Ragi, Green Mung, Kala Channa Sweet Puttu using Coconut Palm Sugar(Finger Millet & Bean flour steamed sweet)

Ragi or Finger Millet is a staple in the part of the Country I am coming from. Ragi porridge is one of the first semi solid food an infant is introduced to in our house holds.  This healthy and cheap pseudo grain is a rich source of Calcium, Iron, Protein, Fiber and other minerals. The cereal has low fat content and contains mainly unsaturated fat. It is easy to digest and does not contain gluten; people who are sensitive to gluten can easily consume Finger Millet.  The break fast porridge using ragi was one of the time tested one in lot of house holds in the Southern districts of India. Unfortunately now I see lot of house holds are replacing this with Oats. Oats surely is healthy, but ragi is much much more superior in terms of the nutritional profile and also doesn’t cause any health issues for people with gluten sensitivity.

This sweet is very simple to make and a perfectly healthy dessert with the iron rich ragi, protein rich bean flour and coconut and sweetened with low glycemic coconut palm sugar. Try it out and let me know how you liked it.

Preparation Time – 10 to 15 Minutes

Cooking Time – 10 to 15 Minutes

Serves – 2

Ingredients

Ragi Flour – 1 Cup (8 oz)

Whole Green Mung flour – 1/4 Cup (2 oz)

Whole Black Chick Pea Flour(Kala Channa Besan) – 1/4 Cup(2 oz)

Water - 1/3 Cup

Salt -  pinch

Grated Coconut – 1/2 to 3/4 Cup (Adjust this depending on your liking)

Coconut Palm Sugar – 2 Tbsp or more to suit your taste(You can replace this with raw sugar or grated jaggery)

Ghee Clarified butter - 1 Tbsp

Cashews – Around 6 to 8

Cardamom powder – 1/4 Tsp

Method

1)  Combine the ragi and the bean flours. Heat a heavy bottom pan, keep it in low to medium heat. Dry roast the flour till the raw smell is gone stirring in between and to make sure that the flours are not burnt.

2) Warm the water slightly. Add salt, cardamom powder  to the ragi flour and set it aside.

3) To this slowly add the water little by little and combining it nicely, the flour should be slightly wet and damp enough for steaming. If you take a small amount of flour in your hands and give a slight pressure and set it down, the flour should be able to hold it's shape. If not add little more water and try. (Do not pour a lot of water at the same time,  since you are not trying to form a dough).

3) Grease a flat, wide bowl and keep the dough mixture in this bowl steam it for 10 minutes. Remove this steamed flour and set it out to cool slightly.

4) Warm the clarified butter and to this add the chopped cashews and fry till golden and remove it from heat.

5) To the steamed flour mixture add the grated coconut, fried cashews with ghee and combine thoroughly. Once the flour is cold enough to handle by hand add the coconut palm sugar and mix evenly and serve.

Events

Sending this to Divya’s Show case Dessert event.

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Besan Kheer(Split Chick Pea Flour Pudding) using Xylitol as Sweetener

Happy Varusha Pirappu, Vishu, Vishuva Sankranti, Poyela Boishakh to all my readers. If you are new to these names and are wondering what it means? This is the name of the New Year celebrated in different regions of India based on the Hindu Solar Calendar.  Kheer , Payasam or pudding is a must on such occasions and this is one of the easiest one to prepare, can be done in a jiffy. Most of the traditional Payasam/Kheer in the Southern parts of India is made with Jaggery and a very few are made with Sugar. This is one such sweet dish which is normally made with sugar and I substituted Xylitol instead of refined sugar. For those of you who are new to Xylitol, it is a low glycemic sweetener, a natural sugar substitute which looks like sugar but has a slight chilling effect when you taste it. One draw back about xylitol is, not every one can digest it. So try it in low quantities and if you can digest it  go ahead in replacing this instead of sugar. However, portion control is critical when using xylitol as a sugar substitute.

Preparation Time – None

Cooking Time – 20 Minutes

Serves – 4

Ingredients

Besan/Split Chick Pea Flour/Kadalai Maavu – 1 Cup

Water – 1 Cup

Milk – 21/2 to 3 Cups

Xylitol – 1/2 Cup(You can replace this with sugar if you want to and increase the quantity depending on your sweetness level)

Safrron – pinch

Clarified butter/Ghee – 1/4 Cup

Nuts – 2 Tbsp

Method

1) Heat a thick bottomed pan and once hot, add the ghee and toast the nuts till slightly golden and keep them aside.

