Our little gourmand is here! And that is exactly why I was hibernating. Nine months of complete pampering and preparing for our bundle of joy left little time and absolutely no energy for cooking or blogging. But now that our baby boy A is here, I am hoping that I will have more enthusiasm to keep this blog up and running. And looking at the way he goes for his milk I do hope that he turns out to be a gourmand and follows in his dad's footsteps. Little A is now 2 months old and it is difficult to imagine life without him!
These days I am hardly cooking as my mom is here but that just means that I get to learn more fabulous and traditional recipes from her. So I hope to post more of her recipes in the future...some of which I had almost forgotten. It is amazing how she uses simple techniques to transform the dullest of veggies into lip smacking dishes. So stay tuned...
2009 slipped by and there was no record of it on this blog. But I am determined to make 2010 count and to start it off I would like to share a very simple and delicious dessert recipe. This recipe came to me from my sister who got it from a friend of hers. Baked fruits is what she calls it but it tastes no less than a cheese cake! We were super impressed with this recipe and hope that you give it a try.
Ingredients:(Serves 2-3)
1 8 oz can of cream cheese
1 14 oz can of condensed milk
1 can of tropical fruits (or mixed fruits)
dry fruits (optional)
Method:In the food processor or blender, blend together the cream cheese and the condensed milk and keep aside. Drain the syrup from the canned fruits and rinse them a little with water. This will wash off the extra sugar syrup and prevent the dish from getting too sweet. I also added some fresh grapes...so adding fresh fruits might also work. Now mix these fruits into the cream cheese mixture. Pour the entire mixture into a baking pan and bake in 350 degree F oven for about 20 minutes. You will know its ready when you see a yellowish tinge on top. Once baked, remove and allow to cool to room temperature. Finally, put the baked fruits in the refrigerator to cool further and set. Serve chilled.
We loved this dessert and I will definitely try it again. Things that I would like to modify next time would be :
Using a little less condensed milk (about 10-12oz instead of 14)
Using fresh fruits instead of canned ones.
But even without these modifications Baked Fruits is a perfect way to indulge your sweet tooth!
Since the day I saw this recipe, I have been wanting to try it. But due to work and the daily grind, I was not getting the motivation to do it and eventually it just got lost in my big list of bookmarks. Then, a couple months back I saw it again here, and knew that this time I had to make it, come what may. Nothing was going to stop me now. The arrival of Ganesha and his ten day stay, gave me ample opportunity and enthusiasm to finally make this delicious Microwave Kalakand, originally posted by Sandeepa of Bong Mom's CookBook.The recipe is so simple and the results so amazing! This recipe is a keeper. Not only did our friends enjoy this treat but so did their one year old who would not stop eating the Kalakand! Thanks Sandeepa....your Microwave Kalakand recipe was an excellent Neivedya for Ganpati and I am sure he was just as pleased as we were. :)
After making the Kalakand, I couldn't resist clicking some photos (aadat se majboor ;)) and then it struck me that this was a very good candidate for MBP: Say Cheese that is being hosted by Siri of Siri's Corner this month, and is the brainchild of Coffee of The Spice Cafe. This recipe calls for Ricotta cheese which is a very popular fresh cheese used in Italian cuisine. After reading a little about this cheese, I realized that its not technically considered a cheese as its made from whey that is a byproduct of cheese making. But to me its still cheese and a very light one at that. It contains only around 5 % of fat per Wikipedia. More info here. Its a great substitute for Khawa or Khoya too, which is a key ingredient for a lot of the Indian Mithais like burfis and pedhas and of course, gulabjamuns.
I have not made any changes to the recipe except that I skipped the pistachios as I did not have any at hand. I just sprinkled a few strands of saffron once the Kalakand was ready. So lets "Say cheese"!
