Witch-Hat Cookies

Happy Halloween! We’re having a nice time handing out candies to incredibly cute kids in our neighborhood. The week before, we had a really fun Halloween party complete with traditional American-Halloween games such as Bobbing for Apples - which involves dunking your head in a tub full water to retrieve floating apples with your teeth! Anyway, I was looking around for spooky treats to prepare for the party, and decided to take a slightly easier route by trying out Giada’s yummy looking chocolate-hazelnut smooches that came out looking like adorable witch-hats - the good witch kinds ;).

Another reason why I really wanted to try this cookie was to somehow find an excuse to (buy) and use Nutella! If you haven’t tried Nutella yet, it’s a “sin”! ;). Really. How I wish my childhood had Nutella in it! That’s my only regret.

Anyway, so I followed the recipe as such. It’s a simple chocolate cookie, except the rich cream of Nutella goes into it, and the balls of cookie-dough are rolled in orange sprinkles and baked for 7-8 minutes at 375 F, following which Hershey’s chocolate kisses are placed at the center of the cookie and baked for another 3 minutes.  And you get delicious witch hats waiting to be devoured. Next time, I would probably bake smaller sized cookie balls so that the Hershey's kisses are proportional to the diameter of the cookie, making them look like realistic mini-hats.

I know, this was such a benign Halloween treat! Next year, I shall up the ante and venture into more gory-looking, spookier treats!

To make up for the lack of spookiness of the treat, here is Anand lurking as a werewolf!

Somasi

No, it’s not a spelling mistake. I did mean “Somasi” and not “Samosa”. It’s surprising how many people get confused. But it’s understandable. While Somasa is a widely popular savory pastry, Somasi is a lesser-known sweet that resembles a Samosa in shape. It is yet another South-Indian sweet which didn’t catch up to much fame, although I’m not sure why. It’s quite easy to prepare and tastes really good. Plus, it’s deep fried! The outer shell is made from either wheat dough (chapathi/poori dough) or from a mixture of semolina and all-purpose flour, and the inner stuffing is a sweet powder. My in-laws sent us a whole lot of this stuffing, making life extremely easy for me to prepare some Somasis! So, here is the recipe for both the stuffing and the entire Somasi, thanks to my mother-in-law.

Ingredients 
For the Stuffing

1. Pottu Kadalai (roasted split chickpeas) - 2 cups
2. Dessicated coconut (grated) - About 2 - 3 tablespoons (approximately worth 1 coconut)
3. Poppy seeds - 2.5 tablespoons
4. Cardamom powder -  1 - 1.5 teaspoons
5. Sugar or brown sugar or powdered jaggery - 2 ¼ cups

The above stuffing can be stored for a few months in an air tight bag/container placed in the refrigerator or freezer.

For the Shell

1. 2 cups of wheat flour (Aata flour) OR equal quantities of semolina flour (rava) and all-purpose flour (maida). The latter makes the shell more crispier, but I tried it with wheat flour.
2. ½ teaspoon of salt
3. 1 cup of water or as needed to knead the dough

Preparation

    For the Stuffing
Separately roast the pottu kadalai, coconut, and poppy seeds as below:

1. Slightly roast the pottu kadalai till it becomes warm to the touch. Remove from heat, and let it cool. Once cool, powder it in a coffee grinder or a mixer until fine. Don’t over grind for the bean may start to release some oil. Sift the ground flour and keep aside.
2. Roast the dessicated coconut (or regular shredded coconut) till all the moisture is removed, and the gratings are dry and slightly brown. Do not burn, so roast over low-medium heat. We roast in order to dehydrate the ingredients, thus lengthening the shelf-life of the stuffing. Grind the roasted (and dried) coconut for a couple of whirls in the grinder/mixer. Again, do not over-grind for the coconut will start releasing oil.
3. Roast the poppy seeds till they are warm to touch. Cool, then grind a bit. Do not over-grind.

Mix all the roasted powders along with the sugar/brown sugar/powdered jaggery, and the cardamom powder. The stuffing is ready. 

  
    Making the Somasis (yields 24 somasis)

1. Mix two cups of wheat flour (or 1 cup each of all-purpose flour and semolina flour) and some salt in a bowl. Keep adding a bit of water and start kneading the dough until it comes together as an even, non-sticky, soft mass.
2. Take a small marble-sized dough, roll it out into a thin circle, and place a teaspoon or so of the stuffing (powder) in the center. While rolling the dough, dust some flour on the board to avoid the dough from sticking.
3. Line the outer rim of the dough with some water, and close the dough as a semi-circle. Firmly seal the corners by crimping the sides (as you would a pie crust). You can fold the excess corners on top of each other and using a fork crimp the edges. It’s important to firmly seal the edges to avoid any spilling of the stuffing.
4. Heat 4-5 cups of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, gently drop the somasis and fry till golden brown (like a poori). Drain on paper towels. Adjust the heat between medium to medium-high. 

