Category: Jain

Govind Gatte Stuffed Dumplings in Tomato Gravy

Govind Gatte Stuffed dumplings in tomato gravy

The festival of colors Holi,which just went by is celebrated with much fanfare in the land of Rajasthan. My imagination takes flight and I imagine the royals of the land playing with colors in their elaborate costumes  and the exquisite castles filled with colorful dresses and colorful faces. At such festive occasions, the royal chefs must be busy cooking and inventing royal dishes.  and the courtyard maybe filled with  delicious sweets and snacks! One such royal dish is Govind Gatte Stuffed Dumplings in Tomato Gravy, a rich dumpling  gravy based entree, filled with richness of cashews, raisins and paneer. There is the ordinary Gatte recipe popularly known as Gatte Ki Subzi whose recipe I blogged earlier. The version detailed today is for those special moments and occasion to make them more memorable.

Differentiation between the two recipes relate to the shape, stuffing and the gravy, This is festive so it has been depicted in a triangle form, with stuffing and in a tomato yogurt gravy. It is softer and since they are blanched and fried, one can relish them as side snacks too!

The festive occasion at our end besides being HOLI was also a milestone birthday celebration, so found the perfect opportunity to try out Govind Gatte.  If short on time, the round shape gate is a which is a quicker shape for sure. The gravy has a nice tangy flavor and  one gets a similarity to malai kofta gravy and texture. This can be also cooked on aatham/chaudas menu of the Jain tithi and including this will make the menu more festive and royal for the guests and family.

Personally I enjoyed the kauri methi , raisins and cashew flavor in the Govind Gatte and the yogurt tomato mix gravy. Cone shape of Gatte make it so very festive and colorful and the perfect dish of color, taste and texture from the land of royals and color. The good part is one can make the uncooked Gatte in advance for a day or two and then cook them as desired. Alternatively fry them and have them as snacks with tea and they are really delicious to eat alone too! I am sure the person for whom this was made must be named Govind, and must be a well loved royal to have a dish on his name, from Jodhpur.

Enjoy the festivities and the richness that are ever present in the Indiau cuisine with Govind Gatte Stuffed Dumplings in Tomato Gravy!

Print Recipe
 Govind Gatte Stuffed Dumplings in Tomato Gravy
A chickpea flour recipe of stuffed dumplings in a yogurt based gravy
Govind Gatte Stuffed dumplings in tomato gravy
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 30 min
Servings
people
Ingredients
For the Stuffing
For the Gravy
For the dough
Making of Gatte
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 30 min
Servings
people
Ingredients
For the Stuffing
For the Gravy
For the dough
Making of Gatte
Govind Gatte Stuffed dumplings in tomato gravy
Instructions
For making the stuffing
  1. Heat the ghee and add cashews and saute for 20 seconds, add raisins and saute for 30 seconds, add paneer, salt and chill powder and further saute for 40 seconds and remove from flame.
For making Gatte
  1. Mix all the ingredients and taste for spice and salt levels. Bind all the ingredients into a smooth dough.If need more water for dough add yogurt.
  2. Roll the dough into a long cylinder shape.
  3. Cut about 1/4 inch pieces of the dough. I was able to make about 22-23 pieces
  4. Make a ball of each piece and flatten it a bit between the palms and afterwards use the fingers to pat it and make it a little bigger. Fill about 1/2 tsp of the stuffing on it.
  5. Fold the edges of the dough inwards and make a con shape. If it s not easy to fold in a cone shape, first make a ball and then make a cone shape. Alternatively you can leave them as balls too. But typically this being royal, the cone shape associated was to make it extra ordinary.
  6. Boil about 3/4 liters of water and add salt, yogurt and ghee. Add the cone gatte to it, ensuring that the quantity of water is sufficient for it to be submerged completely.
  7. Boil the gatte for about 10-11 minutes till they are completely cooked and rise to the top.
  8. While the gate are boiling heat the oil in a pan, once it warms up, keep it on a low flame. As soon as the gatte are cooked, instantly drop them into the oil for frying.Once they are light beige in color, remove from oil and cool.
Making the gravy
  1. Heat the oil and asafetida, dried red chillies and cumin seeds and allow the seeds to get slightly brown. Add fennel seeds, coriander powder, chill powder,salt and sauté the ingredients on a low flame for about a minute till you get the roasted aroma of the chickpea flour.
  2. Add yogurt and continue to simmer the gravy stirring continuously as otherwise the yogurt will break.
  3. Once the oil starts separating out, add the Govind Gatte to the gravy and simmer on low flame for about 10 minutes, and add about a cup of water, so that the gravy does not thicken too much while its cooking.
  4. Remove from flame and serve immediately or before serving add some water to keep the consistency fluid and then warm and serve with bread, rice or puri
  5. Enjoy the royal feast at home with this royal dish of Govind Gatte, accompanied here with Puri, Dahivada, Moong and Kadhi. All items of a Jain aatham chaudas 🙂
Recipe Notes

Tips

The original recipe has mava powder which I replaced it with paneer,as I feel paneer is more healthier and tastier.

If you like kasuri methi, sprinkle about a tsp of methi powder in the gravy while warming before serving.

Instinct Factor

Getting the cone shape could be challenging so ensure that flatten ball of the dough is not too thin, as otherwise it will break while frying or steaming.

Feel Factor

Even though the list of ingredients are way too many, the making of the dish is relatively simple and it just fill your home with aroma of spices and one can easily fall in love with the crispy fried Govind Gatte as snack or the crisp yet soft Govind Gatte in the tangy tomato yogurt gravy. I have found another jewel of the Rajasthani cuisine that promises to be on our list of enchanting flavorful recipes.

 

 

 

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Dalvada Lentil Fritters

Dalvada Lentil Fritters

Dalvada Lentil Fritters, a specialty of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, is a highly nutritious, quick and easy snack that can be easily had in a place of a meal! You will find lots of people feasting on this as they are so delicious. I had been exposed to this delicacy during my childhood days,  eating the then famous dalwadas  at Natraj Cinema  during my college days at HL College. The snack is served with fried green chillies as accompaniment and is a popular street food of Gujarat, like the Vada Pav in Maharashtra.

This snack was made popular by the street vendors and made more famous by one vendor, Shri Ambika Dalvada. In one of the interviews with the owner, it turns out he is originally from Rajasthan, and  it is no wonder that a successful dish based on lentils would be coming from Rajasthani. As Rajasthan is known for Dal Bati, Moong Chilla etc. These Dalvada will also be appreciated by people who like Pesarattu, as it contains the same Split Green Gram Lentils as in the Moong Chilla or Pesarattu.

