Beet-Greens Masiyal

When beets are harvested fresh with their greens, it's a sight to take in. The fresh dewy green of the leaves and the striking maroon red of the beets is a contrastingly beautiful, appetizing treat for the eyes. Organic beets are often sold with their leafy greens. When they are available, we often gravitate towards them. This time, my father-in-law wanted to know if the fresh leafy greens could also be cooked. I did some research online and found that the greens were indeed edible! I am always amazed at how thrifty and resourceful the previous generations are! All this while it didn't even occur to me to cook the greens. I was mindlessly tossing them away to use just the beets.

So here is how my in-laws cooked the beet-greens. 

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups washed and cut beet-greens
2. 1/2 cup split yellow moong dhal / payatham paruppu
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1 teaspoon jeera / cumin seeds
5. 1 teaspoon rice flour
6. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
7. 1 teaspoon split urad dhal / ulutham paruppu
8. 1/8 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
9. 2 dry red chillies
10. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil / olive oil

Preparation:

1. Soak the moong dhal for half an hour (optional). Cook the moong dhal with about 1 cup of water until it is half way done.
2. Add the half-cooked moong dhal to the washed and cut greens. Cook with 1/2 cup of water and salt until the greens and the dhal are completely cooked.
3. Add a teaspoon of slightly crushed jeera to the masiyal. 
4. Thicken the masiyal by mixing rice powder with 1/2 tablespoon water (or slightly more) and whisking the mixture into the masiyal. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.
5. Finally, heat oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds when hot, and add split urad dhal, hing, and red chillies. Saute for a minute until the urad dhal begins to change color slightly. Add the garnish to the greens and mix well. 

Remove from heat and serve with rice or roti. Masiyal is another kind of gravy with mashed/cooked greens. 

The beet greens taste quite good! They are mildly sweet and easy on the palate. The whole dish is mildly spiced and extremely healthy.

Orange-Peel Pachidi

My great-grandmothers were truly thrifty. They always found some use for everything. Rather than discard the peels of oranges, they innovated and concocted a spicy pachidi (sauce) with the tangy and bitter flavors of the orange rind.

Although I have heard of this sauce all my life, I would have never been brave enough to venture into making this sauce on my own. There have been many times when my family has religiously saved orange peels only to forget about the sauce and eventually discard them. Actually, if you do forget to use the orange peels within a couple of days, you can still dry the peels in the sun and make a powder of it to use in facial treatments. 

But my in-laws were prompt in using the peels to prepare the unique sauce. Orange rind/peel is a little bitter, but we found that clementine peels (clementine is another variety of orange) are sweeter and less bitter. So that's what we used. 

Ingredients:

1. 3-4 clementine peels, finely diced into little pieces (clementines are smaller than oranges). Use the peels within two days of storing them in an air-tight container in the fridge.
2. One inch ball of tamarind
3. 2 green chillies, finely cut
4. One inch block of ginger, finely minced
5. 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
6. 1 teaspoon split urad dhal 
7. 1/8 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
8. 1 teaspoon turmeric
9. 1 teaspoon salt (or as per taste)
10. 1 teaspoon jaggery / brown sugar
11. 1 teaspoon rice flour
12. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil / olive oil

Preparation:

1. Soak the tamarind in a cup of hot water for 15-20 minutes. Squeeze the soft tamarind pulp to extract as much juice as possible. Drain the tamarind extract (through a sieve) and discard the pulp. 
2. Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan. When hot, splutter mustard seeds. Add split urad dhal, minced ginger, green chillies, asafoetida, and the diced peels. Fry for 10 minutes on medium heat. 
3. Add the tamarind extract, turmeric, and salt to the above orange-peel and spices. Add a cup of water to dilute and let the mixture come to a couple of boils on medium heat. Boil the mixture until the orange-peels cook. 
4. Now add the jaggery/brown sugar to round and balance the tangy and bitter flavors. Mix well and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
5. Finally, thicken the sauce by diluting the rice powder in 1/2 tablespoon of water (or slightly more if needed) and pour it to the pachidi. Whisk well and let the sauce simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. 

Remove from heat and serve as a side-dish to rice or rotis. The sauce is sweet and sour, with a hint of bitterness. It particularly goes well with yogurt rice. 

Mor Rasam

Mor Rasam is a variation of Mor Kuzhambu with slightly milder spices. It is also a tangy and flavorful side-dish when had with rice. 

