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.

• 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.

• 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.
• 
• 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.

• 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.

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

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

 

 

 

• 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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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.

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

• 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.

 

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

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

• Remove from flame and let it cool completely.
• Add cardamom powder and mix in thoroughly.
  

 

 

• Using ghee to grease the palms, make round balls about 1 1/2 tbsp size.

• 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.
• 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.

 

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!!

Ganesh Chaturthi, celebrating the birth of Lord Ganesh, cannot be complete without making Churma Ladoo. So I decided to try making the Healthy Churma Ladoo Jaggery Sweetballs with Wheat and Pearl Millet. Lord Ganesh is known as the harbinger of all things favorable and auspicious, and everyone welcomes him to their homes with intense devotion, worship him with sincerity and in the end, immerse or do visarjan in water. Huge idols with lot of artistry are created. Prayers are done with lot of joy and enthusiasm. Ganesh Chaturthi co-incides with Sanvatsari for Shwetamber Jains. A day after the Ganesh chaturthi, the Das Lakshan  of Digamber Jains start and culminates after 10 days. The last day of Das Lakshan and the Visarjan or Immersion of  Lord Ganesh, again co-incide on the same day. This close proximity of important festivals for  Hindu and Jain religion highlight the close evolvement of  Jain and Hindu religions. Indians believe very strongly in the rising moon’s energy to enable their tasks. In Jainism, the fifth day of the rising moon period is considered highly auspicious for obtaining the right and true knowledge, and knowledge being the central tenet of Jainism, hence all good things start on the fifth day of the rising moon, and that explains in my view, why Das Laxan starts on the fifth moon day and ends on the anant chaturdashi (14th day) near full moon day, enabling all to maximize their spiritual learning and progress, aided by the good vibrations during a rising moon period. Intermingling of rituals, religions and customs makes one think, that all religions are part of the same truth, viewed differently and having a common goal of liberation.

As a young child, my grandmother would make gor jaggery ladoo from leftover roti. Chuma ladoos which come originally from Rajasthan, were either fried in ghee or made via bati(cooked in oven) and made with sugar. Obviously the more ghee or fat, the more tasty it is going to be! But since we are going the healthy way, I resorted to cooking chapati/bhakri and added the bajri pearl millet to make it even more healthier. The crunch comes from semolina, which maybe avoided if you have bhakri atta which is a little more granular than normal wheat flour for roti.

The covering of poppy seed and added flavor of nutmeg,cardamom and cashews bring more texture , taste and color to an ordinary jaggery ladoo. By not frying it in ghee, we have reduced the fat content to half, so thats a big thumbs up for healthy alternative in this recipe.

Through this post on Healthy Churma Ladoo with Wheat and Pearl Millet, I would like to invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesh and may all good things come your way and  convey Micchami Dukkadam from my side to all Jain Shwetamber/Sthanakvasi readers of this blog!

 

Recipe makes about 15 ladoos

Time to Prep : 7 min

Time to cook : 30 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour for roti
•  or 2 cups whole wheat flours for bhakri
• 1 cup semolina rava( not to be used if using bhakri flour)
• 1 cup pearl millet flour
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup ghee unmelted
• 1 cup sliced jaggery
• 1/4 cup cashew pieces
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 7-8 strands of saffron

Method

• Mix the flours, milk and water and knead all into a stiff dough.

• Divide the dough into six parts and make balls.
• Roll the dough into a slightly thick rounds as in Bhakhris.
• Indent the rolled dough with end of the rolling pin, so as to cook well.

• Heat a thick griddle on a low-  medium flame.
• Cook the bhakri on medium flame, so that is in not too stiff, and also not too soft.

• Cool the bhakris and break them into pieces.

• Crush the pieces into a food processor into fine granular crumbles.(the below  image is after mixed with ghee)

• Heat the ghee.
• When the ghee melts, add jaggery, nutmeg, cardamom and stir till jaggery melts on low flame.

• Pour this melted ghee into the crumbled roti pieces and let the mixture cool.
• Once it is at bearable temperature, start making round balls.

• The first level will be rough, and you will have to go over two three times to get a smoothened finish.
• In a small deep bowl, or in  shallow plate, sprinkle poppy seeds and roll the ladoos in them.

• The amount of poppy seeds should be based on how thinly or thickly you want the ladoos to be covered with poppy seeds.
• Heat 1 tbsp of water in microwave and add saffron strands to it. Leave if for 1-2 minutes and decorate the ladoos with saffron water.
• Enjoy and invoke the blessings of the the lord!

Tips

Ensure that the rotis are not too stiff after cooking , as that will leave sharp pieces and it will not not give a smooth texture. If after mixing in ghee, it still feels hard, just do another round in food processor, till it reaches the fine texture. Do taste the sweetness before making them into ladoos.

If not using semolina, you can make it like roti and crush into finer pieces, this will make it more softer.

If finding it difficult to gather into a ball, add some more ghee as required.

Instinct Factor

Combining the wheat and pearl millet was instinct based, as this is how my mother eats bajri no rotlo at home. And the need was there to consume bajri on a regular basis.

When you mix the ghee, you should be able to able to gather it firmly into a ball using your fist. It might need some pressure and 2-3 rounds of going over the ladoos to get the texture right.

If you want to kick it up, hide some pennies and dime, for little kids to get attracted to eating these churma ladoos!

Feel Factor

Memory of my maternal grand mother allaying my feeling of being separated from my mom, even  for a short while. through this mouth watering churma ladoos , which she used to make from leftover chapatis. And I would instantly be all calm and happy! Re living those moments with a healthier version of the same. Healthy Churma Ladoo Jaggery Sweetballs with Wheat and Pearl Millet are  attractive and I enjoy the saffron and nutmeg flavor in this mix along with jaggery.  Not to mention that I am significantly less guilty of eating this quintessential Ganesh Chaturthi dessert! A great way to intake pearl millet, jaggery, ghee , nutmeg, all appropriate things for the incoming fall and winter! For a devotee, Lord appears in all places, so it seemed to me in this pic of Healthy Churma Ladoo Jaggery Sweetballs with Wheat and Pearl Millet, Ganpati Bapa Morya!!

 

 

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