Buttermilk Ranch Biscuits

Keeping kitchen waste minimal is my policy and I try really hard to not throw anything, if I can help it. This recipe came out of that philosophy. Found a bottle of delicious buttermilk ranch in my refrigerator, past the best by date and I knew we would not be eating all of that on salads anytime soon. I searched and found this great recipe for buttermilk ranch biscuits and gave it a shot. Impressed! Turned out to be crunchy on the outside and soft inside with just a hit of the ranch flavor. If you would like to try it, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup - All Purpose Flour
1/2 tablespoon - Baking Powder
1/2 tablespoon - Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup - Unsalted Butter (Cold and cut into cubes)
3/4 cup - Buttermilk Ranch (If you don't have this, take just buttermilk and add 4 tablespoons ranch or if you have no ranch, add any of these to give it some flavor : 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp pepper powder, 1 tsp chili flakes, 1 tsp onion powder or/and 1 tsp garlic powder)
1 tablespoon - Unsalted Butter (Melted)

Method:
Heat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the cold cubes of butter and using your fingers mix well till you get a crumbly mixture. Make a well in the center, pour the buttermilk/ ranch and stir till just combined. Then knead lightly till it all comes together into a soft dough. Make lemon sized balls, flatten and arrange on the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 -12 minutes. In the meantime, combine the melted butter with 1tablespoon ranch and mix well. After 10-12 minutes, brush the tops and let bake till top of the biscuit is golden which should be 2-3 minutes.

Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

Whole Black Urad Idli with Onion Sambhar

Idli by itself is healthy and melt in the mouth but this recipe takes the healthy a notch higher. I made this batter using whole urad dal so we get the extra fiber. The color obviously is not white but a beautiful grey.

For this you will need -

1/2 cup - Whole black Urad Dal
1 Cup - Idli Rava

Method -
Soak the whole urad dal for 6-8 hours in normal temperature water. If the water is too cold it will take longer to absorb the water and soften. Then grind it to a fine paste with water. To this mix the idli rava and give it a very good mix. Mix for at least 5 minutes to incorporate as much air as possible. The consistency of the batter must be like a thick smoothie. Enough water to allow the batter rise but not too much to disturb the fermentation process.

Leave the mixed batter in a warm spot for 8-10 hours. The batter should rise nicely. Now, you can pour the batter into idli moulds and steam. Tastes best with piping hot onion sambhar and a dollop of butter.

For the onion sambhar -

1 Onion - Sliced
1 Tomato - Cubed
1/2 cup  - Toor Dal soaked for 30 minutes
1 tspn - Mustard Seeds
1 tspn - Asfoetida
2-3 tspns -  Sambhar Powder
1 sprig - Curry Leaves
1 tspn - Turmeric Powder
1 tspn - Roasted Fenugreek Powder
1 tspn - Tamarind Extract
1 tspn - Jaggery
2 - Dry Red Chilies
Salt as per your taste
3 tspn - Ghee

Method -

Pressure cook the dal and keep aside. In the meantime, in a thick bottomed vessel, heat ghee, add mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. Now add the red chilies, curry leaves and asfoetida. To this add the sliced onions and fry till they are translucent. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, salt and sambhar powder. Fry for a minute. Add the cooked dal, mix well. Add the tamarind extract and enough water to get the consistency you like. This sambhar must be a bit thin so it can be poured on to the idlis. Give it a good boil, for about 4 - 5 minutes. Finally add fenugreek powder and jaggery and mix well.

Alternately, you can season the sambhar in the end by heating ghee and adding mustard seeds, a couple of red chilies, few curry leaves and asfoetida. And adding this on top. 

Mysore Pak

The quintessential sweet for all occasions. A melt in your mouth delicacy from Mysore, this sweet is made with just three ingredients. But it is only an experienced cook who can get the consistency just right. A minute delayed in taking it off the flame and it will be hard as a stone and a minute early will end up sticky and gooey.

Practice and be patient and once you learn to make this, you will be deemed the best cook in the family!

