‘EAST MEETS WEST’ DESSERT – VANILLA PANNA COTTA WITH GULAB JAMUNS

Before I leave for my much deserved yet much delayed family holiday here is a dessert which I recently tried. Yeah, I know it sounds somewhat wacky but that is what it really is!  And isn't this what cooking is all about!! The flavours are contrasting but they somehow gel together and work pretty well…at least we loved it. So, here is a dish to enjoy this Diwal which is an amalgamation of flavours from east and west J

Gulab jamuns are a versatile Indian sweet, which taste yummy whether you have it with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream or you have it with rabri (thick reduced milk). So we thought, why not with custard? My family loves both these dishes so we loved the combination too – the smooth custard and the syrupy gulab jamun.

You will find the recipe for gulab jamun here. The changes that I made were that I made them much smaller in size , which was actually for presentation purpose, and fried them till they acquired a darker shade of brown. You can choose the size/colour for yourself. Also, I warmed the gulab jamuns in the micro-oven and served them with the chilled custard pannacotta. The contrasting temperatures and textures were ultimate palate teasers!

For the custard pannacotta, you would need:

850 ml full cream milk

1 tbsp sugar (or to taste)

2½ tbsp instant custard powder

2 tsp scant, gelatin powder 
2 tbsp of warm water

Take ½ cup of milk and add the instant custard powder to it. Mix it well

Heat the milk

Lower the flame and add the custard powder mix to the milk.

Stir well till the custard gets cooked (about 2 minutes)

Remove from the heat and let it cool

Stir in the gelatin in warm water and mix it well

Add the gelatin to the custard and put the custard in the mould in which you intend to serve it or you can remove them from the mould and then serve 
Keep the individual moulds in the refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours or till the custard sets. (I let them sit overnight)

Serve with gulab jamuns!

Serves 4-5


Note: If you wish to remove the pannacotta from the mould, rub your hands around the mould to loosen it and then gently turn over the mould in the serving plate

Wishing you all a Very Happy and safe Diwali! 


Thanks for stopping and see you again!

MALABAR VEGETABLE ISHTEW WITH SET DOSA (MALABAR VEGETABLE STEW WITH RICE CREPES) – A VEGETARIAN/ VEGAN DELIGHT!

Being from a small town, it was only after I shifted to Delhi for work, that I got introduced to other Indian communities, their cultures and cuisines; rather to international cuisines as well! Delhi is the melting pot of cultures and the nature of my work brought me in touch with people from different parts of the country. I was introduced to this dish by a dear friend of mine (though I had a non-vegetarian version). Her husband is a fabulous cook (lucky she!) and he cooked a delicious Malayali (Kerela) style dinner for us which comprised of Meen Moily (a fish curry) and Lamb Stew, served with steamed rice. The dinner was sumptuous and I was besotted by the lamb stew. 

My husband is not at all fond of coconut milk based gravies and though he was initially apprehensive about this dish, he enjoyed both the dishes to the core. I have adapted the vegetarian version of the stew; it is a medley of colours and there is so much variety in the gravy! Cauliflower, broccoli, fresh beans, potatoes, carrots, peas...love them all!

This stew is traditionally served with a typical form of dosa (crepe) called appam. It is made in a small shallow wok. The batter is poured in the centre of the wok and then swirled around to cover the edges of the wok. So they are thicker in the centre and thinner towards the edges. Since they take more time to cook (5-7 minutes or so for each appam), I preferred to serve the stew with the standard dosa but made it slight thicker so as to compensate for the texture of the appam.

This is a delicate stew; the addition of coconut milk mellows the flavours of whole spices and green chillies. I would label it under comfort food category. It is very light and hearty meal!

For the stew I used:

3 medium sized potatoes (peeled & diced)

5 florets of cauliflower

1 tbsp peas

6-7 beans (cut in 1 inch size)

4-5 florets of broccoli

2 small carrots (diced)

120 ml coconut milk (I used ready-made)

½ cup water

10 black pepper corns

5 cloves

½ inch cinnamon

1 star anise

6 cloves garlic (sliced)

1 inch ginger (julienned)

Salt to taste

2 green chillies

5 green cardamoms

1 medium sized onion (thinly sliced)

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 sprig curry leaves (about 10-12)

Wash the vegetables well.