Ingredients:
1 14 oz can of condensed milk
1 15oz jar of ricotta cheese ( i used part skim ricotta)
2-3 veldode (cardamoms)
saffron
1 microwaveable dish
Method:
Empty the can of condensed milk into the microwaveable dish. Take ricotta cheese in equal quantity as that of the condensed milk. Sandeepa gives a great idea to do this...fill the can of condensed milk with ricotta cheese to get the same quantity. Add this to the condensed milk and mix well. Now microwave the mixture for 5 minutes, making sure that it does not boil over. Then heat for another 5 minutes, checking after each minute and stirring to avoid any spillage. Cook this mixture till it reaches a grainy consistency with not a lot of moisture. One way to test if its ready is to take a spoon and if the mixture sticks to the spoon, continue to cook. If nothing sticks to the spoon and yet the mixture lumps together, you are ready to set it. This whole process took me just about 13 minutes, so its really fast. Once you have reached the right consistency, remove from the microwave and add the cardamom powder to it. Mix and then leave it to set for an hour. Garnish with chopped pistachios or saffron strands.
Cut into squares before serving and be ready to be transported to heaven!
Tis the season of change....everywhere I go and everywhere I see, people are talking about change. The atmosphere sure got me fired up and I decided to change the look of my blog! S has been urging me to do this for so long...but for some reason or the other I was uncomfortble doing it. Who likes change, right ? But no change means stagnancy. Maybe this might just give me some renewed enthusiasm ;). So last weekend, we both sat down and changed the look of the blog and I must confess that it feels really good and fresh, just like a newly painted home. I also realized that its just like painting your home...the look might change but the warm and cozy feeling of the home never goes away.
And although the major changes are done, I might keep doing minor upgrades to it. All suggestions and feedback are more than welcome!
A few days back, I had got butternut squash from the grocery store. The original plan was to make some comforting soup with it, but then S told me of the pumpkin kheer his mom makes and how he was craving for it. For me, this was a new recipe. I had never tasted pumpkin kheer or 'laal bhoplyachi kheer' as we would call it in Marathi. That day was also Nagpanchmi and I had to make something sweet anyways. Although the recipe was not very different from how we make the regular kheer as per my hubby, I still wanted to confirm it from the source :). We called my MIL early in the morning and confirmed the recipe. Sure enough, it was easy and sounded delicious! The texture and taste of the butternut squash was perfect for the kheer. Normally, we use pumpkin(laal bhopala), but any squash/pumpkin that is slightly sweeter in taste will do.
Ingredients : ( serves 2-3)
1 butternut squash (or pumpkin)
about 2 cups of milk ( i did not measure this time...but its easy to adjust)
about 1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet the squash is)
1 tbsp tup (ghee)
1 tsp veldoda pwdr (cardamom)
dry fruits (optional)
Method :
Cut the butternut squash into half and then cook the squash in the microwave for about 5-6 minutes. You can also pressure cook the squash. Once cooked and cooled a little bit, scoop out the squash. Now mash the coooked squash with the back of a spoon. Keep aside.
In a saucepan, heat the tup (ghee) and then add and saute the mashed pumkin for a few minutes. Next, add the milk to it. You can adjust the quantity of milk as per the desired consistency. Cook till it comes to a boil and then add the sugar. Stir and let it boil again. If the kheer is too thin, reduce the flame and keep boiling till the milk reduces a bit. The kheer should be a little thick in consistency for best results. Turn off the heat and then add the veldoda powder (cardamom). Let the kheer cool and then you can either chill it in the refrigerator or serve immediately.
If you are adding dry fruits like raisins and cashews, fry them in the ghee before adding the cooked squash to it. You can also add a little saffron, although I did not use it this time. Another good addition would be a little nutmeg powder.
This time, I wanted to enjoy the flavor of the squash as is without much adulteration so I only used cardamom powder. But you can definitley make it richer with your favorites! Hope you enjoy this simple yet delicious kheer. :)
Other pumkin/squash desserts :
Gharge
The New Year is here! I cannot believe that 2007 is already over...seems like yesterday when I published my first recipe on my blog! Last year was a real turning point for me and I am excited to see what lies ahead in this year for me. I would like to wish all my friends and their families a very happy & prosperous 2008 and I hope that all your dreams come true this year!