Ingredients (serves 4):

1. Black mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
2. Mor Milagai - 5  (this is a special kind of chilly that is spiced and marinated in yogurt for a day, and then dried in the sun). If you don't have this kind of spiced chilly, substitute with dried red chillies (about 3) or green chillies (about 2)
3. Thoor dhal / thuvaram paruppu - 1 teaspoon
4. Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
5. Dried oregano seeds / omam - 2 teaspoons
6. Hing / asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
7. Buttermilk / diluted yogurt - 3 cups
8. Salt - 1 teaspoon
9. Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
10. Rice flour - 2 teaspoons
11. Vegetable oil / Olive oil - 1 tablespoon

Preparation:

1.  Heat the oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds on medium heat. Then add the red chillies/mor milagai, Thoor dhal, fenugreek seeds, oregano seeds, and hing until the the dhal and fenugreek seeds begin to roast. 
2. Add the roasted spices, salt and turmeric to the buttermilk. Dilute the rice powder with a tablespoon of water and add it to the buttermilk as well. Whisk well. 
3.  Bring the whole thing to a boil on medium heat. 
4. When it comes to a boil, remove from heat. Do not over heat. 

Serve with rice and papad.

Paruppu Urundai Mor Kuzhambu

As authentic as authentic can be, this is by far one of the most traditional Tamil Brahmin dishes there can be. Mor Kuzhambu (recipe from an earlier post of mine) is a gravy made from buttermilk or sour yogurt. Sometimes, steamed lentil dumplings (paruppu urundai) are added to the gravy to give it some additional texture and taste. The dumplings can be mixed with rice and had in combination with the spiced yogurt gravy. These are like little South Indian koftas to include more protein in our vegetarian diets. 

My in-laws are visiting, so this space will see a splurge of more authentic Tam-Brahm dishes!

To prepare the paruppu urundais (as per my mother-in-law's recipe):

Ingredients (for 8 urundais)

1. 1/2 cup thoor dhal / thuvaram paruppu
2. 3 dried red chillies
3. 1/4 teaspoon hing
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt or more

Preparation

1. Wash the thoor dhal and soak it in water for 2 - 2.5 hours. 
2. Rinse the dhal well and grind it with red chillies, hing, and salt, with just a couple of sprinklings of water (about 1 -2 tablespoons of water or slightly more if absolutely necessary). 
3. Coarsely grind the dhal (as much as possible) so that you can form small chunks of balls/ irregular shaped dumplings with your hand. 
4. Steam the lentil dumplings for about 15 minutes on high heat in greased idli plates (greased with sesame oil) or a vegetable steamer until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean and dry.
5. Slightly cool the dumplings before adding to the gravy

The steamed lentil dumplings - paruppu urundais

To prepare the mor kuzhambu with the dumplings (copy pasting most of the recipe from my previous post)

Ingredients:

1. 3/4  teaspoon coriander seeds
2. 1 teaspoon raw rice
3. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds / jeera
4. 3 cups buttermilk or diluted yogurt that’s slightly sour
5. 2 tablespoons shredded/grated coconut
6. 1x1 inch piece of ginger roughly chopped
7. 2-3 green chillies or dried red chillies (depends on how spicy they are and how spicy you’d like)
8. 1 teaspoon turmeric
9. 2 teaspoons vegetable / olive oil
10. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
11. ¼ teaspoon hing / asafoetida
12. a few curry leaves
13. ¾ teaspoon salt
14. the prepared paruppu urundais / dumplings

Preparation:

1. Soak the rice, cumin seeds and coriander seeds in ¼ cup of water for 10 minutes.
2. Grind together the yogurt / buttermilk along with the coconut, the soaked coriander + rice + cumin seeds, ginger and green chillies. This forms the base of the gravy.
3. Transfer the ground mixture to a medium-sized saucepan, and add turmeric, and salt. Heat this on medium-heat for 5 minutes until the gravy heats through. 
4. Add the dumplings now. Heat on low-medium heat for 10 minutes or so until the gravy comes to one boil. If the gravy is too thick, add a little bit of water to thin it down and heat for an additional 5 minutes or so. Remove from heat. Do not over-boil the buttermilk or yogurt - it will curdle.
5. In a teaspoon of oil, splutter mustard seeds, add hing and a few curry leaves. Add this garnish to the Mor Kuzhambu. 

The more the paruppu urundais/dumplings soak in the mor kuzhambu the better it will taste. So the whole dish tastes better when it is well rested.

Mango Lassi

What does one do with left over mangoes or mango puree? Mango lassi, of course! Lassi is India's popular yogurt drink. Add mangoes and you get mango lassi. This is an extremely easy and refreshing drink.

Ingredients (serves 3):

1. 1 cup sweetened mango pulp/puree (mine was store bought)
2. 1/2 cup yogurt
3. 1/2 cup milk
4. 1/4 - 1/2 cup water (or use milk)
5. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom powder (optional)

Preparation:

1. Blend the first four ingredients until smooth. Dilute with more milk if needed. If you are using unsweetened mango pulp or mangoes that are not as sweet, add some sugar as needed.
2. Finally add the cardamom powder and mix/blend once

Serve chilled or at room temperature for a refreshing tropical beverage.

