Fruit Desserts

For Eid I ended up making 3 fruit dishes. Why? I over estimated and had a surplus of fruits so had to do something with it.

Main - Leche de Fruit (ok - i made it up-- have a better idea?)

Combination of soft and hard fruits cut to bite size pieces.
I used: red apples, bananas, starfruit, guava, pineapple

fresh grated coconut shavings
Can of sweetened condensed milk

In a large decorative platter make a thin layer of coconut shavings. Dunk all the fruit in the condensed milk and make layers of fruits and top it all with coconut shavings. The starfruits looked so pretty that I had small toothpicks inserted and the pieces standing like stars around the dish. The kids loved it =)

Fruits 2:

Mix of fruits sprinkled with sugar, garam masala and black salt. I had put it inside a emptied watermelon turned into a bowl.

Fruits 3:

Mix of fruits with salt and kasondi. Kasondi is a mustard seed concoction. It was a nice kick of spicy and and sweet. Kasondi is like a preserve so it keeps if fresh hard fruits.

Peanut Butter Balls

C wanted something sweet after dinner the other night and for once there was nothing in the house-- being it was 11pm - no stores to go buy smth either - so the next day i went hunting for some recipes and came across this easy yummy recipe and decided to make a batch and always have in the fridge for that sudden sweet tooth craving!

You need...
Peanut butter
Sugar
powdered milk (optional)
Cinnamon(Optional)
Chocolate shavings of ur choice (optional)

In a bowl mix all ingredients to form a firm dough ball of the peanut butter. Taste along the way for sweetness that you like. Then take tiny bits and form little balls - I make little bite size about size of malt balls. Then roll them in some powdered sugar and cinnamon mix to seal and stick them in a box and into the fridge. Pop one whenever you feel like one =)

Note of Caution: pop sparingly - unless you want to start looking like a ball!

Recipe for Halwa

Halwa

Depending on what flavor
Semolina (Suji)
Carrot
Chole
Green Papaya
anything can be made a halwa

Suji Halwa

Ghee (clarified Butter)
Cardamom pods/seeds
Dar Chini (Cinnamon sticks)
Sugar
Milk/Warm water

Pour some ghee (clarified butter) in a pan and heat. When its warm enough put in some elachi (cardamom seeds) and cinnamon sticks and let it warm and let flavor out. Then put in the semolina and fry it in the ghee. it should be a 3:1 ratio abt. it shouldn't soak in the ghee-the suji should be dry and frying in the ghee. fry and toss till it starts taking color. should be off-whiteish to reddish. Then pour in milk or warm slowly till it rolls into a pasty ball. It will start of crumbly. It needs to get to a cohesive smooth ball. Once it in a ball you can do 1 of two things. Leave as is in a bowl and mix in some raisin or almonds or cashews and serve warm or cool. Other option - lay it out in a flat dish and flatten halwa at desired thickness - usually 1/2 inch thick - when cool cut with knife into diagonals and stick a bit of raisin on top. or mix the whole thing with slivers of almonds/cashews and then cut into diagonals.

When doing Papaya or carrot - make into pulp by grating - then follow above instructions w/o using suji.

I am still learning - but thats how I made 1st batch...