Diwali Wishes with Stuffed Marzipan Baskets (badam ki tokri) and Marzipan Apples.

Wishing all my Indian readers a very Happy Diwali. May this festival of lights fill your lives with love, happiness and prosperity.

On this auspicious day, I have made not one, not two but three indian sweets - the more the merrier! For this one day, calories are on the backburner (literally!) I decided to just enjoy the sweets and the festival. I am sure my hubby will be the happiest when he gets back from office and sees all his favourite sweets.

Almond sweets are a must at my place for any occasion, so I decided to share this with you. Because of the chaos in the kitchen, I forgot to note down the exact proportions of the filling, but , don't worry, the filling is really easy to assemble. If, by any chance, you have some leftover - it tastes good on it’s own, or you can, like me, make some of these cute looking marzipan apples.

Without further ado (I have to rush to the kitchen now), here is the recipe.

Ingredients

For the dough

100 grams - almonds, preferably no bitter almonds

100 grams - sugar

For the filling

this is an approximate measurement

5 tsp - a mixture of finely chopped dried figs (anjeer), almond slivers, pistachio slivers

1/2 tsp - rock candy white sugar crytals (misri)

1/4 tsp - cardamom powder

a few strands of saffron

2 tsp - sugar

water

For the Marzipan Apples/Badam Apples

a few strands of saffron mixed with  a few drops of rose water (should be like a thick paste)

pistachio slivers

cloves

Method

1. Make the dough. See my recipe badam katli here.
2. Make the sugar syrup using 2 tsp of sugar and very little water. Keep aside.
3. Add the figs, almond and pistachio slivers, misri, cardamom powder and saffron strands to the sugar syrup and mix. 
4. Take a little portion of the marzipan dough and press it with your hands. Use a rolling pin and roll out into a circle unitl it is around 1 mm thick. 
5. Loosen the rolled out dough and carefully lay it into a silicon tart mould. Remove the excess dough jutting out of the mould and shape the top with your fingers.
6. Carefully remove the shaped marzipan basket from the mould.
7. Fill in the stuffing into the marzipan baskets and serve. (optional- you can also brush the top of the baskest with the saffron-rose water paste, make them look more inviting)
8. For the marzipan apples- Use the leftover dough (if you have any)
9. Take around 1 tbsp of the dough and roll it between the palms of your hands and make a small ball.
10. Brush the sides of the ball/apple with a thick saffron-rose water paste
11. Push in the clove (upside down) on the top of the apple and press gently.
12. Press the pistachio slivers on to the side of the clove.
13. Serve and enjoy.

The above mixture of dough yields approx 5 baskets and 5 apples. 

Happy Diwali and Enjoy!

Red Chilli Pickle

It's hard to keep up with time these days...nonetheless I am enjoying every bit of it. It was really good to have mom n dad in law at home. I have been learning a lot of traditional recipes from my MIL. Today's pickle recipe is also by her. 

I had a bag full of chillies as gift from an acquaintant, who, ever so generous, gave me these chillies and said, "You are Indian and you do use a lot of chillies in your cooking, don't you?" I was a little taken aback and a bit lost for words. I forced a smile on my face - for what does one do with a Kilo of chillies?

Well, I started thinking on how to use so much chilli (I can't eat very spicy food, well, my hubby can... but that's another story). I gave half the chillies to a good friend of mine, who said, she would freeze them. But, even after that, "What should I do with so many chillies?" was a constant thought in my mind. The next day, my in-laws were arriving from India. My MIL, saw the chillies and said "Why do you have so many chillies at home?" I narrated the story and she smiled and said, "We'll make something really delicious out of them." and this recipe was born. Some went into this pickle and a few went into a thai red curry, recipe follows soon. As for the rest - we sun-dried them, for later use.

To my astonishment, the pickle turned out not too spicy, as I thought it would be. It came out so yummy and went well with so many sorts of indian food, that even non chilli fans like myself could have fun with them. The next time my acquaintance wants to give me more chillies, I'll say - bring it on!　