Eggless Mango Cake

I have been trying to bake eggless desserts recently. One of my successful attempts was this mango cake. It also became my father-in-law's birthday cake! The cake packs tropical flavors and makes you wonder if it is really eggless!

I adapted the recipe from this vegan recipe that makes lovely mango cupcakes. I am convinced that baking powder makes most cakes dense - especially the ones that don't have eggs or butter. So, I left out baking powder and included more baking soda, mango pulp, and vegetable oil (as opposed to canola oil). 

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons sweetened mango pulp/mango puree (I used store bought Ratna brand Alphonso mango puree)
2. 2/3 cups sugar - or lower depending on how sweet the pulp is. Mine needed this amount.
3. 3/4  - 1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom (please use freshly ground cardamom if possible. It makes a tremendous difference!)
4. 1.5 cups all purpose flour
5. 2 teaspoons baking soda
6. 1/4 teaspoon salt
7. 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Butter/grease the sides of a 9-inch cake pan. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Sift together the all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom powder. 
3. With a spatula mix in the mango puree/mango pulp with sugar and vegetable oil.
4. Slowly add the flour in small batches to the wet ingredients, and gently mix until incorporated. Do not over mix. Do not beat the batter with an electric mixer. A rubber spatula works best. 
5. Transfer the batter to the cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took 35 minutes to cake. 

Allow the cake to cool for 30-40 minutes. I decorated the cake with a few drizzles and dollops of melted semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate. 

I was quite apprehensive of experimenting this recipe for a birthday cake, but I was pleasantly surprised (and relieved) that it turned out quite good! This is a moist, light, and flavorful cake!

Honey Tea Cake

I am always looking for ways to showcase exotic Indian flavors in western dishes, especially desserts. I found this recipe for a Rosewater-Honey-Tea cake in this lovely little book - Piece of Cake. The cake brings out the flavors of India tea (chai) with its addition of cardamom and honey. Rosewater brings out a subtle floral aroma that doesn't compete with the cardamom. I thought it was an ideal cake to bring to a Christmas party. People were intrigued by the flavors and loved the unique taste. 

I adapted the cake slightly by reducing the prescribed sugar, removing baking powder, increasing baking soda, increasing cardamom powder, and cutting out on the prescribed frosting. Instead of frosting the cake, I used a light honey-lemon-rosewater drizzle to moisten and flavor the cake. And while the book is great with its wonderful collection of recipes, I am not an advocate of one-bowl-cakes. Dumping and mixing/beating all the cake ingredients using one bowl goes against the very grain of baking philosophy. The texture of the cake changes, the flour gets beaten more than necessary while the essential ingredients (like butter and sugar) don't get creamed as much as they should.

So here is my adapted version from the lovely source. 

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1. 1 cup All Purpose Flour
2. 1/2 (or 2/3) cup granulated sugar
3. 1 teaspoon FRESHLY ground cardamom (it makes a huge difference to use fresh cardamom)
4. 1 teaspoon baking soda
5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
6. 3 large eggs at room temperature
7. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8. 1/2 cup liquid honey
9. 1/2 cup milk
10. 1 tablespoon rosewater
11. 1 teaspoon lemon zest

For the honey-lemon drizzle:

1. 1 tablespoon honey
2. 2 tablespoons lemon juice
3. 2 teaspoons rosewater

Preparation (this is my version):

1. Beat (using an electric mixer/beater) the butter on medium speed for a couple of minutes. Add the sugar and continue to beat until it creams together - another 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed until the eggs are incorporated. Do not over beat the eggs
3. Add milk and honey and beat for a couple of minutes to mix everything. 
4. Finally add rosewater and lemon zest and mix well. 
5. Sift together the all purpose flour and baking soda and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients  and gently mix with a rubber spatula. Do not over mix. 
6. The batter will be slightly thinner than most other cake batters. 
7. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured 9-inch cake pan. 
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 F until a cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs.
9. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Then run the edges with a knife, tap the pan down, and gently turn it into a wire rack and let it cool for 30 minutes.
10. Mix all the ingredients for the drizzle. Using a toothpick or skewer, poke holes on the cake and slowly drizzle the honey-lemon-rosewater over the cake. 

Serve after the cake has soaked in the drizzle. The cake tends to be moist because of the drizzle. If you would like, serve with some whipped cream. 

