“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!

“सुक्या-मेव्याची पेशवाई खीर” (Dry Fruit Porridge)

The “Peshwa” (hindi:पेशवा, plural Peshwe, Marathi:पेशवे) were Brahmin Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chattrapatis (Kings), who lead Maratha armies and became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha empire of central India from 1749 to 1818. Prior to 1700 Peshwa enjoyed the status of king for eight or nine years. They oversaw the greatest expansion of the Maratha Empire in 1760’s.Their culture,heritage & luxurious style of living has had a great influence on the way of life of the entire civilization in Pune.

My paternal grand-mother hailed from Hasabnis family who served as Sardars (generals) to Peshwas.

Vasant Kaka (Rohan’s father,I fondly address him as uncle) reminds me of the Peshwe era in some ways.His charm,wit,sophistication, love for art & good food make him perfect to be born a Peshwa!In his own way,he is a King.The king who is generous at heart yet a family man.

 “Badam Sheera” (Almond thick porridge) is one thing he loves to eat and Hema Athya (Rohan’s mother,I fondly address her as paternal aunty) has to make efforts to keep him away from sweets (for obvious reasons).However,its Diwali and I could not stop myself from finding a suitable recipe for his likes.Although,Ruchira did not have a recipe for Badam Sheera,it did have one for “Badam Kheer” (an almond liquid consistency porridge) which I m going to enrich with other dry fruits.

This is my Diwali Gift for Vasant Kaka (hopefully,Hema Athya would relax the diet restrictions for a day in Diwali & make it soon :)

Ingredients

• 1/4 muffin-full bowl of Finely powdered Dry Fruits.I used raisins,walnuts,pistachios,almonds,cashews.One may follow the book’s method of soaking almonds in hot water to de-skin and later crush them thoroughly with pestle & mortar ,which I skipped.
• 1/2 muffin-full bowl of dates+poppy seed+sugar mixture (left over of the dates paratha i had made earlier this week,my addition)
• 2 tsp cardamom powder
• 2 tsp nutmeg powder
• 2 mugs full of low fat milk
• 1/8 muffin-full bowl of heavy cream
• 4-5 strands of saffron-soaked in 2-3 tbsp of milk
• 1 tbsp pure ghee-I would not suggest any thing else for this recipe.(my addition)
• 2 cloves-powdered (my addition)
• 1 small piece of cinnamon-powdered (my addition)
• sugar

Stir thy Soul

The Book’s method: Its pretty simple and non-fuss.Boil the milk and add the crushed almonds in it along with cardamom powder & sugar.Allow this porridge to cook for 5-8 minutes or until the milk thickens considerably.

I want it my way: I sautéed the powdered dry fruits & dates mix in some ghee on medium flame.Simultaneously,I boiled the milk and heavy cream.I pushed  the sautéed dry fruits and dates mix into the boiled,thick milk.Allowed it to boil for some time,I transferred the saffron,cardamom powder,clove powder,cinnamon powder & nutmeg powder into it.I was stirring it continually,until my hand and back paved way for a tired fall on sofa (:P)!!

Anyway,the Kheer was awesome! I love it chilled as well as hot! Choose your pick!!

 I really miss serving to Vasant Kaka.How I wish he was here with us in US?! Hope,he is listening (reading) what my diwali wish is!!

“चिक्कूच्या वड्या” (Manilkara achras sweet munchkins)

Its festive season.Visiting friends & family or having them for supper would be the most common activities over this fortnight beginning with “Vasu Baras” and ending with “Tulshi che lagna/tulsi ki shaadi” (mythological concept of Lord Vishnu getting married to Goddess Tulsi/holy basil plant goddess).

The most common sweets become boring within first few visits.However,I m going to try something innovative & interesting.Absolutely “jara hatke” (something unique-slang used in Bollywood) style !!

My source book has a series of recipes for “barfis” & “mithais” (flavoured sweet condensed milk goodies).However,I love the concept of fruit based goodies very much.The usual fruit sweets are made of mango,strawberries & oranges.But,I would be using “Chikoo” (Manilkara achras) instead of coconut in the coconut barfi recipe.

Total Time=Cooking Time+Preparation Time=30-40 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 muffin-full bowl of chikoo pulp (instead of coconut)-I used frozen chikoos and made a pulp of them in the mixer.Its always better to use fresh ones.
• 1/2 muffin-full bowl of heavy cream (my addition-not mandatory)
• 1/4 muffin-full bowl of Crushed dry-fruit mixture (my addition)
• 5 tbsp of milk powder
• 1 glass of low fat milk (sweetened condensed milk may also be used)
• 2 and 1/2 muffin-full bowls of sugar (quantity depends on quality,use discretion)
• 2 tsp-cardamom powder
• 2 tsp nutmeg powder (my addition)
• 1 small piece of cinnamon-I powdered the cinnamon.(my addition)
• 1-2 cloves-I powdered the cloves (my addition)
• khoya/khawa-I had some Kaju katli (cashew nut munchkins),so crushed them with other dry ingredients and added. (my addition)
• 1 tsp pure ghee or oil-to grease the sheet.

Pour It Flat

As given in the book’s recipe for Coconut Barfi,I did not add milk,sugar and fruit together in the pot over flame.I boiled the milk and half portion of heavy cream together.

