The festive season gives you all the more reason to go to the kitchen and prepare dishes for those who have a sweet tooth. Try recipes like moong dal halwa and plum cake to make the celebrations more special.
Executive Chef Brij Sharma at The Chalets Naldehra share recipes of few desserts:
1. Moong dal halwa
Ingredients:
- Dhuli moong dal (soaked): 1 cup
- Sugar: 1 cup
- One-and-a-half cup of water
- Ghee: 1 cup
- Khoya (crumbled): 3/4 cup
- Sliced almonds: 10 to 12
- Cashew nut: 8 to 10
Method:
- Soak moong daal for few hours. Drain and grind the dal coarsely with a small amount of water.
- Prepare one-string sugar syrup with one cup sugar and one-and-a-half cup of water.
- Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed pan and add the ground moong dal and saute, stirring continuously, over low heat till the dal turns golden brown.
- Add the sugar syrup.
- Stir till they are thoroughly incorporated and the halwa is of dropping consistency.
- Add mawa (khoya) and cook till it dissolves.
- Serve hot garnished with almonds.
2. Plum cake
Ingredients:
-Plums (pitted and halved): 12
- Caster sugar: 150 gram
- Butter at room temperature: 115 gram
- Plain flour: 140gram
- Baking powder: 1 teaspoon
- Ground cinnamon powder: 1 teaspoon
- Caster sugar (for sprinkling): 1-2 tablespoons
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180 °C.
- Beat sugar and butter until fluffy with electric mixer.
- Mix flour and baking powder and sift into creamed mixture. Add rest of the ingredients and mix everything well.
- Pour batter into a greased 26 cm round spring form tin and smooth out.
- Top with the plums (cut side up) and sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon powder.
- Bake in preheated oven on lowest shelf for 40 to 50 minutes.
- Cool to room temperature or serve warm.
3. Chocolate brownie with ice cream
Ingredients:
- Melted butter: 110 gram
- Caster sugar: 200 gram
- Eggs: 2
- Self-raising flour: 60gram
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: 30 gram
- Salt: One-fourth teaspoon
- Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon
- Chopped walnuts (optional): 60 gram
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180 °C.
- Grease and flour a 20 cm square tin.
- In a medium bowl, beat together butter and sugar.
- Add eggs and mix well.
- Combine the flour, cocoa and salt; stir into the sugar mixture.
- Mix in the vanilla and stir in walnuts, if you are using them.
- Spread evenly into the prepared tin.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Cool before cutting into squares.
- Serve in an ice cream bowl garnished with red cherry.