   

And that’s all there is to it. Store the somasis in an air-tight container (preferably wrapped in paper towels) so that they remain relatively crisp. But they are best eaten when they are hot and crunchy!

Maida Biscuit

Maida biscuit is one of the most easiest snacks to prepare. It tastes good (of course, anything that is deep fried, ought to!) and it requires very minimal ingredients and time. These biscuits come in two versions - sweet and savory. You add sugar to the former, and salt to the latter. That’s it. I thought I would try this simple snack by taking a slightly “healthier” route - baking instead of deep frying.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of all purpose flour (maida)
2. 1 - 1.5 teaspoons of salt (according to your preference)
3. 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
4. ¼ - ½ stick of unsalted butter (I used 1/2 stick; the more the better, of course :))
5. 1 teaspoon slightly crushed cumin seeds (jeera)
6. ¼ teaspoon of Hing
7. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional)

Preparation

1. Sift the all-purpose flour. To the sifted flour, add salt, chilli powder, crushed cumin seeds, and hing. Mix together. If you prefer, you can add some baking soda at this point. Since we’re not deep frying, the baking soda helps the biscuits to puff a bit while baking. But it’s optional.
2. Add room temperature softened butter (cut into pieces) to the dry mixture and start kneading the dough by sprinkling some water (a total of about 3/4 cup). You could use an electric beater too. The dough needs to come together into a soft mass - very similar to the consistency of chapathi dough. The dough should be soft and cushion-y to touch.
3. Roll out the entire dough (or a batch of it) using a rolling pin. Powder the rolling surface and the dough with some flour so that it doesn’t stick to the surface. Spread the dough into a pseudo-rectangle to about 1/4-1/8  inch in thickness.
4. Using a pizza cutter/roller (or a very sharp knife) cut the dough into small rectangular/diamond pieces.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet/cookie tray with parchment paper (wax paper). Arrange the cut biscuits on the tray and bake them for 10-12 minutes on one side. Flip all the pieces onto the other side, and bake for 5-8 minutes. The biscuits should turn slightly golden brown in the oven. Remember, when you take them out, they continue baking in the remaining heat and they turn a shade darker. So don’t wait for the biscuits to turn brown in the oven.

I was pleasantly surprised that they were quite crunchy, and when stored in an air-tight container, they remained fresh and crunchy for more than a month without a trace of staleness! If you want to deep fry, just add the cut pieces to hot oil and fry till they turn golden brown.

Thattai

Thattai is a crunchy South-Indian snack. It is prepared during special celebratory occasions. It is difficult to come across someone who doesn’t like munching on thattais. My mother-in-law makes awesome thattai! So, this recipe comes from her.

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups of finely ground rice flour
2. ½ cup finely ground urad-dhal flour (ulutham maavu)
3. ¼ teaspoon of hing
4. 1 teaspoon of salt (or according to your taste)
5. 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
6. 1 tablespoon of grated coconut
7. ½ stick of unsalted room temperature butter (or ¼ stick)
8. 1 tablespoon of channa dhal
9. 2 teaspoons of sesame seeds (white or black)
10. Oil for deep frying (5-6 cups of vegetable oil)

Preparation:

Top: The consistency of the dough; Bottom: The flattened dough ready to be fried

1. Soak the chana dhal in water for 5-6 hours.
2. Dry roast the rice flour for a few minutes (5-6 minutes) and immediately remove from heat. Be careful to remove the rice flour before it turns pink or brown due to heat. This implies that you instantly transfer the roasted flour to a separate bowl.
3. Sift together the rice flour and urad-dhal flour to make sure there are no fine lumps.
4. To the sifted flour, add salt, hing, chilli powder, and sesame seeds and mix well.
5. Add room-temperature butter and start kneading it with the dry ingredients. Sprinkle water as needed (a total of about 1/2 cup) till the dough starts coming together. Tip: If you own an electric beater, it comes in handy to knead the dough - at least for the most part! It saves your arm muscles a bit of effort.
6. At this stage, add the grated coconut and the soaked channa dhal (without the water) and continue to knead the dough vigorously (with a few sprinkles of water as needed) till it forms a uniform stiff dough with a few cracks. The consistency and texture of the dough should be harder/firmer than chapathi dough. To test: roll out a small ball and press it down on your palm. The pressed dough should crack a bit at the sides. If not, there is a bit more water. You can fix the dough by sprinkling some rice flour and kneading it till it reaches the right state. Note: if the dough cracks a lot and crumbles, then there is very little water, and it’s not the right consistency either.
7. Heat the oil. Test if the oil is hot by dropping a bit of the dough. If it starts sizzling and frying, the oil is hot. Vary the temperature of the oil between medium to medium-high depending on how fast, or how brown the thattai turns (or rather burns).
8. Remove a little bit of dough, roll it between your palms to make a small round ball (the size of a glass marble or slightly smaller), press it between your palms to thin it out nicely. Thin it out as much as you can without tearing the dough. (Trivia: The act of pressing the dough with your fingers and palms is the reason why thattai got its name... for in tamil “thattai” means flat, or pressed)
9. Gently transfer the thattai to the hot oil, turn it around till both sides evenly crisp to a nice golden brown.  Make sure the oil is not too hot - it may result in the dough not cooking properly. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Thattais are great by themselves and don’t require any dip or sauce.

Mysore Pak - A Shortcut

Another Depavali just whizzed by. The festival of lights, pomp, and treats is sorely missed by us. But despite being mocked and taunted by our friends in India, we still try yo keep up the spirit of Deepavali by preparing a few sweets and savories and spending time with friends.  But this year, we were more than tied up  with work to participate in any active celebration. However, we received  a generous bounty of sweets, snacks, and new clothes from India, so we gratefully wore the lovely attires and gorged on the home-made delicacies!

I was more enthusiastic last year, and meticulously spent a whole week preparing some Deepavali sweets and munchies. One of the sweets I made was the hugely popular Mysore Pak. If made right, they taste so heavenly and literally melt in your mouth. But then, you need to be totally in the dark regarding its preparation, and remain ignorant of what ingredients (and how much of it) goes into this sweet to truly enjoy it without any shred of guilt or worry! The first time I witnessed the preparation, I was speechlessly horrified at the amounts of ghee and sugar that were literally poured! It’s almost as if the besan (channa dhal flour) is just the minor binding ingredient to give a base for all the sugar and ghee :). When I had made up my mind that I would never ever have the courage to prepare this sweet, one of my good friends shared a lower-calorific, microwave version of it from this blog : http://shakaharisapadu.wordpress.com/2006/10/16/mysore-pak-in-a-jiffy/

I tried it immediately and was pretty impressed at the output! Of course, nothing beats the taste of mysore pak that is made in the traditional manner, but this came pretty close, especially considering how fast it is to prepare! However, I made a few changes to the quantities to further reduce the ghee and sugar. I also adjusted the heating times a bit.

The changes to the ingredients are:
1. I don’t add any maida (or all purpose flour)
2. I add only ½ cup of ghee
3. I add only 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups of sugar (2 cups of sugar was quite a bit for us)
4. I also generously sprinkle cardamom powder at the end (right before pouring the hot mixture onto a greased plate).

I follow almost the same heating procedure as suggested in the blog, except  for one change. After the addition of milk and sugar, I heat the mixture till it begins to rise and froth vigorously. Sometimes, it might take a little more than 3 minutes. My friend was the one who offered this tip to me, so thanks to her, the mysore pak always solidifies to the right consistency! Another valuable tip, heat the mixture in a tall and wide microwavable container (glass container is ideal). Since the mixture rises and bubbles, there may be some unfortunate spilling if your container is small.

The more there is ghee, the better the sweet will be! But if you can compromise on ¼ cup of ghee, then this version will satisfy you quite well :). Else go ahead, add the extra ghee and enjoy to your heart’s content!

 Sorry about the splatter of cardamom powder across the pieces. I had forgotten to add it prior to transferring the bubbling hot mixture onto the greased plate.

Bitter Gourd Pitlai

Since most South-Indian meals involve cooked rice, we have a host of gravy-like side-dishes that are ladled over warm rice to be mixed and consumed. Rasam, Sambar, and Kuzhambu are the most common tamarind based gravies. While rasam is usually made with tomatoes and are slightly runnier in consistency, sambar and kuzhambu are of thicker consistency and are cooked with a wide range of vegetables. Another distinction between sambar and kuzhambu is that the former contains cooked lentils/dhal, while the latter does not.

