A.

Traditional Sweets:

1.Kheer:

Ingredients:
1 litre milk, 1 tbsp basmati rice(washed), 1 cup sugar, 2-3 bay leaves, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 5
cardamoms, 4 cm cinnamon, 4 cloves, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp ghee.
For Garnishing:6 almonds(sliced), a handful of raisins, 8 cashewnuts(chopped), a little ghee.

Method:
Heat ghee in a pressure cooker.Add bay leaves and cuminseeds.When they splutter add 2 tbsp
sugar.Lower the heat and stir the sugar.When it caramelises to a dark brown colour, add milk,
When the milk comes to a boil, add rice.Stir well.Pressure cook for 10-15 minutes.When cool, mix
the rice and milk well with a hand beater.Add sugar and simmer for 5 minutes.Remove from
heat.Powder cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves finely, and add to the milk.Stir well. Heat a little
ghee and fry the raisins, cashewnuts and almonds lightly.Add to the milk and serve.

*********************************************

2.Motichoor Laddu:

Ingredients:
3 cups gram flour, 2 cups water, 4 cups sugar, 3 tbsp rice flour, oil for frying.

Method:
Mix gram flour and water to a smooth thick batter.Put water in a large bowl and keep it
handy.Heat oil in a kadai and line it with a strainer that fits in neatly. Using a slotted spoon, gently
tap the gram flour batter through the holes into the oil.When done, lift out the strainer with the
fried boondi and drop on paper towels to drain out the excess oil.Quickly dip the boondis in the
bowl full of water kept ready and remove.Wipe dry the strainer before tapping the next
batch.When all the boondis are ready, bring water and sugar to a boil to obtain syrup of soft ball
consistency.Take 3 tbsp of the syrup, heat it in a thick bottomed pan till frothy.Add the boondis
and stir the mixture till it begins to leave the sides of the pan.While still warm, shape a little of the
mixture into a laddu.Coat the hands with rice flour or cornflour for easier handling.Makes about 20
laddus.Store in an airtight jar.

*********************************************

3.Badam Ka Seera:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup almonds (soaked overnight), 3 cups hot milk, 250 gm ghee, 1/2 to 1/3 cup sugar.

Method
Peel the almonds, wash and grind to fine paste. Heat ghee in a heavy pan.Add paste and cook
on first high then slow flame, stirring continuosly.After a while it should turn a light brown and
aromatic. Carefully pour hot milk and stir.Use a long-handled spatula as the mixture tends to
splatter.When thickens, add the sugar and cook, stirring continously and gently till ghee begins to
separate.Decorate with chopped nuts and serve hot .
4.Ghevar:

Ingredients:
3 cups plain flour, 1 cup solidified ghee, 3-4 icecubes, 4 cups water, approx., 1/2 cup milk 1/4 tsp.
yellow food colour, 1 kg. Ghee for deep frying.
For syrup:1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup water.
For topping: (optional)1 tsp. powdered cardamom, 1 tbsp. chopped almonds & pistachios, 1
tbsp. milk in which 1/2 tsp. saffron has been rubbed in, Silver foil.

Method:
Prepare sugar syrup of 1 thread consistency.Take solidified ghee in a large wide bowl. Taking
one icecube at a time rub the ghee vigourously. Take more icecubes as required, till ghee
becomes very white. Add milk, flour and 1 cup water. Mix to make smooth batter. Dissolve colour
in some water and add to batter. Add more water as required. Batter should be fairly thin (it
should run offeasily when pour from spoon). Take an aluminium or steel cylindrical container (do
not use lid). The height should be at least 12". And diameter 5-6". Fill half with ghee. Heat. When
ghee is smoky hot, take a 50 ml, glassful of batter. Pour in centre of ghee, slowly in one
continuous threadlike stream. Allow foam to settle. Pour one more glassful in hole formed in
centre. When foam settles again, loosen ghevar with an iron skewer inserted in hole. Lift
carefully, at a slant, and place on wire mesh to drain. Keep hot syrup in a wide flatbottomed
container to fit in ghevar. Dip ghevar in it, and remove, keep aside on mesh to drain excess syrup
. Alternatively. Pour some syrup evenly all over, keeping ghevar in a mesh placed over a
container. Cool a little, top with silver foil. Splash a few drops of saffron milk, sprinkle some
chopped dryfruit and a few pinches of cardamom powder. One may also top ghevar with rabri
prepared in advance. This ghevar will howver not last as Long. It will also be softer.

