Kaju Katli / Cashew fudge

Perhaps the mother of all Indian desserts, Kaju Katli is a universal favorite. The soft, buttery texture of the doughy-cashews, and the sweet scents of cardamom, saffron, and rosewater will tempt even the most disciplined sugar-opposers. 

Making Kaju Katli is simple, in theory. However, in practice, I found most recipes to be missing some key links. I failed, failed, and failed some more in my attempts before I finally, finally, stumbled into this method, when I decided to experiment with the only fickle agents in this recipe - the consistency and heat applied to the sugar syrup. Meanwhile, my kitchen was filling up with more and more Kaju ladoos from all the failed experiments!

Here are the critical aspects that determine the success of this treat:

• The sugar syrup is the most important part of the recipe. If the sugar is over-boiled beyond the one-string consistency, the texture of the katli turns from fudge-like to candy-like. And once the sugar syrup reaches the one-string consistency, immediately remove from heat and do the rest of the steps without heat. Additional heat will turn the mixture to candy
•  Knead, knead and knead the mixture to a smooth dough. Initially, it will seem almost hopeless to get to the smooth dough stage, but keep at it
• It's really really important to act fast! Act quick - especially while removing the sugar syrup from heat, and while kneading the mixture, rolling it out, and cutting the fudge.

In the end, if all else fails, make the ladoos!

Kaju Ladoo / Cashew Ladoo

These cashew ladoos were a happy accident during my Diwali trials! This is so simple to make, I am surprised I never considered it before! We use the intrinsic fat in the cashews as the essential binding agent for these ladoos. It literally takes a few minutes,  and a good Indian mixie / food processor to make this delicious treat.

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is one of the easiest Indian desserts possible, not to mention relatively healthy! It is prepared with creamy yogurt, sweetened to your liking, flavored with any fruit pulp/syrupy flavoring, and spices such as cardamom and saffron. 

I made two kinds of Shrikhand this time - one is mango flavored, and the other is rose flavored.

Almond Crumb Cake

An East-Coast favorite, the simple crumb cake graces almost every coffee house. Mildly sweet, spongy and crunchy at the same time, the crumb cake doesn't overwhelm the palate. In this version, I added almonds and almond extract to make the cake extra crunchy and subtly aromatic.

Berry Cake with Cardamom

I love desserts with the berries, especially crumbles. Since I'd not tried making a mixed berry cake before, I set out to rectify the oversight with this simple berry cake, flavored with cardamom and some crunchy turbinado sugar sprinkled on top.

Espresso Cake

For a while now, I have been trying to experiment with a coffee-flavored cake. Most coffee/espresso flavored cakes usually have the bulk of the flavor coming from the coffee-flavored tiramisu-eque frosting. But what if some coffee is added to the cake itself? Does the flavor transfer over? Intensify?

The answer is - when coffee is added to the cake batter its flavor is bright and great on the palate. However, upon baking, the coffee flavor turns very mild and smoky, and thus hard to discern. So, you do need some form of frosting to impart the coffee flavor. (I tried drizzling some coffee to the freshly baked cake and let it soak in the flavors, but it ruined the texture and consistency of the cake). I'm not sure if adding more coffee to the cake is the solution, or if there is some secret ingredient that will help the coffee retain its composition and flavor while baking. Please let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions!

The cake by itself has a warm and smoky flavor (especially if brown sugar, molasses or honey is added). So, it's definitely worth a try for something different!

Sweet Potato Paratha / Sweet Potato Roti

I borrowed the idea for making these parathas from a good friend of mine. It is extremely simple to prepare and tastes wonderful with a lovely hint of sweetness mingling with the spices. And the best part - the mashed sweet potatoes in the dough help make very soft parathas.

