“कडबू” (Baked Stuffed Wheat Cookies)

October is one of my favourite seasons.In the midst of fall colours,a beautiful array of birthdays & anniversaries always lined up.A bunch of happiness and reason to celebrate with loved ones.

This 20th October,Aai celebrates her 62nd birthday!!Born is 1947, she is almost as old as Independent India.An economics graduate & perfectionist by choice,Aai chose to remain a Home-maker to shape my future so thoughtfully.

We have nothing in common,yet we are similar.She has been my best critic.While I lived in India,she managed everything so wonderfully for me.Realized her importance in my life only when I started living on my own in US (post marriage).She has been the oxygen supply for all these years and I truly miss her.

I have learnt the methodic way to work on details and achieve finesse from her.

There is a lot more to write & share.But,some things are better unsaid than said,and felt than expressed!

So,here’s a birthday recipe to express my feelings for you.Aai enjoys one of Nana’s (my mother’s father) favourite sweets “Kadbu” (Baked Stuffed Wheat cookies) a lot.So,following the festive mood,made these wonderful baked cookies for her.

Ingredients

• 1/2 muffin-full bowl of chana daal/gram-I cooked it in the pressure cooker with 1 cm deep water above the daal.The book just suggests to cook it and drain the water from it.No particular method to cook it is suggested.Instead of using the traditional Indian “puran yantra” (a sort of grinder),I used the blender and made a thick coarser paste of it.
• 1 muffin-full bowl of sugar or jaggery
• 1-2 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1-2 tsp cardamom powder
• 2-3 stands on saffron (my addition)
• khoya or khava (condensed milk powder or cubed)-Its an optional addition mentioned in the book,but I added a piece of kaju katli mithai.I did not roast it as mentioned in the book.
• dry fruits-I added 2 tbsp of dry fruit powder.
• 1 muffin-full bowl of wheat flour
• 3 tbsp of all purpose flour (my addition)
• 1 tbsp of oil
• ghee for frying-I baked the cookies instead of frying them.
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp poppy seeds

Total Time=Cooking Time+Preparation Time=20 minutes.

Stuff it ,Pattern it & Bake it Up

For the outer crust:I made a hard dough kneading the wheat flour & all purpose flour with oil and salt to taste.I made small dough balls for later usage (5 nos).

For the Stuffing:I saved on time because of pressure cooking the chana daal.I softened it with a spoon and added nutmeg powder,cardamom powder,sugar,dry fruits powder,saffron and khoya mithai to it.However,I did not add the roasted poppy seeds to this mixture.I mixed it well and put it in microwave for a minute or so.This mixture may be a little liquid,in that case add khoya or cooked chana daal to it.This shall allow the stuffing to remain within the crust and not burst open.

Pattern & Bake:I pre-heated my oven @ 350 deg F. I dipped small dough balls into the poppy seeds and rolled them into flat rounds/puris.I put the stuffing on the plane side (side without poppy seeds) such that the other half of the puri could cover it when folded.I sealed the edges of the half-circled unbaked cookie with fingers.I was in a mood to show off my brand new pastry wheel,so used it to create a pattern on edges.But,its not mandatory!

I put the uncooked cookies into the oven.And,in few minutes….crunchy,sweet cookies were on table.Traditional,yet modern “Kadbu”/"Baked-Stuffed Wheat Cookies” were all set for a click!!Cheers to Aai and a very happy birthday to her!

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!