I have never been fond of pies or tarts. In my humble opinion, pies are too much of a work that I can easily do without. Though I admit after that pastry dough attempt, I should call this hardly any effort. Pies are great no doubts, but I assume they can do more good to parties and big gatherings. As for a family of 2.5 (that .5 credit goes to my toddler, ahem ;)), I think it’s a lot too much than we can eat.

Not long ago, when I started out my culinary expedition paired with blogging and photography, out of sheer craze for collecting baking gears, I bought a couple of tart cases and pie tins to flaunt them in my ever growing collectibles. They sat, sat and sat in my ever brimming cabinet, weighed down by new objects of desire that piled up on them. I did not quite put them to use and they were soon forgotten. It was only until last week that I noticed a thick blanket of dust resting peacefully on them, growing at a steady pace, plump and nice, making a brand new piece of hardly used stuff look like an antique artefact dusted off from a granny’s attic. I seriously urge to curb my impulsive shopping flair. Some tips are most welcome please!

Amazingly, that’s not a case with my cookbooks. My study area has been stacked with cookbooks and magazines neatly, adding and multiplying by leaps and bounds by every passing month, wailing for space beyond what it can accommodate. A few purchased, a couple borrowed, some cut-outs, handy snippets, few subscriptions … and even as new cookbooks and magazines have added to my collection, the old books still hold a special place in my heart. You’ll find them scattered everywhere, some at my bedside table, here and there at the coffee tables, a couple on the kitchen counter, a few on the center table, handouts on my microwave, some under my pillows too… Phew!

Yet with so many cook books around I like to go back to my old one with classic recipes. I've admitted in the past, I totally love the Big Book of Baking for its classic collection of recipes. I've made several from them, never had them fail, blogged some here and continue to do so. As I dusted my pie pan, my thoughts quickly raced back to the recipe I had seen for tarts and pies in the Big Book of Baking. The perfect time I need to put my pans to use, before they can make up for a good sale in an antique store!

But when I set out to put the recipe together, lethargy kicked in and what was meant to be a neat fluted tart, ended up being a free form one, but of course baked on my fluted tart tin! Galetté, a notably French recipe, is a free form tart that can be either sweet or savoury and here’s one for Apple Cashew Galetté, made from locally fetched apples.

Apple Cashew Galette

INGREDIENTS

For the Pastry

90 gm plain flour
85 gm cold salted butter, grated or cut to small pieces
1-2 tsp. cold water

For the Filling

350 gm cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
62 gm soft light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
100 gm cashewnut halves

DIRECTIONS

To make the pastry, sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Rub butter into the flour using your fingertips. Add just enough ice cold water to bind and form a firm dough. Bring the dough together, knead very lightly and wrap in a cling film. Refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 220 deg C. Toss the apples with the all of the sugar and add ground cinnamon. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a 8-inch round. Transfer to a baking tray. Spread the pie filling over the dough, leaving an inch on the borders. Roughly fold the border over the filling, to ensure the filling is well cased, while leaving the center open. Top well with the cashew halves and bake for 45 minutes or until golden. Serve warm with whipped cream or custard or as is.

So we've stepped into the new year. Welcome 2013! With Newer hopes. Brighter dreams. Best of health & prosperity aplenty like never before, here’s Vegbowl giving a warm welcome to 2013 with hopes of bright future, a year full of good luck, surprises, love and prosperity. And I turned a year older as I celebrated my birthday yesterday in a discreet way. Wishes poured in, friends whom I don’t get to interact too often took time to wish, many messages on Facebook tipped in and all that made me smile. Yet somewhere deep within, there was nothing that made me feels fancy about celebrating as it reminded me that I was growing old. Yeah, I probably did enjoy all that stardom of congratulatory messages and gifts while in my teens or even early twenties. Not any more. As I cross a milestone, it feels deeply reflective and provokes thoughts about several things, which I simply wish to put aside.

While highs and lows are a part and parcel of everyone’s life, I wish to thank each and every one who directly or indirectly became a part of my life. For many who brought smile on my face, happiness in my life, for the ones who filled my life with countless moments of joy, fun and laughter making it memorable and worth living every minute, others who motivated and inspired me, who stood by rough waves, giving me strength, at all times. Thank you all for all making me feel so special and good about myself. I feel blissed and blessed!

