Monthly Archives: November 2014

Sweet mango pickle(Goor Kari)

Dips, Chutneys, Preserves and Pickles

Fruit and Vegetable Mix

  • 2                  raw Mangoes
  • 1                  lb carrots
  • 1/2               lb Jalepeno or other hot chilli
  • 2                  tbsp salt
  • 10                dried apricots(cut into quarters)
  • 10                dried apple rings(cut into quarters).
  •  

Masala Ingredients

  • 2                  cups oil
  • 1                  tsp black pepper
  • 1                  tsp cloves
  • 1-2               inch piece cinnamon stick
  • 5                  cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
  • 1                  cup crushed rye
  • 1/2               cup crushed methi
  • 1/2               cup crushed dhana seeds
  • 1/2               cup haldi
  • 1/2               cup red chili
  • 1/2               cup salt
  • 1                  lb Jaggery(Goor)chopped into small pieces

Instructions

  1. Rinse and cut the Mangoes into 1/2 inch cubes.
  2. Peel and cut the carrots into 2 x 1/4 inch sticks.
  3. Cut the Jalepeno into quarters.
  4. Add the salt and leave it overnight.
  5. In the morning drain the liquid, spread it on a cookie sheet and let it dry in the sun for a day.
  6. Heat oil, add black pepper, cloves, cinnamon stick, garlic slices.
  7. Let the oil cool, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Let it rest for 2 days stirring everyday.
  8. Add the dried fruit and vegetable, mix well.
  9. Let it rest for a few days, at room temperature, till the jaggery melts, before you serve.
Note:  If you live in the western world, you can use a dehydrator to dry your Fruit and Vegetables.     
           You can cover it with cheese cloth and leave it out in the sun.
 

carrot and green chilli

Ginger Log

Sweets
You can buy ginger Nut Cookies from Save on foods, Walmart, London Drugs or Persia Foods.

Ginger Log

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 1             pkt ginger nut cookies
  • 2             cup whipping cream
  • 1/2          cup chopped almonds, pistachio,
  • 1/4          cup cherries

Decoration

Nuts, cherries, chocolates or fresh berries.

Instructions

  1. Whip the cream until thick, take half the cream and add the nuts and cherries. Cover the other half and leave it in the fridge.
  2. Spread cream over each cookie and sandwich into a log.
  3. Wrap this in saran wrap and leave for 6 hours or overnight in the fridge.
  4. Spread rest of the cream to cover the log and decorate with cherries and nuts/chocolate.

Chopped nuts and whipped cream

Ginger log

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients for Ginger log

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jugu Pak Basket

Sweets
 

Jugo Pak Jugo Pak Jugo Pak Basket Jugo Pak Handle 

Ingredients

  • 1 lb jaggery
  • 3/4 cup waterI
  • 1 1/4 lb roasted, blanched peanuts

Instructions

  1. Brush a small stainless steel bowl with oil or melted butter.
  2. Boil jaggery and water until jaggery melts.
  3. Strain with a fine sieve.
  4. Return to the saucepan and continue cooking on medium heat until thick. Test by dropping few drops in cold water. It should be hard crack stage (150 degree on candy thermometer).
  5. Add peanuts and mix well.
  6. Spread the mixture evenly inside bowl.
  7. Push a greased smaller bowl into the mixture to help create a hollow bowl shape.
  8. You have to loosen the basket right away otherwise you will have a problem taking it out.

You sieve the mixture because jaggery has small stones in it.

I use a candy thermometer for best result every time. To make the handle: make 1/2 a recipe of the jugu pak. Pour the mixture on a greased surface, and roll into a 1″ round, long stripe (it should be about the depth of the bowl), shape it into a handle. Save about 1 tbsp of the jaggery syrup before you add the nuts, for using as a glue for the handle. After removing the basket from the bowl, stick the handle with the reserved syrup. The basket should be stored in a cool place. You can substitute walnuts or pistachio for peanuts for the handle.

