“पाकातल्या पुऱ्या” (Indian Sugar-Kissed Cookies)

The last sweet food in Diwali Schedule!!!

My Aai (mother) is a lovely cook.While growing up,she taught me the art of associating food with tastes & textures.

Mamma (mother) said “taste” is the appreciation of tongue for the accurate appraisal (appraisal is ascending or descending too :P) of the first tantalizing touch of food and “texture” is the quality of the contents (condiments) that caters to the glutton’s gastronomy!

Very interesting definitions,aren’t they?

I thought of selecting a recipe for “Indian Sugar Kissed Cookies” that could suit the taste & texture preferences of international audiences as much as my Desi (Indians) brigade.With Halloween (31st October),Thanks-giving (4th Thursday in November for US),Turkey,Christmas (25th December) & New year (1st January) lined up back-to back,this one’s a sure winner for kids & grown-ups.

Presenting the traditional,home-made Indian Sugar Kissed Cookies !

Ingredients

• 1 muffin-full bowl of fine Semolina-My last experience with kneading semolina wasn’t great,so used only 3 tbsps of it for texture.
• 1 muffin-full bowl of all purpose flour (maida)-Instead of using semolina as the main ingredient I used all purpose flour since its easy to deal with.One can substitute all purpose flour with whole wheat flour or use the two in half-half proportions.
• 1 and half muffin-full bowls of sugar (quantity may vary)
• 1 tsp oil for kneading.I did not put hot oil into the flour as mentioned in the original recipe.
• Ghee /cooking oil for frying-I used olive oil to fry.However,one may choose to bake the cookies too.
• A pinch of eating soda
• Salt to taste.
• Few strands of saffron.
• 2 tsp cardamom powder-I added it to the dough while kneading it instead of adding it to the Sugar syrup for two reasons,to avoid loss of its distinct flavour while cooking the syrup and to avoid any wastage due to sticking of the powder on sides of the saucepan.
• 2 tsp nutmeg powder-Its my addition and I put it in while kneading the dough.
• Few drops of lemon juice (optional)-This is to be added to the sugar syrup.
• Dry fruit powder (my suggestion)-I did not use it though,but if kids are to eat this one must sprinkle a little dry fruit powder over the sugar kissed cookies.
• 3 tbsp plain curd (sour) or yogurt-I used the usual plain yogurt which wasn’t sour.
• 5 tsp poppy seeds (my addition)-I dipped the dough balls into some poppy seeds for texture before frying them.
• 1 muffin-full bowl of water for syrup.

Total Time=Cooking Time+Preparation Time=150 minutes.

Roll Thy Balls,Fry them Flat avec Kisseth de Sucre

This recipe could be simplified in 3 easy steps(I found it easy to follow them as its difficult to nose around the book while cooking :P)namely: Knead the dough-I mixed semolina,all purpose flour,nutmeg powder,soda,cardamom powder,little oil and yogurt to knead it into a less softer dough.Then,I set it aside for 2 hours (my suggestion-wrap in a tissue napkin,so that it does not get too dry or too moist).I made small dough balls post 2 hours.

 Roll the dough Balls-2 hours later,I rolled the dough balls (pressed them into poppy seeds) into small,thick circles (any shape is fine,circular is traditional one). Heat the Oil/Ghee-I added the thick circles to the hot oil and fried them.I moved them onto a tissue paper to drain extra oil from them.

Slide them into the Syrup-I made the syrup heating water & sugar together.Then I added the crushed saffron sticks for a wonderful orange colour.As the book suggests,one may add food colour to the syrup or to the dough while kneading,but I refrain from usage of artificial colours.I slowly pushed the “puris” or fried cookies into the syrup and allowed them to rest within for a while.

I arranged the cookies on my serving plate…shiny and sweet,round are they,absolutely stunning piece of art!Introduce the gen-next to the traditional yet trendy Indian Sugar kissed Cookies! These cookies could be stored for about a week..

