Gond Katira(गोंद कटीरा) -Summer Cooler

Summers have hit us with a big bang. Calcutta has never seen such scorching Summers with temperature soaring to 40 degrees almost everyday. Schools have changed their timings so that little ones do not have to bear the brunt of the harsh Summer wave. We are constantly hydrating ourselves with water and sherbets. AC has become inevitable and we are trying to spend maximum time indoors.

The Summers of my childhood wasn't so unbearable. Summers meant extra bath times, eating ice creams everyday, drinking water from the earthen ware called the  तौड़ा in Punjabi, stealing ice from the freezer, wearing those white malmal super soft frocks and  the one that I fondly remember-lying under the fan with mom's wet dupatta on top (coz we did not have or require AC then) The air that would pass the wet dupatta would become little cold and soothe us. Summers also meant travelling to Punjab for vacations where the heat was much more  and enjoying the cooler culture there. How I would love the smell of the wet khuskhus sheet behind the coolers.

Summers have changed now or perhaps we have become less tolerant. We are getting used to depending too much on gadgets and technology and forgetting the nature's way of dealing with things. Too much tampering with the nature is causing the present environmental crisis all over. We can only hope and pray that we are able to control it before it is all lost.

 

Coming back to Summers, this time I have been extra interested in the drinks that cool us. Come to think of it, every region has their specific drink to beat the heat. Punjab is a state which bears extreme Summers and Winters and therefore has food specific to beat it . For Summers, we have the Lassi's, both salty and sweet and an interesting drink called Gond Katira. In English it is called Tragacanth Gum which is basically a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of Middle Eastern legumes. It has both cooling and heat producing properties to the body. When soaked in water, it is an excellent coolant whereas when fried in oil, it has heat producing characteristics. It is used extensively in Panjiri which is given to women post delivery for internal healing. In Summers it is soaked in water overnight which swells to three times its volume and is then used as a drink to cool down the body.



 

Ingredients : For individual serving

• 1 tsp Gond katira/ Tragacanth gum 
• a glass of chilled milk
• 1-2 tbsp rose syrup
• Sugar as required(optional)

Procedure : 

Soak gond katira in water overnight.

It will swell up to almost three times.

Wash it well with water and strain it. You may keep it in fridge till further use.

Take rose syrup in a non stick pan and reduce it on low flame for few minutes till it gets thick.
Dip the rim of the glass of choice on the thickened rose syrup.
Swirl the remaining rose syrup inside the glass on the edges all around.

Take 2 tbsp of soaked gond katira in the glass and pour cold milk over it.
Sugar can be added to the milk before pouring, in case you want it sweeter otherwise the sweetness from the rose syrup should be enough.
Garnish with some chopped rose petals.
Serve chilled.

Happy Summer beating with Coolers

Amrita

Rose sandesh

Its time of the year when Calcutta gets transformed big time and gets illuminated with lights and adorned with beautiful & intricate pandals to worship Ma Durga who descends from heaven on Earth. 

Its the perfect time of the year to see the zest and enthusiasm in the inhabitants of this city irrespective of any religion. I remember as children we would visit pandals from the south of Calcutta to the north often walking for hours together. Eating out is a big part of the Pujas and we would indulge in everything from Biryanis, rolls, chaats to mishti. 

Growing up in Calcutta is perhaps synonymous to having a sweet tooth, at least for me. I have seen my Sikh family gorge on sandesh, rasagullas and mishti doi on most occasions. 

For us Indians, any festival means sweets so for this Puja, I decided to try my hands on some simple Rose sandesh. I wanted to try and achieve an ombre effect and thus the layering in this sandesh. Well, the effect is not prominent and this gives me another chance to experiment on an ombre sandesh. How cool that sounds, right?

Since we have been busy lately with the Zee Khana Khazana episode, I have missed on sharing a recipe for my Sweet day dedicated for my sweetheart and therefore this one gets added there. 

Ingredients : Yields 4 pieces

• 500 ml cow's milk (or full cream milk)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice/a pinch of citric acid
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar (or more as per taste)
• a drop of red food colour
• a drop of rose essence 
• rose petals for garnish

Procedure : 

Take milk in a pan and bring it to a rolling boil. 