The addition of blackeyed peas (Chora Dal or Lobia Dal) gives it the extra crunch in the Dalwada. Split green lentil is already very high in protein and assists in lowering glycemic index. Black eyed peas or chora/lobia dal is  very high in phosphorous and magnesium along with high folate content. So together this is a great combination. The added spice of green chillies, ginger, garlic mix gives it a great flavoring.

What is interesting to know is that in southern food in USA, cowpeas(blackened peas) are known to bring good luck and so southerners insist on having them on the first day of the year, to bring them good luck. So why not have some luck coming your way on the upcoming Super Bowl weekend?!!

Hope your team wins as you munch on the Dalvada Lentil  Fritters, while watching the Super Bowl and also debating on which one was the most creative commercial of all! Have a great Super Bowl weekend!

Print Recipe
 Dalvada Blackeyed Peas Fritters
Nutritious snack with split green mung lentils with skin and black eyed peas(chora/lobia)
Dalvada Lentil Fritters
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 3 hours
Servings
pieces
Ingredients
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 3 hours
Servings
pieces
Ingredients
Dalvada Lentil Fritters
Instructions
  1. Mix the lentils and wash them thrice. Soak them in 5 cups of water for at least 3 hours
  2. Make a paste of chillies, ginger, garlic by crushing them in a mortar pestle.
  3. Keep very little water in the lentils and grind the lentils coarsely. Add the ginger paste to it and grind further. Add fresh coriander to the blended lentils.
  4. Add salt for taste, and add some water if needed to arrive at a dropping consistency.
  5. Heat the oil to smoking point and lower the flame to medium low
  6. Drop the dalwada fritters using your fingers or an ice cream scoop. The finger method works better tor me.
  7. Fry on a medium low flame till golden in color on both sides, rotating as needed.
  8. Sprinkle some chat masala and black salt powder on top and serve hot with green chutney.
    Dalvada Lentil Fritters
Recipe Notes

Tips

Grinding consistency is important to crunchiness and so is the water level in the mix.  If the mix is too watery, it will not drop well.Starting with less water will always be easy as we can add more with required.

More commonly people now use, only yellow split moong dal, so you can try that recipe too. But the dal with the skin is more fibrous and nutritious than the yellow moong dal

Instinct Factor

It will have more flavor if green chillies are chopped and added to the mix along with coriander leaves. Since I was having kids as guests too, I decided to make a paste of it. Addition of Chat masala and Sanchal or black salt powder was purely instinct driven!

Feel Factor

Enjoying the delicacy from my distant past,!  Memories unfolded as I recalled all the carefree days of my college time.Truly a nutritious snack that I plan to make more, as the weather is still cold enough to enjoy warm snacks with a cup of tea and munching a handful while entertaining guests and having easy conversations. I would like to extend my gratitude to another friend at whose place I discovered the addition of blackeyed peas to dalwada, while enjoying Hindi Kavita and discussing literature with like minded folks! The best part of the Dalvada Lentil Fritters was the crunch in it, that promised to remain so even after they were cold.

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Temple Pongal Lentil Rice

Ven Pongal Temple

Temple Pongal Lentil Rice is the prasad one gets when one visits South Indian temples. The most famous south Indian temple is the Tirupati Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh. The temple is situated atop a hill and surrounded by seven hills around it. The access to the temple from the base of the city is a long winding road, and using the stairs/trails to hike up can take about 3-4 hours on foot. This is the most wealthiest of temples in India, with devotees giving large contribution as donations. This temple was what I visited post my marriage and coming from Jain household, was struck by the beauty, discipline and the utmost devotion expressed at various levels, from the learned priests to the the person working in the guesthouses over there. The temple prasad was just true delicacy, and having had my first taste of pongal as Tirupati Pongal, I am kind of spoiled by that.  A lot of restaurants serve this Pongal as Ven Pongal or Khara Pongal, but not many come close to the color, texture and taste of the original Tirupati Pongal. So on this day of Pongal, I took the time to recreate what I remembered from my visit many many years ago and hope Lord Balaji is blessing me on this attempt!

The texture of Temple Pongal Lentil Rice as I remember was more like porridge, and made out of small grain rice.  And I recollect the color as white base, and the taste of raw cumin and the yellow moong dal being seen clearly and of course dollops of ghee, cashews and black pepper!  A lot of recipes on the web talk about adding curry leaves. ginger and turmeric. However, I decided against it as that does not match with my visual memory. I could be wrong, but still wanted to make an attempt to recreate the blessings I received via the temple pongal in the way I remembered. And besides the logic that makes sense, is that this prasad would be made as simple as possible, considering the vast number of devotees that visit the temple. And the logistics of carrying curry leaves, ginger all way atop a hill and then the labor involved in cleaning and cutting would be a bit too much. Not using the added ingredients also helps me keep this recipe suitable to the aatham/chaudas menu, when green and root vegetables are not consumed in the menu.  There are some Jains who believe that the temple idol of Lord Balaji at Tirupati was originally an idol of Shri NeminathTirthankar. Whatever be the belief, the fact that today it is the most wealthiest temple and the most revered by devotees speaks volume for the faith of the devotee as well as the blessings obtained at the Tirupati Balaji Temple.

The Temple Pongal Lentil Rice is often cited as a complete meal as it has its content of grain, lentil and lots of protein via ghee and nutrition of cashews and black pepper. Black pepper was the original spice from India, used in place of red and green chillies. Pongal, festival of harvest in Tamil Nadu, is often celebrated by boiling milk over and Pongal also means boiling over.

Wishing all of you a Very Happy Pongal and loads of good wishes as you start a new year with optimism and good thoughts  with the prasad  of Temple Pongal Lentil Rice and blessings of Lord Balaji to guide you through the year!