Paalak Paneer

Paneer is such a favorite among my people that we basically invent different ways to add it to our dishes. Paalak (spinach and other types of greens) is good for you, so we have a flavorful gravy made from it. To break the monotony of the unappetizing color and texture we add crispy paneer and then all becomes fine with the world!

Ingredients:

1. 5 cups spinach leaves (they wilt like crazy when cooked) OR 1 bunch of Red Swiss Chard (I highly recommend the latter!)
2. Paneer - 14 ounces or 400 grams - thawed and cubed
3. 2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
4. 2 tomatoes, diced
5. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
6. 1 block inch of ginger crushed/ground with 4 cloves of garlic
7. 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder / jeera powder
8. 1 teaspoon coriander powder / dhania powder
9. 1.5 teaspoons garam masala
10. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
11. 1 teaspoon jeera / cumin seeds
12. 1/2 cup milk / half & half / cream
13. 2 teaspoons lemon juice
14. 1/4 cup cilantro / coriander leaves
15. 3 tablespoons olive oil / vegetable oil
16. 1.5 teaspoons salt

Preparation:

1. Pan fry the paneer cubes with one tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Stir gently/ flip gently to make sure the paneer crisps on all sides to a slight golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
2. Cook the spinach leaves with 1/4 - 1/3 cup of water. The water would seem really less at first, but the spinach will cook/wilt really fast. Boil/cook the spinach on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes until spinach wilts and softens. Let the spinach cool. When cooled, grind the spinach (and the water in which it was cooked) to a consistency of your preference. Keep aside.
3. In a separate pan, heat two tablespoons oil and add cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds begin to sizzle, add the onions and saute on medium heat until they turn translucent (about 5 minutes).
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for 1 minute. 
5. Add all the spice/powders - turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala. Reduce the heat and mix in the spices for about 30 seconds. 
6. Then add the tomatoes and stir/cook on medium heat until the tomato softens. Add the tomato paste, some salt and continue to mix everything in for 5 minutes. 
7. Now add the ground spinach and mix everything in. Add a little water if needed. Cook the gravy on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
8. Taste and adjust for seasoning. If the spinach tastes raw, let the gravy simmer for a few more minutes. 
9. Finally add milk/half & half and give everything a good stir. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. 
10. Remove from heat, and add the paneer. 
11. Garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves, and some lemon juice.

The more the paneer seeps in the gravy, the better it will taste. Serve with roti / bread. 

 Instead of cooking the spinach first and then grinding it, I sometimes grind the raw spinach with water, add it to the gravy (in step 7) and cook/simmer for a much longer period of time until the spinach cooks. 

Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce

It's been a while since I made this awesome pasta dish, courtesy of Ina Garten's foolproof recipe.

I made minor revisions. I used spinach instead of arugula, regular shell pasta instead of fusilli (just because it wasn't on hand), and regular tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes. I also sauteed (slightly roasted) the broccoli, tomatoes, and spinach rather than blanching. And most importantly, I used low fat half & half (half cream, half milk) instead of cream. But I followed the lemon-cream sauce recipe to the tee! It is an excellent sauce!

We both love the creamy, lemony sauce, the crunch of the roasted broccoli and the comforting hardiness of pasta. Highly recommend this recipe!

Rava Ladoo

Ladoos are our version of yummy, big truffles. One of the easier kinds of ladoos is Rava (semolina) ladoo. It is quite easy to prepare and is extremely mild and delicious on the palate. 

I adapted the recipe from this instructive video at Vahrehvah. Here are the measurements I used. 

1. 1 cup rava / semolina

2. 2 tablespoons nuts - cashews, pistachios

3. 1/2 cup sugar (1/4 cup would be extremely mild)

4. 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom powder

5. 1/4 cup grated coconut

6. 1.5 tablespoons ghee / clarified butter

7. 1/2 cup milk

The preparation was pretty much the same with some minor changes. The video was extremely useful! The nuts are roasted in ghee. Then the rava and coconut are added and roasted on low heat (about 2 minutes). Add sugar and cardamom and continue to mix on low heat for 5-6 minutes until the rava evenly turns light brown. Turn off heat, add the milk slowly and combine to form a thick mixture. When warm enough to handle, roll the mixture into balls/ladoos. Let them dry and harden slightly (takes about 30 minutes). They are then ready to eat!

You can adjust the milk measurement according to the rava and your ability to roll/form the mixture into balls.

Poricha Kuzhambu/ Poricha Kootu

This is a popular South-Indian side-dish that is considered as a healthier substitute for Sambar (I know, I am yet to write about the popular Sambar). Sans tamarind and with a generous amount of lentils and vegetables, it is healthy and sumptuous when had with rice or roti.

