Mango Phirni Recipe

I really love the fact that I have super helpful neighbors. When I had to cut short a function in the apartment complex due to unexpected visitors and was at a loss for what to make in a hurry, a neighbor walked back along with me and gave me a big bowl of paddu/paniyaram batter. I had to return her vessel and again I was left wondering what to make. Normally, when giving back the vessel, you put something sweet into it and do not return it empty. While I was thinking of what is the simplest sweet dish that I can make, my eyes fell upon the mangoes in the fruit basket and the easiest sweet I could think of making with it was Mango Phirni - totally my kind of dish- takes less than half an hour to make.

The phirni is an Indian Rice pudding that is normally served in earthenware and is topped with chopped nuts. It is made from a base of milk and ground rice. Rose water or Kewra Water is normally used to add flavor to the phirni.  It is not overtly heavy on the stomach and you can eat a whole cupful without too much guilt. Mine is not the traditional dish. First of all, it has mangoes in it. These days, the mango phirni that is served in the restaurants has mango puree in it. I could not be bothered with making puree, so I just added chopped mangoes into it. It is nice to bite into chunky pieces of mango while eating the phirni. Garnish can be done with the nuts of your choice. I added blanched almonds just before serving the mango phirni.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes ( excluding soaking time)
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Cooling Time: 1 hour
Serves 4

Ingredients for Mango Phirni

3 cups milk 

3 tbsp Basmati Rice
5-6 cashewnuts (optional)

8 tsp sugar 

1 mango chopped 

A large pinch of cardamom powder

Nuts for garnish 

Method to make Mango Phirni

Soak the Basmati Rice in water for about an hour and half. 

Once done, start boiling the milk. While the milk is boiling, grind the rice to a fine paste in the mixer. Make sure there are no grains. You could add a few soaked cashewnuts too to this while grinding. 

When the milk almost comes to a boil, add to it the sugar and the rice paste. Now start mixing everything together and keep stirring constantly. It is best to do it with a whisk. Add the cardamom powder into it too. As you are stirring it together, you will be able to feel the resistance building up.

Whisk it on low flame for about fifteen minutes. By now it would have considerably thickened. Turn off the heat. At this point, I transferred it to individual containers for the two of us and the rest into her bowl.

Allow it to cool for about half an hour. Now chop up the mangoes into small cubes. These go into the chilled phirni.

Top the phirni with a spoonful of mango cubes.

Mix the mango cubes well into the phirni. Garnish it with the chopped nuts and refrigerate again for at least half an hour. Upon refrigeration, it gets set and you can cut it from the kulhad with a spoon and enjoy a simple yet fulfilling dessert.

Semolina Cake | Rava Cake

I have been doing baking for quite some time now. But almost always, something or the other is off. Most recipes that i refer do not mention if they have made it in a convection oven or the combination one that is the staple in most homes these days.

So its either a temperature issue- the top browning too quickly without the center cooking, or that the time taken varies, or finding that perfect substitute for eggs, or to measure exactly half of the 135 grams of flour that the original recipe calls for :). 

The rava cake is something that i have eaten  at a neighbor's party. The hostess gladly gave me the recipe. I religiously noted it down, only to find that most measures in the recipe are 3/4 cup measures. Since i wanted a smaller cake, i tried halving the quantity without much luck. The cake did not cook evenly, though it tasted great in parts that it had cooked. 

So after some more research for eggless versions of the Semolina Cake, i found the recipe on Bawarchi.

I halved the quantities, and got a decently good cake. So here goes my first "dessert baking" post.

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes

Baking Time: 25 Minutes

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup Rava/Semolina

1/4 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tbsp of dried coconut- chopped into small bits

1/2 cup powdered sugar 

2 pods cardamom, powdered

Wet Ingredients:

1/4 cup Yoghurt/curd

1/4 cup milk, additional if need be

1/4 cup neutral oil

Method:

In a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients. I did not really go through the drill of sieving, for want of time. 

Now whisk together the wet ingredients.

Start the oven and preheat it to 150 degrees. While it heats up, in a big bowl, add in the dry and wet ingredients little by little and whisk in one direction ( Don't ask me why, i saw Rachel Allen doing it :) ) 

Once they are completely mixed, adjust the consistency to pouring consistency by adding some extra milk if needed. Taste the batter and adjust the sugar. 

Grease and dust a 6" cake tin and pour. 

Bake for 20 minutes at 150. Check if done by inserting a toothpick. After 20 mins, crank up the heat to 160 and bake for another 5 mins. 

Remove and let it cool.

Transfer into a plate. 

Slice and serve, maybe with an icing sugar dusting if you like :)

Dessert Pizza

Ok. So this is another quickie. I had tasted it in Pizza Corner a long time ago. Did not really see it on their menu afterwards. A sweet pizza, with a generous amount of chocolate sauce and banana and pinapple topping. When i spotted the wheat pizza base at MK retail, i was suddenly reminded of the sweet pizza and wanted to try it out. After a couple of sms exchanges with my friend about a similar recipe made during her childhood, i set out to make this really simple dish.

Preparation Time: 10 Mins
Cooking Time: 10 Mins
Serves 2

Ingredients:

One medium pizza base, i used the wheat base
2 small bananas cut into rounds, i used elakki
2 tbsp raisins, i used the black color variety
2 tbsp roasted melon seeds
1 tsp unsalted butter

For the sauce:

1 tsp butter
4 tbsp milk
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder, i used cadbury
a large pinch of cinnamon powder

Method:

Mix together the ingredients meant for the sauce in a bowl.
Place the pizza base on a hot tava with a tsp of  butter on it. Let the bottom of the base crisp up and brown.

Now spread the sauce on the pizza. Arrange the toppings on the sauce. Drizzle with melon seeds. Brush with some melted butter. Grill it in the microwave for 8-10 mins.

Remove and serve hot with chocolate sauce. Drizzle some honey on top for extra sweetness.

Notes:

You could add pineapple chunks similarly.
Maybe some crushed peanuts?
And maybe some vanilla ice cream on the side :)