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Uncategorized

Sandesh- a message of love

I am a die-hard dessert fan. I love to end my meal with  tiny morsel of sweet. It does not have to be fancy , even a small piece of jaggery (palm sugar) works wonderfully.

I enjoy good cakes and pastries once in a while but my weakness is all the milk based desserts. Indian dessert are mainly milk based, and one particular region in India makes some amazing varieties. West Bengal is a state in the eastern India. Kolkata (Calcutta) is the capitol which on a side note was also the capital of ‘British India’.  West Bengal is known for many things, the ganges delta, the artistic talent, culture, and many famous personalities like Rabindra nath Tagore, Swami Vivekandanda to name a few.

Bengalis ( as the people from Bengal are referred to) are connoisseurs, be it poetry, music or food. Some of my favorite musicians are from this state.

Coming to food, Bengalis know how to enjoy food and like all other states in India, food is an integral part of the celebrations, festivals. One of the biggest festival is Durga Pooja, a festivals that is celebrated to mark the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon.

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Durga painting by me

The diet from this region is rice centric and fish is an integral part. Ganges delta produces some amazing produce and of course the fish. More on this later

Back to desserts, my husband, Abhi, is not a huge dessert fan but even he can not say no to Bengali desserts. His favorite, Ras Malai. He is my partner in crime in everything, he supports me in every possible way and truly is a Life partner, through thick and thin. I am so lucky to have him in my life

We are celebrating our anniversary soon. He some how figures out the most perfect thing (or things) to give me. This year, I have received 2 gifts so far and I have a feeling that there are more to come.

I have always been obsessed with learning about food and culture from different cuisines. Old recipes, forgotten ingredients and stories associated with them, I love it all. Abhi knows that well, so this years two gifts have been 1. Spice from Kashmir 2. A mold from West Bengal . He did not have a lot of time on hand but still made sure to go and look for this for me. It says it all, he remembers and makes an effort

Now about the mold ( or mould), I am fascinated by the various molds used across the world and I am collecting them. More on that later .

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Abhi knew that I have been looking for Sandesh molds ever since I saw them, so when he visited Kolkata he remembered and brought some back for me. Those molds may not cost a lot but they are price less for me. It goes to show how well he knows me, how well he remembers what I like, and how much he love me to get such little things in his busy schedule.

I was sitting in the backyard having my morning chai, thinking about what to make for anniversary, and then I thought why not use the gift he got me.

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So today’s simple recipe is dedicated to our love- ‘Pyaar ka Sandesh’ which translates to ‘a message of love’. How appropriate I thought for the special occasion.

I know some of you might think it cheesy, well it is. It is after all made with fresh farmstead indian cheese. 🙂

What is Sondesh/Sandesh/Sandes, it is a sweet or confectionary that is made from sweetened Chenna. Chenna is a cottage cheese made from whole milk and curdled using lemom/lime juice or vinegar. This forms a base for many Bengali desserts that Abhi and I love.

Sandesh dates back to many years ago where possible a different version of Sandesh was made, however it is said that the Portugese influence might have introduced the current ‘cheese’ based version. Its a very versatile recipe, can be made quickly and flavored easily.

Today I have made a very basic Sandesh, clean and simple like our love and flavored with Orange Blossom. Orange blossom is one of most favorite fragrances along with saffron.


I followed the recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor’s web site

Prep Time : 31-40 minutes

Cook time : 16-20 minutes

Serve : 4

Level Of Cooking : Moderate

Taste : Sweet

Ingredients

  •  8 cups Whole Milk

  • 1/2 cup Granulated or powdered Sugar

  • 1/4 cup Lemon juice

  • 1/2 tsp Orange blossom water

Method

Step 1

Bring the milk to a boil in a deep, thick-bottomed non-stick pan. Add the lemon juice and stir till the milk curdles. Strain and immediately refresh the chhenna in chilled water.

Step 2

Put the chhenna in a piece of muslin and squeeze till all the water is drained out.

Step 3

Knead the chhenna well with the heel of your hand. Add caster sugar and  knead again.