For this you will need -

1 cup - Gram Flour (Besan)
2 cups - Pure Ghee (melted)
1 3/4 cup - Sugar

A plate that is greased with ghee on to which you will transfer the mysore pak to cool.

Method -

Take a thick bottomed kadai and roast (no oil/ghee added) the gram flour on low heat till it emanates a beautiful aroma. For one cup, it should take about 3-4 minutes. Once done, transfer this to a bowl.

In a deep bottom pan, take the ghee and keep on low flame.

In the same kadai, take the sugar and just enough water to just submerge the sugar. Heat and bring to a syrup consistency. An easy way to check if the consistency is right is take some water in a shallow dish and pour a drop of the syrup in it. It should remain as a syrup and not dissolve away. Or another way is take a drop (once you blow and cool) between your thumb and index fingers and when you separate them there should be a thread of sugar between your fingers.

At this point, add the roasted gram flour and keep stirring ensuring no lumps are formed. A few small lumps are inevitable and benign :) Keep stirring for about 4-5 minutes. Now start adding the hot ghee, one ladle at a time and keep stirring. So the ghee will get incorporated into the flour mixture. Keep adding and keep stirring till all the ghee is incorporated. If a little bit of ghee is left and you think you have added enough, let it remain. Once all the required ghee is added, keep stirring and after a few minutes it will start to bubble and froth and leave the sides of the kadai. At this point, transfer it to the greased plate. You will have a window of about 2-3 minutes.

Once on to the plate, just pat the entire plate on the floor/ kitchen platform to flatten the burfi. After a minute, cut them into desired shapes, ensure you cut it when it is hot else you won't be able to :)

Once cool, eat and enjoy!

Raagi Halbai

This is a traditional authentic sweet from Karnataka. It is made with just three ingredients and a lot of patience. A healthy and scrumptious dessert I think it is!

For this you will need -

1 cup - Jaggery (powdered or broken into small pieces)
1.5 - 2 cups - Coconut Milk
4 - 5 tablespoons - Raagi flour
Optional -
Pinch of cardamom powder (I didn't add this)
2 teaspoons - Ghee

A plate smeared with ghee (on to which the ragi halbai will be poured to set)

Method -

I recommend using a non stick kadai or a thick bottomed vessel.

Heat the jaggery with about 1/4 cup of water to form a syrup. In the meantime, mix the raagi flour with the coconut milk little by little ensuring no lumps are formed. Once the jaggery has all melted, strain it if you think the jaggery has impurities. I didn't have to strain it.
Reduce the flame and mix the coconut milk, raagi flour mixture to the jaggery syrup and mix well. On a medium high flame, keep stirring this mixture till it thickens. After about 10 minutes, the whole mixture will develop a beautiful shine and it will glisten, stir for another 5 minutes. It is important to continuously stir or else you will end up with a lumpy yucky mass. At this point if you wet your fingers and touch the mass, it shouldn't stick to your fingers. This means raagi halbai is ready. The mixture will also begin to form like a dough and not stick to the kadai any more. At this point you can add the cardamom powder and the two spoons of ghee. Give it a final mix and pour the semi fluid mixture on to the greased plate. Allow to cool and cut into desired shapes!

Serve chilled.

Bombay Sandwich

I just got a panini press and am super excited! Before anything fancy, I had to make the good ol' scrumptious Bombay sandwich. It's so simple and perfect for a cold winter-y day or a wet rainy day.

For this you will need

Green Chutney ingredients -
10-12 twigs - Cilantro
8-10 twigs - Mint (Leaves Only)
1-2 - Green Chilies (Depending on your spice level)
A pinch of Chat Masala
A pinch of Salt
1/4 juice of a Lemon

1/4 - Boiled Potatoes
1/4 - Sliced or chopped Red Onion
1/4 - Sliced Tomatoes
1 tbspn - Salted/Unsalted Butter
A pinch of Cumin Powder
A pinch of Chat Masala
2 Slices Whole Wheat Bread

Method -

Butter both the slices of the bread. Spread a spoonful of green chutney on one slice. Top with boiled potatoes, onion and tomato. Put cumin and chat powder. Cover with second slice and apply a little butter on the top as well. Heat on the grill for a minute. Serve with ketchup!

