Raksha bandhan is round the corner so what sweet are you making? ? Well in Maharashtra rakhi is associated to coconut sweets as this day is also called as "नारळी पूर्णिमा". So it's considered auspicious to make नारळ or नारियल or coconut sweet that day. Known as नारियल बर्फी or नारळाच्या वड्या in Maharashtra Sharing my mom's simple recipe of nariyal barfi/ नारियल बर्फी or नारळाच्या वड्या Ingredients  1 coconut grated 2 cups sugar 2 cups milk if you have mava or khoya then reduce milk and increase khoya If milk or khoya both are unavailable we can use milkmaid tin also by decreasing sugar as milkmaid is already sweet. Method Heat desk ghee or clarified butter a spoonful in pan and add grated wet coconut to it. Roast properly till it's milk is reduced. Add milk/ khoya/ milkmaid to it with sugar. Keep stiring continously till reduced to thick paste. Add cardamom powder before switching off gas.  Once warm spread on greased steel plate abd cut in desired shapes. Enj...

For this you need-  INGREDIENTS for the salad 4-5 small cucumbers/kakdi - approx 2.5 to 3 cups or 2 big ones. ½ cup roasted peanuts ½ cup freshly grated coconut 1 green chilly, finely chopped 2 tsp lemon juice - can be added more or less 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania salt & sugar as required for the tempering: (the real taste gets added with this tempering....) 1 tbsp oil ½ tsp mustard seeds/rai 7-9 curry leaves/kadi patta METHOD- rinse and peel the cucumbers.  chop them finely in small pieces. you can use the chopper if you are not able to cut small.  Squeeze water from them and put them all in a bowl. crush the roasted peanuts not to paste but little coarse. mix the peanuts, coconut, lemon juice, green chilly, coriander leaves with the cucumber. now for tempering...heat oil.  Add mustard seeds till they pop. add the curry leaves and fry for some seconds. i sometimes prefer adding green chilly in temper to add taste but ...

 desiccated coconut mixed with little cream of milk and sugar or honey to taste.    rose petal gulkand   caramelized sugar, granulated and filled in.

Koshimbir in maharashtra is a must have side with lunch. Its a salad where in all ingredients are grated or finely chopped so as to consume more quantity and more ingredients instead of just picking up one single at one time. There is no set rule for what to add. this is a simple example to add the basic salad ingredients... onions -2 finely chopped cucumber - 2 finely chopped tomatoes - 2 finely chopped carrots - 2 finely chopped reddish -1 finely chopped cabbage - 1/4th or say 1/2 cup finely chopped green chilies 2-3 finely chopped coriander - 2 tbsp finely chopped salt, pepper sugar to taste all this can be just mixed and eaten or we can temper it with 1 sp oil n rai or to enhance taste add curd to it.

Chilly coriander chutney Ingredients coriander - clean n cut approx 2 cups green chillies - 5-6 as per spicy taste cumin seeds/ zeera - 2 tsp salt to taste lemon juice of one lemon Grind all in  a mixer pot to fine paste and squeeze lemon juice

The Basic simple yum chocolate cake....everyone's favorite... So what we need... Ingredients Flour/ Maida        - 1.5 cup Baking Powder    - 1 tsp Cocoa powder      - 2 tbsp Coffee pdr            - 1 tsp Eggs                     - 4 numbers powdered sugar   - 1 cup vanilla essence    - 1 tsp How to bake a chocolate cake... Add sugar, then oil and then eggs one by one in a bowl or mixing pot. side by side sieve flour + cocoa powder + baking powder and coffee. Now preheat the oven for 15 mins at 180° C in convection mode. Now add flour mixture to oil-egg mixture and beat a little more Now bake the cake for 45 minutes in the oven. Suggested serving - Coffee liquor poured on cake adds taste to this cake Coffee liquor - 1/2 spoon coffee + 4sp grounded sugar + 1 cap full rum.

2 cup maida/ flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 tbsp cocoa powder 100 gm butter (white preferable) 1 cup milk 1 cup milk powder sieve all dry ingredients mix all wet ingredients Mix both and bake me up in oven for 30-40 mins at 200 deg C