Guava Ice Cream

An ice cream with Guava flavor? This was the question on my mind as I was presented this highly unique and refreshing flavor in Mumbai on my recent visit to India. Today I salute the spirit of Mumbai by posting this recipe of Guava Ice Cream made famous in Mumbai, by Apsara Ice Creams. Apsara is a chain that has been in existence for the past 50 years or more, and surprisingly I never encountered it during my younger days. Its first location was in Walkeshwar and it is believed that all the ice creams at Apsara are made in hand ice cream machine and hence has a rich texture and flavor. I am not too sure of this fact, but if it is true, it is truly worthy of respect for ensuring that the quality has not been compromised,

Mumbai is a town which really comes together in the face of disaster and shows what a humane spirit it has. Right from 1993 blasts to various calamities, it is the spirit of Mumbai that is indescribable, but one has to live there for a few months, to fall in love with the madness and chaos along with its gutsy, warm community.

Back to the Guava Ice cream, I had the privilege of having this on none other than the 75th birthday of my mother who is a BIG ice cream fan. The reason why this ice cream holds a special place in my heart, is because of its topping of red chili powder and salt. That combination, gives you the feeling of earring raw guavas topped with salt and red chili powder! Kind of like the Mexican chocolates which has cayenne peppers in it! That is true creativity at heart and a big salute to Apsara for retaining this flavor with its true taste.

When you eat this ice cream, you get the kick from not only the guava itself, but also from the spicy flavor on the top mixed with the sweetness of the cream and sugar. The challenge to a great flavor is having the guava ripened to the correct level. My initial try had been made with somewhat raw guavas that were more greener, and hence the taste did not compare with the one at Apsara. On later modifying it to more yellowish guava, I was able to recreate the taste to the one I had in Mumbai. Matching this to Apsara flavor brought big smiles on my daughter’s face!

A Guava ice cream treat for my readers,who have really been engaging with the blog and coming back to it, even when there were no new posts for some time. Hope you enjoy this Guava Ice cream, as much as I fell in love with its sweetness and spicy tinge! My apologies to the readers for being quiet for almost three months, as got busy with high school graduation, summer break and college preparations, but now I look forward to sharing many interesting recipes with you all. Bon Appetit!

 

Print Recipe
 Guava Ice Cream
Eggless Guava Ice Cream
Prep Time 45 min
Passive Time 8 hours
Servings
Quart
Ingredients
For the Topping
Prep Time 45 min
Passive Time 8 hours
Servings
Quart
Ingredients
For the Topping
Instructions
  1. Chill the ice cream making container for at least 24 hours before making the ice cream.
  2. Skin the Guavas, and de seed them. Chop them into small pieces.
  3. Mix the sugar with chopped Guava and blend it into pulp.
  4. Set the ice cream container into ice cream maker, and start the ice cream maker. Once it starts, pour the whole milk, essence, heavy cream, a pinch of salt, balance sugar and guava pulp. Let it mix for about 25-30 minutes, till it binds into a lump.
  5. Remove the soft ice cream into a freezer container and let it set for about 10 hours minimum before serving.
  6. Prepare the topping by mixing salt and red chili powder thoroughly, till no white salt crystals are visible.
  7. Sprinkle this topping before serving and enjoy the multi flavored sweet and spicy Guava Ice Cream,
Recipe Notes

Tips

Ensure that the container is pre chilled for a long period of time, otherwise the ice cream will not bind well.Also ensure that the Guavas are ripe enough.

You can even try this with Pink Guavas, which apparently is a famous Italian Ice cream, where they also use some spicy toppings on it!

Instinct Factor

Re creating this flavor was possibly only as I relied on my tastebuds, memory and instinct! And the beauty of making ice cream is that even if you mess it up, you can adjust the quantities of sugar, essence, fruit pulp by thawing the original, mixing the added ingredients and re setting it in the freezer. It does not required to be churned again!