Flan or Caramel Custard

A delectable and sinfully sweet dessert just for all you sweet people out there. I have always wanted to make custard at home and this is the second time I made it. Successful on both attempts! It is not as difficult as generally said, as long as you are careful with mixing the warm milk and the eggs. This time I made in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker). You can also bake it in the oven but is a bit more complex then.

For this you will need -

2 Cups - Whole Milk
1 Tbspn - Vanilla Essence or 1 Vanilla Pod
4 Eggs
2/3 Cups - Sugar

1/2 Cup - Sugar for making the caramel

Method -

Heat the milk on medium heat with the vanilla. Bring it to just boil state that is small bubbles start to form along the edge. Take off the stove and keep aside. Then take the 1/2 cup sugar in a non stick pan and heat on medium to high heat. You can add one tablespoon of water if you like but the sugar will caramelize faster without the water. DO NOT STIR but make sure it doesn't burn by stirring the entire pan. Keep stirring till you get a beautiful golden color. This should take about 5 - 7 minutes. As soon as this is done, switch off the gas and pour the caramel into the vessel in which you plan to make the flan. This is crucial as the caramel will start to thicken pretty fast. I used a glass circular bowl. Once you pour the caramel, turn the bowl to coat the caramel along the sides as well. Let it cool.

In another medium sized bowl, beat the eggs and the sugar (2/3 cups) till you get yellow ribbon like consistency. Now add the warm milk to the eggs slowly. First a small trickle so the eggs don't cook and then a more steady pour. Once you pour all the milk, mix well and pour the custard into the caramel coated bowl.

For pressure cooker, pour one or two cups water in the cooker and place the heat proof bowl over a trivet or stand. Cover with aluminium foil to avoid condensation on top. I actually forgot the foil and it was fine but foil will make it safer. Pressure cook for 15 minutes in Instant Pot or 3-4 whistles in a regular pressure cooker. Allow pressure to release naturally and then take the bowl out. Cool on counter for about an hour and then in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours. Remove the custard by running a knife along the side of the bowl and turning it upside down on a plate.

If cooking in an oven, first create a water bath by pouring water in a deep dish into which your custard bowl will fit. Put about an inch or two of water. Place this in a preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake for 40-50 minutes till set. Set meaning the color will turn cream like and the texture will be jiggly :)

Kadai Vegetable

One of my favorite dishes from an Indian restaurant is kadai vegetable. For one, it is filled with the goodness of all kinds of vegetables and the vegetables are crunchy. The sauce is just adequate to coat the veggies and it is tangy and spicy. A perfect dish to eat with rotis or naan.

For this you will need -

1 tablespoon - Oil ( Any odorless)
1 teaspoon - Grated Ginger
1 teaspoon - Grated Garlic
1 No. - Onion (small sized) Cubed
1/2 No. - Green Pepper Cubed
1/2 No. - Yellow Pepper Cubed
8 - 10 Nos - Green Beans (Chopped into inch sized pieces)
1 No.  - Carrot (Chopped into inch sized pieces)
10 -12 No. - Broccoli Florets
1 No. - Potato Cubed
1/2 Cup - Pureed Tomato
1 tablespoon - Ketchup
1 teaspoon - Turmeric Powder
2 teaspoons - Coriander Powder
1 teaspoon - Red Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon - Amchur Powder
1/2 teaspoon - Garam Masala Powder
1/2 teaspoon - Kasuri Methi
Salt as per your taste
A dollop of butter

