Category: Indian

Savory butternut squash

I have been making an effort to eat local and eat what is in season. To help with this initiative, I only shop at the farmer’s market as much as I can. The only exceptions are curry leaves and mango.

My kids sometimes complain that I always find some type of squash in the market, they are right, you will always find some kind of squash in the market. The butternut squash is typically available in fall. The market I go to, one farmer carries organic apples and different kinds of squashes. I love butternut squash since it holds its shape fairly well even after cooking.

When I was ready to cook this squash, my friend Hrushikesh posted this recipe. This recipe reminded me of the subji that is served as a Prasad ( a blessing) at a a very famous temple. I visited it when I was in 7th grade. I fondly remember sitting on the floor and eating this subji with thick whole wheat rotis on a plate made with dried leaves. I did not know what Bio degradable or compostable meant, now I appreciate that plate even more.

So I decided to try the recipe right away and the outcome was delicious. It can be easily tweaked to be eaten as a fasting food as well.

Savory butternut squash

Pumpkin Subji

Ingredients

3/4 kgs of pumpkin chopped in squares of about 2″ x 2″ (peels on)
3/4 cup grated dried coconut
1 tbsp Poppy seeds ( खसखस )
2 green chillies finely chopped
2 medium sized dried chillies
1 tbsp cashews chopped
10-15 fenugreek seeds
2 tsp Corriander powder
1 full stem of curry leaves
2 tbsp Raisins
1/2 cup of water

For tempering
1 1/2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
A pinch of asafoetida

Method

Peel the squash and cut in cubes.

If you are using pumpkin, you can leave the skin on as it helps keep the cubes intact and does not get mushy.

Heat the oil in a wok. When hot, add cumin seeds, turmeric powder and asafoetida.

Add the raisins, curry leaves, green & red chillies, cashew nuts, fenugreek seeds,poppy seeds and roast it for about 2 mins.

Now add 1 tsp of corriander powder (the remaining 1 tsp goes in at the end) and roast it for another minute or slow on a low flame.

Add a few drops of water if it starts to burn.

You can add more chillies if you like, since the squash has its natural sweet taste, sugar or jaggery is not required
Now add the cut pumpkin cubes, there’s no need to steam it as these cubes do get cooked well.

Add 1/4 cup of water and cover this with a lid for about 3-4 mins. Check after that add some more water and let it cook for another 4-5 mins or until done.

Add the roasted dry coconut & 1 tsp of Dhaniya powder.

Cook it till its done.

Serve it hot with roti or Teekhi puris.

Tags butternut squash, cashewnut, easy, fenugreek, healthy, quick

Appetizer Indian Vegetarian

Beets-oats tikki pattice

It was a lazy Friday evening. Although it was gorgeous outside, all of us were super lazy. After a long day of work, that swing was calling out to me, it said come and relax with me with a nice book, may be a glass of wine.

Recently I have been obsessed with Spanish music. I am trying to learn Spanish and listening to the famous Spanish songs helps. My favorite these days, ‘Quizas, quizas, quizas‘by Andrea Bocelli & Jlo, it oozes with romance and feelings of love & longing. The song was playing in the background, which made me want to just close my eyes and relive some very happy moments of the past couple of days.

But it also made me long even more for those moments.

I was willing to give into the temptation, that is when my stomach growled. It said, don’t you want something nice to go with that glass of wine and the book.

I opened the fridge and there was pretty much nothing. I was ready to give up. I said today I am going to be bad and just eat popcorn or cereal or bread and jam for dinner. Just then I heard these beats call out to me, ” hey you got us from the market, remember? You can not ignore us.” So I decided to make something with beets. Just then I rememberd the left over steel cut oatmeal from this morning.

Suddenly I knew what I was going to make.

Ingredients

2 beets

1/2 cup of cooked steel cut oats

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp chaat masala

1tsp amchur powder

1/4 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp chopped cashews

1 green chili chopped

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

2 tbsp sooji or cream of wheat

Method

Grate the beets and squeeze out the excess water. You can add that your smoothie or soups.

Mix all the ingredients except the sooji and mix thoroughly. All the spice proportions are per our taste, you can change as you like.

Take a plate and spread the sooji on the plate.
Make lemon size balls with the beet batter and flatten it out. Make sure you wet your palms so that the dough does not stick.

