Rum Balls / Walnut Fudge Balls

Leave a comment

A popular Christmas treat, these simple and yet, decadent rum balls are a quick, easy add to our Christmas treat or to our Kuswar. Kuswar, derived from the Portuguese term consoada, means dinner served on Christmas eve. It’s a set of Christmas sweets prepared by the Catholics in India during Christmas. On Christmas day, after mass, we’d take plates of Christmas sweet – rum balls, marzipan, rose kookies, kulkuls, biscuits, gauva cheese and more – all homemade and exchange treats with our neighbors. Now living in the US, we have tried to keep the tradition going. We often have carol-singing parties followed by a Kuswar exchange. This easy-to-make treat is a decadent add to the Kuswar plate.

1 minute prep time, 1 minute in the microwave, let it cool a couple of minutes, form the rum balls and before you know it, you have a delicious treat on hand!

Time: 10 minutes Servings: 50-60 rum balls

Ingredients:

  • 1 14oz condensed milk
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 2 tablespoons Spiced Rum (feel free to add more if you’d like to up the alcohol content) – avoid alcohol, if you’d like
  • 1 tablespoon butter (to coat palms to form the balls)
  • 1/4 cup tiny walnut pieces

Method:

  1. Prep a sheet of parchment paper by rubbing a spoon of hardened butter over the sheet – this will prevent the fudge from sticking to the sheet later.
  2. In a microwave-safe dish pour the condensed milk and then stir in the chocolate chips.
  3. Place the dish in the microwave and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir the contents until the chips and condensed milk is well blended and smooth. Stir in the rum.
  4. Microwave in 15 second increments incase the chips are not melted as the duration varies by the microwave.
  5. Pour the contents of the dish on the parchment paper. Place in the fridge to cool or cool on the countertop.
  6. When cool to touch, coat palms with butter and take teaspoon full of fudge and roll into a ball on the palm of your hand. Top with a tiny piece of walnut, similar to the picture
  7. Place the balls in an airtight bowl to store, it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

Falooda

Leave a comment

Falooda is a quintessential summer drink in India. It has a lot of resemblance to the popular drink Boba. Made with layers of rose syrup, basil seeds, creamy milk, vermicelli, ice cream and jello, it will keep you thirsting for more!

While my mom made this frequently at home, the highlight of a trip to Mumbai was a visit to Badshah’s, in Crawford Market where their Falooda was to die for. That was her favorite restaurant and now a trip to Mumbai with our kids always includes that stop!

Servings: 6.  Time: 15-30 mins including the time to soak the seeds but not including the time to set the optional jello

Ingredients

  • 3 cups – Chilled milk
  • 1 packet Falooda sev (looks like yellow thin noodles) usually found in an Indian grocery store
  • 2 tbsp – Subja/Takmuria seeds (optionally use chia seeds). Subja seeds are good for digestion and found in Indian grocery stores
  • 1 cup – Rose syrup (Sharbat Rooh Afza bottle) or more to meet the desired sweetness
  • 6 scoops Vanilla or Strawberry  ice cream or a flavor of choice
  • 1 packet Jello – strawberry flavor (optional)

Method

  • If using Jello, make it as per the instructions on the box and refrigerate to set.
  • Cook the Falooda sev per the instructions  on the packet or follow these instructions. In a cooking vessel, add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the Falooda sev/noodles and boil for 7 minutes, remove from the stove, drain the water and then add 3 cups of cold water and keep aside the cooked sev.
  • In another bowl, soak the subja seeds in 3 cups of water for 30 minutes. You will notice the seeds plump up.
  • Take 6 glasses in which you intend serving the Falooda. Pour a half cup of milk into each glass.
  • To each cup, add in 1/8th  cup (2 tbsp) of the rose syrup  to each glass and stir until blended. You can always add more syrup for desired sweetness.
  • Add in 2 tablespoons of jello along with 2 tablespoons of sev and 2 teaspoons of sabja seeds, in each cup.
  • Serve with two scoops of icecream into each cup.
  • Slurp!!

Kalakhand – An Indian Milk Sweet

Leave a comment

Kalakhand, is the Indian version of milk cake, oozing with the goodness of milk, sugar and nuts.

Now there’s “easy” and there’s “too much effort” when it comes to making desserts. This one has gone from “too time-consuming” to “goodness me, how is something so easy, so delicious?!”. Try it, I’ve had many folks ask me for this recipe because it is just so delicious and they also couldn’t believe how easy it is to make.