After all that think-thanking done that I've been itching to type, I've been pondering over what recipe should be ideal as the first post for the year. The net has been hovering over with innumerable desserts and after the week long festivities and celebrations gone by, followed by New Year partying, I am sure you've had enough of food indulgence or more than what you had asked for. This perhaps is the right time to settle for this simple heart warming Khichdi that is basic, one-pot and delicious! It’s quick, light on tummy, healthy and delightful comfort food. With lentils, rice, vegetables and spices, it’s gluten-free, healthy and a complete meal in itself. The below recipe is one of my favourite where I like to use our traditional sambhar powder, however you can replace it with garam masala instead. Use ghee instead of oil for an extra flavour. A dash of lime will bring in that added kick to this Khichdi.

Moong Dal Khichdi

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup rice
1 cup Moong dal
1 tbsp. ghee/vegetable oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
6-8 cashewnuts
4-5 Garlic cloves
1 tsp. Grated ginger
1 large Onion, chopped
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1-2 Red chilli powder
1 tsp. sambhar powder
2-3 red chillies (optional)
1 cup Mixed vegetables (chopped beans, carrots, fresh peas)
Sprigs of Coriander leaves and dash of lime to garnish(optional)

DIRECTIONS

Wash rice and lentils together in couple of changes of water. Drain the water and set aside for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, in a pressure cooker, heat a tbsp. of oil. Fry the mustard seeds till they splutter. Follow it by adding crushed garlic cloves, grated ginger and onion. Fry them on medium high heat till the onions brown. Add whole red chillies if using. Next add the cashew nuts and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes followed by vegetables, beans, carrots, fresh peas and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the rice and lentils and fry for a minute more. Season with salt, red chilli powder and sambhar powder. Add double the quantity of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles. For a mushy khichdi, add more water before pressure cooking the khichdi. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot. Top with a dash of lime before serving.

It may sound clichéd, I really hate stating the obvious, but it is insane how quickly a year can fly by. I can’t believe that it’s time an entire year has gone by and we are close to its end. With hardly two days to go we will soon bid a bye to it. I hope you had a great time holidaying this Christmas with your family and friends. In a retrospect to the year 2012, it has been a fantastic one in all aspects that it pains parting away from it. It seems soon, too soon and I can’t come to terms in accepting that we are close to its finale. On a positive note, I am looking forward to the brighter prospects of 2013. My daughter is growing bigger and niftier with every passing day. The coming year she will turn 2 and may be step her first foot into schooling. She’s a quick learner and I am sure she will make waves in years to come.

To retrospect the year, the earlier part of the year has been quite eventful on personal and professional front. Firstly, I switched my job from what was right next door to travelling for hours in distance, yet I am in a sense of great satisfaction, getting what I expected out of my job. Then, as my daughter turned one this March, she moved out from her infant phase to being a high energy, active toddler which has been quite a welcome progress. That reasons why I have been quite lenient in blogging this year, despite taking time off in late evenings to keep my blog going. Strangely, I realized that I have been better than the last year where I had just about 37 posts and this year I crossed 40+ posts. Somewhere in February, I took a huge step when I moved out of blogspot to my own domain, but that was a wise decision, because I still love cooking, sharing, writing, clicking and blogging and all that’s associated with it! Sadly I missed out on many invites to media and blogger events that kept flooding my mailbox. But I realize I cannot stuff myself more than what I can take. So that’s okay.

This time of the year is when most people take a sabbatical, planning week long holidays or partying. What are your plans? The spirits are high, mood is warm and light and one inevitably tunes to being merry as the magical charm of New year steeps in. Hope you too enjoy these festive days with your families and friends and welcome the New Year with new hopes, dreams and loads of prosperity. In absolute desire to bid adieu to this year, here’s a quick pasta dish, Fusilli in Cheese Sauce I’m sharing with you. It’s nothing different than the traditional mac and cheese we’ve grown up eating. But yet, I would never want to replace the macaroni with any other kinds of pasta if I am making these. I always stock macaroni, but on odd days like this one, I ran out of macaroni and went ahead with fusilli. Here I did use fusilli, so I call it as Fusilli in Cheese Sauce, since Mac and Cheese, is Mac and Cheese and nothing else!