As this is my first post for 2008, I thought of starting the year with something sweet. With all the channels bombarding us with diet & gym ads, I decided to rebel. Besides this recipe is one that is mildly sweet and does have a fruit in it. I had actually made this during fall when pumpkins were in abundance, but somehow I just did not manage to post it then. Although it may be difficult to find pumpkins in the store now, you can use any pumpkin/squash that is slightly sweeter in taste and it will work just perfectly.
'Gharge' is a very traditional Maharashtrian sweet that slowly is getting lost in time. I love this sweet for two reasons:
First, its just so yummy --- its not too sweet and even people with a limited sweet tooth will enjoy this, and the second reason is that this was something my maternal grandma made a lot for us and has a lot of memories attached to it.
Gharge is basically a sweet puri that has pumpkin as one if its major ingredient. My grandma generally made this on the eve of 'Hartalika puja'. 'Hartalika' is a Maharashtrian tradition where young girls observe a fast and do a puja to obtain an 'ideal groom'. This falls just before Ganesh Chaturthi. The eve of Hartalika is called 'aawarna', which is a time for all the ladies of the house to get together and have a small feast before their upaas (fast) the next day. After all, we do sacrifice good food for a day ! ;) We always followed this tradition and all my cousins and aunts used to come together and celebrate. And for this occasion my grandma always made these delicious Gharge. So lets get straight to the recipe...
Ingredients: (makes 12 gharge)
2 cups pumpkin peeled and grated (I used the mini pumpkins)
1 cup jaggery (gul)
1/2 cup wheat flour (atta/kanik)
1/2 cup fine rawa/sooji
1/2 tsp tup (ghee)
Vegetable oil to fry
Method:
Peel and then grate the pumpkin. Traditionally we use the regular pumpkin known as 'laal bhopla' in Marathi, but you can replace these with any variety of pumpkin/squash that is slightly sweeter in taste. Now in a kadhai/pan combine the grated pumpkin and jaggery and cook together. Once the the mixture comes together and the pumpkin is cooked add the ghee to it. Remove from the heat and then mix in the wheat flour and rawa to the pumpkin mixture till everything comes together like a dough. The dough should not be too tight nor too elastic. Note that the wheat flour and rawa have to be in 50:50 ratio. Let the dough cool. Once cooled take a small ball of dough on a plastic sheet and pat it into a small puri with your hand. Heat the oil and then fry the puri until golden brown. Drain the these on a tissue paper and enjoy ! Gharge can be consumed immediately or can easily be stored for 10-15 days at room temperature.
Its been a week since Diwali and I am still recuperating from all the eating!!! My weighing scale is already unhappy with my weight and yet I am amazed that I am indifferent ;) Who cares...its just once a year anyways...right? So although I am late, I would like to share my Diwali snacks with you. It was fun to share it with my friends here and I am happy to share it at least virtually with all my friends in the blog sphere. I am really sorry for not being regular in leaving comments on all the wonderful recipes being posted, but I have been caught up with something and this has made it difficult for me to go through all the blogs. Please bear with me...:)
I made Microwave Besan Ladoo, the recipe for which I have already posted here, Shev (left bowl), Shankarpalya (right bowl) and Chiwda (center).
Lets start with something sweet...since I have already posted the recipe for ladoo, i will begin with the recipe for Shankarpalya. These small sweet squares (in the right hand side bowl) are a great snack and quite addictive. There are variations to this recipe and every variation is just as yummy!
Ingredients:
2 & 3/4 cup Maida
1/2 cup Tup (Ghee) (can use home made or store bought---I used Nanak's pure ghee)
1/2 cup Water
1 cup Sugar (A little more if the sugar is not very sweet)
Tup (Ghee) to fry (Vegetable oil can also be used but taste will be little different)
Method:
Liquefy the ghee and then mix in the water and sugar in it. Heat this mixture and turn it off as soon as it comes to a boil. Let the mixture cool. Then add the maida to it to make the dough. You may require more or less. The dough should be pliable, just like you would make for chapatis. Cover the dough and let it rest for 1 hour.