Pitlai is a dish from the Sambar family. It has slight variations in consistency, spice mix, and the vegetables that are usually added. Pitlais are most often made with bitter-gourd (paavakai). As we are all aware today, bitter-gourd has several medicinal properties such as curing stomach ailments and controlling diabetes. But there are very few people who eagerly look forward to eating bitter-gourd. So, my assumption is that our great-great-great grandmas cleverly sneaked in this bitter vegetable in spicy, delicious gravies like Pitali that almost entirely mask the inherent bitterness of the vegetable. The focus is drawn towards the plentiful flavors of the spices that go into Pitlai, and not towards the bitter vegetable, which arguably becomes limp and overcooked. But the subtle bitterness complements the rest of the flavors beautifully.

My mom is well known for her paavakai pitlai. And her secret ingredient (borrowed from my great-grandmother) is jaggery. 
 

Ingredients

1. Bitter-gourd - 2
2. A small lime-sized ball of tamarind (half a lime sized, if the lime is big)
3. 1 inch piece of jaggery
4. 1.25 cups of raw toor dhal (lentils)
5. 4 - 5 teaspoons of coriander seeds (these are the main flavor contributors, and I personally like to go a bit heavy; but this will not be overpowering)
6. Bengal gram dhal - 3 teaspoons
7. Split urad dhal - 2 teaspoons + 1 teaspoon
8. 4 dry red chillies (or according to spice intake)
9. 2 tablespoons of coconut gratings
10. 2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable oil or olive oil)
11. 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
12. ½ teaspoon of hing
13. 1 teaspoon of turmeric
14. 2 teaspoons of sambar powder (home made or store bought; the recipe will hopefully appear in a future post)
15. a few curry leaves
16. some coriander leaves
17. Salt - 1.5 teaspoons (or to taste)

Preparation

Stage 1

1. Cook the toor dhal till it becomes soft and mushy.
2. Soak the tamarind in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the bitter gourd lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds (the thick fleshy part), as they are known to cause the most bitterness. Ideally, keep them intact for nutritional value. Cut the gourd into ½ inch half-moon slices. My grandmother used to soak the cut gourd in salted water or tamarind water to further remove the bitterness. I personally haven’t found much of a change in the bitterness even if such steps are taken. But you could give it a try. Soak for just 15 minutes or so.

Stage 2

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet. When hot, add the coriander seeds, bengal gram dhal, urad dhal (2 teaspoons), red chillies, curry leaves, and a pinch of hing. Saute on medium heat till the pulses start turning brown. Remove from heat, add coconut grating and stir. Allow the spices to cool.
2. Once cool, grind them to a smooth paste by adding about ¼ - ½ cup of water (or as needed). I personally like this spice ground to be smooth, but some like a coarser texture.

Stage 3

1. In a medium-sized pan, add the cut gourd pieces. Extract the juice of the soaked tamarind, and add it to the pan. Add a second round of room-temperature water to the tamarind pulp and squeeze out more juice. Add the juice to the pan. Repeat with a third round of water to the remaining tamarind pulp.
2. Add jaggery, salt, turmeric, and sambar powder, and cook the gourd on medium heat till it becomes tender and the tamarind solution doesn’t have a raw smell.
3. At this point, add the cooked toor dhal and mix well. Pitali is supposed to be thicker than sambar, but if the consistency is too thick, dilute with a bit of water. Also, we personally like to add a bit more dhal, so reduce the dhal to ¾ -1 cup if you don’t prefer much dhal (although, you should prefer it ;)). Let it cook (uncovered) for 10 minutes.
4. Finally, add the ground spice paste and mix well. Let the pitali simmer for 5-7 minutes. Taste and check for seasoning.
5. In a separate pan, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. When hot, splutter mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon of split urad dhal, and ½ teaspoon of hing. Pour the garnish over the pitlai and remove it from heat. For further garnishing, sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves. Mix the garnishes before serving.

As I mentioned, the sweetness of the jaggery makes all the difference (according to me). It cuts through the tartness of the tamarind and the bitterness of the gourd and balances all the flavors. 

 
Since Pitalis have a bit more dhal and are thicker in consistency than Sambar, they also make good side-dishes for idli, dosa, and adai.

Banana Chocolate Bread

Banana Bread. The first thing I ever baked. And it is probably the only baked good that I can blindly rely on when all else fails. I have perfected it enough to even improvize a little! And believe me, that’s a huge start for someone who treats baking as an exact science and meticulously measures everything.

I baked my first banana bread thanks to a colleague and friend of mine who invited me to her place for an evening of baking and heart-to-heart conversations. What a wonderful way to be introduced to baking lessons!

So here is the recipe for one of my most tried and tested (and beaten to death!) dessert!