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 Cup Thoor Dhal / Thuvaram paruppu
2. 1.5 - 2 cups worth diced white pumpkin / or any kind of gourd / vegetables
3. 3.5 teaspoons split urad dhal /ulutham paruppu 
4. 2 teaspoons coriander seeds / dhania (my mother-in-law adds this)
5. 1/4 cup grated coconut
6. 1 teaspoon black pepper corns
7. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds / jeera
8. 2 dry red chillies
9. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
10. 2 teaspoons sambar powder
11. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
12. a few curry leaves
13. 2 tablespoons vegetable / olive oil
14. 1 teaspoon salt (or as needed)
15. 1/4 teaspoon hing / asafoetida

Preparation (steps 1, 2, and 4 can be done in parallel to save time and avoid over cooking the kuzhambu)

1. Cook the toor dhal / lentils with enough water to cover it. Cooking the dhal in a pressure cooker results in the best texture for this kuzhambu, but if you don't own a pressure cooker (or are apprehensive of cooking in one (like me)), cook the lentils for about 40 minutes or more (adding more water when needed) until it can be mashed. 
2. Cook the pumpkin/vegetable with about 1 cup of water along with turmeric powder and sambar powder on medium heat (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat when the pumpkin is almost done but not completely done. 
3. Add the cooked pumpkin/vegetable (along with the turmeric powder - sambar powder broth in which it was stewed) to the cooked lentils. Add a little more water if needed and bring the whole thing to a boil on low-medium heat. Add salt as needed at this point. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the spice-paste (below) is added. Do not over boil/cook at this stage. Just make sure there is no raw smell of lentils.
4. In a tablespoon of oil, roast the pepper corns, jeera, red chillies, dhania, and split urad dhal until the dhal begins to turn golden and pepper corns splutter. At this point, switch off the heat and add coconut and hing and stir/roast in the residual heat.
5. When cooled, grind the above roasted spices with 1/4 cup of water (or as needed) to grind into a smooth paste. 
6. Add the spice paste to the simmering lentils and pumpkin. Stir well and keep simmering for another 5 minutes. 
7. In the remaining tablespoon of oil, splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the garnish to the kuzhambu and remove from heat. 

Serve with steaming rice with a dollop of ghee!

Pumpkin-Chocolate Pie

This was my Thanksgiving Pie attempt - a creamy pumpkin chocolate pie. Everything tastes better with chocolate, doesn't it? I find it true especially with this pie because I don't seem to be a fan of pumpkin. 

This was an easy to make pie that was prepared using this recipe. I substituted ginger-snaps (ginger cookies) for the traditional graham-crackers to prepare the crust. But upon experimentation, I would suggest sticking to the graham-crackers. The ginger-snaps make the crust a little hard at first and then consequently, soggy. Secondly, I didn't go choco-crazy with triple layers of chocolate. I added bittersweet chocolate to the pie batter and skipped baking the crust with chocolate and drizzling milk-chocolate on top. And I was a little heavy-handed with the spices - especially nutmeg ;). 

I recommend trying this pie. It is mildly sweet, creamy, chocolatey, and spicy with just a hint of pumpkin flavor.

Notes on pie-baking:

I learned that over-beating or over-mixing the creamy pie batter results in air bubbles that leave cracks and "holes" on top of the pie while baking. Let the beaten batter rest until the bubbles subside, and then pour into the plate and bake.

Whipped Banana-Chocolate "Ice-cream"

Who knew one could make something taste like ice-cream with just bananas? I heard someone talk about it a while back, but remained skeptical. Then, when I heard one of my friends mention that she often resorts to whipped banana as a substitute for ice-cream when she craves for something sweet, I decided to experiment. It is as simple as this - frozen banana chunks are thrown into a food processor/blender and pulsed/ground/whipped until the whole thing "magically" churns into ice-cream like consistency! I was apprehensive of putting my old blender to the task of whipping frozen bananas, but the old thing didn't let me down! If you have a food processor or a heavy-duty blender/mixer, be assured of having banana ice-cream any time!

 

Ingredients (serves two)

1. 2 ripe (but not overly ripe) bananas
2. 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (optional)
3. 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 
4. 2 teaspoons (or more) cocoa powder

Preparation

1. Peel and dice the bananas into thin discs. Put them in a plastic bag and freeze for 4 hours or  until they are completely frozen
2. Throw the frozen chunks (in parts or whole, depending on the power of your food processor/blender) into the blender. Pulse a couple times to break down the chunks. Then blend/grind/use the ice-breaker setting to start grinding and churning the chunks. If the blender struggles, pause and turn the mixture around with a spoon and then continue. If the chunks are too hard, it helps to wait a couple of minutes (to slightly melt the chunks) and then resume grinding. Or worst case, drizzle in some milk (very little and slowly) to get things going. But despite all the initial noise and resistance the blender seems to be throwing at you, worry not, keep at it, and within a couple of minutes the whole thing will churn to the consistency of whipped butter. When you see this phase approaching, drizzle in the honey/maple syrup, vanilla essence and cocoa powder. Give the whole thing a couple of extra whirs to incorporate everything. Do not over-whip or grind, because the whole thing will begin to melt in the heat.