Ammini Kozhakattai

There many different kinds of savory kozhakattais (rice flour based dumplings). Of the many, ammini kozhakattais are a tasty and cute variation. They are commonly prepared from left-over rice-flour dough that's used to make the traditional sweet and savory kozhakattais. The left-over dough is rolled into small balls, steamed, and flavored with different kinds of spice-mixes. I am sharing three most common ways to flavor them.

Poricha Kozhakattai / Fried Wheat Kozhakattai

On the event of Ganesh Chathurthi, everyone back home is abuzz with celebration and preparation of treats. Modhaks/Kozhakattais mark the festive air by lending the sweet aromas of jaggery and cardamom that mingle with the perfumed smells of incense and camphor. There are so many memories of sight and smell and touch. The bursts of colors in red, yellow, green, and lavender from the flowers, the carefully adorned clay idols, the crinkly paper umbrella stuck at the back, the prickly sprigs of wheat grass, the scatter of platters of freshly made kozkattais, vadai and paayasam, the tinkle of prayer bells chiming from the neighbors - are just some of the memories. 

Instead of the traditional kozhakattais made with rice flour, I present another common version prepared with wheat flour. It is much more straightforward, involves lesser time, and turns out really tasty (and yes, it is deep-fried! :)). But invoking the name of Ganesha, set aside that little bit of information :).

My mom often prepares this version, so it also happens to trigger more special memories for me.

Achari Paneer

[Achar = pickle]

Featuring in the endless array of paneer gravies is this unique curry that melds in the flavors of a typical Indian pickle. The whole spices that make up the body of pickles are roasted and ground to an aromatic powder. This is added to the curry to make it take on the flavors of a pickle. 

However, the recipe below is just my take on achari paneer. I took a short-cut. Instead of roasting and grinding the whole spices, I plopped in a few tablespoons of  pre-made pickle into the gravy. I am not taking credit for thinking of this short-cut, though :). I have heard many people adding lemon pickle, or most commonly, mango pickle, in any given curry to easily amplify the flavor by several notches. I also  frequently add avakkkai/mango pickle to regular dal-tadka to flavor it - an inherited preference. So, adding mango pickle to a panneer gravy was a natural hop, not a leap, in my thinking.

I also earn brownie points if I make up "new" paneer dishes.

Sabudana Vada / Tapioca Fritters

Sabudana Vadas are delicious deep-fried fritters made with tapioca, potatoes, and peanuts. When I mentioned to one of my friends that this is basically a double-carb deep-fried fest, she balked. It seems almost illegal to make, let alone consume, such decadent food these days. The calorie-police are all over the place :).

But, as I always say, that's why we have special indulgent days in the year in the form of birthdays, anniversaries, and festivals. So, set aside your guilt to try these out during an indulgent evening.

I added a few additional ingredients - onion, cloves, and cardamom - that are not commonly added to sabudana vadas. I couldn't help adding the essential ingredients that spice up masala vadas. But, not to worry, the cloves and cardamom do not overpower the vadas. They bring a subtle flavor and aroma that will intrigue your guests enough to wonder what the "secret" addition is.

Uppu Cheedai /Savory Seedai

Cheeda/Seedai are festive savory munchies commonly prepared during Gokulashtami (Lord Krishna's birthday) or on Diwali. It is a complement to sweet cheedais prepared with jaggery, rice flour, and cardamom.

The only word of caution while preparing savory cheedais is to exercise extra care while frying them. Cheedais are known to sometimes burst and splutter out of the hot oil because of trapped bubbles of air/moisture. So, drop the balls carefully into the oil and maintain a good distance away during the first minute of frying. Also, make sure to not neglect roasting and sieving the flours, because they are essential steps to make sure the flours are dry and smooth to minimize the risk of spluttering oil.

Rava Paayasam / Semolina Pudding

There are so many different kinds of paayasams (sweetened porridge/pudding). Of all the paayasams that can be made, this version with semolina/rava is one of the simplest and fastest, because rava cooks in no time!

