Coconut Ladoo

Diwali..the festival of light is coming....this is my first sweet for this up coming Diwali... This sweet is dedicated to my friend Thara .

I made this for my daughter and for her kindergarten friends....:)


Grated coconut fakes - 2 cups
Sweetened condensed milk -1 can
Cardamon powder- 1tbsp
Ghee- 2 tbsp.
Nuts/raisin - 1tbsp

Fry coconut flakes in pan for medium heat for 2 minutes.Add cardamon powder and condensed milk and stir it for 3 minutes.Then it will leaves the edges of pan and come out together.Add ghee ,nut and raisin.Mix it well.Switch off the flame and allow it to cool.Once it is cooled you can take a small quantity and roll it like ladoo..

Ellunda(Sesame Balls )

This recipe is dedicate to grand parents.My mothers Place is in a small village called Muthukulam ,small backwater village in Central Kerala.Muthukulam is blessed with so many legends.The Malayalam film artist  Shri Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai and late film director Padma Rajan were born in Muthukulam. The noted mural artist Suresh muthukulam is born in muthukulam. Important Congress Leader and Freedom fighter late .Mr. Ambazhavelil Velayudhan Pillai, Drama Artist. Akabar Shankarapillai of Srivilasm were also born in Muthuklulam. So many political leaders like. Mr. Murali(CPM), Mr. Babu Prasad and the Poetress, Muthukulam PARVATHI AMMA, Born in Muthuklulam.

Long back we had sesame seeds cultivation in my Mother's house.Because of that Sesame Balls are one of our ingredient in Onam Vishu and all..Reminiscences of my childhood days automatically come to my mind whenever I ate sesame balls.


sesame – 250 gms
jaggery –125 gms
powdered Cardamom  – 1 tsp



Soak sesame in water and roast.Melt jaggery in a pan along with a little water.Add roasted sesame along with powdered cardamom to the melted jiggery and mix well. When it cools a little, make it into small balls.

Fried Bananas Thai style

Peeled and sliced Bananas  - 3
Rice flour - 3/4 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp
Toasted White Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp
Shredded Coconut - 1/3 cup
Cold water - 1/2 cup
Oil for frying

In a large bowl, combine the rice flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, sesame seeds and shredded coconut.  Pour in water and whisk thoroughly to prepare the batter. If you find the batter is too thin, then add 1-2 tablespoon rice flour. Heat up oil in a hot skillet  over medium high. Reduce heat to warm and place the batter coated banana slices into the oil, one by one. Fry the bananas  until nicely golden brown on both sides. 
Enjoy the snack with a cup of coffee.


Even we can use the same batter for frying sweet potatoes.

Candied Banana Fritters

Candied Banana Fritters is a Chinese dessert,similar to our Pazham pori.I got this recipe from my Chinese friend Yu yu.We can make this dessert with any kind of banana.

Banana -500g
Frying oil
All-purpose flour- 30 g
Cornstarch 20 g
Beaten egg-1
Water-1tsp
Granulated sugar -150g

 In a bowl combine the egg， AP-flour， 10 grams cornstarch and water to form a smooth batter. Heat a frying pan half filled with oil till 180C/350F. Prepare a serving plate lightly greased with oil or butter. Peel bananas， cut into 3 to 4 diagonalchunks and roll in 10 grams of cornstarch to coat. Dipinto the batter， making sure each piece is evenly coated. Low the coated banana pieces into the heated oil and deep fry them until golden in color. Remove and drain.. Heat 5 grams of oil in another clean skillet， add sugar and stir fry over low heat until the sugar dissolves and turns into a syrup. Turn off the heat and return the fried bananas into the syrup. Quickly and carefully mix them and plungeinto the prepared serving plate.

Rava Ladoo

Fine rava (dry roasted  rava) -1 cup
Dry grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Sugar -1 cup
Ghee - as per requirement
Cardamom powder-1/2 tsp 
Few cashews broken into small pieces
Few dry grapes

Grind the rava and sugar together in the mixie to get a fine powder.Roast the cashews in little ghee and add it to the powder along with dry coconut. Add dry grapes and cardamom powder.Melt ghee (you will require between 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup, depending on how you prefer it) and mix well with the dry powder.Make small round balls. Quick rava ladoo ready in five minutes flat.