Feel Factor

Second time lucky in getting the right flavor and right blend of spices to recreate the famous Guava Ice cream of Apsara at home! Partially it also depends on the freshness and in season guavas. I am grateful to the Indian Grocery stores for carrying this tropical fruit that reminds me of my days in India. Next season I will definitely try the pink guava ice cream! One has to taste this just once and I guarantee, the chances are very high, you will fall in love with this unique flavor of ice cream!

 

 

 

 

Avocado and Cottage Cheese Toast

Avocado and Cottage Cheese Toast

Avocado and Cottage Cheese Toasts are recipes from a French  grandmother,  that I chanced upon on my trip to New Orleans last month. We have been making trips across the states, to visit different colleges, and so a few places are some that we have never visited. Like every tourist, I had a few museums in mind , besides visiting the famous French Quarters and a tram ride on Charles Street. New Orleans was earlier a French Colony as well as Spanish colony. And then it was purchased by USA from them in the famous Louisiana purchase, The city has retained its french legacy with the streets in the french quarter still retaining fresh names.

I have always found vegetarian food in french cuisine to be highly delicious, flavorful and healthy  per my experience in Paris. So when I got a chance to try some in the cafe at Contemporary Arts Center, I was eagerly waiting to be pleasantly satisfied and also surprised by its flavors. Rightly so, I found a highly colorful and varied combinations to eat a simple toast!! No wonder the french toast is also so popular. A brief reading on Wiki mentions that the french toast was earlier dipped in milk, cinnamon and butter and that the initial recipe had no eggs, as so commonly done now. This is mentioned in  Apicius a collection of Roman cookery recipes, usually thought to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century AD.

What a treat it was to taste ancestral recipes like the Avocado and Cottage Cheese Toast s in a town that is so rich with history and where French, Spanish and American influences merge to make a vibrant impression on the town and its tourists! The garnishes and spread were varied and I hope to explore more of those in future and share the same with everyone, This is a great recipe for a quick healthy colorful fix, or if someone is just watching the calorie intake and yet craves for something delicious!  Below is my first attempt to post a recipe with a  short video in addition to the detailed steps so do have a look:)


Print Recipe
 Avocado and Cottage Cheese Toast
A healthy flavorful toast for breakfast or brunch!
Avocado and Cottage Cheese Toast
Cuisine French
Prep Time 5 min
Cook Time 5 min
Servings
people
Ingredients
Cuisine French
Prep Time 5 min
Cook Time 5 min
Servings
people
Ingredients
Avocado and Cottage Cheese Toast
Instructions
  1. Dice the avocados in cubes
  2. Mash the avocados and then add olive oil to it and mix in some more. Add salt to taste.
  3. Toast a thick slice of bread.
  4. Put the avocado spread atop the toast and garnish it with chopped olives, pumpkin seeds and fresh basil leaves
  5. Blend the cottage cheese using a hand blender
  6. Spread the cottage cheese over the toast and garnish with pumpkin seeds, red chili flakes and balsamic vinegar.
  7. Serve immediately and tomato soup goes well with these toasts
Recipe Notes

Tips

Thick slice of bread will give a nice crunch and base for the toast.  When I first tried, I had it on rye bread.

Instinct Factor

When I mashed the avocado, the color became slightly yellow, and was not as green as I saw at the cafe, So thought of adding the extra virgin olive oil and immediately the color became greener and the texture of the spread became smoother too, after all, avocado is used as a butter so worked out well.

Experiment with any toppings such as  arugula, goat cheese, walnuts to name a few!

Feel Factor

The best lunch for a hot afternoon, as both the combinations provide a cooling and soothing effect! I have always been a fan of crunchy stuff and toasts too, so its a perfect bite with a soup on the side. It looks so colorful and inviting and can be fixed in ten minutes! Besides it is so very healthy and light that an extra piece of toast will satisfy that extra bit of craving without much guilt!  The balsamic vinegar gives a nice sweet and tangy taste which matches well with red chili flakes. And fresh basil leaves with olives for an avocado lover is always an added bonus!  Avocado and Cottage Cheese Toast is good recipe for college bound kids too, to fix something in a jiffy! Enjoy these toast recipes  from a French home in New Orleans adding refreshing flavors to the vegetarian cuisine.

