Hope you had a good weekend just like I did.

These sweet little buns made my weekend. It was fabulous.

Saturday was phenomenally good with a family outing to my workplace. What’s so good about being at workplace, where one spends 10 odd stressful hours slogging, that too on a weekend? Our org campus is massive, sprawling green, with pebble and stone laden pathways that wind beautifully into buildings that become our workspaces on our weekdays. Yeah, on a regular week day we probably would not take time out see this serene beauty surrounding us with the same eye, however over the weekend it was a completely different thing. No stress from work, no timelines to adhere, no brain racking meetings, no conference calls to answer to, no stressful last minute rush… simply a relaxed day out in the plush greenery with my family. It put a sense of pride in me to show my family my workplace, the place where I spend most part of the day.

I had plans to bake some cinnamon rolls for the weekend. I wished to proof the bread dough on Friday night, but pushed it for Saturday as other priorities consumed my energy. I had cinnamon rolls on my mind for quite some time and couldn’t get them off even in my sleep! Just managed to rush through the morning before leaving out from home to proof the dough. Put in the bit of muscle work (kneading) by multi-tasking between the breakfast and packing for the day out. Sneaked to click a few photographs too… here and there ;) Phew!

Back home, sun shone bright and nice in sky. Had left the dough on the balcony and it rose to doubles and triples. I was elated like a kid!

Initially, I had plans for cinnamon rolls. I almost put together brown sugar and cinnamon, when a jar of nutella put me into confusion! Felt too tempted for a chocolate version. Anyway, we are not too high on cinnamon in our desserts, so took a second opinion from my husband and he was too swift to vote for Nutella rolls. Chocolate seduction in a bread roll! Deliciously yum!

Nutella Bread Rolls

INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm milk (maybe a little more or less)
2 tsp. active dry yeast (I used Baker’s here)
1/4th cup melted salted butter
1/4th cup powdered sugar

For the filling:

Nutella spread or any chocolate hazelnut spread

Sugar glaze or melted chocolate to drizzle (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Dissolve 2 tsp. of active dry yeast in half a cup of warm milk and a teaspoon of sugar. Warmth helps yeast wake up from its sleep and sugar aids in providing food to the yeast. Keep it aside for 10 minutes till it turns active and frothy. This is how it should look.

In a glass bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dough, the yeast milk, sugar, butter and flour, pouring just as much extra milk as necessary so as to form a sticky soft dough. I use a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients. As you beat the ingredients, the dough will initially tend to be sticky, but later will begin to leave itself from the sides of the bowl.

Knead into a smooth elastic dough with as little flour as possible. Stickier the dough, lighter will be the bread. Beat/knead the dough for atleast 5-7 minutes so as to release its gluten which helps in a nice, light bread.

Place the dough in a bowl, cover it and allow the dough rise until it has doubled in size (should take about 90 minutes in warm condition).

This is how it would look after 90 minutes. Look at the texture when pulled apart.

Once risen, punch the dough down...

Knead it further for 5 more minutes.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to form a rough rectangular shape with uniform thickness.

Spread the nutella paste all over the dough. Sprinkle with nuts if desired. Beginning with the long edge closest to you, begin rolling the dough into a tight roll.

Slice the roll into 9 even pieces. Place them on the baking tray and keep them in a warm place (like an oven pre-heated to 40 deg C and turned off) for at least 1 hour, until they've roughly doubled in size. By now I had transitioned from evening to night, so you can see that by the time the rolls went to oven it was late! Bake them at 180 deg C for 30 to 35 minutes.

I rarely do step-by-steps, but this time around I succeeded, at least to an extent. You ought to thank me for that. I use regular tea cups for measurement, so you can be assured of its correctness.

These nutella buns are rich and soft, and deliciously sweet. Complimenting them with a dollop of nutella frosting will make them absolutely irresistible.

These are quite easy to make. And honestly, there is nothing better than the smell of homemade buns fresh out of the oven. Heavenly!