Step 4

Cook in a non-stick pan on medium heat for eight minutes. Remove from heat and divide into twelve equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball and make a dent on the top.

Step 5

When cooled,add the orange blossom water. Shape using the mold or roll them up to a desired shape.

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Categories
bread Fusion Jewish Maharashtrian

Til-Gul Babka Jewish Indian bread

Nothing is more appetizing than the smell of freshly made bread. Be it the fresh roti that is made right on the stove top or a loaf of bread baked in the oven.. it calls everyone to the kitchen and around the dining table. I am not much of a baker, I do bake cakes occasionally but it does not come to me naturally. I feel cakes are way easier than the breads, when you start baking breads, you are going closer to the science than art.

After MasterChef, one of the goals has been to bake more often and since my family is not too much into the cakes, and I like to challenge myself, I am planning to bake more breads and try new techniques.

January is one of my favorite months. This is the month of resolutions, new beginnings and many more things. One of the things is Hurda, its my most favorite thing on this face earth, and this is the time we celebrate Sankranti. This is the only festival in Maharashtra that is based on a Solar/Gregorian calendar, rest of them are all lunar calendar based. Sankranti is celebrated on the 14th of Jan, and other parts of India celebrate this festival with different names, Pongal in southern India, Bihu in Eastern India, Uttarayan in Western India and Lohri in Northern India.  The common theme is great food and happiness and most of the  sweets  are made from Sesame seeds and Jaggery. Both these foods create ‘heat’ in the body and hence eaten during this winter season.

Going back to my baking breads, as you know, I love combining flavors. I had seen this sesame bread recipe on pintrest and that is also my source of inspiration today.So I decided to make this bread which is fit for the Sankrant and something new. Here it comes;

Til Gul Babka

 

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I know right, it sounds crazy but tasted yummy, if you are into sweet breads, you might want to give it a try. This recipe is quite versatile and can be easily made into a savory bread as well, all you have to change is the filling and you are good to go.

I had read about this technique of ‘Tangzhong‘ and decided to try using it with this bread. I think it definitely helped keep the bread very moist. Tangzhong is a a Japanese technique, it makes for a very sticky dough that is very tricky to handle, but thats what makes for the very soft final product.

Tangzhong is nothing else but a paste made with flour and water, you cook it to almost a roux like consistency. You cool it and mix it in the dough.It sounds so simple and it is, but let me tell you, it created incredibly soft almost pillowy bread.

I think I am so in love this technique that I think I will end up using in everything I bake. 🙂

Back to the recipe

Ingredients

Tangzhong

  • 50 g  Flour
  • 1 cup milk

Bread dough

  • 350 g Bread Flour ( about 3 cups)
  • 1/2 salt
  • 65 g sugar ( about 1/4 cup)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup warm Milk
  • 2 tsp Yeast
  • About 1 cup Tangzhong
  • 1 egg for egg wash

Filling

  • 1/2 cup Crushed Jaggery ( you can use dark brown sugar if you can not find jaggery)
  • 1/3 cup roasted peanut
  • 4 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • 4-5 Tbsp ghee ( or softened unsalted butter)

Method

Making Tangzhong

  • Mix in the water and flour to form a good slurry
  • Cook it on low flame till it thickens. It should be a little less thick that a mashed potatoes. One way to check is if you stop stirring, does the mixture stays in circles and you can see the bottom of the pan
  • Take it off the heat, cover with a plastic wrap, making sure it touches the surface of the paste. This will ensure that no crust forms
  • Cool the Tangzhong to use later

Making the filling

  • Grind all the ingredients except the ghee and molasses
  • Mix the powder in ghee and molasses to make a paste

Making the dough

  • Warm up the milk and add the yeast. Leave it aside for 10-15 mins for it to foam up
  • Until then mix, Flour, Salt, sugar, sesame seeds
  • Add an egg and mix
  • Now add the yeast and milk mixture and mix for 30 secs
  • Add the tangzhong that is cooled
  • Now knead the dough in the stand mixer for 10-15 mins
  • Keep adding softened butter while the mixer is running
  • The dough will be a very wet dough, don’t worry. If the dough sticks to the bottom of the bowl, don’t worry
  • Take a greased bowl and transfer the dough.Let the dough roof for at least 2 hours.
  • I like to proof my dough in the fridge, so I can use it when I am ready
  • The dough should double in size