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Pineapple Kulfi

Pineapple Kulfi

Pineapple Kulfi is the recipe for this week, in sync with a mug my daughter got as an appreciation for the work she accomplished for a conference, which was engraved as ” if you were to be a fruit, you would be a fine-apple” and I cannot agree more! Pineapple is a tropical fruit that I have always liked, wether it be juice, or just slices, or as pineapple cheese sandwich or  my favorite flavor of fresh pineapple cake! So trying this flavor in kulfi would not be very surprising at all in my kitchen.:)

The effort was to have as much of pineapple displayed as possible, but could succeed only if when cutting the kulfi into pieces while serving. I tried to use the cupcake moulds besides the normal kulfi moulds, in order to display the pineapple rings more prominently, as part of the reason I like pineapple, is because of the thick circular slices. If pineapple is not a flavor you like, try the earlier recipe of Strawberry Kulfi Ice Cream.

Just remember to have a bucket of patience, as once you have that, making kulfi is a no brainer, specially when you cook in a non-stick pan. Watch a couple of TV shows while the milk evaporates to the right consistency and  then just mix some fresh pieces and chill for 15 hours or so pineapple kulfi is ready!

Today being Ugadi and Gudi Padwa, a sweet recipe was the ideal way to celebrate and wish everyone a Happy New Year to all! The temperatures are getting warmer soon, and a nice chunk of fresh pineapple in the kulfi would be akin to sunny, sweet and juicy aspect of the traditional delicious kulfi.  Hope all have a sunny, sweet and fruitful 2074 by Indian Calendar system!

 

 

 

Print Recipe
 Pineapple Kulfi
Pineapple Kulfi
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 5 min
Cook Time 2 hours
Passive Time 10-12 hours
Servings
Ice pops or cupcake size
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 5 min
Cook Time 2 hours
Passive Time 10-12 hours
Servings
Ice pops or cupcake size
Ingredients
Pineapple Kulfi
Instructions
  1. Grease well a deep non stick pan with ghee at the base as well as on the sides thoroughly.
  2. Add the milk and sugar and stir on a medium flame till the sugar dissolves completely.
  3. Reduce the flame to low medium and let the milk boil.
  4. Once the milk boils , reduce it to low flame and let it simmer. till about 1/2 the original quality is left.
  5. Chop four pineapple slices into a small pieces and add to the milk to boil. Add also al 1/3 of the pineapple juice to the boiling milk also.
  6. Simmer the milk till the quantity reaches about a third of the original quantity.
  7. Remove from flame, add three more slices of pineapple chopped into small pieces.
  8. Warm a tbsp of milk and dissolve saffron into the kulfi mix. Add essence and cardamom and mix thoroughly.
  9. Allow the pineapple kulfi mix to cool completely for about an hour and a half.
  10. Fill the ice cream or popsicle moulds. adding half ring of remaining pineapple and chill for 12 hours minimum.
  11. Alternatively, use muffin or cupcake baking tray, fill the moulds with the Pineapple Kulfi mix and layer ring pieces of pineapple on the top and freeze for 12 hours.
  12. Before serving, run the moulds under warm water and release the pineapple kulfi from the mould .
  13. Cut it into pieces if serving in a bowl, that way, its easy to eat as well as it displays the fresh pineapple in it.
    Pineapple Kulfi
Recipe Notes

Tips

Using Whole mIlk and preferably organic milk , will give a rich taste and texture to the homemade Pineapple Kulfi.

Instinct Factor

Use a over boil  preventing plate, will help the milk in simmering without one having to watch over it continuously, as also using a non stick pan is a must for an easy kulfi making process.

Feel Factor

If the milk has evaporated to the right consistency  level, then the texture of the Pineapple Kulfi will be just right! The whole process of making kulfi is a test of patience and if one is patient, the rewards is definitely worth it! The texture of the pineapple kulfi was just right along with its sweetness and I specially liked the slightly tangy taste to the mix from the pineapple juice as well as dissolved pineapple. The fresh pineapple added last, retains its crunchiness and juiciness, which adds an extra depth to the traditional kulfi. I quite like this combination as it is something new and fun in the kulfi flavor so Pineapple Kulfi was definitely sunny and sweet for me!