2) Now to the warm ghee add the besan flour and roast till it becomes golden browns and a nice aroma comes.  Make sure to keep stirring the flour to prevent burning.

3) To the roasted flour add water and saffron and with a whisk keep stirring till it becomes a nice thick paste without any lumps and starts thickening.

4) At this stage add half of the milk and simmer till it starts bubbling/boiling and now add the xylitol and stir till it completely dissolves. Now add more milk to the desired thickness and set it aside to cool.

5) Top it with nuts and serve or, refrigerate and serve it chilled topped with the toasted nuts.

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Strawberry Parfait

Looking for a high protein, tasty and guilt free dessert? Give this parfait a try. Parfait means frozen dessert in French and in America it is made by layering whipped cream, ice cream, and/or flavored gelatin, cream, fruits in tall glasses. Also it can be done with a combination of sweetened yogurt, nuts and fruits. So parfait is all about layering and I layered it with xylitol sweetened yogurt cheese, layered with some fresh strawberries and toasted nuts and coconut pieces. I use Xylitol extensively as a sweetener and those you are new to my space, xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar substitute which is low on carbohydrates and very low on glycemic index and doesn’t cause cavities like white sugar. But xylitol is slightly difficult to digest. So try out in small quantities and you don’t have any issue in digesting this sweetener, this is the best alternate to sugar and doesn’t have any weird after taste. I some times have parfait for breakfast, sometimes as snack and sometimes as a dessert.  So do you like parfait? If so do you have it for breakfast, snack or as a dessert?
Preparation Time – 15 Minutes
Cooking Time – 5 Minutes
Serves – 3
Ingredients
Greek Yogurt – 4 Cups
Chopped strawberries – 1 Cup and few for topping
Toasted Chopped Almonds, Cashews & Coconut –  3/4 Cup(Use shredded coconut as I found it is much better than chopped coconut)
Powdered Xylitol – 2 Tbsp or to taste
Method
1) Put the greek yogurt in a cheese cloth and squeeze out excess water from it.  Now place this in a bowl and add powdered xylitol and mix thoroughly.
2) Spoon 1-2 Tbsp of this sweetened yogurt cheese in a glass and arrange a layer of strawberries and toasted nuts. Once again spoon another 1-2 Tbsp of yogurt cheese repeat the layering of berries and nuts once again.
3) Top with full strawberry, chill and serve.

Events
Sending this to Zesty Palette’s New You Series 3 hosted by Vardhini.

Sending this to  Ramya’s ABC Series - Dessert

Sending this to Kids delight some thing sweet by Kavitha an event started by Srivalli.

This goes to Cook Eat Delicious Desserts – Refined Sugar & flour free whole some desserts an event hosted by me and started by Raven

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Sandesh(Saffron flavored milk sweet sweetened with guilt free Xylitol)

Wish ing you all a very Happy Diwali/Deepavali. Diwali/Deepavali is one of the most important festivals in India. The name Deepavali means row of lights and it indeed is a festival of lights where small clay lamps are lit inside the house and families get together and celebrate with sweets, new dress and to top it all bursting fire crackers. Unless you have visited or stayed in the Indian subcontinent during Deepavali time, it is slightly difficult to understand what is being missed miles away during this festival time.



Living thousands of miles away  I try to recreate things in whatever way I can, so that my kids also get a feel of this festival.  Now getting on to this recipe, this is a very easy one with very few ingredients, even though it involves couple of steps. Super healthy too with calcium and protein and not cavity causing sweetener Xylitol. Do try it out and let me know, how you liked it.



Preparation Time - 30 Minutes

Serves - Makes around 12 pieces





Ingredients



Whole Milk - 4 Cups

Vinegar - 1/4 Cup

Saffron few strands

Rose water - 1/2 Tsp

Powdered Xylitol - 1/4 Cup( or 1/4 Sugar)

Few rose petals and almonds slices for garnishing



Method



1) Combine saffron and milk and boil the milk. Once it starts to rise in the pan, add the vinegar stir and switch off the stove. By now the cheese and whey would have separated.



2) Line a colander with cheese cloth and pour the whey and cheese through it. The cheese would settle in the top of the cloth and the whey would drain. Rinse this cheese with cold water to remove any smell or sour taste and squeeze out all the extra water.