Add lemon juice/citric acid and stir in the milk.

The milk will start curdling soon. Switch off the flame and wait till the milk curdles and the whey has separated well. 

Strain this through a muslin cloth into a bowl to collect the chenna. 

Reserve the whey to use in dal, curries or for kneading chapati dough. 

Tie the muslin cloth for the remaining water to drain for about 20-30 minutes.

Take the chenna in a plate and start kneading it with the heel of your palm. Keep spreading it with your palm till it becomes soft and comes together like a dough. This can take about 10 minutes. 

Divide the dough in two parts.

To one add 1 tbsp sugar and mix it well.

Take a plate and spread this part in the shape of a square. 

To the other part add a drop of the red colour and the rose essence and mix well. 

Spread this part on top of the white layer.

Take little water on a finger and spread on top of the pink layer and start arranging the rose petals on top.

Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes for the sandesh to set.

Cut in squares and serve.  

Happy Sandesh indulging

Amrita

Thandai Cookies

Holi is the festival of colours and is celebrated with lot of  fun and fervour. For me Holi is a sweet remembrance of the non stop fun we had as children colouring each other with the darkest of shades that would not come out for weeks. Holi meant the kitchen smelling heavenly with yummy treats esp Thandai and Gujiya. It meant spending hours in the bathroom afterwards scrubbing ourselves hard to get the colour out of our hair, face and body. Our nails would be invariably painted with a pink or black colour. And we all looked the same!

I remember when I was small, my cousin brothers who are elder to me were the mastermind behind all the mischief. They would fill scores of balloons with coloured water and throw them at their friends. Each year, it was a competition of sorts to paint each other with the toughest of colours that would take weeks to come out. Going next day to school meant meeting my friends in different shades. 

Things thankfully have changed over the years. For better reasons, the culture of playing Holi with those chemicals is slowly reducing. People are realizing the after effects of these meaningless colours and have started opting for Organic colours. I personally prefer Holi now with dry colours or what we call Abeer. 

For Holi this time, I experimented with the very famous Thandai flavour and incorporated it in cookies. Thandai is a popular drink consumed esp during Holi which is made by grinding almonds, rose petals, fennel seeds, melon seeds and black peppercorns and adding to milk. There is a variation called Kesariya Thandai where saffron is added to the mixture but the most famous one is the Bhang Thandai which is basically adding the leaves of cannabis plant whihc has intoxicant properties.

Ingredients : Yields about 15 cookies

• 4 tbsp all purpose flour (maida)
• 3 tbsp whole wheat flour (atta)
• 2 tsp rice flour (chawal ka atta)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of baking soda
• 6 tbsp powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, cold
• 2 1/2 tbsp Thandai spice
• 1 tbsp rose water
• 1 tbsp milk
• almonds, chopped
• khus khus/posto (Poppy seeds) for sprinkling on top

Thandai spice : This will make a little more than the quantity required in the cookies

• 1/2 cup dries red rose petals
• 2 tsp fennel seeds/saunf
• 2 tsp melon seeds/magaj
• 4-5 green cardamoms/hari elaichi
• 15 whole black peppercorns/gol mirch

Procedure :

Thandai spice :

Grind all the ingredients to a fine powder.

Sieve the mixture to get a further fine powder and remove any particles.

Cookie dough :

Add all purpose, whole wheat and rice flour in a bowl and mix with sugar, baking powder and baking soda.  Add cold butter and rub the flour in the butter till it gets incorporated in the flour mixture. 

Add the Thandai spice and mix.

Now add rose water and milk and knead to a smooth dough. If required add a little more of the rose water/milk. 

Cover in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. 

Take the dough out to come to room temperature before you begin baking them.

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius and line a baking tray with a lightly greased parchment paper/aluminium foil. 

Dust a little flour on your work station and roll the dough to 1/8" thickness. 

Cut out cookie shapes with a round cookie cutter or a round shaped bowl/glass.

Press in the chopped almonds on top of the cookie and sprinkle with khus khus/posto seeds. 

Place the cookies on the baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes or till they are browned well. 

Allow to cool completely to crisp them.

Notes:

• Substitute rice flour with corn flour.
• Be more experimental and add Bhang to the cookie dough.