 

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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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Instant Gulab Jamun Fried Dough

Instant Gulab Jamun Fried Dough at cookingbyinsnct.com

Instant Gulab Jamun Fried Dough is my favorite Indian dessert, which was the dessert by my demand on my wedding day. I truly love this dessert, and my husband does not! Like any other normal couple:)

Normally I favor Gits Instant Mixes, but in this case, my mother referred Chitale’s Instant Gulab Jamun pack, so thought I will check that out. And true to her statement, the Chitale’s  Gulab Jamun were just simply delicious. Wikipedia, says that this was accidentally discovered by Shah Jahan’s personal chef and shares similarities with a Arabic dessert. The word Gulab means Rose, so flavored with Rose Water, and Jamun, refers to the shape and color similar to a flower found in India.  Often rose petals are scattered in the syrup to give it a rich dessert feel. Since I was making this dessert for the first time I had to admit I was nervous a bit, but it turned out to be the perfect shape, color, with the right amount of sweetness and fragrance. This dessert will stay fresh for at least couple of weeks after being made, and hence are also popularly available in cans too at Indian grocery stores.

In Rajasthan, the Gulab Jamuns are fried in ghee, but in Gujarat side, they are fried in oil. I prefer the oil frying as it makes it more crisper. Fried dough based recipes are well appreciated the world over, as doughnuts are so popular amongst varied cultures and people. This is the ultimate fried dough recipe that is dipped in sugar syrup with hint of flavors from saffron and cardamon, besides rosewater and sugar. Because of this, the dessert was highly rated by my neighbors too.

Could not have found a better recipe to share with you than Instant Gulab Jamun Fried Dough, and hope that 2017 for you is full of sweetness and fragrance, and full of yum food and comfort.  Look out for the gravy based vegetable made from Gulab Jamuns in future blog post.

HAPPY and DELICIOUS 2017!

Instant Gulab Jamun Fried Dough

Recipe makes about 30 pieces of Gulab Jamun

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of Chitale’s Gulab Jamun Mix
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp water( or approx 120ml) for gulab jamun
  • Oil for frying

For the sugar syrup

  • 4 cups of sugar
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1/2 tsp rose water
  • 1 tsp cardamom powder
  • A few strands of saffron

Method

  • Mix the ingredient of the pack with 120 ml of water, with the water added in stages, as needed to make a soft dough.

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  • Make about 1/2 tbsp  size round balls.

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  • Make the sugar syrup by heating the sugar and water and saffron strandsfor about 7 minutes, The consistency should not be thick, and keep it warm on a lowest flame.
  • Put the oil to heat, and after it reaches smoking reduce it to medium heat.
  • Fry the balls to a deep brown color for making the dessert version.

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  • Dip the fried dough instantly into the sugar syrup and press them down. This is important for it being soft and fluffy.
  • After it cools down, add, rose water and cardamom and let the instant  gulab jamuns soak in the sugar syrup.
  • Chill the Gulab Jamuns for about 2-3 hours.
  • Some people enjoy warm Gulab Jamuns.

Gulab Jamun

 

Tips

If the oil cools down, the fried dough becomes stiff. so ensure that the temperature of oil is appropriate. The color of the gulab jamun will darken when soaked in the sugar syrup. I had some cracks on the surface, as I took some time to fry these after rolling them into balls. So fry them instantly, or ensure that you rub some ghee in the palm and roll them again, before frying, if not frying them instantly.

Instinct Factor

Putting the gulab jamuns in the sugar syrup was instinct based, as the syrup is absorbed more, when still hot. Once the dough cools down, it will not absorb enough to make it soft and fluffy.

Feel Factor

Wow!! For the feeling of accomplishment, on trying to make an all time favorite dessert and being successful at it! Loved the softeness, fluffiness, taste , texture and fragrance of saffron and rosewater. They were a great hit at the dinner party and I even saved a couple and had them after three weeks, and still tasted delicious. Thankful for the instant mix companies, for manufacturing such great products, that make  life more easier, and contentment more achievable! This recipe of Instant Gulab Jamun Fried Dough is sure to be a success at your end too, as I was able to achieve this at the first go! Happy New Year and Healthy and Delicious 2017 to all of you.!!