5.Shankarpali:

Ingredients:
1 cup flour(sieved), 1 cup wheat flour(sieved), 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup
sugar(powdered), 3 tbsp rice flour, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, a pinch of salt, oil for deep frying.

Method:
Mix milk and water and keep aside.Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.Add salt and the flours
and mix well.Knead to a soft dough using the milk-water mixture.Divide it into three balls.Roll out
each into a thick chapati and cut into diamond shaped pieces.Deep fry in hot oil till
done.Alternatively, cut the rolled chapati with a cookie cutter and fry till golden brown and done.

*********************************************

6.Besan Laddu:

Ingredients:
1/2 kg besa rawa(coarse gram flour), 1/2 kg sugar(powdered), 1 tbsp raisins, 1 tbsp chopped
chasew nuts, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 1 tsp nutmeg powder, 200g butter, 200g oil.

Method
Melt oil and butter on a low heat in a heavy bottomed kadai.Mix in the beasn rawa.Divide the
mixture into half and set aside one portion.Roast the remaining portion on a low heat for about an
hout till it turns whitish.Check whether the besan rawa has turned whitish by comparing it with the
portion set aside.Roast the other portion set aside to the same shade.When cool, mix in the
remaining ingredients.Take enough mixture at a time and shape into a laddu.Similarly prepare
more laddus out of the remaining mixture.Makes about 24 laddus.
7.Barfi:

Ingredients:
400g condensed milk (or 1 tin), 300g grated cottage cheese (paneer), 1/2 tsp cardamom powder,
2 tbsp chopped almonds and pistas, 2 silver sheets (varak).

Method:
Mix condensed milk and cottage cheese in a pan and cook on a medium flame stirring
continuously.When the mixture starts thickening, reduce the flame. When it leaves the sides of
the pan and is semi-solid, remove from the fire and spread it on a greased tray. Sprinkle the
cardamom powder and dry fruits on the mixture.Decorate with varak or silver sheets and cut into
desired shapes.

*********************************************

8.Lapsee:

Ingredients:
1 cup wheat germ (dalia), 1 1/2 cup sugar or 2 cups jaggery, 1 cup ghee, 1 tbsp. chopped
almonds & pistachios mixed, 1/2 tsp. cardamom powdered .

Method:
Warm ghee in a heavy pan, add wheat germ. Stir and cook till germ is golden in colour and
aroma exudes. Meanwhile melt sugar or jaggery in 1 cup water. Keep aside hot. Boil and add
remaining water to roasted wheat germ. Stir gently now, and cook till the grain of the germ is soft
on pressing. Now add sugar or jaggery, add cardamom and chopped dryfruit. Stir and simmer
covered, stirring occasionally. Cook till ghee separates along the sides. Serve hot. Freeze and
thaw as required. Before serving, take in pan, sprinkle some hot water, Heat while stirring, till
ghee again separates.

9.Ras Malai:

Ingredients:
2 lb. ricotta cheese, 2 quarts half and half cream, 2 cups sugar, 5 cardamom pods, 1 bay leaf, 1
tsp. vanilla, rose water to taste.

Method
Mix 1.5 cups of sugar with the Ricotta cheese and bake it in a 400 deg. F oven for about 1hr and
15 minutes in a flat dish covered with aluminum foil. The cheese should have hardened and
turned a pale brown.Thicken the Half and Half by simmering over low heat for a long time. This is
best done in a microwave; if a microwave is not available, do it over low heat and stir frequently.
Thicken until the volume drops to around half of the original volume.Add the remaining 0.5 cup
sugar, cardamom pods, bay leaf, vanilla and rose water (and any other flavouring that you may
want) to the Half and Half. Heat for a few minutes.After the cheese has been baked, cut it into 1
inch squares and add to the hot thickened half and half. Cool for a few hours in the fridge.

