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Saffron Pistachio Kulfi … craving kulfi

“Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal.”

Voltaire

Here’s an ice-cream with a difference…an Indian dairy-based frozen dessert. Guess what? You don’t need an ice-cream machine for this!! This is a popular end to Indian meals, a rich & creamy ice-cream, which can be made in many ways, & many flavours. Mango is fast becoming a flavour of choice as far as the kulfi goes, but traditional flavours remain cardamom, saffron & pistachio. This particular recipe works with reducing the quantity of milk to a third by cooking. Another recipe I often use has condensed milk…faster & as delicious. I tried this method since I had run out of condensed milk .

Crushing cardamom is therapeutic & releases the most wonderful aroma…makes me think of Jasmine, the Cardamom Addict.

Both my hub & son are quite addicted to cardamom…my daughter, on the other hand, will willingly have anything sweet…anything!! The kids have just finished the last of my frozen kulfis & are now in lala land. The daughter is off for a school trip at 4 tomorrow morning. The 7th graders are going for an adventure camp tucked away in the foothills of the Himalayas…‘The Himalayan Bear Stream Camp’ . She’s driven me up the beanpole with the lists of stuff she has to carry, & I have to bake or get together. I gave her some kulfi…& told her to CHILL!!

Kulfi is a popular flavoured frozen dessert found in the Indian subcontinent made with milk. It is a kind of ice cream. It is a distinct category of frozen dairy-based dessert. Unlike other ice-cream, kulfi takes a very long time to melt. It comes in various flavours, including pistachio, malai, mango, cardamom (elaichi), saffron (kesar), the more traditional flavours. Unlike Western ice cream, which are whipped and filled with air, kulfi is not whipped, which results in a solid, dense frozen dessert. Traditionally in the South Asia, kulfi is sold by street vendors called kulfiwallahs who keep the kulfi frozen by placing the moulds inside a large earthenware pot called a “matka”, filled with ice and salt. It is garnished with ground cardamom, saffron, or pistachio nuts. Kulfi is also served with faloodeh (vermicelli noodles).

Saffron Kulfi

Home made ice-cream, rich & distinctive

As adapted from the ‘Indian Menu Planner’

Ingredients:

Whole milk – 1 litre / 4 1/2 cups

Cardamom seeds – of 8-10 cardamom pods / crushed

Saffron – 1/2 tsp

Flaked pistachios – 1/4 cup

Sugar – 3/4 cup

Beaten silver leaf/paper, flaked pistachios, flaked almonds for garnishing

Method:

Crush the cardamom & soak the saffron strands in a tbsp of warm milk.
In the meantime, put milk & sugar into a large, heavy bottom saucepan & boil until reduced to a third, & the mixture is thick & creamy. Stir often.
Add the cardamom, flaked pistachio & saffron. Simmer for 5 minutes, take off heat & allow to cool to room temperature.
Spoon the mixture into moulds, cover tightly with foil & freeze overnight. (If you don’t have kulfi moulds, any ice-cream moulds work fine. I made some in the ice-cream lollie moulds too.)
To release from moulds, warm the outside by rubbing between the palms for a few seconds & ease out. Alternatively hold under warm water for 2-3 seconds, or wrap in a warm towel for a minute. Invert onto individual serving plates.
Garnish with silver leaf, flaked almonds & pistachios; some cardamom powder if you desire.

Just back from dropping our daughter to school…YAWN!!

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ANOTHER INDIAN FLATBREAD…KHAMEERI ROTI

“Without bread all is misery.”
William Cobbett

Carrying on from my last post, time to blog eloquently about the third Indian flatbread I had a go at making. You can find the earlier two, Naan & Tandoori Roti, in this post here. While the naan I made is a leavened bread but not with yeast, the tandoori roti is unleavened. This current flatbread, ‘Khameeri Roti‘, is also leavened, & yeast is the rising agent in this case. (‘Khameeri‘ means fermented.)

This is a rustic, moreish flatbread, made entirely with wholewheat flour (aata) & has delicious crust. Like most baked flatbreads, it tastes best eaten hot out of the oven. The dough is kneaded twice; the second kneading is a little involved as you try & incorporate extra liquid into the dough. This results in a smooth silky dough, which is then left to rise. It’s a nice bread to serve with curries, vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

Khameeri Roti (Leavened Bread)
from ‘The Indian Menu Planner’
Ingredients:
Wholewheat flour – 2 cups
Clarified butter (ghee) to grease baking tray. (I line the tray with foil instead)
Salt to taste
Active Dried Yeast – 1 1/2 tsp
Flour to dust Method:

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 a cup of warm water, & leave to proof.
Sieve the flour with salt onto a platter.
Make a well & pour in about 3/4 cup of water, mix gradually & knead to a tough dough. Add a little more water if required. Cover with a damp cloth & keep for 15 minutes.
Slowly sprinkle the dissolved yeast mixture, & keep kneading till the dough is smooth & pliable & not sticky. Cover with a damp cloth & leave for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 8-10 equal balls & dust with dry flour.
Press & flatten into 8″ wide discs. Place on a greased tray & bake for 4-5 minutes in an oven pre-heated at 180 degrees C.
Drizzle with melted ghee or butter(very optional, yet most delicious).
Serve hot with curry.

