Shrikhand

This is my fifth and final recipe for Sweet Indian dishes for the Ganesha Chaturthi. 

 

Ingredient:

5 cups Strained yogurt

2 cups of caster sugar

1 tsp of ground cardamom 

2-3 saffron pods

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: Nil

To strain the yogurt, hang the yogurt in a muslin cloth (thin piece of cloth that will drain the water but retain the solids) overnight. Mix the yogurt, sugar and cardamom with a hand held mixture until all the sugar is dissolved. Heat a pan and add the saffron pods and mix a tbsp of milk. Add the saffron mixture to the shrikhand.

Puran Poli

Puran Poli (Sweet Lentil Paratha) is one of my favourite dishes, which traditionally to be eaten in winter months; I wouldn't mind eating it every day.

Ingredient:

Stuffing

1 cup chana dal

1 1/2 cup jaggery (Palm Sugar)

1 tsp ground cardamom

Covering

1 cup plain flour

pinch of salt

water to make dough

oil to knead the dough

Preparation time: 50 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Cook the chana dal in the pressure cooker until very soft. Drain the water and pour the dal in a pot. Add the chopped/grated jaggery and cardamom to the dal and cook on a medium heat for 10 mins. Let it cool to room temperature. Blend the mixture until soft and homogeneous. 

Meanwhile mix the flour and salt and knead the dough with water. Add oil to the dough and knead further until the dough is soft and very elastic. Make a small ball of the dough and using your hand to make a cup shape. Stuff the dal mixture in the cup shape dough and close the dough from all sides. Using a rolling pin shape the dough in a paratha using very little pressure. 

Serve with warm milk or ghee. 

Shevayachi Khir

The third dessert in my Panch Pakwan (Five Desserts) series is Shevayachi Khir (Vermicelli Pudding). It is very easy to make and takes merely 10 mins. During weekday, if we have friends over for dinner, we have the Khir for dessert. So next time you have guests over and are thinking about buying Ice Cream, think twice. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice vermicelli

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp ghee

2 cups full cream milk

1/2 tsp ground cardamom 

2 tbsp blanched almonds

3-4 pods of saffron

1/2 cup water

Preparation time: Nil

Cooking time: 10 mins

Sauté the vermicelli in ghee in a thick bottom pot until brown. Add the water to the vermicelli and let it cook for a minute. Add the milk and let it boil for 2 minutes. Add the sugar, ground cardamom and almonds. Let the khir boil for 5 mins. In a small pan heat the saffron and add a tsp of milk. Add the saffron mixture to the khir and further boil for 2 mins. 

Chirote

Continuing the desserts trend for the week, today I am featuring the recipe for Chirote. I do not know what to call this in English and I am not even going to attempt it. It is flaky pastrylike and coated with sugar and you can call it whatever you want. This is one of those desserts that looks simple and easy; however takes a little practice until you get it right.

Ingredients:
2 cups of plain flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of fuming hot oil
water to make dough
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp rice flour
Oil to deep fry
Caster sugar to sprinkle

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins

Mix flour and salt and pour the heated oil. Mix it with spoon and prepare dough using water. Set aside for 10 mins. Melt the butter and mix the rice flour in the butter.

Make 4 small balls of the dough. Use rolling pin to roll out the dough as thin as you possibly can. Similarly roll all the other balls flat in to a sheet and set aside separate. Apply the butter and rice flour mixture over the sheets. Place the sheets on top of each other and apply the rest of the butter mixture over the top sheet of the dough.

Lift one side of the stacked sheet and roll it into a tube. Cut the tube into small pieces and roll each piece separately with lightly pressing the rolling pin (do not press hard as the we need layers to form when deep fried).

Heat oil in a pot and deep fry each piece on low heat. Sprinkle the caster sugar when hot.

You can use the dough as is and you will end up with golden chirote. I have used food colour to make it interesting.

Enjoy.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Modak

Ganapati Bappa Morya!! Ganesh Chaturthi is a popular festival in western India to commemorate the birth of Lord Ganesha. Clay idol of Lord Ganesha is worshiped during the 7 days of festivities and each day a different dessert is offered to the God. At the end of the week the idol is then immersed in water to mark the end of the festival. Here is Australia, as we are "Busy" during the work week, we only worship the idol for 1 1/2 day.