Next, heat the tup or oil in a kadhai. Take a medium sized ball of the dough and roll it like a chapati. Do not roll the dough very thin, otherwise the shankarpalya will be very thin. Then take a knife or a pasta/ravioli cutter and make vertical cuts on the rolled out dough. Next, make horizontal cuts to make little squares. Drop these squares in the hot ghee and fry till they turn golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Continue till all the dough is used. Shankarpalya are ready.
Coming up : Recipe for Shev
Who says that to satisfy your sweet tooth you have to spend hours in the kitchen and have 10 different ingredients? The recipe that I am going to share today is a classic, which my mom made often as a solution for a quick sweet dish. In the old times, Sudharas was often made as a sweet dish when there were unexpected guests for lunch or dinner. Clever, don;t you think? :) This recipe can also be modified a little as per individual choice and the best news, it has fruit in it...yay!! This is as simple as it can get and requires not more than 5-10 minutes. This was usually made in our family on 'Sankashti Chaturthi', which is a fast observed commonly in Maharashtra.
Normally, we use banana to make Sudharas (which was supposed to have been my entry for JFI-Bananas), but since our dear friend, Mansi of Fun and Food, is hosting AFAM this month and her choice for this month is 'Peaches', would I dare use any other fruit here ;) Her last comment really got me working on my entry, and I was worried that if I didn't make something with peach soon, I would see peaches coming at me all the way from California ;)) Jokes apart, I was very keen on sending something for the event and I am just glad I made it in time. And since this recipe also involves Saffron---the theme for this month's 'Think Spice' event, it is also going to Sunita of 'Sunita's World'. Lets get started...
Ingredients:
1/2 of a Jumbo white peach (you can use any)
1/2 cup Regular white sugar
1/4 cup Water
1/4 tsp Saffron
1 cardamom powdered
Method:
Peel the peach and then cut it into small cubes. In a small vessel or saucepan, mix the sugar with water and start heating it to make a syrup. For this recipe we need a simple syrup, so we just need to heat till the sugar dissolves. Once you reach that stage, throw in the peach cubes and let simmer for a while. You want the fruit to be cooked but not overcooked. Once that happens, turn off the heat and add the cardamom powder and saffron to it. Sudharas is ready to be served with hot chapati or paratha! :)
Variations:
- Instead of peaches, use banana slices or apple or any other fruit of your choice. Get adventurous and don't be afraid of experimenting.
- If you don't want fruit in it, just follow the rest of the recipe and instead add dry fruits to it, like cashews, raisins, etc.
The clock was ticking and with the passage of each day, I was getting nervous that I still had not found a recipe for RCI-Tamil Festivals, hosted by Viji of Vcuisine. I had promised her that I would not disappoint her, and every time I saw her post her entry for the event, I knew that it was high time I did something. So I started going through a lot of websites and blogs related to Tamil cuisine. I also searched Viji's blog for some recipes and realized that a lot of them were already posted for the event. Finally, I came across a couple of recipes that I liked and which I had never tried before. The final choice was made by hubby dear, which made my work easier, or else I would have spent another week trying to decide which one to make, and then I wouldn't have made it in time (not a very good thing) ;)
The recipe that I finally made is called 'Aval Sarkkarai Pongal' and I have taken this recipe from Menu Today. Pongal is a Tamil festival that is celebrated four days and generally falls in the month of January and it marks the favorable course of the sun. We know this as Makar Sankrant. More about Pongal here and here. Traditionally, Sarkkarai Pongal is made on the second day of Pongal known as 'Surya Pongal'. The word 'Ponga' means 'boil' and so 'Pongal' means 'that which is overflowing'. This dish is offered to the Sun God as thanks giving for the plentiful harvest. Sarkkarai Pongal is normally made with newly harvested rice and moong dal. Check the recipe here. The recipe that I tried involved Aval or Poha and that got me interested in it. It is very easy and quick to make and the texture of the Poha goes so well with the combo. I made my own variations to the original recipe and I made this for Dassera as neivadyam. This is going straight to Viji for RCI-Tamil Festivals.