Dip the patties in the sooji and shallow fry till golden. Make sure you cook on a medium flame so the beets have a chance to cook.

Dips

I love making these dips. They come together in minutes and are perfect for such appetizers.

Smoky paprika dip-

Take one chipotle chili( I use the one from the can, that comes in the adobo sauce). Chop it fine and mix with yogurt. Add some roasted cumin powder and salt and the dip is ready.

Mint- garlic dip-

Take chopped mint and one small crushed clove of garlic and add to a bowl of beaten yogurt. Mix well and add salt to taste.

I am enjoying these with a glass of wine, my feet up on these pillows. What more can one ask for?

Condiments Indian Maharashtrian Pickles & Chutneys

Cilantro pesto-Dhaniya chutney

Post author By Anagha
Post date September 25, 2015
No Comments on Cilantro pesto-Dhaniya chutney

Do you know anyone who has the ability to just brighten up the room the minute they enter in. It is their smile, genuine nice attitude or even the way they crack jokes, they just makes the situation nicer.

I cherish such friends, very thankful to have them in my life.

If I had to relate this back to the food, I think condiments are like these special friends. Anytime if it seems like what you have cooked for dinner is just blah, a nice chutney, salsa, dip can come to the rescue and help revive the meal.

I love condiments of all kinds. I love making yogurt based dips, spicy chutneys, fresh salsas of various kinds. My favorite of all are the spicy condiments.

When my kids were younger everything I cooked was very mild. I am lucky that my kids eat all the vegetables ever since they were babies so I wanted to make sure it stays that way. As a result I would also have to eat very mild food, that was really hard. So I started making chutneys and relishes, these were spicy and complimented the mild food well.

One such chutney is the ‘Cilantro chutney’. You can also call it Cilantro pesto. My friend Uma taught me this one. What I love about this recipe is all the things needed are usually available easily at home. It takes only a few minutes to make and stays well in fridge for a week, although I must warn you, it is so yummy that it barely lasts a day, usually it is cleaned up quickly.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup of washed , cleaned Cilantro
1 tbsp roasted peanuts
2 garlic cloves
8-10 spicy green chilies ( I use thai chilies since I like it spicy)
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp oil

Method

Dry roast the peanuts
Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and turmeric powder
Add chopped green chilies and chopped garlic
Saute for 30 seconds, don’t let the garlic or chili burn or brown.
Add cilantro and turn the heat off. Add salt. Cover and leave it to warm through.
Grind the peanuts to a powder.
Add cooled cilantro mixture and grind to a paste. I like to keep it a little coarse and not grind it super fine.

It can be used in many ways. I love serving it in the pretty yellow bowl. I bought it in Nepal, we visited Bhaktapur darbar. Amongst many other beautiful carvings and handicraft we also got to see beautiful pottery. It was amazing to see the potters turn the wheel and make these beautiful art pieces.

1. Mix it with some sour cream, yogurt or Greek yogurt to make a quick dip. I love it with pita chips.

2. Mix it with butter to make a great sandwich spread. I love to add some sliced avocado and make an open faced sandwich. I also like to add alfalfah sprouts to this, add a nice crunch to this already tasty sandwich.

Tags chutney, cilantro pesto, dip, pesto, spicy, vegan, vegetarian

Appetizer Indian

Stuffed Paneer with Khubani Chutney

Post author By Anagha
Post date September 4, 2015
No Comments on Stuffed Paneer with Khubani Chutney

I love it when a recipe looks like a million bucks, tastes like a trillion bucks and yet it is so easy to put together. I also like the fact that you can prepare parts of the recipe and simply assemble it when you are ready to serve.

Today’s dish fits that description very well. I just love how nicely the delicate flavors of the apricot marries with rich home made paneer. Paneer is a form of a cheese, very similar to ricotta cheese but firmer. It is made by curdling the boiled milk with some acid like lemon juice, white vinegar. It is an integral part of the North Indian Cuisine. You see this a lot in the Nawabi or Moghlai cuisine. These cuisines represent the dishes made for the kings and queens of India.

I love cooking with dried apricots. I love dessert made with dried apricot, another Nawabi dish from the southern state of Hyderabad in India, Khubani ka meetha. I will share that recipe some time soon. I also love making stuffed apricots and Apricot Alomond cake.