This rustic flatbread is off for Yeastspotting at Susan’s @ Wild Yeast Blog, for her weekly wrap on yeast baking.

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TOASTING THE TIKKA WITH A SHERBET…COTTAGE CHEESE, CHICKEN & POMEGRANATE!!

“The art of dining well is no slight art, the pleasure not a slight pleasure”

Michel De Montaigne

Strange bedfellows one might say…cottage cheese, chicken & pomegranates. Common ground surprisingly exists in the form of Indian cuisine. The sun is blazing hot again & summer doesn’t want to go away. Grilling or barbequing food makes for lighter fare in this weather; is a big hit always. This is going to be part 1 of the post as my menu ran too long. I marinated cottage cheese / paneer cubes in 2 different marinades, boneless chicken bits in a creamy marinade. Decided to make some more leavened Indian bread (the third in the series I decided to try out in my lovely black box), had a delicious bowlful of dal makhani saved up from the previous day…& then made saffron kulfi to finish off the meal. PHEW…sounds like a long list, but was done in bits & bobs. And oh yes, forgot to mention the anaar ka sherbet / pomegranate cooler that I made too. That I did the previous day because I chanced upon some juicy pomegranates & couldn’t resist picking ’em up! Right then, here we go…

Paneer Tikka / Grilled Cottage Cheese

Ingredients:

Cottage cheese – 1 kg / cubed into 1″ chunks

Yogurt – 1 cup ; hung

Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsps

Oil – 1 tbsp

Juice of 1 lime

Paprika for half & coriander/mint/green chili paste for the other

Salt to taste

Chaat masala for sprinkling

Green chutney to serve (recipe posted here)

Bell peppers, onions etc to serve

Method:

Whip the yogurt with ginger-garlic paste + oil + lime juice + salt.
Add paprika to 1/2, & coriander-mint-green chili paste to the other. ( I add some green chutney to save time; adjust the salt if you do so).
Leave to marinate for about 30 minutes (or more) in the fridge. Toss the veggies in a little olive oil.
Put all the above on a hot grill & turn to ensure all sides nicely browned. Sprinkle lightly with chaat masala if desired. Serve with a green chutney & lime wedges.
Skewer with the veggies serve immediately.
Note: Cottage cheese tends to get a bit hard if grilled & left for later. It tastes wonderful freshly grilled!

Here’s the ‘Chicken Malai Tikka’. Made with the recipe I found at Pearls of East @ ‘Any One Can Cook’. A yummy creamy chicken tikka…eat it right off the grill to enjoy the moist, rich flavours. The recipe can be found here. I marinated this overnight; just makes life a lot simpler the next day!!

And to cool off my frayed nerves after being far too ambitious, there was nothing better than a glass of chilled ‘anaar ka sherbet’. The grenadine or pomegranate concentrate can be made in advance & refrigerated. We had it diluted with icy water & a squeeze of lime. You can perk it up by adding some sparkling lime water to it; grenadine is a great base for cocktails, mocktails & desserts too. Quite easy to make…
Anaar Sherbet / Pomegranate Cooler

Deseed 2 pomegranates. Put the seeds in a pan with 1 1/2 cups of water, add 8 tbsps sugar. Bring to a boil & simmer for 5 minutes till flesh is soft (will turn light pink). Cool & push the syrup through cheesecloth. Pour the concentrate into a bottle & refrigerate. Dilute as required & use as a base for a cooler.

Grenadine is traditionally a red syrup. It is used as an ingredient in cocktails, both for its flavor and to give a pink tinge to mixed drinks. “Grenadines” are also made by mixing the syrup with cold water in a glass or pitcher, sometimes with ice. The name “grenadine” comes from the French word grenade meaning pomegranate, as grenadine was originally prepared from pomegranate juice, cherry juice, and sugar.

The ‘khameeri roti’, or leavened flatbread, & ‘saffron kulfi’ recipe shall follow soon. The ‘dal makhani’ was the good old Jugalbandits recipe which I posted here!

Bon Apetit!!

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MANGO GINGER BASIL SORBET…YES, IT’S THE PERFECT SCOOP!!

“Don’t limit my taste. There’s some jazz that I like and there’s some opera. I’ve been listening to what was essentially country music, but it crossed over to rock.”

