Rum n Spice bake on a rainy day

Friends were coming over and along with all the hilarity and gushup that we girl pals indulge in, we also love to hog. Delhi weather has become all freaky and unpredictable, just when we thought of packing up our woollies it rained yet again and brought back with it a slight chill in the air. So some piping hot food would work very well on such a day. What better than serving tea with a banana loaf, warm and freshly baked from the oven!

A homemade cake makes your day special. This lovely spiced up banana cake is a real treat. It converted me into a banana cake lover. Now I just need an excuse to rustle this fabulous cake even to the extent of buying more fruit than we can consume so that I can then use the over ripened bananas in the cake. It's basically a tea loaf and comes out very light with a soft texture.

  Banana Rum Loaf

11/2 cups flour

2 ripe bananas

75 ml vegetable oil

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4th cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 tablespoon rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

In a bowl beat the egg and sugar well, and then pour in the oil and the mashed bananas. Mix well, and then stir in the vanilla extract and the rum.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda and, cinnamon. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones and fold in gently to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Pour the batter into a well greased loaf pan. Bake for 25- 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Cut the loaf into slices and serve.

  

Shivratri - fasting and feasting

Tommorow is the Hindu festival of Shivratri. Maha Shivratri (the night of Shiva) is celebrated with a lot of religious fervor and enthusiasm. This festival falls in the month of Phalgun (February).

Devotees offer bel patra (bel leaves), bel fruit (wood apple), flowers and dhatura fruits in the temple and the Shiva lingam is bathed with water, milk, Curd and honey. 'Om Namo Shivaya' mantra and other prayers are chanted by people flocking the temples all through the night. This day is also celebrated as it symbolizes the marriage of Shiva and Parvati.

Many observe a fast on this day and abstain from rice, cereals and pulses ... and only have vrat ka khana. Some keep a strict fast and break their fast the following morning while some people have falahar (fruit only) fast. Aloo and sabudana tikki, saboodana kheer(tapioca pudding), kotu (buckwheat flour) and singhara (water chestnut flour) puri and pakoris are some food stuffs eaten by those observing a fast. Sendha namak (rock salt) is used in the food preparation.

Thandai - a milk based drink is traditionally made on this day. It is a dry fruit flavored milk and a great heat quencher too. 

Thandai 

Serves 1

15 almonds, blanched and peeled

8-10 cashewnuts

2 teaspoon poppy seeds (khas-khas)

1 teaspoon chaar magaz (dried pumpkin, water melon, musk melon and cucumber seeds)

6 peppercorns,

Few rose petals

Saffron, a pinch

1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

230 ml (1 cup) milk

Sugar to taste

Few drops of rose water (optional)

1 teaspoon, chopped pistachio for garnishing

Grind all the dry ingredients to a fine paste with sprinkling of water. Stir in the milk, strain the mixture through a muslin cloth and add a few rose water drops. 

Serve chilled, garnished with chopped pistachios.

Bidding adieu to winter ... on a sweet note !

As a child I spent a couple of years in Muzaffarnagar, the so called rich belt of Western UP. My childhood memories of that place are of a small simple town, with tree lined fruit orchards in its outskirts of - lychhee, peaches and mango, of eating jaggery (gur) loaded with dry fruits-  chunks of coconut pieces, almonds, cashews, and other nuts. It was fabulously tasty and needless to say, the sweet memory of that gur ki mithai lingered on all these years.

We lived in the Civil Lines area, which was the quieter part of the town. There was a bridge which connected you to the old town or Nai Mandi as it was called. The air here used to be surfeit with the sweet smell of sugarcane juice being cooked (Western UP is a big sugarcane growing belt and hence large number of jaggery manufacturing units used to be there). Though I am told now - those things have changed and most such jaggery manufacture is no longer done in the town's vicinity.

Jaggery is a byproduct of sugarcane. Gur as it is commonly known in India is a non refined traditional Indian food sweetener and it is not uncommon for it to be used as a substitute of sugar in food preparations. Not only is it a rich source of iron but is also loaded with other minerals. So when there is no mitha at home then you can pop a piece of Gur to satisfy your craving for sweets, perhaps feeling less guilty. Recently, I tasted a chocolate granola bar made with gur inside instead of sugar; - this has now become a health food - tasty, rich in nutrients and not particularly high in calories - an innovative modern day use of gur.