 

 

 

Print Recipe
 Temple Pongal Lentil Rice
Comfort and pure joy to eat this soulful rice and lentil recipe from southern India.
Ven Pongal Temple
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Passive Time 30 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Passive Time 30 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Ven Pongal Temple
Instructions
  1. Dry roast the yellow moong dal in a pan for 2-3 minutes on low flame till you get the aroma of roasting,
  2. Wash the rice thrice and soak with five and half cups of water for 30 minutes. After soaking, boil this soaked rice, along with its water. Add salt, peppercorns, cumin seeds and milk to it.
  3. Keep stirring in between so that the rice does not stick at the bottom. Halfway through add the roasted yellow moong dal.
  4. Once the rice and dal are cooked, and you have reached the desired consistency of the pongal, remove from flame. If the consistency looks to soupy, keep cooking till water is reduced.
For Tempering
  1. Heat the ghee in a small vessel, and add cashews and stir till they are golden brown. Add asafetida and remove from flame. Add this to the rice and mix well, and cook rice for another 2-3 minutes for the flavor to set in.
  2. Add the crushed pepper powder and keep stirring whole time, so that the rice does not set at the bottom.
  3. Serve warm with Shakkar Pongal or with coconut chutney or pickle or just plain is also very delicious!!. Plain yogurt serves a good accompaniment to Temple Pongal.
Recipe Notes

Tips

  • Small grain rice are crucial to obtaining the texture of the pongal as well as cooking on the stove is important so that you can get the right texture. I used the Spanish Goya Rice as  thats what I had at home and it worked well.
  • Ensure that the cashews do not get burned, and stay golden, which I missed out on.

Instinct Factor

  • Quite a bit of instinct involved in recreating this recipe by memory. I could be wrong, but I hope my readers from southern India will forgive me:)  Feel free to add red chillies, some coriander, if you want to add some more spice and fragrance.

Feel Factor

Happy to have the prasad of  Lord Balaji and invoke his blessings in some way! Texture was great according to my husband, who just loves this Pongal and any Pongal on earth. So much so that the Pongal restaurant in New York City, is his Mecca for this and we have to make a visit every time we are in NYC. So a compliment from him made my effort worthwhile.. Loved the cumin, black pepper and ghee flavor in this traditional temple recipe of pongal.

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Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites

Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites

Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites is my attempt at making a dry fruit chikki in a jaggery base, instead of the traditional base of sugar, specially for dry fruit chikki. I decided to try this base, as I prefer the more nutritious jaggery as compared to sugar. No Makar Sankranti is complete without a bite of chikki, the traditional sweet of the Makar Sankranti festival. The chewy or crispy taste of the chikki depends on the quality of jaggery as well as the duration of cooking the jaggery. Jaggery from Kolhapur, works best for chikki, specially the golden colored jaggery. This time I had more darker colored jaggery,  hence the color of the chikki is also slightly more darker than I would have preferred. I opted to also undercook the jaggery a bit, in order to keep it chewy, as preferred by my family members. The chewy texture would also do less damaging to the teeth when biting, as opposed to the extremely crispy traditional texture of chikki. Feeling a little creative, added a few drops of rose water were added to give a freshness of rose in the chikki,

Enjoy the fragrant, colorful, chewy and jaggery based pistachio almond chikki chewy bites, which is extremely quick to make. One can have a fresh batch of chikki in different flavors made every couple of  days, since it takes very little effort and time. Check out the recipes for Sesame Chikki, Chocolate Walnut Chikki and Daliya Chikki from earlier blog posts. Tomorrow I plan to make the good old Til Chikki in the extreme crispy flavor, as that is how I like it, and sankranti is not auspicious enough, till one has had the combination of til and jaggery तिल गुड़!

Wishing everyone a  happy cheerful Makar Sankranti and a season of good results and good tiding, and enjoy the display of  Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites in a flying feather shape, akin to a flying kite!

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Print Recipe
 Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites
Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 2
Cook Time 12
Passive Time 5
Servings
pieces
Ingredients
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 2
Cook Time 12
Passive Time 5
Servings
pieces
Ingredients
Pistachio Almond Chikki Chewy Bites
Instructions
  1. Grease the chopping board, or a plate, or sheet of aluminum foil or wax paper with some ghee and keep it aside.
  2. In a thick bottom pan, put the ghee to melt on a medium flame gas.
  3. Once it melts, add the jaggery and water and let it melt. Keep stirring on medium flame, till the color becomes dark brown like a melted chocolate for about 6-7 minutes. If you want it more crispier heat the jaggery for about 8-9 minutes.
  4. Once the jaggery is cooked well, reduce the flame to the minimum and quickly add whole pistachios, crushed pistachios, silvered almonds and rose water and mix everything into a nice big lump, stirring for a minute or she on the gas.
  5. Quickly transfer the mixture on to the greased board. Using a roller pin, roll down into as far thin as you can roll, without breaking from between. Alternatively, press it with the base of steel bowl to flatten it further.
  6. Cool for about five minutes, and make diamond pieces, by first making vertical lines, and then turning the board to an angle, and making diamond kite shapes.
  7. Cool completely for 20 minutes, and then store in an airtight container.
    Almond Chikki Chewy Bites
Recipe Notes

Tips

  • The type of jaggery you use will also determine the texture of the chikki. To make it crisper, cook the jaggery for at least 9  minutes on medium low flame.
  • For Vegan recipe, add oil, instead of ghee.
  • Add cashews, split chickpeas, peanuts, coconut, whole almonds as optional flavors.
  • If the chikki is not as crispy, or too sticky, just reheat the whole lump adding a tsp of water and cook for 2-3 minutes, till it binds well.

Instinct Factor

  • Adding rose water was a result of listening to my instincts! Be creative and add some essences to give it a different feel!

Feel Factor

If you cannot fly kites in USA, at least lets have chikki and celebrate the Sankranti in some way! The  roasted salty pistachio flavor goes well with jaggery and my family appreciated the chewy texture of this  and I loved the green color of pistachios in the chikki!

Grape Focaccia

Grape Focaccia

Grape Focaccia is a bread from Northwest Italy, where there is a tradition of having dolce focaccia, meaning sweet focaccia, topped with raisins, honey and sugar. Focaccia bread has lots of olive oil, herbs and salt and could be thick or thin. When I  first heard about the word, Focaccia, I was quite intrigued by it. The traditional meaning is “hearth baked flat bread”. The first time I had focaccia bread, in New Zealand it was thick and soft version and had grapes inside it and we fell in love with it. The ingredients in terms of butter, olive, grains in New Zealand are in my opinion the world’s best, because of so little commercialization and population. It’s still very pristine, and our experience of having Focaccia was 18 years ago. Would love to go  there, and eat this bread again in Wellington, hoping that bakery/deli shop still exists! Kind of taking a parallel from a current movie Lion, which runs on  a similar theme, where a lost boy finds his way home in India, all the way from Australia. I would like to do the reverse to find this sandwich place  in Wellington:)

Till then, I will just have to try out my version of the same. And interestingly enough, came across  this recipe in Southern Living, and it immediately caught my attention. Though the size was flat, it had an interesting flavor and taste, with olive oil, salt, rosemary, thyme and lavender herbs and the sweetness of red grapes. Using organic and unbleached bread flour, will make the bread more light and flavorful  The color and size makes it an attractive appetizer, side dish. Having  this on a snowy evening, uplifts you with its sweet aroma and gives you a perfect accompaniment to celebrate the joy the nature provides you everyday!! Providing you this recipe in a new plugin which seems to provide all my needs as an author. Let me know if you like it, by commenting on the contact form!