Showing you a slice of what I eat is so typical of me! So here it goes...

As a kid, one of my favorite pass-time sweet snack was Chikki. Like I guess for many too. And that meant home-made ones only. Growing up years saw us primarily eating healthy good food. Mom hardly allowed us to buy these bars from market as she feared the hygiene factors involved in these 'unbranded products' which were sold mostly in small tea-stalls and bakeries as loose unpacked products with no manufacturing date, expiry date or content information. She concerned the quality of product and to satisfy our cravings would make them often at home.

And even today as an adult, having crossed 2 decades and now closing to my 3rd decade, I have not run out of love and cravings for them. Seriously, I am hooked to it. I walk up to the snack counter at my work place, almost daily, just to grab a few pieces of these nutty caramelized peanut bars, post my lunch, to relish a healthy favorite treat. Of course, they come from a known manufacturer and I like to bite into their fresh, crisp polythene wrapped bite sized portions. It's an alternative for healthy dessert. And at a gullible price of Rs 1 for a piece each, I can't ask for anything better than this to satisfy my sweet cravings.

I am sharing this recipe which I got to learn from my mother, her way.

Caramelized Peanut Bars / Chikki

INGREDIENTS

2 cups peanuts
1 cup regular sugar
1-2 tbsps. ghee/ clarified butter
1 tsp. cardamom powder
1 tsp. ginger powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Grease a flat steel plate with some ghee and set aside.

Roast the peanuts on a medium low flame, stirring frequently till they change their color to golden brown and become aromatic.

Take the sugar in a kadai or a heavy-bottomed pan. Heat it on a medium low flame stirring continously till the sugar melts and begins to turn golden brown. At this stage we need to keep a constant eye on the sugar syrup. When all of the sugar melts completely, switch off the flame and add in the peanuts quickly. You need to be swift and quick here. Just before you stir in the peanuts, add in the cardamom and ginger powder. Quickly stir all of the peanuts into the sugar, mix well and transfer it to the greased plate. Smooth the prepared chikki with the back of a flat wooden spoon. Using the tip of a knife, drag lines across to form sqaure/bite sized pieces. Allow to cool then break them off.

These can also be made with jaggery as well. Infact, traditionally I believe jaggery was used. Jaggery takes more time generally than sugar and getting right consistency is a bit tougher than that with sugar.

These chikkis can be stored for a couple of days in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place. I have made similar chikkis with Til/Sesame in the past. I could cut them into prefect squares, however this time around I delayed a bit and couldn't get them in desired shapes. Nevertheless, they taste great. So who's complaining!

We had a day off yesterday. We made mighty plans for the May day. Husband dear had planned to take our little daughter and me out to the jungle to show the wild habitat. A trip to Bannerghatta national park for our little toddler followed by the jungle safari was on our agenda. The day before, I got busy scuffling through the bags packing bottle and baby food required for the little one the next day. We were eagerly looking forward to spending an entire day outside in the jungle along with the company of lions and tigers. Plans flopped when my husband found out that the zoo and jungle safari were closed Tuesdays. Instead, we made it to the Namma Metro ride in the late afternoon, followed by a stroll on Brigade road, some cold coffee to soothe our thirst, return ride by Metro and called it a day.

For the day we had a hand, we relaxed through the morning wrapping up regular kitchen chores. The little baby went to her usual nap post her breakfast and I got busy cleaning up the kitchen counter. A small bunch of mint leaves, picked and washed left over from the morning breakfast of Pudina Paratha lay untouched. A green chilli lay there right next to it. I probably forgot to use all of the mint and chillies.

This Lime n’ Mint Spiced Drink was a welcome outcome of my forgetfulness :).

Lime n’ Mint Spiced Drink

INGREDIENTS

Juice from 2 limes
Handful of fresh mint leaves
1 green chilli
500 ml. chilled water
Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, add a handful of fresh mint leaves along with a green chilli and blend well. Add in about 50 ml. water, lime juice and salt to taste and blend again. Transfer to a tall glass jug. Top it up with remaining cold water and shake well. Add in more lime juice if you like it tart and tangy. Stir well. Serve.