Fusilli in Cheese Sauce

INGREDIENTS

500 ml regular milk
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
200 g macaroni (1 pack)
1 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. plain flour (30gm)
125 g cheddar cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS

Cook the fusilli pasta in rolling boiling water with salt till its al dente. This will take about 10 mins or so. Drain out the water and then run the pasta under cold water to stop the pasta from cooking further. This also helps in keeping the pasta separate. Add a dash of olive oil, toss well and set aside.

Cut onion into quarters. In a milk pan, heat the milk along with onion, garlic and bay leaf until almost boiling. Remove from the heat, leave covered to infuse for 10 mins, then strain. Reserve the onion and garlic and use them as paste in other gravy dishes.

In a wide mouthed pan, melt butter. Add flour and cook stirring constantly for about a min on medium low heat. This is called as roux and is the base for thickeners. Pour the warm infused milk into the roux until smooth. Simmer for few mins, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened. The sauce is done when its thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Check by running your finger through the sauce on a spoon and it should leave a trail. Remove the pan from the heat, then add the cheddar cheese. Then stir until the cheese has melted. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Last week I baked my Christmas Fruit cake inspired from the English traditions of Nigella’s book How to be a Domestic Goddess. They turned out to be phenomenally good that they did not survive till the Christmas eve. Barely had I baked the cake and done with shooting them in a hurry, they were sliced while still warm and sent off to my family and friends. While a part of the cake went along with my hubby dear on an extended work related trip, other quarters were packed off and gifted to my family to be relished during the holiday season. The remains of the cake that stayed with me did not last longer either as I sought an instant gratification in the mere few slices I relished for my supper.

I did intend to post that recipe here today. Hardly had I seen off my husband, an urgency brought me the woes of travel with my little one and I was left in the dark to post no Fruit cake for Christmas here. The camera and the card which hosted all those treasured photographs of my cake stayed back home, miles away from where I am currently. But then lady luck played the Santa’s charm when I discovered that my post for homemade vanilla extract would be apt as Christmas gifts for your family and friends. Oh yes, for sure I made some gorgeous vanilla extract last month, scraping off all those seeds and freshness off the vanilla pods, dunked them into a bottle of vodka to permeate and mature into that million buck extract.

A couple of years ago, on our getaway trips to Munnar and Kodai, I had seen vanilla pods on sale at dirt cheap prices of Rs. 10 a pod. I hadn’t bothered stocking them then, because the vanilla essence at 20 bucks lasted for years and seemed worthy. It’s only after I got a few bottles of pure vanilla extract from Munnar, did I sense the bliss of using pure, fresh and natural extract. Making mine at home is not just easy, but indeed satisfying.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

INGREDIENTS:

5-6 Vanilla Beans
1 Bottle of Vodka, but you can also use Rum or Brandy too

DIRECTIONS:

Using a knife, split the bean into half. Scrape the vanilla beans into the bottle of vodka. Alternatively, use them into desserts, like puddings, custards and ice creams. Scrape off as much flesh as you can from the bean. Don't discard the skin. Instead place the entire bean into the bottle. Place about 4-5 vanilla beans pieces in each bottle for an intense flavoured vanilla extract. Close bottle and store in a cool, dry place for at least 2 months. Give the bottle a vigorous shake every week or so.

Now that’s what I call a realm of goodness in a bottle! Bottle them, label them and they'll make good for gifting this season!

I have great memories of playing wonderful set of indoor games with my long lost girlfriend A at her place. My sister and I would spend hours at her place frisking her most coveted collection of Barbies, boards and darts. Apart from being my dad’s boss’ only daughter she had an envious collection of indoor games and dolls to her kitty. Our office bungalows, where we lived then, lined adjacent and we would catch up either at her place or ours, our cartons laden with games of Scrabble, Ludo, Cards, Brainvita, Business and loads more.

We played endlessly in her company, often changing our games to bring around till boredom. In between these games, her mom, Mrs. B, stylish and chic, would elegantly bring in supplies of food and drink from her indulgent kitchen. It was a wonderfully evocative scene that blended food with imagination and made playing indoor games fun and inspiring, something that I foresee for my daughter too in future.