Back to our recipe today, I got this recipe from a dear friend Harjeet, a very talented chef. I l love how he put together simple ingredients to make delectable food.

I have also been playing with food photography. I recently bought these pewter plates from a flea market, I have used them in the photo today, I love how they contrast the bright yellow tikka.

Stuffed paneer with khubani chutney

Ingredients:
1 lb Paneer
1 tbsp thick yogurt ( I make mine by hanging plain yogurt in a cheese cloth)
Salt to taste
1 tsp Turmeric

For the paste
2 tsp Mustard oil
1 tsp Yellow chili powder
1 tsp Deegi mirchi power
2 tsp Ginger garlic paste

For the chutney
Khumani (Dry apricot)chopped 3 tbsp

1 tsp Cilantro chopped
1/2 tsp green chili chopped
1 tsp chopped mint
1 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Black salt
1/2 tsp Roasted cumin seed

Methods

Apricot chutney
Boil some water and add chopped apricot and cook them for a while till it becomes soft.
Now add sugar, roasted cumin seeds, chopped ginger, chopped green chillies, chopped mint,black salt, salt,Deggi Mirch.
Cook it on slow fire till chutney thickens and can be easily mashed with the back of a spoon.

For paneer
Make paneer cubes about 3/4 -1 inch thick. Make a slit in the center, make sure you don’t cut it two pieces.
Mix salt and turmeric and coat the paneer with that mixture.

In a separate bowl mix mustard oil, turmeric, ginger garlic paste.

Stuff the paneer pieces with the apricot chutney. Make sure that the chutney is pushed in all the way through so each bite will get a bit of chutney with it.

Cover this stuffed paneer with the yogurt mixture.

Now heat a little fat in a pan and pan seared this stuffed paneer till it gets a nice golden brown color.

Tags appetizer, delicious, dried apricots, Indian, moghlai, mughlai, nawabi, paneer, paneertikka, shahi, tikka, vegetarian, yummy

Appetizer Chicken Fusion Healthy foods Indian Side dish Sprouts Vietnamese

Chicken tikka vietnamese Spring Rolls

Post author By Anagha
Post date August 5, 2015
3 Comments on Chicken tikka vietnamese Spring Rolls

When I have an idea in mind, I can not rest easy until I execute on it. One such idea was variations on the Vietnamese Spring rolls. I wanted to try making an Indian version, I thought it would go really well with the concept.But before we talk about that recipe, let me tell you my first encounter with these spring rolls.

The first time I ate these spring rolls when I was pregnant with my first child. I had a terrible time with the morning sickness and could not keep anything down. Around that time we were invited to my husband’s colleagues wedding reception. The bride and groom both were of Vietnamese origin and so at the celebrations the food served was Vietnamese.

Forget eating and enjoying, I could not even stand the smell of most of those things. It had a lot of fish sauce,and all kinds of meat. Everyone tried to see what I can eat, offered so many things but nothing felt right at that time. Then someone got these interesting looking things that they called ‘Spring rolls’. They were nothing like the ones I knew from back in India. They did not look fried and almost looked transparent. I loved those..I loved the fresh basil and mint and the crunchy bean sprouts… it was perfect.

I have been making these for a while now and love making variations.

Today’s variation has a Indian touch. The meat used is the pickled chicken, I think it compliments the fresh mint and cilantro.

This recipe for the Achari chicken is a perfect addition to the fresh ingredients of the spring roll. You can also use chicken tikka or any other nicely seasoned meat. I have made this with marinated Tofu/Paneer to make the vegetarian/vegan version. It tastes just as well.

Ingredients:

Chicken:

3/4 lb boneless Chicken ( for vegetarian option use Tofu/Paneer)
2 ½ tablespoons Achari Masala
1/4 lb Hung Yogurt (this is basically yogurt hung in a cheese cloth)
1 tablespoon refined flour
2 tablespoons Mustard Oil

Other ingredients

Bean Sprouts
Few green lettuce leaves
Thin rice noodles, cooked according to the packet
Julienned carrot
Few mint leaves
Few cilantro leaves
Few Rice paper sheets

Method:

Heat Mustard Oil in a 10 inch nonstick pan until it smokes.
Add Achari Masala to the pan. Cook the spice mix for 20 seconds, then remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes.
In a glass bowl, mix yogurt and cooked spices well. Make sure to include the oil.
Cut cubes of chicken & marinate it with the pickled curd marinade for minimum 60 mins.