3) Knead the cheese using your hands to form a soft firm dough and add the powdered xylitol, rose water and make small balls out of it and garnish with sliced almonds and rose petals. Chill it and serve. Xylitol causes little bit of dryness, so you are better off without cooking the mixture. If you are using sugar proceed to step 4.



4) If you are using sugar instead of sugar. After adding the sweetener, cook in low heat for around 5 minutes. Until the mixture resembles a soft dough. Cool this mixture and once it is warm enough to handle, roll out small balls and garnish with nuts or fruits of your choice. Chill it and serve.

Events



Sending this to Cooking Concepts - Festive Food hosted by Srav's Culinary Concepts.

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Almond Milk Pudding(Badam Kheer)

Tastes good, looks good, a super food with high fiber, protein, rich in calcium. Can a dessert be delicious & good for you too? Why not, this Almond Milk pudding made out of Almonds,

milk & sweetened with Xylitol tastes really good and also is safe for people on low glycemic index (low sugar) foods. Very easy to put together, this dessert is once again a dessert that can be made even by a novice cook. So if you haven't tasted this dessert before, try this out and let me know how you liked it.





Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10-15 Minutes

Serves - 6





Ingredients



Almonds - 1 Cup

Milk - 2 3/4 Cup

Water - 1/4 Cup

Xylitol - 1/3 Cup(Traditionally done using sugar, if using sugar go for 1/2 cup or to your taste)

Saffron few strands

Cardamom 1 pod

Toasted Charoli nuts - 1 Tbsp



Method



1) Soak the almonds over night. Rinse and drain the water. Boil 2 cups of fresh water and once the water reaches the rolling boil point add the almonds and boil for 2 minutes. Then switch off the stove, immediately drain the water and add cold water rinse and once it is cold enough to handle. Just press the almonds between your thumb and index finger and the almonds will pop out of the skin. Do the same for the rest of the almonds.



2) Place the peeled almonds, saffron strands, cardamom and 1/2 cup of milk in a food processor and process till you get a smooth paste. Pour the ground paste in a thick bottomed pan and add 1/4 cup of water to the food processor to get any remaining paste sticking on to it.



3) Add the remaining milk and cook in medium heat. When it is slight hot add xylitol and boil till mixture slightly thickens and the xylitol melts approximately 8-10 minutes. Stirring in between to avoid burning  the bottom.

4) Add toasted nuts and serve hot or cold as per your choice.

Note - Another good thing(or bad thing!!) about using xylitol is they teach you portion control, any time you exceed or go overboard with big portion sizes then the result is upset stomach. 

Events



1) Sending this to "Cook - Eat Delicious Desserts Almonds hosted by Anu" an event started by Raven.



2) This is one of my favorite desserts and I am sending this to My favorite dish event hosted by Sreevalli.

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Mango Mania - Amarkhand (Mango Flavored Yogurt Cheese Sweetened with Xylitol)

Craving for some dessert, try this nutritious Amarkhand!! Amarkhand is an Indian Sweet Dish made with strained yogurt, mango pulp and by mixing it with sugar, saffron, cardamom and nuts.  Instead of the sugar, I have replaced it with Xylitol and you can absolutely not tell much difference in the taste of Xylitol on dairy based desserts. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol sweetener used as naturally occurring sugar substitute. In fact Xylitol doesn't cause any cavities like normal sugar and is safe for kids too.

I am holding off on those summer beverages and thought of posting my series of mango recipes. Summer is incomplete without mangoes and in tropical countries like India you get a variety of them. But in United States except for the Mexican variety and few of the Indian varieties you don't have much choices. Unless you have seen and tasted the Indian varieties of mangoes it is very difficult to comprehend what I am talking about. But these mangoes are good to go in variety of dishes like this and with still Summer around the corner, do try it out and let me know how you liked it.

Preparation Time -30 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 2

Ingredients

Greek Yogurt - 2 Cups (16 oz)

Mango pulp(pureed) - 3/4 Cup

Powdered Xylitol - 1/4 Cup or more based on taste

Saffron - Few Strands

Warm Milk - 1 Tablespoon

Sliced toasted nuts- 1 Tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 Tsp

Finely chopped mango pieces - 1/4 Cup  (optional)

Method

1) Place the yogurt in a cheese cloth and squeeze out the excess water from the yogurt.( Make sure you don't squeeze out the yogurt and only the water).