During this auspicious week we will refrain from consuming any meat/egg/fish products. This gives us a rare opportunity to cook vegetarian dishes all week long. Hence, I am kicking off a vegetarian week. I will try and feature the 5 different sweets we cooked during the festival and will feature the recipe one a day. I am starting with Modak (Sweet Dumpling), Lord Ganesha's favourite food.

Ingredients:

Fillings

2 cups of freshly grated coconut

1 1/2 cup grated jaggery ( you can substitute palm sugar)

1 tsp poppy seeds

Covering

2 cups of water

1 tsp of oil

pinch of salt

2 cup rice flour

Preparation Time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Combine water, salt, oil and bring to a boil. Add rice four to the water to make a consistent dough. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 mins. Turn the heat off and mash the dough when hot with a masher. Set the dough aside.

Meanwhile heat a thick bottom pan and add the coconut. Cook the coconut for 5 mins and add the jaggery. Cook the mixture until the jaggery melts. Do not overcook the mixture as the jaggery tends to harden when overcook. It needs to just melt and turn the heat off. Add the poppy seeds and mix and set aside. 

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Rajma (Red Kidney Bean Curry)

You can make rajma (red kidney beans) the longer way or shorter way. Longer way being get raw rajma and soak in water overnight and cook the rajma in pressure cooker. Quicker way is to use the canned pre-cooked rajma. I like to use the crushed/diced canned tomato, that way I get the juice of the tomato's as well, which provides gravy to the rajma. If you want to use fresh tomatoes, then I would suggest crush them in a blender (don't make a puree).

 

Ingredients:

1 can of Rajma (Red Kidney Bean)

1 brown onion

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 inch ginger

2 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp kitchen king masala

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1 can of diced/crushed tomato

Freshly chopped coriander leaves

2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

 

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

 

Make paste of ginger and garlic. Heat ghee in a pan and add ginger-garlic paste. Add the onion and fry until translucent on medium heat. Add the chili, cumin, coriander, garam and kitchen king powder. Saute for 5 mins on low heat. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 mins on low heat until the ghee separates. Add the rajma and cook for further 5 mins. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with paratha.

Spicy Cajun Chicken

Mitra was craving something hot and spicy that day and I was not in a mood to cook anything Indian. So I started to go through my spice rack and came across Cajun seasoning. Cajun cooking comes from southern USA from the state of Louisiana and uses Cayenne Peppers. It is not very hot but has a certain zing to it. Ingredients:
500 gm chicken
1 red capsicum
1 yellow capsicum
1 green capsicum
1 brown onion
2 pods of garlic
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp corn flour

Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins

Dice the chicken to medium pieces. Slice the capsicum, onion and garlic thinly. Add oil to a pan and add the garlic and onion to the oil. Sauté until the onion turns translucent. Add the capsicum and cook for 5 mins. Add the chicken and cook until it turns brown. Add the Cajun seasoning and chicken stock and simmer on medium heat. Mix corn flour with water and add to the boiling Cajun sauce to thicken the sauce. Serve with steam rice or fried rice.

Spicy Cajun Chicken

Mitra was craving something hot and spicy that day and I was not in a mood to cook anything Indian. So I started to go through my spice rack and came across Cajun seasoning. Cajun cooking comes from southern USA from the state of Louisiana and uses Cayenne Peppers. It is not very hot but has a certain zing to it. Ingredients:
500 gm chicken
1 red capsicum
1 yellow capsicum
1 green capsicum
1 brown onion
2 pods of garlic
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp corn flour

Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins

Dice the chicken to medium pieces. Slice the capsicum, onion and garlic thinly. Add oil to a pan and add the garlic and onion to the oil. Sauté until the onion turns translucent. Add the capsicum and cook for 5 mins. Add the chicken and cook until it turns brown. Add the Cajun seasoning and chicken stock and simmer on medium heat. Mix corn flour with water and add to the boiling Cajun sauce to thicken the sauce. Serve with steam rice or fried rice.

Grilled Salmon with Mint and Yogurt Dip

Last weekend we visited dear friends of ours, Mudita and Devraj who moved into wonderful house in Canberra that they have been building for a while.To make up for the lost party weekends, we decided to have a carnivorous dinner party. Devraj was keen to try my Moroccan lamb recipe and  I insisted he make his excellent fish. Simple yet delicious,  here's how he makes the grilled salmon.