Lime juice served cold with mint crushed in a blender along with a green chilli, salt and pepper is a warm drink that can do equally good to you on chilly winters or hot summer noon. To keep it rustic, I did not sieve through. But if you want it clear, just sieve through and serve chilled. To make the drink pretty, just dip the rim of glass in some of the juice, roll it over some salt and then pour the juice. Stick a lime slice on the side and you are set to go!

So we were off to Delhi and then Punjab for a couple of days. A trip that promised us a well deserved holiday, travel and loads of fun. Apart from the series of celebrations and the wedding, it was an excitement to explore more of Punjab frontiers that I had never been to. I feel rejuvenated just as I am back from our Delhi Punjab trip. Undoubtedly as it's known for, both stood out to be a thorough gastronomical feast to our ever hungry selves. If Delhi's metro ride seemed ultimate fun and an easy route to curb the traffic, Amritsar's exquisite Golden Temple was a devout treat to our eyes and peace to our reverent soul. While streets of Jalandhar brought similarities to the small town down like Mangalore, what set them apart is probably their difference in culture, language and food. A food that realms under magical addiction of ghee and butter, served with love and passion for relishing and feeding.

North is famous for culinary creations. I was looking forward to the most coveted Amritsar's Temple Langar, supposedly a must visit if you are around this place. Baisakhi brought in huge volume of devotees and the unending queue to visit the temple premises, following the Langar left us disappointed as we couldn't make it. However, right outside the temple, Bhrawan Da Dhaba blew me off with those fresh Laccha Parathas and Tandoori Kulchas, served with a massive dollop of melting butter, a food fit for kings. Being back home feels good. After all that travel, excess indulgence in food and celebrations, it’s a relief to our tummies and rejuvenated selves. Dalia or broken wheat upma that I made back home gave us a respite from all that heavy foodie indulgences we had over the holiday.

Dalia Upma / Broken Wheat Upma

Inspired by Tarla Dalal’s book, Healthy Breakfast
Also available on Tarladalal.com

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup broken wheat /dalia
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 slit green chilli, chopped
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1/4 cup green peas
1/4 cup carrot cubes
1/4 tsp. mustard seeds
4-5 cashews
2 tsp. oil
Salt to taste

 To Garnish

2 tbsp. chopped coriander
A dash of lime juice

DIRECTIONS

Clean and wash the broken wheat thoroughly. Drain and keep aside. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker. Add the mustard seeds. When they cackle, add the onions, cashews, green chilli, and ginger and sauté till the onions turn translucent. Add the green peas, carrots, broken wheat and salt and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1½ cups of water and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Before serving, add a dash of lime juice to zing the flavors. Garnish with the coriander and serve hot.

While on our journey, a couple of my favorite cookbooks kept me and my little one engaged with their recipes and eye catchy photographs, also my ways to wield travel boredom. This Dalia upma by Tarla Dalal was one of the recipe from that cookbook I am hooked to, ever since it caught my attention. Dalia, a food I always considered was fit for the sick and patients, this recipe changed my perception then on. I make upma very often and using dalia is a good twist to the original upma. I’ve made this umpteen number of times and we all love the way it transforms a boring ingredient to an exotic, healthy breakfast dish.

I am just back from a short hiatus. The past two weeks have been extremely hectic for me as an official tour took me to the 'City of Pearls', Hyderabad. My weekdays were phenomenally stressful, packed with working late hours, loads of learning and deadlines I had to submit. It's a city I had heard about and visiting it for the first time was indeed exciting. I always look forward to the gastronomical adventure in most of my trips and just as I expected the Hyderabadi biriyani and Karachi biscuits did not disappoint me for sure. Of course I had limited time at hand since this was not meant to be a holiday trip... but I am not complaining!