One Halloween tip:To add some crunch to the cookies,try stuffing a walnut in each cookie while rolling them!

Treat for 10 kids (10 cookie recipe) :)

Saturday’s Brunch:Upma/Saanja (उपमा/सांजा)

How I got into the Kitchen to Cook?

After I informed my closest pals regarding CookWithMoi venture they mailed me in kind inquiring if there were any issues with my health!!I have been a “Cooking-Shy” personne always and such a reaction is not unexpected.Well,lot’s of free time and cooking illiteracy led my way towards the kitchen to cook!! However,I m loving these adventures and confident of completing this project in 240 days!

Anyway,its Saturday Brunch time! I am so missing the 7.30 am- “Upma” & “Nimbu Pani” (lemon juice) at Pai’s Canteen located within L.S Raheja School Of Architecture campus at Bandra (West),Bombay.Upma made my life with braces so comfortable.So,to the lovely Upma & Pai Uncle that I owe so much.These two things could take me this far [G.D Arch To M.Arch (Const.Mgmt)] !!

What is Upma?

“Upma” (famous breakfast delicacy made of Rava,originated in Colonial India popular amongst East India Company men & Indians) is known by various names in India and is made in different ways. Its called Uppindi (ఉప్పిండి)in Telugu, Uppittu (ಉಪ್ಪಿಟ್ಟು) , Kharabath (ಖಾರಭಾತ್) in Kannada, Upeet (उप्पीट) in Marathi and Rulam in Konkani.

“Rava” (basic ingredient) is often translated as Semolina in cook books and by various authors on the Internet. While this is not wrong, it is not entirely accurate either. Semolina is most commonly made from Durum wheat, which is thicker and yellow in color with a higher protein & gluten content than Rava. Rava is specifically semolina made from soft wheat (Cream of wheat or farina), a softer white cereal.

I made a type of Upma called “Saanja”.Aai used to make it for me when I was gymming vigorously.

Total Time=Cooking Time + Preparation Time=30 minutes max.

Ingredients

• 1 muffin-full bowl of rava (thick one available at most Indian stores)
• 1-3 muffin-full bowls of water (depends on the type of rava)
• 1 tbsp of ghee +vegetable oil mixture (the book prescribes usage of 1 muffin-full bowl of pure ghee for 2 portions of rava,but i was economical in usage for obvious reasons)
• 1 muffin-full bowl of green peas
• 1 muffin full bowl of finely chopped onions
• 1 muffin-full bowl of tomato (i used same quantity of red bell pepper that was in the refrigerator)
• 1 tsp of udal daal (i used white sesame instead of the daal)
• salt and sugar to taste
• 2-3 chopped green chilies (my addition)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds +mustard seeds (i added mustard seeds for tadka)
• 2-3 dry red chilies
• 1 muffin-full bowl of shredded coconut
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2-3 curry leaves
• 1 tsp asafoetida
• 1 tsp turmeric powder-This is my addition.The normal upma does not have any turmeric powder.However,saanja has the turmeric for yellow colour.
• 5- roasted,deskinned peanuts (my addition)
• 4-5 cashew nuts instead of 1 muffin-full bowl of cashew nuts and raisins.
• 1tsp ajwain or oowa (my addition)
• 3 cloves (my addition)
• 1 tsp finely chopped ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic (my addition)
• coriander or cilantro for garnish
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (my addition)

Laying the Pan

I roasted the rava in the Pan until a it turned a little golden.The book actually asks us to roast the rava over ghee,but I avoided that.I shifted the roasted rava on a flat pan so that it could cool.

Heating the oil-ghee mixture ,I added the asafoetida,turmeric powder,green and red chilies,curry leaves, white sesame ,garlic,ginger as well as ajwain after cumin-mustard seeds crackled.

