) powder, kesar (Saffron) & Pistachios or Mango pulp. It is very easy to prepare Shrikhand as it requires only 2 ingredients - Hung curd and sugar, plus flavoring of your choice. 

Here I have given this traditional dessert a little twist by flavoring it with non-Indian flavors of Maraschino cherries and chocolate inspired from the Black Forest cake. The delicate cherry flavor when combined with the creamy chocolate flavor is so decadent that this dessert will be a big hit for your party or family gathering. This delicious and fancy dessert is very easy to prepare with just a few ingredients. The best part is you can prepare this dessert a day or two in advance and there will be one less thing to worry about on the day of your gathering. 

What is Trifle?

Trifle is a traditional English/British dish that has layers of savory or sweet flavors. When prepared as sweet dessert, Trifle is prepared with thin layers of various fruit flavors, custard, sponge soaked in wine and cream. Trifle is a versatile dessert as you can mix and match your choice of flavors and textures. 

Just in case if you are wondering, we are not going to talk about about health benefits today as we are talking about desserts and holiday season! You can let it loose once in a while. :)

Tips and tricks - 

• Traditionally Shrikhand is prepared with hung curd but I have used Greek yogurt here as I had it on hand and it saves a lot of time. If you are using homemade yogurt, just sieve it in a muslin cloth, tie it tight and rest the cloth on a strainer. Let it rest for couple hours so all the excess water drips down. 
• I have used store bought jar of Maraschino cherries. The cherries are stored in a sugar syrup which I like as I don't have to prepare sugar syrup separately. Also, the jar of cherries is always available in store, so I can prepare this delicious dessert any time of the year! 
• You can also use fresh cherries instead. Just be sure to use pitted cherries and prepare cherry sugar syrup by boiling cherries with water and sugar. 
• For the crust, I have used Parle-G as that's what I had available at the time. Feel free to use any other plain cookies or graham crackers. 
• Here I have used almond butter to add some nutty flavor. You can use any nut butter that is available to you. 
• With the ingredients listed below, I was able to prepare 6 cups of Trifle but I have shown only 4 cups to keep it clear in the video. 
• Always use bone char free granulated cane sugar to keep this recipe vegetarian. 
• Although I have not tried it, but you can use non-dairy yogurt to make this a vegan dessert.

Black Forest Shrikhand Trifle

Prepare time - 30 to 35 minutes

Refrigerate time - 4 to 6 hours or overnight

Yields - 6 servings

Ingredients

2 pack of Parle-G or graham crackers (160 gm)

2 Tbsp Almond butter 

8-10 Maraschino cherries for topping 

For Cherry Shrikhand 

1 Cup Greek yogurt or hung curd

1/2 Cup Sugar (adjust per taste)

1/4 Cup Maraschino cherries chopped

2-3 Tbsp Sugar syrup from the preserved maraschino cherries

Chocolate Shrikhand

1/2 Cup Greek yogurt or hung curd

1/2 Cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Cocoa powder

2 Tbsp Chocolate chips

1 Tsp Vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

Let's begin by first transferring the cookies to a ziplock bag. Now, crush the cookies using rolling pin as shown in the video. Do not powder the cookies completely.

Now, melt the almond butter in a microwave for about a minute. Add it to the crushed cookies and combine well. 

Add 2 tbsp of crushed cookie mixture to each cup and press it down using an empty cup or a spoon. Now, place the cups in the refrigerator for 5 minutes until we prepare Cherry Shrikhand. 

To prepare Cherry Shrikhand, begin with roughly chopping the cherries except the ones that we separated for garnishing at the end. 

Now, take Greek yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add sugar and combine well. Next, add the chopped cherries (keep 1 tbsp cherries aside) and cherry syrup to the yogurt mix. Whisk well to get creamy pink Cherry Shrikhand. 

Now, take out the dessert cups from the refrigerator. Add a layer of Cherry Shrikhand by adding 2 tbsp each to a cup. Top them with some chopped cherries that we kept on a side. Place the cups in a refrigerator for another 5 minutes. 

Remove the cups from fridge and add another layer of crushed cookie mixture - 1 Tbsp per cup. Place the cups back in the refrigerator to settle as we prepare next layer. 

To prepare Chocolate Shrikhand, mix in remaining Greek yogurt, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Whisk well to get delicious creamy Chocolate Shrikhand. 

Remove the dessert cups from refrigerator and add a layer of Chocolate Shrikhand - 1.25 Tbsp per cup. Top with some chocolate chip cookies. 

Place the cups back in the fridge for 5 minutes. Remove cups from fridge and add 1 tbsp Cherry Shrikhand layer in each cup. At the end garnish the yummylicious dessert cups with couple cherries that we kept aside. 

Finally, cover each dessert cup with cling wrap and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight to settle completely. It also helps mingle the flavors. You can prepare these delicious Black Forest Trifle cups as many as 2 days in advance and they will taste just as amazing on the day of your party or gathering! 