In a pressure cooker add the water and black pepper corns, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, garlic, ginger, 3 cardamoms and salt

Add the vegetables and place the lid on the pressure cooker.

As the pressure starts building in the cooker, switch off the heat. This is to ensure that the vegetables do not get over cooked. The vegetables need to retain their size and texture. We do not want the veggies to turn mushy!

In a pan put oil and add the 2 left over cardamoms and carefully add the curry leaves and green chillies. 

Now, add the onions and fry till they become golden in colour.
Add the coriander powder and cook till it becomes aromatic (about 10 seconds)

Add this tempering to the vegetables

Add the coconut milk and stir the vegetables.

Heat the vegetables again for half a minute and then remove them from the fire and transfer to a serving bowl.

Serves 3-4

For the dosa you will need;

½ cup par boiled rice

½ cup basmati rice

¼ cup urad dal (white Indian lentil)

Salt to taste

Soak the three together for 5-6 hours or you can put them in a warmer (casserole), add hot water and let them soak covered for 2-3 hours.

Once done, grind them to a fine paste by adding water (as much as necessary)

Transfer this batter in a container (it should be half full) and let this mixture ferment for 7-8 hours if you are living in a warm climate and 10-12 hours if you are living in a cold climate

Add water to the batter and make it to pouring consistency. Also add salt

Grease a pan or griddle (tava) and add a ladle full.

Quickly spread it around and let it cooked on medium heat

You will see the colour on the top changing.

Once it gets cooked and the bottom is golden, remove it and transfer on the serving plate.

Serve hot with vegetable stew!

This amount of batter yields 8-9 dosas

Note: Ensure that your griddle is absolutely well scrubbed. Otherwise, the dosa will keep sticking to it. You can scrub it well by slightly heating it over the fire and then scrubbing it with a moist & hard scrub and detergent powder.

Note: I add a few drops of oil over the griddle and then using a small piece onion smear the oil all over. This technique makes the griddle non-stick! 

Note: While cooking the crepes, I add a few drops of oil around the edges so that it becomes slightly crispy and this way it will come off easily.

Thanks for stopping and see you again!



Sent post to Saffronstreaks & Cookingwithsiri


Also Sent to Mharorajasthanrecipes

MINI COCKTAIL CHICKEN PATTIES WITH SWEET CHILLI SAUCE

It happens so many times that I visit the market to buy a particular food ingredient, with a recipe in my mind, but always end up making something else out of it! The same happened to the minced chicken that I bought from the super market. I thought of making a Kashmiri chicken dish using the chicken mince but seeing my husband’s enthusiasm for it, I immediately abandoned the thought. For some reason, the thought of eating minced chicken does not fancy him. He is inclined more towards minced mutton or keema. He often tells me that there is no comparison between the rich flavours of lamb meat to that of chicken meat; I too feel that lamb meat is much more flavoursome and much tastier than chicken. However, being red meat, mutton is not often served on the menu at home. But right now I had to think about the minced chicken!

I had to make up my mind as to what do I do with the chicken mince. The minced chicken kept sitting in the freezer for over three days before something flashed in my mind. A few days back while I was waiting at the parlour, I started flipping through the pages of a magazine. I saw the pics of minced chicken balls which looked so yummy but before I could read the recipe, I was called in by my hair dresser. The thought of them remained at the back of my mind and suddenly I remembered the pics of that dish. I instantly knew what I wanted to do with the minced chicken J

These patties are really fast to make. Here is what all I used to make the mini chicken patties:

320 grams of minced chicken (approximately)

1 medium onion (finely grated and water removed)

2/3^rd tsp ginger paste

2/3^rd tsp garlic paste

2 large green chillies (finely chopped or pounded to paste)

1 tbsp (heaped) finely chopped coriander

Juice of half a lemon

Salt to taste

Oil to fry (I used pomace-olive oil)

To serve:

Sweet Chilli Sauce

Mix all the ingredients together and moisten your hands to form small patties. I used one heaped tsp of the mixture for each patty.

In non-stick pan pour a little oil and grease the pan well. Start adding the patties and cook them on medium low heat.

Flip them over and cook the other side.