2) Place this cloth in strainer with a bowl underneath and set this aside for 30 minutes to drain any more excess water.

3) Soak the saffron strands in warm milk and set this aside.

4) Now take the yogurt from the cheese cloth and wrap it in paper towel and place a flat bottomed heavy weight object for 5-10 minutes. The excess water any left out will be absorbed by the paper towel. Repeat the process with another 4 to 5 towels and voila you will have the thick, creamy yogurt.

5) Now add the saffron soaked  milk, powdered xylitol, mango pulp, cardamom powder and the chopped nuts.

6) Chill it before serving and add chopped mangoes before serving.

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Sugar free Chocolate Ice Cream using Stevia

The Ice Cream truck hovering our development during the summer months make the kids and adults crave for some of this Sinful treats. I normally don't buy these Ice Creams at all and  I promised to make different flavored Ice Creams through out summer to enjoy and this is one such one.  We no longer use sugar  in our house hold.(even for kids - less work for my kids dentist). I have used Stevia as the sweetener in the Ice Cream recipe and my kids weren't able to find the difference because of the chocolate flavor, but for the adults this was very much pronounced. So I am going to stick on with Xylitol for the rest of my Ice Cream recipes.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 4 to 8





Ingredients



Half & Half - 1 Cup

Heavy Cream - 1 Cup

KAL Stevia - 1/2 Tsp

vanilla essence - few drops

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 1/4 Cup



Method



1) Place the Half & Half, Heavy Cream, Stevia, Vanilla essence and Unsweetened Cocoa powder in an Ice Cream maker and process till you get a soft serve consistency as per the manufacturer instruction.



2) Now remove this Ice Cream from the Ice Cream make and freeze over night to get a firm Ice Cream.



3) Run the outside of the container under a hot water tap and use a scoop dipped in boiling water to scoop out the Ice Cream. Enjoy.

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Coconut Milk Pannacotta

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. This chilled dessert is then served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis. In this recipe I have used coconut milk instead of cream and xylitol instead of sugar, Agar Agar instead of gelatin and topped with grated truffle

made with Xylitol. This is a vegan version of the Italian dessert and  this is perfect even for people with diabetes. So try it and let me know, how you liked this.





Preparation Time - Nil

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes

Serves - 3





Ingredients

Coconut Milk - 1 1/2 Cups (12 oz)

Agar Agar Flakes - 1 Tbsp

Xylitol - 2 to 3 Tbsp or per taste

Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp

Method

1) Warm the coconut milk slightly and add the agar agar flakes and let this sit for 15 Minutes, till the flakes are softened.

2) Now simmer in the stove on slow to medium heat and add the xylitol to dissolve at this stage. Do not allow it to boil, but simmer till the agar agar flakes dissolve.

3) Once the flakes are completely dissolved, remove from the stove add the vanilla extract and pour the contents into small cups and allow it to set. Chill and serve with chocolate sauce or with some grated truffle on top, with nuts and fruits of your choice.

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The Weight Watcher Parfait

 Parfait is a french style dessert made with layering cream, ice cream, yogurt, nuts, fruits etc. This parfait is very unique meaning, I have just used strawberries milk, mixed with chia gel as the main middle layer instead of yogurt and used nuts and coconut as alternate layer, topped with some xylitol sweetened 100% Cacao truffle(grated). So you can have this any time of the day, either as a break fast or as a dessert. With the low GI strawberries and calcium rich raw milk, omega - 3 rich chia gel, they are not only healthy and also tastes great. Much better option than the morning break fast cereal !!! It is a myth that fat makes a person gain more weight, if the fat is from good sources like unprocessed milk, chia seeds, nuts etc the food keeps you satisfied for a longer period of time and curb cravings. It is the sugar and carbs that makes people to gain more weight.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - Nil

Serves - 1



Ingredients



Raw Milk - 1/2 Cup

Strawberries - 4 (washed, trimmed and chopped)

Xylitol - 2 Tsp or to taste

Grated Coconut - 2 Tbsp (Heaped)

Chopped nuts - 1/3 Cup

Chia seeds - 1 Tbsp

Water - 3 Tbsp

Dark Chocolate Truffle - 1 (This is also sweetened with Xylitol)



Method



1) Soak the chia seeds in water and set them aside for few minutes to soak and gel.