The moment we stepped in, her home wafted strong aromas sarson ka tel (mustard oil) which was traditional to their cuisine. Even today when I cook in Kachchi Ghani I am taken back to those luxurious evenings we spent at her place playing games in her bedroom, while blends of mystic aromas wafted through their kitchen enveloping the entire house with its essence till they pecked our nostrils and let our taste buds salivating. The Bengalis that they were, she often dished out hot pakoras, Beguni, Jhal Muri and more cooked in mustard oil, much to kids delight. She was an admirable cook exposed well to world cuisine and made various other non traditional dishes, many which inspired my mom too.

And like every Bengali, they too had huge fetish for fish and Mishţi (sweets). She doled out sweets and snacks effortlessly. Potlucks and birthday parties vouched these for proofs. Her puddings held a testimony to that. Not surprising we had never heard of clafoutis before, but strangely when I made this (inspired by Nigella's book, How to be a Domestic Goddess gifted by my hubby on Mother's Day!) and took a bite into this, it reminded me of puds Mrs. B used to dish out. Quite similar, just that they had no fancy names, but plain pudding. Dense, fudgy, not so cakelike, just a simple pudding. A cake sans the rising power from baking powder or soda. Call it a Clafoutis or whatever you like, this deep, dark chocolaty, intensely pudding kinds, is just right for the merry season of Christmas.

Double Chocolate Clafoutis

Inspired by Nigella's book, How to be a Domestic Goddess

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 eggs
4 tbsp. granulated white sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Handful of dark chocolate chunks

DIRECTIONS

Whisk together the cream, eggs and vanilla extract. Sift all of the dry ingredients together and and add this the wet ingredients. Whisk well to make a smooth batter. Pour the batter into ramekins or ceramic dishes and throw couple of chocolate chunks into the batter. Bake at 180 deg C for 20 minutes or until the clafoutis is golden brown around the edges. Serve hot with a dusting of powdered sugar.

In zeal of year end celebrations, it’s the piquancy of winter season that makes the last leg of the year very commemorative. We live in a country that swears by warm, sunny weather through most part the year, so when December welcomes you with gusty cold winds you yearn for, you can’t ask for something better! Apt for the season, it’s cold these days and the days are shorter. A bit of lethargy sneaks in as we snuggle deeper into the comfort of our quilt, unwilling to wake up to the bite of cold. As the alarm clock ticks itself to the wakeup call, I indolently push it to snooze only to catch up with couple of more minutes of my siesta. Not that my deep slumber holds on to me, but my head is dizzy to wake and I am half woken by the clock’s ring. On the fore, if sleep hovers itself, in the background, my mind is at unrest fighting away fears of waking up late and missing my office bus. Sleepy mind at unrest, that’s what cold winters can do to you.

Pulling off myself on the 2nd or 3rd ring of alarm, the floor is pitch cold as I hastily search for my slippers in the muffled rays of dawn that penetrates my room. Outside its cold and dark and as the first rays of amber sunshine begin to warm the sky, I drag my feet to the main door in sleepy eyes to reach out to the pack of milk that is door delivered by the milk man, as early as 4 in the morning. A splash of cold water on my face freshens me out of my slumber like a refreshing mint in a foul mouth. Before my man and my baby wake up, the milk is boiled, tea is made, while priorities race through my mind as I gear to organize for the day ahead. A quick round of discussion over a cup of tea with my hubby helps clear my thought process. But then that’s a daily facet.

There are some things other than the mundane that perk up our lives. If cold rainy winters can be dull and gloomy, I like to see the blessed part of it too. December brings about several comforting thoughts to my mind, about winter, the nip in air, waking up to be caressed by misty chill mornings, vibrancy of bounty fresh produce our markets will boast of, Christmas holiday baking, New year partying, which gives me good enough reasons to feel peppy about. Like the sight of first seasonal peas in the market or the Christmas tree in its glittery décor that has been put up in the nearby mall, year-end sales catching up at fast pace, obvious that we are chasing the last lap of the year that will soon be gone.

True to December, our markets are flooding with fresh produce of green leafy vegetables, cauliflowers, assortment of apples, juicy Nagpur oranges and bright pink strawberries. We are seeing first signs of fresh peas in the pod and I’m eagerly looking forward for more of litchis and figs. We are bringing apples, melons and pears in bulk. With Christmas which is hardly couple of weeks to go, I am pinning hopes to make use of all that bulk my refrigerator is currently stocked with, make time for some bakes that will keep my kitchen warm and cosy, roiling out dishes from the freshest of produce my markets have to offer. Food can be emotive in many ways!