Now cook the chicken on medium flame, add refined flour and cook for 8-10 mins. Once cooked evenly, keep it aside.

Assembly

Dip the rice paper in cold water for 5 seconds. Take it out and shake off the excess water. Make sure you use cold water and also don’s leave the rice paper in the water for too long. Although when you take it out, it might still feel stiff but it does soften up.

Lay the wet rice paper flat on a board. Layer all the ingredients. In works the best to start with a piece of lettuce, this helps provide a base and stability to the roll. Now continue with the rice noodles, Chicken, sprouts, carrots, cilantro, mint.

Now roll like a burrito making sure that no vegetables are poking out. We want our spring roll to look pretty.

Make sure that you keep these covered so they don’t dry out.

Cut in half and serve. Depending on the flavor of the chicken you can pair with the right sauce. For example when I make it with an indian flavored chicken, I serve it with a Tamarind-date chutney.

Tags achaar, chicken, fresh, healthy, pickle, sprouts, vietnamese spring roll

Curry Healthy foods Low GI Maharashtrian Vegetable curries/daal Vegetarian

Simple Buttermilk Spinach curry

Post author By Anagha
Post date July 27, 2015
No Comments on Simple Buttermilk Spinach curry

As you learn more and more about Indian cuisine, you will notice that not only every region has its own cuisine and delicacies but also different food is made at different occasions.t is believed that different food bring in different qualities to your body and mind.For e.g. whenever there is a religious occasion, typically food is cooked without onion and garlic.

Yesterday was one such special day, it is believed that Lord Vishnu the creator goes to sleep on this day. A lot of Indians keep a fast on this day.

Today I decided to make a meal which had no onion or garlic. My kids love Indian food, so decided to make their favorites.

This particular curry is very typical of a brahmin household. In brahmin cuisine, you will see heavy usage of milk products along with ginger and Cumin. This recipe can be made with any of the greens except Fenugreek, I feel that it tastes way too bitter.

Ingredients

2 cups of cleaned washed and chopped Spinach leaves

1/4 cup raw peanuts

2 tbsp Chana daal

1 cup Buttermilk ( If you don’t have buttermilk you can use Yogurt blended with some water)

2 tsp Besan ( Chick pea flour)

1 green chili, split in two pieces

1 clove of Garlic ( optional)

1 pinch of Asafoetida

1/2 tsp Jeera ( Cumin Seeds)

1 pinch of Sugar

Salt to taste

Oil or Ghee for tempering

Method

Soak the peanuts and Chana daal in water for 30-40 mins. Add some salt and set aside.

In a pressure cooker add some water. In a steel pot add the chopped spinach with 2 tbsp of water and the bowl with soaked peanuts and daal.

Pressure cook for 2 whistles.

When the cooker is cooled down, take out the spinach and mash with a ladle or your hand.

Mix in the cooked Peanuts and Chana Daal.

In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk with the chickpea flour, sugar and salt. Make sure there are no lumps of chickpea flour. Add water if needed to make a mixture that is like a thin smoothie.

Add this mixture to the spinach mixture.
Now you can make it two ways. You can make Tadka ( tempering) in a pot and add the spinach mixture and cook. Or, cook the spinach mixture and then temper it later. Both work great.

First method:

Heat oil or ghee in a sauce pan. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and saute for 10 sec. Add green chilies, and chopped garlic( if using). If you add garlic, leave out the Asafoetida.

Saute till the Garlic is a little browned.

Add the Spinach mixture and cook on a really low flame, stirring frequently. Cooking on a low flame ensure that the buttermilk does not curdle and allows the Chickpea flour to cook completely.

Here is the second method:

Cook the spinach mixture in a pot.

Make the tempering in a ladle. I use the iron one. I love it since it has a long handle and does not get hot, and it helps me get some extra iron in my diet.

Add the tempering ( oil mixture) to the cooked Spinach mixture

Add chopped cilantro and serve.

If you want to serve it with rice, you can make it a bit thinner. If you want to serve it with Roti/bread, you can make it a bit thicker.

I love eating it even on its own. It tastes great hot or cold.

Tonight I served it with whole wheat roti( Indian bread), sautéd Tondli and home made cultured butter.