Mango mousse

  Sweetened mango pulp -1 can
  Cool whip - 4 cups
  Condensed milk - 1 can
  Vanilla yogurt - 1 cup
   Gelatin- 2 packets

 Add all the ingredients except gelatin into a container and mix thoroughly with a hand mixer (or beater)
Prepare gelatin as per the instruction given at the cover of the Gelatin.Now add the gelatin into the above mixture and combine well.Refrigerate overnight and serve chill.

White Chocolate Fudge

Chopped  white chocolate  - 500g
Condensed milk – 1 can
Unsalted butter -30g
Miniature marshmallows-2 cups
Vanilla -1tsp
Chopped pecans or walnuts-1/2 cup 

Combine butter and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, white chocolate, vanilla, and nuts. Beat for about 1 minute, or until marshmallows melt and mixture is thoroughly combined. Pour into an 8-inch square buttered pan and cool. Cut fudge into squares.

Paal Paayasam/Rice Kheer/Rice Pudding

‘Paal Payasam’ is delicious and can be prepared easily with usually available ingredients at home. It is a traditional dish and is liked by all age groups.The payasam served in the Ambalappuzha Temple is famous among Hindu devotees. This sweet pudding made of rice and milk has an interesting mythological legend behind it.It is very famous as Most delicious paal payasam .


Broken Rice        - 1/2 cup
Milk                    - 4 cup
Condensed Milk  - 200gm (around 1/2 a tin)
Sugar                  - 1/4 cup
Ghee                   - 1 tbsp
Cashew Nuts      - a handful
Raisins                - a handful

 Pressure cook rice with 2 cup milk, Sugar and wait for one whistle. You could cook rice without the cooker as well.. Add the rest of the milk and Condensed milk and keep stiring. Bring it to a boil and turn off the stove. In another pan, heat ghee and fry raisins and cashews in it.  Garnish the payasam with this fried nuts and raisins.

Vanilla Pudding

Blancmange is a sweet dessert commonly made with milk or creamand sugar thickened with gelatin, cornstarch or Irish moss,[1] and often flavored with almonds. It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Although traditionally white, blancmanges are frequently given a pink color as well. Some similar desserts are Bavarian cream, vanilla pudding (in US usage), panna cotta, and haupia..The "whitedish" (from the original Old French term blanc mangier) was an upper-class dish common to most of Europe during the Middle Ages and early modern period.The whitedish was one of the preparations that could be found in recipe collections all over Europe and one of the few truly international dishes of medieval and early modern Europe.


1 cup cold milk
1 tbsp castor sugar 
2.5 tbsp cornflour 
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste

Place 3 tbsp milk from the 1 cup of milk into a small bowl and whisk in the sugar, cornflour and vanilla paste into a smooth slurry.Pour the remaining milk into a wetted milk pot and gently bring to a boil. Once the milk in the pan starts to bubble, remove from the heat, and whisk in the vanilla paste mixture. It should thicken immediately. Place pan back onto the heat and keep whisking. Allow to bubble for 1 minute then remove from heat and pour into the cold bowl set aside earlier. Allow to cool at room temperature first before refrigerating. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.


Garnish with caramel or with orange sauce or with berries.I did with some fruits.

Panna cotta

Panna cotta (from Italian cooked cream) is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. It is generally from the Northern Italian region of Piemonte, although it is eaten all overItaly, where it is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis. It is not known exactly how or when this dessert came to be, but some theories suggest that cream, for which mountainous Northern Italy is famous, was historically eaten plain or sweetened with fruit or hazelnuts. Earlier recipes for the dish used boiled fish bones in place of gelatin; sugar, later a main ingredient, would not have been widely available as it was an expensive imported commodity. After years this treat evolved into what is now a gelatin dessert, flavored with vanilla and topped with fruit or spices, and served chilled.
1 envelope of unflavored gelatin (approx. 2 teaspoons)
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups heavy cream*
1/2 cup granulated sugar 
1 vanilla bean 

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/2 cup milk; let stand until the gelatin is softened, about 5 minutes.


In a large saucepan, combine heavy cream and sugar. Add vanilla extract or vanilla bean. If using a vanilla bean, slice the bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds into cream (add whole bean to cream for additional flavor). Bring cream just to a simmer (do not let it boil), whisking occasionally until sugar has completely dissolved; remove from heat and remove vanilla bean pod. Add the softened gelatin mixture and whisk to completely dissolve the gelatin.