Method -

Steam the chopped beans, carrot, broccoli and potatoes either in a cooker (one whistle and quick release) or outside with a pinch of salt. In the meantime, put a slit tomato or two in water and boil for 10-12 minutes. Then cover and let it stand for a few minutes. Once cool, grind the tomato without the water into a fine paste. Then, in a kadai (wok), heat oil. Once hot, add the ginger, garlic and onions. Saute for a couple of minutes and add the peppers. Saute for 5 - 10 minutes till the onion and peppers are just cooked, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Now add the tomato puree. Saute a few minutes and add the steamed vegetables. Add the ketchup, turmeric, coriander and chili powders. Saute well on medium to high heat. Add the garam masala and amchur powders too. Reduce heat and cover the veggies. Allow to cook for 5 - 7 minutes. Then turn off the gas and add the kasuri methi. Finally add a dollop of butter on top.

 

Sandesh

This is another delectable sweet from West Bengal, a vibrant eastern state from India. Sandesh is also made from paneer. The method to make paneer is on this blog post. It is always preferable to make paneer at home for the fresher the cottage cheese the better the texture of your sweets. Of course if by some miracle you have access to real fresh paneer, then go ahead and buy that.

Sandesh is one of the easiest sweets to make and can be presented in very interesting ways. Here's one with rose petals looking so royal!

To make paneer, you will need. -

4 cups  - Whole Milk
2 tblspn - White Vinegar (mixed with 2-3 spoons of water)
Muslin Cloth

Once you have paneer, you will need -

1 cup - Sugar
Rose petals and rose essence (half a teaspoon)/ Saffron infused in milk/ cardamom powder

Method -

Knead the paneer really well for about 15-20 minutes. After kneading for 15 minutes, add sugar little by little and incorporate it into the paneer. You can reduce the quantity of sugar if you think it is too much. After that, take a wok or a wide bottom vessel and on low flame sauté the paneer sugar mixture for 4-5 minutes till the raw smell disappears. You can avoid this like I did when I made with the rose flavor. If you sauté, then sandesh will last longer, else you will have to eat it within a couple of days.

Now add the rose essence or cardamom powder if you are using any of these. Mix well. Make small balls and press flat. For rose sandesh - you add rose essence and garnish with fresh rose petals. For cardamom sandesh - just add the cardamom powder. For saffron sandesh - once you have shaped the sandesh, drizzle the saffron infused milk on each sweet. I did sauté the paneer while making the saffron ones, you can see the difference in the texture.

Serve warm or cold.

 

Honey Cake With Chocolate Ganache, Pecans And Strawberries

Luscious, golden and gooey - honey is one of my all time favorite ingredients. A spoonful of honey is something I have enjoyed all my life and my son loves it too! When I came across this recipe, I was delighted. A dear friend of mine posted the pic of her honey cake and I could already feel it's taste on my tongue! If this is not temptation, I don't know what is!

For this you will need -

250gm - Unsalted butter at room temperature
220gm - Honey
4nos - Eggs
150gm - Flour
150gm - Ground Pecans (you can use hazelnuts too)
1tspn - Baking Powder

For the ganache -

100gm - Dark Chocolate (70%)
1tspn - Butter
100ml - Single Cream
A handful of chopped pecans (or hazelnuts)
Strawberries - chopped in half

Method -

Pre heat the oven to 160deg C. Grease and dust a 24cm springform cake tin. Put a layer of parchment paper on the bottom.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter till light and fluffy. Then add the honey and beat till they combine. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the ground nuts and flour, making sure not to over mix. The dry ingredients just need to be folded in.

Spoon the mixture, level with a spoon and bake for about 45-50 minutes till the cake is completely baked. One can check by inserting a toothpick which should come out clean.

As the cake cools, melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl or on a double boiler. Once melted, add the butter and the cream, in a steady stream. Mix well. Allow to cool a little and it should thicken a little.

Take the cake out of the pan and pour the ganache over it and allow to over flow just a little. Sprinkle the chopped nuts along the edge and the strawberries in the center.

 

Avocado Chapathis with Soya Nugget Curry

These chapathis are super easy to make and need the fewest of ingredients. There is one caveat though - use all the dough at one go. Otherwise the avocados will oxidize. However the chapathis can be stored up to a day.
The soya nugget curry is a great accompaniment to these. Spicy, succulent and finger-licking good!

