Thandai Flavoured Eggless Blue Velvet Cupcakes

The Thandai Flavoured Blue Velvet Cupcakes

Thandai is an instant flavouring given to milk in summers in India. The season of Thandai starts with Holi. There are numbers of ready to use Thandai Powder, wet paste available in market. Just add the Thandai powder/ paste to milk Stir and voila your glass of heavenly tasting Thandai is ready...:) 

Thandai is basically made with nuts like almonds, pistachio, Pune nuts and spices like black pepper, fennel seeds, saffron, rose petals, cardamom and many other things. This Holi I thought of doing some fission with this awesome flavour of Thandai. Fortunately I had this ready to,use Thandai powder, sent by mom of course...:D 

After lot of thought is mousse, cheesecake and a regular sponge cake.. A thought of making cup cakes striked my mind...mother, though why not to give it a different colour as well. I had an awesome cool blue colour in my pantry so, used it and baked my first ever experiment of Thandai Flavoured Blue Cupcakes...

If you like the rustic flavour of nuts you will adore these cup cakes!! If you like a hint of spice with Sugar to your desserts you will loved these cupcakes!!!  And if you are fan of colourful and gorgeous looking food just like me, you will defiantly try these cupcakes....:) :D

So let's start with the ingredients first followed by the method....

Ingredients ( this will yield approx. 8 regular size Cup Cakes)

- 1/4 cup,Thandai powder

- 1/4 cup milk + few tbsp as required

- 1.5 tbsp of vinegar

- 3/4 cup plain flour/ Maida

- 1/4 cup granulated sugar

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1/4 cup oil ( I have used vegetable oils, any non flavoured oil can be used) 

-  Few drops of blue colour ( optional)

Process

1. In a small bowl take milk and add vinegar. Leave this aside for at least 7-8 minutes.

2. Take a big bowl add in oil and sugar. Mix with a beater, blender or a hand whisk till sugar is dissolved.

3. To this mixture add Thandai powder slowly and beat till it is incorporated with oil and sugar mix.

4. Once done, add the milk and vintage mix to the bowl and stir.

5. In a separate bowl sieve together flour,baking powder and baking soda.

6. Add the flour mix to the wet ingredient bowl in 2 batches and mix nicely.

7. Once the mixture is ready make sure not to over beat/ over mix the batter.

8. To finish the batter you can add few drop to receive the required Blue colour for the cupcakes.

9. Transfer the batter in cup cake mould, and ensure to fill only 3/4 of the mould with batter. As, these cup cakes will rise a lot.

20. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 15- 20 minutes till the toothpick comes clean.

You cupcakes with Thandai flavour are ready to enjoy...:) 

For more interesting and vegetarian recipes and eggless baking recipes, please follow us on - https://www.facebook.com/Chapanbhog

Kesar Mal Pua with Instant Gulab Rabri

Kesar Mal Pua with instant Gulab Rabri

My Holi special a Dessert. Saffron flavoured and coloured Kesar  Malpuas served with chilled and refreshing Gulab ( Rose flavoured a rabdi), sounds sinful,right?? Trust it was by far the best dessert I gave made...:) 

Holi is all about colours and celebration with friends and family. This dessert is perfect for an occasion where you are looking for a rich, indian, creamy sweet to be served to your guests in individual serving. The best part of this dessert is the hot Malpuas served with chilled Rabri, complete bliss....:) 

Let's see the ingredients and then the making process...:) 

Ingredients

- For Rabdi

@ 1.5 cups milk

@ 1/2 cup coarsely crumbled paneer/cottage Cheese

@ 1/4 cup do sweet condense milk

@ 1 tsp. cardamom powder

@ 1/4 cup of mawa/khoya/if not available any dairy whitener so evaporated milk will work too.

@ 1/3  cup of chopped nuts ( almond , pista)

@ 1 tbsp gulkand/ 1 tsp rose essence/ 1 tsp edible rose water/edibles rose water ( this is bieng used to give rose flavor) 

- For Sugar Syrup

@ 2 cups water

@ 3/4 cups sugar

@ 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder

@ few saffron strands 

- Pua

@ 1 cup condensed milk

@ 3/4 cup maida/ plain flour/ APF

@ 1/2 cup sooji/ Semolina

@ 1/2 cup coarsely crumbled paneer/ cottage cheese

@ 3/4 cup water

@ ghee/ oil for shallow frying

@ 1/4 tsp is saffron soaked in 2 tbsp of warm milk

Rabdi process

In. Pan add milk and condensed milk, bring it to boil and add paneer. After adding paner simmer the gas it minimum. Add khoya, cardamom powder and cook on low flame till rabdi consistency looks fine. Turn off the flame and add either gulkand or rose essence or rose water and mix well. At the end add chopped nuts and put the rabdi in fridge to cool.

Sugar Syrup

In a pan take water and sugar and cook on medium flame till not to thick nor to thin consistency add cardamom powder and let the syrup cool.

Puas

In a bowl take add condensed milk, maida, sooji and mix it well till no lumps. Add soaked saffron, water and stir to form a thick paste. Rest the mixture for 10 mints. Once done, add paneer and mix well. On a hot pan add half tbsp. of ghee oil and 1 big spoon go pua mix and cook till nice golden brown from both the sides. Add the pua in sugar syrup for 1 minute not more than that.  Garnish with desired nuts.. :)

For more interesting and vegetarian recipes and eggless baking recipes, please follow us on - https://www.facebook.com/Chapanbhog