Different Methods

The onions , bell pepper,peas , cashews and peanuts need to be sautéed.Ruchira suggests that one must add green peas first to the tadka & soon after that water as well as roasted rava must be put in (when water boils).IMFO,green peas don’t take long to cook so they should be added at the end.

However,I think that the onions when sautéed taste delicious and the rest of the vegetables etc also get crispier.It eventually adds to the taste. (tip: any other vegetables could be added too)

After that,I added the roasted rava,sautéed it for a while and added water along with lemon juice.Once the water goes into the pan,I just covered it with a lid for 2 minutes.

On opening the lid,hot and tasty Saanja was bloating with aroma.I sprinkled little shredded coconut and loads of coriander on the Upma.I love it with Dahi /Plain Yogurt!

 Yummy & Healthy Saanja for the Saturday Brunch is ready to be eaten!

डाळीचा चटका ( Split Bengal Gram side entrée )

All of us have extremely enjoyed or disliked the concept of “ भरीत” / “भरता” (Bharit/Bharta-whipped vegetables in sticky thick self-sourced curd based gravy). Some like our friend Yogesh from San Diego learn to gulp tasty “वांग्याचे भरीत”/“बैंगन भरता” (Egg plant/Brinjal side entrée  only after the marital bliss dawns upon them!

So,This is for Rohan’s best friend Yogi and his lovely wife Anuja.

But,here’s one Bharta (side entrée ) that would be a wonderful relief to those who either hate the usual ones or need a change of taste! It is called “डाळीचा चटका” (Split Bengal Gram side entrée) and is a refreshing change from the routine ingredients used to make other Bhartas.

Total Time=Cooking Time +Preparation Time= @ 1 hour.

Ingredients

• 1/8 th muffin-full bowl of Split Bengal gram
• 1/8 th muffin-full bowl of Split Green Gram(Moong daal).This is my addition too!
• 1/2 th muffin-full bowl of home made dahi/curd/low fat plain yogurt .You can actually skip this one.I liked it with and without the curd.
• 1/4 th muffin-full bowl of sweet corn (my addition)
• 1/4th muffin-full bowl of green peas (my addition)
• 3-5 fresh green chilies
• 2 red chilies (dry)
• 1/4th muffin-full bowl of coriander
• 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp of asafoetida
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1-2 tsps of vegetable oil or cooking spray.I used vegetable oil since the cooking spray got exhausted yesterday!
• 1/2 tbsp of roasted cumin seeds and 1/2 tbsp of whole coriander seeds roasted,coarsely crushed manually.This is my addition to the original recipe.
• 2 cloves of finely minced garlic.The authoress has advised the usage ,but not used it in the recipe for this book.I chose to use it.
• 1/2 tsp of finely minced ginger juice.I love the combination taste of ginger and garlic , hence added it.
• 1/4 th muffin-full bowl of radish.This is completely optional and I dint use it really.However,I used finely chopped onion instead of radish in the same quantity.
• 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice.This is my “touché” completely! There is not even the mention of it in the close corners of this book.So,all Copyrights reserved [:P]
• salt and sugar to taste

Here We Go..

I soaked the split Bengal Gram & Moong Daal in lukewarm water for 45 min or so(one may add soda to accelerate the process,but avoid it).I didn't use the warm water running from the faucets here since it contains Lead and other dissolved gases.I took the pains to warm some water to do so!!

Then I transferred the “daal mix” into the blender and whipped it.Take care that while crushing the gram,you don’t end up adding water in it.The Bharta would be very watery and spoil the taste.The texture needs to be rough,so the mixer’s witchy spell for all times could really be a Magic!

The book says that the green chilies should be blended with the daals, however I crushed them separately with “pestle & mortar”.

 

The next step was to mix the “daal”, chopped onion ,“green chili crush”,salt,sugar and low fat plain yogurt together.I added the roasted powders of cumin seeds and coriander seeds to it.Added the lemon juice to it and whipped it up with serving spoon.I added garlic ,ginger the red chilies too! 