For the chapathis, you will need -

Atta (Flour) - 2 Cups approx.
Avocado - 1
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp.
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp.
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp.
Salt - 1 tsp.
Water - About 1/2 a cup (depends on the flour )
Oil - 1 tbsp.

Method -
Mix all the ingredients except water and oil. This should form a semi-dough. Now add water little by little till you get a soft dough. Finally add the oil and incorporate it nicely into the dough by kneading it well. The dough will be very soft and such a treat to handle. The buttery texture of the avocados gives the dough a loving personality :)

Now make balls the size of your fist approximately and roll the out. You will have to use some flour for dusting. I tried making perfect circles but did not really succeed!

Cook it on a flat griddle, on both sides.

For the curry, you will need -

Soya Nuggets - 1/2 Cup
Red Onion - 1/2 finely chopped
Ginger - Garlic Paste - 1 tsp.
Green Chilies - 1 fine chopped
Tomato - 1 fine chopped
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp.
Curry Leaves - 4
Salt as per your liking
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp.
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp.
Sambhar Powder - 1 tbspn.
Coriander Leaves - A Handful, finely chopped
Oil - 1 tbspn.
Water - 2 Cups

Method -

Boil the water with a pinch of salt and as it begins to boil, put in the nuggets. Allow to boil for 4-5 minutes. Then turn off the heat and close the lid on the vessel for another 5 minutes. Then thoroughly wash the nuggets in cold water. This will take away the raw smell of the nuggets.
Heat oil in a wide bottom vessel. Add mustard seeds and wait for it to crackle. Then add curry leaves, onions. Sauté for a minute or two and add chilies, ginger-garlic paste, salt and turmeric. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Now add tomatoes, cumin and sambhar powder.

Note - If you don't have sambhar powder, add one teaspoon each of coriander, pepper and garam masala powders.

Sauté really well till the oil frees itself from the gravy. Now add the nuggets and half a cup of hot water. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

 

Chocolate Swiss Roll

Here's a wonderful secret I am letting you in on. This absolutely sinful dessert has no flour and no butter. Yes, you read that right! I was shocked too when I read the recipe but it is true and it is one of the best looking and definitely best tasting desserts I have ever made. Without further ado, I present to you, the exquisite chocolate swiss roll.

For this you will need -

15in by 10in Sheet Pan
6 - Eggs
120 gms - Baking Chocolate (semi sweet)
50 gms - Sugar
1 1/2 tspn - Vanilla Extract
1/8 tspn - Salt
250 ml - Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tblspns - Sugar
6-8 - Fresh Strawberries (blended), if planning to finish the Swiss roll the same day, else use
2- 3 tblspns - Strawberry Preserve

Method -

Prepare the sheet pan by lining with parchment paper and then applying butter on top.

Separate the yolks and the whites when the eggs are cold. Wait for thirty minutes to let them come to room temperature.

Ensure that your mixing bowl is dry and free of any dirt. Put the whites and start beating till it begins to froth. Now add the salt, just a pinch and keep beating till you get soft peaks. Since my mixer has only one bowl I put the beaten egg white in a different container, if you have two bowls, then leave the egg whites in the bowl you mixed.

Now, take the yellows and beat till you get beautiful ribbons when you lift with a spatula. Add the sugar and keep on beating till mixed. In the meantime break the chocolate into small pieces.

Melt in microwave on high for 45 seconds or when the chocolate just melts. Do not over heat, it will ruin the texture and burn the chocolate. Alternately, heat in a double boiler that is boil water on the cooktop and put the chocolate in another bowl placing it on top of the boiling water. The steam from the water will melt the chocolate. This will take longer but will definitely not burn the chocolate.

Add this melted chocolate and vanilla extract and beat till mixed. Now fold the whites into this mixture, making sure not to over mix but be sure to mix them well. Pour this batter on the sheet pan and spread it out evenly. Bake at 180deg C for 15 minutes. It won't rise much. It shouldn't.