That's it. Scoop out the whipped frozen-bananas and serve/eat immediately. It really really does taste like banana ice-cream! It tastes more like soft-serve ice-cream, though. I personally like my ice-cream to be soft than hard and cold, so it works for me! Plus, I can adjust the flavorings to my choice to result in an easy dessert that is surprisingly low in fat and sugar, but tastes great!

Stack up on some flavorings and you have a versatile recipe to whip up a fake ice-cream anytime!

Almond-Cashew-Pistachio Burfi

To round the savory Thenkuzhal with a sweet bite, I made some Burfis with all the nuts in my pantry - almonds, cashews, and pistachios. Burfi is a unique Indian sweet. It is softer than candy but firmer than fudge. It is a little crumbly and intensely sweet. After several failed attempts to make coconut burfi, I decided to take a shot at the last minute and tried my mother's recipe for almond-cashew-pistachio fudge/cake, and ended up with burfi! A happy accident.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup almonds
2. 1/2 cup pistachios
3. 1/4 cup cashews
4. 3/4 cup milk
5. 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
6. 2 tablespoons ghee (plus a little more to grease the plates) (Note: my mother uses at least 1/2 cup of ghee, and yes, it does make a difference)
7. 3 cups sugar (traditionally it is 4 cups sugar)

Preparation

1. Soak the almonds in very hot water for 20 minutes. Soak the cashews and pistachios in warm water for 10 minutes. 
2. Rinse the almonds in cold water and remove their skin (the skin should slide right off). 
3. Roughly grind the almonds (without water). Then (and only then), add 1/2 cup milk slowly and grind the almonds to a smooth paste. Keep separetly.
4. Then dry-grind the cashews and pistachios till the nuts are crumbled. Slowly add about 1/4 cup milk (more or less) and grind the nuts to a smooth paste. 
5. Mix the almond and cashew-pista pastes together and measure their volume. I got about 2 cups of paste. 
6. The ratio of nut paste : sugar is traditionally 1:2. So, technically this requires 4 cups of sugar. But since we get fine powdered sugar here, I think it is far too sweet to go with the traditional measure. But it's up to you to make the call. 
7. I added 3 cups of sugar and 1/3 cup of water in a pan (non-stick is fine) and started heating the mixture on medium heat.
8. Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves and the syrup beguns to boil. Stir until the syrup reaches "one-string consistency" (see picture below). Take a drop of the syrup, let it cool a couple seconds (literally) and then take it between your fingers and pull it out. If the syrup makes one unbroken string/strand, then the syrup is ready. The syrup will reach this stage in about 10-12 minutes.

   

   One-string consistency of sugar-syrup

9. Quickly, but gently, add the ground nut-paste and stir to mix everything. Keep stirring to avoid lumps. 
10. Reduce the heat to low (on a scale of 0-10, my heat was at 2), and keep stirring the mixture. This is the most strenuous and stressful part of the sweet, because for novices like me, the right consistency of the mixture is ever elusive. 



The consistency of the mixture when I removed from heat

11. After about 25 minutes, add 1 tablespoon of ghee and cardamom powder, and keep stirring. Keep stirring until the mixture reduces and thickens and leaves the sides of the pan (picture above). It took me 40 minutes (timing from the start) to get to this stage. At this point, add one more tablespoon of ghee and remove the pan from heat (immediately!). Pour the mixture into one or two pans (greased with ghee) and smooth out the top (immediately). I used the bottom of a flat cup (that was greased) to even out the top as much as possible.
12. With a knife score the sweet into patterns of your choice. I just the cut the whole thing into rectangles. Wait until the sweet completely cools (about 1 hour). When cooled, remove the scored/cut sweets and store in an air-tight container. If you are living in a hot/humid place, store the burfis in the fridge. 

The cooled Burfis

My burfis could have been removed from heat 1 or 2 minutes earlier. But, I wanted a picture of the all-determining consistency. So, in my flustered (and excited) state of  realization that I actually reached that elusive phase, I tried to take a picture with one hand (unsuccessfully) and then ended up hollering at the husband to take a picture for me. In all the drama, I lost a precious minute or two. And a minute is all it takes for the mixture to turn from just-right to just-missed. 