Its The Time for TT (Time for Tadka),that’s the  influence of the background score from Kal Ho Na Ho!

Anyway,the tadka was the usual one with mustard seeds crackling in hot oil after the asafoetida moves in with Turmeric powder.

I poured hot tadka over the mixture just before serving and garnished it with fresh coriander.Serve a very traditional dish in style!

The spicy fragrance was all around and the exhaust fan had to switched on or the Fire alarms would have started yelling (when we were young people used to scare us saying “सोजा नाही तो गब्बर आजायेगा!” , while here we are scaring the fire fighters all the time with our spicy tadkas).

One Quick Tip

You may add other daals too.Try adding some udad daal and toor daal.

This tastes extremely wonderful with curd-rice or roti ,Choose your pick! I can have it JLT!

Relish the Yellowz!

“ चटकदार मट्ठा ” (Spicy Buttermilk Mocktail)

All of us enjoy western Cocktails and Mocktails thoroughly. “Ruchira” could truly be called a forward looking cookery book.It has a series of interesting virgin--home-made cold drinks.I would be making a few of them to entertain friends and family in the next 235 odd days.I am making “Spicy Buttermilk” instead of tea @ 4 pm.

Dhana,my first “वाहिनी/भाभी” (vahini/bhabhi-cousin brother’s wife) but more of a friend than “something in law”.I always wanted to make up to her for introducing her to the weird thought of a “mango cake” which looked awesome but turned out to be a better throw disc for my little nephew Neel.Its her birthday today and certainly my chance to apologize and wish her all the very best for every cooking adventure as well as bets on my recipes!

To the wonderful D on your birthday :)

Total Time=Cooking Time + Preparation Time=5-8 minutes

Servings=1-2 persons (depending upon thickness of the drink and size of the serving glass)

Ingredients

• 5 tbsps Low fat Plain Yogurt/home-made Curd /Berkeley farms buttermilk (buttermilk is my suggestion)
• Salt & Sugar to taste
• 2 finely chopped green chilies
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley (my addition)
• 1/2 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves-my addition)
• 1/2 tsp dried mint leaves (my addition)
• 1/8th muffin-full bowl of coriander
• 2 finely chopped curry leaves (कढीपत्ता) (my addition)
• 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic (my addition)
• 1 tsp of finely chopped ginger (my addition)
• 1/2 muffin-full bowl of water (to optimize the thickness of the drink)
• fresh roasted powdered mixture of cumin seeds and coriander seeds.

Shaketh it to Maketh

This is an extremely simple,non-fuss,nutritious and appetizing drink to be served at room temperature or cold with ice cubes in it.However,lot of Maharashtrians love to have it with rice.Its one of the staple diets in Konkan (rice with buttermilk or mattha).

I crushed all the green spices (mint leaves,green chilies,parsley,kasuri methi,curry leaves) together along with garlic,roasted cumin + coriander seeds & ginger.That’s the “spice mix” (वाटण)!

To make the buttermilk

Then I whipped the curd with the whip (traditionally a tool called रवी is used to churn the curd) or one could just blend it in the mixer.To make it less cumbersome and reduce washing quantum,I kept it simple and avoided my blender.I added water only enough to make it a little thinner like a smoothie.It is not supposed to be very lean or thin in consistency.Addition of salt and sugar to taste adorns some taste to it.

 

The spic mix went into the buttermilk  next.I whipped it for a jolly good time until it lathered.

Garnished with coriander and served in a nice tall glass,I was all set for a with The Forest Grump!

Bon Après-Midi! And long live dearest D!

Amen!

Kairiche Saar (Raw Mango Soup)

The best part of Indian Summers is feasting over  Mangoes, Raw Mangoes (kairi) and the wonderful delicacies made out of ripe or raw mangoes.The pickles, gulamba/moramba (mango jams) ,  panhe (home made soft drink made from raw mangoes) , aamras (mango purey) , amba barfi (sweet cake of mangoes) ..so on and so forth.Even though the mangoes in all forms vanish in India around first week of June,one finds mangoes (raw & ripe mexican ones) all throught the year in this part of the US. A visit to the grocer's answered my riddle regarding the recipe for next blog post.

