Yesterday  morning when i went on my rooftop to see and water the plants …. i saw these long and fragile fungus like mushroom . Took few photos and began to wonder – nature is so amazing ….. it creates weird as well as stunning things. We mere human can only watch and adore …

i always tell people to take little time out of their busy schedule and look around …. enjoy the nature …. breath some fresh air especially at dawn – even busy metro cities have fresh air to breath – so shouldn’t be an excuse. As for me – i might be lazy but i know how fresh one can feel to see the sun rise …. to watch flock of parrots floating over your head from east to west.

Bengalis believe mother nature is actually Maa Durga …. who holds the whole nature in her – which is created by the supreme Lord Vishnu !! It’s the beginning of Durga pujo …. today is shoshti – Maa Durga is coming home but by the time she reaches immortal earth it would be evening …. so really celebration start from then on …. during day time moms keep fast for their children.

Well hoping to have a nice time – going to the puja pandal – dressing up – eating yummy food and off course cooking gorgeous sweets …. i have planned many things – lets see how much it will be fulfilled. i will write how pujo days went … what we did and what i missed !!

As for to start the pujo mood i am sharing this super easy recipe and yet mouth watering delicious coconut ladoo. Actually bought two coconuts few weeks ago … but my mom went to Kolkata as one of my uncle is very ill …. hope he gets well soon … one shouldn’t loose heart neither shouldn’t loose faith in the power of Almighty …. if HE does anything is possible …

while my mother was away i decided to make coconut ladoo … well i am seriously  very good at it …. but this time i was over confident or under confident …. i don’t know really – but the thing that i can make blind folded got wrong …  and it was a lot of grated coconut – i just couldn’t throw it or rather it would be a crime to throw it … so i did the most logical thing – added some milk and fresh cream and cooked till it was ready to make ladoo. It definitely doesn’t taste like the original coconut ladoo but good enough to be given to friends and neighbors …. there was no way to eat the whole thing by myself …. and off course hearing praises about your cooking skill is always inspiring and i love it.

So here is the recipe for coconut ladoo – which went wrong … yet tasted delicious and looked great ! – and no need to say  …. got tons of praises 🙂

Ingredients :

6 cups grated Coconut ( fresh coconut )

2 1/2  cups of Sugar ( i used 1/2 cup white sugar and rest brown )

1/2 cup Milk

3 tbsp Fresh Cream

Raisins (optional)

5 tbsp Chocolate chip (white and black)

Mix all the ingredients in a heavy base pan or kadai  …. put the pan on medium heat … cook till the mixture became gooyyii ….it might take more or less 15 – 20 mins  ….  now lower the heat to low and cook further – cook till the mixture is no longer soft and easy to mix …. it will take some effort to mix the mixture ….. scoop a spoon full mixture and put it in a plate – allow it to cool for 10 sec.  ….. then try to make a ball of that mixture …. if it does became a ball – then take the pan off the heat – make round or slightly flat round shape ball from the mixture.

If proper round shape ball is not form …. then cook further for 1 to 2 mins and check again by cool a little bit mixture and making a round ball.

One shouldn’t over cook it otherwise it will not take the shape of a ball  …. it will break apart ….

While make a round ladoo – i have add a raisin in the middle of the mixture and made a round ladoo …. one can add pistachio or almond …. but raisin is good option because it’s soft and matches the texture of the coconut too.

Let them cool down further for 1-2 hrs.

Now the decorating part …. melt the chocolate chip by placing the chips in a bowl and place this bowl on a bowl which has boiling water in it and should fit on top of the water filled bowl.

Stir continuously so that the chocolate chips shouldn’t get burnt … when done turn off the heat.

Let the melted chocolate cool a bit … pour a table spoon of chocolate on each coconut ladoo and with light hand spread around.

When all are done …. refrigerate them for 1-2 hrs …. before decorated further with melted white chocolate.

It’s ready to serve !!