Assembling it together

  • Punch and deflate the dough
  • Roll it into a reactangle
  • Spread the filling evenly

Shaping the bread

  • Take the rolled log and cut it along the length with a sharp knife
  • Twist the two parts together to form a braid keeping the cut side up
  • Take a bread loaf pan that is greased and lined with a parchment paper
  • Add the dough in it and let it rest for at least 60 mins

Baking

  • Heat the oven at 350 F
  • Brush the dough with egg wash and bake for 25-30 mins in a 350F

Note:

  1. This dough was a little more than a standard bread loaf can handle, so I removed about 1/3 cup dough before shaping it
  2. If you can not find molasses, you can substitute with honey

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Categories
dessert Indian Maharashtrian

Pakatali Poori- Saffron- Lemon flavored bread

I not only love to cook and learn new foods, but also love to learn about the ‘Old foods’. I feel in this era of instant and quick foods, we are missing out on some incredible dishes. We dont know how to use certain ingredients and soon those will become extinct. A lot of the dishes our gradmoms made, have never been a part of the food at our table.

I am thankful to books like Ruchira, we have access to at least a few of the Maharashtrian recipes. Its a book that is given as a wedding gift to every new bride in Maharashtra. I have used it extensively as when I got married, I did not know how to cook. I would call my mom but 1 minute call to India costed $1.90 and there was no internet. So getting cookbooks, going to the library and watching cooking shows was how I learnt my cooking.

Going back to the ‘lost recipe’, this recipe is almost on the verge of it. Today is Vasant Panchami, a day that marks the arrival of the ‘Vansant ( spring)’ season and you also worship Goddess Saraswati on this day.

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 This is a very special recipe because of Baba’s aunt used to make it, and she made it really well. I thought, why not make something I have never made before,after all Saraswati is a goddess of Knowledge, and what better tribute than a new( old) recipe. 

I have made  a couple of small modifications o the original recipe, I mixed half Rava and half all purpose flour, also rolled the poori like you roll the Chirota or Khaja ( another Maharashtrian delicacy)

It is a very easy recipe and you will find most of the needed ingredients at home. 

Pakatali Poori

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Ingredients 

Poori

  • 1/2 cup fine rave
  • 1/2 cup All purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp Ghee ( clarified butter) melted and slightly warm
  • 3 tbsp sour full fat yogurt 
  • Pinch of salt

Syrup

  • 1 cup fine sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
  • Saffron strands
  • Juice of 1 Meyer Lemon

Method

Poori

  • Mix the rave and APF together with salt
  • Add warm ghee and rub it well in the dry mixture
  • Add dahi to make a stiff dough. If the yogurt/dahi is not sour, you can leave it on the counter so it turns sour. It is crucial since that it what gives these pooris or breads a nice taste
  • Let the dough rest for at least an hour. If you have used only Rava, you would need to let it rest for 2 hours
  • After 2 hours, pound the dough, this is necessary to make it pliable. If you have a stand up mixer, you can use the dough attachment to do the work 

Syrup

  • Mix sugar and water and cook till its ‘2 string stage’ *
  • Heat a pan on very low flame, add the saffron strands and slightly roast them. You are just warming them and not quite roasting. Warming them makes them crumbly and hence they mix well in the syrup
  • Add cardamom powder, saffron and the juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Keep the syrup on a low flame, but keep it warm. This ensures that the syrup soaks in the Pooris. If the syrup is not warm enough, it will only create a coat on the outside

Making the Pooris

  • Heat oil in a deep pan
  • You can roll the Pooris like a regular flat bread, or
  • Roll out a big poori. Make a roll and cut into 4-5 pieces
  • Flatten those pieces again to make a poori
  • Fry the poori till golden brown
  • Drain and immediately add them to the warm syrup. 
  • Ater 10-15 mins, take them out and arrange on a plate
  • If you like, you can user slivered almonds or pistachios as well

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Categories
dessert French Master Chef India

Blood Orange-Meyer lemon tart

Master Chef taught me many things and one of them was that desserts are not as difficult to make as they seem. I normally don’t bake as much however the new year resolution is to try to new baking recipes.

