Besan Ladoo

Its the season of festivals in India. The nip in the air is the indicator of a month long list of festivals falling one after the other. After all the fun and frolic and major binging during Durga Puja, we start afresh with the Diwali celebrations. 
Staying in Kolkata, we had the privilege as children to enjoy a month long holiday which started with the Durga Puja and ended with Diwali. Pre-Diwali preprations meant cleaning up every nook and corner of the house with great zeal by every member in the family. I remember as a kid I would love to scrub floors and feel elated at the tiny help I would provide my mother. Alongside, Grandma and mum would prepare all the Diwali goodies which ranged from sweet to savoury. I would love the job of making tiny cuts on the savoury 'Mathri'. By Diwali eve, our house smelled heavenly with Gulabjamuns, Balushahi's, Gujiya's, Mathri's etc and my personal favourite Besan ladoos. I remember relishing on these ghee laden balls of sweetmeat. 
Diwali nowadays is not the kind of Diwali I have grown up into. Its no more about making all the yummy sinful stuff and distributing it to all the neighbours. It is no more about the joy of hopping into all the neighbourhood houses and eating all the homemade yummies at their place. People have become lazy with time and prefer buying instead of enjoying the fun of making things at home. 
This Diwali, I attempted to bring back a slice of my childhood fun with these Besan ladoos. I have tried to give it a contemporary look with a little drizzle of chocolate. The pat on my back was my husbands question when he returned back from his trip to the Sunderbans, "Who gave these?" 

Ingredients : Makes 6 medium sized ladoos

• 3/4 cup besan/gram flour
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar 
• 3 tbsp melted ghee (or a little more if the mixture does not bind)
• 1/4 tsp elaichi/cardamom powder
• Silver warq for  garnishing
• melted chocolate compound for drizzling

Procedure : 

Take a heavy bottomed pan and dry roast the besan on low heat for about 10 minutes or till the raw smell goes away. Keep stirring all along as it can easily get burnt. 

Add melted ghee and stir well. Keep stirring and cooking on low heat till you see the mixture binding well and leaving ghee. 

Remove from heat and add the powdered sugar and cardamom powder and mix well.

Allow to cool completely.

Shape them in round balls and place them in an individual wrapper or place them on a greased plate. 

Garnish with silver warq and drizzle the melted chocolate on top. 

After some major convincing my 'now camera shy' daughter agreed on getting some pics clicked while she enjoyed the ladoo just like I would do when I was her age. Circle of life, they say. 

This recipe is part of Kolkata Food Bloggers ongoing event "Dessert/Festive Dessert" where Sarani Tarafder is the featured blogger who blogs from Cocawind. 

Wishing you all a happy and safe Diwali

Amrita

Crepes with Spinach Paneer filling

This Durga Puja turned out the best one for Vishal Vaanya and me as we had the lovely company of my sis-in-law and her family from Lucknow. We spent seven crazy days full of fun, non stop eating out and visiting beautiful places. It was more of a 're-discovering Kolkata' for me and I have replenished my love for the city. 

Park street, as usual, enthralled us with its beauty and I discovered some lovely restaurants there serving amazing food. Along with my niece, I enjoyed the street food served opposite Vardaan market from the famous Puchka's, Bhelpuri, Jhaalmuri and the irresistible Kulfi. With my sis-in-law, I discovered some amazing shops that I have never visited before. The Santiniketan trip was like a cherry on the cake. I was unaware that there exists such a relaxing and beautiful getaway from the city life. 
Well, everything good comes to an end and their short trip ended soon and now we are struggling to come back to our routine life. 
This particular recipe was tried a month back when I saw it on a tv show. I am a sucker when it comes to breakfast options and the fusion crepes shared on the program excited me. The healthy ingredients made the otherwise 'lazy Savoury experiment' person in me try them soon. 

I served the crepes with some balsamic vinegar and honey glazed beetroot. 

(To make them, take olive oil in a pan and add the chopped beetroot. Add balsamic vinegar, honey and soy sauce and let it cook. Adjust seasoning and serve.)

Ingredients : 

Crepes : 

• 4 tbsp all purpose flour (maida)
• 4 tbsp besan (gram flour)
• a pinch of turmeric powder and red chilli powder
• salt to taste

Filling : 

• two handfuls of spinach leaves, washed and finely chopped
• 50 gms paneer, crumbled
• 1/4 cup sweet corn kernels
• a small onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

Procedure : 

Filling : 

Heat oil in a pan.

Add jeera and as it splutters, add chopped onion.

Cook for a minute and add the chopped spinach leaves.

Cook for another minute or two and then add the crumbled paneer , sweet corn kernels and salt. 

Mix and cook for another minute. 

Allow to cool.

Crepes : 

Take all purpose flour and besan in a bowl. 

Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt and mix well.

Add water, as much as required, to attain a crepe like consistency. 

Heat a non stick pan and pour a little oil.

