Daal Bhari Puris

Ingredients
  1/2 cup gram daal (chana) 
  1/2 cup yellow moong daal 
  2 cloves garlic 
  3 peppercorns 
  2 black cardamoms 
  1/2 tsp cumin seeds 
  4 cups wheat flour (use half maida and half wheat flour, if so desired) 
  4 tbls oil 
  Salt to taste Oil for frying

Method
1. Wash and soak daals for at least three to four hours. 
2. Drain and blend to a paste using little water. Keep aside. 
3. Grind the spices. Put two tablespoons oil in a frying pan and fry the lentil paste till brown and aroma comes out.
4. Add a little more oil if needed, but remember that the paste should be dry. 
5. Add salt for taste. 
6. Add the remaining oil to the flours and knead out stiff dough. Add a pinch of baking powder while kneading. Roll out the dough into big rotis. Cut out small rounds using a cutter.
7. Place a little daal on one and cover with another round. Make as many as you can. Heat oil and fry to a golden brown. It’s a delicious accompaniment to this tomato dish.
8. For convenience and to save time, you can prepare daal and freeze it and take out and thaw at room temperature whenever you need it and fill inside the puris. It will soften as the puris fry so no need to rewarm it separately.

Omali (Arabian Bread Pudding)

Ingredients
  6 croissants, broken into big pieces 
  200 gm sugar 
  3 cups milk 
  1/2 tbls orange blossom (essence) 
  3/4 cup fresh cream 
  1/4 cup cashew nuts 
  1 tbls raisins 
  2 tbls almonds, coarsely chopped

Method
1. Grease an oblong transparent baking dish and arrange croissants in it. 
2. In a deep pan boil milk and add sugar till it is dissolved. 
3. Pour over the croissants. Let it soak. 
4. Most of the milk will be absorbed. Sprinkle orange blossom, cover with cream and spread the nuts on top. 
5. Bake in a moderate oven for 15 minutes. 
6. It can be served warm or cold.

Beef chilli

Ingredients
½ kg boneless beef undercut, thinly sliced
1 tsp cornflour
1 onion, sliced
2-tsp garlic, chopped
1 tbsp Soya sauce
1 egg
2 green chillies
1 spring onion, sliced
½ cup beef stock
2 tbsp vinegar
White pepper to taste
Sugar to taste
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Method
1. Marinate beef with half teaspoon Soya sauce, egg, cornflour, salt and pepper for an hour. Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the beef till golden brown.
2. Drain the pieces and keep aside. In another pan, fry onion and garlic. Add green chillies, vinegar, half tsp Soya sauce and stock.
3. After 10 minutes add the fried beef, salt, pepper and sugar and cook till it is done. Add spring onion and remove from flame. Serve hot.

Fruit fool

Ingredients
2 chickos, cut into cubes
2 bananas (blended)
1 apple, cut into cubes
½ cup grapes
2 tbsp lime juice
2 egg whites
½ tsp vanilla essence
½ litre milk
2 tbsp custard powder
4 tbsp sugar
Chocolate flakes for garnishing

Method
1. Make custard and cool. In another bowl, place chicko, apple and grapes and toss them in lime juice. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until stiff and gently fold in the custard and vanilla essence until well mixed.
2. In tall glasses, alternately layer the chopped fruit, banana puree and custard mixture, finishing with custard on top. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
3. Decorate with chocolate flakes and serve.

Mango falooda

Ingredients
1 lb mangoes
1/2 litre milk
5 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp custard powder
100 gms fresh cream

Method
1. Peel and cut the mangoes into small pieces and squeeze out the pulp from the seeds. Put aside.
2. Boil milk and sugar together. In a separate bowl mix the custard powder in a little cold milk, ensuring no lumps are formed. Slowly, add to the milk mixture, stirring constantly.
3. Turn the heat to low and cook the custard until thick. Remove from heat and cool. Carefully mix the mangoes and cream in the custard but don’t blend too much, ensuring that the mango pieces should not break.
4. Chill at this point or after pouring into tall serving glasses. Garnish with mango pieces.

Walnut surprise

Ingredients
3/4th cup walnut (coarsely chopped)
1 can of condensed milk
1 cup biscuits
600 gms fresh cream (whipped and chilled)
15 walnut halves for decoration

Method
1. Boil the sealed can of condensed milk for four hours in plain water. Make sure the can is completely immersed in water. Cool and refrigerate. (This should preferably be done a day before cooking).
2. Now, open the can and take out the caramelised milk in a bowl and fold in the whipped cream gently.
3. Also, fold in your coarsely chopped walnuts and refrigerate for at least half an hour. Just before serving, fold in the crushed biscuits.
4. Serve in a bowl with swirls of fresh cream and walnut halves.