Today was one of those cold wintry weekends here in Delhi -with the sun playing truant I needed something warm to cheer me up and I thought of what could be better than sooji gud ka halwa - time to enjoy the winter goodies before spring sets in. This Indian dessert cooks in a jiffy, and tastes awesome too.

In one of my earlier posts I gave the recipe of  sooji ka halwa, which I had made with sugar ...  in replacing sugar with gur, the sooji ka halwa no longer retains its off-whitish color. The making of sooji gud ka halwa is somewhat different; this one is roasted till the color changes and becomes golden brown

 So here goes my recipe ... a toast to the last few wintry days.

Sooji Gud Halwa (Semolina Jaggery pudding)

Serves 2

1/2 cup semolina (sooji)

80 gms jaggery (gur)

2 heaped tablespoon desi ghee (clarified butter)

1 3/4 cups water

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

1 tablespoon grated coconut

A generous pinch of saffron strands

6-8 almonds, finely sliced

6-8 pistachios, finely chopped

In a pan heat the jaggery along with the water. Once the jaggery melts, set it aside.

Take another pan, add the desi ghee and semolina and roast it on a low flame till it changes color and takes on a brownish tinge. Now add the coconut powder and roast for a minute more. Pour in the melted jaggery water and mix it into the mixture. Once the sooji fluffs up and soaks in all the water add the saffron strands. Keep stirring till you see the ghee showing up on the sides.

Now fold in some sliced nuts and the cardamom powder and mix well.  Serve it hot garnished with the leftover dry fruits.

City girl's rural quest !

My quest for getting cow's milk in the city was not getting any far. I had almost given up - such times always lead me into some daydreaming of living in a self sustained farm. But alas I had to set this wishful thinking aside and look for the elusive milk. This sudden interest in cow's milk was due to my keenness to make dulce de leche  or 'milk jam'.

 I had tasted it for the first time in New York. Our landlady gifted me a bottle of this gooey, sticky toffeeish stuff and every time I opened the fridge I would pop a spoon of this delish milk candy straight from the jar - one of my guilty pleasures.

 Dulce de leche is a confiture made from sweetened milk. It is a South American staple, hugely popular in countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil where it is almost an obsession. This dessert has a caramelish flavor and is very versatile - can be spread on toast or as a filling for cakes or even ice cream.

The Mexican version of dulce de leche called cajeto is equally delicious but since it also requires goat's milk apart from cows, I had to abandon any thoughts of ever making that.

I finally found a milkman, (yes, the same guy who in the good old days of our parents

time would deliver fresh unpasteurized milk to our doorstep). The fellow is an an affable chap and  comes all the way from Faridabad to deliver milk, and so despite whatever misgivings I may harbor about the quality of his milk, I have still stuck around with him. My conversations with him are on very predictable lines of the milk being less, or not being thick enough and he also gives him his oft repeated lines about how the foam in the milk makes it seem less or how the milk is more watery because the cow is calving. I can imagine hubby dear listening to our conversation and looking heavenwards ...when will this girl learn not to be such a sucker, but then he has learnt to indulge me and just rolls his eyes and lets it be.

So finally made the rich milk jam and as was expected can't keep my hands of it. Will need to take some more extra rounds of the park to burn it off but what the heck some things are too hard to resist so might as well enjoy. By the way, there is another, perhaps  not necessarily easier way to make dulce de leche - get a can of the typical Nestlé’s 'milkmaid' and let it simmer in hot water - this recipe has a somewhat dangerous tinge to it - the can may

explode and one could spend an entire afternoon cleaning the kitchen roof.

Am not sure how long this new found fondness for fresh milk would last, but as of now I am sure enjoying it. The scent and look of raw fresh milk has me still fairly enraptured and it is perhaps the reminder of a bygone era when small little things made one happy and life was so much more simpler - I guess this is a vestige of the small town girl in me which the fast paced city life has not been able to erase.