Mango Lassi

Drinks
 

Ingredients

  • 1                 750 ml 2% MF yoghurt
  • 2                 ripe mangoes or
  • 1/2              can mango pulp
  • 1/2              cup sugar (or to taste)
  • 1/2              cup water
  • 1                 tsp dried ginger powder
  •                    ice

Instruction

  1. If using the ripe mangoes, peel and blend it in a blender.
  2. Mix everything together except the ice and mix it in a blender.
  3. Pour it in a glass, sprinkle with ginger powder, add ice and serve.

 

Lasan na Ladoo

Entrees
Lasan na Ladoo

Makes 10 Ladoos

Ingredients

  • 4                 day old rotla, 8 inches in diameter
  • 1/2              cup butter
  • 1                  cup chopped spring garlic

Instruction

  1. Break rotla in small pieces. If you have a food processor,, coarsley break the rotlas till they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. If you do not have the food processor rub it between the palms of you hands and break it.
  2. In a medium saucepan melt the butter add the garlic and saute it for 5 minutes. Add this to the broken rotla. Mix well with a wooden spoon. When the mixture has cooled and and easy to handle, take about half a cup and roll it into a ball. Let it rest for a couple of hours before you serve.
  3. Ladoos can be stored in an airthight container, in the refrigetor for a week.

It can be frozen.

Spring Garlic is the stalk of the young garlic. You can grow your own or buy it. I get mine from Osaka which is a Chinese grocery store. You will only get this in summer. You can buy frozen chopped garlic from an Indian grocery store.

Spring Garlic
Spring Green Onion

Double Decker Barfi

Sweets
 

Chocolate and Plain You have to do this Barfi 2 times, so double the ingredients.

Ingredient

Plain Barfi

  • 8                          oz unsalted butter
  • 1                          can(375 ml) evaporated milk
  • 6                          oz sugar
  • 1                          lb powder milk(Pacific brand)
  • 1/4                       tsp cardomon powder
  • 1/4                       tsp nutmeg powder
  •                             few strands saffron

Chocolate Barfi

  • 1                         tbsp cocoa powder

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan melt the butter. Add the milk and the sugar and bring to a boil. Boil it for 5 minutes.
  2. Lower the heat to medium and add the powder milk, cardomon and nutmeg and mix well. Cook it for 5 minutes. The mixture should be thick.
  3. Pour this in a greased 10 in square cake tin.

Chocolate Barfi

  1. Omit the saffron
  2. When the milk starts to boil add cocoa powder and mix well, add the rest of the ingredients and cook till the mixture is thick, 5 minutes.
  3. Add this on top of the plain Barfi and let it set overnight.
  4. Cut into squares or diamonds.

Store Barfi in an airtight container, in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You can freeze it too. Variation You can use 1 cup finely chopped pistachio and a few drops of green color to make a plain and pistachio Barfi. You can olso make it in one flavour.

Puran Puri

Entrees
 
Puran Puriis a sweet flat bread in Gujarati Cuisine.  The Gujaratis use Toor Daal and spice it with cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.  We also use saffron.
 
Puran Puri is a favourite across India and has so many variations in different states.
 
We grew up in a community with Gujaratis and Panjabis and this is a a dish we learnt from them.  You eat it with Mater Batata and Ringra nu Shak(Peas, Potatoes and Eggplant Curry) and use the liquid from the Toor Daal to make the Gujarati Daal.
 
 
Ingredients
  • 1              cup toor daal
  • 2              cups sugar
  • 1/4           tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4           tsp cardamom seeds
  •                 A few strands saffron

Dough

  • 2                cups whole wheat flour
  • 2                tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1              tbsp butter

 

Instruction

Filling

  1. Boil the daal in 2 cups water, until the daal is soft.  Drain the liquid and save it.
  2. Mash the daal and add sugar. Boil until the sugar has melted and the mixture is very dry.( to test if Puran is ready, place a spoon in the centre of the mixture, it should stand quite straight. Should it fall, cook for a further few minutes.
  3. Add the spicies and mix well. Pour the mixture on a plate and cool it completely.