But, it still tastes like burfi, is not crumbly or hard, and the shape holds, so I am declaring it a success. You can add more ghee if you would like the burfi to be softer. 

 Happy Deepavali to all!

Mullu Thenkuzhal

Diwali is right around the corner. This means Indians are all busy deciding which sweets and munchies to gorge on. Then Kuzhal (literally meaning "golden flute") is one of the popular savory dishes from my place. It's a deep fried savory made from rice flour and lentil flour. A soft dough is kneaded and is squeezed through a tool that is shown in the picture. It results in intricate strands of fried dough that is supposed to look like symmetric overlapping spirals (like jalebis). Depending on the template used to squeeze the dough out, thenkuzhal can have a couple of variations. Mine has little thorn like spikes all around the strands, so it's called Mullu (thorn) Then Kuzhal. As always, thanks to my mother-in-law for the recipe!

The dough is put inside the left part of the tool with a template placed at the bottom. The right part is used to push out the dough

 Ingredients (results in about 15-20 then kuzhals)

1. 1 cup rice flour
2. 2 cups kadala maavu / besan / bengal gram dhal flour
3. 4 tablespoons butter (or more for crunchier, crispier then kuzhal)
4. 2/3 cup water (or less)
5. 1.5 teaspoons salt (or as needed)
6. 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (or as needed)
7. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
8. 1/2 teaspoon hing / asaefoteda
9. 4 cups vegetable oil

Preparation

1. Mix the flours together. Sieve them through a fine-meshed sieve. 
2. Add salt, hing, chilli powder, and cumin seeds and mix well. 
3. Add room temperature butter and knead it into the dough
4. Then slowly add water and knead the dough until it comes together as a soft, but firm mass. Do not add all the water at once. The dough should not be sticky. If it is, then there is too much water. 
5. Heat oil on medium heat in a heavy bottomed dish. Test if the oil is heated by dropping a small pinch of dough. If the dough starts sizzling right away, the oil is ready.
6. Make sure the oil is not too hot because the Thenkuzhals will fry on the outside without being cooked inside. Reduce the heat to somewhere between low to medium. Gently squeeze the dough into the oil in a clockwise fashion (one rotation). Carefully remove the strand of dough from the bottom of the tool with your hand and gently drop the end into the oil.  Make two then-kuzhals at a time. Do not overcrowd the pot. 
7. Gently turn/move the Thenkuzhals in the oil to ensure all sides cook and crisp evenly. Remove when they turn golden. 
8. Drain on paper towels and store in an air-tight container for up to a month. 

Squiggly ones! Only experienced chefs can get the perfect symmetric shape of the then kuzhal

Almond Kheer

Kheer/Paayasam is somewhere between a pudding and a drink. It's a sweet, thickened drink. The exact consistency of it is subject to individual preference. In this variation, almond paste is cooked in milk and flavored with some cardamom and saffron.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups whole almonds (unroasted, unsalted)
2. 3-4 cups + 1 cup (whole milk or low fat)
3. 3/4 - 1 cup sugar
4. 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
5. pinch of saffron
6. a few pistachios 

Preparation:

1. Blanch the almonds to remove the outer peel. Immerse the almonds in 2 cups boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse the almonds in cold water. The peel will slide right off. 
2. Grind the blanched almonds to a smooth paste by adding about 1 cup of milk (or slightly lesser). 
3. Meanwhile, bring 3-4 cups of milk to a boil in a non-stick pot. The quantity of milk depends on how thin or thick you like the kheer to be.
4. Add the almond paste to the hot milk and stir on medium heat for 30-40 minutes until the milk reduces and thickens a bit (almost to the consistency of rich soup). Keep stirring often to avoid the kheer from burning. Halfway through the cooking add saffron. 
5. Finally add sugar and stir well. Stir for another 5-10 minutes on low-medium heat. 
6. Remove from heat and garnish with nuts and cardamom powder and stir well. 

 

Serve chilled. The kheer can either be sipped from a glass or had in a bowl (depending on the consistency that you settled on). It does thicken a bit over time. The consistency of my kheer is that of a rich soup. I serve it in a cup or bowl along with a spoon so people can choose how they want to take it. 

Carrot Halwa

Grated carrot thickened in milk and sugar can only amount to one thing - rich carrot halwa. I tried making this halwa in a non-traditional way and it kind of back fired. I used thinly sliced carrots (to save my wrist from repetitive strain injury from grating), added fat-free milk (to make it slightly lower in fat), added less sugar, and refrained from adding any ghee or clarified butter. The resulting halwa, if you can call it that, tasted like sweetened carrots, but it didn't look anywhere close to an appetizing dessert.