Happy to be baking and celebrating the first snow of the season, with the warm,sweet,  savory flavor of Grape Focaccia!!

Print Recipe
 Grape Focaccia
Grape Focaccia
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Passive Time 3 hours
Servings
pieces
Ingredients
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Passive Time 3 hours
Servings
pieces
Ingredients
Grape Focaccia
Instructions
  1. Warm the water for 20 seconds in the microwave. Add the water and yeast to the bread maker bowl and leave it for 5 minutes. Add bread flour, salt, 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1 tbsp of herbs to the yeast. Select the bread maker to dough and make the dough. The cycle should last about 1 1/2 hours, during which the dough should rise.
  2. Alternatively, if you don't have a bread maker, mix everything in a blender bowl, and mix using a dough blade , mix on medium high for five minutes. Grease some olive oil in a bowl and put the sticky dough in it, and wrap it with plastic wrap and let it rise to double in size in a warm place( under the oven light) for about an hour or more.
  3. Remove the dough after an hour, and transfer to the baking pan. Grease the baking pan lightly with oil, add another 1/4 cup of olive oil, and punch the dough with knuckles. Mix in about 1/3 quantity of grapes and cover again the dough and leave it to rise for another hour.
  4. After an hour, flatter the dough further to the thickness you would like to have, add the balance grapes on top. Garnish it with sea salt, pepper, balance herbs and remaining 1/4 cup oil.
  5. Pre heat convection oven to 425 degrees and bakes for 30 minutes till the top is golden brown.
  6. Remove from the oven and cool for couple of minutes. Slice into square shapes and serve.
  7. Enjoy your bite of Grape Focaccia!
    Grape Focaccia
Recipe Notes

Tips

Feel free to explore with fresh olives, or raisins or any topping of your choice. Fresh Basil also will give a great flavor in the bread.

Instinct Factor

Normally the focaccia is served in square pieces, but even triangles shapes would look good, and give a pizza feel!

Feel Factor

Warmth, love, happiness and joy from outdoors into the indoors! Love the red color of grapes on top, the orange glow of baking and crispiness of the bottom texture in the Grape Focaccia. The crunch mingled with softness of the inside and the fragrance of the herbs and olive and hint of sea salt! Wow baking bread is so so easy and satisfying and the house also warms up the bread aroma!! Bon Appetit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Acorn Squash Pulao

Acorn Squash Pulao

Acorn Squash Pulao is inspired from the fall season during which we see farmer’s market and Whole Foods greet you with  different type of squashes  right at the entrance of the shops. The orange, yellow and green colored squashes in all different shapes and sizes, all loaded with the great amount of beta carotene and Vitamin A did present a challenge in cleaning and cutting! But the challenge was worth it, as the house smelled of fall fragrance, as the acorn squash with ginger, mint leaves and cinnamon.  I modified  the recipe of Kombucha Pilaf from Bon Appetit  and modified to the ingredients readily available with me. Sometimes great things are discovered when one is willing to experiment and use a little creativity, listening to your own heart’s inner voice.

On reading more about the various types of squashes, I found that the Kombucha Squash is the sweetest squash you can find and it is similar to Butter Cup Squash. These squashes can be easily used as replacement for sweet potatoes, so that is great thing for anyone wishing to avoid root vegetable, and yet not loose much of the taste of sweet potatoes.

In giving the Acorn Squash Pulao a little Indian touch, decided it to flavor with cinnamon, green chillies, and mint leaves and topped it with roasted and salted pistachios! Its a quick one pot meal that can be done in about 30 minutes and its a great mix of western and indian cuisine. When your kid asks if she can take it to school next day, means you have hit a home run!

Using very little oil, and filled with nutrients its a great addition to the daily cookbook during the fall- winter weather! Enjoy this journey  with Gourd Almighty Family and Acorn Squash!!

Recipes makes Acorn Squash Pulao for 2-3 people

Time to Cook – 25 min

Prep Time : 5-7 min

Ingredients

  • 2 cups peeled and shredded Acorn Squash
    img_2440
  • 1 cup Basmati rice
  • 2 thai hot green chillies, sliced
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/3 cup sliced broccoli stem pieces (optional)
  • 1/2 tbsp sliced ginger ( heaped spoon)
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint leaves

img_2442

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • salt to taste
  • 2 cups of water to cook rice.
  • 12-15  roasted and salted pistachio for garnish

Method

  • Wash the rice thrice in lots of water and soak in four cups of water for 20 minutes.
  • Halve the acorn squash and peel as much as you can and then shred.
  • In a deep pan, put the oil to heat, and add cinnamon stick. Once the cinnamon stick doubles and flattens up, add green chillies and ginger and saute for two minutes.

img_2443

  • Add broccoli stem and saute for 2 more minutes.
  • Add shredded squash, salt and mint leaves and saute for a minute.

img_2444

  • Drain all the water from rice and add to the squash and saute for a minute.
  • Add two cups of water, cover and cook on low flame for 15-20 minutes, till the all water is absorbed and rice grain is well cooked.

img_2447

  • Serve hot and garnish it with roasted and salted pistachio for nutty flavor and  itts great to be enjoyed just by itself.

Acorn Squash Pulao

Tips

Using a pre cut version of squash is much quicker, but in that case will have to use the cubes and not the shredded version. I shredded with some skin remaining, and it tasted fine. And as they say, skins of the vegetables hold the most nutrients!

The spice level in this pulao is at a minimum, so as to retain the western feel of the recipe. You might want to double it up, if you want to give it a more Indian touch.

Instinct Factor

Keep relying on your instincts to create a recipe that your heart desirers! Using the skin as well as adding flavor that I thought would go well, turned out right in the end.