Tags buttermilk, curry, healthy, spinach

Andhra dessert Indian

Saffron Crostini with Beet Halwa

Post author By Anagha
Post date July 14, 2015
No Comments on Saffron Crostini with Beet Halwa

These days there are so many cooking channels, blogs, cook books, pinterest, instagram…you name it. There are many ways to get new recipes and learn about new cuisines. I am part of a couple of facebook groups and learn a lot from there. One such groups is Sikandalous Cuisine. The admin does an amazing job of bring together like minded people who love to make and eat good but most of all they all love to share what they know. I love that part. There are some chefs on that group that are super talented, have worked in Five star restaurants and even have books published. It is very inspiring to see them share their knowledge with so much humility. One such chef is Saransh Goila, he recently published an amazing book and shared some of the recipes from this book on this facebook group. This dish is am amazing combination of taste, colors and textures. Today’s recipe is Saransh Goila’s recipe. This sounds and is a little time consuming, but I think when you taste the end product, you will think it was worth the effort. Also, I like the fact that you can prep ahead and make the rabdi & halwa. The day you want to serve it, quickly make the toasts and you are ready to impress the guests.

Saffron Toast with Beet Halwa

Beetroot Halwa

500 grams Beetroot, peeled and grated 3 cups milk ½ cup condensed milk 2 tablespoons ghee (Clarified butter) 1/2 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder 4 drops rose water / essence Rabdi 2 cups of whole milk 10 strands Saffron 3 teaspoons milk Toast 10 pcs. Bread slices 2 tablespoons Ghee/Clarified Butter 2 tablespoons Sugar Method: Beetroot Halwa: Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan, Add the beetroot to the pan and saute on medium flame for 8 – 10 minutes. Once it is tender, add the hot milk and keep stirring till it reduces and becomes thick. Add the condensed milk, 1 tbsp ghee and cardamom powder and mix well. When the halwa is cooked and becomes thick, add the rose water and mix well and keep aside. Rabdi: Now in 3tsp warm milk mix saffron strands.. After 5 minutes add Rabdi to this saffron milk and simmer for 2 mins. Rabdi will get a beautiful saffron colour. Toast: Cut bread slices into bite sized round/ square shapes. I used a flower shape cookie cutter. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pan and add 2 tbsp sugar to it. Once it’s hot and sugar starts to melt. Start cooking the bread slices until they’re golden brown from both sides. This is exactly what I do when I make another yummy Hyderabadi Dessert ‘Shahi Tukda or Double Ka Meetha’ Assemble the dessert, spread saffron rabdi on toast, place beetroot halwa on top of it and serve. I also made a variation by rolling the bread slice and cutting it in circles. I stacked them with rabdi and halwa. There is no doubt that you need patience to make the rabdi and the halwa, but the taste is surely worth it.

Tags beet, condensed milk, dessert, white bread

Curry Tamil Uncategorized

Kozhi Korma – a delicious curry with southern indian flavors

Post author By Anagha
Post date June 22, 2015
No Comments on Kozhi Korma – a delicious curry with southern indian flavors

Kozhi Korma

When I came to the US of A, I barely knew how to cook. I still remember my first attempt at making a ‘Capsicum- Potato’ stir-fry, it was a disaster. I underestimated how big the bell peppers were and created more of a mess than a stir-fry. I used to call my Mom practically every day to ask for recipes, and call to India would cost $1.2. I think I used to spend just as much money on phone calls for making dinner as I spent for groceries. Internet was not available so the only source was cook books and of course, Call Mom.

Fast forward a few years, internet came along and so did Facebook. I sometimes wonder how we lived our lives before the internet was around. I love being able to learn about different cultures, their traditions and rituals, and naturally along with that their cuisines. I love sharing what I have learnt and along the way learn a few things from people who are generous enough to share their knowledge. I am learning how to bake, how to take good pictures and so much more.

One such source is a Facebook group I am part of, it is all about honest to goodness food. Many talented chef are part of that group and share some amazing tried and tested recipes. One such recipe is ‘Kozhi Korma’, my co food lover Harjeet shared it.

It is amazingly easy to make but very very yummy. It uses very basic ingredients that you would have in your pantry and comes together very quickly. I like the fact that it comes together in less than 30 mins.

