Shab- e -Barat's recipes

Kaju Barfi

Ingredients :

Cashew nut powder - 1/2

Sugar - 1 cup

Saffron(kesar ) - 5-6 strands

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Leaves silver warq (tabak ) - 6 - 8

Methods : 

Dissolve sugar in three fourth cup of water and bring it to boil. Add saffron and cook till it forms a syrup of three thread consistency. Melt ghee and add to this syrup. Add cashew nut powder and mix thoroughly. Set aside to cool slightly. Knead it well and roll into half centimeter thick rectangles. Diamond shape of approximately one and half inch should be made on the side. Spread silver warq over it and cut into Diamond shape. 

Chana daal burfi/Cholar daal er halwa (Sweet ) 

 

Ingredients :

Chana daal - 250 gm

Sugar - 250 gm

Khoya kheer - 100 gm

Raisins ( washed & dried ) - 1 cup

Cashew nut ( chopped ) - 1 cup

Crashed Cardamom - 1 tsp

Ghee - 150 gm

Preparation :

Boil the chana daal with minimum water, cook untill soft but the daal will remain intact in shape.Grind the boiled daal in a mixi and make a smooth,tight paste.Heat the ghee in a non - stick pan, saute the crashed cardamom and fry it. Add sugar and cook untill sugar are already melted and becomes thick.Add pre - boiled chana daal paste and stir it continuously ( otherwise it will be over cooked ).Add khoya kheer, raisins, chopped nuts and mix properly.Grease a thali/plate with some ghee and pour the mixer on it, let it cool. When it is totally cool,cut the diamond shaped pieces with a sharp knife. Enjoy with Burfi. 

Raw Papaya Halwa 

Ingredients :

Raw papaya - 1.5 kg

Sugar - 1 cup or according to your taste

Milk powder - 1 cup

Ghee - 2 tbs

Cardamom - 2 stick

Green food colour - few drop

Vanilla essence - few drop

Almond for decoration.

Preparation :

Peel and cut papaya into small pieces. Boil papaya with water. Boil it until papaya become nicely tender and water evaporates. Now mash papaya and make a fine paste. Keep it aside. Heat ghee in a pan. Add cardamom and stir. After 1 minute add papaya paste and stir. Now add sugar and stir occasionally.When halwa start to become thick add milk powder and stir continuously. Preparet the mixture of food colour with 2 tbs water. Add food colour and stir continuously until it comes to a halwa. Consistency that do not stick to the pan. Add vanilla essence and stir. Garnish your halwa with some nuts and raisin.

Milk Halwa/Burfi

Ingredients :

Milk - 3 cups

Milk maid - 1 - 14 oz can/397 gm can

Maida/ All purpose flour - 3/4 cup

Tapioca pearls - 1/3 cups (Chavvari/sabudhana )

Sugar - 2 cups 

Ghee - 1/2 cups

Cashew nut pieces - 1/3 cups

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp.

Preparation :

Cook Tapioca pearls with 2 cups of water for 15 minutes ( after boiling ) and strain it thoroughly. ( There will be some Tapioca Pearls left without dissolving ; please discard it.) Keep aside till ready to used. Dissolve flour in 3 cups of water and strain it into a wide pan. Put this on medium heat and stir continuously till thickened. Add the Milk to the thick batter on the stove and mix properly without any lumps. Stir continuously for around 20 minutes on medium heat till the flour cooks well. This step is important as it cooks the flour taking away the raw smell and taste, so please don't try to rush.Add cooked and strained Tapiaca Pearls, Milkmaid and the sugar ; continue cooking for another 10 - 20 minutes. ( By this time you will be able to see the bottom of the pan while stirring. Add the  ghee and continue cooking. Once it starts to come from the sides,add Cashew nuts and mix well. 

Nesesta's Halwa 

 Ingredients :

Cornflour - 1 cup

Suger - 1 and 3/4 cups

Clarified butter (ghee) - 3/4 cup

Cashewnut - 1/4 cup chopped

Cardamon powder - 1/2 tsp

Food colour & Oil for greasing

Method of Preparation :

In a bowl mix 1 and 1/2 water and cornflour wellso that it does not have any lumps.Keep it aside. Add sugar with 1 cup water in sauce pan and bring it to a boil.In a non stick frypan add 2 tbsp of clarified butter and cornflour mixture to it and mix, keep on very low flame. Stir it continuously. When the mixture is thickening, switch off the flame and add suger syrup little by little and keep mixing to a void lumps repeat the same till syrup is finished. Turn on the flame and keep stirring the mixture. Now add ghee very slowly keep mixing repeat the same process till the ghee is finished. Now add colour, cardamon powder cook till clarified butter comes out. Add cashewnut mix well once it comes into thick jelly consistency. Transfer it to a greased plate with oil and let it sets for 1 hour.Cut into small pieces (desired shape) and enjoy my easy Nesesta halwa.

Tips : 

Don't grease plate with clarified butter. With clarified butter it stuck badly.