Simply Blissful Living - Taste of Fiji

  Ingredients: 215 ml full fat whole milk (about 1 cup) 80 grams butter/ghee (5.5 tablespoons) 175 grams sugar (3/4 cup) 500 grams full fat milk powder (4 cups) 1 tsp lemon juice 2 tsp ground cardamom seeds 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)  Sprinkles or chopped nuts for decorating Method: Line your setting dish with parchment paper In a heavy bottom pan (non-stick preffered), on medium to medium low flame, heat the milk and butter/ghee until butter/ghee melts. Add sugar and stir well until completely dissolved.  Add milk powder and ground cardamom. Stir well and cook on low heat for 5-6 minutes. The mixture will be thick. Be sure to keep stirring.  Once the mixture starts to leave the side of the pan, add lemon juice and vanilla extract. Stir well and cook for another minute or until the mixture starts forming a ball. (refer to video for reference).  Transfer to your setting dish, smoothen the top, and add sprinkles/chopped nuts.  Cut to pieces and allow to...

If you love these sweet and crunchy "french fry sticks" as my daughter calls them, but have difficulty with the sugar syrup, then this recipe is for you. Not only is this route easier, but its a no-fail method that anyone can try!  Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 3 Tablespoon ghee (use vegan butter to make it vegan) 3 Tablespoon powdered sugar/icing sugar  1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cardamom powder (ellaichi) 1/2-1 cup of luke warm water oil for frying          Sugar  Coating: 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar (adjust to taste)  Method: In a large bowl, mix flour and powdered sugar until well combined.  Add ghee 1 tablespoon at a time and rub into flour using your palms. The mix will easily clump together when pressed into a ball but will break apart easily too.  Add salt and spices to flour mixture and mix well. Slowly add water, a little at a time and make a stiff dough. Knead for few minutes and let it rest covered with a...

If there is only one barfi recipe that you need for Diwali, then this is it! I've worked on getting this recipe just right for a while now and after much hard work and determination, I have come up with a barfi that is amazingly delicious! If you've ever had yellow barfi from a certain vendor in Fiji that is famous for its sweets, then you know how incredibly delicious and decadent it is. This recipe is close to, if not just like it! I am so proud of this recipe and I really hope you give it a try! I am sure you will not be disappointed!  Ingredients: Makes 12-15 pieces  2 cups full fat milk powder  3 tablespoons ghee  3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream/double cream drop of yellow food coloring  Sprinkles for decorating (optional)       For syrup 1 cup sugar  1/2 cup water  Method: In a mixing bowl, add milk powder, and the ghee in 2-3 increments. Mix well by rubbing in between your palms after each addition.  Add 1 drop of yel...

Let me start off by saying that this laddo is to die for! It is melt in your mouth goodness and everyone in my family, especially my 2 year old, loves it! The binding agent for this laddu is ghee (clarified butter). I have shared another sooji laddu recipe  on my blog, which uses condensed milk in addition to ghee to help with binding. These are both great and very tasty, however, this one is finer sooji and combined with the sugar and milk, its divine. This DOES NOT hold up well to extreme hot temperatures. I remember a friend of mine made these during our summer (100*F) to take to the temple and by the time she arrived, the whole batch had lost its form and melted in the container. So if its hot out, use the condensed milk recipe as it will not loose its form. But DO give this recipe a try at least once! You too will love it as much as we do, I promise!  Ingredients: 1 cup fine Semolina/Sooji 3/4 cup full fat powdered milk  1/2 cup icing/powdered sugar 1-2 tsp ground ca...

Ingredients: Makes 15-20 laddus 1 cup fine semolina 1 cup full fat milk powder 1/2 cup powdered sugar (adjust to taste) 1/4 cup condensed milk 1-2 tsp ground cardamom (ellaichi) pinch of fresh nutmeg melted/warm ghee as needed (approximately 1/2 cup or more) Method: In a heavy-bottom pan, on medium-low dry roast the semolina/sooji until it is golden brown and aromatic. This can take anywhere from 7-10 minutes. Don't increase heat as it may cause the sooji/semolina to burn. Transfer to a flat bowl or plate. While still warm, add powdered sugar, milk powder, cardamom, and nutmeg. Mix well ensuring that the mix is relatively lump free. Add in condensed milk and mix really well. Using clean hands, make sure the condensed milk is evenly distributed. Add in ghee one teaspoon at a time working into the mixture until it starts coming together when binding into a ladoo. Form ladoos. If the mixture starts feeling dry, add more ghee and continue mixing well and forming ladoos/balls ...