Wishing all of you a Happy and Colourful Holi

Amrita

Kakori kebab

Food cooked in charcoal and wood fire has an unreserved allure universally that draws its roots since the ancient of days. Being the most primitive form of cooking since the stone age, when man discovered the wonder of creating fire from sparks by striking two stones together, it has been ingrained into the genes of humankind and forms a part of the DNA of the Food-logy of our being. Even today, after centuries of existence, evolution and technological advancement, coal and wood fire continue to serve mankind with both, the exquisite range of grilled and barbecued spreads and provision in the form of the cheapest cooking alternative for countless folks worldwide struggling to make ends meet.  

Amongst the endless list of techniques and recipes from the wood fire nothing perhaps is more illustrious, loved and accepted than the middle eastern range of  kebabs and grills.

The English phrase 'all dark clouds have a silver lining' and William Shakespeare's widely quoted line from the play 'As You Like It' (Act 2 Scene 1) "Sweet are the uses of Adversity" couldn't be more true than its significance with regard to the invention of the legendary Kakori Kebabs when the adversities of the old and toothless Nawab of Awadh made his khansamas grind their teeth in order to create the kebab that literally melts and evaporates like a wafer. 

My quest, in addition to the natural attraction towards charcoal grilled food, was to replicate the Kakori Kebabs that had blown away the imagination of my mind and left me spell bound with its dramatic melting texture and softness and the subtle exquisite flavours that translates into pampered royalty incensed with the most exuberant spices and the aromatic smell of the charcoal grill. After much attempts, and a recipe, I did manage to achieve something I would categorize the likes of Kakori Kebab. 

There are many steps in the process. The key in creating the Kakori Kebab is doing those small steps right. Choosing the meat is the most vital step as that determines the ultimate outcome of the kebab even if you have got the other steps right. 

Ingredients : Serves 4-5

• Minced Mutton (Goat) Meat - 500 gms (The meat should be chosen from the raan, or the leg, without any fat or ligaments. 
• Raw Papaya - 50 gms
• Kidney fat - 50 gms
• Salt to Taste 

(A) Kakori Masala (Roast and Make Powder)

• Green Cardamom 5 pcs
• Black Cardamom Seeds 1/2 teaspoon
• Cloves - 3 Nos
• Nutmeg - a Pinch
• Mace/Javatri - 1 Small Blade
• Shahi Jeera- 1/2 Teaspoon
• Rose Petal - 1/2 teaspoon
• Kebab Chini - 5 Nos
• White Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
• Kashmiri Mirch powder- 1/2 tablespoon
• Roasted Gram Powder - 3 tbsp

(B) Kakori Masala (Make Paste)

• Dessicated Coconut - 3 tbsp
• Khuskhus (Poppy Seeds) - 1 tsp
• Khoya - 1 tbsp
• Onions (to be sliced and fried) - 4 medium sized
• Cashew nuts - 1 tbsp
• Fresh Malai - 1 tbsp
• Saffron - a pinch
• Rosewater - 1 tablespoon
• Kewda Water - 1 Tablespoon

Process:

• Mince Meat and Fat thrice to a very fine consistency in  a grinder.
• Add papaya paste, salt and Kakori Powder (A), mix well
• Add Kakori Masala (B) along with Rose water, Kewda and Saffron.
• Mix thoroughly and keep for half an hour.
• Take a portion of the meat (about 100 gms) and put it on skewers and shape it like a seekh kebab (the skewer type should be fat square shaped since they hold the minced meat the best).
• Roast on charcoal grill. Be careful to turn the seekh constantly to avoid over grilling from a particular side. Alternatively preheat oven to 200 degree Celsius and grill kebab for 15-20 mins or till browned from all sides. Remember to oil the kebabs in between for better and uniform grilling.
• Remove Carefully from the skewer on a plate. 
• Serve with green chutney and sliced onions (although it was loved without any chutney)

(Recipe Credit: Gautam Mehrish : Corporate Executive Chef at Sun-n-Sand Hotels, Mumbai)

The same recipe when experimented with minced chicken was not exactly the 'melt-in-mouth' texture but was equally appreciated.

The same recipe experimented with chicken

Happy Kebab Dishing

Vishal