Ingredients

1 lB chicken ( I prefer using boneless since my family likes it that way)

3 Tablespoon Oil
2 Teaspoon Ginger chopped
3 Teaspoon Garlic chopped
3 Tablespoons Coconut milk
2 Teaspoons Green chili chopped
2 Teaspoons Chopped coriander
10 Curry leaves
4 Tablespoons Onions chopped
4 Tablespoons Tomatoes chopped
1 Teaspoon Aniseed
1 Teaspoon Mustard seeds
1″ Cinnamon
5 Cloves
Salt to taste
1 Teaspoon Turmeric
3 Teaspoons Coriander power
2 Teaspoons Red chili powder
2 Teaspoons Tamarind pulp
1 Teaspoon Curry powder

Method

Heat oil in a Lagan add mustard seeds,cinnamon,clove & curry leaves
Add onion and sauté for them for a while.

Now add chicken along with chopped ginger, garlic, green chili & stir fry for a while. Add all dry spices and sauté them for a while,add some water and cook till chicken is little tender.

Kozhi Korma 4

Add chopped tomatoes and add coconut milk. Add tamarind pulp and check for seasoning.Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with steamed rice.

Kozhi Korma 3

Tags chicken, chicken curry, coconut milk, curry leaves, easy

Cakes dessert Fusion Indian Mexican

Thandai leches cake

Update : March 2021

This time I made this recipe as cupcakes in these cute clay pot silicone molds, they look exactly like how the Thandai is served in India for Holi

I love deserts especially when they involve dairy :). So when I first ate ‘ Trés Leche Cake’, I fell in love with it. All this while I had eaten cakes that were that were like a pound cake so I could not get over the fact that this cake was so moist and yummy, my Aai also loved it and we knew we had to make it at home.

Usually I try to make something special for my close friends’s birthdays. This very good friend celebrates her birthday in April which is also the time when Indian celebrate ‘Holi’ , the festival of colors.

As you know I love to put an indian twist on dishes. As I was making this cake around Holi, I thought why not make this cake with ‘Thandai flavors’!

Thandai is a milk based drink made on Holi. The literal meaning of the word is ‘ a cooler’, something that cools the body. It is perfect for Holi since that is summer time in India. To make Thandai, a paste is made with various spices and almonds etc and then mixed in sweetened milk. It so served in small clay cups. The paste has nuts like almonds and some interesting seeds like watermelon & cucumbe which had creamy sweet taste, and spices like black pepper add some heat. You can even make a dry powder of the ingredients and store it in a container.

So back to my cake. It is a basic sponge cake soaked with goodness of the wonderfully flavored Thandai Milk. It is actually ‘Quatro Leche Cake’, you will see how. The batter has the dry Thandai powder and the soaking liquid has the paste, the result is perfectly moist and delicious cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Sift flour with baking powder & salt.

Mix the Thandai Masala with the milk.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for 1min till they start becoming a but frothy.

Add sugar and beat till soft peaks form.

Add one yolk at a time and keep whisking.

Add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively.

So it will be something like;

1/3 cup flour ,1/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup flour ,1/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup flour

Take a baking pan and butter and flour it well. It is very important since that will ensure that the cake comes out of the pan in a clean way.

I also put a parchment paper for extra ease.

Now pour the batter in the prepared pan. Make sure the pan in at least 10 inches round or even 9x 13, if you take a smaller pan the cake is too tall and the liquid does not get absorbed very well.

You can also make cupcake with this batter

Bake for about 30 mins until the knife comes out clean.

Let the cake cool on a stand for about 30 mins.

Now the fun part.

Mix all the liquid ingredients.

Transfer the cake to a deeper dish, large enough to hold the cake and also hold all the liquid volume.

Poke a lot of holes in the cake

Now pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly paying extra attention to the edges.

Keep it in fridge ideally overnight. I feel that it allows the cake to take in all the liquid and develop some harmony.

As you can see the entire amount of liquid is all absorbed.

Frosting

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup of powdered sugar ( optional)

Whip the cream with or without the sugar until soft peaks form.

Now the bestest part

Serve yourself a nice big slice. Turn some nice music on.

Sit down and enjoy the cake.

I have made the cake toppers with brown edible clay. Filled it with the milk mixture and topped with the whipping cream.

