Ragi Chocolate Laddu

Deepawali, the festival of lights, eagerly anticipated and celebrated throughout India, is here. There is so much excitement, happiness, festivities in the air. It is also fun to run around shopping for new clothes, gifts, fire crackers.

As with most festivals, the stories behind celebrating this festival too are several. Sri Krishna killed Narakasura on this Chaturdashi day. Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after His exile after killing Ravana and freeing Sita from his evil clutch.

Whatever be the legend, the common theme is the victory of good over evil. The assurance from Divinity that evil, cruelty, jealousy and hatred do not last long. That truth, goodness and virtuous living always triumphs. A very heartening reminder in a world where the opposite seems to be true. An assurance for those who believe. A great reason to celebrate. To meet up with family, close or extended. To renew friendships, to form new ones, to look forward with hope.

So here is wishing you happiness, good health, joy in your lives!

In continuation with my efforts at finding and documenting healthy recipes, I am very happy to share with you this new attempt of mine. The nutty aroma of roasted ragi combined with seductive cocoa, taken a notch festive with fragrant ghee all come together delightfully in this healthy dessert.

Millets are quite the rage in the diet of every health conscious person and rightly so. They are packed with several nutrients, richer in calcium, fibre and other vitamins than grains like rice or wheat. Ragi, or Finger Millet forms the staple grain of a large part of rural India. Here is my shot at making a festive dish with this humble grain. A successful undertaking, even if I say so myself. This Diwali, when you dig into this dark, mysterious confection, you can feel a tad less guilty at indulging knowing that there is this super healthy millet at its base.

ALLERGY INFORMATION

• Does NOT contain gluten, lactose, egg, soya, peanuts, any nuts.
• Suitable for people with gluten sensitivity, lactose intolerance, nut allergy.

EDITED – A reader expressed concern about using butter or ghee in this recipe for lactose intolerance. Usually ghee is digested even by people with lactose intolerance, since it is ‘fully clarified butter’, but if you are intolerant to ghee as well, do use margarine warmed in the same proportions. I have not used margarine myself, and am only suggesting it as an alternative.

Preparation time – 30 minutes, Cooking time – 5 minutes, Makes – 12 laddus

YOU NEED

Cookware – Thick bottomed fry pan, Mixer grinder, Metal spatula, Small Saucepan.

Ingredients

1. 1 heaped cup Ragi flour (I used store bought)
2. 1 scant cup powdered sugar
3. 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hersheys)
4. 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
5. 1/4 cup ghee (Can use melted butter too)

Method

1. Set a thick bottomed fry pan/ skillet on fire. Dry roast the ragi flour on medium heat stirring briskly all the time. This step removes the raw flavour of the flour and gives it a good nutty tone. 2-3 minutes later, you should sense a change in aroma. The flour is then ready.
2. Switch off flame, add in cocoa powder, mix well with ladle. Also add the powdered sugar,  and vanilla essence, and mix in thoroughly. You could use a wire whisk to mix well too.
3. Heat up the ghee over a low flame in a different small sauce pan. If using butter, heat a similar quantity of butter for such time until you find the butter slowly changing hue to a pale gold.
4. Drizzle this hot ghee over the ragi-sugar mixture. Mix again with ladle, and when it is of bearable heat, grab a fistful and compress using fingers to a round ball shape. The laddu can be set aside to rest when it keeps its shape. It will harden on cooling. Finish off making laddus with the rest of the mixture. Halfway through, if you find the mixture cooling and the laddu does not shape well, then warm the flour mixture gently again to help shaping the laddus.
5. Your delicious, laddu redolent of cocoa with a hint of vanilla is ready!

          HAPPY DEEPAWALI EVERYBODY. STAY HEALTHY, BE HAPPY!

Technorati Tags: Ragi Laddu,Millets Laddu,Diwali sweet,Festival Recipe,Festive Laddu,Whole grain,healthy dessert

Sweet Potato Halwa

 

Sweet potato is a very healthy tuber and can be used in several dishes.I have found dishes made from this wonder tuber in several cuisines across the world. The many health benefits associated with sweet potato made me want to use it at my home too.To my delight, my old neighbour Renuka had a simple recipe using this vegetable.  I learnt this unbelievably simple-to-prepare-yet-very-tasty halwa from her.  After jazzing it up with some fragrant cardamom powder, no one could guess the base of the halwa. Do try it out for it’s ease of preparation and for the whole world of benefits this wonder tuber has to offer.

What’s good about sweet potato?