Remove them on a kitchen towel and place them on a serving platter.

Serve hot with the sweet chilli sauce.

Note: You can place toothpicks on the serving platter so that the guests can help themselves without messing their hands while dipping the patties into the sauce.

Serves 4

Thanks for visiting and see you again!


Linked post to Food Corner Contest hosted by Amy

POM LIMEADE

With the pomegranates sitting in refrigerator for over a week, I knew I had to make something soon before they perished. I am not really fond of eating pomegranates coz I find their seeds somewhat annoying; I rather prefer having pomegranate juice. But two poms meant probably a glass of juice for just one person. And there were four of us at home that day. Since I had bought plenty of limes that week, the idea of making a Pomegranate Limeade suddenly hit across. Though I have had it at a restaurant but I have never tried making it before.

I was excited with the prospect of trying it in my own kitchen. My daughter, equally excited, joined me in! She helped squeeze the limes (whatever juice she could manageJ) whereas I peeled and deseeded the pomegranates. I got the flavours right for us by trying out what suited our taste. We preferred the drink a little bit on the sweeter side but you can adjust the amount of sweetness or tartness according to your taste.

Instead of mixing the two juices together, I filled the glasses one-third with ice and poured the limeade over it till the glass was two thirds full. Over it, I gently added the pomegranate juice. Pomegranate juice stayed over the limeade and gave a beautiful layering of sorts. This way you can serve this as an impressive looking ‘mocktail’! But before I could click the pics of all the glasses, my daughter stirred them ‘just for fun’ J (that’s the answer I received when I asked her why did she have to stir the liquids) Though one tall glass remained untouched (check pic at the end of the post)

I used the following proportions to make approximately 5 glasses:

250 ml pomegranate juice (strained if you are using freshly squeezed)

½ cup concentrated lime juice

3 cups water

6-7 tbsp granulated sugar

Plenty of ice cubes

In a pan add the water and sugar. Put it on heat and stir the contents.

Let the water boil for a minute or so. Remove from heat and let it cool.

Strain the sugar and water solution and add lime juice to it. (I also added a little bit of black salt to it at this stage)

In individual glasses add ice (about 1/3 full or more) and then pour the lime juice solution over it (about 2/3^rd glass full). Over the lime juice gently add the pomegranate juice.

Garnish with lime slices and mint leaves.
Serve immediately…enjoy!!

Thanks for visiting and see you again!


Makes 4-5 medium sized glasses

PANCH PHORAN TAMATAR CHUTNEY (INDIAN 5-SPICE TOMATO RELISH)

Last month I visited a friend of mine and tasted the most incredible tasting Mango Chhunda (Sweet and Sour Mango Relish) I have ever had! When I asked her for the recipe, she sheepishly told me that it was not her but her mother who had made it. It showed...it was definitely made with loads of loveJ Seeing me so smitten, by the Chhunda, my friend generously packed some for me!

Today I visited her and to reciprocate her warmth and generosity, I carried my favourite tomato chutney for her (which also happened to be her husband's favourite). Since tomatoes are available around the year here, so tomato chutney is something which is most commonly made; of course only after the favourites - mint or/and coriander chutney. Most Indian households prefer to make fresh chutney. Each household has their own special recipe for tomato chutney. Here is my take on the tomato chutney J

I prefer to use the earthy and aromatic flavours of the panch phoran which is a mixture of five spices – cumin seeds, fennel seeds, nigella seeds, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds mixed in equal amounts. They work very well with the tangy tomatoes. I balance out the tanginess of the tomatoes with addition of sugar, sparingly though, and balance out the sweetness of the sugar with the heat of whole red chillies and red chilli powder. I know it sounds like too much of chillies but when brought together, all these flavours work together very well. Try it for yourself J

Here are the ingredients:

4-5 medium sized ripe red tomatoes (chopped)

1 shallot (small onion), finely chopped

¼ tsp garlic paste

¼ tsp of ginger paste

1 tsp panch phoran (5-spice)

1 big dry red chilli, split in two or three pieces

¼ tsp turmeric powder

½ to ¾ tsp red chilli powder (adjust the heat)

1½-2 tsp granulated sugar

½ tsp dry mango powder

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan, remove it from the heat and carefully add the dry red chilli.

