Rich Ricotta Kalakand

Love Milk? Then you must try this North Indian dessert called Kalakand; which is also known as Milk Sweet. It's really easy to make and fun to eat like brownies. Ooooh, just thinking about it is making me hungry.

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Here's what you need:

- 32 oz of Ricotta Cheese (whole milk) 

- 14 oz of Sweetened Condensed Milk

- 1½ packets (3.2oz/pk or 90g)of Evaporated Milk Powder

- 4 tbsp of Butter

- 10 Nuts (Almonds, Cashews, or Pistachios), cut into 4 pieces

- 6 to 8 Cardamom pods, seeded and powdered

Procedure: Mix evaporated milk powder and ricotta cheese together until all the liquid is absorbed. In a non-stick pan melt 3 tablespoons of butter and fry the ricotta cheese mixture for ten minutes. Add condensed milk into the cheese and keep mixing regularly to avoid the mixture sticking to the bottom. Allow the mixture to cook for 20-25 minutes or until it comes together. Now add the cardamom powder and mix well. Transfer the mixture into a dinner plate or a cookie sheet and spread evenly. In a small pan, heat one tablespoon of butter and evenly roast the nuts until golden brown. Remove from butter and gently press them onto the neatly pressed mixture in the dish. Allow the mixture to cool in the refrigerator or keep outside at room temperature and then cut it into squares. This recipe makes 24 squares.

***Quick Tip: Roohafza or Rose water can be used instead of cardamom powder to give a mild rose flavor to the sweet.

Rose Spritzer

Back in my college days, I used to enjoy the hot summer days at this Asian tea house called Babo's. They had a variety of hot and cold teas, but my favorite was Bubble Tea. For those of you who are not familiar with this drink, it is a milk based sweetly flavored tea beverage with tapioca balls or rice pearls at the bottom of your drink. Sometimes I used to take my books to the cafe and study while I sipped the drink. It was cool and very refreshing. After a while though, I didn't care for the tapioca balls' taste in my mouth and tried something else. 

Coincidentally, a few weeks ago, my mom brought out this spritzer for one of our family parties and it was an instant hit. Usually, we have fruit juice and soda for the kids and wine & beer for the adults. However, this drink was so popular that by the end of the party, many of the guests requested us to divulge the recipe.

This unique drink has a bit of everything: sweetness, flare, fizz, fun, and cool taste. The fun part is from making the drink and enjoying it on hot summer days or just any day really. Oh, did I mention that it totally replaced my Bubble Tea craving. I don't have to worry about the taste of the tapioca balls either. It's a Win, Win Baby!

Here's what you need to get started; oh and these measurements are enough for 4-6 servings: 

- 1/3 cup of Roohafza or Rose syrup*

- 3 cups of Seltzer water

- 3 cups of Sprite (soda)

- 1 tbsp of Basil Seeds (Tukmaria), soak in half cup of hot water until they bubble up

Mix all the ingredients together in a water jug or pitcher and add crushed ice before serving! Voila! A perfect spritzer for kids of all ages...even adults.


***Quick Tips: 
- The drink can be enhanced with 1 tbsp of finely chopped Mint leaves or a slice of lime.
- Other flavor combinations are Orange-Mango Juice, Mango-Pineapple juice, Mango. Which ever juice you choose, mix it with Seltzer or Sprite not both. 

My Hot Summer Day Treats!

It seems to me that as the years pass, the summers are just getting hotter and sometimes more humid. Well to beat the heat, I relax with some cool treats that are easy to make. It's just the matter of the ingredients you have around.  My favorite treats for hot days are Aloo Papdi Chaat and Roohafza Milkshake. You are probably wondering, what is she talking about? The best way to describe Aloo Papdi Chaat is that it is like potato salad (with some dry and wet ingredients).

This is what Aloo Papdi Chaat looks like:

Isn't it so colorful?

I know you are dying to know how to make this, so let's get started. Before we begin, let's just see if you can identify any of the ingredients in the picture below?

Here are the ingredients, if you haven't guessed already (from left to right): two medium sized boiled potatoes, coriander, chaat masala, Tamarind chutney, chopped onions, diluted plain yogurt, and papdi pieces. Once you have these, it's just a matter of mixing these together. I know you can't tell in the finished picture above, but the potatoes were chopped into 1/2-1 inch pieces.

Next up is Roohafza Milkshake...I'm getting cravings just thinking about it. It's so creamy and yummy. You know, as a kid I used to mix the Roohafza syrup in water and drink it with some ice. I think I also froze the juice in the ice cube trays and eat it like the Italian Ice back home.

As you can see, half the bottle has been finished because it is THAT GOOD!!

What is Roohafza? I used to think it was Sugary Rose Syrup. I mean it tasted like it so I never questioned its origin. I'm reading about it now and it's fascinating the ingredients that are found in this syrup. It is infused with essences of Rose, Coriander Seed, Watermelon and various other flowers, herbs and fruits.

The breakdown of ingredients in my milkshake:

One banana cut up into pieces, half cup to cup of milk, 2-3 tablespoons of Roohafza and as much crushed ice as you want. The only thing left to do is blending and taste testing. You can add more banana if you want it really thick but then you may add more Roohafza to sweeten it up. You have to play around with the ingredients to get Your Perfect Blend.

This blend will get you a little over a 8 fl oz serving. I poured the milkshake into a Scotch glass to feel fancy. Enjoy the drink however you like. It's cool and refreshing!!

Interesting Fact#1: Rooh Afza is traditionally made in preparation for breaking the fast during Ramzan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims. Happy Ramzan to all my friends!