 

I blended the sugar,chikoo and the remaining portion of the heavy cream in the blender.I added this frothy mixture into the boiling milk.Allowed to cook together and added rest of the dry ingredients into it.

One has to keep stirring it often to avoid burning the batter for the munchkins.Apart from that,I feared that the milk powder might get stuck to the bottom of the pan , so kept stirring it (was wondering about washing comfort :P).

The mixture would be thick in sometime.However,it would not have the consistency of Coconut barfi batter.The coconut barfi batter is thicker and coarser unlike this one.I poured it into a greased steel plate (glass or cookie sheet would also be fine).One needs to keep it to set for some time.

I sprinkled the freshly powdered dry fruits over it.

 “Yum-Yum Sweet Munchkins spread on the snack table could win accolades for the chef’s culinary & creative skills!!”

Simply Fruit Salad :)

Reading my blogs, most of the readers might feel that I am “A Mamma's Pet”. Interestingly, I have been very much “A Daddy’s Darling Daughter” always. Being an only daughter, I have been very close to both my parents. However, baba (my father) is definitely “The Numero Uno” friend, philosopher & guide that a daughter could ever dream of. Now,that I am in the US,not missing him is difficult.

Baba has quite a multi-faceted persona. He penned down a beautiful poetry for my wedding that Jyotsna Kaku (my paternal uncle’s wife who is a professional singer) sang & composed most aesthetically. Its a memoire to treasure & pass on to the future generations.

His wit & intelligence, teamed up with modesty as well as optimism makes him unique. There is a lot to learn from him. A workaholic, is extremely enthusiastic at an age when people retire from work. Baba’s efforts of all these years of innovation in the field geo-tech engineering are finally going to be paid off with completion of his PhD this year (at age 67,he is already working on the next one :) and I want to grab this opportunity to congratulate him.

This is a very proud moment for any daughter with a father of amazonic personality. A man of simple tastes, he loves sweets. Fruit Salad is one of his favourite sweets. So, I am making Simple Fruit Salad from my source bible Ruchira to celebrate the honour of being the daughter of such a dashing Doctor!

Voici!

Total Time=Cooking Time +Preparation Time=30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Green Apple-deskinned and cut into small pieces (my addition)
• 1 Red Apple-deskinned and cut into small pieces
• 1 orange-peeled,deskinned,pitted
• blueberries (my addition)
• 2-3 plums (alubukhar)-cut into small pieces (my addition)
• 1/2 muffin-full bowl of Chikku pieces (Sapota,this is my addition-frozen ones are available at Indian stores)
• 1 banana-peeled & cut
• Pineapple pieces (I did not have them,so skipped :P)
• Mango cubes (I skipped them too)
• 2 mugs milk-condense it ,heat it (low-medium flame) on gas until it reduces to half the quantity.If you are short of time then you could just use any sweetened condensed milk.However,it would be best to use some portions of condensed milk from the can and some milk (low fat).This thins the salad and can serve more people.
• Walnuts,almonds,cashew nuts,raisins (5-6 e.a).I used roasted dry fruits and crushed them.Its not mandatory to do so.
• Fresh Cream-I used heavy cream instead
• pomegranate (I replaced it with “anardana” powder which is available at most Indian stores)
• Sugar
• few pitted dates (for sweetness and flavour)-chopped finely
• 2 tsp Brown & Polson Vanilla Custard Powder

Whip it In & Dress it Up!

Fruit Salad is made in various ways. The book itself suggests the following ways to prepare it:

• Replacing Milk with thick Curd/plain Yogurt (good option to cut calories in cream etc): This is done by making “Chakka” which we prepared for Shrikhand  and then mixing up all the fruits or Making Shrikhand & then adding the fruits to it.
• Making Custard liquid as instructed on the custard powder pack and pouring it over fruits & milk.
• The Milk & Fruit Mix: This is the simplest fruit salad,wherein we mix the fruits in sweetened condensed milk (sugar added to home-made condensed milk) ,followed by dry fruits etc.

My method

I condensed the low fat milk ,2 tsp of custard powder along with 1/2 muffin-full bowl of heavy cream. One needs to stir this mixture often.While the milk was on the flame condensing, I added sugar to eat. Few may add in “saffron” (3-4 strands) to this condensing milk like my Aai.But,considering the other ingredients that I m adding (my mom does not add them) like custard powder might not blend well with it (vanilla extract or essence may be added).  The final salad gets a wonderful flavour as well as colour. I roasted the dry fruits, powdered them manually & added them to the milk while it was condensing.

After the milk was condensed, I set it aside to cool then shifted it to the refrigerator (One has to let the milk cool down before its goes into the refrigerator to avoid any curdling of milk) and added the cut fruits to it (after @ 5-7 minutes).

(*You may add any fruits to the salad as per liking and availability.I did not have time to rush to Safeway or Lucky,so used the fruits at home)

I poured fruit with condensed milk into the serving bowl and put in the refrigerator. The fruit salad was ready and looked stunning. Garnished it with few dry fruits ,cannot get better! :P

Serve it chilled :) One suggestion,eat it with blueberry or chocolate chip cup cakes or muffins available at Wal-Mart & Costco!

Try this folks and transform your Diwali into a healthy & happy Celebration!!

Cheers!