 

 

 

 

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Eggless Christmas Sugar Cookies

Eggless Christmas Sugar Cookies

“Santa will not leave you gifts if you do not leave milk and cookies for him!” This is a sentence parents tell their children very often on Christmas Eve, so we decided to really believe in this statement and make some quintessential Christmas cookies, sugar coated and Christmas themed! This whole  effort was done by the mischievous elf (my daughter) who has recently gotten into baking, and bakes whenever she has time in the holidays! Knowing that only eggless recipes will work in the house, she found this cool recipe on delish.com for cookies that she wanted to try out. And interestingly enough, I had bought a Kuhn Rikon Cookie Press that I thought I would use one day but had never gotten the chance. She was the one to try it out for the first time and the result was awesome!  If you don’t have a cookie press, it can be rolled into a dough and be made into different shapes using cookie cutter, but I recommend buying the cookie press if you plan on using it often. The effort required is significantly lesser than using a rolling pin.

The texture is crispy and crunchy on the outside because of the sugar, but a warm, chewy inside; when it bakes, it has the rich aroma of butter and sugar.

We hope Santa likes these delicious cookies in the shape of wreaths, candy canes, snowmen, and christmas trees, which are really a treat for the family. They’re colorful and delicious in taste, and my teenage daughter was so proud when she successfully charmed all our guests with her cookies! I am so glad that she is finding her love for cooking and baking; it reminds me of a comment a very close friend made: “cooking is love expressed at so many levels!” I guess this is the best Christmas present for me 🙂

Wishing you all a very Merry (late) Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Eggless Christmas Sugar Cookies

Recipe makes 30-40 sugar cookies

Time to make -20 min.

Time to bake -16 min.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 tbsp sour cream, or (1 tbsp heavy cream plus 1 tsp yogurt)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup soft butter, or 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp water
  • Sugar sprinkles (or any type of cookie decoration you would like. If you want to put icing on the cookies, bake them first and then decorate with icing and sprinkles.)

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Method

  • Mix the sugar and butter using a whisk blender  for 4-5 minutes, till the color of butter is two shades lighter, and the butter is also fluffy and soft.
  • Add vanilla essence and whisk for another two minutes.

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  • Sieve the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt together or dry mix all of them.

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  • Add the flour mix to the butter/sugar mix.
  • Gently combine the butter in o the flour.
  • Add upto two tbsp of water and bind into a dough, using your palm or using  a paddle mix of the food processor.

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  • If you want to roll the dough for using cookie cutters, wrap the dough in a plastic film and refrigerate for an hour.
  • We used the Kuhn Rikon cookie press which had Christmas shape inserts, which was much easier to use and make festive shapes.

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  • Insert the dough into the cookie press, and drop in cookies of the shapes of your choice.

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  • Sprinkle sugar sprinkles in different colors *(not if you are using icing and sprinkles, do that after you bake the cookies and skip this step.)
  • Pre heat the oven at 350 degrees F and line the parchment paper on a baking tray.
  • Bake for 6 min on the center level.
  • Shift the center to bottom level and flip the tray back to front and bake for another 6 minutes.
  • Increase the oven temp to 375 and bake for 5 more minutes, until the edges turn gold.
  • Remove the cookies from the oven on to a wire rack and cool completely.

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Tips

If using salted butter, omit the salt requirement. One can even use cream of milk in place of sour cream

Instinct Factor

One can also pour sugar in a plate and dab the cookies int he front and back with sugar, instead of sprinkling, as it can cause wastage,

Feel Factor
Eggless Christmas Sugar Cookies looked perfect,and tasted delicious with the perfect crunch of sugar and crispiness and the bite size of each cookie gave the flexibility of eating more than one, and not feeling guilty at all!. The real christmas present for me by my daughter as we shared the kitchen space, passion for christmas and baking and enjoyed the bonding over baking treat! Colorful times with colorful memories with these highly inviting eggless christmas sugar cookies!!