I have already made a start with these breakfast muffins that make it perfect for the season. Healthy, flavoursome and quite festive too. Packed with health from fresh fruits, goodness from wheat, bran and cornmeal, crunch from nuts and eggless to boast, these will make a perfect beginning to my year end baking marathon.

Breakfast Muffins

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat flour
2 tbsp. cornmeal
1 tbsp. rolled oats, powdered
1 tsbp. coconut flakes (I've used frozen one here)
1 tbsp. wheat bran
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 bananas (I've used yelakki bananas here)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup apple, cored and finely chopped
1/4 cup pears, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. chopped cashews
1 tbsp. raisins

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C. Line the muffin tins with paper cups and set aside.

Blend the bananas along with milk, vanilla and dark brown sugar. Add the oil and vanilla extract and pulse again. Transfer to a bowl and set this aside. This becomes the base of our wet ingredients.

In a separate mixing bowl, mix all the dry flours, like all purpose flour, wheat flour, cornmeal, rolled oats, coconut flakes, wheat bran together along with baking powder and cinnamon powder. Add in the chopped fresh fruits, cashews and the raisins and toss well. Make a well briefly and add in the wet ingredients to these dry ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Spoon into muffin tins, almost to the tops of the rims.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Note:

The cup measurements mentioned here are standard Indian tea cups.

Cornmeal does have quite a distinctive flavour which may not be in favour of everyone's palate. So skip it, instead substitute with equal amount of wheat flour or all purpose flour. The batter will be slightly thicker than the regular cake batter.

I believe one’s childhood has several influences on one's life, including food. Memories associated with home cooked meals and family gatherings often make up most part of these influences. I have grave recollections of those meals I have relished at my friend’s home or even in a temple, that which have left lasting impression on my taste buds, the ones you want to solemnly go back and relish more, but you know you can never. Then there are other associations that influence the thought process, like reading books.

As a child, I loved reading Noddy and the tales of him getting into trouble woven around his food chronicles. Books written by Enid Blyton kept me hooked to the edges. At that time the only Brownies I had known was Noddy’s friend, Big Ears Goblin. Then came stories of Hanzel and Gretel that introduced to me to the Gingerbread house for the first time ever. The Famous Five & Secret Seven unleashed the simple joys of adventure travels to far beaches, winding islands, mountain biking, camping, the English cottages and beautiful Welsh countryside. Woven with adventures and picnics, the stories carried tales of how these teens fondly loved their homemade sandwiches, the ubiquitous ginger beer and lemonade, paired with loaves of crusty breads, classic cherry cakes and buns. Blyton’s caravan often painted copious spreads of raspberry pops, shortbreads, jam tarts which must have been every kid’s delight.

Its nostalgic when I come to think of it today. I relate to these now as they are in easy reach to us, but back then if I count these recollections, many of those indulgences remained unknown to me. The only cakes I probably knew were butter-cream sponges we got at our bakeries. Raspberry pops, shortbreads and scones never existed in our world. The pictures depicted in these books sprinted succulent thoughts in our petite minds painting a dainty picture of these scrumptious treats.

That explains why I remained prejudiced towards Classic English Cakes, something which associates myself with my childhood and the adventure in books I read. So again, I banked on my trusted book, The Big Book Baking to recreate the recipe for Classic Cherry Cake with figs replacing the cherries, my thoughts swiftly racing back to the fond memories of my childhood spent revelling in lovely descriptions of meals and picnics treats I had read. This is indeed a classic, one of those plain cakes that’s unpretentious, until you start slicing and eating it. A tea cake with a characteristic speckled beauty and crunch in every bite that makes a good buddy at any hour of the day.

Classic Fig Cake

INGREDIENTS

200 g plain flour
200 g soft butter
200 g caster sugar
3 large eggs
250 g dry figs, quartered
85 g ground almonds
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. baking powder
2 level tbsp. demerara sugar
1 tbsp. warm milk

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C. Grease a 8 inch cake tin and set aside.

Roughly chop the dry figs and soak them in hot milk for 15-20 mins till they soften and become mushy. Cream together the butter and sugar until light in color, pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating hard after each addition. Add the flours and baking powder together, and carefully fold this into the creamed mixture using a metal spoon. Toss the quartered figs in together with the ground almonds, and carefully fold these into the cake, adding one or two drops of vanilla essence. Spoon the cake mix into the prepared tin, levelling the top evenly with the back of a spoon, then sprinkle the demerara sugar.

Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour, or until the cake has shrunk away from the side of the tin and the centre is springy to touch. Cool the cake in the tin for 15 minutes before turning it out on to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tin.

Hope you had a fabulous Diwali! We did and continue to do so over a couple of days. We came together, lit up the evening, met up family and friends, shared wishes, had fun the eco-friendly way, celebrated minus the crackers, snacked well (of course should I even mention that???) and had a great evening in all. Food becomes an integral part of our celebrations and is rooted to our traditions, so this Diwali wasn't any different for us in terms of feasting.

You do remember I spoke about making sweets and savouries like, Kala Jamuns and Boondi on my previous post for this Diwali? Oh I forgot to mention using boondi in Chiwda and frying up some delicious crisp, thin Jalebis to make our evening warm and memorable.

Making Jalebis have always been on my mind. I had my inhibitions, probably the process of making sugar syrup and frying them made me nervous. However, with my little one around and in an attempt to satisfy her food cravings, I am tempted these days to experiment with dishes that I hesitated in the past. My tiny tot is an average eater, but she enjoys a good deal of variety on her plate. She takes me to surprise with her food habits and likings, her uniqueness with tastes, which can get quite unpredictable!

I pulled my sleeves up well with the art of making jalebis which aren't as difficult as they sound or seem like. The video by Manjula's kitchen did boost my confidence quite a bit and I set out to fry a small batch (measured half the quantity of tea cups), yet they seemed like a lot. Easily made up close to 20 odd jalebis. I chose an instant recipe using yeast, trust me it works beautifully. My grandma is an expert in making these the traditional way by soaking flours in curd and leaving them to ferment overnight. Every Diwali, way back in her kitchen, she would slave for hours, to carefully break open the eye of an empty coconut shell to pipe out perfectly round jalebi batter over a large wok filled with oil, fry them gently and dunk them into delicately flavoured sugar syrup, an appealing dessert that could easily serve a huge crowd and satisfy many taste buds. She was quite surprised knowing the fact that I hardly slaved over these. I replaced the besan to equal amount of rice flour as per my grandma's suggestion and the resulting jalebis were very crisp and sinful.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if the photographs here were good enough to post. So I apologize since the eve was hectic and with all that I had at hand I shot them in a hurry. But then its Diwali season and jalebis should be here hence.

Crisp Jalebis

INGREDIENTS

Batter:

1/2 cup All Purpose flour
1 teaspoon rice flour
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
A pinch of turmeric for color (optional)
About 1/3 cup of lukewarm water (as needed)

Oil to fry

Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Pinch of cardamom powder
Few strands of saffron
1 teaspoon of lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Dissolve the yeast in warm water and allow it to sit for about five minutes. Mix the flour, rice flour, turmeric, oil and sugar together. Add the yeast solution and mix well, making sure that there are no lumps and the batter is smooth. Set the batter aside and let it sit in a warm place for one hour. Make sure the batter is fermented. After fermenting batter will rise high and look frothy like the above picture.

Boil the sugar and water together. Add the lemon juice and saffron and close the heat.

Heat the oil in a kadhai or a frying pan. Check if the oil is ready by dropping dots of batter in the oil. If batter sizzles and comes up without changing color its ready. Fill the Jalebi batter into a piping bag with a plain round nozzle. Squeeze the Jalebi batter out in the hot oil in a pretzel shapes and fry them until golden-brown on both sides. Transfer into the warm syrup. Let jalebi soak in the hot syrup for a few seconds and take out. Serve hot.

Note: Having the oil at right temperature is the key to good jalebis. Fry jalebis on a low flame till they are golden in colour. I got a hang of this after my first 2 jalebis turned brown. Switch off the flame if the oil is too hot and the jalebi burn.

Iss diwali pe hamari dua hai ki, Apka har sapnna pura ho, Duniya ke unche mukam apke ho, Shoharat ki bulandiyon par naam apka ho! Deepawali ki dher saari shubh kamanayen!

On this Diwali we wish, May every dream of yours come true, Hope you achieve success in all endeavours, Hope your name shines on the pinnacle of fame and success. Wishing you a Happy Diwali!