*********************************************

10.Gajar Ka Halwa:

Ingredients:
6 carrots (medium size), 2 cups milk, 2/3 cup mawa, or ricotta cheese, 1/3 cup cashew nuts
(ground), 5 cardamom pods, 1/2 cup sugar (or more, depending on your taste), 5 tbsp. ghee, or
unsalted butter, 3 tbsp. raisins, almonds or pistachios fried in a little butter, for garnish.
Method
Fry grated carrots in butter for a few minutes till they change colour to a darker orange.Add sugar,
raisins and cardamom, keep stirring till the mixture is glazed.Add milk, when it begins to boil,
lower heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir constantly, there's a tendency for mixture to burn at
the bottom of the vessel.Add khoya or ricotta cheese & ground cashew nuts. Mix well, and cook
for a further 5 minutes, till the mixture is thick.Serve halwa either warm or at room temperature in
a bowl, garnished with fried almonds or pistachios.(Small tip: if resulting mix is too thin, add dry
milk powder to thicken mixture).

Special Snacks

1.Spicy Sev:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups gram flour, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp asafoetida, 4
peppercorns(powdered), 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp oil, oil for deep frying.

Method:
Mix all the ingredients, except oil for deep frying, well.Add enough water and bind to a smooth
dough.Heat oil in a kadai. Divide the gram flour dough into large enough portions to fit into the
sev press and press out the sev directly into the hot oil in manageable lots.Fry till crisp and
golden brown.Store in an airtight jar.

2.Dahi Vada:

Ingredients:
For The Vadas:1 cup Udad dal (Black gram dal), 1/4 cup Mung dal (Green gram dal), Salt to
taste.
For Dahi Topping:5 cups Dahi, 1 tsp Green chillies(chopped), 1/2 tsp grated Ginger, 7-8 Curry
Leaves, 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds, Pinch of Asafoetida, 4 tsp Sugar, Salt to taste.

Method:
To Prepare The Vadas:
Soak the both dals overnight. Grind it to a smooth paste. Add salt to taste. Heat oil for deep frying
in a kadahi and add spoonfuls of dal batter and fry until the wadas are golden brown. Drop the hot
wads in a bowl of cold water and leave for about 5 minutes. Take each wada out from water,
squeeze the water out and set aside.To Prepare The Dahi:
Blend the yogurt with little water until it is smooth. Add sugar, salt, green chillies and ginger.pour
overthe wadas. Make a tarka of mustard seeds, asafoetidaand curry leaves and pour over the
dahi wada.Sprinle red chiili powder, roasted jeera powder and chat masala. Serve with sweet and
sour tamarind chutney.

*********************************************

3.Samosas:

Ingredients:
For cover:
1 cup plain flour (maida) 2 tbsp. warm oil, water to knead dough.
For filling:
2 potatoes large (boiled, peeled, mashed), 1 onion finely chopped, 2 green chillies crushed, 1/2
tsp. ginger crushed, 1/2 tsp. garlic crushed, 1 tbsp. coriander finely chopped, 1/2 lemon juice
extracted, 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp. garam masala, 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds crushed, 1
tsp. red chilli powder, salt to taste, oil to deep fry.
Method
For dough:
Make well in the flour.Add oil, salt and little water.Mix well till crumbly.Add more water little by
little, kneading into soft pliable dough.Cover with moist cloth, keep aside for 15-20 minutes.Beat
dough on worksurface and knead again. Re-cover.
For filling:
Heat 3 tbsp. oil, add ginger, green chilli, garlic, coriander seeds.Stir fry for a minute, add onion,
saute till light brown.Add coriander, lemon, turmeric, salt, red chilli, garam masala.Stir fry for 2
minutes, add potatoes. Stir further 2 minutes.Cool. Keep aside.
To proceed:
Make a thin 5" diam. round with some dough.Cut into two halves. Run a moist finger along
diameter.Join and press together to make a cone. Place a tbsp. of filling in the cone and seal third
side as above.Make five to six. Put in hot oil, deep fry on low to medium till light brown.Do not fry
on high, or the samosas will turn out oily and soggy.Drain on rack or kitchen paper.Serve hot with
green and tamarind chutneys (refer chutneys), or tomato sauce.

********************************************

4.Hot Kachori:

Ingredients:
For cover:
1 1/2 cup plain flour 3 tbsp. oil, salt to taste, cold water to knead dough.
For filling:
1 cup yellow moong dal washed and soaked for 1/2 hour, 1 tsp. garam masala, 1 tsp. red chilli
powder, 1/2 tsp. dhania (coriander) powder, 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds crushed coarsely, 1/2 tsp.
fennel (saunf) seeds crushed coarsely, 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, 1 tbsp.
coriander (leaves finely chopped), salt to taste, 2-3 pinches asafoetida, 1 tbsp. oil, oil to deep fry,
1 tbsp. plain flour for patching.

