One Day At A Time!

One of the popular posts of my blog is Microwave Ricotta Cheese Kalakand . For my kiddo, these days I make it in the oven. You might ask why? My little one loves baking with Mommy.  The new oven baked Ricotta Kalakand (Milk Cake) Recipe is even better, it has double the cheese, less sugar and tastes yummy. And, if ricotta is not available, paneer is an excellent alternative.

I am sure you all are busy preparing Diwali special sweets and snacks for your loved ones. This festive season, I tried a new Bengali sweet - Kesar Sandesh also known as Sondesh . Generally, Sandesh is made of fresh Paneer .  As you know me, I look for ways to cut down cooking time. So, here is my easy microwave recipe of Bengali Sondesh using store bought Ricotta Cheese. Ingredients: Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz (425 gm) Sugar - 3 tbsp Green Cardamom / Elaichi - 3 pods Saffron / Kesar - few strands Milk - 1 tbsp Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1 tsp Pistachios or any other nuts - 5 How to cook Easy Ricotta Cheese Kesar Sandesh in a microwave: Crush cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Finely chop nuts of your choice. Microwave milk in a small bowl for 20 seconds. Add saffron to the warm milk and set it aside for 5 minutes. Grease a dry microwave safe bowl with ghee. Add ricotta cheese and saffron milk to the bowl. Mix it well.  Microwave...

If you love mangoes, you must try this Mango flavored Kalakand .  Plus, it is a hassle free microwave version, perfect for this festive season. Some might also call this mithai as Amba (Mango) Barfi and to some it is Mango Sondesh.

A desi Mithai  Badam Burfi with an Italian Cheese. This nutrient rich Almond Barfi tastes great and cooking it in a microwave will save you some time.  Traditionally, Khoya or Mava is used to prepare this sweet. But nowadays, I use Ricotta Cheese which works as the best alternative for our desi Khoya. Ingredients: Almonds/Badam - 1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese - 1 cup Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tsp Sugar - 2 tbsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Saffron/Kesar - few strands Almonds for garnish - 2 How to prepare Almond Barfi in a microwave: Soak almonds in water overnight or for two hours. Soaking will enable the almond skin to come off easily. Drain the water and peel the almond skin. Grind almonds to a fine powder in a blender. Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Chop 2 almonds for garnish. Grease a tray with few drops of ghee. In a microwave safe bowl, add ghee. Grease the bowl well with ghee. Now add ricotta cheese and mi...

Gulab Jamun is one of the popular Indian sweets made of Khoya or Mava. Till date, I used to prepare Gulab Jamun using milk powder, as Mava is not easily available here.  Recently, I started using Ricotta Cheese as an alternative to Mava for Mithai like Kalakand and Rasmalai .  Today I tried this Italian Cheese for our desi Gulab Jamun and it turned out excellent. Ingredients: Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz (425 gm) All Purpose Flour/Maida - 2 1/2 tbsp Baking Soda - 1/8 tsp Sugar - 1 3/4 cups Water - 1 3/4 cups Lemon Juice - 1 tsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Saffron/Kesar - few strands Oil or Ghee for frying   How to prepare Indian Gulab Jamun using Ricotta Cheese: Preparing Sugar Syrup: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Heat sugar and water in a vessel. Bring it to a boil. Cook at low flame until the sugar syrups turns sticky (one thread consistency). When you touch the sticky syrup, you can see a single thread forming ...

Rasmalai is a popular dessert made of fresh paneer (Indian cottage cheese). Today's recipe is comparatively easier and less time consuming.  A baked desi Rasmalai version using Italian Ricotta Cheese. Ingredients: Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz (425 gm) Milk - 5 cups Sugar - about 1/2 cup Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 4 pods (seeds only) Saffron/Kesar - few strands Pistachios - 5 How to make Rasmalai using Ricotta Cheese: Crush cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle. Finely chop pistachios or any nuts of your choice. Heat milk in a heavy bottom vessel. I used whole milk. Keep stirring after every few minutes. Cook at low heat until milk is reduced to half. Continue cooking until you get the desired consistency. Add 1/4 cup sugar, half of the cardamom powder and saffron. Turn off the heat when sugar dissolves. Let this sweetened milk cool. To save some time, you can use store bought  Sweetened Condensed Milk and dilute it with milk, until you get the desired consistency and sweet...

Kalakand is an Indian milk fudge which needs no introduction. Condensed milk adds a nice creaminess to any mithai and also reduces its cooking time. If you are looking for a hassle free and quicker version of Kalakand, this microwave recipe is perfect. Ingredients: Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz (425 gm) Sweetened Condensed Milk - 14 oz (396 gm)  Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods (seeds only) Saffron/Kesar - few strands Butter or Ghee (Clarified Butter) - about 1 tsp Pistachios - 5 How to prepare Kalakand in a microwave: Crush the cardamom seeds and saffron strands in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Finely chop pistachios or any nuts of your choice. Grease a big microwave safe bowl with few drops of ghee. Add condensed milk and ricotta cheese. Stir with a spoon so that ricotta cheese lumps are dissolved. Ricotta cheese works great as a substitute for fresh paneer/Indian cottage cheese. Microwave this milk and cheese mix for about 10 minutes. After every 2 minutes, sti...

Once or twice every week, my Dad used to get some treats on his way back home. Somedays it used to Kandi Pedha or Kesar Pedha. This is my attempt of making Indian Mithai at home. I might dare say, I was pretty successful. Touch Wood! Tasted and looked great! If you are a fan of milk sweets, do try this easy home made Kesar Pedha recipe made of Ricotta Cheese and milk powder. Ingredients: Ricotta Cheese (full fat) - 15 oz (about 400 gm) Milk Powder - 3/4 cup Whole Milk - 1/2 cup Sugar - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Saffron/Kesar - few strands Pistachios/Pista - 3 How to make Pedha using Ricotta Cheese: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Finely chop or slice the pistachios or any other nuts of your choice. Heat ghee in a heavy bottom kadhai or pan. Add ricotta cheese and stir continuously. Stir until water from the cheese is evaporated and starts forming a lump. It will take about 15 - ...