Easy Chivda / Spicy Chex Mix

Chivda / Spicy Indian chex mix made with an assortment of deep fried treats involving rice flour, besan (chickpea flour), and corn is a very common and popular savory dish that's had with tea, just as a quick munch/snack, or on festive days. The more ingredients that go into the chex mix, the more "festive" it becomes :)

This is a very simply recipe that involves tossing some common store bought ingredients along with a few items from home. I took the easier route by making chaklis and breaking them into small pieces, and then using plain corn and rice cereals from the store to make up the volume of the chex mix. This is not really innovative, but this is the first time I tried it, and was pleased with the output!

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.

Vella Cheedai / Seedai

Today is Janmashtami or Gokulashtami - Lord Krishna's birthday. On this festive day, cheedai/seedais, which are deep-fried balls made primarily with rice flour and black gram flour, are prepared. As with most Indian delicacies, there are sweet and savory versions of cheedai. 

I'm sharing a popular sweet version of cheedai today. It is a simple preparation with jaggery syrup sweetening rice flour and black gram flour. Some toasted sesame seeds, coconut and cardamom season the cheedais with crunch and flavor. 

Cheedais have a notorious reputation for bursting when frying in hot oil. It has led to many unfortunate accidents. However, sweet cheedais are less prone to bursting than its savory counterpart. So, if you are attempting this for the first time, be a little cautious and step slightly away from the oil, keeping your face and limbs at a safe distance when the cheedais are frying. But, don't fret much. If an accident-prone clumsy person like me can make this cheedai safely, so can you!

Murukku / South-Indian Chakli

Murukku is a very popular deep-fried savory snack that's made during festive occasions like weddings, Diwali, and other religious days. Tomorrow is Gokulashtami - Lord Krishna's birthday. So, this is one of the many savory dishes that's made to celebrate the day. 

My husband and I love murukkus, however, these murukkus are made entirely by hand instead of using any equipment to press out the spirals. The prepared dough is slowly spun in a twisted rope-like fashion to make the murukkus, as shown in this video. Now, to do this one needs a special skill and dexterity that I lack! My mom always says this skill is something that you are born with - like the ability to touch your nose with your tongue ;). I have resisted this idea and have tried several times to make these murukkus by hand when I was a teenager, but my success rate has been erratic. I don't want to discourage anyone, though! This is just my limitation. 

So, I have started to make these murukkus using a press. After all, the ingredients are the same, and consequently, the end product tastes the same. If the murukkus are made using a press, they resemble chaklis - another Indian deep-fried equivalent of murukku.

Here's the simple procedure to make murkkus.

Mango Kesari

Kesari is a sweet pudding made from roasted semolina. To up the flavor quotient and do something slightly different, I tried adding mango pulp to infuse a sweet and delicate flavor of mango. Adding the mango pulp also made the kesari really soft and moist, which is usually achieved by adding a lot of ghee. So win-win from that perspective.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup fine or semi-fine rava or sooji 
2. 3/4 - 1 cup mango puree or canned mango pulp
3. 1.5 cups sugar (adjust depending on how sweet the mango/mango puree is)
4. 2 tablespoons ghee / clarified butter
5. 1 cup milk
6. 1.5 cups water
7. 1 teaspoon powdered cardamom 
8. a generous pinch of saffron
9. 2 tablespoons of mixed nuts and raisins

Preparation:

1. Warm the milk for about a minute. Soak the saffron in the warm milk.
2. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. When the ghee melts, roast the rava until it begins to change color
3. When the rava begins to roast, add the nuts and raisins and roast until the nuts begin to change color (I did this because I am lazy)
4. Heat water separately until it begins to boil. When the rava and nuts are roasted, slowly add the boiling water while stirring the rava continuously, making sure no lumps form. This is crucial. 
5. After mixing in the hot water and making sure there are no lumps in the rava, slowly add the milk (along with the saffron) while stirring the mixture continuously. 
6. Next, add the sugar and stir well. Keep stirring on low-medium heat making sure the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. After stirring for 5 minutes, the rava will plump and begin to cook. 
7. Now, add the mango pulp and stir well. Stir for another 5 to 10 minutes until the rava begins to spit and splutter as it cooks. 
8. At this point, add the cardamom, mix well and close the pan and let it cook for about 5 minutes until all the moisture is absorbed. Stir every 2 minutes or so to make sure the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. If the kesari is still sloppy in consistency, let it cook for a few more minutes. You can also add more ghee as needed if the kesari looks dry or is sticking to the pan.

Remove from heat and serve hot or at room temperature.

Milk Kozhukattai

For Ganesh Chathurthi this year, I made paal kozhakattai... an easier, simpler version of the original sweet Kozhakattai

I followed this recipe to make the kozhakattai and they came out quite well. It incorporates all the ingredients that go into the poornam kozhakattai, but it is a short cut to make my life easier :)

Aval Paayasam

Aval is beaten/flattened rice flakes. Here is a kheer/paayasam/dessert that's often prepared during festive occasions. The recipe comes from my mother-in-law.