Today’s recipe started from my Farmer’s market visit. I went to the market after a long time and as usual got excited and picked up a whole bunch of things. Market is full of citrus and all cold weather vegetables like Kohlrabi, Cauliflower, Ash gourd and so much more. Amongst the citrus, there was blood orange, Meyer Lemon along with pomelo etc.

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Blood orange is a very short season so I try to make as many things as I can while its available in the market. I also make Blood Orange Marmalade to enjoy later in the year. I have not posted a recipe for it , but I promise I will soon. Meyer lemon is another citrus which is so versatile and I love it.

I also found some fresh red chilies. I love cooking with these but most of all I always end up making Harissa when ever I get these in the  market.

When I got home, I looked at my market loot and thought of making use of these citrus and chili to make something that helps me keep with my new year resolution of baking more, so here is what I made.

I love combining flavors and today I decided to play on the classic combination of Chili, Lime ( here lemon), Cumin and sugar. Some how I feel it just makes it perfectly balanced dessert. Blood Orange curd is inspired by ‘Bojon Gourmet’

Blood Orange- Meyer Lemon Tart with Chili Jam

ready-tart

Now you might ask, what is the difference in a Pie Crust and a Tart base. There are two main differences:

  1. How you make the dough-
    • When you are making a pie-dough, you take the fat ( in most cases it is butter), and cut it into the flour to make a bread crumb like texture. You add ice cold water to bring the dough together.
    • For the tart, you make a ‘Pâte Sucrée’, which is basically a sweet short crust. For this, you cream the butter and sugar and then add the flour.
  2. Egg or no egg
    • For the Pie Dough, you use ice cold water to bind the dough
    • Tart dough is an enriched dough with some egg yolks. This also makes the dough a lot more crumbly than the pie crust.

So here now you know the difference, lets make that crust.

Crust

Ingredients

  • 250 g Flour
  • 100 g Sugar
  • 100 g unsalted butter
  • 1 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp coarse ground Cumin
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Method

  • Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer
  • Add the egg and mix well
  • Add the flour, Cumin, and salt mixture
  • Bring it together with a wooden spoon. Don’t overmix
  • Make two discs and wrap it in plastic
  • Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours
Cream Butter & Sugar
Add egg
Dough ready

 

  • Take out the dough and roll it to fit a 9 inch Tart pan
  • Bake it at 350 F for about 25 mins

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Curd

Ingredients

  •  1 tbsp Zest of 1 blood orange
  • 1/4 tsp chopped chilies ( seeds removed)
  • 3/4 cup Blood Orange Juice
  • 3 tbsp Meyer Lemon Juice
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 3 eggs plus
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Method

  • Make a Bain Marie or Double boiler. I use a 2 quart saucepan and fill it with 2 inches of water and bring it boil. I add all my ingredients in a steel bowl and cook it over the boiling water. I feel this helps the eggs from scrambling and you get a smooth curd.
  • Mix both the juices, sugar, eggs, egg yolks and whisk well to combine
  • Cook over a double boiler till the mixture thickens and reaches 160F.
  • I have learnt that using a thermometer makes it easy to know when the eggs are cooked ( from food safety perspective)
  • Now take the bowl off the heat and quickly whisk in the butter pieces
  • Pour it into the cooled tart
  • Bake for 20-25 mins in a 350 F ovenimg_7190
  • Cool the tart in the fridge for at least 4-5 hours

 

Chili Jam

This recipe is super simple and I feel it adds the heat and salt needed to balance this desert.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 chopped red chilies ( try and take out as many seeds as possibile
  • 4 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • a pinch of salt

Method

  • Mix everything and cook on a slow flame till the mixture thickens

 

To serve

Cut a piece of tart.Serve with whipped cream, blood orange supreme and some chili jam

Categories
dessert Fusion Master Chef India

Star Anise Panna cotta with Khubani

This is where my Master Chef  journey began. A very close friend really pushed me to sign up for Master Chef Auditions. The auditions were on Saturday and Friday evening at 7:00 PM I had not idea what I would bring for the auditions. I decided to make this recipe which has been my family favorite. I walked into the auditions with the Panna cotta and heart beating fast.