Even as I begin to unpack my stuffs I am ready packing off for a week long planned holiday tour. It's been a travel packed month as I am looking forward to a fun packed trip to northern frontiers of our country. A distance travel, sangeet, mehandi, baaraat, marriage, bidai... meeting relatives, fun with shopping and some gastronomical delight with floats of ghee and gleam with butter in food to indulge into and more is what we are looking forward to. Delhi, Jalandhar, Amritsar is calling us for lots more.

Back in Bangalore right now the summers are here and the sun has been blazing real hot. My sunscreens, gogs and umbrellas are out of their hiding as temperatures soar high. They'll make their trip north too. Fruit juices, milkshakes and ice-creams have been ruling our menu to quench thirst. I am missing our chill winters terribly. Also my humble prayers to rain God for a few showers.

This Kahlua ice-cream was made to beat the summer heat. Sure treat for coffee lovers.

A couple of my readers have dropped me questions on how I manage to get good ice-creams without any ice-cream maker. Though I would still stress on the fact that homemade ice-creams cannot be as creamy and voluminous as store bought ones. My simple trick is to fill the ice trays with the ice-cream batter, freeze them chill and then churn them in a high speed blender/mixer. It breaks the ice-crystals easily. Transfer to another container and then you return them to the freezer. It helps to a large extent.

Kahlua Pistachio Mini Popsicles

INGREDIENTS

200 ml middle fat cream
200 ml condensed milk
200 ml full fat milk
40-50 ml Kahlua (replace with strong coffee decoction instead for non alcoholic version)
2 tbsp chopped Pistachios
Sugar adjusted to taste

DIRECTIONS

Combine condensed milk along with the full fat milk. I do this in a mixie. Whip the middle fat cream to soft peaks. I used Milky Mist here. Add this to the whipped milk. Give a quick whizz. Add in the Kahlua. Replace with strong coffee decoction instead for non alcoholic version. Taste and adjust sugar to your taste.

Transfer this to ice trays and freeze them for 2-3 hours. Once almost set, transfer the ice-cream to a mixie and give a quick whizz till the ice cream is creamy. Transfer to the ice cream tray again and repeat twice. In the final churn add the pistachios and mix well. Transfer to popsicle moulds if available. You may also transfer to regular freezer proof containers and serve like regular ice cream.

I hope this ice cream brings smiles on your faces. It's super simple, easy-peasy and makes up a great treat. Simple to remember recipe with ingredients in equal quantities. Do try it sometime and be prepared for accolades to follow :) Hope you have some soothing moments with this treat while I shall be back with more next week.

Over the years that I have spent blogging on Vegbowl I never had a guest post and I wonder why? Having spent three years on this blog passionately, I should have ideally done this task earlier, probably been inviting more bloggers to write and share their recipes on Vegbowl. Somehow I kept procastinating on this. Better late than never, I have decided to invite my pals and blogger friends to help me share and fill my space with recipes and thoughts that they wish to pen down here. It's a good start I must say and that will kill any monotony in my style which I have been carrying throughout here. Do you wish to be a part? Mail me now!

To begin with I am incredibly happy to share my guest for the day Sharmilee as she shares her recipe for Baby Corn Pulao on Vegbowl with us. Sharmilee is an extremely talented blogger from Coimbatore, India and blogs on Sharmispassions. Her website has been around since 3 years and has gained immense popularity as she hosts a huge reportire of varied dishes ranging from starters to desserts with immense efforts that are shown in her step-by-step recipes and droolworthy photographs. I have been a huge fan of Sharmilee's work and I am glad to invite her to my place. Thank you Sharmilee for gracing my virtual space with your fabulous dish.

I always admire the pics at Veg Bowl and love MD's writing style, I never miss to read them. When she approached me for a guest post, I had no second thought as she is one of my fav and inspiring bloggers and a good friend too :) Thank you MD for the opportunity.

Recently vegbowl has moved to its new home and I wish MD and Vegbowl good luck in all the future endeavors!