2) In a food processor blend the milk, xylitol and strawberries till smooth.



3) Combine the strawberry milk and chia gel and set them aside.



4) Take a tall glass and layer half of the nuts and top it with half of the grated coconut and press it nicely. Now pour the strawberry, milk gel on top of the coconut and layer it with the remaining nuts topped with the remaining coconut.



5) Grate the chocolate truffle on top and enjoy.

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Brownie Trifle

 Can you make brownie trifle little healthy? Once you are in the health food wagon it is very difficult to let go and indulge. That too if you  subscribe to different health food newsletter and every day some thing or other article gets delivered to your mail box. It becomes even more difficult to let go and attack the food. Some times I think ignorance in bliss. Now coming to this quick brownie trifle, I just had one piece of my Black Bean Brownie left and my elder one wanted to have a quick dessert on a Saturday evening. I also had some Yogurt Cream Cheese in hand and few cherries and then this idea of Brownie trifle came up. Who said desserts have to be sinful and healthy food doesn't taste good? Try this out and let me know.



Preparation Time - 5 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 1





Ingredients



Brownie - 1 Piece ( If you have more, you can create one more layer of brownie, cherry & yogurt cream on top of this) and it will look fantastic.

Cherries - handful pitted and halved

Yogurt Cream Cheese - 1 Tbsp(Water strained and squeezed out from Greek Yogurt)

Powdered Xylitol - 2 Tsp or more to taste

Vanilla extract - few drops.

Preparation

1) Take a piece of the brownie and press it in the bottom of a cup.

2) Arrange the cherry layer on top of it.

2) Mix the vanilla extract, xylitol powder to the yogurt cream and then put it on the top of the cherry layer.

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Coconut Chocolate Truffle and a Vacation

It's almost midnight, really feeling tired after all the packing. Yes heading back home for the summer vacation tomorrow. Will catch up with my blogger buddies in a few days. If you see posts being published and I am not visiting your blogs don't be surprised because I have scheduled couple of automatic posts. So good bye and will be back in action soon. Now getting on to this post.



Are you a chocolate lover and then you should be happy to know about this. Chocolate contains flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries).  Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.

Made with 100% unsweetened dark chocolate and sweetened with xylitol and with the added nuts and coconut these surely are better than the sugary truffles.



Preparation Time - 5 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes

Serves - Makes around 12 to 18 Truffles



Ingredients





Unsweetened baker's chocolate - 1 bar(4 oz - broken into pieces)

Organic Heavy Cream - 1/2 Cup

Xylitol - 1/3 Cup or 1/2 Cup for a sweeter truffle

Coarsely chopped almonds - 1/2 Cup

Grated Coconut - 4 Tbsp

Vanilla extract - 1/2 Tsp

Salt - pinch



Method



1)  Combine the chocolate pieces, xylitol, salt, heavy cream and simmer on medium heat till the chocolate pieces melt. Add the vanilla extract, the coarsely ground nuts to this mixture and set this aside to cool.



2) Once cool enough to handle, take a small amount of this and roll them between your palms to make a uniform shape. Roll these balls in grated coconut and place them in small cup cake liners. Refrigerate for few hours and then enjoy!!!!

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Sugar free Strawberry Ice Cream using Xylitol

It's blazing hot here in the East Coast and tomorrow is going to be even more hotter reaching record highs of over 100 Degrees Fahrenheit. In event of the heat wave the schools are having half a days and that means Kids will be early home. With the Ice Cream truck hovering around in the development tempting and kids and adults equally to scream for Ice Cream, the best option is to go for home made Ice Cream. I used Xylitol instead of sugar to sweeten this ice cream and some fresh strawberries. Made with raw milk, raw cream and half and half, anytime this is a much better option than the store bought one and without any additives or preservatives.

If you are concerned about sugar high or sugar low or tooth cavities, Xylitol or stevia are the best sweeteners to go for. Stevia has a little bit bitter aftertaste. But Xylitol doesn't have any weird aftertaste. But one thing to be watchful with Xylitol is excessive consumption will lead to upset stomachs. So limit to 2-3 Scoops and enjoy!!