Rick Moranis

Caught sight of a fabulous, lip-smacking, refreshing mango sorbet teasing me at different times…enticing, delectable, torturous at times. Got tortured by Cynthia @ Tastes Like Home, by Nic @ Cherrapeno (yellow for Bri), then by Mike @ Mike’s Table, where he had a chilling good frozen event.

For some very strange reason I never attempted a mango sorbet the entire mango season. And then, when the mangoes decided to say goodbye, panic set in & silly me decided that was the last mango thing on my list of things to definitely do. Turned out to be a very expensive sorbet, because I paid for the mangoes through my nose. In retrospect, it was worth every penny… I’m glad I made this fantastic sorbet.

Pure sorbet pleasure from David Lebovitz‘s book The Perfect Scoop. I don’t own the book, but borrowed the recipe from Nic’s blog, & adapted it a bit to add a burst of flavour. Was just far out & I can’t wait for next summer to get here quick…a whole year & a really long wait! Then again, time seems to be flying, & the pages of the calendar are disappearing as I stare at months whiz by. Summer shall be back again…stone-fruits & all. Until then, I shall begin to explore pip fruits!! They’re here already, apples & pears, heralding the beginning of fall. And life goes on…

Mango Ginger Basil Sorbet
Adapted from Nic @ Cherrapeno (who adapted it from The Perfect Scoop)
(I doubled her recipe)

Ingredients:
Mangoes – 5 large, ripe(4lbs)
Ginger – 2″ piece ; finely minced (I microplaned it)
Basil – 12-14 fresh leaves; chopped fine
Sugar – 1 1/3 cup
Water – 1 1/3 cup
Fresh lime juice – 8 tsps / of 2-3 limes, plus more to taste if required
Vodka – 1 tbsp
Pinch of salt Method:

Peel the mangoes and cut the juicy flesh from the stones. Cut the flesh into chunks and put them in a blender, along with the sugar, water, lime juice, vodka and the pinch of salt. Squeeze any remaining juice out of the mango and add it to the blender.
Puree the mixture until smooth. Pass through a strainer.
Add the ginger & chopped basil.
Taste the mixture and add more lime juice, as required.
Put the sorbet into a freezer-proof container and pop into the freezer. Whisk to break down crystals every hour…(or if you are a lucky ice-cream maker owner, let the maker do the work!!). Leave to set overnight.
Scoop out & serve with cut mangoes & fresh basil if you like.

p align=”center”>REFRESH YOUR SENSES!!

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2 TONED BISCOTTI…COFFEE & CHOCOLATE!

“Yield to temptation…it may not pass your way again”

Lazarus Long

On the 5th of September every year, schools across India celebrate this day as Teachers Day. Every attempt is made to make teachers feel special, & the kids make cards etc for them.

Both mine always take some cookies for their class teacher, & a few others. The daughter voluntarily makes about a dozen cards, while the son struggles to make 1! She is like a card factory in herself, & in the span of an hour turns out about a dozen well made, similar looking cards, with intricate art-work; the writing looks like it’s been printed. Trying to desperately keep pace, the little fellow somehow manages to almost complete his one card, with writing like spiders taking a walk, but is amazingly creative in his own way!! (Didn’t manage to take pictures of the cards though….). My job is to take orders for cookies from the kids. It’s usually chocolate-chip cookies or shortbread. This year I had a bee in my bonnet to make biscotti. I was suffering serious ‘biscotti making withdrawal symptoms’…& so got online to look for a new chocolate biscotti. I found this neat recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti on Food Network…the head said YES, but the silly heart pushed for more.

Firmly put the heart into place & made notes of the recipe. But the head was stubborn too now, & wanted to go further. Before I knew it, I had doubled the dough & was subconsciously working towards a 2 toned biscotti!! Never heard of it, but wanted to try it & firmly had a plan in mind.

Glad I tried it because it came out great…very pretty too. Next time will increase the coffee to get a much deeper coffee flavour. Otherwise a great recipe; the reviews on FN were very helpful & whatever thoughts I had about crumbly/broken slices were put to rest. Many folk commented that a serrated knife is not the reason for crumbly/broken biscotti.

You’ve just got to use a good quality knife with a sharp cutting edge. I used my magical Santuko knife, in sharp, swift motions…no problem at all. Clean cuts for once & non crumbly biscotti!! Very yummy too!!

COFFEE CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI as adapted from Food Network
Ingredients:
For Chocolate portion:
Flour – 2 cups all-purpose
Cocoa powder – 1/2 cup unsweetened
Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Unsalted butter – 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons), softened
Granulated sugar – 1 cup
Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
Eggs – 2 large

For coffee portion:
Flour – 2 1/4 cups all-purpose
Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Unsalted butter – 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons), softened
Granulated sugar – 1 cup
Eggs – 2 large
Instant Coffee- 2 tbsps (I used 1; but should have used 2)
Coffee extract – 1 tsp (optional)
Mini chocolate chips – 1/2 cup

2 tablespoon vanilla sugar (or confectioners’ sugar)

Method:
For the CHOCOLATE portion:

In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and beat until combined well.
Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough.