Star Anise Panna cotta

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 Panncotta is an italian word that translates to ‘ Cooked Cream’. It is such an easy to make dish and yet it is very easily customizable. You can change flavors, pair it with different things and the best part, it looks super fancy.
I tried quite a few recipes till I settled on this one.  It tastes just like the panna cotta served at Italian restaurants. I like to serve it with fruits or even chocolate sauce, or stewed fruits.
Today I have flavored it with one of my favorite spices, Star Anise & served with stewed apricots. In Hyderabad ( India) there is a sweet, Khubani ka Meetha, and my inspiration for  today’s dessert comes from that.

Panna Cotta

Ingredients

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  • 1/2cup  milk
  • 1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin ( I used Knox powder today)
  • 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 6-8 Star anise
  • 5-6 Whole black pepper

Method

  1. Blooming the gelatin: Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatin powder. Set aside.This will help gelatin absorb the milk and mix well
  2. Pound the spices in a mortar and pestle. Keep them coarse
  3. In a saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and sugar, and set over medium heat until it is lukewarm, and set it aside for 1 hour or so. Longer the better.
  4. Setting aside the cream helps the flavors of spices seep into the cream beautifully.
  5. Bring to a full boil, don’t let it over flow. Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved.
  6. Cook for one minute, stir so the gelatin does not form a lump.
  7. Remove from heat, strain and pour into  individual ramekin dishes.
  8. Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature.
  9. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally  overnight before serving.

Stewed Apricots

Ingredients

  • 10-12 Dried Apricot
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 2-3 Star anise
  • 2-3Whole black pepper
  • 1/2 cup water

Method

  • Chop the apricots fine
  • Add sugar, water, spices and apricots in a small sauce pan
  • On a low flame cook till the apricots are softened and the water gets nice and syrupy.
  • Remove the spices before serving

 

Pistachio Rose caramel

Will Update the recipe soon.

To serve

Demold the pannacotta and serve with the stewed apricot. I also love to use candied Pistachio while serving.

 

Categories
Cookies Persian

Cardamom-Pistachio cookie

two cookies

I am not much of a baker. I love making desserts but baking is another beast which I hope to tame at some point. I make cakes, simple ones and I am always thrilled when they come out good. 🙂 I love trying new recipes if I get some inspiration. I love going to different ethnic grocery stores and looking for ideas, I am always amazed at the various new things I learn each time.

One of my favorite grocery store near my home is a Persian/middle eastern grocery store. Any time I go there, I come back with something new and that starts my experimentations.

It is holiday season and holiday means cookies and cakes and all those yummy treats. I wanted to make cookies but did not which one to pick, they are all so tempting. Traditional chocolate chip, oatmeal resin, Italian biscotti, indian nankhatai, german spice cookie to name a few. So I thought why not a take help from everyone and took  a poll on my facebook page.

And majority of you said that they wanted to see a recipe that is ‘something different’ or with ‘innovative flavors’. I thought of many ideas but somehow this one seemed perfect for the time.

Here I present my first Xmas Cookie ( there are man

Cardamom- Pistachio shortbread with orange blossom glaze

Pistachio-orangeblossom

It stole my heart and the whole house smelt like heaven ( and  a lot like Haleh Bakery).

It is so easy yet looks very fancy and eclectic, you can make the dough ahead of time, keep it wrapped in the fridge. When you want, 15 minutes and you will have fresh batch of cookies.

