Qatayef ( Ateyf) (Arabic Sweet)

Ingredients

Plain Flour: 1 ½ cups

Sugar: 1tsp

Warm water: 1 ½ cups

Instant Yeast: 1 tsp

Salt:  a pinch

Filling

Cinnamon powder: ½ tsp

Walnuts chopped: ½ cup

Almonds & pistas chopped: ¼ cup

Sugar powdered 2 tbsp

Sugar Syrup

Sugar: 2 cups

Water: 1 ½ cups

Lemon juice: 1tbsp

Rose water/orange blossom water: 2tsp

Oil for deep frying

Method Of Preparation

Sugar Syrup

Dissolve sugar in water in heavy pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Bring to boil, add lemon juice and boil over medium-low heat for 12 minutes. Once syrup has begun to boil, do not stir again, as this makes the syrup cloudy.

Add orange blossom water (or rose water), boil 30 seconds longer. When cool, the consistency should be similar to thin honey.

Filling

Mix nuts sugar and cinnamon

Pan cakes

In a bowl add flour, instant yeast, water sugar and salt. Combine it well. Consistency of pan cake batter. Let it rest in warm place for an hour.

Heat a non stick tawa and add one ladle of the batter and close and cook it. Do not flip and cook. Make all the pan cakes and set aside.

Take each pan cake and add 1tbsp filling to it and fold and pinch the edges well to make a crescent shape.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry all the stuffed pan cakes.

Dip the fried Qateyf’s in sugar syrup for 1 0r 2 minutes and take out and arrange it in a serving plate.

Corn Flakes-Almond Laddu

Ingredients

Roasted Rice/Ari Varuthath: 1 cup

Corn Flakes: 1 ½ cups

Almonds/ Badam: ½ cup

Jaggery: 1 big piece

Coconut: 1 ¼ cups     

Method Of Preparation

In the blender add roasted rice, corn flakes and badam. Blend it well.

In the same blender add jaggery and blend. Add it to the cornflakes mix.

Then add the grated coconut to it. Mix it well with hand.

Make small balls out of it and serve.

Note: If you can’t bind it to balls add more coconut if needed. I didn’t peel the almonds, if needed you can soak the almonds and peel off the skin and blend.

Dates & Almond Squares

Ingredients

Dates ( Pitted): 140gms (soft dates)

Almonds: 150gms

Raisins: 4tbsp

Cocoa Powder: 1tbsp (Optional)

Method Of Preparation

In a blender add almonds and raisins and powder it coarsely.

Transfer it to a bowl.

Then add the dates and cocoa powder to the blender and blend.

Add the dates to the almond powder and mix everything well with hand to form a dough shape.

Then grease a plate and add the date mix to it and spread and press it well.

Refrigerate it for few minutes and cut into squaresand serve.

Note: I didn’t peel the almond, you can soak in water and peel off the skin.

Use soft dates or just microwave the dates for 1 min so that the dates turn bit soft.

Almond Cup Cake

Recipe Source: Hamaree Rasoi

Ingredients

Almonds: 1 cup

All purpose flour: ½ cup

Sugar: ½ cup

Oil: 1/3 cup

Egg: 2            

Almond Extract: 1tsp

Baking Powder: ½ tsp

Salt: ¼ tsp

Method Of Preparation

Toast the almonds in microwave for 2-3minutes.

Blend it a blender and make to fine powder.

Sift together flour, Almond flour, Salt and Baking powder. In a mixing bowl add oil and sugar and beat with a hand blender until smooth. Add one egg at a time and beat well.  Mix in almond extract and add dry ingredients. Combine well. Pour or scoop the batter into the preset lined cupcake tin.  Preheat the oven and Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack

Mixed Nuts Mittai/Chikkis

Ingredients

Unsalted and roasted Mixed Nuts (almonds, cashew nuts, pistachios, peanuts): 2 ½ cups

Jaggery grated: 1 ¾ cups

Water: ½ cup

Method Of Preparation

After roasting, remove the skin of peanuts and pistachios by rubbing with palms

Crush the nuts with a mortar lightly (don’t make it too small pieces)

In a pan add jaggery and water and heat it.

When jaggery melts switch off the flame and strain to remove the impurities.

Again keep the melted and strained jaggery on stove.

Let it boil and when it reaches the consistency (to check the consistency drop the jaggery mix to cold water and if it don’t spread then it is the consistency) add the nuts to it and stir and switch off the flame.

Soon transfer it to a greased plate/tray and spread it flat and make cut out lines so that it would be easy to cut after cooling.

Served when cooled completely.

Butterless Almond Halwa

I prepared this halwa without adding butter or ghee. I just greased my hand to roll into balls.

This was prepared in microwave oven and I used a glass bowl, without greasing the bowl I pour the mixture in it. You can add a pinch of saffron also, as my kids don’t like the taste of it I just avoided it. Adding ghee roasted cashews and raisins also adds more taste to it. The only difficult task in it is the almond peeling job. So make your kids engage in it. I made my kids also to help me in it. There was a competition between them that who will peel more, they enjoyed it well. So the peeling part also came so easy.

Ingredients

Almond/Badam: 2 cups

Sugar: 1 cup

Milk: 3 cups

Cardamom: 4

Method of Preparation

Soak almond for 5-6 hrs.

Peel the almonds.

Grind the almonds by adding sugar, milk and cardamom to a smooth paste.

Empty this into an oven proof glass bowl. (Take a big bowl so that it will not over flow from it while boiling.)

Micro wave to about 20 minutes or till it become a texture that you can roll it.

Stir in between while microwaving it.

Take it out when it is done. When cooled roll it to small balls.

You can garnish by keeping raisins at the center. (This step is not necessary)

Instead of rolling to balls you can transfer to greased tray/plate while it is hot and cut into square pieces when cools.

Sending this to very good recipes Christmas challenge

Sending this to Jingle all the way @ edible entertaintment

Almond Cookies (Eggless)

Ingredients

Wheat Flour: 1 cup

Sugar: ½ cup

Salt: needed

Almond: 1 cup

Butter: ¼ cup

Baking powder: ¼ tsp

Cardamom powder: ½ tsp

Milk: 3tbsp or as needed

Method of Preparation

Microwave or roast almond for 2 minutes.

When slightly cooled, blend it in a blender to a coarse powder.

In a bowl add wheat flour, almond powder, salt, sugar, baking powder and cardamom powder.

Then add the butter and milk, mix well to form a soft dough.

Take lemon sized balls out of it, place it between the palms and press it slightly. The cookies should be about ½ “thickness.

If needed u can place raisins on top of each cookies (this step is optional)

Place it in a greased baking tray about 1” apart.

Bake the cookies to about 15-20 minutes, or till it turns golden brown.

Sending to Bake Fest hosted by Vardini

Submitting this to the event Christmas Delicacy by Julie

Almond Burfee

Ingredients

Almond: 1 cup

Sugar: ¼ cup

Water: 1/3 cup

Cardamom powder: ½ tsp

Ghee: 1tsp

Method of Preparation

Roast the almond in microwave to about 1 ½ minute. Roasting or peeling of almond skin is not necessary, but I have roasted while making.

When Cools powder it and keep aside.

Add cardamom powder to it and mix well

In a pan add sugar and water and keep on flame to make sugar syrup.

When it comes to one thread consistency add the almond powder and mix well and switch off the flame.

Add into a greased tray/plate.

Cut when still warm to desired shape.

Serve When cooled