Coming to baby corn pulao recipe, I recently tried this from a magazine, it was a instant hit at home so thought to share it with you all.

Baby Corn Pulao

Basmati rice - 1 cup
Water - 1.5 cups
Baby Corn - 8 cut into small pieces
Big Onion - 1 cut lengthwise
Curd - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

To Temper:

Bayleaf - 1/2
Cinnamon - 2
Cardamom - 2
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp

To grind:

Big Onion - 1 chopped roughly
Garlic - 5 pearls
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Turmeric powder - a genrous pinch
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Dhania powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2

Method:

1.Grind the ingredients listed under 'to grind' with little water and grind to a fine paste. Soak basmati rice for 15-20 mins, drain water. Add a tsp of ghee and saute the rice in a pan for 2 mins till the moisture leaves. Set aside.

2.In a pressure cooker, heat oil + ghee add the items listed under 'to temper' saute for a minute. Then add onions and saute till slightly browned. Then add the masala paste and baby corn, saute till raw smell completely leaves.It may take around 5-7 mins.

3.Then add curd, required salt and give a quick stir. Then add rice and water and pressure for 3-4 whistles in medium flame. Wait till pressure releases then fluff it up with fork gently without breaking the rice.

Serve hot / warm with onion raita.

My Notes:

• You can use the same recipe to make sweet corn pulao too.
• Adjust spice level according to your taste buds. The measurement above is medium spicy.
• You can serve it with plain or onion raita

Thanks Sharmilee for sharing your recipe here. It is an honor to know such a fabulous blogger like you!

This watermelon sorbet is so easy and simple that I reckon you to try at least once. The fact that you'll need no fancy ice-cream maker to whip it will make you thank me for that. It's a beauty that watermelons come with such naturally sweet flavors and bold red colors which add up to the dreamy prettiness of this sorbet. I found it hard to keep my little toddler at bay too! Seriously!

I may not be a hunter for recipes, but I know if something's got hooked to my mind, getting it off isn't that easy till I've made it. Sort of a similar thing with this sorbet too. Having tried my hands at couple of ice-creams and fro-yos, I realized I never featured any sorbets here. Not surprising though, since I've never been a fan of ice-candies, so you'll know why I hardly make them. I have a strong inclination for ice creams so my obvious choice have always been them. But the fact is this sorbet is different from those regular ones. You'll love it if you favor your fruits, even if it means you are not a fan of sorbet.

Summers are here, the weather has been stupendously hot and watermelons are in season. They accompany us back home every time we are out on our grocery shopping. So it's not surprising we are melon freaks. They are light and refreshing. They bounce life with their naturally sweet flavor, also them making a great summer snack. They have brilliant color and textures perfect for sorbets. That's a good enough reason I should make them.

Traditionally, sorbet is a frozen dessert usually made from fruit juice with a mushy consistency. My recipe deviates from the essence of using sweetened water flavored with fruit, instead I chose to freeze the cut fruit pieces and then blitz them in a food processor. It's short-cut, healthy, low-cal and guilt free. A watermelon contains about 6% sugar and 92% water by weight, so it needs no extra water and freezes beautifully well.

Watermelon Sorbet

INGREDIENTS

1 kg watermelon
1-2 tbsp sugar

DIRECTIONS

Deseed and chop the watermelons to bite sized pieces. Snack on a few pieces to taste and check for their sweetness. If naturally sweet you may refrain from adding sugar. Else, add a tablespoonful or two of sugar. Squeeze juice from half a lime and toss them well. Transfer them to a freezer proof container and freeze them for at least 5-6 hours or overnight. Just before making the sorbet, remove them from freezer and allow them to sit on counter top for 3-5 minutes. Give them a blitz in a food processor till the watermelon ice cubes break to crystals, yet don't let them melt. Work quickly. Scoop them out to a serving glass and serve immediately.