Print

Pistachio Cardamom cookie

Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine Indian, Persian
Servings 4
Author Anagha

Ingredients

Cookie dough

  • 1 1/2 Cups All purpose flour
  • 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1/2 Tsp Salt
  • 1 1/2 Stick Unsalted Butter cut in cubes About 12 tbsp
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Pistachios, slightly toasted and chopped
  • 1 unit Egg Yolk, you can use chilled milk for vegetarian option)
  • 1/2 Tsp Ground Cardamom

For Glaze

  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Unit Egg White You can use 1 Tbsp Milk instead
  • 3/4 Tsp Orange Blossom water ( you can use Rose water as well)

Instructions

Cookies

  1. In a food processor pulse the pistachios, cardamom and flour till the nuts are a little chopped

  2. Add powdered sugar and pulse more

  3. Add the butter and pulse till you get breadcrumb texture

  4. Add the egg yolk/cold milk. Keep pulsing till the dough comes together

  5. Take the dough and roll it into a log. 

    Keep the log in the fridge for a couple of hours for the dough to harden

Baking

  1. Pre heat the oven to 325 F

  2. Slice the log into about 1/4 inch thick pieces and bake for 15-17 mins.

    Let it cool completely.

Glaze

  1. Mix all the ingredients to make the glaze.

Decorate

  1. Take the cooled cookies, top with a small amount of glaze, decorate cookies with sliced pistachios, dried rose petals, saffron strands.

Categories
Cuisine dessert French

Profiteroles with coffee cream and drizzled with coffee-chocolate sauce

It is my daughter’s birthday today. She is a smart, sweet and very caring  girl. She also has very diverse and sophisticated palette. So when I asked her what kind of cake she wants for her birthday, she said,” Mom, can I have profiteroles instead of a cake this year?”.

This is what prompted me to make the profiteroles today. I had watched Anne Burrell make these on one of her shows and had scratched  down her recipe, this is my take on her recipe. The ingredients are very simple, yet the result is a fancy pastry.

Profiteroles is a french pastry made with a french pastry dough, Choux Pastry. 

Choux pastry is an easy to make versitile dough. You can make many things like eclairs, cream puffs using this dough. It is light and airy and is perfect for filling it up with whipped cream or ice cream.

Profiteroles

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Equipment needed:

Food processor, a pot, wooden spoon, whisk, pastry bag with a large tip

Ingredients:

1 cup of milk

1 stick of unsalted butter

1 cup flour

1 pinch of salt

4 eggs

 

For the filling:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 tbsp powdered sugar

1 1/2 shot of espresso

 

For the chocolate sauce:

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 shot of espresso

Method:

Take a sauce pan. Heat milk and butter till the butter is melted. While the mixture is heating, get the food processor ready and the eggs cracked in a bowl/cup. As soon as the butter is completely melted, add flour all at once and cook on low flame for about 2 mins. When the mixture starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, take it off the heat.

Transfer the hot mixture to the food processor and start it on a low speed. Add one egg at a time to the hot mixture and keep processing till a nice homogenous mixture. The dough will be sticky but don’t worry.

Preheat the oven to 425 F

Fit a pastry bag with a large tip, I have used a large star tip but round works just as well.

Fill the mixture in a pastry bag.

Take a baking tray lined with parchment paper. If you get pointy tips, with wet finger you can just gently tap it down.

Pipe some mounds on the parchment paper. The first time I made these I made them too flat, I would recommend making them taller so you can fill it up with a scoop of ice cream easily.

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Now bake these in the oven for 20 mins. Once the baking is done, let them sit in the hot oven for another 7-10 mins. Take them out and let them cool.

I have seen some recipes where you bake them in a high heat oven like 425 for a few minutes, which helps form the crust and then bake in lower temp like 375 for 12-15 mins for it to cook through from inside. 

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Once these are cooled,you can cut a slit and  they are ready to be filled with some yummy cream or ice cream.

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For the filling:

Take a little bit of cream and make sure that all the sugar and the espresso are dissolved well in it. Now add the remaining chilled whipping cream and whip till you get a nice and firm cream.

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In the meantime, in a microwavable glass bowl take the chocolate chips. Melt them according to the package instructions, mine asked me to heat it at 50% power for a min and then in the increments of 15 secs there on, stirring each time. Alternatively, you can also use a double boiler to melt the chocolate.