As a kid or an adult, I have always loved the sight that Diwali brings to my eyes. It’s cheerful and welcoming, bright and seasonal in all vivid colors boasting the festivity. And beyond everything it makes time for us to remember our family and friends; take a while out of our busy schedules to unite with our pals, wish them and celebrate as one.

October-November is the blissful of all months as they are packed with festivities, feat and buzz. True, it’s not even weeks since Dusherra got over and we’ve already begun waking up to sounds of crackers; that reminds me Diwali is here. The makeshift tents that sold clay dolls of Gowri and Ganesha have now replaced themselves with mounds of clay diyas in all varieties. As I cross the market in my vicinity on my walk back home, the usual scenes of the day have changed to being busier and more crowded than any other day of the year. Street vendors have made their presence felt, occupying their spaces on either sides of the pavement, frisking their business with piles of Diwali goodies; diyas in all sizes and shapes, variety of colourful kandeels hanging high in the air, heaps of flowers making their way out of the wicker basket, neatly stacked mounds of rangolis in bright, bold colours being scraped out to be wrapped in newspaper pouches; make shift tents selling crackers of all kinds, with the crowd hovering over them in lure of obsessive shopping and celebrations. It’s a sight I love to watch, cheerful and happy people all around, carrying huge smiles as they walk back, their hands full, weighed down by the bulk of items they've shopped for the season. Almost every shop in the town is decorated with rice bulbs, tinsels and festoons, very glamorous and festive, calling out for attention, and their massive discounts are inviting enough to loot your money on all that’s on sale. It’s seriously tempting and I have been a part of that bargain, doing away with my old clothes and revamping my wardrobe with new clothes, sandals and accessories!

We’ll wake up to the dawn of Deepawali tomorrow morning. Since a week, I have been busy mopping our home clean, the cobwebs dusted, the kandeel has been put up to light the evening, oil lamps have been washed and the kitchen has been a busy bee. We’ll have the ritualistic oil bath tomorrow before sunrise, followed by donning new clothes and then the pooja, trailed by busy activities in kitchen for an elaborate feast. Our families will come together in the evening when sweetmeats will be out, the diyas will glow, the rice bulbs will sparkle, the kandeels will light our balconies, swaying high in the air, the sound of crackers will fill the atmosphere, and neighbours and friends will pitch by to pour in wishes.

With all this I realized that my post for Diwali is not published yet! Panic attacks me. Wasn't I prepared yet??? I pause, scan my drafts, but don’t find any that fits the occasion for traditional sweets and savouries. But then, I know my kitchen has been busy this entire week because I had promised myself I will cook them all in my kitchen, this Diwali. The Khara boondi has been made and stored in steel dabbas and they’ll be brought out tomorrow. The Kala Jamuns I prepared yesterday are soaking in their saffron syrup, absorbing all the succulent juices and they shall be ready to be served to all who’ll visit us. We’ll have some more sweets and savouries coming out of our kitchen, so I am pressed on time, which is little at hand, and have nudged myself to steal some time out to photograph a couple of decadent jamuns and post them here so that all of you can enjoy as much as we will.

Kala Jamun, as the name signifies is black in color, a color that comes from caramelization of sugar or re-frying of the jamuns. I’ve been an ardent lover of Gulab jamuns, but stayed much away from Kala jamuns till a couple of years ago when I first tasted them at Hotel Majorda in Goa. I mean how appealing can a sweet that’s black in color be to our eyes? I believe I was a convert because of the presentation. The silver wark topping the jamuns, lusciously absorbed in saffron syrup and pistachios dotting them did all the justice to these little treats as much as they deserved. In my attempt to make these kala jamuns from basis, I've used skimmed milk powder instead of Khoya (milk solids), an easier option and equally delicious. The nonfat milk powder we get in India is sweetened, hence frying the jamuns will inevitably lead to darker coloured jamuns than the store bought mixes, hence making kala jamuns is a breeze. Hope you’ll love them and will not fail to leave a lasting impression on your taste buds.

Kala Jamun

Inspired by Manjula’s kitchen

INGREDIENTS

For the Syrup:

1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
4 coarsely grounded cardamom seeds
Couple of saffron strands
1 tablespoon sliced almonds and pistachio
Silver wark, optional

For the Jamuns:

2 cups nonfat milk powder
1/2 cup plain flour
3 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk
Pinch of baking soda
Oil for deep-frying

DIRECTIONS

Syrup:

In a large pan, add water, sugar and saffron strands and bring it to a rolling boil. Let the syrup boil for a minute then remove it from the heat. Ensure the sugar is dissolved. Add the ground cardamom seeds. Set the syrup aside.