Wheat (Atta) Sheera with Jaggery

As we are getting closer to the Holiday season, it's time to start preparing the holiday delights for the family. I like to kickstart the holiday season with some healthy yet delicious dessert to keep our health in check. Here's one of the most favorite dessert/ meetha of my family - Wheat (Atta) Sheera during the auspicious festival of Navratri. Wheat (atta) sheera is a famous dessert or side in Western and North India. I have prepared this decadent dessert numerous times before and it has been loved by one and all. The Gujarati style wheat (atta) Sheera is one of the easiest dessert to prepare.  

This Sheera is made with just 7 simple ingredients that are easily available in Indian household. You just need whole wheat flour, jaggery, homemade ghee, milk, cardamom pods/powder, nuts and few saffron strands. While saffron strands are optional in the recipe but they give a distinct flavor and color to the Sheera. 

Traditionally, sugar is added to this Sheera as sweetener but to avoid decking up on all the unhealthy calories, I have prepared it by using jaggery instead. Though jaggery and sugar provide almost the same amount of calories, jaggery is considered more nutritious than refined sugar. In fact according some sources, jaggery benefits our bodies in numerous ways.

I have also used milk in preparing the Sheera instead of water to make it richer  and creamier in taste. Adding milk is optional but I have always added milk to it and I absolutely love the texture and the taste of the Sheera that is prepared using milk vs water. 

So without further ado, let's look at some important notes and then the recipe. 

Important Notes/ Tips

• It is important to use thick bottom kadhai/pan to prepare the Sheera, it will help avoid burning of ghee and wheat flour (atta).
• It is important to roast the wheat flour (atta) correctly. Do not over roast wheat flour, else it will get burnt and under roasting will give a raw taste.
• Jaggery need to be shaved or powdered in order for it to melt quickly when mixed with wheat flour (atta) and ghee. Adjust the quantity of jaggery as per your liking. 
• I have used ghee prepared at home for the recipe, you can always use store bought ghee. Here is my recipe for Homemade ghee if you like to see it. You can add little more ghee if you like but do not reduce ghee quantity else the Sheera will turn sticky.
• I have added milk to prepare Sheera, however you can use water instead, in the equal quantity, if you like to keep this recipe vegan. Also, know that adding water will give darker color to Sheera. 
• Be sure to use room temperature or lukewarm milk for the recipe. Cold milk will act against the hot kadhai/ pan and the Sheera mixture. 
• You can store the Sheera in a container in the fridge for up to a week. Always warm it up before serving.

Wheat (Atta) Sheera with Jaggery

Prepare time - 5 minutes

Cook time - 20 minutes

Yields - 2 1/2 Cup Sheera

Ingredients

1 Cup Wheat flour (Atta)

3/4 Cup Melted ghee

3/4 Cup Shaved/powdered jaggery (adjust the quantity per your liking of sweetness)  

1 1/2 Cup Milk 

2-3 Pods of Cardamom (Elaichi) / 1 Tsp cardamom powder

Handful of cashew halves, silvered almonds and raisins

Few strands of saffron (optional)

Instructions

Heat up a kadhai/ pan on a medium flame. Add homemade ghee to the kadhai and heat it up for 1 minute. While ghee is heating up, take saffron strands in a small bowl and add a tablespoon of milk. Let it soak. 

Now add wheat flour (atta) to the heated ghee and combine it well. Keep stirring the mixture continuously with spatula or spoon to avoid any lumps in the mixture. 

Roast the mixture for about 5 minutes until it becomes aromatic and the wheat flour (atta) changes color. Be careful of wheat flour getting burnt at the bottom if roasted for too long. 

Now turn the flame to low and let the mixture simmer for about 2 minutes until you see the ghee starts separating from wheat flour (atta) mixture.

Further add shaved/powdered jaggery and 1 1/4 cup milk (at room temperature) to the mixture. Give it a quick mix to ensure the milk doesn't burn at the bottom of the kadhai/ pan. Then add the soaked saffron to the kadhai/ pan. Combine everything well. 

Turn up the heat to medium and keep stirring the Sheera mixture to avoid any burning or sticking at the bottom of kadhai/ pan. After couple minutes milk will be completely absorbed in the Sheera mixture. 

Now pop the cardamom (Elaichi) pods and add them to the Sheera. Let the Sheera mixture cook for couple more minutes to ensure jaggery is completely melted and mixed up well with the rest of the mixture. 

Next add the remaining 1/4 cup milk to the mixture and combine well. This will allow the Sheera to loosen up. 

Finally add the nuts and raisins to the Sheera and mix it well. Cook the Sheera for another 3-5 minutes. At this point, turn off the flame and transfer the Sheera to a bowl and garnish with some more nuts. Our scrumptious and healthy Wheat (Atta) Sheera with Jaggery is ready to relish! Serve this Sheera hot or store it in a container in the fridge for up to a week. 