• Topping the list of benefits is the high Vitamin A content of sweet potato – 25 times more than that of carrots!
• One serving  (200gm,= 1 cup) of sweet potato cooked, takes care of a quarter of fibre needed for a day, Staying away from refined, sweet foods and still getting a ‘healthy sweet dessert’ was never so easy and rewarding !
• Sweet potato is a great source of Vitamins B and C too - Again 10 times more Vitamin B and C available than in carrots.  It scores high on minerals such as Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium and Calcium too. This unique combination makes it worthwhile to include the tuber in diets of teenagers (rapid growth), sports people (essential minerals). Good for people with high blood pressure too since it is naturally low in sodium.
• The purple-flesh varieties are outstanding sources of anthocyanins, especially peonidins and cyanidins –very powerful natural anti –oxidants. This group of flavonoid compounds also help in maintaining strength of blood vessels and capillaries, reduces inflammation at the tissue levels and inhibits formation of LDL cholesterols.

Interested in including sweet potato in your diet? Read on for a simple recipe…

 

You need

1. Sweet Potatoes – 750 gms
2. Jaggery – 300- 400 gms, depending on your sweet tooth
3. Fresh grated coconut – 100 gms ( desiccated coconut will do just fine too)
4. Ghee – 1+1/2 tbsp.
5. Fresh water – 1 cup
6. Green cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp.

To assemble

Wash, peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1” squares, any even size will work.

Pressure cook the sweet potatoes with 1 cup water for 2 whistles. I used a pressure handi and pressure cooked, and stirred up the halwa in the same pot.

Mash the cooked tubers into a coarse mush.

Pound the jaggery into small chunks (if you had a huge chunk to begin with). Measure out 300 gms with a kitchen scale or you could use 2 level cupful. Add it to the mushed up sweet potatoes, add 1/2 cup water if the mixture looks very dry, and stir up over medium heat. Once the mixture begins to bubble, add the ghee and blend it in too.

Your halwa should be ready in 10 minutes of stirring over medium heat. Look for a glaze, sheen to the halwa to check it’s done-ness. Mix in the grated coconut, sprinkle green cardamom powder and you are ready to go! Serve warm, garnished with extra grated coconut if you wish.

 

Almond and dates halwa

‘A Very Happy And healthy New Year ‘ to all readers from Healthy Slurps. What better way to start a New year than with a sweet dish! If the sweet can also pack in a healthy punch - well, I can’t ask for more. Here is a super simple, yummy recipe for an un – put – downable halwa. Go ahead, start the new year with a BANG!! with this melt in the mouth creation….I must thank my dear sis-in-law, Deepa for giving me this recipe.

You need

1. Whole almonds with skin – 1 cup

               

1. Seedless soft dates – chopped fine, 1 cup ( I used Lion seedless dates)
2. Skim milk, boiled – 1 cup ( I used 3% milk)
3. White cooking butter, melted – 1 cup
4. Sugar – 2 cups

To assemble

1. Warm the almonds lightly in a microwave, this helps quick powdering. Use the pulse button in your mixer, and pulse grind the almonds to a soft powder along with the skin. The powder should look like this-

1. Take a heavy bottomed sauce pan or use a non-stick pot.
2. Pour in all five ingredients together into the pot.
3. Stir the contents over fire. You can start off with a high flame, and then reduce flame to medium once the ingredients are incorporated well together and begin to bubble.
4. It took me 15 minutes of stirring continuously over medium flame to complete cooking the halwa.
5. The halwa is done when it starts frothing around the sides of the pot and begins to leave the sides.Remove to a storage bowl immediately.
6. This does not need any garnishing, and can be served spooned warm. Perfect for cold wintry weekend treats!

Notes

• Take care to pulse grind almond powder – avoid extracting almond oil !
• Chop dates as fine as possible.
• Keep stirring over flame to avoid burning at the bottom of the pan.
• Do not overcook – else it will turn out to be a brittle texture, instead of a moist one. If in doubt, you can remove from fire and can cool a spoon of halwa, check if it is done and then return to fire if it is still liquidy.

Nutri notes

• Almonds are a great source of protein, fat, fibre, of vitamins-thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin E; and of minerals- iron, copper, zinc. This unique combination makes it wonderful for growing children.The fat is mostly of monounsaturated kind which is helpful in building HDL cholesterol, and reducing LDL cholesterol.For more information on health benefits of almonds look here.
• Dates are energy packed, bursting with iron, zinc. Also a good source of potassium which is very necessary for smooth working of heart muscles and an efficient nervous system.Foods high on potassium also help in regulating sodium in the body, hence control blood pressure.
• Dates contain no fat. The high fibre content in dates makes sure the body escapes constipation, colon cancer.
• Dates also pack in several B complex vitamins such as niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid.This makes it a handy snack for pregnant and lactating women as well as children in growth phase, especially if they are active in sports.
• This recipe combines the two wonder ingredients almonds and dates and combines milk and butter to it as a bonus!The use of butter does make it a high calorie dish – however it is good to remember healthy, active children need no calorie restriction and you may just be able to get a reluctant child to eat this delicious form of dates or almond.As for the others, moderation is the key word to remember! Do indulge in this ‘healthy sin’ in moderation and remember to work out a little extra to deserve this lovely treat!

Sending this dish to The Veggie Hut as my entry to ongoing event ' Winter warmers'