Feel Factor

A warm fragrant pulao that is a mix of western and indian cuisine, with the sweetness from squash and cinnamon and spice from the green chillies and ginger, and cooling flavor from mint leaves, all added a variety of flavors to this one pot quick meal recipe of Acorn Squash Pulao. This success has definitely made me want to try more recipes with squash, as they surely are loaded with lots of good nutrients that I find it difficult to get my family to eat, specially Vitamin A, so a great recipe find for sure and not to mention, the fact that I can get Vitamin A , without  having to eat roots!!

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Apple Pie

Apple Pie

APPLE PIE

Apple Pie is the very essence of the fall season! Falling leaves, falling temperature, falling for pies of all kinds fruit and non fruit!! Making every fall(pun intended) worthwhile:) .Technology is moving at a very fast pace , so I try to keep up as much as I can with it! So decided to enroll in an online cooking class with #Sur La Table, a kitchen store I really really like! They have some awesome stuff, not seen elsewhere, and also I love the french name, having learnt some french while growing up. Literally  Sur La Table means ” On the Table”. It reminded me of attending Alliance Francais classes in Ahmedabad and Bombay, and how I wish I had continued with that language,. Maybe next year I will enroll for french classes!

So the online class had four different pies shown, with each video lasting for about half an hour with detailed explanations. I decided to try out the apple pie, as I love apple pies, and pies as such have such a complicated look, I thought it was really gonna be tough, but to my surprise making the pie dough was as easy 1.2.3!  My daughter was also excited to join me in making this pie for Thanksgiving dinner, as having pie for Thanksgiving is a must! She laid out the lattices and I cut the leaves, and we decorated the pie to give a classic fall look!

The best part was that the recipe did not need eggs, and we just have to give it a little bit time to let the pie chill before baking. Other than that, I think its pretty simple recipe and accurate recipe to follow, So am very happy to discover this recipe and  share it with you all, and hope that the fall season at  your home is full of pies and family gathering!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I would like to extend my gratitude and give thanks to you all through this Classic Apple Pie recipe, that has the perfect sweetness, crunchiness and easy to follow and for very warm neighbors who brought me the pie baking dish, all the way from Maine! Can’t thank enough for all the love and blessings!!

Apple Pie

Recipe makes one 9 inch pie

Time to Prep :20 min

Time to Bake 1 hour

Time to Chill 40 min

Ingredients

Flaky pie dough for the base of the pie

  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour(I Used Gold Medal’s All purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 stick( 4 oz) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2 tbsp ice water – or if need be 3 tbsp.

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  • You will need to use the food processor. Alternatively  you will have to cut in the butter using the pastry tool

For the top layer of the pie

  • Make another pie dough, using the ingredients listed above.

For the Apple filling:

  • 2 1/2 pounds big Fuji or Golden Apples ( or 6 cups of medium sized apple pieces)
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 stick (or 4tbsp) unsalted butter divided into two parts
  • 3 tbsp unbleached all purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp whole milk and 1 tsp butter melted and combined together, for glazing the top of the pie.

Method

Making of the pie dough

  • In a food process mix in all the ingredients and give 5-6 two second pulses.

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  • Alternatively if using a bowl, mix everything in a bowl and use a pastry tool, to mix in the butter into the dough. Mix in till all dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
  • The mixture should not be totally fine, but should show some butter pieces.
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  • Add one tbsp of ice water at a time and mix in further and give 2-3 one second pulses.
  • Add another tbsp of ice water and pulse two more times, lasting a second each.
  • Check the consistency of dough that it binds.

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  • Pour the flour on the counter or flat surface.
  • Gently gather the flour into a round ball with hand and bind it all in one piece.

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  • Wrap the pie dough in a plastic sheet and freeze for half an hour.

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Making of the apple filling

  • Peel and cut the apples into medium size pieces after removing the core
  • Half way through cutting, sprinkle some lemon juice into the bowl, in order to prevent browning of the bowl. It might be good idea also to rub the lemon juice on the inside surface of the bowl , before starting to cut.
  • In a large thick skillet, put half the butter to melt. Add half of the apples to it and 1/3 cup sugar.
  • Stir and cook for 7 minutes, till the apples have slightly softened or barely tender when touched with a tip of knife.

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  • Remove from flame and let it cool.
  • Repeat the above process for the rest of apples , butter and sugar and cool the same for at least an hour
  • Mix both the portions of apple filling and add cinnamon powder,nutmeg and all purpose flour.

Rolling the pie

  • Use the two sets of chilled pie dough.
  • Unwrap the dough one at a time.
  • Using a pie roller or with hand or any other rolling pin, roll the dough to about 10 inch wide, or at least 1 -2 inches longer than the pie dish width. While rolling, use the all purpose flour on the bottom and top, so that the dough does not stick to the surface
  • Lift the pie dough, using a thick roller pin, or a big spatula and lay it on the  pie baking dish.

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  • See that it is evenly laid out, fold backwards and inside any remaining edges and pinch the top edges to give it a smooth look.Chill this base for 15-20 minutes, This will give it a good finish.
  • Roll the second set of pie dough into the same width as the first one.
  • You can either cut the second round into strips, or use as it is  to cover it completely or make some cutouts to make it more decorative.

 

Assembling the pie:

  • Remove the chilled base. Fill in the thickened apple mix and spread it evenly on to the base.

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  • If making lattice patterns,  start laying the one inch strips in L shape,( one vertical and one horizontal). So if first strip is vertical, second is horizontal( like x,y axis).
  • Third strip is again vertical , about inch away from the first one. towards right.
  • Fourth strip is again horizontal, about inch higher than the first horizontal strip. (My daughter decide to follow her own way, and hence the picture does give clear indication of the method written over here)
  • Continue till the space on the top is covered, leaving some spaces open for the warm air to pass out.
  • From spare  strips, using cooking cutters, make cut outs of leaves or any design you may wish and add them on the top.

 

  • Another pattern that I made was all out of leaf pattern made with the help of leaf cookie cutters.

Baking

  •  Brush the top of the pie with milk and butter paste.
  • Pre heat the oven to 400  degrees celsius in convection oven.
  • Bake the pie on the lower middle rack for 30 minutes.

 

  • Shift the pie to the  higher middle rack for another 30 minutes.
  • Remove and cool for about 20  minutes.

Apple Pie

 

 

 

Apple Pie

  • Slice into triangles  with a serrated knife and serve the beautiful Apple Pie!