It will come out looking quite sad but don't be fooled by it's looks. To prepare the icing, beat the whipping cream with sugar, vanilla and strawberries (fresh or preserve) till soft and fluffy. To ensure a good icing, have all utensils and ingredients cold, straight out of the refrigerator. Spread the icing evenly on the cake after it has cooled.

Now, start to gently fold the cake from the shorter end. It is easier from this end. If you want a longer roll, then you can fold from the longer end. I have never tried that. A little bit of the cake may stick to the parchment paper, that is fine. Once rolled, use the remaining icing to spread on the outside and as much as possible underneath too.

Cut into beautiful slices and serve.

 

Rose Apple Tarts

My friend's mom is an innovative and adventurous cook. She keeps posting her delicacies on Facebook and this was one of her recent posts. They looked so divine, I had to try it. They are super easy and super quick to make. I bet you can impress anyone with these!

For this you will need -

1 Cup - All Purpose Flour
1 - Red Apple
2 Tbspn - Sugar
1 Tbspn - Honey
3 Tbspn - Water
1/2 Stick (approx. 50g) - Butter

Method -

Cut apple in half and remove core. Then slice each half into thin slices. Put these in a vessel and add the honey and water. Now cook these slices for about 3-4 minutes till just soft. Don't overcook as then they won't retain their shape at the next stage.

In a mixing bowl, add the butter, flour and sugar. Mix with a tablespoon of the apple water to form a soft dough. Refrigerate this for 15minutes.

Then, take it out and roll out to about 1 inch thickness. Once rolled, cut out strips of about 2 inches width. Take one strip, place it horizontally in front of you and then place about 4 -5 apple slices, overlapping, along its length. Try not to get any liquid. Now gently roll this to automatically form the shape of rose. Place gently in a muffin wrapper.

 

 

Continue doing the same for the rest of the slices. Bake these at 350 deg F for about 15 - 18 minutes. Once baked, glaze with honey and dust icing sugar.

 

 



Whole Wheat And Oat Bread

Warm fresh bread with soft butter and a dash of pepper sprinkled on top is something I just can't resist! The one time I was in Paris I went crazy just looking at all he breads that the bakers would display in the morning and from that time I have wanted to make bread. I did make it once but that was before I started blogging and then for some reason or another never tried making it.
Another reason for me to make bread is that my dear husband eats bread every morning. I feel like instead of serving store bought stuff, it would be so heartening for me to bake and give him fresh home made goodness that is healthy and delicious!

So here it is. This is a really simple recipe.

For this you will need -

2 Cups - Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 Cups - All Purpose Flour
3/4 Tspn - Active Yeast
1 1/2 Cup - Warm Water
1/4 Tspn - Salt
1/4 Cup - Oats
Olive oil just to smear the bowl

Method -

Take warm water in a large bowl and add yeast to it. Let stand for about five minutes so the yeast begins to do what it does best, froth! Then add the salt and the flours. Take a plastic or wooden spoon and mix toll you get a wet sticky dough. Lift this dough and smear the olive oil inside the bowl. Replace the dough and cover with muslin cloth. Keep this in a warm place for about two hours. The dough should rise and double in size approximately. Don't panic if it doesn't double in size. As long as it grows a little bit it is good.
If you are making this is summer or in a tropical place, you may want to check the dough every 30 minutes, once it has risen enough you are ready for the next step.

Then roll and knead the dough with oats and more flour so as to incorporate the oats and to finally have a dough that is not sticky. Shape like a an American football, dust with flour (to retain its moisture) and let it rest for about an hour and a half.

Pre heat the oven to 425 F and then make about 3 - 4 cuts of about an inch on top of the dough. Place this on a baking sheet on a baking tray. Place the dough on the top rack and on the bottom rack place another baking pan with hot water in it. This will help the crust to be a little more soft and the bread moist too. Make sure to use a metal or iron baking pan for the water, not glass or ceramic. Bake for about 25 minutes, till golden brown on top! Serve warm with butter or jam or just plain!