Hot and Tangy Evergreen Chutney

As way back as I can recollect meals were an elaborate affair at my parents’ house with several dishes being made served with a host of accompaniments too. Salad, mooli ka lacchha (grated radish), green chillies in lemon juice, slivered ginger in lemon juice (the ginger would turn pinkish after it seeps in the juice for some time) and not to forget - the hot tangy green chutney without which the meal would seem incomplete. The coriander was freshly ground on the sil - batta (traditional stone grinder). My mom's view was that using the sil-batta instead of the mechanical grinder, resulted in semi-coarse chutney which undoubtedly was just the right amount of grinding and definitely added to its taste.

Hara dhania (coriander) chutney is a staple in my house too and if my kids are around then it’s a must, particularly with stuffed paranthas(flat bread) and pao bhaji. The chutney livens up the everyday fare and goes well with almost all the Indian meals. Notwithstanding my mother's mantra, sil batta has been done away with in favor of the mixer which makes things easier and quicker.

 The tip to getting a nice texture lies in using mostly the coriander(cilantro) leaves and not the stem, particularly if they are not fresh and tender. The leaves should be chopped finely so that it gets pulsed easily without having to add much water.

 I make different variations of this chutney depending on what it is being served with. If an accompaniment to samosa, khasta kachori, or with traditional pucca khana of western UP then I make it without onion and garlic with only green chillies and lemon juice. Here I am sharing my recipe of the chutney with onion and garlic. This tastes fabulous with chana kebabs, green peas pulao and works great as a dip too. Enjoy this versatile condiment whichever way you like.

Coriander Chutney

1 cup coriander, chopped

5-6 green chillies, chopped

1 small onion, sliced

3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled

Salt to taste

2 tablespoon lemon juice

Wash the coriander well and drain well to remove any excess water. Add all the ingredients to the food processor and grind it to a near smooth paste. Take it out in a bowl and adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.

This coriander chutney can if the chillies are really hot send you in a tizzy - but that said, you would never forget the tangy taste of this evergreen  dipping sauce - try it with pakoris (fried vegetable fritters) and you would know what I mean ... it sure sizzles. 

Wintry treat - Gajar ka Halwa

According to the Hindu calendar we are in Basant Ritu (spring season). Basant panchami which falls in the first week of February heralds the onset of spring and the end of winters, which would translate in to an amiable weather. The weather in Delhi though has been anything but pleasant, there has been no let up in the cold and one is definitely missing the sunny days that one is used to.

All the same winter is almost on its last legs and so are the winter vegetables which we have been enjoying for the past few months. The vegetable market is still flooded with winter greens- spinach, fenugreek, coriander and juicy carrots, peas, cauliflower but gradually they will start losing flavor and will taste off seasonish. I decided to make all the winter specials that we enjoy before they run out.

On my last trip to the vegetable market I bought a bagful of carrots ostensibly for juice but somewhere  there was a thought that one of the days when I am less busy I would get around to making 'gajar ka halwa'.

In every day cooking I don't stress too much on perfection but for special things avoid taking short cuts and so though this halwa is very labor intensive and took a whole lot of time  but all the effort was so worth it. The slow cooking process works well as then it does not require constant monitoring and you can multitask whilst standing in the kitchen.

It might be immodest of me to say so but it tastes fabulous and if any of you are craving a good desi sweet then do drop in for some homemade treat.

The recipe below would make 'gajar ka halwa' - better than any halwai - try it and you would stop eating the halwai's typical ' khoya' ka halwa.

Happy binging - warning ... don't blame me for losing the battle of bulge!!!

Gajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Fudge)

1 kg carrot

2 litres whole milk

8 tablespoon desi ghee (clarified butter)

300 gms castor sugar

1 teaspoon cardamom powder

A handful of fried cashewnuts

Peel the carrots, wash them well and then grate them. Take a heavy bottomed wok, (kadhai) add the grated carrots and 5 tablespoons of ghee and sauté the carrots on medium heat till all the water dries up and the carrots take on a darker hue. Now add the milk in it and mix it well. Let the mixture simmer on low heat till the milk is almost dried up. Keep stirring the milk and carrot mixture frequently in between when it is cooking otherwise it might stick to the pan.

Once the milk gets absorbed add the sugar, increase the heat, stirring continuously. When the halwa starts coming together add 3 tablespoons of ghee and stir the halwa till it starts leaving ghee on its sides. Switch off the burner and add the cardamom powder. Serve hot garnished with the fried cashew pieces.