Once the chocolate is melted, add the espresso and cream to make a smooth chocolate sauce.

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Now comes the fun part…

Take a puffed pastry and fill it up with the coffee whipped cream.

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Drizzle with chocolate sauce and dust with some powdered sugar.

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Yummy profiteroles are ready to be gobbled up.

Note:

If you are using a whipped cream for the filling, instead of making a cut in the pastry,  you can just poke a hole and fill up the cream.

Categories
Condiments Goan Indian Pickles & Chutneys Vegan Vegetarian

Pineapple sasave- sasam

Summer vacations are even more focused on food in my household. We love making new dishes using abundant produce. We all look forward to elaborate meals on the patio accompanied with some jazz in the back ground. I have been meaning to blog this for a long time, but when I was planning the menu today, this just fit right in, so here it is

Last time when we visited India, we visited family in Goa. For those who dont know where Goa is, it is a western coastal state of India. Known for its beautiful vibrant beaches and amazing sea food, this state offers a great cuisine. Since Portuguese settled here, the goan cuisine is influenced by the Portuguese cuisine. There are  some recipes that are typical of the christian household and some that are more  Hindu cuisine. No matter which one you pick, it is great food for sure .

The family we visited, Didi who is the lady of the house, is amazing cook. She had made a spread that we enjoyed so much. Her home is also very beautiful, courtyard, brick walls, it is so inviting and warm. One of the recipes she made is Ananas Sasave- pineapple curry.

PIneapple
Pineapple

In summer, I love cooking with fruits and Pineapple goes so well with so many things. Tangy, sweet I love it in many dishes.

This dish has everything, a bit of sweet, a bit of sour, a bit of spice and everything nice. It is very easy to make and tastes good hot or room temperature. I love to eat it with piping hot rice and a dash of ghee. It is very easy to make, comes together in 15 mins.

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I made this as a part of the meal, prawn curry, raw banana Kaape, rice and papad.

Ingredients:

sasam ingredients
sasam ingredients

 

Paste

1 cup of fresh grated coconut

1 tsp of mustard seeds

1 small piece of tamarind

1-2 green chilies

For tempering

1 tbsp oil ( I used coconut oil)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 pinch of asafetida

1 spring of curry leaves

1 dry red chili

Other 

3 cups of cubed pineapple

1 tbsp jaggery

salt to taste

Method

Make a fine paste of all the ingredients listed under paste. The finer the better, but use as little water as possible.

You can add water later, but try to grind with a little amount.

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Heat the pan and heat coconut oil, make sure you cook on medium heat otherwise the oil can smoke.

Add mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and dry red chilies. saute for a few secs, and add pineapple pieces. Add salt, stir and cook for a few minutes covered.

Add the ground paste and cook on low heat. Add jaggery and taste for salt.

Your sasave is ready.

This dish awakens all the senses, it is  a riot of flavors  in your mouth.

 

Goan Thali
Goan Thali

 

 

Categories
Appetizer Indian Vegan Vegetarian

Soya Pyaaz Ki Seekh kabob

I love summers. Abundant produce, long days and backyard barbecues. I love anything and everything that comes off the grill. The smoky aroma it imparts to the food is so appetizing. We have grilled all the way till October, even when it is raining with an umbrella in the hand, umbrella not for us but for the grill 😉

Today it was a gorgeous evening, the first moon was in the sky. It marks the beginning of Ramdan.  It was not too hot, prefect temperature to have a meal on the patio.


I love summer produce and can almost go vegetarian in summer but then the kabobs call my name, and I melt.

This recipe today sort of helps me be vegetarian on Monday. It is perfect for the #meatlessmondays and the grill.

I love watching all food shows but there are some favorites and master chef is one of them. I loved the indian version more because there was Vikas Khanna and there was Ranveer Brar ;). Recently I got a chance to meet with Vikas Khanna( thanks to a dear friend)


A local organization Women’s now is hosting a cooking competition  and Ranveer will be the judge, so now I can not wait to meet Ranveer.