This wonderful recipe that I slightly tweaked is from - http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-homemade-wheat-bread/ Great blog, do check it out!

 

Kale With Coconut (Kale Thoran)

This green is tough! I had not tried cooking it till recently because I wasn't sure what I wanted to make with it. Then my parents dined at a Sri Lankan restaurant where they tried kale with coconut and they loved it. So there it was, my inspiration! A favorite specialty, of mine, from Kerala is their thoran, sort of a stir fry. So I decided to make thoran out of kale.

For this you will need

1 Bunch - Kale (I used the curly green)
1 Tablespoon - Coconut (I used frozen and thawed grated coconut)
3-4 pods - Garlic
2 Teaspoons - Red Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon - Turmeric Powder
2 Teaspoons - Cumin Seeds
Few Curry Leaves (Optional)
1/2 Red Onion - Fine Chopped
1 Teaspoon - Mustard Seeds
2-3 Teaspoons - Oil
Salt as per your taste
A pinch of sugar

Method -

Chop kale as fine as possible. In a flat bottom pan add the oil. Once hot, add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the chopped onions and fry till they turn light pink.

Now add the chopped kale, a pinch of sugar and salt. Toss, cover and let cook for a couple of minutes. In the meantime, blend the cumin, coconut, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garlic and curry leaves coarsely. Not a fine paste and do not add water. Once the kale is cooked, add the ground mixture, toss and serve.

 

Paneer, Rasagulla and Rasmalai!

The process for making Rasmalai is quite long and along the way I will tell you how to make the famous Indian cheese, paneer and another sweet Rasagulla. Rasagulla and Rasmalai are delectable sweets from the eastern state of West Bengal in India. Bengalis have perfected the art of making light, airy balls of paneer (cheese from India) and filling every globule with sweetness! Rasmalai especially is a rich dish with few ingredients but needs some skill and practice. It has a smooth after taste that leaves you wanting for more :)

For this you will need -

4 Cups - Milk ( I used whole milk)
2 Tablespoons - White Vinegar ( mixed with 2-3 tablespoons of water)
Muslin/ Cheese cloth

1 Cup - Sugar
4 Cups - Water

1 Tin - Condensed Milk
2 Cups - Whole Milk
Nuts - Almonds and Pistachios roughly chopped (I used only almonds)
5-6 Strands - Saffron (Optional)

Method -

Bring the four cups of milk to a boil, stir occasionally to avoid burning the milk at the bottom. Once it starts to boil, add the vinegar and water mixture little by little (say in about three parts). Keep stirring and the milk fat will separate out leaving whey water behind. Some people use lemon for the same purpose but I prefer vinegar as lemon has a very strong flavor that the resulting paneer will take. It should look like this.

Use the muslin cloth to separate the paneer from the whey water. Don't throw the whey water as it is quite rich in nutrients. Use it to make curries or to cook rice in or to make the dough for rotis or drink as such with a pinch of sugar. I didn't get a picture of the paneer but basically wait for the entire water to drain out by hanging the muslin cloth for about 20 minutes and then squeezing out as much of the water as possible. You will be left with a nice soft ball of white cheese.

Now, the hard part. Knead the cheese really well for about 15 minutes. You will know it is ready when you can make smooth balls out of it. I should have kneaded a bit longer! For the quantities mentioned, you should get about 20 balls. Make small balls as they double their size when cooked. Flatten them slightly for rasmalai or leave them round for rasagulla.

 

 

Now in a thick bottom vessel, make the sugar syrup with one cup sugar and four cups of water. When the syrup comes to a boil, add the balls. Cook on medium high, do not reduce the flame. Cook for about 15-20 minutes till the balls double in size. Which means ensure you have a big enough vessel in the first place to accommodate the fully blown balls!

 

Cool and serve chilled as Rasagullas! As they cool, their size does reduce a bit, don't worry about that.