Ingredients:(serves 2)
1 cup Thin Poha (Flattened rice)
3/4 cup Jaggery (grated)
A few pineapple chunks (i used frozen pineapple cubes that I got from Trader's Joe)
1 tsp Tup (ghee)
Few cashews
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/8 tsp kesar (saffron)
Grated coconut for garnish (optional)
Method:
Wash the Poha twice and then drain the water. In a kadhai, heat the ghee and fry the cashews. Remove and keep aside. Now to this kadhai, add the jaggery (The original recipe asks to soak the jaggery in water and then use the strained water. But I skipped this step and directly added the grated jaggery to the kadhai.) Let the jaggery melt and form into a thick syrup. Once you have the syrup, add the pineapple cubes to it and cook for a few minutes. Next, add the washed and drained poha. Mix well. I mashed the poha a little with the back of the ladle. Finally add the cardamom powder, kesar and fried cashews to the mixture. Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot!
The Verdict: This is a keeper recipe. The color of this dish is so enticing and the combo of jaggery and poha along with pineapple is heavenly!
Coming up: Something with Peach! :)
Since the time I have started blogging, I have realized even more, that two states share more than just a border. The cities/villages that are closer to the borders have a lot of things common culture wise and food wise. This post of mine explores one such sweet that is a favorite in two states, that are close to my heart.
Chiroti as it is known in Karnataka, or Chirote as it is known in Maharashtra, is a flaky, unleavened pastry that is very traditional in both cuisines. No wedding in Karnataka is complete without the traditional Chiroti served with Almond Milk or Badami Halu. In Maharashtra, it is generally made as one of the Pancha-Pakwanna (5 sweets) on festival days. Making Chiroti can get a little tedious if you are making a large batch all by yourself. So when these delightful Chirotis have to be made on a large scale, all the ladies of the family get together and make them. Talk about Division of Labor ;) Of course, there are easier methods too, which none other than our very own Asha has described here; but I am going to describe the detailed and slightly complicated version...why not, after all, its my mom who made them...I just was taking notes and clicking pictures ;) So this post is really on behalf of my mom and she would like to send this entry for RCI-- Karnataka, hosted by Asha and brainchild of Lakshmi.
Ingredients: (makes about 15)
1/3 cup Maida (All Purpose Flour)
1/3 cup Fine Rawa (Sooji)--use the fine variety as the coarse one does not blend in well.
2 tbsp Oil approx. (Vegetable/Canola)
Water to make the dough
Rice flour to dust
2 tbsp tup (ghee) beaten till fluffy and creamy (unsalted butter can also be used)
Tup (Ghee) to fry (Vegetable/Canola oil can aslo be used but it won't give the same flavor as ghee, what we call 'khamanga pana') :)
For the syrup:
1 cup sugar
Water enough to soak the sugar
Few saffron strands
2-3 tsps Lemon juice
Method:
Mix the maida and rawa together and add the oil to it. Mix together. You know the oil is sufficient when the maida-rawa mixture becomes crumbly, ie. when you hold the mixture in your hand it should stick together. Then add water and make a dough like you make for chapatis. The dough should be pliable. Keep aside, covered, for 3 hours at least. The longer it sits, the better.
After 3 hours, take the dough and divide into small balls (size can vary). Now, divide each ball further into 3 more balls. The idea is to make 3 chapatis out of these and layer them on top of each other. Roll out a thin chapati ,without applying a lot of pressure, out of each ball.
Take one chapati, brush some beaten tup (ghee) on the surface...
...dust some rice flour over it and then put another chapati over it.
Apply the beaten ghee on this chapati and dust with the rice flour and place the third chapati on top. Repeat the process of applying ghee and flour. Now roll this layered chapati to make a roll like this,
Do not pat the roll and flatten it with your hand. Instead, pick it up with both hands and pull very gently from each end a little to flatten it. If you pat it to flatten it, the air gets pressed and your Chiroti will not be fluffy.
Now cut this roll into small pieces like this.
Make the sugar syrup before you begin to fry the Chiroti. Take the sugar and add water just enough to soak the sugar. Put it over the heat and let it come to a 2 string consistency. Turn off the heat and add the saffron and lemon juice. Keep aside.
Heat the ghee. Take each small piece and roll out gently without applying too much pressure. The layered edges should be intact.