Method
For cover:
Mix flour, salt and oil, knead into soft pliable dough. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
For filling:
Put plenty of water to boil. Add dal.Boil dal for 5 minutes, drain.Cool a little. Heat oil in a heavy
pan.Add all seeds whole and crushed allow to splutter.Add asafoetida, mix. Add all other
ingredients.Mix well. Do not smash the dal fully.But enough to make the mixture hold
well.Remove from fire, cool.Divide into 15 portions. Shape into balls with greased palms.Keep
aside.
To proceed:
Make a paste with water, of flour for patching.Keep aside.Take a pingpong ball sized portion of
dough.Knead into round. Roll into 4" diam. round.Place one ball of filling at centre.Pick up round
and wrap ball into it like a pouch.Break off excess dough carefully.Do not allow cover to
tear.Press the ball with palm, making it flattish and round.Repeat for 4-5 kachories.Deep fry in hot
oil, on low flame only.If the kachori get a hole anywhere, apply some paste.Return to oil and finish
frying. Turn and repeat for other side.Fry till golden and crisp. Small bubbles must appear over
kachori.Drain and serve hot with green and tamarind chutneys.Take care to fry on low. Hurried
frying will result in soggy and oily kachories.

Special Traditional Main Menu

1.Pooris:
Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups white flour, 1 Tbsp canola oil (for dough), 1/4 tsp salt, 1 cup
lukewarm water oil for frying .
Method:
In a large bowl mix both the flours, oil and the salt. Slowly add the water to make a soft dough.
Once well mixed, knead for 4-8 minutes until dough is smooth. Cover and leave for 20-40
minutes. In a wok or deep skillet, pour enough oil to fry the pooris. While the oil is getting hot,
divide the dough into balls, the size of an orange. This will be easier if you moisten your hands
with water. Next, dust a flat surface with flour and roll out the dough balls to 1/8 inch with a dusted
rolling pin. In very hot oil, carefully place one poori to the side of the skillet and let it slide into the
center. The poori should sink to the bottom of the oil, then rise to the surface after a few seconds.
Now press it lightly with a spatula and the poori should swell up. Gently turn and cook the other
side for 10 seconds until golden brown. Set aside on paper towels to drain. Makes about 16
pooris.

2.Zeera Aloo Dum:

Ingredients:
6-7 potatoes, diced into cubes, 2 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 level tsp tumeric powder, salt and
cayenne pepper to taste, juice of 1/2 lemon (optional), 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp fresh
coriander, chopped.

Method:
Set aside cubed potatoes in cold water. Heat oil in a large pot and add cumin seeds, frying until
they crackle. Reduce heat and add drained potatoes. Add enough fresh water to cover the
potatoes and another 3 inches above. Add tumeric, salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Bring to a
boil, then lower heat and cook potatoes until tender. Stir periodically and add more water if
necessary. Mash some of the potatoes to make a thick soup-like consistency. When serving, add
lemon juice and garnish of garam masala and coriander leaves.

3.Masala Gobi Special:

Ingredients:
60g cauliflower(cuit into florets and blanched), 15 ml oil, 3g ginger paste, 3g cumin seeds, 2g
turmeric, 200g tomato(chopped), 3g hot spice powder, 5g coriander powder, 5g cumin seeds
powder, 6g raw mango powder.
For Garnishing:
5g ginger, capsicum julienne, 15g coriander leaves(finely chopped).

Method
Take oil in a kadhai, add cumin seeds.As they start to crackle, add tomatoes and the ginger
paste.Saute, then put in the seasoning and stir for a while.Put the cauliflower and capsicum
julienne and saute.Finish with hot spice powder and garnish with ginger julienne and coriander
leaves.

4.Green Chutney:

Ingredients:
15 green chillies, 1/2 cup coriander, 1/2 lemon 1 tbsp. sev or potato wafers crushed, 1/2 tsp.
jaggery, salt to taste, 1 tsp. oil.

Method
Put all the ingredients , except oil and asafoetida , in a small mixie.Heat the oil and add the
asafoetida and put in the mixie.Run the mixie till a smooth chutney is obtained.Try using no water
or as little as possible to make the chutney keep longer.Add water as and when required.Store in
a clean glass bottle. Note: Sev is a fried Indian snack made of gramflour.