 

 

 

Tips

  • Do not double the quantity  of the pie dough and do it together.  I prefer doing it twice, so that the measurements stay accurate.
  • Flakiness of the pie will come if the butter is not totally incorporated, but has some small chunks in it.
  • Alternatively you can, just cover the apple filling with the second round and make some open cuts in the center with a knife for the air to pass out.
  • The color should be beige to golden to ensure that the pie is well done
  • Most fruit based pies do not have eggs,so you can use the dough recipe for all kind of pies in my view.

Instinct Factor

Roll the dough with hand, if it is difficult to roll with a rolling pin and if it breaks while lifting just patch it up.

Time is of key essence as the dough should not get warm, so need to work quick after removing it from fridge.

Apple pie dough can be made before or freeze upto a month. All imperfections get hidden once the pie is cooked, so do not fret!

Feel Factor

Apple Pie, the favorite flavor for many!! A pie crust is the most important part of the pie, so having it at the right consistency is crucial and this recipe does a great job at that. I love the cinnamon apple filling and the color was just warm enough for the cold windy season of fall! A classic pie that came out really classy in taste, and I love the fallen wind look atop the warm apple pie! I love to eat warm pies, however they can also be served with some vanilla ice cream on the side for added flavor. This is surely the way to get me eating apple a day to keep my doctor away!! The ease of this recipe is the making of pie dough, and next I will try some lentil pie, that I had it once at yummy Proper Pie  which bakes pies like those in New Zealand.! So plenty reasons to be grateful for and one of them for the eggless classic apple pie recipe and the lovely pie baking dish and the loving family to cook with and share with!!

 

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Eggless Rangoli Spice Cupcakes

Eggless Rangoli Spice Cupcakes

Eggless Rangoli Spice Cupcakes

Autumn weather is one of my favorite weathers, as the temperature cools down, the leaves are turning color, and your body demands for some warmth from the rich spices that you are so thankful to nature for.. Be it ginger, clove, all spice, nutmeg, cinnamon. all of them giving a cozy warm feeling and a sweet fragrance in the air. Autumn spice cake, at Savory Grain, that I recently had was one of the best spice cakes I had, along with delicious vegetarian food that they serve, mostly made from vegetables sourced locally. Having tasted something so delicious, I had to try to make this on my own. So I found this recipe at Cooking classy, but had to use my past experience, trying to replace eggs, it called for. I ventured with all ingredients that I had read about, and decided to give it a chance and the result was very pleasing as well as delicious. The true test if the ingredients were correct, was to check if  the cake does not leave domes at the top. What a satisfying feeling  to see the cupcakes stay flat on top, like they should be!

The eggless rangoli spice cupcakes were made for  Diwali celebratory event for a Hindi Kavita group that we have just started and it happened to be also my birthday! I wanted to create a dessert that matched the fall weather, bring in the color and design of Diwali,  as well as make the birthday girl happy with some warm cupcakes with some fruit and spices. I am a big cupcake fan, as the best cake was what my mother use to make in  a gas oven, and one that did not need any frosting , for it to be delicious. Personally I do not appreciate butter/ cream frosting. So came up with this sprinkled sugar concept that can also have some dots, akin to how dots are made for Rangoli during Diwali. Rangoli is a fine sand mandala done with hand., which I am very fond of. So wanted to see how to represent Rangoli over a cupcake. The outcome  was deeply appreciated by guests as well as the birthday girl as this recipe got more attention over a nice cake from Whole Foods! Now that was  a true birthday gift for someone who likes to  explore while cooking!!

The flavor had a bit of banana and applesauce, as well as clovers, ginger and all spice and all together, the taste was delicious, as people wanted another! Buttermilk and brown sugar keeps the cake moist from within The hidden ingredient was avocado, whose taste could not be felt but could see it in the richness of the texture. This is a quick recipe, in the sense, because of the fruit and spices, one can skip the frosting too, and go easy on calories, and the eggless rangoli spice cupcake can be a great accompaniment along with tea/ coffee because of the masala spices in it!

Spice up the fall with eggless rangoli spice cupcakes, and happy baking to the bakers, who find baking a highly therapeutic act just as I do! I am happy baking as the weather for baking is here and plan to explore a few more cookies, as  fall turns to winter and holidays are just around the corner to enjoy these treats with family and friends!!

Eggless Rangoli Spice Cupcakes

Recipe makes 36 cupcakes

Time to cook : 35 min

Prep time : 15 min

Decoration: 10 min

Ingredients

  • 4 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1  tsp allspice
  • 1.2 tsp ground cloves
  • 3 1/2 cups packed  light-brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup  vegetable oil/peanut oil
  • 1 1/2 cup (185g)sweetened applesauce
  • 1 banana chopped
  • 1 avocado sliced
  • 4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp white vinegar
  • 2 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
  •  1 1/2 cup water
  • 5 tbsp sugar
  • sugar sprinkles

Alternate Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 24 oz cream cheese, nearly at room temperature
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (4 oz), nearly at room temperature
  • 7 cups (440g) powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

For the cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves for 20 seconds, set aside.img_2227
  • Pour  brown sugar  in  to the bowl. into the bowl  Break up brown sugar with fingertips until no clumps remain.
  • Add oil and blend for 2 minutes.
  • Add applesauce and blend in.

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  • Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined, then blend in buttermilk, then add remaining 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until well combined.

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  • Set the oven to pre-heat at 375 degrees for convection baking, and 350 degrees for normal baking.
  • Puree the banana and avocado and add it to the mix and mix in for a minute.

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  • Add vanilla essence and vinegar and blend for 2 minutes.

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  • Line the muffin or cupcake tray with liners.
  • Fill in the cake mixture upto 3/4 of the mould.

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  • After 10 minutes  switch the tray from top tray to bottom and back to front.

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  • After ten minutes switch the trays back to original position and bake till the cake leaves edge and the toothpick shows the cake is well baked.

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  • Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 – 32 minutes.

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Decorating the cupcake

  • Allow to cool several minutes and then cover it.
  • When completely cooled, mix the sugar and water and brush the cupcakes  with this water via a brush or spoon and leave it to soak and dry for 20 minutes

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  • Use a cookie stencil of your choice and sprinkle colored sugar on the top.