Add a ladle full of the crepe batter and let it cook.

Turn side and allow to cook.

Remove and let it cool to touch.

Take a crepe and make a slit from the centre.

Arrange the filling on the side next to the slit in a triangular manner.

Start rolling the crepe in a triangular shape with the filling till you finish the entire circle.

You may saute the rolled crepe on the oiled pan again to give it a glaze on top. 

Happy healthy indulgence

Amrita

Kheer tarts

Its that time of the year when Calcutta dresses up in its fineries to welcome Ma Durga. The little nip in the air and the fragrance of the Shiuli phool (night jasmine or harshringar) are the heralds of Durga Puja - a festival which is incomparable to others. The zest and enthusiasm to dress up in new clothes and visit pandals all across the city is seen in every Calcuttan irrespective of them being Bengali or not. The intricacies of the beautiful work done in Pandals makes everyone hold their breath and wonder at the hard work that has been put in, only to be demolished after the Puja is over. 

As with any other festivity, Durga Puja is also synonymous to great food. Grand plans are chalked out which includes pandal hopping and eating out. From street vendors to five star hotels, every place is packed up with people and each place tries to give the best and attractive offers.

Since the blossoming of Shiuli phool marks the beginning of the month of this festivity, I wanted to incorporate it in my picture shoot. Along with Vishal, my husband, we hunted down many flower vendors but did not find any. While buying some vegetables, I asked the lady vendor in Bangla, "Didi, shiuli phool kothaye pabo?"(Where will I find Shiuli flower?) She smiled and said, "Aamake aage bolte, aamaar badi samne koto phool maati te pode thake" (Why did you not tell me earlier. In front of my house, these flowers are found fallen on the ground) She was sweet enough to ask me to come the next day and collect it from her. And that is how I got these humble little fragrant flowers for the shoot!

The idea of this recipe has an interesting story too. Last month while visiting a Gurudwara, 3 hours away from Calcutta, we happened to cross one of the small towns called 'Kheerpai'.The name intrigued us all and we were contemplating the place to be famous for a certain kheer served in a pie form. Since I wanted the dessert to be bite sized, I experimented with these Kheer tarts. I was fortunate to find some nolen gur from last year in my fridge. You can try the same with normal sugar and enjoy this month of festivity. 

Ingredients :

Tarts : Makes 6-8 tarts

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 25 gms butter, cut in cubes, cold
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 tsp milk
• cold water, as required for kneading

Kheer :

• 500 ml milk, full cream
• 1 rice, washed (I used Gobindbhog)
• 2-3 tbsp nolen gur(date palm jaggery) You may use sugar or sugarcane jaggery

Procedure : 

Tarts : 

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

Mix in the powdered sugar and add milk.

Now add cold water 1 tbsp at a time and knead to get a smooth dough. Do not over knead.

Wrap the dough in a cling wrap or plastic sheet and refrigerate for half an hour. 

Take a little bit of the dough and press it against the tart mould. Starting from the center press out the excess dough and remove it. 

Take a fork and make holes on the dough in the tart mould. 

Refrigerate the tart moulds again for 10-15 mins.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Place the tart moulds in the oven and bake for 10-15 mins.

Kheer : 

Pour milk in a thick bottomed pan and bring it to a boil.

Lower the flame and add the washed rice.

Let the milk cook, on a medium flame, stirring in between till it reduces to half its original quantity. 

Once the milk has thickened to the desired consistency, turn off the heat.

Wait for a couple of minutes and then add the grated/crushed nolen gur. Mix well. Adjust sweetness to your liking.

In case you want to use sugar, add it once the milk has thickened and still on the flame. 

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Add a spoonful of the kheer in the tart shells and bake for 5-10 minutes.

Cool and garnish with some chopped pistachios, cardamom powder and some grated nolen gur.

This recipe is part of Kolkata Food Bloggers ongoing event : Puja week-Mishti special 

Happy Durga Puja

Amrita

Sindhi Food Festival, Taj Bengal, Kolkata

An invite to a Sindhi Food festival at Taj Bengal, Kolkata, made me sit and wonder about my knowledge of their food. After all I am a Sikh, and Sindh (now in Pakistan) was once a province of undivided Punjab. Therefore, their food must be very similar to ours. At least that's what I thought before I began my quest to understand the intricacies of a cuisine which has influences from the invasions of Mughals, Arabs and Turkhans. 

My early memory of hearing the word Sindhi in relation to food was from my Grandmother which was for a vegetable variation of Kadhi. Punjabi Kadhi is more full bodied with onion and besan Pakodas in it while the Sindhi Kadhi which we used to eat was a lighter version with a variety of vegetables in it. Another dish I grew up knowing as a part of Sindhi food was their delectable breakfast dish called Dal pakwan. I would simply love the crispy pakwans paired less with the dal and more with the tamarind chutney my aunt would serve it with. And who can miss hearing a word or two about their Sai Bhaji. But that was just about it, my knowledge of Sindhi cuisine.