 Ingredients (serves 4):

1. 1/4 cup aval / beaten rice flakes
2. 3 cups milk
3. 1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar (add 1/2 cup if you prefer slightly mild sweetness)
4. a pinch of saffron
5. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
6. 1 teaspoon ghee / clarified butter
7. few cashews and raisins

Preparation:

1. Dry roast the aval on medium heat until it slightly begins to brown. 
2. Remove from heat, and transfer to a small saucepan. Add 3/4 cup of water and cook the aval in medium heat until it is almost cooked. 
3. To this add milk and continue to cook on medium heat for about 25-30 minutes, stirring now and then and making sure the milk doesn't boil over or scald and burn. 
4. As the milk reduces, dry some cashews and raisins in a teaspoon of ghee until the cashews turn golden brown. Remove from heat and keep separately.
5. When the aval is completely cooked (test by mashing one with your fingers) and the milk has reduced a little, add sugar and continue to stir and heat for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves. 
6. Remove from heat. Garnish with cardamom, saffron, and the fried cashews and raisins.

Serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled! 

Note: Another way to prepare this paayasam is to coarsely grind the roasted aval before cooking it in water and milk. It makes for a thicker dessert.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

German Chocolate Cake

I don't think I will ever run out of the wide spectrum of chocolate cakes and chocolate-based desserts. In keeping with tradition, I baked a German Chocolate cake recently. I have never had german chocolate cake before, but I have had the icecream version. I'm not a big fan of coconut and chocolate, but the cake turned out with a good balance between the two. I used this recipe as the base, and adapted it to make just two layers of chocolate cake (instead of three layers), and the creamy coconut-pecan filling. The filling recipe is straight forward and accurate. I didn't change anything except to use low-fat evaporated milk. 

I was quite excited about using special german chocolate for this cake (I used Baker's german chocolate bar), because I expected the chocolate to taste distinctly different. But there didn't seem to be anything different about german chocolate... in fact, I thought it wasn't as chocolately as Ghiradelli's dark chocolate bars. Still, the cake was extremely moist and mildly sweet. The filling/frosting makes up for the sweetness quotient. 

With a dusting of german chocolate

 The chocoholic husband approved this cake and recommends it. 

Paal Peda (Milk Fudge)

I came across this nice instructional video for preparing Paal Peda in the microwave. It looked easy to prepare and a little low on fat and sugar (well, relatively). So, I tried it out yesterday and it turned out pretty decent. 

Originally, full fat milk is slowly heated with sugar and some butter until the fat thickens and comes  together. It is then rolled or shaped into fudge like pieces. My grandmother used to make awesome theratti paal (another name for this in the South). And it used to be my favorite sweet when I was growing up. I think of her every time I catch a whiff of its smell or name. 

Anyway, due to lack of sufficient time, I resorted to the microwave version. For a 5 minute version, it is actually pretty good, but it lacks the slightly caramelized milk flavor that comes from hours of patiently heating/stirring milk. One of these days, I will surely try the authentic version of this sweet. 

Several of my aunts are known for their microwave Paal Peda. They usually use just one ingredient - a few cans of sweetened condensed milk. The condensed milk is repeatedly heated in the microwave (heat-stir-heat-stir---loop) until the condensed milk can be rolled. In this recipe, 1/2 stick of butter and 2 cups of milk powder are used along with a can of condensed milk to follow a similar procedure. Only three ingredients and 5 minutes of your time - it can't get easier than that!

Tiramisu Cake

The husband's birthday cake this year was a Tiramisu cake. I followed the recipe from Deb from Smitten Kitchen, and it turned out great. It's a great way to get all the flavors of Tiramisu through a traditional looking cake. The recipe is fool-proof if you follow every single step. Two layers of soft sponge cakes are soaked in coffee-syrup, and then frosted with mascarpone-coffee-cream icing.  A minor addition of mine wad to add a teaspoon of almond extract in addition to vanilla extract, and other coffee fixings to the frosting.  A dusting of cocoa on top rounds the Tiramisu flavor nicely. The frosting can be eaten as is :)

Semiya Paayasam

Semiya (vermicelli) paayasam is a sweet and yummy pudding. Milk and sugar is reduced together with cooked vermicelli to make a lovely and festive pudding. 