Found some fresh and appealing raw mangoes at Wolfe India Bazaar @ Sunnyvale and decided to pick up the recipe for "Kairiche Saar" (raw mango soup). Its a sweet & sour soup,extremely appetizing on the lines of "Rassam" served at most of the South Indian joints.A typical maharashtrian would have a piping hot bowl of Kairiche saar with hot steam rice and papad by the side.

So let's gear up for this one. T.T=20-30 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 muffin full bowl of square cut pieces of raw mango (@ one raw mango excluding the seed)
• 1/2 muffin full bowl of jaggery (sugar could be used instead but jaggery adds an authentic flavour to the soup,hence preferable)
• Salt to taste
• Red chili powder (as per taste)
• 1/2 tspn full of fenugreek seeds. I used "kasuri methi"-dried fenugreek leaves since the fenugreek seeds often add a bitter flavour within a bite.Everest or other masala brands sell dried kasuri methi and its easily available at any indian stores)
• 2 tbsp of besan (chick pea flour)
• 3-4 Curry leaves , i had to skip them since the grocery store was out of stock :(
• dry red chilies/usual green chilies , i prefer fresh green chilies.
• Coriander (my addition)
• 2 tbsp of vegetable cooking oil .I opted for cooking spray for the "tadka" or to sautee.
• 1 tsp of mustard seeds/cumin seeds.The book did not mention any thing in particular so I opted for 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds.
• 1 pinch of Asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder (haldi/halad)
• 1-2 tsp of amchur powder (dried mango powder-optional)
• 4-6 muffin full bowls of boiling hot water

I used a small,open faced deep saucepan to prepare the Saar.After chopping the raw mango into square chunks, I put the pan on medium flame.I used cooking spray instead of oil to minimize the calorie score.The cumin and mustard seeds were dashed in and crackled in no time. Asafoetida ,turmeric powder , curry leaves (if you add them) ,kasuri methi and chilies were queued one after the other to the saucepan.The raw mango chunks need to be cooked thoroughly.The "kairi" looked amazing and i pushed them into the "tadka" prepared in the pan.I wanted a thicker version of soup,so added only 4 muffin full bowls of boiling water to it.The mangoes took the heat for about 5-7 minutes.Just after the mangoes were cooked,I added jaggery,salt,red chili powder.We prefer it really spicy,so added a little extra red chili powder.I used few tsps of hot water to make paste of cheakpea flour (emulsion).I added it to the Saar .Besan/chick pea flour helps thickening the soup and could be replaced with corn flour.

The aroma was tantalizing, unable to control the want to sip it , I hastily put a soup spoon into it and enjoyed the first burns of soup on my tongue! It turned out pretty well though.I personally feel that the raw mangoes in US aren't very sour.So added some amchur powder to it (instead a fresh lemon could be squeezed in too ; but the lemons are merely juicy and not very sour) .However,its about taste and choices.My mother never can gulp down this soup without being tamed by excess of jaggery or sugar.But,i can eat even the sourest of Indian raw mangoes with pleasure.

The final touches just before dinner time is announced,garnish with freshly chopped coriander or cilantro.

Steam Rice & Kairiche Saar are wholesome feast in themselves,so enjoy!!

Diwali is celebrated all over India majorly for 3 days.In Maharashtra,it spans over larger period starting from "Vasu Baras" to "Tulshi che lagna".Its a joy ride all the way and people shop,eat and burst crackers to the fullest during this festival of lights."Kairiche saar" could be a good American input for celebrating divali here.Most of my fellow NRI's would agree that there's something to envy our homeland folks too!

Seize the sweet & sour feast!

Btw,tomorrow's a special day,so it would be Samosas on the Tray! :)