With invites like these it is naturally more of a learning experience for food lovers like us and I was happy to be there representing Kolkata Food Bloggers. 

The beautiful rural and rustic interiors of Sonargaon, the Indian restaurant at Taj Bengal makes you transport back to a village setting. The walls have been given a mud look, the vessels used are traditional and there is even a faux well which adds to the grand charm of dining there. 

While we waited for Chef Haresh Keswani who is a master in Sindhi cuisine, we were served a light and refreshing drink called Matho which is basically buttermilk with boondi. As I was telling my mom later on, basically a thin liquid version of a boondi raita. Drinks like these are very common in that part basically to beat the harsh heat. 

Out tables were soon adorned with huge and beautiful Thali's which were showcasing the choicest of dishes representing Sindhi food. Sindhi food as we learnt from the chef himself is basically very simple food with minimal spices.
For starters we relished on a simple Sindhi Fish fry and Sanna Pakora which was basically crispy vegetable fritters. 
Our vegetarian fare had stars dishes like the famous Sindhi Kadhi which personally disappointed me as it was nothing like the kadhi I have been eating. Chef Haresh enlightened us by telling that original Sindhi Kadhi is not curd based and is made only with besan. The Sindhi Sai Bhaji was a clear winner as I could see most of us finishing it off from our plates. This was a seemingly simple dal and spinach preparation. Another dish usually cooked as part of homely meals was the Tri dali Dal. 
Our Non-vegetarian dishes were the Handi Murg which to me was like a very homely cooked onion based Punjabi chicken dish. The Phote bhugal gosht was lamb meat cooked in a rich gravy and flavoured with cardamom. 
To pair the dishes we had Bhuga Chawaran which was rice cooked in caramelized onions giving it that lovely light brown colour. In the bread section we had Koki masale wari which was parantha with Sindhi masala. 
The Tamatan ji chutney (sour tomato chutney) was a lovely accompaniment with the dishes. 
For Desserts, we were served Baata jo Seero which is a broken wheat halwa with assorted nuts. Also served were Nariyal ji mithai and Moong dal halwa. 

On display were the mainstays of the Sindhi cuisine-dals, papads, wadis, makhane etc

Chef  Haresh Keswani

You can relish Sindhi food at Sonargaon, Taj Bengal as a part of their ongoing festival till the 13th September, 2015 as Lunch and Dinner.  

The vegetarian Thali is priced at Rs 1700/ + taxes

Non vegetarian Thali at Rs 2100/ + taxes

Sea Food Thali at Rs 2400/ + taxes

Amrita

Swiss Apple Roesti

Knowledge about food and food habits of specific regions intrigue me in a special way. My interest invariably lies in the understanding of the dessert of a particular region. The more I dig into it the more I realize that it such a vast area of interest, one which personally I am a big fan of. I keep hunting for dessert ideas from different countries and love to try them out in my humble kitchen. 
Swissotel, Kolkata had invited KFB for their Swiss National Day celebrations some time back. Celebration of such sorts are a great learning experience for us where we are exposed to authentic taste of the dishes and are educated about some traditional dishes from the region. We had the grand opportunity to have GM Mr Marco Saxer and Executive chef Mr Pranay Singh sit with us and talk about Swiss Food. Along with some other dishes discussed what enthralled me was the description of this dish called Swiss Apple Roesti. Mr Saxer was very particular about having this dessert on the menu and found a video on Youtube to help the chef make it. 
All of us were stunned by the simplicity and the flavours of this dessert. Crispy chunks of bread with apple pieces sauteed in French butter with a beautiful hint of cinnamon was truly a winner dessert for all of us. We were told that the French butter was specially imported for this dessert. It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and the dessert was drizzled with some vanilla sauce. 
I instantly knew that I just had to try this dessert at home. The high end French butter was replaced with the dairy white butter which is unsalted. Good quality red apples were bought for it especially and a loaf of brown bread was kept for 2 days to make it stale. The entire process takes hardly 5 minutes because all you need to do is throw in a large chunk of butter in the pan and get your bread crisped in it. Add in the chopped apples, sugar and cinnamon and you are done. 
The video is a must watch for the detailed and hilarious take on the traditional Swiss dessert. 
  

Recipe adapted from here : FX cuisine on Youtube

Ingredients : For 2 servings

• 1 apple
• 2 slices bread (stale) (I used brown bread)
• 50 gms white butter
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar(or more)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder(or less)
• handful of pomegranate kernels 

Procedure : 

Cut bread into bite sized squares.

Chop apples in bite size too after removing the seed and with the skin on.

Take butter in a pan and as it melts add the bread. Let it get crisp from both sides which can take 4-5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the chopped apples and the powdered sugar. 

Mix in the cinnamon powder.

Sprinkle the pomegranate kernels on top and serve with vanilla ice cream. 

Happy Roesti Relishing

Amrita