Strain hot cream mixture into a large glass measuring cup with a pouring spout; pour into ramekins or custard cups. NOTE: Don't skip the straining step as it removes any bits of un-dissolved gelatin and insures a nice smooth dessert. Also, don't let the cream mixture cool before straining. If using a vanilla bean, lightly swirl the cream to distribute the seeds evenly. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.


To unmold and serve, carefully dip bottom of each ramekin in a baking pan of hot water briefly. Run a thin knife around edge of each ramekin to loosen it from the inside of the bowl. Wipe the outside of the mold dry and place on individual chilled serving plate (topside down). Invert the custard onto the plate and carefully lift off ramekin (shake gently to release).or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.


When ready to serve, spoon Orange Sauce over and around the panna cotta and serve.
Orange Sauce3/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cake In 5 Minutes

This is a very easy recipe for those who don't want to struggle for making cake and even don't want to wait for 25 minutes for baking....


4 Tablespoons cake flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa (optional)

1 Egg

3 Tablespoons milk

3 Tablespoons oil

1 Mug

Mix flour, sugar and cocoa: Spoon in 1 egg

Pour in milk and oil, and mix well

Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1000watt)

Wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug

Tip contents out of mug onto saucer and enjoy!

I have garnished it with fresh cream and choco chips...

Chocolate Fudge

Fudge is a type of Western confectionery which is usually very sweet, extremely rich and frequently flavored with cocoa. It is made by mixing sugar, butter, and milk and heating it to the soft-ball stage at 240 °F (116 °C), and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency. Chocolate can also be mixed in to make chocolate fudge; many other flavors and ingredients are possible.


2 Tbsp butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine butter, milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, chocolate, vanilla, and nuts. Beat for about 1 minute, or until marshmallows melt and mixture is thoroughly combined. Pour into an 8-inch square buttered pan and cool. Cut fudge into squares.

Pazham Pradhaman (Payasam with Ripe plantains)

Pazham Pradhaman is cooked with ripe plantains knows as 'nendra pazham',jaggery and coconut milk. Traditionally it is cooked in a vessel called uruli. Cooking in uruli gives a better taste to the pradhaman.Nendra Pazha Pradhaman is very famous in Kerala and is a very tasty Delicacy served during Onam and Vishu as well as in the marriage functions etc. 

Ripe plantains - 1 kg /3 big plantains
Jaggery - 1/2 kg
Ghee - 3tbs
Coconut pieces - 3tbs
Cashews - 2 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp 

Coconut milk  2 cans Use one cup water to one can of coconut milk to dilute it.


Cook the ripe bananas after peeling the skin OR pressure cooker with little water. After it gets cooked remove the string and the black seeds in the middle. Mash it well either using mixi or by hand.

In a heavy bottomed vessel mix the mashed plantains with ghee and add jaggery. Keep stirring till it will stick to the bottom of the vessel. When it becomes thick add diluted coconut milk. When it starts to boil add the thick coconut milk and do not let it boil. Add cardomom powder.

Fry the coconut pieces, cashews and raisins in ghee and add it to the payasam.

Crepe suzette

Crêpe Suzette  is a French dessert consisting of a crêpe with beurre Suzette a sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest, and Grand Marnier or orange Curaçao liqueur on top.The most common way to make Crêpe Suzette is to pour liqueur (usually Grand Marnier) over a freshly cooked crêpe with sugar and light it. This will make the alcohol in the liqueur evaporate, resulting in a fairly thick, caramelised sauce.I have tried the recipe without alcohol.


1 pinch of salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter
vegetable oil for oiling pans
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 orange, juice and grated rind

Mix the flour, eggs, milk and salt in a blender.
Blend just until smooth.Add melted butter and combine.
The batter should be the consistency of light cream.
Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).Lightly oil a crepe pan and set over medium heat.Pour about 1/4 cup batter into pan and swirl until the pan is coated. Cook crepes until the top begins to look dry, about 60 seconds.
Turn and cook the other side 30 seconds.
For Sauce:
In large skillet, melt the butter.
When foamy, add sugar and stir until dissolved.
Add rind and juice; bring to a simmer.Turn heat to low.


