How To Make laapsi /Sweet Daliya

Healthy and delicious dessert made with broken wheat

Laapsi is a very popular sweet dish from the state of Rajasthan.It is quick ,easy and delicious dish made with broken wheat,ghee and sugar or jaggary,This is also very popular in North Indian states specially in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. It is specially made during wedding or any big or small festive occasions and a winter special recipe.

Though making laapsi is quite easy but often the cooked grains become little chewy if you directly add the sugar in the cooked daliya ,so add sugar in little water and boil till sugar dissolves and then adding it in the daliya makes a perfect laapsi.You can add any nuts of your choice but almonds and raisins taste great ,addition of saffron also gives a wonderful flavour.

Prep time- 5 min
Cooking time-15 min
Difficultylevel -easy
Spice level-sweet
Cuisine-North Indian
Type-dessert
Serve-5

INGREDIENTS-

• Broken wheat/ daliya/fada- 1 cup
• Clarified butter/ghee- 1/2 cup *
• Cloves/lavang- 3
• Green cardamom /elaichi -4
• Cinnamon stick/daalchini -1/3 inch
• Sugar/chini -1 cup
• Saffron /kesar - few strands
• Milk /dudh- 2 tsp
• Water/paani -3.5 cups
• Almonds /badam -12
• Raisins /kishmish- 3 tbsp
• Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp

PROCEDURE-

1. Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan.
2. Add cloves ,cardamom(crush lightly to open it up) and cinnamon 
3. Add daliya and roast on low heat till it become pink and start giving a nice aroma.
4. Now add raisins and chopped almonds and just give a stir.
5. Add 3 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles or cook till done.
6. In a separate pan add sugar and water and cook till sugar melts.(A)
7. Soak saffron in 2 tsp of milk and crush in a mortar and pestle.
8. When cooker cool down completely then open it.
9. Add sugar water(A) and mix it.
10. Now give it a boil and then simmer on low heat,till it almost drys up.
11. Now add cardamom powder and saffron and mix.
12. Serve hot garnished with pista and almond slices.

My Notes-

1. Use thick grain/coarse daliya to make laapsi ,don't use the fine variety otherwise it may become mushy.
2. The amount of water and pressure cooking time also depends on the quality of wheat used so adjust accordingly.
3. Traditionally a good amount of ghee is used in making laapsi but you can easily reduce the quantity of ghee if you want 
4. You can also use jaggary /gur instead of sugar.
5. It will become dry after some times,so its fine to have some moisture after finishing it.

Stuffed Mawa Modak

Stuffed Mawa Modak

Stuffed sweet dumpling made with milk and dry fruits

Ganesh Chaturthi/Vinayak Chaturthi is a very popular festival in India. Different varieties of sweets and Naivaidhyams are made during Ganapati utsav. Sweet Modaks of different varieties are made and offered to Lord Ganesh. There are many versions, flavours and variety of making modaks.

Most popular and authentic modaks are made with flour stuffed with coconut and jaggery and then deep fried and  the other very popular modaks are made with rice flour dough ,stuffed with coconut and jaggary filling and then steamed.

I have already posted an easy recipe for making Coconut rose modak ,which are made with coconut and condensed milk. Today I am sharing an easy, healthy, and delicious Modak recipe to offer to lord Ganesha.The outer covering is made with milk powder and condensed milk and cooked in microwave. If you don't want to make it in microwave then you can cook it in a non stick pan till the dough start separating from the pan.
 
The filling is made with crushed nuts and dates and then stuffed inside the modak. A special type of mould is used to make these modaks, which is very easily available all over India, but may not be that easily available outside. In case you don't have access to a mould, you can easily shape it without it - just make a stuffed ball and then gently pull the top with greased fingers to make a dome.

Prep time - 10 min
Cooking time - 4 min
Difficulty level - medium
Spice level sweet
Cuisine -Indian
Type -sweet,dessert

INGREDIENTS-

• Milk powder- 2 cup
• Condensed milk-1 can
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
• Butter- 3 tsp
• Saffron /kesar - 1/4 tsp
• Milk- 1.5 tsp

Stuffing-

• Almonds /badam - 15
• Pistachio /pista ,chopped- 2 tbsp
• Cashews nuts /kaju - 12
• Dates /khajoor - 10
• Condensed milk- 3 tsp
• Cardamom powder/elaichi powder - 1/4 tsp

PROCEDURE-

1. Chop or crush the nuts and make a coarse mixture.
2. De-seed, chop and mash the dates in the grinder.
3. Take a bowl add nuts, dates, cardamom powder and 3 tsp of condensed milk.
4. Mix and mash every thing to make a dough.
5. Can add some more condensed milk if it is too dry
6. Now make small size balls from this nut mixture and keep aside.
7. Soak crushed saffron in 1.5 tsp of warm milk and keep aside
8. In a big microwave proof glass bowl add butter and micro for about 40 seconds .
9. When butter melts then take out the bowl from the microwave.
10. Add milk powder and condensed milk and whisk well.
11. Now put the bowl in the microwave and cook for 1 minute on micro high.
12. Take out the bowl and stir and mix well.
13. Now again micro for 1 minute.
14. Take out the bowl and mix it again.
15. Now add saffron and cardamom powder and mix well.
16. Again micro for 1 minute.
17. Take out and mix well and then repeat the process for 1 more time.(total 4 times )
18. Let the mixture cool down a bit,keep stirring in between to avoid any lumps.
19. When it cool down then take a small portion of the dough and stuff it in the greased mould from the opening in the bottom
20. Press the dough all around with the help of your thumb and make a cavity in the center.
21. Take a nut mixture ball and stuff it in the center of the modak.
22. Take a small portion of the milk dough and seal the bottom.
23. Now open the mould carefully and take out the modak from the mould.
24. Garnish modak with a paste of saffron and milk.