Ingredients

20 pieces - red chillies

1 tbsp - ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 1/4 tsp - mustard powder

1/2 tsp - cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp - garam masala powder

2 tsp - salt (more or less)

2 tsp - rock salt

1 piece - dried dates, finely chopped (chuare)

3/4 tsp - sugar

a very little piece of mace

100 ml - lemon juice (more or less)

Method

1. Wash the chillies and dry them completely, cut into rings and remove the seeds
2. Put the chillies in to a glass bowl, add all the ingredients to it and mix well.
3. Cover the bowl with a muslin cloth and keep it in sunlight for 4 days (do not forget to stir once in a while). At night, put the bowl, still covered with the cloth, at room temperature.
4. After around 4 days, store in an air tight container. Shelf life 3-4 months at room temperature or you can keep in the fridge for appx 10 months.

Enjoy!

Summery Saffron Drink

For the last 15 days, we have been enjoying food like never before, and it is becoming quite visible on my waistline ;-). My in-laws are visiting, and my mother in law and I have been busy cooking a wide variety of dishes - I am learning to cook loads of traditional dishes from her. And, of course my recipe collection is increasing :-) She taught me some traditional Rajasthani sweet dishes, pickles, appetizers etc etc etc. 

This here is also a recipe I have just learnt from her. It's a very refreshing, rich and summery drink. Can be made in a jiffy and has a shelf-life of 6 months (only in the theoretical case that you manage not to finish it off before then!) Saffron is my favourite spice, and for me, any dish /drink/dessert with saffron is more than welcome. I love saffron. Infact, my mom always teases me that if I had my way, I would make a curry with just saffron in it.

This drink tastes good with soda, sparkling water, plain water as well as with a shot of Wodka. I served it with a few crushed sprigs of mountain mint / Calamint (an intense variety of mint) and it was really refreshing. Of course, normal mint is just as good.

Ingredients

6 cups - sugar

2 cups - water

1 gram - saffron strands

3/4 th tsp - rose water

mountain mint/ calamint to garnish 

Method

1. Put the sugar and the water in a big vessel and cook on high flame, stirring continously. Remove the sugar dirt, if any, with the help of a spoon. Bring the sugar syrup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook further for appx 2 mins. Remove from the heat.
2. Let it cool slightly for around 5 minutes.
3. Grind the saffron with the rose water lightly with a mortar and pestle.
4. Put the saffron mix in the sugar syrup. Cover the vessel for 10 minutes.
5. Store in glass jars when completely cool.

Tip

If you notice sugar crystals in the sugar syrup, first transfer the non crystallised part into another glass jar and than add a little hot water to the remaining syrup. Let it cool completely before storing in a glass jar.

Enjoy!

Gatte ki Sabji (Traditional Rajasthani Curry)

After seeing my last post “Mozzarella Sage Ice Cream”, one of my cousins called me up and said, " I don't like Mozzarella!" and before I could say something, she added, "Can’t you post something simple and traditional next time?" "Okkk", I said, and thought "What that suppose to mean?" and then, after our regular this and that, here and there chat, she said, "And, please no more avocado recipes"  

I took a deep long breath and thought and thought and then went through my drafts and chanced upon this curry recipe. This is a traditional Rajasthani curry (though not the simplest one!) and is one of my favourites. This recipe is by my lovely mom :-) and has a lot of memories attached to it. Without going into all of them, I’ll just share one little secret. My hubby who generally eats everything under the sun, was somehow not too fond of this curry since his childhood – even though his mom was famous for it. When I made this curry for the very first time, my hungry hubby came to the dining table and saw this curry and said "Oh, you made gatta today", he said, he would just have one bite of gatta, because I made it, otherwise he is not too fond of it. I said, "Don't, if you don't like it", he repeated, "I'll have a bite" with a smile on his face. He had his first bite and I had mine, he had his second and third, while I was still on my first bite (i'm a slow eater) and soon the curry was over. And believe me when I say this, that I did not get much of that curry that day :-) From that day onwards, we have a convert at home :-)

Go ahead and make this curry, I promise you will not be dissapointed. And, I hope my cousin is not dissapointed in me :-)

Ingredients

100 grams - gram flour (besan)

1/2 tsp - salt

1/2 tsp - red chilli powder

1/8 tsp - garam masala powder

1 1/2 tbsp - oil

1/2 tsp - kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

yogurt to knead the dough

For the gravy

2 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp - sunflower oil/ghee

1/4 tsp - fennel seeds (saunf)