So, after a stern reprimand to myself, I redeemed the halwa by making it the traditional way -  using whole milk, some ghee, required amount of sugar, and most importantly - finely grated carrot. Do not even think of using the prepackaged thinly sliced carrots.

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

1. 5 cups grated carrots
2. 4 tablespoons butter or ghee (clarified butter)
3. 5 cups whole milk (if you are adamant on trying lower fat milk, it will take forever to "thicken" and reduce)
4. 3/4 - 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet the carrots are and how sweet you would like the halwa to be. I put 1 cup)
5. 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
6. handful of nuts and raisins (pistachios, cashews, raisins roasted in a couple of teaspoons of ghee)

Preparation:

1. Saute the grated carrots in butter/ghee for 10 minutes on medium heat. The carrots will soften and turn slightly yellow
2. In the meanwhile, boil the milk in a non-stick pot until the milk reduces to half its quantity. It took me 30 minutes on medium heat for the milk to reduce to half. Again, since there's hardly any fat in low fat milk, it will take longer for the milk to reduce. Keep stirring the milk every so often so that it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the cooked carrot to the reduced milk and cook for another 30 minutes  or so on medium heat until the milk completely absorbs into the carrots. Keep stirring every few minutes.
4. Now, add the sugar and stir well. Keep stirring for 10 minutes or so (on medium heat) until the whole thing thickens and leaves the sides of the pan. 
5. Remove from heat. Add cardamom powder and roasted nuts and mix well. 

I personally think carrot halwa is better served warm than chilled.

Dhal Makhani

Dhal Makhani is a creamy, buttery gravy made with whole black gram. Originally, it is made with a generous amount of butter and cream. But for everyday cooking, the butter is substituted with olive oil, and the cream is substituted with some milk. Despite the substitutions, it makes for a homey, hardy side-dish. It's nice to experiment with different pulses and grams and not be stuck with yellow lentils all the time. 

At one of the restaurants here, I tasted kidney beans (rajma) in dhal makhani and really liked the combination. So I've added some rajma with this version.

Ingredients (serves 6)

1. 1 cup  de-husked whole black gram - whole black urad dhal
2. 1/2 cup kidney beans - rajma beans
3. 1 big onion, chopped
4. 1/2 cup tomato paste or 1.5 cups tomato puree
5. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
6. 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
7. 1.5 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste (better if it's freshly prepared with 4 cloves of garlic and a 1 inch block of ginger)
8. 1 bay leaf
9. 1 cinnamon stick
10. 3 whole cloves
11. 1 teaspoon cumin powder
12. 1.5 teaspoons coriander powder
13. 1 teaspoon garam masala
14. 1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
15. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
16. 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
17. 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves - kasuri methi
18. 2 tablespoons olive oil
19. 1 cup milk (fat free, 2%) or half-and-half
20. Salt as needed 
21. A few sprigs of cilantro
22. a squeeze of lemon juice

Preparation

1. Soak the black gram and kidney beans for 8-10 hours with enough water to cover the beans. Do not cover the soaking beans with a lid.
2. When the gram has soaked and plumped, rinse them and cook them well with as much water as needed until they are mushy. It takes at least 45 minutes to cook the gram without the aid of a pressure cooker. Do not worry about overcooking the gram... the more cooked, the better. When the gram is cooked, mash them with a ladle to make them mushy and soft. 
3. Meanwhile, as the gram cooks, heat oil (and a little bit of butter, if you prefer) in a separate pan. Add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds, and fennel seeds to the oil. 
4. When the cumin seeds begin to sizzle, add the chopped onion and saute on medium heat until the onions turn translucent and begin to fry. 
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. 
6. Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and chilli powder (optional) and saute for a minute. 
7. Add the tomato paste (or puree) and mix it into the spices and onion-ginger-garlic mixture. If using tomato paste, add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water to dilute the paste. Add salt, cover the pan and let the tomato paste incorporate with the spices.
8. After 5-10 minutes of periodic checking and stirring, notice if the tomato gravy is well incorporated with the spices. There should be no raw tomato smell, that's the most important cue. 
9. Add the gravy to the cooked & mashed gram. Add more water if required, check for seasonings (salt, chilli), make adjustments, and let the whole thing simmer for 20 minutes. Periodically check if the gravy needs more water, and stir to make to sure the gram doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. 
10. Finally, add the kasuri methi (dried methi leaves) and cardamom powder. Stir well. Top it off with a cup of milk (or cream, if you want to be indulgent). Stir well. 
11. After a couple of minutes, remove from heat and granish with cilantro. Before serving, squeeze a little bit of lemon juice to unify all the flavors. 
12. Serve with rice or roti. 

Dhal Makhani gets better with time. Black gram is quite bland, so the more they simmer and settle with the spices, the better they taste.