Ingredients:
4 Salmon Fillets
4 pods of garlic
1 inch ginger
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste
Fresh coriander to garnish

Mint and Yogurt Dip
2 cups thick yogurt
1 cup finely chopped mint leaves
salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 40 mins

Make paste of ginger and garlic and add turmeric, chili, coriander and cumin powder. Add salt, lemon juice and oil and apply to the fish and let it marinade for at least 1 hour. Heat the over and transfer the fish to a baking tray and cook in the oven for 30 mins at 190 Deg C. Turn the oven to grill setting and grill for 10 mins or until the fish turns golden on top. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and serve with mint and yogurt dip.

To make the dip chop the min fine and add to the yogurt. Add salt, sugar,lemon and oil and mix well.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Empanadas

South American dish empanandas sounds very much like central American
dish enchilada;.however they are poles apart when it comes to cooking.
I am amazed how some food types are common in so many countries.
Empanadas are very much like curry puffs in the far east and samosa in
south Asia.

Ingredients:

Short crust pastry
1 1/2 cup of plain flour
120 gms chopped chilled butter
pinch of salt
2 chilled eggs
1 tsp chilled water

Stuffing
500 gms of lamb/beef mince
1 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 brown onion
1 cup chopped shallots
salt to taste
1 tbsp vegetable oil
100 gms butter
1 cup chicken stock
10 stuffed olives cut in half
2 boiled eggs roughly chopped
Handful of sultanas/raisins/chopped dates

Mix the flour, finely chopped butter and pinch of salt in a food
processor until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Beat the eggs and
add chilled water to the eggs. Pour the eggs slowly in the flour
mixture while mixing the ingredients in the food processor. Wrap the
pastry dough in a cling wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Heat the oil and butter in a pot. Add the onion and shallots to the
oil and fry until translucent. Add the mince and fry until brown. Add
the cinnamon, paprika and salt. Simmer for 5 mins and add the chicken
stock. Reduce until the mixture becomes dry and cool to room
temperature.

Make small balls of pastry and roll to make it flat. Place the chopped
olives, sultanas and eggs in the centre of the pastry sheets. Add 1
tbsp of lamb mince mixture and crimp the edges. Place the empanadas in
a baking tray and spray/brush with oil.Bake for 25 mins until the
pastry becomes golden brown.

Basbousa

We first had basbousa at one of our friends and fell in love with it. Mitra had friends over yesterday for lunch and we wanted to make something quick and delicious for desert. Basbousa takes about 30 mins to cook and is mouth watering. Once you start having basbousa you can not stop. So my advise to people with diabetics, have it in moderation. 

Ingredients:

2 cups coarse semolina

1/2 cup self raising flour

1 cup dedicates coconut

1 cup caster sugar

150 gm thick yogurt

150 gm melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

Sugar Syrup:

1 1/2 cup caster sugar

1 cup water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp rose water

Preparation time: 10 mins

cooking time: 40 mins

Mix the semolina, sugar, flour, coconut, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Line a flat baking tray with butter paper and spread the mixture evenly over the tray. Sprinkle with almond meal or chopped almond on the mixture. Cut into square or diamond shapes. Bake in the over at 190 Deg for 35 mins. 

Meanwhile add water to the sugar and simmer over heat until sugar dissolves. Add the lemon juice and rose water and simmer for 5 more mins. Cool to room temperature.

Once the cake is ready pour the sugar syrup while the cake is hot and let it cool to room temperature before service.

Orange Cake

My mavshi (mother’s sister)made the best orange cake ever when we visited her over the summer holidays. This was a long time ago and she doesn’t remember the exact the recipe of the cake I liked. We tried a recipe from scratch to see if we could make the cake like I remember from my childhood. It did not taste exactly the same but turned out pretty good.

Ingredients:

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
zest of 3 oranges
Juice of 3 oranges
oil 50 ml
2 tbsp of almond meal
Milk only if required

Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 30 mins

Pre-heat the oven at 180 Deg and sift the flour and sugar. Beat the eggs and add to the flour and sugar mixture. Add the zest and juice of oranges and oil to the mix and beat throughly. Add little milk if the orange juice is not enough to get the required consistency. Pour the mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle the almond meal over the top. Bake for 30 mins at 180 Deg.