Preparation Time - 30 to 40 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes

Serves - Makes 2 Quarts





Ingredients



Milk - 1 Cup

Xylitol - 3/4 Cup

Salt - 1/4 Tsp

Half & half - 1 Cup

Vanilla extract - 1/2 Tsp

Heavy Cream - 2 Cups

Strawberry Puree - 2 Cups



Method



1) Warm the milk and add the xylitol and simmer till it dissolves. Remove from stove and let this cool to room temperature. Now add the half and half, heavy cream, salt, vanilla extract and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.



2) Remove the milk mixture add the strawberry puree, combine nicely and pour in the Ice Cream Maker. Process till it reaches a soft serve consistency.



3) Now freeze the ice cream over night to get a firmer consistency. Scoop out using a scoop dipped in hot water and enjoy!!

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Almond Saffron Milk & Strawberry Milk Falooda for Maitri

When Priya contacted me for the Maitri friend ship chain event, I thought it will take a long time to get matched with a friend and raised my concern because of my travel plans during summer vacation. But she matched me with Vidhya within two days. I was really amazed with how quickly she set this up. I am really glad to be part of this wonderful event and thank the duo Priya and Reshmi for starting such a beautiful chain. If you live in the US, Canada region please do contact these lovely Ladies to be a part of this friend ship chain.

Since the time I got the email from Vidhya of Sugar N Spice saying that the mystery ingredient is on the way. I was super excited to know what the mystery ingredient was? I have never ever checked my mail box so many times and in fact grabbed the parcel from the mail man itself during one of the visits to check the mail box. I ran back and opened the parcel to find Subja Seeds(Basil Seeds) and a lovely flower cookie cutter and a hand written letter from Vidhya. Thank you Vidhya for the wonderful gifts.



These Subja seeds have cooling effect on the body and when soaked in water, becomes a gelatinous gel and is mixed with Drinks and Desserts in India and enjoyed during summer time. I made two different varieties of Falooda, one with Almond & Saffron Milk and another one with Strawberry milk. Even though the following recipe is more like a mock falooda but was surely tasty and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I have used Xylitol as a sweetener in this recipe including the ice cream, so it is safe for people concerned with Sugar High's and Low's also to enjoy.





Method

Ingredients



Soak 2 +Tbsp of Subja seeds in 1/2 Cup of water and watch it bloom.



Almond Saffron Milk



Almonds - Around 25 (Soaked & Peeled)

Saffron - little more than a pinch to get a nice yellow color

Milk - 1 Cup

Ice Cream - 4 to 6 Scoops (I only had home made vegan strawberry ice cream so used that, but this would have tasted awesome with mango or kesar kulfi). Next time when I make a different flavor ice cream gonna revisit this recipe

Jelly - I made a jelly with coconut water, agar agar and almond flakes and will give the recipe later or you can use any ready made jelly of your choice

Xylitol - 2 Tbsp or to taste



Strawberry Milk



Strawberries - Around 10

Milk - 1 Cup

Xylitol - 3 Tbsp or to taste

Ice Cream - 4 to 6 Scoops(The strawberry ice cream suited this one perfectly)

Jelly - Coconut Water & Agar Agar Jelly



Method



1) In a blender, blend the milk, soaked & peeled almonds, xylitol and saffron and run till smooth. Now refrigerate this.



2) For the Strawberry Milk, add the strawberries, xylitol and milk and run the blender till smooth and refrigerate.  I used a vitamix for this purpose and there was no need to filter anything out.



3) Once the subja seeds are bloomed, scoop them out in 4 glasses evenly.



4) Layer them with Jelly pieces of your choice.



5) Pour the almond milk in two glasses and the strawberry milk in two glasses, top it with ice cream.



6) Mix them with a spoon and enjoy.

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Healthy Instant Chocolate Pudding

Craving for some sweet chocolate treat? Try this out without any guilt. Don't you feel good to have a bowl of dessert that is good and healthy for you? So can you guess what is the secret ingredient for this silky, smooth pudding?





This fruit is rich in protein, with a host of vitamins and minerals, dietary fiber and is very good source of omega-3 and 6 fats. Recent research has found that it is highly recommended to include this fruit as part of every day food. There are numerous ways to include this wonder fruit, in the every day diet like smoothies, shakes, ice cream, pies, guacamole and of course  pudding. Because of its neutral taste, it is very easy to include this silk smooth fruit in different dishes.



I am sure by now, you would have guessed what the secret ingredient is!!





Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 2





Ingredients





Avocado - 1 (Medium sized, ripe kept in refrigerator for at least a day)

Chilled Cream/Milk or Coconut Milk - Anything works 2 Tbsp or based on how ripe the avocado is

Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1 Tbsp

Xylitol - 2 Tbsp or to taste

Vanilla extract - 1/2 Tsp





Method





1) Peel the avocado, remove the seed and place it in a food processor along with milk, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and xylitol.



2) Process till smooth and there are no lumps and no green pieces to give out the secret ingredient.



3) Depending on the size of the avocado add more milk, cocoa powder and xylitol to make the pudding.



4) Scoop out and decorate with few almond flakes and serve immediately.

Note -  The addition of xylitol gives a ice cream kind of effect to this pudding, so enjoy this when you feel like grabbing a cup of ice cream.





Events 





This goes to Kids Delight event hosted by Authentic Vegetarian recipes an event started by Srivalli.



This goes to Fun N Sun an event hosted by Tickling Palates.

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Eggless Sugarless Grain less (but not tasteless) Strawberry Cheese Cake

I hope every body had a great week end, watching a fantastic Cricket match and enjoying India winning the world cup after 28 years. It was a fantastic feeling and no words can describe it. Now getting on to this post I had to bake a cake for my elder one's birthday two weeks before and we don't eat eggs at my home. We don't use refined flours and sugars and my husband is off gluten , grain, all fructose(including honey and maple syrup). So the criteria was to make a cake without eggs, no gluten, no grain, no sugar(replacing with Xylitol or Stevia) was a big challenge. I use almond flour for cookies, crackers extensively but still haven't nailed down a recipe using xylitol and almond flour for regular cakes. With limited ingredient options and after a lot of thought I decided to go with a cheese cake which every one in the family can enjoy. A normal cheese cake consists of three layers the crust, middle layer and topping. All I had to do is to make substitutes with ingredients I am allowed to work with and finally nailed down this recipe in my second attempt. The result - this fantastic cheese cake made from scratch which tasted super delicious. That too if you are on a dietary restriction like us, then this recipe is a keeper.

For the Crust - 

Almond Flour Scones made out of 2 Cups of Almond Flour or 2 Cups of any cookies crushed

Ghee or Melted Butter - 1/4 Cup(If using Almond flour scones otherwise increase this slightly)

For Filling - 

8 oz Organic Cream Cheese Bars - 2

Organic Sour Cream - 16 oz

Organic Chopped Strawberries - 1 1/2 Cups

Vanilla extract - 1 Tsp

Ener-g Egg Replace - 3 Tsp

Warm Water -2 Tbsp

Xylitol - 1/3 cup or to taste.

For Topping

Heavy Cream - 2 Cups

Xylitol - 1/4 Cup or to taste

Vanilla extract - 1 Tsp

Method

For the Crust

1) In a food processor place the almond flour scones and run through till they are powdered (few seconds).

2) Heat the ghee or butter and once they are melted and warm, add them slowly to the powdered crumbs and combine well. (When you take a handful and make a ball, they should be able to hold together).

3) Take a 9 Inch Spring Foam pan with a removable bottom, line the base with parchment paper and take the almond flour crumbs and using your hands press them evenly to form a nice base.

4) Refrigerate for an hour or two till the crust is well set.

For the filling

1) Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenhiet.

2) Beat the egg replacer and warm water till fronthy. Using stand mixer with paddles or a hand blender beat the cream cheese, sour cream, xylitol and vanilla extract till well combined. (Taste and add more Xylitol if required). To this add the egg replacer with liquid and combine well.

3)  Add the chopped strawberries and combine till well mixed.

4)  Remove the spring foam from the refrigerator and pour the filling and using a ladle smooth out the top and tap the pan gently to remove any air bubbles.

5) Now place the spring foam tray on top of a baking tray and bake for 30-40 minutes till well set, not sticking but will be still slightly wobbly. (Placing the spring foam pan on a baking tray is very important, do not place the spring foam pan directly in the oven and bake).

6) Remove this cool and refrigerate overnight.

For the topping

1) Take the cold heavy cream and whip till stiff peak forms.

2) Add the vanilla extract and xylitol and whip till well combined (Taste the whipped cream and add more xylitol if required).

3) Take out the baked cheese cake, loosen the spring foam pan and remove the cheese cake.

4) Now take out the whipped cream and spread on the top and pipe if any remaining to decorate.