Ingredients:

1. 3/4 -1 cup uncooked roasted vermicelli (broken in 1 inch pieces; Roast the vermicelli in a little bit of ghee till it turns reddish-brown)
2. 3/4 cup boiling water
3. 3 1/4 cups warm milk
4. 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like the pudding; I usually add 2/3 cup)
5. 2 teaspoons ghee / clarified butter
6. 1 tablespoon worth broken cashew nuts (unsalted, of course)
7. 1 teaspoon raisins
8. 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg / edible camphor
9. 1/8 teaspoon saffron 
10. 1 teaspoon cardamom powder

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, add the vermicelli and hot water and stir on medium heat as the vermicelli softens and cooks. 
2. When the vermicelli is almost cooked and/or when there is hardly any water, add 1 cup of milk. Stir together and let the vermicelli continue to cook and stew in the milk.
3. After about 5 minutes, add 1/3 cup of sugar and stir well. Keep stewing on medium-heat.
4. After another 5 minutes, add 1 more cup of milk and the saffron. Stir well and continue to cook. 
5. When the milk reduces, add the remaining sugar and grated nutmeg, and stir well. 
6. After 2 minutes, add 1 cup of milk and stir well. After 5 minutes, check if the vermicelli is cooked and remove from heat. If not, continue to cook on low heat until it is cooked.
7. Finally, add the 1/4 cup of milk after the pudding is removed from the heat. Garnish with cardamom powder and ghee-roasted cashews and raisins.

I was told that the key to this paayasam is to alternate the sugar and milk in small batches, so that the semiya stews well and the milk reduces well to a yummy consistency. The pudding thickens as it cools. So dilute with a little bit of warm milk (if needed) before serving. The consistency of this paayasam is varied... some are watery/milky, while others are more like a traditional pudding. 

Mango Pachidi

Mango pachidi is yet another dish that is popularly prepared during New Year's celebration. It's pretty simple to make and is often accompanied with Neem flower pachidi (the previous pachidi) to create a more layered set of flavors. 

Ingredients:

1. 1 half-ripe mango - peeled and cut intro thin strips or cubes
2. 3/4 cup water (approximately)
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
5. 1/4 cup jaggery / brown sugar (depends on the sweetness of the mango)
6. 1 teaspoon ghee / clarified butter
7. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
8. 1 dried red chilly or 2 green chillies
9. 2 teaspoons rice flour mixed in 1 tablespoon water (the paste is used to thicken the pachidi if needed)

Preparation:

1. Add water to the cut mango and cook it completely along with salt and turmeric powder (takes 10-15 minutes)
2. Add the powdered jaggery or brown sugar and stir well. Let it boil for 5-10 minutes on low heat. 
3. When the jaggery / sugar is completely mixed in, remove from heat. If the gravy is too watery, thicken it by mixing 2 teaspoons of rice flour in a tablespoon of water and adding the paste to the gravy. Mix it well till there are no lumps, and let it boil for an additional 5 minutes until the flour cooks and thickens the gravy. Remove from heat
4. Heat a spoon of ghee. Splutter mustard seeds and chillies/chilly. Add the garnish to the cooked pachidi. Mix well. Serve!

The tartness of the mangoes makes up for the lack of tamarind. Mix and match to your liking!

Neem Flower Pachidi /Vepampoo Pachidi

Indians also have regional new-years. Our astrological charts vary from state to state and cultural norms differ from one city to another. So we have unique celebrations round the year. April 13th was this year's Tamil New Year. And one of the most traditional dishes prepared is the neem flower (vepampoo) pachidi. A sweet, savory, bitter, tangy, and spicy gravy. The whole point is to mix in all the varied flavors of life - sweet, bitter, sour, spicy, and savory. Acknowledging that the New Year is going to offer us a mixed bag of emotions and experiences, we symbolically prepare this dish. 

Neem is widely known for its excellent anti-bacterial properties. Its flower is quite potent (and equally bitter), and is hence used in cooking for its medicinal properties. When masked with the other spices, the neem flower is not quite as unpalatable. Also, this is the time when neem trees shed their flowers. Since almost every house has (used to have) a neem tree, this is when the flowers are collected and put to good use.

Ingredients:

1. 1 tablespoon neem flowers / vepampoo (dried or fresh)
2. 2 teaspoons ghee (clarified butter)
3. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil/olive oil
4. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
5. A piece of tamarind, about 4 inches long (soak in 1 cup of hot water for 10 minutes and squeeze out all the tamarind juice; discard the tamarind pulp)
6. 1/4 teaspoon Hing / Asafoetida
7.  A few curry leaves
8. 2-3 dried red chillies
9. 1/2  teaspoon salt (or as needed)
10. 1.5 tablespoons jaggery / brown sugar
11. 2 teaspoons rice flour mixed well in 1 tablespoon of water (the paste helps to thicken the pachidi)

Preparation:

1. Roast the neem flower in the ghee until it turns a dark shade of brown
2. In a saucepan, heat oil. Splutter mustard seeds. Add the hing, the red chillies, and curry leaves.
3. Add the tamarind juice (and an additional 3/4 cup of water) and salt, and let it boil for 10-15 minutes until the raw smell of tamarind dissipates.
4. Add the jaggery / brown sugar and mix well. Let it boil for an additional 5-10 minutes.
5. Reduce the heat, add the rice flour + water paste and whisk well into the gravy till there are no lumps. Heat for an additional 5 minutes until the flour cooks and thickens the pachidi. 
6. Remove from heat and add the fried neem flowers. 

Serve as a side-dish with rice.