Once the ghee is hot enough, drop in the rolled out chirotis and fry.
Hold each piece vertical in the hot ghee for a minute, so that it fluffs up.
Then leave it to turn golden brown.
Remove from the ghee and drop into the sugar syrup,
Coat it well with the syrup and place it in a strainer. Tilt the strainer slightly so that the excess syrup will flow down. Let them cool and then store in an airtight container at room temperature. These last for 7-10 days.
Here is a look at the final product....
Variations:Instead of dunking them in the sugar syrup, you can also dust them with white powdered sugar while they are still hot. See here.
You can serve these with some Almond Milk. See here, and here.
These can even be stored plain without dipping them in the sugar syrup, which last for about 15 days and can be consumed with any dry chutney.
Finally, the Unsweetened Chiroti can be transformed into a delicious kheer/payasa, which is my favorite and the recipe of which, comes from my grandmother's Karnataka roots.
Chiroti Payasa:
Heat about a cup of milk. Add sugar according to your liking. Crumble the unsweetened Chirote into the milk once it comes to a boil. Let it come to a boil again and then remove from the heat. Add saffron. Garnish with chopped almonds. Let it sit for a while and then serve. The longer it sits, the thicker it will get and the better it will taste :)
When Srivalli announced the 'Microwave Easy Cooking' Event, I was thrilled, not because I had a hoard of microwave recipes but just because this would give me a chance to try microwave cooking. Till date, I have mostly used my microwave to reheat food, occasionally, to cook potatoes, and then at times to defrost things and soften butter & ice cream. Somehow, the idea of cooking rice in a microwave never really appealed to me and I just love rice made in the pressure cooker, so that was out of question. I did hear a lot of people raving about how the 'Microwave' makes things so easy, but I still had my reservations. I was really looking forward to send in an entry for this month's MEC--Sweets, but I got busy and before I knew, it was the 25th, the last day for the event :( But then, dear Srivalli extended this date and so without wasting any more time, I got busy with my entry--- Microwave Besan Ladoo.
This is my absolutely favorite type of ladoo and I had heard a lot of friends say that these come out excellent in the microwave. So this was the obvious choice for me. I must confess that making Besan ladoo in the microwave was really easy and quick, plus I did not have to keep stirring vigorously, till my arm started paining. Thanks Srivalli for this event!
Ingredients: (makes about 6-7 ladoos)
1 cup Besan (Chickpea flour)
6-7 tbsp Tup (Ghee) (or as required)
3/4 cup Sugar (Powdered or the regular fine variety that is found in the US)
Cardamom powder (2-3 pods)
A handful of raisins
Microwave safe bowl
Method:
Mix the besan and tup (ghee) in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 5 minutes (time may vary slightly for different microwave ovens). Stir after a minute and continue heating. Keep checking and stirring after a minute. At the end of 5 minutes, the mixture will be a nice reddish brown and will have a nice aroma to it.The mixture should not look too dry, otherwise the ladoos will not hold up their shape. Let it cool completely.
Once cooled, add the sugar, cardamom powder and raisins. Mix well and then make small round ladoos out of it. If you realize that the ghee is not sufficient once you start making the ladoos, just heat some ghee and add to the mixture. Enjoy!
Whenever I have people over for dinner, the biggest question for me is what to make as dessert. There are always some who don't like sweet as much, some who like sweet but only specific things, and some who are totally averse to it. But when it comes to ice cream or kulfi, people generally tend to melt ;) So this time when I had some friends over for dinner, I decided to make some Malai Kulfi, just the way my mom makes it. Now, I make this from scratch, ie, I boil and reduce the milk instead of using ready made condensed milk. I feel that I can control the amount of sugar this way. It does take a little extra effort but the result is so amazing that you will not regret it one bit. :)
Ingredients:(serves 4)
1.89 L Whole milk (3.25%)--small can
1/2 pint Heavy cream
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp Cardamom powder
3 tbsp Corn starch
Method:
In a heavy bottomed pan, pour the milk and add to it the heavy cream. Mix the corn starch in a little milk and add it to the rest of the milk. Start heating the milk on medium high heat. Make sure to keep stirring the milk frequently. Once the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat and continue heating it till it reduces to a little more than half the quantity. Keep stirring to avoid the milk from burning at the bottom of the pan. At this point, add the sugar, mix and continue reducing the milk. Once it is reduced to 1/4th of the original quantity and thick like Rabdi, turn off the heat and add the cardamom powder.You can also add some Kesar (saffron) to the mixture. Mix well and then let it cool.