1/8 tsp - nigella seeds (kalonji)

a generous pinch of hing (asafoetida)

1 - bayleaf

3 tbsp - low fat yogurt

1/4 tsp - red chilli powder (more or less)

1/2 tsp - turmeric powder (haldi)

1/2 tsp - dried mango powder (aamchur)

1 tsp - coriander powder (dhaniya powder)

a generous pinch of garam masala

salt to taste

1/4 tsp - dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) + to garnish

Method

1. Mix together the besan, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala and kasuri methi in a bowl. Add the oil and rub with the fingertips until it resembles fine bread crunbs. Add yogurt spoon by spoon and make a hard dough. 
2. Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll out into cylinders.
3. Boil 4-5 cups of water in a deep pan.
4. Add the cylinders (rolled out gatte) to the boiling water and boil for approx 15 - 20 minutes or until you see small white spots on the gatta.
5. Drain and let the gatta cool before cutting them into small pieces. Do not discard the boiled gatta water. 
6. Mix together the yogurt, red chilli powder, haldi powder, aamchur, dhaniya powder, garam masala powder, salt and kasuri methi in a bowl and keep aside.
7. Heat 2 1/2 tbsp of oil in a pan and saute the gatte for a few minutes and remove from the heat.
8. Heat 1/2 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the saunf and kalonji. When the seeds start to crackle, add the hing and bayleaf. Add the yogurt mix and cook on a medium heat, stirring continously. When it starts to boil, add the gatte and cook again for a couple of minutes.
9. Add the reserved gatta water to correct the consistency of the gravy and cook for 3-4 minutes on low heat. 
10. Garnish with dried fenugreek leaves and serve hot with phulka (indian bread) and kadhi or even with Daal bati. 

Enjoy!

Mozzarella Sage Ice Cream

What does one do when one has a lot of recipes lying in the drafts? Well, one tries to post them, one after another, and, that's exactly my plan :-)

This recipe's idea was born to my dear hubby after eating some really nice mozzarella cheese in Milan, Italy, and he told me about it very excitedly. I thought for a second and said, "huh!!! Mozzarella Icecream???" To which came the prompt reply, "Yes, why not? I think you should give it a try." I silently repeated these two words "Mozzarella Icecream" in my mind and was trying to somehow assemble the ingredients and also made a rough version of it in my mind. (though I was a little apprehensive - I thought it will either be a big hit or a major disaster)

My next step was to share my thoughts with my hubby, who immediately said, "When are you making it?" and hence this recipe was born.

Together with the roasted almonds( recipe taken from Angiesrecipe) and the distinctive taste of sage, it was indeed something quite unique and amazing.. And, I must say, both me and my hubby were more than pleased with the outcome. So, if you want to try out something experimental...just go for this one :-)

Ingredients

125 grams - buffalo mozzarella

100 grams - mascarpone

10 pcs - sage leaves, finely chopped

2 tbsp - honey

1/4 cup - low fat milk

a pinch of salt

For the roasted almonds

150 grams - almonds

1 tsp - olive oil

1 tbsp - water

1 tbsp - honey

1/8 tsp - salt

1/4 tsp - cinnamon powder

25 grams - sugar

Method

1. Place mozzarella, mascarpone, sage leaves, salt, honey and milk in a food processor and process till smooth.
2. Transfer to a plastic container, cover and freeze till half set.
3. Place the half set ice cream in the food processor and process till smooth. Transfer to the plastic container and freeze again till half set. Repeat one more time.
4. Now fill the processed ice cream in small heart shaped silicon moulds (I got 5 of them) and  put the moulds in the plastic container, cover the lid and let it set completely.
5. Unmould the ice cream atleast 10-15 minutes before serving. Garnish with sage leaves and roasted cinnamon almonds.

Roasted Cinnamon Almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Place the almonds in a single layer in a lined baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes or until slightly brown. (don't forget to stir the almonds a couple of times in between)
3. Mix the sugar, salt and cinnamon powder in a bowl and keep aside. 
4. Mix the honey, oil and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add in the roasted almonds and cook stirring constantly until all the liquid has been absorbed. 
5. Transfer the almonds to a bowl, add the sugar mix and toss until they are evenly coated. 
6. Spread the almonds on a parchment paper. When cool, store at toom temperature in an air tight container. 

Enjoy!