Dry dates delight

Ingredients
6 cups dry dates
1 litre milk
½ cup khoya
½ cup pistachios and almonds
3/4th cup castor sugar
1 cup oil
10-12 cardamoms

For Garnishing
2 silver leaves for decoration

Method
1. Soak the dry dates in water overnight.
2. Remove seeds from dates and soak them in milk for about one and a half hour. Cook on a low flame, stirring occasionally till the milk dries out. Remove them from stove and cool. Mesh in a blender.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add cardamoms and fry them till it gives off an aroma. Then add dates mixture and sauté on low flame. Add castor sugar, stirring continuously, and cook till all the water dries out. Remove from the stove.
4. After cooling a little, add khoya and mix lightly. Garnish with pistachios, almonds, and silver leaves.

Biscuit munch

Ingredients
2 packets sweet biscuits
1 can pineapple
Chocolate syrup
2 cups fresh cream

Method
1. Crush the biscuits coarsely. Arrange half of them in a flat dish.
2. Place pineapple chunks over this layer with enough juice for the biscuits to soak in. Apply fresh cream over it and generously drizzle chocolate syrup on top.
3. Layer the remaining half of the biscuits on it and, again, place pineapples, cream and then the chocolate syrup.
4. Now chill for two to three hours before serving.

Jelly jewels

Ingredients
2 packets pineapple jelly
2-3 cups water
Food colours red, green and yellow (a pinch of each)
3-4 pineapple slices
1 bunch grapes
2 sliced peaches
½ cup cream for topping

Method
1. Divide the jelly powder in three parts. Boil water and add one part jelly crystals, dissolving them.
2. Add green food colour and pour into tall glasses filling about one third of the glass. When set, drop some grapes in these.
3. Boil and dissolve the second part of the jelly crystals. This time, add yellow food colour and pour over the grapes in the glasses. When this is set, add pineapple chunks over it.
4. Dissolve the third jelly part and add red food colour. Pour over the pineapple chunks in the glasses. When this is set, top it with a swirl of cream and peach slices.

Date pudding

Ingredients
250 gms dates, not too hard or too soft
2 tbsp pistachios, roughly chopped
2 tbsp cashew nuts, roughly chopped
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp icing sugar

Method
1. Cut the dates into halves.
2. Remove the seed and make holes in the centre for filling.
3. In a bowl, mix cashew nuts, pistachios, honey and icing sugar. Fill this in the centre of the dates. Arrange in a tray and chill before serving.

Dates laddo

Ingredients
1/2 kg fresh dates
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp butter melted
1 tsp honey
1 cup coconut powder
1/2 cup almond roughly chopped

Method
1. Remove seed from the dates and mash them adding milk, honey and butter.
2. Make balls of either oval or round shape. Roll them in coconut powder and almond powder. Arrange them in a tray and refrigerate to chill.
3. While making balls you can fix a tooth pick in the centre so that it can be easily picked and eaten. This dish does not require cooking.

Dates Firni

Ingredients
1 kg milk
1/2 cup rice flour
250 grm fresh dates
1/2 tin condensed milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp coconut powder
2 drops vanilla essence
1 tsp poppy seeds
Nuts for garnishing

Method
1. Remove the seed from the dates and mash them in the blender and keep aside.
2. In a pan mix milk, condensed milk and sugar, cook on low flame.
3. In another bowl, mix rice flour in half a cup of milk to make a smooth paste.
4. When the milk starts boiling add the rice mixture in it, stir continuously so that the mixture does not stick to the pan. Add the mashed dates and sauté on low flame till it reaches the consistency of halwa. Transfer it in a bowl and garnish with poppy seeds and nuts.

Chocolate Cake Truffles

Ingredients
400g Chocolate cake sponge, broken to pieces
100g Semi-sweet chocolate, melted
3 tbsp Whole milk (approximate)
80g Semi-sweet chocolate, melted
Dragees to decorate

Method
    In a mixer with K-beater, mix the chocolate sponge well. Make sure they are broken into pieces.
    Add the whole milk to blend. They should somehow come together, but not completely.
    Add in the melted chocolate.
    Mix thoroughly until they come together. If they don't, add more milk or chocolate if needed.
    Then divide out the chocolate mixture, and roll them into balls.
    Refrigerate until ready to decorate.

To decorate:
    Pipe some chocolate on the chocolate balls.
    Decorate with coloured dragess as desired.
    Serve it cool!