Ingredients

Cake

4 eggs at room temperature separated
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 Pinch of salt
2 tbsp Thandai Masala you can buy it in any store
1/2 cup whole milk.

Milk mixture

1 14 oz can of condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 – 3/4 cup of ‘ Thandai Syrup’

Frosting

1 Cup Heavy whipping cream
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Tsp Saffron

Topping

3 Tbsp Dried Rose petals
3 tbsp Chopped pistachio
1 tbsp Fennel seeds

Instructions

For the cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Sift flour with baking powder & salt
Mix the Thandai Masala with the milk.
Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for 1min till they start becoming a but frothy.
Add sugar and beat till soft peaks form
Add one yolk at a time and keep whisking.
Add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively

Prepare the pan

Take a baking pan and butter and flour it well. It is very important since that will ensure that the cake comes out of the pan in a clean way.I also put a parchment paper for extra ease
Now pour the batter in the prepared pan. Make sure the pan in at least 10 inches round or even 9x 13, if you take a smaller pan the cake is too tall and the liquid does not get absorbed very well.
Bake for about 30 mins until the knife comes out clean.
Let the cake cool on a stand for about 30 mins

Milk Mixture

Mix all the liquid ingredients.
Transfer the cake to a deeper dish, large enough to hold the cake and also hold all the liquid volume
Now pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly paying extra attention to the edges.
Poke a lot of holes in the cake
Keep it in fridge ideally overnight. I feel that it allows the cake to take in all the liquid and develop some harmony.

Frosting

Mix the saffron thread in milk
Mix this with the whipping cream along with the sugar
Whip till soft peaks form
Frost the cake

Topping

Sprinkle all the toppings and enjoy

Tags cake, holi, holi dessert, holi sweets, sponge cake, thandai, tres leche

dessert Indian

Lychee Phirni with a touch of orange blossom

Post author By Anagha
Post date April 29, 2015
2 Comments on Lychee Phirni with a touch of orange blossom

I am born and brought up in India so me liking dairy based dessert is very natural. Most of the indian dessert have dairy in them in some or the other form. The famous rosogulla has paneer, which is like fresh cottage cheese. Gulab jamun have ‘khoya’, which is milk boiled till it is a semi solid clay like texture. The famous mango lassi has yogurt. So you see my love for dairy based desserts is but natural.

When the weather starts warming up, I like to make dessert that are cool. So today’s dessert is perfect in the summer months.

It is an indian equivalent of ‘arroz con leche’. The recipe is simple and the ingredient list is small. 🙂

I love playing with flavors, so decided to put a twist of this traditional Phirni. I love the intoxicating perfume of ‘ orange blossom water’. It is typically used in Mediterranean dessert. I love adding it even to my bath water. I buy it from a local middle eastern store and use it very regularly. Also, I love adding surprises to my dishes. When you think of Phirni, you don’t anticipate anything crunchy. I feel that this addition goes really well with the rest of the components and adds a clear element of surprise and variety of texture. I add chopped Litchi to my Phirni.

It does take time and patience but it is not complicated at all. It uses the ingredients that are typically available in homes.

Ingredients

1/2 gallon of whole milk

1/2 cup of rice, soaked for 30 mins( I have used basmati)

1/2-3/4 cups of sugar

1 tsp orange blossom water

1 can of lychee chopped

Method

Take milk in a heavy bottomed pot and heat on a medium flame until the milk comes to a boil. Make sure you’re stirring constantly so that you do not get a skin formed on the top surface and the milk does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

This is where your patience comes into picture, you must store patiently on low flame unto the milk is reduced to pretty much half of its original volume.

While the milk is boiling, grind this soaked rice with very little water. Make sure you do not make a paste. You do want a mixture that is granular.

Now add the rice mixture to the milk in a steady stream. Make sure you’re starting the milk as you add the rice make sure so that no clumps are formed. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, take the mixture on a spoon and check if the rice is cooked.

Now add sugar and keep starting and cooking until you get the desired consistency. Remember the mixture will thicken as it cools down so make sure you do not cook it too much. If you end up with a very thick mixture after it is cool down, You can add a little bit of milk to thin it down.

Once the mixture has come to the room temperature, add the chopped the lychee pieces and the Orange Blossom water.

Serve chilled.

Tags arroz con leche, dairy, dessert, Indian, vegetarian