Come December, my mom, grandmother, and all the aunties we knew would get busy with preparing for Christmas. They’de slave over the stove, or oven for hours. Gauva cheese, dodhol (a Goan jaggery sweet), marizpan- all delicious but oh so time consuming. Here I’ve found shortcuts and this particular dessert takes away the hours you’d need stirring milk on the stove to just minutes in the microwave.

Prep time: 5 minutes, Cook time: 18 minutes, Set time: 1 hour

Servings: approximately 20 pieces

Ingredients:

  • 15 oz Ricotta cheese
  • 14oz Condensed milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon Rose water
  • 1/4 teaspoon Cardamom powder
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped Almonds or almond slivers

Method:

  1. In a microwave safe rectangular dish, mix the Ricotta Cheese and the Condensed Milk well. Make sure there are no lumps, mashing them with the back of a spoon or using a whisk
  2. Place the dish in the microwave, uncovered and cook for 5 minutes
  3. Remove from microwave and stir the contents well, making sure you loosen the edges
  4. Place the dish back in the microwave, uncovered, and cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the microwave, stir
  5. Microwave for 2 minutes, covered. Take out and stir
  6. Now place back in the microwave, cross cover the dish and microwave for 2 minutes. Then remove and stir
  7. Microwave for another 6 minutes, uncovered taking out and stirring every 2 minutes
  8. Once done, add in the Cardamom powder and rose water and stir well again
  9. Evenly flatten the mix into the dish, spreading and flattening it
  10. Sprinkle chopped Almonds on top of the mix and press them down to help them stick to the top of the dessert
  11. Cover the dish and place in the bridge, setting it for atleast an hour.
  12. Remove and cut into squares before serving

Peach Cobbler Dump Cake

Leave a comment

This is one of the easiest desserts you can make and I guarantee, it will be a hit. This super-simple, 4-ingredient peach cobbler is always polished off at parties. So much so, I’ve not been able to take a good picture of it, it’s usually gone before I get to a picture. 

The work involves taking the ingredients and dumping it into a container and then baking or slow cooking it. Viola, dessert is ready!! I hope you find it wonderful too.

The difference between a cobbler and a dump cake is that the latter uses cake mix while the cobbler uses pie crust.

Prep time: 5 minutes, Cook times vary based on method below

Servings: 10

Ingredients

  • 2 (15oz each) cans sliced peaches in pear juice (I avoid the ones in syrup)
  • 1 (15.25oz) yellow cake mix package
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon powder

Method

  • Slow cooker method
    • Empty cans of peaches including the juice into the bottom of the slow cooker container
    • Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the peaches
    • Sprinkle the cinnamon powder evenly over the dry cake mix
    • Pour butter evenly over the cake/cinnamon mix
    • Layer paper towels over the rim of the slow cooker so it absorbs the steam. You may need to change the paper towel
    • Then cover and cook on high for 2 hours or 4 hours on low
    • Serve warm with a big dollop of icecream
  • Oven method
    • Pre-heat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
    • Empty cans of peaches including the juice into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish
    • Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the peaches
    • Sprinkle the cinnamon powder evenly  over the dry cake mix
    • Pour butter evenly over the cake/cinnamon mix
    • Place dish in oven
    • Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the cobbler is golden on the top
    • Serve warm with a big dollop of icecream

Cinnamon Cake Bites

Leave a comment

A quick and easy dessert for a weekday or a nice breakfast option with coffee!

While nothing beats baking a cake from scratch, unfortunately, lack of time on a week day calls for improvisation. It’s always nice to have the aroma of cinnamon wafting from the kitchen when the kids get home. This quick dessert, or after-school snack, is easy to put together while on a lunch break from work!

Ingredients:

  • 1 yellow cake mix box – 15.25oz (I typically use Duncan Hines)
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 cup Greek Yogurt (or sour cream)
  • 2 cups powdered sugar (also known as icing sugar)
  • 1.5 tbsp cinnamon powder
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit
  2. Coat a 9×13 pan with butter and then set aside.
  3. In a bowl combine cake mix, eggs, oil, vanilla and sour cream. Using an electric mixer, beat on low for 30 seconds then raise speed to medium and and mix for 2 minutes
  4. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan
  5. In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon
  6. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mix and the walnuts evenly onto the cake batter
  7. Taking a butter knife, gently swirl the sugar cinnamon mix and walnuts into the cake batter. DO NOT over swirl
  8. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Put a tooth-pick into the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is ready
  9. Cool for 20 minutes
  10. While cake is backing, gently whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Pour this over the slightly cooled cake
  11. Allow icing to set – 5-10 mins
  12. Cut cake into mini squares and it’s ready to eat
  13. Cake can stay refrigerated for a couple of days – mine doesn’t last more than 2 days!