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Eggless Rangoli Spice Cupcakes

Alternate Cream Cheese frosting:

  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until well blended (at this point I like to freeze the frosting in 5 minute increments, then mix again with stand mixer, then freeze another 5 and more as needed until it’s a stiffer yet creamy consistency). Spread the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle it with colored fro Recipe source: Cooking Classy

 

Tips

Using cake flour makes the cake more softer. One can also try with all purpose flour, but the texture may have slight variations than when made with cake flour. Using unbleached flour helps so does brown sugar. If you do not have brown sugar, use  white sugar, and in case it is not that moist, sprinkle some more sugar water, for it to moisten,

Using a proper cup for measuring will help you perfect the recipe. A proper measure for Liquid as well as Dry Measure Cup.

Instinct Factor

Instinct sometimes arises from a fleeting thing that you read somewhere and remembered! Something like this happened while making this cake as decided to throw in vinegar, avocado and banana into the recipe.

Ensure that the flour is well mixed in  and so are the ingredients.  You can replace 1 bananas with one more avocado, if you want to avoid excess sugar.

Feel Factor

Ever thought that adding avocado to the cake can do the magic ! Well I was happy to mix in this ingredient loaded with good potassium and healthy fat into the cupcake and see it add texture and moistness to the cake. It did not overpower the other flavors of the cake, and could taste the banana, cinnamon, brown sugar, all spice as well as cloves and vanilla! What a delectable dessert to have on a chilly fall evening and the crunch of sugar sprinkles on the top was a perfect balance to the spice in the cake. I prefer a cake like this than to those with frosting, so truly enjoyed the fall spice cake that all should try, wether at home or outside!! Kida and adult will surely demand more than once as it has the fruity sweetness in in too:P

 

 

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Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge

Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge

Rajkot Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge is the “sweetmeat” that has put Rajkot on the national dessert map of India. Since I hail from this town, I have grown up seeing this dessert being made, with memory of the halwais, constantly stirring the milk, and huge quantity of kesar peda saffron milk fudge being shipped outside Rajkot. It is also one of must bought item for tourists visiting Rajkot. I had a constant order from my in-laws to get a Kesar Peda from Rajkot whenever I visited:)

Since this is a delicacy well beyond my talent, I had to do some research to find a recipe that looked closest to the ones from Rajkot, and to no surprise of mine, it came from Tarla Dalal. I am so glad they are continuing her webpage and tutorials with her assistant, as her legacy in cooking is truly timeless.

It was a labour of love, making these Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge, more so as I was making for the first time, and so was more cautious than normal and I think the final result was definitely thumbs up on taste! Texture is yet to be determined, but the house was full of the saffron milk aroma, which was the aroma you got when you opened a box of fresh kesar pedas, specially those that were bought from the most popular vendor Jay Siyaram Pedas. In their pedas, they mark the pedas with their rubber stamp mark, which means a salutation to lord Ram and Sita.

In my own way, it was a celebration for me too, as for the first time I did Mandana style Rangoli, depicting and inspired originally from Lord Mahavir. Since Deepavali, Festival of Lights, is just round the corner, what better way to celebrate the Nirvana kalyanak,of Lord Mahavir and the returning of Lord Ram and Sita, both being the reasons Jains and Hindus celebrating Deepavali, than with this golden flame colored sweet that has the texture similar to fudge and totally melts in your mouth.

Enjoy the Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge with your near and dear ones, as it is truly worth the time, as all ingredients are fresh, including khoya. I will try to make another batch with condensed milk too, and post that recipe soon too! But as they say, everything else is a copy, the original is always the best!! A step closer to home, after relishing this awesome golden color kesar pedas with a hint of cardamom The light of the lamp, mirrored in the color of the pedas, signifies the light of knowledge to me!!

Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali and wishing you a year of prosperity and knowledge!!

Recipe makes 15 Kesar Pedas

Time to cook:  1 hour

Prep time 5 min

Ingredients

  • Half gallon whole milk
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 tbsp milk
  • 1 1/2 pinch of saffron
  • 1 tsp cardamom powder
  • Ghee for greasing
  • Lemon juice 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp
  • Cornflour – 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp

Method

  • Heat two tbsp of milk for 1 minute in microwave and immerse the saffron in it. Ensure that the color is nice bright golden color. Add more saffron if needed.

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  • Heat another two tbsp of milk and mix the cornflour in it.
  • In a nonstick or thick bottom pan put the milk to boil

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  • Reduce the temperature once the milk boils over.
  • Continue to simmer stirring once every few minutes, till the milk reduces to half its original quantity.

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  • Add sugar and stir a few minutes.
  • Add the saffron milk and boil and stir for 7-8 minutes.

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  • Add dissolved cornflour and stir for 6-7 minutes.
  • Add lemon juice and stir till the mixture thickens and starts leaving the edges.

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    • Remove from flame and let it cool completely.
    • Add cardamom powder and mix in thoroughly.
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  • Using ghee to grease the palms, make round balls about 1 1/2 tbsp size.

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  • Reshape the balls once again to ensure that they are firm and holding shape.
  • Use any shape to ident designs at the top or leave it plain.img_2136
  • Brush some more saffron dipped with milk on the top for festive look
  • Leave it aside for at least a few hours for the kesar peda to firm or you can refrigerate it for a couple of hours to firm it faster
  • Enjoy this utterly delicious kesar peda saffron milk fudge.

Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge

 

Tips

Waiting for milk to boil and thicken over, I went on a medium low flame, as did not want it to burn. Hence the recipe took double the time needed. However if one wants to watch it over, the cooking time can be cut to half.

Ensure that the consistency is thick enough in the end like a khoya or mara or a thick paste to determine that it is well cooked. Next time, I will try to cook a bit more so that the mixture is more drier and maybe add a bit more of cornflour so that it thickens faster,

Grease the vessel in which you are boiling milk with ghee, prior to pouring milk in it, as this will ensure it does not stick at the base.

Instinct Factor

Patience and perseverance  paid off while making the Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge, as it does require a bit of watching over and since was doing this for the first time, had to ensure I do not mess it up!! A wooden spoon for stirring helps in the milk not boiling over! Kept going back to my childhood memories of strolling by the peda manufacturer’s open shop, where i recollected large trays of work in process pedas

Top it with pistachio or silvered almonds for  a nutty topping, however I prefer the saffron and cardamom combination.