5) Refrigerate for 2-3 hours and then serve chilled.

Note - The cup cakes are not gluten or grain free and was made for other kids who had issues with nuts and didn't like cream cheese.



Event



This goes to Torview's Food Palette Series Pink.



This goes to Hearth and Soup Hop 42.



This goes to Fresh Clean and Pure Friday.

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Sugar free Shrikhand (Yummy, Creamy Yogurt Cheese Dessert)

Craving for some dessert, try this nutritious shrikhand!! Shrikhand is an Indian Sweet Dish made with strained yogurt and by mixing it with sugar, saffron, cardamom and nuts.  Instead of the sugar, I have replaced it with Xylitol and you can absolutely not tell much difference in the taste of Xylitol on dairy based desserts. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol sweetener used as naturally occurring sugar substitute. For people with diabetes stop using all artificial sweeteners and try substituting with Xylitol or stevia which doesn't have any side effects. In fact Xylitol doesn't cause any cavities like normal sugar and is safe for kids too.



It normally takes several hours for straining the yogurt and to get a thick yogurt cheese. So I substituted Greek Yogurt. Do not directly add all these ingredients to the Greek yogurt, because it is still yogurt with some water left out and we don't need thick yogurt for making Shrikhand but need yogurt cheese



Preparation Time -30 Minutes

Cooking Time - None

Serves - 2

Ingredients



Greek Yogurt - 2 Cups (16 oz)



Xylitol - 1/4 Cup or more based on taste



Saffron - Few Strands



Warm Milk - 1 Tablespoon



Sliced toasted nuts- 1 Tbsp



Cardamom powder - 1/4 Tsp



Method



1) Place the yogurt in a cheese cloth and squeeze out the excess water from the yogurt.( Make sure you don't squeeze out the yogurt and only the water).



2) Place this cloth in strainer with a bowl underneath and set this aside for 30 minutes to drain any more excess water.



3) Soak the saffron strands in warm milk and set this aside.



4) Now take the yogurt from the cheese cloth and wrap it in paper towel and place a flat bottomed heavy weight object for 5-10 minutes. The excess water any left out will be absorbed by the paper towel. Repeat the process with another 4 to 5 towels and voila you will have the thick, creamy yogurt.



5) Now add the saffron soaked  milk, xylitol, cardamom powder and the chopped nuts.



6) Chill it before serving and garnish with more nuts or chopped fruits before serving.

Event Participation



1) Sending this Shrikhand to the Holi Aayi Re an event by Show and Tell.

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Eggless Sugarless Vanilla Pudding

I hope you all had a great Valentine Day Celebration. Amidst all the Pink and Red Hearts celebration, I choose the white one to celebrate. The reason is the my Kids had their Valentine day class parties and come back home charged themselves with all the  carb and sugar. I just wanted to keep things at home simple, healthy and ofcourse yummy too. This Vanilla pudding is a very easy and healthy and tastes absolutely divine. Xylitol has a chilling effect on your tongue, so the pudding after it is set kind of tastes like Icecream. With just very few ingredients you can create this delicious dessert. Do try out and let me know, how you liked it.



Preparation Time - 5-10 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes

Serves - 2 to 3 (Depending on the portion sizes and cups you choose,  I made this to 3 portions)





Ingredients



Milk - 1 Cup(8 oz - I buy unprocessed raw milk with cream on top, so if you are buying pastuerized, make this as 1/2 Cup Milk and 1/2 Cup cream)

Water - 1/4 Cup

Agar Agar powder - 3/4 Tsp

Xylitol - 2 Tbsp or per your taste

Vanilla extract - Few drops

Almond Flakes - handful for decoration.



Method



1) Soak the Agar Agar powder in 1/4 cup of water for few minutes.



2) Boil this water in medium heat till all the agar agar flakes dissolve, meanwhile warm the milk in medium heat by stirring in between so that there is no creamy layer formation on the top.



3) Add Xylitol and the dissolved agar agar flakes to this milk mixture and stir for 1-2 minutes till xylitol dissolves.



4) Now switch off the stove and add the vanilla extract and pour into desired cups.



5) Once this mixture is cooled down completely, cover the cups and refrigerate overnight.



6) Before serving, add a handful of almond flakes and enjoy.

Event Participation



1) This goes straight to Champa's - Kid's Delight Restaurant recreation an event started by Srivalli.

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