Mysore Pak - A Shortcut

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bitter Gourd Pitlai

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

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

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

Ingredients

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

Preparation

Stage 1

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

Stage 2

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

Stage 3

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

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

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

Banana Chocolate Bread

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

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

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

Ingredients

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

Preparation

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

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

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

Sweet Appam

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

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

Ingredients (Yield 14 appams)

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

Preparation

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

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

Sundal

Another season of Navrathri winds to an end. The festival honors the three important Hindu Goddesses - Lakshmi (The Goddess of wealth and prosperity), Durga/Parvathi (The Goddess of Power), and Sarawathi (The Goddess of Knowledge). In the South, figurines and clay dolls of these Goddesses (and other deities) are displayed in step-like structures. This display is called Golu. Women folk are invited to admire and worship these deities, and are handed prasad (an eatable believed to be blessed by the Gods) along with other little gifts. In the South, this prasad is usually some form of Sundal.

Sundal is actually a very simple yet healthy snack, especially for vegetarians. Boiled/cooked pulses/dhals/nuts are garnished with a flavorful seasoning of mustard, chillies, hing, salt, and coconut grating. This is a significant manner of enriching vegetarians’ protein intake. Why is sundal provided during Navrathri, you may ask? I have no clue. If you do, please enlighten me! But, this doesn’t mean sundals are consumed only during Navrathri - they are healthy, filling snacks that are made quite often. Navrathri just results in copious consumption levels! (especially if you’re a kid and go from door to door collecting sundal packets in exchange for a devotional song you blare out - very much like collecting candies during Halloween - minus the singing!)

The basic cooking formula for Sundals is:

Formula

1. 2 (or more) cups of any pulse/gram/beans - black-eyed beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), green sprouts, peanuts, black channa dhal, rajma, black beans... etc. Basically any kind of food that is protein rich, and that can hold its shape after being cooked. Yellow lentils (toor dhal) for example becomes mushy when cooked, so it won’t make a nice sundal.
2. Soak the dhal/beans for a minimum of 6 hours (most beans require this time, it’s more of a rule of thumb) and then cook them till they are tender. (obviously you wouldn’t follow these steps if you use the canned versions)
3. Heat a small quantity of oil (olive oil or vegetable oil) in a pan. Splutter a teaspoon of black mustard seeds, add ½ teaspoon of hing, 3-4 dried red chillies (or green chillies) as per your preferred spice intake, and a few curry leaves.
4. Immediately add the cooked beans/dhal and saute on medium heat till they get coated in the oil and spices. Add 1 teaspoon (or less) of salt and mix well.
5. Finally add a handful (okay, half a handful) of grated coconut, and mix well. Turn off the heat.

Starting from Left in Clock-wise order - black channa dhal based sundal, black-eyed beans sundal, and chickpeas sundal

Sundal is ready to be served. Chickpeas sundal and peanut sundal are the most popular, commonly made varieties. Sundal can also have ingredients such as finely diced, spiced raw mangoes in them - the kind served at the beach. Most people are paranoid of adding coconut gratings/milk these days. But unless one’s cholesterol levels are already very high, I think one can still afford to add a few sprinkles :). As I keep saying, everything in moderation will work fine.

Using the above simple formula, you can innovate as much as you like! For instance, you can also add some onions, tomatoes, and perhaps a few other diced vegetables and turn it into a sundal-salad.