For the COFFEE portion:

In a bowl whisk together flour, coffee powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and beat until combined well.
Stir in flour mixture & chocolate chips to form a stiff dough.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter and flour 2 large baking sheets/or line with parchment.

To finish:

Divide each dough into 4.
On prepared baking sheet with floured hands, form 8 long ropes 12″ X 1″ & join together to form a half chocolate/half coffee slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide; 2 logs on each sheet. You should a total of 4 logs. I f you like, you can twist 1 or 2 to give some other effect too.
Sprinkle with vanilla sugar. (you can use confectioners sugar instead).
Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes.
On a cutting board, with a sharp knife, cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack.
Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and , frozen, 1 month.Am sending this off to Ben’s @ What’s Cookin US as the ‘sweet’ entry for his ‘I Love Baking’ event.

A CRUST OF BREAD & A CORNER TO BLOG IN…LIFE IS!

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.”
Robert Browning

Have been on an Indian flatbread making spree of late. Recently rediscovered a book that I haven’t used in a while…The Indian Menu Planner. The recipes in this book have been put together by the master chefs of the Welcomgroup Maurya Sheraton Hotel & Towers, New Delhi. With loads of naans popping up every now & then, that was the first bread I wanted to try, & the second on my list was tandoori roti, an unleavened bread made from wholewheat flour. Both came out delicious.

The naan needs prior preparation as it is a leavened bread, but the tandoori roti can be made with about 30 minutes in hand.

To make these flatbreads, I use a contraption substituting a tandoor. It is basically a simple ‘black box’, with a heater element, under which a metallic tray slides in like a drawer. It goes up to very high temperatures & is ideal for making these; each bread takes 2-3 minutes.

The oven serves the purpose quite well though, just takes a wee bit longer! These breads are ideally served fresh & hot with Indian meals like a butter chicken, dal makhani, tadka dal, tandoori chicken, vegetables, smoked b utter paneer, kebabs etc.

NAAN as adapted from the Indian Menu Planner…

Naan…A light leavened Indian bread that can be made rich by applying butter when ready.

Naans are traditionally cooked in a Tandoor or earthen oven but can also be made in your oven at home. Serve this delicious bread hot, with popular dishes like Tandoori Chicken or kebabs of different kinds. The dough for Naans needs to be made in advance so factor that into the preparation time.

“Crusty, yet tender, delicious NAAN…”

My entry for CLICK:September 2008 @ Jugalbandi

…the call this month is for ‘CRUSTS’!

Ingredients:

Flour -2 cups

Whole wheat flour – 1 cup

Soda bicarb – 1 tsp

Baking powder – 1 1/2 tsp

Milk – 4 tbsps

Yogurt – 7 tsp

Sugar – 3 tsp

Oil – 3 tbsps

Water -1 cup

Method:

Sieve the flour, salt, soda bicarb & baking powder into a kneading platter / bowl.
Whisk the milk, yogurt & sugar together.
Make a well in the flour, add the cup of water & milk mixture & knead to a soft, smooth dough. Add more water if required.
Cover with a moist cloth & keep aside for 10 minutes.
Add the oil & knead again until all the oil has been absorbed by the dough.
Cover with a moist cloth, & keep in warm place for 2 hours until the dough rises.
Divide the dough into 10 balls. Flatten & sprinkle nigella (onion seeds, not Lawson), melon & sesame seeds. Cover & rest for 5 minutes.
Roll & flatten each ball within your palms. Stretch dough to one side to give the naan an elongated shape.
Place the naan on a greased or foil lined tray & bake in hot oven, at 190 degrees C for 10 minutes.
Brush with melted butter or ghee if desired & serve immediately.

Tandoori Roti as made from The Indian Menu Planner

A popular unleavened, wholewheat flour bread, baked in cylindrical clay ovens or the tandoor. It is the staple bread of most of rural North India.

Ingredients:

Wholewheat flour – 2 cups

Salt – 1 tsp

Water to knead

Clarified butter/ghee to grease baking tray (I lined my tray with foil & omitted the ghee)

Method:

Sieve the flour & salt into a kneading platter / bowl.
Make a well & pour in about 300 ml (a little more than a cup) of water, & knead to a soft dough. Add more water if desired. The dough should be silky smooth & not sticky.
Cover with a damp cloth & set aside for 20 minutes.
Divide into 8 portions. make into balls & dust with flour.
Pat & flatten each ball with the palms of your hand to make 6″ wide discs.
Place on greased tray/foil lined tray & bake for 5-6 minutes in an oven preheated at 180 degrees C.
Brush with melted ghee if desired. Serve hot.

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