Chocolate Strawberry Truffles

It is true that food has no language yet it speaks louder than words. Chocolate and strawberry are great examples. They echo love, care and affection. There are no words needed to express your feelings when you have these two by your side. 

Chocolates are my all time favorite dessert. I love them even more when they are paired with fruit or nut. This makes it almost impossible for me to resist them. I still remember when I had first tried the strawberry dipped in chocolate fountain. It was smooth chocolate layer over the juicy red strawberry that tasted heavenly! I have just improvised that simple dessert to make these truffles. I have tried to keep this recipe healthier by including natural sweetener and avoiding white flour. I don't count chocolate as unhealthy 😉, in fact dark chocolate is considered healthy food by most.

As the festive season is approaching, I am sharing this simple yet decadent dessert recipe with you all - Chocolate Strawberry Truffles! These truffles are utterly delicious and will be a delight for your friends and family to enjoy during the holidays. These Chocolate Strawberry Truffles are prepared with just a few simple ingredients and the best part is that you don't even need any fancy equipment to make them. All you need is a blender to mix all the ingredients together. After that just make some strawberry balls, dip them into ooey gooey creamy melted chocolate and freeze them before they are ready to devour.  

Let's dive into the recipe with this short video followed by detailed recipe...

Notes/Tips

• I have used store bought almond flour, but it is very easy to make it at home. Basically soaked and blanched almonds are powdered using a blender. 
• To make oats flour, simply place the rolled oats in a blender and blend them to a powder consistency. 
• To make these truffles extra sweet, just increase the quantity of dates to 3/4th cup. 

Ingredients

1 cup Strawberry fresh or frozen

1/2 cup Pitted dates

1 cup Almond flour

1/2 cup Oats flour

1 cup Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Yields 12-16 pieces

Prep time - 15 minutes

Cool time - 1.5 hours

Instructions

We will start off with hulling strawberries if you are using fresh ones. You will also need to pit the dates to remove the seeds if you are not using pitted ones. 

Now add the strawberries, dates and vanilla extract to a blender to blend into a smooth paste.

Next, add the almond flour and oat flour and blend everything together in a thick paste. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Take a spoon full of the mixture or dough and make 12 to 16 equal sized balls. Place the strawberry balls on parchment paper in a tray and chill them in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. 

Melt the chocolate chunks in a microwave or on a double boiler. Transfer the melted chocolate in a small deep bowl. 

Now dip the strawberry balls in the melted chocolate, coat them well and place them back on the parchment paper. 

Place the tray in the freezer for about an hour until the chocolate hardens. Our decadent Chocolate Strawberry Truffles are ready to devour. 

Store them in an airtight container in the freezer. They should stay good for about a week. Enjoy!

Sooji ka Halwa/ Rava Sheera

Growing up in India it is ingrained in our culture that we shall always start new beginnings or new projects with a prayer and offering of Prasad/Naivadya to God. Prasad/Naivadya is mostly either a meetha (dessert) or fruits. Today, I will share with you a recipe of Sooji ka halwa. This is a popular dessert typically made during auspicious ceremonies like Satyanarayan katha (or other religious ceromonies) or during festivals such as Navratri. So here I am starting my new food blog journey with my prayers to God and Sooji Halwa (Rava sheera) as offering.

Moreover, this halwa is my husband's all time favorite dessert that he can eat all year round. So I make it frequently at home even if there is no occasion. However, today I am making this delight as mark of my first blog post. So let's get started with my recipe.

First and foremost, gather your ingredients -

1 Cup sooji (rava/cream of wheat)
3/4 Cup sugar (adjust per your taste and type of sugar you are using)
3/4 Cup ghee (clarified butter)
1 Cup warm milk
1 Cup warm water
1/2 tsp cardamom/ilaichi powder
Few strands of saffron/kesar
1 Tbsp Raisins
10-12 Cashew chopped
5-7 Almonds chopped (optional)
5-7 Pistachios (optional)

Process -

Take a big kadhai/wok or fry pan and add ghee. Heat it on a medium flame.

As ghee starts warming up turn flame to low and add sooji/rava. Saute it for about 6-8 minutes while stirring occasionally until it turns aromatic. Rava need to be sauted properly before adding any other ingredients. Alternatively, you can buy roasted rava that is sold in the stores.

Now warm up milk with saffron strands and water and add to the mixture. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes on medium flame while stirring continuously. (Be cautious as you add warm milk and water as the hot mixture may splash a little.)

Next, turn the flame to low and add remaining ingredients - sugar, cardamom powder, raisins, cashews, almonds and pistachios. Cook for another 6-8 minutes, stir occasionally.

After sugar is properly dissolved in the halwa/sheera, turn up heat to medium and cook for another minute or two. Finally turn off the heat.

Garnish with more chopped nuts. Delicious mouth watering Sooji ka halwa/Rava sheera is ready.

Let me know how it turns out for you. Please like, comment and subscribe to support. I will be back with more scrumptious recipes soon.