Baklava

Recipe contributed by Dhara Balwa

Baklava is a Mediterranean delicacy. It is one of the best desserts to end your Mediterranean meal or a delicious snack. I was first introduced to it on my stay in Sudan. Heavily coated in sugar/honey syrup and butter, it is sticky goodness. But too sweet for my liking. Ever since then, in the past 7 years, I have tried so many varieties.. from Egyptian, Saudi Arabian, Turkish, Lebanese, also a made in America brand available in Costco on which we settled.

But recently, a friend who has moved to Jordan gifted us a pack of Baklava from a very popular sweets chain called 'Habibah'. The best Baklava I have eaten so far! So light and perfectly sweetened. You taste the flaky layers, the nuts, the sugar and the essences. No ingredient overpowering the other. Honestly, its the balance that makes the best recipes. SO, my only disappointment---it was not enough. :) Of course we have requested(ordered?) our friend to bring it again the next time he visits us.

But me being the crazy person I am, my hunt for the copy cat recipe began. It would be a few months before he comes back and seriously I was craving it too much to wait! After so many search queries in google including the word Habibah and Amman, I ended with zero recipes. But that got me thinking that homemade anything is usually better than store bought. So, trying a baklava recipe at home should yield good results especially when I can control what I put in it. Generally, there are only handful of ingredients in a traditional recipe. And all the good ingredients should have a combined better result. It is simple math! Settling on combining three recipes that looked good, I decided to take a chance and try the tricky looking baklava at home. Thanks to the frozen section of Whole Foods where I got my Fillo/Phyllo dough sheets from Whole Foods whose listed ingredients mimic that of home-made sheets, it was an easy though time consuming task. The end result totally makes it worth though! Different from Habibah but equally delectable.

So, I have tried to do a step by step tutorial. The only steps I am missing is making of sugar syrup and adding it to the Baklava after they are out of oven as it is a quick process and any wasted second can change the quality of Baklava.

I have tried baklava with three kinds of nuts - Pistachio, Almonds, Pecans. Walnut and Pistachio are typically used but I have read even pine nuts and cashews are not unusual. So really! whatever you have on hand. Pistachio Baklava is the most famous though.

Without further Blah Blah Blah... here is the recipe! The pictures may not be doing justice to them. But they are delectable. Trust me!

Almond Pecan Baklava

 

Servings: 75-80 pieces
Prep time: 30-45 min  Cook time: 35-40 min
Difficulty level: Medium

Desi Mango Tiramisu

Recipe contributed by: Sandhya Luhana, Gujarat, India

The recipe contributed here is by my Bua (Dad's sister) and she is one of the few best cooks I know. I am so lucky to have had the privilege of tasting the food prepared by her. The other day she told me she already has 4 diaries full of recipes and counting. You can imagine her expertise and command on the ingredients in the kitchen! She has been a constant inspiration to me being such a perfectionist and spreading delight wherever she is. I love you, Sandhya di! I would like to thank Shweta (my cousin) for taking wonderful pictures of the recipes that does justice to her mom's cooking. Love you too!

The term 'Desi Mango Tiramisu' is actually coined by the mother-daughter duo :). This recipe is on my to-make list in the near future. You really can't go wrong with such ingredients in the list. Marie biscuits, Vanilla custard and Mango, what's not to like? And the different textures just makes it all the more interesting for the taste buds. The quantities of ingredients are good for a deep pan with the dimensions of the regular bread loaf pan. Adjust ingredients according to your container size.

Serves: 5-6
Difficulty level: Easy

Seviyan

Recipe contributed by: Shilpa Balwani, Gujarat, India

Seviyan is a standard Sindhi breakfast usually served with fried potatoes, Papad or Puri. What? Don't believe it? If you have such a heavy breakfast, you might not be hungry till the dinner that day. Oh but how delicious is the fusion of sweet Seviyan and spicy potatoes! Though I don't know if Sindhi families still have this kind of breakfast regularly or they reserve it for special occasions/weekends! Sindhi people, I would like to how often do you serve it as breakfast?

My cousin, Shilpa is a regular contributor on this blog. Check out her other delicious recipes too. This is one of her favorite Sindhi breakfast dish. But you can have it as dessert after lunch/dinner. I have also posted the Sindhi-Style fried Potatoes recipe. Make them together for a perfect combo.

Serves: 3-4
Prep time: 5 min Cook time: 10-15 min
Difficulty level: Easy

Cherry Pie

Recipe contributed by: Kintu Vyas Mehta, Virginia, USA

Pies make such wonderful desserts. With summer here, the fruits are so much more tasteful, tarty and juicy. It is a good time to make desserts adding fruits in all possible ways. One of the ways to incorporate them is given here. This Cherry Pie recipe comes from my friend, Kintu who is a great cook. I had a chance to try this decadent dessert at her son's birthday party. I am very delighted that she chose to share this pie's recipe. Try it out. You can also substitute other fruits like blueberries for cherry.