For Rasmalai, heat two more cups of milk with the saffron strands so the saffron hue spreads throughout the milk. Then add the condensed milk, you can change the quantity of condensed milk depending on your liking of sweetness and thickness. I used a whole tin! We are a sweet toothed family! After about five minutes, slightly and gently squeeze the rasagullas and put it in the milk. Add the chopped nuts and cook for about 10 minutes so the milk infuses into the cheese balls.

Serve chilled!

 

 

Fish Curry - Kerala style!

Kerala is a beautiful coastal state in the South of India abundant with food from the ocean, spices and coconut trees! Its cuisine is a unique combination of spices and coconut cooked in special earthenware combined with meat, fish or vegetables.
This is a most flavorful and aromatic fish curry which should ideally be cooked on an open flame in a mud pot on the beach! But oh well, not all dreams come true all the time, for now have this picture in your mind and create this magical dish in your very own kitchen!

For this you will need -
10 - 12 - Medium sized pieces of any fish (ideally ocean fish)
3 tbspns - Fresh grated coconut
1 tspn - Turmeric Powder
2 tspns - Red Chili Powder
3 tspns - Coriander Powder
1 tspn - Tamarind Concentrate diluted in water
1 tspn - Roasted fenugreek powder
A small piece of Onion or 2 pearl onions
Salt as per your taste
4 tspns - Coconut Oil


Method -

Take a teaspoon of oil in a small pan and roast the coconut till nice and golden. Make sure not to burn it :) It may take about 8 - 10 minutes.

To this add the turmeric, red chili and coriander powders and fry for a couple more minutes.

Allow to cool and grind to a fine paste with the onion.

Now take the vessel in which you want to make the curry and three teaspoons of oil. Once add the ground paste and fry for a minute. Add water to make it into a gravy consistency and let boil nicely. At least for about 10 minutes. Then add the fish pieces and cook for another 10 minutes. Once the fish is cooked and has taken in all the flavor from the gravy, add the tamarind water. Cook for a couple of minutes, add salt and the fenugreek powder. Allow the gravy to thicken to your liking. Turn off the heat and serve with hot rice.


 

Rave Dose

The last few months were absolutely divine for me. For a change, I didn't have to cook but could savor all the choicest delicacies. Thanks to my mom-in-law and then my mom. While all the eating was so good, I was so lazy to post anything.
Alas, now life is back to normal. Cooking by me and only me. However I have come up with a trick to ensure that I don't see cooking as a chore. Will talk about that in my next post.

After a long break, here's an out and out Karnataka special. So mouthwateringly delicious, no one can eat just one :)

For this you will need -

1 Cup - Fine Semolina (not roasted)
1/2 Cup - Yoghurt ( vary the quantity such that the semolina just gets coated with the yoghurt)
1 Cup - Rice Flour
3 Tbspn - Maida (All Purpose Flour)
2 Tspn - Cumin Seeds
1 - Green Chili (fine chopped)
1 Inch - Ginger (grated)
A handful of Coriander (Cilantro) leaves, fine chopped
Salt as to your taste
Lots of water
Oil - A couple of spoons
Optional - fine chopped onion

Pan - Tava or flat griddle


Method -

Mix the semolina with the yoghurt and let it rest for 10 - 15 minutes. Then add the rice flour and Maida and add water little by little. Keep mixing ensuring that no lumps are formed and bring it to the consistency of buttermilk. Now add the salt, cumin seeds, chili and ginger. If you like add the onions too. The batter is ready.

 

Heat the tava on medium heat. You can check if it is hot enough by sprinkling a few drops of water and it should sizzle and evaporate. Once hot, pour the batter from just above the tava without trying to spread the batter with the spoon. That will give the lacy look to the dose which is it's prime characteristic! Spread a teaspoon of oil all around the dosa. Once it begins to turn golden brown flip it and cook for about 30more seconds.

Serve hot, can be eaten as is, my son loves it! Or serve with coconut chutney and bisi bisi kaapi :)