Feel Factor

Golden looking Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge on the DHANTERAS DAY of Diwali are akin to having gold coins on this day of wealth!! The texture was a bit softer and less grainy than the ones in the store, but it tasted better as that is how a fresh pedas tastes, and now I can have the fresh taste of the Kesar Pedas Saffron Milk Fudge much longer than usual! Achieving this level of success has made us so so very happy, for two reasons, as this is from my hometown, which is famous for its pedas and secondly  as it is a favorite dessert of my husband! So definitely Diwali celebrations have started for us on the right note with rangoli mandana(inspired from Lord Mahavir and Non Violence)and perfect sweetness , shape, color, flavor and texture and freshness with this gold coin Kesar Peda Saffron Milk Fudge!!

Kesar Pedas Saffron Milk Fudge

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Jalebi Spiral Doughnut

Jalebi Spiral Donut

Jalebi Spiral Doughnut, also popularly recognized as the national sweet of India, has its earliest reference in India, in a Jain manuscript Priyamkarnrpakatha written by Jinasura in 1450 AD, The traditional name for Jalebi was Jal-Vallika meaning “dipped in water”, which in later dialects in India became Jalebi, Jalepi , Jilabi and so on.  In Sanskrit it was also alternatively known as Kundalika, which means coiled rope, circle, which is how the shape of this jalebi spiral doughnut. Personally, it reminds me of two things, one is the ripple effect of stone thrown in water, and secondly it reminds me of the countless galaxies that exist in our universe! It so nice to see nature reflected in our daily food and day to day activities!!

The current recipe for making Jalebi, is still very similar to what has been documented in 17th-century classic Bhojan-kutuhala by Raghunath. All these evidences clearly give more weight to the theory that this is an Indian Sweet as compared to some claims that it originated from Persia, where it was known as Zelbia or Zoolabiya. The Persian trade route would have definitely made the travelers excited in their talks about this aphrodasiac dessert which is prominent dessert at weddings and also for major national celebrations and holidays. The fact that Jalebi it was mentioned in the manuscript with the name Priyam, makes me think it was aptly made by the rich merchants to please their guests! And boy it pleases so many across the world, as it is found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Persia, Iran, Africa, Egypt, Turkey, and even Israel. And it seems in the USA, a Syrian used it to make ice cream cones, till the current ice cream cones were made.

In Gujarat, traditional celebrations of Dusshera is done with jalebi and gathiya, and I have an extreme liking for jalebi. Hence, I had to try it out for Dusherra. So I opted to trying out the Gits Instant Jalebi Mix using a cookie decorating nozzle. The result was very satisfying as I was able to get a great shape, that held even after hours, the right texture that was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the color was the shining golden! Next time I will try to use a different nozzle, so that the thickness is a bit more. I have to admire that the Gits Instant Mix are often my source for instant and reliable recipes and for which I have also blogged earlier for making Idlis, Dhoklas, Handvo and now even desserts.

Jalebi Spiral Doughnut has an enticing shape, a firm texture, inviting color and fragrance. It becomes simple to make with an instant mix, and it would be not surprising if Jalebi, can also be one of the easiest fried donut recipes. Even if the shape is not totally perfect, it does not matter, as one cannot go wrong with this fried dough dipped in saffron sugar syrup! Enjoy these lovely swirls of delicious sweetness as we get closer to the festival of Diwali!!

Recipe makes about 25-30 2inch wide Jalebis

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of Instant Jalebi Mix
  • Oil for frying
  • Icing bag, nozzle or ketchup bottle for making jalebi.(In India, the Gits Packet includes the bottle too!)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 11/4 cup of water
  • saffron strands
  • few drops of lemon
  • 1 tbsp of milk(optional)

Method

Cooking the sugar syrup:

  • Mix the sugar and water and bring to boil.
  • Boil vigorously about after 8-10 minutes.

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  • Add 1 tbsp milk and a few drops of lemon, to clear the water.

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  • Remove the froth with a slotted spoon to make the sugar syrup clear of dirt.

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  • Add saffron strands to the water and keep it lukewarm, ready to be dipped.
  • The consistency of sugar syrup or chasni should be for one string.
  • Make the sugar syrup first, before making the Jalebi.

Making the Jalebis

  • Mix the ingredients for the pack with 190 ml of water plus 6 1/2 tbsp of water.
  • Whisk the mix thoroughly with hands.
  • Continue mixing till it is an extremely smooth paste.

  • Put the oil to heat on a medium flame
  • Pour the mix into a icing bag or a ketchup bootle. I used a Kuhn Rikon cookie decorating bottle with nozzle#1

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  • Make swirls into the oil on a low heat. The swirls will hold shape and rotate on its own, when the oil temperature is appropriate.

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  • Cook for a a minute or so and flip over with a slotted spoon. Alternatively  you can use tongs too.

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  • Cook the other side for a minute and a half and remove and instantly drop it into the sugar syrup. The color should be light pink, as the above image does not give the indication of the cooked jalebi color.
  • Ensure that the sugar syrup is always lukewarm, so keep it on a low heat continuously.
  • Press the inserted Jalebis so that they soak up the sugar syrup.
  • Remove from the syrup after a minute or so and serve.
  • After 10 minutes, on cooling, can be  stored in an airtight container.
  • Enjoy them hot, cold, with milk rabri, or just as plain simple snack and sugar shot!

 

 

Jalebi Spiral Donut

Tips

For Vegan recipes, milk can be avoided in the sugar syrup, as it is mainly used as a cleanser. To get a better control of the shape keep the nozzle close to the oil so that you can go with the flow of the rotating swirls.Do not overcook, the jalebi as that will make them brown in color and also stiff.

A delay in the transfer to sugar syrup will yield it not evenly colored, as well as it will entail crystallizing of sugar on the top. Frying in oil is more preferable to hold the texture, as compared to frying in ghee, though folks in Rajasthan and some other parts, fry only in ghee!

Instinct Factor

Using a nozzle was an instinct based, as was to figuring out how to swirl! Try topping it with cinnamon powder to create a new flavor.The sugar syrup can also have additions of rose water and cardamom powder for extra flavor.

Feel Factor

A sense of joyful accomplishment on savoring Jalebi Spiral Doughnut, a  childhood favorite dessert of mine, specially from my hometown Rajkot, where it is savored with fafda ghatiyas. I distinctly remember watching in awe some of the kandoi making these delicious savories and snacks and in my wildest dream I did not think I will be doing this one day! The taste was great, the look was sharp and the texture was firm as I liked it!!! By making this, I surely was happy I celebrated Dusshera in its true sense and the joy of sharing these sweets with friends and family made it even better! Happy Dusherra though belated one, to all my readers!!

Jalebi Spiral Doughnut

 

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