Fenugreek-Cilantro-Mint Roti / Paratha

This is a small and flavorful variation of the regular methi paratha. I am not a huge fan of methi (fenugreek) because of its bitterness, but it's really good for you. So, just to change things up a little, I recently added a couple of other really flavorful herbs - coriander leaves and mint. They both (along with the spices added) flavor the paratha beautifully. The subtle aroma of mint works very well with the other flavors.

Bagara Baingan / Baingan Salna

A Hyderbadi specialty, Bagara Baingan is a delicious gravy made with Indian brinjals (eggplants). The body of the unique gravy is plumped with peanuts, coconut and sesame seeds in a spicy tamarind broth. Looking at the ingredients list might make some people dizzy - how can so many different spices and ingredients be forced into one dish, and what will happen to the poor brinjals swimming within all the spices? Worry not, everything will come together nicely and the intrinsic taste of brinjal will withstand all the spicy assault, and will actually complement the tanginess of the tamarind and the earthiness of the peanut-coconut paste. The whole spices (cloves, cinnamon and cardamom) will give a subtle aroma and tie everything together. 

This is a very different gravy and a versatile side dish that goes with most Indian rice and bread varieties.

Substitute brinjals with spicy peppers and you get Mirchi Ka Salan. For a spicier version, add whole black pepper corns to the whole masalas.

Almond Mascarpone Pound Cake

When it comes to Italian desserts, there are only two or three that come to mind - tiramisu, gelatos, and biscotti. Of these, I have never tried (nor do I have the right equipment or knowledge) to make a gelato or biscotti. So, I challenged myself to use ingredients commonly used in Italian cuisine to make the kind of dessert I am comfortable with.
So, this is a simple pound cake that is flavored with amaretto and softened with mascarpone. Due to the butter and mascarpone, the resulting cake is buttery soft, but it is not too rich or cloying. Perfect with a cup of espresso!

Fruits & Nuts Bundt Cake

My first bundt cake! All these years, I put off buying a bundt cake-pan because I didn't need one more baking equipment to tempt and taunt me. However, I was recently absolved of all guilt because my husband picked it up because he felt like having a bundt cake.

I found an interesting recipe in Piece of Cake, called an Ambrosia Cake. It had pineapple, canned mandarin oranges, almond extract, cherries, pecans, and sweetened coconut flakes. What a medley of flavors! And what better way to christen the bundt pan!

I adapted the recipe to suit the ingredients I had on hand, and I played around with the measurements and technique accordingly. This is a dense and hardy cake that is sure to be a popular holiday dessert, and it serves a huge gathering!

Orange Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Orange and chocolate seem to be this year's favorite flavor in our household.

Every so often, I get a detailed request from my husband to cook or bake something specific. A couple of months ago, after trying out an orange-chocolate cake at a restaurant out of town, I received a detailed text about how my next express task was to make the afore mentioned dessert. I appreciate such requests - it makes me feel useful, and it gives me a great excuse to bake ;)

However, I was honestly tired of making yet another citrus based treat with chocolate on top. Especially since I had just made a batch of chocolate brownies with orange zest. How many more orange-chocolate treats could the husband hanker for? Why couldn't he ask me for something more exotic?

Anyway, after rifling through my recipes, I realized I had never actually made a bold, stand-alone orange cake. So, I decided to use utilize this excuse to make a cake packed with as much orange flavor as possible. And of course, to appease the husband, I added chocolate on top.

Chocolate Caramel Torte with Peanuts

Our wonderful friends and former neighbors gave us this fabulous book

I think the book pretty much sums up the foundation of my marriage :). One insatiable sweet-toothed chocoholic, and one insatiable baker with a soft corner for chocolate. It is a match made in cocoa heaven, at least until we keep diabetes at bay!

The husband flipped through the book and predictably pointed at a recipe that involved chocolate (of course), caramel, and nuts. He also wanted me to somehow add orange to it, so that all his favorite flavors get mushed up, but I laughed him off. 

