CHOCOLATE WALNUT FUDGE

A hot favourite of my kids, their friends and my friends. My kids are now grown up, but even now, whenever I bump into their school buddies , they always talk of the fudge & how they salivate at the thought of having it.

INGREDIENTS:

Condensed milkmaid(I use Nestle Milkmaid)-1 tin

Melted Butter (Unsalted)-100 grams

Sugar(Regular granulated)-1 /4^th Cup

Cocoa powder-3/4^th cup

Refined flour/Maida-2 tbsp

Walnuts( shelled, broken into small pieces)-1 cup

METHOD:

1.Take a heavy bottomed pan( kadhai)

2.Mix all the ingredients except the walnuts and put it in the pan.

3.Cook on high heat , stirring all the time.If you are busy & cant keep stirring it constantly, cook it on low heat.

4.Keep cooking till it thickens considerably and when you take it in a ladle( Kadchi) & try to drop it back into the pan, it falls in sheet not drops & that too not drop easily.You can also put a drop into ½ cup cold water, take the fudge drop & try to roll it between your fingers into a ball.It should form a soft ball ,which retains its shape.Thats the end point.

5.Add walnuts and mix well.

6.Switch off the gas.

7.Pour the fudge onto a lightly greased ( with refined oil , not butter) tray 11 inch X 9 inch size- like a swiss roll tin.

8.Spread evenly.

9.Let it cool slightly.Mark lines on it about 1 inch apart( its called scoring), horizontally as well as longitudinally.

10.Leave it outside to cool, in winters & in a fridge in summer.

11.Cut into pieces , when set.

DRY FRUIT GUD/JAGGERY WITH DRY FRUITS

A favourite of family and friends during winter.It is a lovely end to a meal and is a no fuss dessert, rich in Iron.It is akin to chocolate/fudge with dry fruits. With doctors recommending handful of mixed nuts to be consumed daily,this is a nice tasty way to have nuts along with jaggery, a rich source of Iron.

INGREDIENTS:

Gud/Jaggery powdered -1Kg

Ghee/ clarified butter-1tbsp

Almonds whole-1 cup

Walnuts shelled and broken into 2 or 4-1 cup

Cashew nuts , broken into 2 or 4-1 cup

Dry coconut/Khopra sliced thinly-1 cup

Saunf/ Aniseed -3 Tbsp

Jeera/ Cummin seeds-1 Tbsp

Black pepper (optional) ,if using whole-2 tbsp and if coarsely ground-1 tbsp

METHOD:

1.Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed kadhai.

2.Once the ghee gets heated , add powdered gud.

3.Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and keep ready.

4.As soon as the jaggery melts completely, add the dry fruits, condiments etc and mix well.

5.While hot,drop small spoonfuls on a tray, separated by about ½ inch from each other(You will need more than one tray).

6.Remove when cool and store in an airtight container.