Fold each crepe in half and place 2 at a time in the warm sauce. Using tongs or spatula, fold crepes in half again.
Repeat until all crepes have been added. 
Using a long match, ignite the sauce.
Remove pan from heat.

Creamy Vanilla Raspberry Fudge

‎1 litre milk
2 cups fresh cream
7 tbsps condensed milk
6 tbsps sugar
1cup chopped raspberry

Simmer 1/2 litre milk till it reduces to half.
Add sugar, stirring constantly and bring to boil.
Add condensed milk stirring it for 5 minutes and remove from heat..
Allow the mixture to cool, and then add vanilla essence and whip it in a mixer for 30 sec..
Slowly add cream and beat again till the mixture becomes soft and velvety.
Add chopped raspberries separatly into the mixture if u want to bite in between..or u can add chopped rasberries along with mixture beforre beating...
Refrigerate till the mixture becomes firm(3 - 4hrs).
Serve adorned with whipped cream and cherries.

Raspberry Smoothie

Raspberries have anti-inflammatory properties. Studies suggest that eating raspberries may prevent certain cancers and protect against cardiovascular disease, diabetes, allergies, age-related cognitive decline and macular degeneration (age-related vision problems).Raspberries are very high in antioxidants and also contain high levels of fiber, manganese and vitamin C. Other nutrients in raspberries include vitamins B1-3, folic acid, magnesium, copper and iron. So why not try this simple smoothie.

1 cup milk

1⁄2 cup natural yogurt

1 cup raspberries

sugar or honey to taste

Blend all ingredients on high until smooth. Pour into glasses.

Fruit Custard

Custard made from 500ml milk

1 cup Grapes (seedless, green or black but not too sour)

1 Banana (cut in round slices)

1 Apple (peeled, cored and diced)

1 Chickoo (sapota, again peeled, cored and diced)

2 slices of any sweet Mango (diced)

Custard made from :

 2 1/2 Tbsp custard powder for 500ml milk and 3 Tbsp sugar.

Take 1/4 cup of cold milk out of the 500ml and dissolve the custard powder in it completely.
Boil the rest of the milk with the sugar. Once boiled, reduce the heat and slowly pour the custard into it, stirring constantly. You will observe that the custard almost immediately starts to thicken. Keep stirring for a minute more.

Turn the heat off and cover the custard with a lid . Let it come to room temperature before putting in refrigerator to chill.

In a bowl add the assorted fruits and pour the custard on top.

Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is a bread-based dessert popular in many countries' cuisine, including that of England, France, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Argentina, Louisiana Creole, and the southern United States. In other languages, its name is a translation of "bread pudding" or even just "pudding"; in Spanish, another name is "migas" (crumbs), and they also have a similar dish, capirotada.It is made using stale (usually left-over) bread, suet, egg, sugar or golden syrup, spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace or vanilla, and dried fruit.
The bread is soaked (often overnight), squeezed dry, and mixed with the other ingredients. The mixture is transferred into a dish and baked.It may be served with a sweet sauce of some sort, such as whiskey sauce, rum sauce, or caramel sauce, but is typically sprinkled with sugar and eaten cold in squares or slices. In Canada it is often made with maple syrup. In Malaysia, bread pudding is eaten with custard sauce. In Hong Kong, bread pudding is usually served with vanilla cream dressing.





Bread - 10 pieces
Milk - 8-9 cups
Sugar
Egg - 1
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Cardomom - 6 nos.
Raisin and nut -2tbsp




Take 10 slices of bread and soak it in 2 cups of milk. (Cut the edges of the bread before soaking it in milk). Take another 4-5 cups of milk, add sugar and boil. Keep stirring till the mixture becomes semi-thick. Take another cup of fresh milk, beat one egg in it and add that into the milk that is boiling. Keep stirring well till it starts getting thick. Add the soaked bread mixture to the above and add 1 tsp Vanilla Essence ,Raisin ,nuts and finely ground cardomon (6 nos). Continue stirring till it becomes like porridge. Now you need to steam this pudding. Take a big vessel with little water in it. Put the vessel containing the pudding mixture into the vessel with water. The steam and heat from the water will bake the mixture. Make sure that you close both vessels with their lids while boiling so that water does not fall into the bread pudding. Steam for 10-25 minutes. Take it off the fire and cool. Finally keep in the fridge and serve cold.