The original recipe called for walnuts. Since peanuts are my husband's favorite, that too peanuts gelled in caramel (South India's kadalai mittai/peanut brittle), I added peanuts instead.

This was the first time I tried baking a torte - a type of cake that has little to no flour that is baked at a lower temperature (300 F). In this case, there is no flour; just healthy amounts of bitter-sweet chocolate, butter, sugar, and eggs (whipped whites and creamed yolks). It is topped with a simple caramel sauce made from brown sugar, corn syrup and more butter! Finally, the peanuts add a lovely bite. This is surely a rich cake. A small serving goes a long way.

The best part of the cake is the play of textures and layers of flavors - soft, gooey and crunchy, with bursts of peanuts and caramel mixing with the rich and fudgy bitter-sweet chocolate.

Thank you so much N and C for the lovely book!

Garlic Roti

Strictly for those that appreciate the flavor and healing properties of garlic!

Garlic Naan is one of our favorite types of flat breads. Lazy enough to follow the procedure required to make a paratta, I decided to work around the protocol and try something easier. And the garlic roti was born.

Spiced raw garlic is ground to a paste and mixed with whole wheat flour to make a soft dough, which is then rolled out in the usual fashion to make rotis.

Eggplant & Lemon Risotto

There is nothing better than a creamy and cheesy risotto on a cold day. Well, there are other dishes that come to mind, but warm risotto definitely tops the list!

This version comes from the book Plenty. However, since I am incapable of following recipes, I adapted the basic idea of using lemon and eggplants in risotto. Thanks to the book, I also learned the real trick to making creamy risotto...it takes more work, but is worth it!

Borscht

Borscht is a Ukranian soup made predominantly with beets, potato, and cabbage. It is flavored with dill, and served with yogurt or sour cream.

This slightly adapted version of mine is heavily flavored with fresh thyme instead of dill, and contains a few additional vegetables. It makes a filling and healthy soup for the soup obsessed amongst us.

Hummus - Indianized Version

The Middle-Eastern dip made with chickpeas and tahini (sesame paste) is a healthy, flavorful, and a versatile dish. It is a very simple appetizer to prepare ahead of time or even in the nick of time, and goes great with chips, vegetables, and as a spread on toast.

Loaded with protein and bursting with the tangy and refreshing flavor of lemon, this Indianized version includes onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, and cilantro.

Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Crumble

Peanuts and peanut butter are always in my pantry, thanks to my husband's love for all thing peanuts. So, when he asked me why I hadn't baked anything with peanuts/peanut butter yet, I had to rectify my oversight one weekend.

And this cake was born. Peanut butter features both inside the batter and in the crumbly topping. And for an extra notch of decadence, there's chocolate chips as well. My husband wants to marry this cake and live with it forever.

Nutella & Vanilla Marble Cake

This was an experimental cake from a few weeks ago. It came out decently and served as a simple dessert and tea time cake.

I realized that I hadn't utilized Nutella in any cake recently, so I decided to add it to a regular vanilla sponge cake (with butter and sugar levels adjusted). (If you're reading this, sorry J, for the blasphemy of using Nutella ;))

Triple Chocolate Orange Brownies

Chocolate cravings were ignored for months together, before I finally succumbed to make an "evil" batch of triple chocolate goodness in the form of these brownies. It is fudgy and chewy and slightly "dark" in flavor - as in, it is not too sweet.

I adapted this recipe from a handwritten recipe that I noted from a magazine a long time ago.

Rava Dhokla

A slight variation of the previous recipe, this dhokla is prepared by steaming a semolina-yogurt batter that is seasoned with green chillies, ginger-garlic, cumin, sesame seeds, coconut, and cilantro leaves.

Another easy and tasty appetizer that is also relatively healthy.

Dhokla

A quintessential Gujarathi dish, dhokla is nothing but steamed chickpea flour, seasoned with spices and coconut and cilantro.