Put the pan again on heat and add a generous pinch of sugar and let it caramelise and then add the panch phoran.

Once it starts crackling, immediately add the onions. Sauté them and when they turn translucent, add the ginger and garlic paste along with a dash of water.

Fry till the ginger-garlic starts to turn golden (may be for half a minute or so).

Add the tomatoes and stir them on high heat for about a minute and then lower the heat and let them simmer till they become mushy (about 15 minutes)

Start seasoning the tomatoes.

Add the salt, sugar, turmeric and chilli powder along with the dry mango powder.

Stir well and taste them at this stage and adjust the seasonings.

Cook them on high heat for a minute or till the liquid in the tomatoes is reduced.

Remove the contents in a serving bowl.

Serve this hot or cool; I prefer to serve it at room temperature.

Makes 1 small bowl

Thanks for visiting and drop by again!

RASGULLA/ RASOGULLA (COTTAGE CHEESE DUMPLINGS IN SUGAR SYRUP)

Soft and spongy, drenched in sugar syrup; Khirmohan for an Oriya, Rôshogolla for a Bengali, Rasgulla for a Punjabi (and other north Indians) – this mouth watering Indian dessert can be eaten by dozens!! Yes, I said dozens because you can have this dish guilt free since it is low on calories (more so if you squeeze out the sugar syrup).  

Made from cottage cheese cooked in syrup of sugar, traditionally Rasgullas were served at room temperature but these days they are served chilled. In northern India, the dish comes flavoured in saffron, rosewater, and sometimes garnished with chopped pistachios.

What better way to celebrate Durga Puja! Though it is the state of Bengal and the Bengalis who are commonly associated and credited with this sweet, the fact is that the origin of this dish lies in the city of Salepur in the state of Orissa. Surprised! Aren’t you? It was during the British rein that this dish found its way to the state of Bengal.

Though simple as it sounds – cheese balls cooked in sugar syrup – it took me a few trials and errors before I could  understand the nuances of technique and dish out soft and spongy rasgullas. The first attempt was such a disaster that the balls were hard enough to play cricket with!! J

There are certain key factors that need to be kept in mind so as to dish out soft and spongy rasgullas:

• Drain well, the water from cheese (by hanging it in a muslin cloth for 2-3 hours)
• Ensure that you do not squeeze out too much water either since that will leave the cheese dry and the balls will not swell or become spongy when boiled

Keeping the consistency of cheese perfect is actually the key in creating this dish– I speak this for myself.

You need the following:

1 litre milk (Use cow milk for best results)

½ tsp citric acid crystals

½ - 1 tsp refined flour (optional)

450-500 ml water

300 gm sugar

½ tsp lemon juice

A pinch saffron (optional) or 
½ tsp of ground cardamom (optional)

Boil the milk the night before you intend to make the rasgullas. 
Next day, remove the cream from the top. 
Reheat the milk till it becomes a little hotter than the warm stage. Add crystals of citric acid dissolved in 2 tsp of water. 
Do not disturb the milk during that time. Let the milk curdle. It may take 20-25 minutes.  
Once the whole milk gets curdled, drain the water by passing it through a muslin cloth. 
Tie the the ends of the muslin cloth and hang it for 2-3 hours. Ensure that the water is well drained.

Now in a large plate, mash the cottage cheese with the palm of your hand. Mash it well so that no grains are left. 
If you wish, you may add refined flour to the cheese at this stage. 
Start making small balls (since they will double in their size when boiled) with the cottage cheese by gently pressing the cheese between your palms.

Put a deep container (I use a wok) on fire and mix in the sugar and water. Once the water starts to boil, add lemon juice so that all the scum comes to the top. Remove the scum from the water surface.

Gently add these balls to the boiling water. Ensure that water is on a rolling boil. Cover the pan with a lid and let the balls of cheese cook for 10-12 minutes. Then uncover it and every half a minute sprinkle the rasgullas with little bit of water. This technique makes the rasgullas softer and spongier. Carry on this process for 5-7 minutes.

Once done, remove the container of rasgullas from fire and transfer them to the serving bowl. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 8-10 rasgullas

Thanks for visiting and see you again!