Then pass the entire milk through a blender or blend it with a hand mixer. Pour it into a freezer safe Plastic (do not use glass container) container or a Kulfi Stand and freeze till it sets. Once it has set, remove it and blend it again. If there are any ice crystals add a little more corn starch to the mixture and blend. Freeze it again and serve chilled with some dry fruits on top.
After a hot & spicy post, its time for something sweet, and not just a regular dessert, but something that can be consumed even when fasting. Normally, Yam, which is known to us as Sweet Potato and is called 'Ratala' in Marathi, is associated with 'ratalyacha kees'. What many people do not know, is, that this yam (sweet potato) can also be used to make an extremely simple dessert. I am cheating a little bit and taking advantage of the fact that Sweet Potatoes are called Yams here in the US :).The fancy title is nothing but my way of sending this entry for this week's 'Y' of Indian Vegetables, hosted by Nupur of One Hot Stove.
'Ratalyache Kaap' as I knew it as a kid, or 'Khatta' as my husband knows it, is a sweet dish prepared especially for an 'Upaas' (Fast). Of course, that does not mean that it cannot be made on other days :) Since yesterday was Ekadashi (one of the 2 big fasts observed), we had a host of 'Upasaache padartha' (dishes prepared during a fast), along with this simple dessert, which happens to be my husband's favourite --- Yam Caramelized in Jaggery Sauce. Enjoy ! :)
Ingredients:(serves 2)1 medium sized Ratala (Yam)
2 tbsp Tup (Ghee) --- I know its a lot, but this crucial for the dish :)
4-5 tbsp Gul (Jaggery)
Method:
Clean the Yam thoroughly. Do not peel the skin off, as that is the most nutritious part. Cut the yam into round slices like this,
Now, in a pan, heat the Tup (ghee). Throw in the Yam slices and stir till all the slices are coated with the tup. Cover the pan and let them cook on medium heat. Keep stirring in between. Once the slices are cooked, add the jaggery and mix together. Let the jaggery melt and coat the slices (make sure that you do this on medium heat otherwise, you will end up with a burnt dish). As this happens, the slices will get a little caramelized and turn dark brown. Once all the jaggery has melted and most of the moisture has evaporated, turn off the heat. Serve with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream or even drizzle some heavy cream on top, or enjoy its plain goodness as is...Enjoy !
I was a little worried this time thinking of what to make for 'W' of Indian vegetables, hosted by Nupur of 'One Hot Stove'. Somehow, all the dishes that I had been thinking of seemed more appropriate for 'V' of Indian vegetables, when translated from Marathi to English. This was really frustrating as I had already missed last 2 alphabets of this event! And so, just as I had given up on this time's alphabet too, it struck me, 'W' is for Wheat!!! Yay!!!! Now what? What can I make from wheat besides chapati? And then it was a 'Eureka' moment...Wheat Pudding using Cracked Wheat! It has been a while (almost a year, to be precise) since I made it and my hubby was more than happy to hear of my plan. So here goes...