This incredibly refreshing icy sorbet is just lovely. The flesh adds so much texture and helps to hold the dessert well. It's filled with goodness from fruit, has vibrance in flavor with beautiful peppy color. Easy to make and elegant to serve. Simple and delicious. Just the right thing for summer soother!

I have two celebrations going on today. My little toddler turns one this very day. Exactly a year ago, it was today she was born which brought immense joy and happiness to our lives which words can't possibly express. Secondly, my bloggy baby has turned 3. The summer of 2009 on March 15th, somewhere in the noon, I published my first post publicly. Little did I know that I would sail a long journey with my blog, which grew constantly and in every way is an identity to me and my work. Happy Birthday both my babies, I love you both!

My attempts at making homemade marshmallows without corn syrup were successful and much appreciated, however not vegan. I’ve made these marshmallows couple of times now and they turn out perfect each time. Simple, easy and just 2 ingredients for a recipe that will not fail. Armed with that confidence and of sheer curiosity, I’ve been trying to experiment with agar-agar as a replacement for gelatin.

Of several sites I’ve read, successful vegan marshmallows have been possible with Xanthum gum, protein isolates, both of which I can’t fetch locally, hence agar is closest ingredient I can rely on. My struggle with making vegan marshmallows has been for a while, but to no avail. Agar simply fails to act the way gelatin does. My guess is that agar and gelatin have a different composition and gelling properties at different degrees, so they behave differently.

It’s magical what gelatin does to sugar syrup when whipped at high speeds, converting the entire syrup into a snow-white mass of fluffy, creamy, melt-in-mouth marshmallows… amazing! Agar fails to whip up the sugar syrup or stabilize it. My experiments with various proportions of agar, also cooked agar with the syrup and attempted to heat agar separately, all yielded disastrous effect to the end result. Even cooked agar at times failed to dissolve well, leaving speckles in the suspension. It either ended up in a pale caramel colored gooey, slimy mass of colloid or a sticky toffee like brittle, nowhere close what marshmallows are meant to be. An utter flop. An assurance that vegan marshmallows cannot be made with sugar and agar alone, they definitely need something more to be whipped up and stabilized. Till I get some Xanthum gum and protein isolates in my reach, I shall leave vegan marshmallows to rest in peace.

That apart, making homemade marshmallows is a breeze and fun too. Many with whom I shared these, were actually stunned when I told these were homemade… a pause, a blink in the eye and prying, some astonished if it was seriously homemade or just tagged so… had to convince! For the chocolate lover that we have at home, these marshmallows may not have made much of an impact, but these S’mores definitely did! He said “Wow, these are yum. Can we have more of these please!!!” S'mores as they call it for some more please... these little sandwich bars are popular American traditional campfire treats consisting of a roasted marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker, sinfully yum and decadent.

S’mores

INGREDIENTS

2 Graham cracker squares (I used Nutrichoice cracker squares)
10 gm. chocolate bar, broken/melted if necessary (milk, dark, semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate)
1 large homemade marshmallow

DIRECTIONS

On a clean plate, place one cracker square. Top it with the piece of dark chocolate. Microwave on high for 15-20 seconds to melt the chocolate slightly. Stick a fork into the marshmallow or using a tong, swirl the marshmallow lightly over open flame till the edges are golden brown. Do not hold longer as they will melt and fall apart. A couple of swift turns should do the job. Immediately place the marshmallow on top of the partially melted chocolate. Alternatively, you may toast the marshmallows under a grill too. Top it with the second cracker and press down gently so that some of the chocolate and marshmallow goo slides out on the sides. When the S'more is fully assembled, let it sit for a few seconds. Gently press them together and eat them like a sandwich! They taste best when warm.

Graham cracker squares are not available in India. An alternative would be digestive biscuits. However, I chose to use Nutrichoice cracker squares. They are thin, salted cracker squares and balance the sweetness from chocolate-marshmallow filling, just right for our tastes. The warm bittersweet chocolate and gooey marshmallows render creaminess to the dessert with a luscious center while the Nutrichoice cracker squares poise the sweetness, perfectly balancing it out. These are perfect little desserts which can be made ahead and taken to parties and adventure trips, pretty enough to win accolades.