Today’s recipe is based on his recipe. I made a few tweaks, it is a keeper


Ingredients

1.5 cup soya chunks or 1 cup granules

1 large potato

1/2 onion finely chopped

1-2 green chilies chopped

1 tsp Shahi Jeera

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp crushed coriander seeds

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1 pinch cardamom powder

1-2 drops of liquid smoke

A few mint leaves chopped

Cilantro chopped

Salt to taste

Method

  • Boil the potato, peel and mash well.
  • Soak the soya chunks in hot water for 15-20 mins. Drain and squeeze out excess water.
  • Pulse in the food processor to get a minced meat like consistency.
  • In a pan heat the oil, add jeera when the oil is hot. Sauté for a few seconds.
  • Add the chopped onions and chilies and sauté on medium heat till brown.
  • Add these onions to the soya mixture along with potatoes and rest of the ingredients.
  • Make patties and shallow fry in a pan or make long rolls and shape lo a kabob on a skewer. Cook till crispy outside.
  • Remember everything else is cooked so make sure you don’t let the kabob dry out.

I served it with a Rose-strawberry coconut smoothie with chia seeds, it seemed to somehow compliment the colors of the sky.

Categories
Chicken Curry Indian

Lighter butter chicken or pulled chicken in curry sauce

We as a family love chicken. It provides a great source of protein and can be cooked in many ways. Any who knows anything about the indian food knows one dish for sure, ‘Butter chicken or Chicken tikka masala’. My kids love CTM  as well. However the standard recipe for the sauce for CTM or BC is loaded with cream.  I saw this recipe Sharmishta posted and took inspiration to make a lighter version of CTM.

Often times when you make chicken breast it tends to dry out and then it is no fun to eat. The steps in this recipe ensure that you have a moist chicken.

For CTM, the chicken is grilled and made into Tikka and then added to the sauce, here we will try to bring in some of those flavors using another shortcut.

I am learning Spanish and I am obsessed with it. So to practice while I am cooking, just for fun, I have listed some ingredients in Spanish.

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Ingredients

For the chicken stock:
1 lb Boneless Chicken breast piece flattened with a kitchen pallet
1 onion cubed
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2″ pc of ginger
Few cilantro stems
Whole garam masala (cloves , cinnamon, cardamom and star anise)

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For the sauce:
2-3 Onions chopped finely
1/2 Tomato puree
1 tspn ginger garlic paste
Salt acc to taste
1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
1 tsp Coriander seeds powder
1 tsp Kasoori Methi
Garam masala pwd
2-3 tbspn cream
2 bay leaves
1-2 tspn Tandoori Masala
Ghee
Oil

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1 few drops of liquid smoke ( optional)

For the tempering
1 tbspn ghee
1 tspn finely chopped garlic
1 Whole red chilli

Method

First boil water in a large pan and add the ingredients listed under stock. Once the water becomes flavorful add the chicken pieces and bring it to a boil. Turn the gas off and let the chicken sit in it for 5 mins. Then remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and shred it.

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Also strain the stock and keep aside.
Mix some tandoori masala to the shredded chicken and sauté in little ghee for a minute or two and keep aside. Sauteing in the ghee with the masala imparts a flavor close to grilling it in a tandoor

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Now heat oil in a pan and add the bay leaf and onions. Fry till it starts turning golden brown and add the ginger garlic paste and tomato puree. Add the dry spices  along with 1 tsp tandoor masala and sauté till you see oil leaving the masala.

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If you feel the masala becoming too dry you can add the stock little at a time.

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Now add the shredded chicken to the masala and sauté well. Once the masala coats the chicken well add the remaining stock and let it cook.

 

Once the stock reduces add the cream garam masala and Kasoori methi. Adjust the seasonings. Add the liquid smoke if using.

Now in a separate pan heat ghee and sauté dry red chilli and chopped garlic and pour over the chicken masala. Cover and let it stand for a minute or two so that all the flavors are absorbed.
You can serve this with naan , roti , Paratha or roomali roti.

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I made chicken salad sandwiches and wraps with the left overs and it was fun. My co workers loved it too. In fact, we are now going to make this together at my house in summer.

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