Announcing sweet series - rice / wheat sweets & Diabetic friendly sweets and Roundup of SS - Baked sweets

Dear friends, first of all, I apologise for the delay in posting the roundup. I had included chocolates and toffees in this roundup, but did not receive any entry. But I received different versions of cakes, cookies and cupcakes. Before I present to you the entries I received, I would like to announce the final event in the sweet series.

Sweet series - Rice/Wheat sweets & Diabetic friendly sweets

Please read the following points before sending in your entries.


1. Cook anything sweet that come under the category of this month - Rice/Wheat sweets & Diabetic friendly sweets and post the recipe with picture on your blog.


Rice/Wheat sweets include ANY sweet with rice or wheat as the main ingredient. example - sweet pongal or lapsi. Please include sugar free or low sugar sweets for Diabetic friendly sweets.

2. Multiple entries welcome. Your entries can be from your archives. All you need to do is edit that post and add a link to this announcement. But it will be really fun to create a new dish!

3. If you are sending from your archives, create a new post and add a link to your entries and this announcement. You do not have to rewrite the recipe. This is just to bring to the notice of your visitors, so they can send in their entries. - This is optional.

4. Feel free to use the logo.

5. Please send an e-mail to sweetseries at paajaka dot com with the following details on or before Feb 20, 2009.

(please copy the same format given below)

* Subject Line: Rice/wheat sweets & Diabetic friendly sweets
* Blog author:
* Blog name:
* Dish Name:
* URL to the post:

6. A picture of the dish (any size) - Please send only JPG files.

7. Non bloggers can e-mail me the recipe and the picture and I will include it in the round up.

8. The roundup of this event will be posted within one week after deadline. Thank you and looking forward to all your enthusiastic participation once again.

Here is the roundup up of sweet series - Baked sweets. Yet another wonderful, colorful sweets. Thank you friends, for sending in your entries and making this event a grand success. Please click on the picture to view it large.





1. Eggless orange cake tried by (non blogger) Ramya Jambunath

2. Almond cookies

3. Choco chip nutty cookies

4. Eggless butter cookies

5. Eggless chocolate cookie

6. Nankatai

7. Chocolate chunk cherry cake

8. Jam centered cookies

9. Naankhatai

10. Peanut butter sandwich cookies

11. Eggless orange muffin

12. Cupcake

13. Eggless vanilla cupcake

14. Vegan choco oats cookies

15. Vegan peanut butter chocolate raisin cookies

16. Christmas Fruits&Nuts Savarin Cake

17. Brownies cupcakes

18. Fig almond melting moments

19. Eggless banana nut muffin

20. Eggless saffron walnut eggless cake

21. Eggless butter cookies

22. Eggless tutti frutti cookies

23. Nankatai - Indian biscuit

24. Sweet puff - coconut filling

25. Christmas cake baked in pressure cooker



Previous Sweet series roundup


Puran poli / Sweet chapathi roti

Cool desserts

Chikki and Laddu

Deep fried and steam cooked sweets

Milk sweets - spongy texture

Halwa Kathli Burfi Peda



Please let me know if any of your entry is not included in this roundup. Thank you friends for pouring in your entries and looking forward for the same enthusiastic participation once again for this last and final event in the sweet series.

Microwave Mango Halwa

Wish you all a very happy new year 2009. This is my first post this year and I wanted to make a SWEET start. I learnt this recipe from my FIL's brother Ramani chikappa, who is fond of trying new recipes especially sweets. There is a huge banganaballi mango tree in my inlaw's place and chikappa prepared this delightful MANGO HALWA using homegrown fresh ripe mangoes and cooked in stovetop.

The three main ingredients in this recipe are mango, sugar and ghee and of course some cardamom for flavor. Instead of using the fresh ripe mangoes, I used store bought sweetened canned mango pulp. Since it was already sweetened, I had to use less sugar. Also, instead of stove top cooking, I preferred microwave cooking, since it is mess free and no need to bother about over heating or constant stirring.

I have tried corn flour halwa and badam halwa in microwave and I was pretty confident that this halwa too will turn out to be good. The result was no dissappointment. The halwa was smooth, shiny, 100% mango taste and all in all, a divine treat and is a perfect sweet for any occasion. I have used saffron too in this recipe, may be that's why, the color of the halwa is orangish. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Sweetened mango pulp - 1 can (850 gms) I used Shamiana kasar mango pulp sweetened

Sugar - white granulated - 1 cup

Ghee / clarified butter - half cup

Cardamom powder - half teaspoon

Saffron - few strands ( a pinch )

Method:

In a wide bottomed microwave safe high heat resistant large (corning ware or pyrex glass ware preferably) container add one can of mango pulp.

Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add sugar and stir well until even distribution and again microwave high for 5 minutes.

Stir in cardamom powder and saffron strands. Stir the content and cook for 20 minutes, stirring once every 5 minutes.

Add ghee and stir in until even distribution. Adding more ghee is optional.

Microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes and do not forget to give it a stir every 4 or 5 minutes.

After the halwa consistency is reached, give a quick stir and allow a standing time of about 5 minutes before tasting the halwa. If you think the halwa consistency is not reached, microwave again for 4 to 5 minutes.

Scoop a dollop of this halwa and garnish with a single cashewnut before serving.