Ingredients

1. 4 over-ripe bananas - the kind that makes you want to toss them in the trash. Please don’t! Put them in the freezer and they will last for several weeks till you find the time to make some banana bread!
2. 1 stick unsalted, melted butter
3. ¾ - 1 cup of white sugar/brown sugar (brown sugar will taste much better than white sugar)
4. 1 egg (or 1/4 cup yogurt)
5. 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch cocoa/Ghiradelli chocolate powder)
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7. 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8. ½ teaspoon all-spice
9. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
10. 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
11. 1 ¼ cup of all-purpose flour
12. ½ cup of finely chopped almonds or walnuts (optional)

Preparation

1. Mash the bananas into a fine pulp (if your bananas are frozen, thaw them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or more, till they soften)
2. Mix the bananas with the melted butter.
3. Add the sugar and mix again. I have baked this at a time when I didn’t possess any fancy electric mixers or beaters. So a simple spatula should do as a mixing tool.
4. Beat the egg in a separate bowl (if using an egg). Add the egg/yogurt to the above and mix again.
5. Now, add the vanilla extract, Kosher salt, cocoa powder, nutmeg, all-spice, and cinnamon and incorporate them in the batter.
6. Finally, add the all purpose flour and gently mix till the batter evenly comes together with the flour. As I keep stressing, do not enthusiastically over-mix the batter at this stage. Just stir till the flour is just combined.
7. If you’re adding any nuts, add them at this point and gently give a stir.
8. Grease a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan. Spoon out the batter into the loaf pan. Lift the pan about 1 inch from the counter and then drop it down on the counter a couple of times to release air bubbles. Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes (or until a cake tester comes out clean)
9. Allow the bread to cool for 15-20 minutes. When cool to the touch, loosen the sides of the bread with a knife, smack the bottom of the pan on the counter again, and invert the bread onto a plate.

I have reached that phase in my life where I believe chocolate will elevate the taste of any dessert. Hence, the addition of the chocolate/cocoa powder. And true to the hypothesis, it indeed does make the bread taste all the more better! And the spices add a deeper layer of flavors. 

 
And finally, the more mushier the bananas, the moister the bread.

Sweet Appam

Sweet appam used to be a very common snack that my grandma used to make for us cousins. I am always reminded of her and our blissful, worry-free summer vacations every time the aroma of appam batter wafts to my nose. It is also one of the several dishes whose batter is absolutely delicious! In fact my cousin used to insist on eating the batter as is and not frying it into lovely little puffy balls! Wonder if she has changed her eating pattern these days :)

Appam can be called as the South-Indian equivalent of donuts, although the tastes definitely differ. It is also quite simple (and safe) to fry.

Ingredients (Yield 14 appams)

1. 1 cup of whole wheat flour (i.e., aata flour)
2. ¼ cup of rice flour
3. ¾ - 1 cup of powdered jaggery/brown sugar/white sugar.
4. 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder
5. ¾ cup of water (or a little more)
6. 1 ripe mashed banana (I know, an uncommon ingredient for most. Nobody in my household uses/has used this ingredient. But those with Paalakad/Kerala influence, use banana in their appams. And I love the addition!)
7. ¼ cup of grated coconut (optional. I usually don’t add coconut)
8. 2-3 cups of vegetable oil to fry

Preparation

1. Mix the wheat flour, rice flour, and jaggery/sugar in a bowl.
2. Add ¾ cup (or an approximate quantity) of water and mix. It’s better to add water in ¼ cup increments until you get a thick paste that you can scoop out with a spoon/ladle and easily drop (without vigorous shaking of the ladle).
3. Add the mashed banana and mix well (the riper the banana, the better it is to mix, and the more flavorful the appam will be). If you need more water at this point, then sprinkle some.
4. Finally, sprinkle the cardamom and coconut. Some people also mix a teaspoon of ghee into this batter. But, I usually skip the coconut and ghee.
5. Heat oil in a deep heavy-bottomed frying skillet, on medium-high. Test if the oil is hot enough by dropping a bit of batter. If the batter starts sizzling and rising to the top, the oil is hot enough. Reduce the heat to medium.
6. Start frying by slowly dropping a small-ladle of batter into the oil. One can fry about 2-4 appams at a time (of course, depending on the size of your pan). Since one uses the ladle to transfer the batter into the oil, the fingers are safely out of danger-zone. Yet, be careful so as to not plop the batter into the hot oil, causing dangerous splashes.
7. Move and flip the appams until they are evenly cooked and fried to a deep golden brown. Transfer them onto paper napkins to drain excess oil.

And appams are ready. They are usually had as is, and disappear in no time!