Over the years there have been couple of recipes I’ve wanted to try but could never attempt for reasons plenty. In a land where ‘certain’ ingredients used primarily in Western cooking were unheard of and almost impossible to fetch, I wouldn’t blame myself if I pushed those recipes aside. Fortunately though, today we live in a pretty diverse city which has access to many of these imported items, it is still a challenge to fetch a Filo sheet, Wonton wrappers or even Puff Pastry sheets. I have not been lucky yet. I have given up mt hands on a local whipping cream, then would you expect me to look out for corn syrup, xanthum gum, agave nectar, etc.? Thanking my stars, least I have access to some good dark chocolate, vanilla extract or butterscotch chips, not with ease though!

I don’t remember eating marshmallows as kids. It’s not something we get here in stores. Only a couple of years ago, on our vacation to Ooty, I must have tasted my first marshmallows. And because you are on a vacation to a new place, you often tend to try foods that are speciality of that place, homemade chocolates and marshmallows happen to be quite popular here. And as predictable it can be, it was not one of those favorites among my parents for the lack of flavors or taste. And hence forgotten too…

Then, two years ago when my husband and me went on a vacation trip to Munnar and last year to Ooty, these marshmallows rocked my memories of those soft, pillow-like, melt-in-mouth candies. I had the freedom to enjoy couple of them there and packed a few to be eaten back home. Again as predictable it can be, marshmallows were never among my husband’s favorites too! So all that pack was devoured by me alone. Of course, to satisfy my husband’s chocolate addiction, our dear Rocky Road Bars were their counterparts!

Being a vegetarian, I was ignorant then that the animal product, gelatin goes into making these marshmallows. Though it doesn’t bother me much, since I am not staunch about vegetarianism (it’s just our way of life… didn’t we consume cod liver oil as kids… or what about the capsules... were eggs ever vegetarian…?), bringing home gelatin did bother me. Over the past two weeks I have been craving for marshmallows and my frantic search for stores in Bangalore didn’t lead me anywhere. Even the candy shops in malls ran out of stock. Are they kidding me???

I badly wanted to make them in my kitchen. Google gave ample recipes, most of them had one thing in common, corn syrup and gelatin. Corn syrup is an ingredient that is impossible to get locally and I would have preferred the recipe without gelatin. I’ve never used gelatin in the past, since agar-agar has worked mostly for me. I was skeptical how the marshmallows would turn out if agar powder was used. Despite all the possible research online, I concluded that gelatin was the only way I could get these right, at least for my first attempt. Again, since this was the first time I was attempting marshmallows, I decided to stick by what the recipe demanded, of course minus the corn syrup.

It turned out that these marshmallows were the best ever I’ve tasted. Absolutely yum and totally melt-in-mouth feel. If you taste one of these you’ll realize why you may never want to go back to the store-bought ones. Making these were darn easy and hardly any effort. With no candy thermometer at hand, I was mentally prepared for disasters… what if the sugar syrup ended in a caramel… will I get the right consistency… what the heck is that soft-ball stage… will the syrup whip well to marshmallow cream… will I be able to lift these marshmallows off the tray… if these fail, then what next… ???