I started experimenting with microwave recipes for some Fijian Indian sweets a few weeks ago. My goal was/is to develop recipes that taste amazing and similar to the original technique but make them quick and easy. After a few experiments, I was pleasantly surprised at how great this turned out. Its crumby and the texture is just like the original sugar recipe/stove top recipe. I also wanted to add a flavor twist to this to make it slightly different. Pops cordial is popular in Fiji and I've had several requests to show how to add to barfi; hence, the perfect twist! You can certainly leave it out and just substitute with the same quantity of liquid milk (or even water!) I hope you give this recipe a go! I promise, it will not disappoint!  Small Batch Makes 6-8 pieces  Ingredients: 1 cup full fat/cream milk powder  3 tbsp granulated sugar  1/2 tbsp ghee 1/2 tsp ground cardamom  pinch of fresh nutmeg  2 tbsp liquid milk (I used evaporated)  1 tbsp cordia...

  Ingredients Batter: 2 cups gram flour (besan) sifted  1-1.5 cups milk/water Oil for frying  Syrup:  1.5 sugar (adjust to taste)  3/4 cup water  1/2 tsp cardamom (ellaichi)  Pinch of saffron (optional) Method:  Coming soon! Watch video below until then :) 

One of the hardest items to "veganize" are all milk dishes and milk barfi from Fiji is just that. Its basically milk and sugar. I have been on a quest to make a vegan version of the barfi because my daughter cannot have milk due to an allergy and I am so happy with the results of this version! It has the same mouth-feel and the taste is very close! You don't really taste the coconut flavor too much and the flour helps mellow out the flavors and soak up some of the extra oil that coconut milk powder tends to create. I've used the same techinque as the classic Fiji Style Milk Barfi  and it works with this mix. I really hope you give this one a try, even if you aren't vegan :)  Ingredients 1 lb (454 grams) Coconut Milk Powder  1 cup All Purpose Flour  1-2 tsp cardamom powder (ellaichi)  [adjust as needed] For Syrup:  1.5-2 cups sugar [adjust as needed] 1 cup water  Sprinkles for decorations  Method Add flour to a pan over medium-low heat. Dry roast f...

With Diwali right around the corner and plethora of sweets being prepared, one thing I truly missed was Rasmalai. Traditional Rasmalai is almost completely made of dairy and I didn’t think I could get the texture or flavor profile right! The biggest challenge to me seemed to be making dairy free cheese balls! Boy, was I wrong! This recipe REALLY surprised me. I started off by trying out methods to make almond milk ricotta cheese. Once I had that part down, I tried different methods to make the “cheese” balls, and was finally happy going the traditional route.  For “cheese” balls/disks: 2 cups of almond milk ricotta cheese (homemade recipe below)  2-3 tsp corn starch For sugar syrup: ½ - ¾ cup sugar  2-3 whole green cardamoms 2 cups water For Rabri/creamy syrup: 4-5 cups of nut milk (see recipe below) ½ - 1 cup sugar (per your taste)  1 tsp cardamom powder (ellaichi) 1-2 tbsp cut almonds (or any cashew)  Few strands of saffron (kesar)  ...

Ladki Mithai is a must have in every household during Diwali. It is made with simple ingredients yet, its so delectable that I always find myself eating a whole bowl full alone! They are simply irresistible. Growing up, I remember buying small bags of these from the street vendors, or the Gadi wala as we called it. You will find that every household has its own way of making it. Some make them long and some short. Some thin and some thick. Some like them light golden and some darker! I prefer mine golden brown, crispy and crunchy. The beauty of Ladki Mithai is that they need not be perfectly cut. Lakdi Mithai translates to "Sweet Sticks" and they certainly look like lovely little sticks! Here is my version of Lakdi Mithai! Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 3 Tablespoon butter/ghee (use vegan butter to make it vegan) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cardamom powder (ellaichi) few strands of saffron (optional) 1/2-1 cup of luke warm water oil for frying Syrup: 1 c...

Gulab jamun is a milk-based Indian sweet. Gulab, in Hindi means rose and jamun is a type of fruit that varies in shape from cylindrical to round. There are as many variations of this dessert as there are jamuns. If you order gulab jamun in an Indian restaurant, you are most likely to get soft round balls floating in syrup. This recipe is for the type of gulab jamun commonly made in Fiji. It doesn't sit in syrup for too long, is cylindrical in shape and made from condensed milk. It has a more dense texture and just steeped in syrup, not served floating in syrup. Depending on who you ask, there are, again, variations of this recipe in Fiji itself. Some like to make a simple syrup to soak these while others, like my family, like to coat them in a sugar syrup that hardens slightly. This recipe is quite simple. Just be sure to fry the Gulab Jamuns on medium low heat, otherwise you will end up with half cooked, gooey, Gulab Jamuns! On to the recipe!