Dough

  1.  In a medium bowl add the flour and rub in the oil. Add the water and make a dough. Knead very well cover and let the dough rest for a couple of hours.
  2. Divide the dough into 12 balls.
  3. Roll the dough into a 5 inch round.
  4. Put a tbsp of the daal mixture into the centre of the chapatti, bring the side of the chapatti to the centre and form a ball. Roll out seam side down, into a 6 inch chapatti.
  5. Roast on the tawa on both sides, spread with butter and serve.
 
 

Rotla

Accompaniments
 
Rotla
Ingredients
  • 1                cup bajra flour(millet)
  • 1                tsp vegetable oil
  • 3/4             cup cold water
Instructions
  1. Heat up the tawa on medium. (The tawa has to be warm before you put the Rotla on it. Sprinkle some water on the tawa and if the water disappears fast, the tawa is ready).
  2. In a small bowl add the bajra and rub in the oil.
  3. Make a dough with the water.
  4. Knead the dough on a floured surface, form it into a ball.
  5. Draw a 6″ circle on a piece of wax paper or paper towel.
  6. Flatten the ball to a 6″ round. (You can sprinkle some flour on it and roll it into the circle.
  7. Pick it up with the paper and flip it onto the tawa.
  8. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and you will see the colour change. With a spatula turn it over. Sprinkle some water on it and cook for 2 minutes. Turn it one more time, leave it for 2 minutes, remove it from the heat.
  9. Spread it with butter and serve.

 

Coconut Layer Cake

Sweets
Ingredients
  • 3/4                      cup unsalted butter, room temperature , plus more for pan
  • 2                          cups sifted cake flour, plus more for pans
  • 1/2                      tsp baking powder
  • 1/2                      tsp baking soda
  • 1/4                      tsp salt
  • 1                          cup berry sugar
  • 4                          large egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 2/3                     cup sour cream
  • 1                         tsp vanilla extract
  •                            Coconut Cream Filling
  • 11 oz                 sweetened flake coconut
  •                             Mock Icing

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the rack in the centre of the oven. Line the bottom of 2 x 8 inch buttered cake pans with Parchment paper. Dust the bottom and sides of the cake pans with flour, and tap out any excess.
  2. Shift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and set it aside.
  3. In a bowl with electric mixer, cream butter on medium-low speed until fluffy, 1 – 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar, and keep beating until the mixture is fluffy and light in colour, about 3 minutes.
  4. Gradually drizzle in egg yolks, beating on medium-low speed between each
  5. addition until the batter is no longer slick. Beat until the mixture is fluffy again, about 3 minutes.
  6. Alternate adding flour mixture and sour cream to the batter, a little of each at a time starting and ending with the flour mixture.
  7. Beat in vanilla.
  8. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans in the oven, if needed, for even browning.
  9. Transfer cake pans to wire racks to cool, about 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and let cool completely on racks, tops up.

To assemble

  1. Remove parchment paper from the bottoms of cakes. Split each layer in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Set aside the prettiest dome; it will be used for the final layer.
  2. Line with cake pan with plastic wrap. Place another domed layer, dome side down, in the cake pan. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of flaked coconut over the cake. Spread a generous 1/2 cup coconut-cream filling over coconut flakes. Repeat sprinkling and spreading process on the remaining layers until all but the reserved domed layer are used.
  3. Top cake with the reserved domed layer. Transfer cake to the refrigerator to firm for 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator, invert the cakes on a serving platter and frost the outside of cake with butter icing. Sprinkle remaining coconut flakes all over cake while frosting is soft; do not refrigerate. Cake can be left out at room temperature for several days.

NOTE Sweetened angel-flake coconut is available in grocery stores.

Mock Icing

  • 8                   oz butter
  • 8                   oz granulated sugar
  • 8                   tbsp hot water
  • 8                   tbsp cold milk

Instructions

  1. Cream butter and sugar until very soft, about 5 mins.
  2. Add a tbsp of water and a tbsp of cold milk, beating very hard all the while. The sugar will have disolved, the mixture will be white. This will take about 10 minutes.
  3. If the mixture is too soft leave it in a cool place until it is sufficiently firm.
The mixture can be refrigerated, but should be at room temperature when using it.