In a bowl, mix milk powder, flour and baking soda. Add the butter and mix well. Now add milk to make soft, sticky dough. Allow the dough sit for a few minutes. Milk powder will absorb the extra milk. If the dough is dry, add more milk, as the dough should be soft. Knead the dough lightly. Divide the dough into about 20 equal portions and roll them into round balls. Stick a pistachio in the center of each jamun and roll well to round balls. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Fry the jamuns till they turn brown. Continue frying till they turn darker in shade. Transfer the fried jamuns to the hot sugar syrup. Allow them to soak in the syrup for at least 30 minutes prior to serving. Top each jamun with silver wark and sliced almonds and pistachio and serve warm or at room temperature.

Like every year, this year too we shall look forward to the dawn of Diwali to celebrate the festival of lights in full life and spirits. Wishing you all a Happy, safe Diwali and a Prosperous New Year!

Last week I almost felt like the awesomeness of December winter was in the air. That’s when the bizarre North East cyclonic storms gave us an iconic threat with gusts of wind blowing hard and our toes went curling numb. It had been long time since Bangalore saw such rains, winds and chillness, a much desired respite from battling water problems in our city. Rain Gods heard our prayers, loud and clear. Misty Bangalore sky cried all day long and so through the night, bringing along with it biting cold, good drizzle and much shower we needed earnestly. We rushed home from work drenched in rain to stay indoors, sipped on piping hot adrakwali chai, snacked on spicy corn nuggets, enjoyed the melody of raindrops dripping onto our balcony shades, relished simple warm dinner and enveloped ourselves in the coziness of duvets pouncing on us, doing all that pleases one’s senses to stay cosy on a lovely rainy day like this one.

The splendid weather reminded me how much I love rains and winters. Though these rains really irk the hell out of me and have never done much good to my health or my sinuses, inhaling the aroma of the wet soil and indulging in some sizzling, spicy food can ignite happy mood and evoke nice feelings. It’s a perfect time you sit on the porch observing dark gloomy skies, while relishing some fresh hot pakodas, or sip hot, spicy masala chai and enjoy the showers outside in disposition to elevate the blissful moments.

But then to break the traditional monotony of snacking on pakodas and bajjis, to keep it healthy in lure of my health and to deem it ideal for my little toddler too, I whipped up these quick guLiappams, flavoured them with grated sweet corn, freshly chopped mint and seasoned them with green chillies. GuLiappams are traditionally South Indian breakfast dish made using fermented lentil batter, often spiced mildly, authentically made in cast iron appam mould (a slotted pan where the batter is filled) and cooked on a gas top. The ones I made are quick, instant and spicy too, making them ideal for breakfast. I paired them with some spicy peanut chutney powder I made in the day and they made up for an excellent evening snack we craved for the rainy day.

Corn and Mint Appams

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup semolina (sooji rava)
1/2 cup rice flour
1 sweet corn, grated
Couple of mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup regular yogurt or more (not the Greek/thick yogurt kinds)
1-2 green chillies, chopped to fine pieces
1 tsp. baking soda
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Grate the sweet corn and mix in semolina and rice flour to it. Add in regular yogurt little by little till it comes to thick batter consistency. Sweet corn as some water content in it, so judge the amount of yogurt required to make a batter as thick as cake batter or dropping consistency. Add the chopped mint leaves and green chillies and adjust salt to taste. Whisk well. Finally add in the baking soda, give the entire batter a quick, good whisk.

Oil the appam pan well and bring it to heat. Using a spoon, scoop out the batter and drop into each appam mould. Fill all the moulds with the batter and allow to cook on medium low heat. Carefully flip the appams upside down and allow them to crisp well on both the sides. Serve hot with some fresh coconut chutney or chutney powder like I did.

Pick up one, take a bite, its savoury, spicy and bold. The Peanut chutney powder I made earlier in the day added further to the spice, making it delightfully right for that evening. I shall share the recipe for Peanut chutney powder in my forthcoming posts. Till then, make merry, enjoy life and celebrate Diwali in full fun and masti!