Rose Gulkand Modagam

Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi! - May Lord Ganesha bestow you power, destroy your sorrow and enhance happiness in your life.

This year I made the ever so trending turmeric pillayar. Below is my version of the eco-friendly pillayar. As for the modagams, I used to love this gulkand milkshake that we used to have back in India. I was missing it so much during these covid times, so I incorporated the gulkand flavour to our modagams this year. Scroll down for the recipe.

Yields: 25 small modagams

Ingredients:

1 cup – Fresh Grated Coconut
½ cup – Rose Gulkand
1 cup - Rice Flour
Few drops of Rose Syrup (depends on the brand of syrup used)
1 teaspoon – Rose water
Poppy Seeds – 2 teaspoons (Optional, I used White sesame seeds instead)
1 teaspoon - Salt
1 cup or more – Water
1 tsp + 2 tsp - Ghee

Method:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of ghee in a pan. Add the sesame seeds and roast it briefly.
2. Add the fresh grated coconut to the pan and fry for a few minutes on medium flame. Now add the gulkand, mix and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Gulkand stuffing is ready.
3. For the outer layer: In a pan, heat about 1 cup water along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon ghee.
4. As the water begins to boil add the rice flour and keep stirring. Make sure there are no big lumps.
5. Switch off the flame and cover the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes.
6. Now transfer the rice flour to a bowl and add the rose water and rose syrup.
7. While the mixture is hot, crumble and knead well to form a soft dough. Sprinkle some water if the dough is too hard.
8. Divide the dough into small portions and make the outer layer, add in the stuffing and crimp the edges together to form the modagam shape. If using a modagam mould: Grease your mould with ghee. Close the mould and place a dough ball inside, press down the sides of the mould to make space in the center. Fill in the coconut stuffing and with a small portion of the dough, cover the base of the modagam. Gently unmould the modagam and repeat with the rest of the dough.
9. Steam the prepared modagams for 10 minutes. Rose gulkand modagam is ready.

 

Recipe adapted from sakhisolutions.com.

Strawberry Pudding with whipped cream frosting

I made these yummy strawberry puddings for a committee meeting at our local temple. These pudding cups were a huge hit among adults and kids. It was so rich and creamy and the whipped cream topping elevated this simple pudding to a chic dessert option. 

 I originally made the rose pudding from YummyTummyAarthi.com. The rose pudding was made with rose essence I got from India. It was so great that I tried this strawberry pudding recipe with a few alterations to the original recipe.

 I used small shot glasses for the photo shoot. The shot glasses are so versatile. Do invest in a few of them and you won’t regret it when your guests are ooing and aahing over your bite sized dessert during your next dinner party :) 

I used small disposable dessert cups for my second batch. These are so convenient for taking dessert for potlucks. And they look so cute.

Strawberry Pudding with whipped cream frosting

Yields – 20 small dessert cups of pudding

Ingredients:

For the pudding:

• Milk – 750 ml
• Sugar – 1 ¼  Cups
• Gelatin Powder – 2.5 Tablespoons
• Strawberry essence – 1 teaspoon
• Red food coloring – ½ teaspoon

For whipped cream frosting: (Optional)

• Whipping cream – ½ cup (chilled)
• Icing sugar – 5 tablespoons

Directions:

For Pudding:

• Soak the gelatin powder in ¼ cup of room temperature water for 15 min.
• Add the sugar to the milk and heat it in a pan.
• Bring the milk to a boil and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
• Now add the gelatin mixture to the milk and keep stirring until dissolved.
• Remove from heat, and add in the strawberry essence and red food coloring.
• Strain the milk mixture through a sieve to remove any un-dissolved gelatin lumps.
• Pour into a desired mould and refrigerate for 3 hours.
• Serve cold with whipped cream topping.

For the whipped cream topping:

• Beat the whipping cream and icing sugar in a stand mixture until stiff peaks are formed.
• Fill a piping bag with the whipped cream and pipe over the set puddings.

Note:

• Use different flavoured essences and food coloring to make a variety of pudding flavours.
• I used small dessert cups and shot glasses to serve my pudding,
• You can also use a cake pan or any serving dish to set the pudding. Coat the pan/dish with little bit of oil before pouring in the pudding mixture. After the pudding sets in the refrigerator, invert it on to a plate and cut into squares and serve cold.
• The whipped cream topping is optional.

Strawberry Puddings – served in small disposable containers.