Photo by Kintu Vyas

Serves: 8
Prep time: 15 min Bake time: 4 1/2 hrs or 3 1/2 hours, if using Ready-to-use Pie fillings
Difficulty level: Easy

Berry Yogurt Parfait

Recipe contributed by: Dhara Balwa

Parfait is one of the healthiest breakfast or snack to have. You can serve it as a healthier dessert option too. Full of protein in form of Greek Yogurt, oats and fresh fruit, it is a great way to start your day. There are so many versions in the market now. Some of them have so much sugar, it is just like having dessert for breakfast with fruit sauces and what not! This version is very low on sugar with lots of fruit that adds sweetness naturally. My son eats this so happily. And it is quick to make too. I make it from whatever fruits are available like oranges, bananas, berries. Throw in some nuts and it's ready. Try it out.

Prep Time: 10 min
Difficulty level: Easy

Chocolate Nankhatai

Recipe Contributed by: Smruti Vartak, Iowa, USA 

We grew up in India cherishing Nankhatais/Cookies. But we used to have plain version of these. When my friend Smruti shared picture of chocolate swirl Nankhatais on Facebook I requested her to share the recipe on our blog, and she agreed. This recipe is originally from the blog Treat a Week.

Recipe from: Treat a Week
Serves: 24

Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 20 min

Brownie

Recipe contributed by : Rashmi Sampat

This is the easiest brownie recipe I have come across so far and it is the yummiest, too. Though it is eggless, these brownies come out as good and moist.  You can have them as it is or you can top it with vanilla ice cream. However you eat, you will enjoy every bite of it.

 

Serves : 24

Prep time: 10 min Cooking time: 25 min

Difficulty level: Easy

Kulfi (Indian icecream)

Recipe contributed by: Dhara Balwa

With summer fast approaching, I can think of just one Indian dessert that would make everyone delighted and happy. Actually summer or not, I have seen nobody who can resist this Indian ice cream called Kulfi. While the traditional recipe calls for boiling milk for a long time, the results are not satisfactory as this quick recipe. You ask what's the difference? The one and major difference is the content of ice when frozen. If the kulfi is prepared in traditional way, after frozen, you will taste lots of small ice chips in between. I don't find it very appetizing.

This recipe here is devoid of any ice chips and it is very creamy. If I have made kulfi (which I did last week), my freezer door gets opened so many times by my son waiting and making sure he has a good share of it. :) And it is so common that friends always like to have second helpings. Yup! It's that good. Now, Kulfis are prepared in various flavors. The favorites in our home are Kesar(Saffron), Kaju-Badam(Roasted cashews and almonds) and Pista(Pistachios). If you have sweet kesar or alphanso mango, cut small pieces and add them to the basic kulfi mixture and you have fresh mango kulfi. Again, you can have other flavors too as long as the ingredients don't have/negligible water content.

Image contributed by Dhara Balwa

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

Recipe contributed by: Rinkal Thakkar, Virginia, USA

I have some friends who are fans of anything chocolate when it comes to desserts. My friend, Rinkal, who has contributed this recipe is one of them. So, there is no doubt that this recipe has to be one of the bests. Oh so chocolaty! What's more interesting are the facts that the recipe calls for Khoya(Indian much?) and so quick and easy. I can't wait to try it.

Image contributed by Rinkal Thakkar

Eggless banana bread

Recipe contributed by : Rashmi Sampat

My son loves banana bread so I was constantly looking for a good recipe which I can follow all the time. After lots of trials and errors, finally I was able to make this recipe as my final master piece. Original recipe asked for 1 cup of sugar which was too much for me so I altered to ½ cup, and if sometimes bananas r too sweet than I reduce the sugar even more because I don’t like my bread too sweet. Hopefully, you also like this recipe as much as I do.

Servings : 10
Time: Prep time: 10 min+ 60 min for for Baking
Difficulty Level: Easy

Angoor Rabdi

Recipe contributed by: Rashmi Sampat

Here is a delicious recipe I inherited from my aunt, Sandhya didi. As with most of the recipes, this was born over the phone. I wanted to make something new for Diwali that I had never made before. My aunt suggested that Angoor Rabdi would be fun to make, of course, not easy--but definitely fun and delightful. Luckily, my mom was visiting me, and I took the mammoth task of treating my family with this delectable dessert.

Serves : 15
Time: Prep time: 20 min. Cooking time: 120 min
Difficulty Level: Moderate