Nolen Gurer tart

It all started with the first batch of Nolen gur I had bought for my experiment with the Mousse and since then I have been trying my hands on quite some unusual recipes. I tried a batch of Nolen gur muffins which was such a hit at home that we made it again and again and loved it each time. The natural brown colour that it imparts along with its sweetness gives an amazing experience. Sadly it is available only in Winters. No wonder that is the reason I have been making the most of it. 

The Nolen gur tart was actually an experiment during Diwali. I wanted to make something special for my parents and jumped onto this idea. The tart was a breeze and so was the mousse. The most difficult part was shaping the nolen gur sandesh into flowers. It took loads of patience and determination and I was somewhat happy with the end result. 

Ingredients : For 6 tarts

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 30 gm unsalted butter (cold)
• 2 tbsp nolen gur, powdered 
• little cold water for kneading

Nolen gurer mousse Filling : 

• 1/2 cup paneer
• 1/4 cup nolen gur
• 1/4 cup whipped cream

Topping-Nolen gurer sandesh :

• 1 cup milk
• a pinch of citric acid/1/4 tsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp grated nolen gur
• red and green food colouring

Procedure : 

Tarts:

Take flour, nolen gur and butter in a bowl and rub the butter cubes with the flour till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (in texture). 

Now add cold water 1 tbsp at a time and knead to get a smooth dough. Do not over knead.
Wrap this dough in a plastic sheet and refrigerate for half an hour.

Take out the dough and roll it with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Roll it roughly to the size of the chosen tart tin with 1/8" thickness. 

Gently press the dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the tart tin. Trim excess dough.

Line all the tart tins the same way. Make holes on the sides and bottom with a fork and refrigerate for another half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Bake the tarts for 15-20 mins or till they get a light brown colour.

Take them out and let them cool.

  

For a detailed step by step illustration refer here

Nolen Gurer mousse: 

Dissolve Nolen gur in 2-3 tbsp warm milk.

Blend paneer in a blender till smooth without adding water.

Mix paneer with the dissolved nolen gur.

Gently fold in the whipped cream.

Fill cooled tart shells with a tbsp of the mousse and allow to set in the regrigerator.

Refer here for details.

Nolen gurer sandesh for topping : 
Take milk in a pan and bring it to a boil. 
Mix in the lime juice or citric acid and stir till you see the milk curdling and the whey separating.
Turn off the flame and let it stand for 2 mins. Meanwhile prepare a vessel by placing a muslin cloth or use a colander.
Strain the mixture into the muslin cloth. I usually save the whey to use it to knead my dough for roti or use it while boiling dal.
Bring the sides of the muslin cloth together and hang it to drain excess liquid for 30 mins. This is the Chenna.
Take the chenna in a plate and knead it with the heel of your palm for 5-10 mins till you get a smooth and doughy texture. 
Melt the nolen gur in little warm milk.

Add the kneaded chenna to a non stick pan on low flame and keep stirring continuously to avoid burning the chenna.

Add the melted nolen gur and mix with the chenna. 

The chenna will gradually change colour as it gets mixed with nolen gur and will become lumpy. This should take 10-15 mins of continuous stirring.

This is called 'Makha' or 'Ready to be moulded' stage. 

Remove from heat and allow to cool enough to handle with hands.

Take a little portion of this nolen gur flavoured chenna and pat it flat to fit the top of tart over the mousse. Repeat the same for all the tarts.

Divide the remaining portion of chenna into two and add green and red food colouring to each. 

Make leaf shape with the green one and give vein impression with the backside of a knife.
Place it on the tart.

Take a little portion of the red coloured chenna and pat it to a rough rectangle with a longer side than width. 

Very carefully with the help of a knife, lift it and roll it gently from one end.

The chenna is very fragile, so be very gentle and patient with the rolling. 

Pinch off the end and place on the tart. Make three such rolled flowers for each tart.
Refrigerate before serving.

Happy Nolen gurer tart relishing
Amrita

Rangoli Shortbread Cookies

Diwali is the festival of lights and is a contaction of the word Deepawali which literally translates to 'rows of lights'. 

Living in kolkata, I have been lucky to be part of the amazing culture where each and every festival is celebrated with equal zest irrespective of the religion. Diwali for us at home meant lots of homemade sweets, lots of cleaning before the festival and lots of fun decorating the house with candles/diyas and then playing with fireworks. We would go to our nearby Gurudwara in the evening to light candles and diyas there, the significance of which I learned later. 

For Sikhs, Diwali is particularly important because it celebrates the release from prison of the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind, and 52 other princes with him, in 1619 and hence called Bandi Chhor Diwas. The Sikh tradition holds that the Emperor Jahangir had imprisoned Guru Hargobind and 52 princes. The Emperor was asked to release Guru Hargobind which he agreed to do. However, Guru Hargobind asked that the princes be released also. The Emperor agreed, but said only those who could hold onto his cloak tail would be allowed to leave the prison. This was in order to limit the number of prisoners who could leave. However, Guru Hargobind had a cloak made with 52 pieces of string and so each prince was able to hold onto one string and leave prison.

Sikhs celebrated the return of Guru Hargobind by lighting the Golden Temple and this tradition continues today.

 

 Ingredients : 

For around 10 shortbread cookies

• 1/2 cup All purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar, powdered
• a pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2-3 drops vanilla essence

For the sugar icing 

• 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 1 tsp milk (you may require more for diluting) 
• food colours

Procedure :

Shortbread cookies

Beat butter in a bowl till creamy. Add sugar and beat. Mix in vanilla and stir in flour and salt. Knead the ingredients into a ball and wrap in a plastic to refrigerate for an hour. 

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. 

Line a baking tray.

Roll out dough to 1/4 " thick circle and use a cookie cutter to get the round shaped ones. 

For the diya shaped cookies, make markings on the rolled dough with a knife and cut through.

Place all cut cookies on the baking tray and refrigerate for 15 mins. 

Bake for 10-15 mins or till the cookies get a nice brown tinge. 

Sugar Icing 

Combine icing sugar and milk till smooth. Try to get a thicker consistency so that you can pipe the design on the cookies. If it looks runny add more icing sugar to get it right. 

Fill a piping bag/plastic cone with the sugar icing and pipe rangoli outline designs on the cookies. 

Dilute the remaining icing with little milk and take spoonfuls of it on a plate according to the number of colours you plan to use. 

Add few drops of the food colour to each and adjust the colours to your liking.

With a toothpick fill the outlined cookies with the desired colours. 

Allow to dry completely.

My ccokies in progress

 Notes : 

• The sugar icing gets dried fast so you cannot make it and leave. You will need to fill the cookies with it immediately.
• Make different shapes by simply making designs on the rolled dough with a knife.  You may also make templates on a cardboard and then place on the rolled dough.
• Refrigerate the cut cookies form the dough so that they maintain their shape while getting baked.

Wishing you all a very happy and safe Diwali

Amrita and Vishal