Makes a great appetizer - healthy and tasty!

Two-Potato Vindaloo with Bell Peppers

All of us are hunting for different variations of curries and gravies. So when I came across a two-potato vindaloo recipe in this awesome book, thanks to my super wonderful friend, I had to try it.

I adapted the spice powder recommended in the book, removed a couple ingredients, substituted a couple more ingredients, etc. etc. and came up with this version.

The curry has a different variation of flavors (with a predominant note of curry leaves) and is sweet and spicy for a fulfilling meal.

Dal Korma - South-Indian Style

This is a South-Indian style Kurma/Korma with a healthy mix of lentils and beans. It makes a big batch, so adjust the spices accordingly. 

I love Chettinad style gravies and kurmas. There is a certain mix of whole spices that go into their gravies that I have been obsessively trying to decode and deconstruct for several years now. And I think I have finally figured out the whole spices that give that quintessential fragrance to their kurmas. The secret ingredient is stone flower - the innocuous looking, drab looking piece of lichen. Mix this with a healthy dose of fennel seeds, some cardamom and cloves, and I get a dish that takes me back to my favorite South-Indian restaurants. I have to warn that stone flower carries no aroma in its dry state, but a little goes a long way when it's simmered in the gravy.

Add this spice mix to a medley of vegetables instead of dal, and you get a nice South-Indian style vegetable Kurma that goes great with our parottas.

Chocolate & Walnut Cookies

It's been so long since I baked, I was literally dreaming about it. So, I set out to rectify it this weekend. After taking stock of my sparse pantry, I decided to make these simple cookies.

This is a mildly sweet cookie with bites of walnut and just enough chocolate to satisfy your craving. 

Lauki Soup with Soy, Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers & Onion

Lauki is a common Indian gourd. In my impatient quest to basically experiment with "souping" any and all vegetables and fruits, I decided to throw this also into the mix. But, I somehow can't stop with just one vegetable. I have to throw in familiar and comforting ones such as onion and tomatoes as well. 

This turned out to be an extremely flavorful and hardy soup. The lauki provides a creamy and substantial base to the soup. To add some protein to the soup, I added soya chunks as well. A bowl of soup fills you up nicely. The warm and earthy flavor of cumin is just enough to complement the inherent flavors of the vegetables.

Perfect during the wintry months. 

 

Coconut Paayasam / Thengai Paayasam

Coconut paayasam (sweet Indian porridge) is a straightforward dessert that's often prepared during special religious occasions. This is very hard to mess up, and takes no time at all to prepare. It therefore becomes the ideal dessert of choice to celebrate festivals that fall on busy weekdays.

Kashmiri Dum Aloo

Kashmiri Style Dum Aloo is a uniquely flavorful potato gravy made with yogurt and a host of spices. It's simple to prepare and is different from the regular fare of onion-tomato-cream based gravies. 

My understanding is that the Kashmiri style of Dum Aloo has strong notes of fennel and cardamom, so that's what I considered as the fundamental requirement of the dish and then went along with a version that's probably not completely authentic, but still sort of close to it... I think!

Sweet Potato Pie with Cardamom & Saffron

I have this notorious affliction to add saffron and cardamom to most desserts because I'm obsessively in love with the flavors. 

I was tired of cinnamon and nutmeg in pies, so I Indianized this version of sweet potato pie with Indian sweet potatoes, saffron, cardamom, almonds, and pistachios. Amongst Indian and non-Indian crowds, this is always a success and disappears in no time. 

Apple Pie

I know it's been awhile since Thanksgiving 2014, but it's not too late to share a few things I baked and enjoyed with friends. 

Classic Apple Pie with homemade pie crust is hard to beat. Last Fall was a literal apple fest at our place, and it seemed fitting to have this pie. It looks messy because of my last-minute "improvisations", but it tastes pretty good.