Quite a lot of study went into making these little sweet treats. Several sites, recipes, reviews, comments which helped me gear up making these in my kitchen. I was armed with puffed rice at hand to make rice krispies, should these fail on me. And if the marshmallow cream failed to set, my digestive biscuits and dark chocolate were at my custody for some S’mores. Bear with me, these photos were taken at night on my kitchen counter with flash on. What was meant to be a weekend activity, I ended up making these on a weekday night. Put my little tot early to sleep and nudged myself to make these, I could barely hold my excitement. Sugar syrup went on a rolling boil and I kept looking for that soft-ball stage. Every time I threw a drop of that syrup in cold water it would dissolve into thin water. I gave up on that technic and instead stuck by India method of single thread consistency. A safer bet. Dropped a tiny dollop of syrup on a steel plate, allowed it to cool a little and then checked their consistency between my thumb and forefinger for a single string. It worked well. My mixer bowl had the gelatin blooming, however the moment the sugar reached that right stage, in the final boil, I threw in the gelatin to the hot syrup and gave a quick stir. Off the flame, I put the hot vessel directly on my stand mixer and gave the hot sugar syrup the desired blitz till it fluffed up and doubled in volume. Unlike what most recipes suggest (pouring the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture), I added gelatin to the boiling syrup to avoid any lumps or un-dissolved gelatin stuff. I guess it worked well for me.

Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows (without Corn Syrup)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cold water
2 tbsp. gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
A pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

To dust:

1 tsp. vegetable oil
1/8 cup cornstarch
1/8 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Prepare a pan: Mix corn starch and powdered sugar. Grease a square baking dish and dust with the cornstarch-sugar powder thoroughly. Grease a spatula with vegetable oil to transfer the prepared marshmallow cream.

Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water and allow it to bloom. Prepare your stand mixer by attaching a balloon whisk. A balloon whisk will help in pumping good amount of air, thus helping them double faster. In a heavy saucepan, combine water and sugar. Bring to rolling boil on medium heat, stirring occasionally. If you have a candy thermometer at hand, boil it till it registers 115 degrees C (235-240 F), soft ball stage. In case you don’t have one, drop a blob of syrup on a steel plate, allow it to cool a little and then check it’s consistency between the thumb and forefinger for a single string formation. As it cools down further you should be able to roll it into a soft ball. Many recipes suggest a soft ball stage by testing the syrup in a bowl of cold water, though I’m not sure why it didn’t work for me. Sugar tends to crystallize, hence keep a keen eye on your boiling syrup. Once it reaches the soft ball stage, quickly add in the salt and bloomed gelatin to the sugary syrup. Turn off the flame immediately and give a quick, proper stir to ensure that the gelatin has dissolved completely. It took me about 8-10 minutes to reach that stage.

Turn on mixer at low speed, slowly increasing it to high, beating it on the highest speed. Beat until very thick, fluffy and double in volume, about 12 minutes is what it took for me on a stand mixer. The entire mass will turn to a clean white fluff and when this cream no longer increases in volume it should be done. At this stage, add in the vanilla extract or flavoring of your choice and give a final whirl for a minute. Do not overbeat as it may stiffen and make it tougher to transfer. Do not feel tempted to touch or taste the marshmallow cream at this stage as it’s very sticky and stingy in nature and you’ll end up in mess everywhere!

Using the oiled spatula, transfer the cream to the greased tin. Scrape off all the batter from the bowl and spread evenly into the prepared pan. Gently level the tops using the greased spatula. Cool overnight or at least 4 hours before slicing. To slice, carefully transfer the entire sheet of marshmallows to a sugar-cornstarch dusted cutting board. Grease a very sharp knife or scissors and cut into desired squares. I suggest not to use a ridged knife as I had trouble cutting with them. Instead a sharp leveled knife should do that job better. Toss with remaining sugar-cornstarch mixture until all sides are evenly coated and no longer sticky.

To make mini-marshmallows, I used the rear end of greased piping nozzle, pressed them down on the marshmallow sheet and cut out rounds. To be used on marshmallow floats. They keep for over a week in air-tight containers. The longer you have them, the denser they get, making them perfect for cup of hot chocolate.

The entire process may sound lengthy and tedious, but honestly it isn’t much of an effort to make this fluff. Glad that these marshmallows turned out extremely yum and surpassed my expectations. My husband who’s not a fan of marshmallows too gave me a thumbs up. This recipe is a keeper for sure and I do intend to play with more flavors in future. Also, next on my card is an attempt to get them done the vegan way. Let’s see if the agar stuff works… will keep you posted.