'Gahu' is the Marathi term for 'Wheat'. I am not aware of a special term for Cracked Wheat other than 'Daliya', and its not unique to Marathi. So 'Wheat Pudding' is simply known as 'Ghavachi kheer' in Marathi. My dad who is born and brought up in Karnataka, calls this 'Godhi Kutta Payasa'. 'Godhi' means wheat in Kannada, and 'Kutta' means crushed or cracked (sort of--more appropriate word is the Marathi term 'Kutlele'). This is a great dish to satisfy your sweet tooth and a good change from the regular 'Shevai (vermicelli) kheer'. This can definitely become a meal on its own (especially for my hubby), but me, I need something savory to go with it; so I tried out Nupur's 'Jhatpat Appey' to go along with this for our dinner. What a great way to end the week! :)
Ingredients: (serves 2-3)
Cracked Wheat 1 cup
Tup (ghee) 1/2 tsp
Milk 1/2 cup + 2 cups
Water 1/2 cup
Gul (jaggery) 4-5 tbsp or to taste
Veldoda powder (cardamom) 1/2 tsp
Naral (grated coconut) about 1/4 cup
Khuskhus (poppy seeds) 1 tbsp
Bedane (Raisins) about 1 tbsp
Kaju (Cashews) about 1-2 tbsp
Method:
In a pan, heat the tup (ghee) and then sautee the cracked wheat just as you would for Shevai Kheer (Vermicelli).
Now, transfer this to a pressure cooker vessel and add 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup water and cook in pressure cooker for upto 3 whistles.
While it is cooking, in a pan, sautee the grated coconut till the moisture evaporates and keep aside. Next sautee the poppy seeds a little and add to the sauteed coconut. Fry the raisins and cashews in a little bit of ghee, this way they will plump up and give a great flavour to the kheer. Keep aside.
Once the cracked wheat is cooked and ready, transfer to a saucepan and add about 2 cups milk. If you find that the kheer is very thick in consistency add more milk. This kheer tends to thicken as it cools, so it is better to add extra milk. Heat the kheer on the stove and to this add the jaggery. Once the jaggery is mixed in properly, check for taste and add more jaggery if required. Add the cardamom powder. Finally, mix in the coconut, poppy seeds, raisins and cashews. Serve hot with some tup (ghee) over it.
Yesterday, 14th May, was my hubby, S's, birthday. This was the perfect occasion for me to try out the Pineapple-Pecan Upside Down cake, for which both S and me were craving for a long time. Actually, it was S who first came across this recipe on Trupti's 'The Spice Who Loved Me'. Since then he has been asking me to try it out, but, for some reason or the other it never happened. Finally, yesterday I decided to surprise S with this deliciously mouth-watering cake which was originally posted by Burekaboy of 'Is-that-my-bureka?'. This is my entry for Coffee's MBP: Something Sweet.
I just made one change to the recipe...instead of using 1/2 cup AP flour + 1/2 cup cake flour, I used 1/2 cup AP flour + 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (atta).
The result was mind-blowing and the whole wheat flour worked very well in the recipe! This cake is soooooooo delicious that I had a tough time waiting for S to get back from work and cut the cake before I could eat it.
Awesome!!!
This is my first post for a dessert and I am proud to say it is a cake! Sounds silly, I know...but this is my first attempt at baking and I am really happy to see positive results. It all started with me buying an electric beater. Its been a long time since I have been planning to add this to my collection of kitchen gadgets and finally it happened last Sunday. I was so excited that I couldn't wait to use it. I wanted to bake a cake pronto but I didn't have eggs at home. I didn't have the patience to run out to the store and get them and so i started searching for a recipe for egg less white cake. A lot of the recipes suggested using condensed milk, which also I didn't have at hand. After a long search I finally found this recipe which was pretty straightforward. I also had some fresh strawberries which I wanted to use. So using the white cake recipe I created my own strawberry cake. The end result was surprisingly good and i did not miss the eggs one bit.
The source for the recipe for egg less white cake was Cooks.com.
My version of the cake :
Ingredients:
3.5 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1.25 cups plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar + 1 tsp for strawberries
2.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 cup fresh strawberries chopped
a few drops of lemon juice
Method:Sprinkle 1 tsp sugar and lemon juice on chopped strawberries and keep aside. This will bring out the juices from the strawberries and make them a little moist. Sift together the baking powder, salt and flour.Next, cream the butter and sugar. Then add a little flour to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix it and then add a little milk and mix. This way, add flour and mix alternately. Finally, fold in the strawberries to the batter using a spatula. Grease and dust baking pan with butter & a little flour to prevent cake from sticking. Bake in a 375 degrees F preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting pieces.
Enjoy cake with a cup of chilled milk!
