Enchiladas Supremo

I had a guest recently, whom I asked: "What's your favorite dish to make?"
"Enchiladas," was the prompt answer, followed by, "Want me to make them for you?"
That set us off on an adventure. Except for cheese quesadillas and burritos, I haven't tried much Mexican cooking and I was looking forward to doing something new.
She wrote down her list of ingredients and described the recipe...I suggested shortcuts. We both went shopping separately and cooked together. It took a while but everyone was pleased by the outcome!
Enchiladas have never been a favorite dish of mine but now I know why. I've never had them the way they should be made...and the best way to make them is to learn from someone whose native dish it is!
This isn't an easy recipe but worth the effort.
Wherever possible I've added tips and shortcuts.


Just Fried Tortillas

The finished product



Mayra's Chicken Enchiladas

(We made 24 with this recipe.)

Sauce (We made this the evening before.)

3 medium sized tomatoes
8 medium sized tomatillos
10 large CHILE CALIFORNIA (huge,dried red chillies)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin powder.
1/2 large onion
Salt, pepper, chilli powder to taste.

(For green enchiladas use only tomatillos and green jalapeno chillies)

Remove 1/2 inch of the part of the tomatillos where the stalk is attached, with a sharp knife.
Slit and de-seed dried chillies. (Keep them if you want them spicier).

Fill a 4 qt stockpot with 2 qts water.
Add washed tomatoes, tomatillos, chillies and cook till tender (about 20 mins) and the color of the tomatoes changes.
Remove from water, blend with 1/2 large onion, salt, oregano, cumin, pepper and chilli powder (optional). We separated the sauce at this stage and I added chilli powder liberally in our half.

Sauce should be consistency of tomato sauce in a can.

Ingredients for filling

8-12 ozs of Mozarella cheese (either buy grated cheese or grate in food processor.

Shredded chicken

(Cook one chicken with 3 cloves of garlic, 1/2 onion and salt. Shred when cool into one inch pieces.
or
Shortcut: Buy one roasted chicken. Shred.

Enchiladas

(Buy the packet of 6" fresh corn tortillas from your local supermarket. We are lucky to have one that makes them fresh daily).

or

any pre-packaged 6" corn tortillas.

On a griddle/tawa/non stick pan, lightly cook each tortilla on both sides...must not get brown.
Heat one inch oil in frying pan.
Dip each tortilla in sauce, using tongs and then put into hot oil.
Fry both sides...30 seconds on each side.
TIP: Sauce and oil splash a lot so cover sides of fry pan and rest of stove with foil before frying.
I had to use 2 slotted spoons to remove each tortilla as they get very soft in the oil.
Drain in a colander.
If this method is too hard for you and it certainly is a challenge, read Method 2.
Fry all the tortillas first, unless you have someone helping you in which case you can do the following in tandem: one fry, one assemble.
On each tortilla, spread one large tablespoon each of chicken and cheese (adjust ratio to taste).
Roll up enchilada...place end side down in dish.
Optional: add chopped onion and tomato to chicken and cheese.
When all are done, sprinkle cheese on top.

Just before eating, heat in microwave till cheese melts on top.

CHEESE ENCHILADAS: Place cheese, chopped tomato, cilantro and onion inside.

Method 2: Low fat tortillas.
(Made this a couple of days ago and neither HD or I found a difference in taste. It is a much easier way as there is less clean up. I also double up on the sauce and froze a batch.)

Fry only the tortilla on both sides using half a tsp. of oil on each side,then dip in sauce, continue as above.
Mayra, the authority on enchiladas, insists it tastes better the traditional way (tortilla dipped in sauce then fried...so we did it her way) It did taste great!!!

Fill and roll as above. I add a cup of sauce over the enchiladas at this point and sprinkle with cheese.
Can be covered and frozen at this stage for a later date
or
Microwave/heat in 350 degree oven before eating and serve piping hot.

The votes were unanimous...this dish was great!!!
The secret, according to Mayra, is in the sauce.

The following dish is one use for left over sauce:

Chile with Chicken and Potatoes

Peel, cube and boil potatoes.
Shredded chicken
If using any other meat, fry in 3 Tbsps oil till well cooked.
Place in a dish.
Cover with above sauce.
Optional: add chopped onion and tomato.
Serve hot with tortillas.

AFTER THANKSGIVING

After Thanksgiving families who celebrate with a turkey meal, are usually overwhelmed with a lot of leftovers. When my nest was full, and the kids were home they loved turkey leftovers the next day. HD and I did not. I used to remove all the meat from the bird right after the meal and freeze it, according to general instructions (leaving enough out for the kids to feast on).

Don't throw your leftovers away. They really make good dishes that will surprise your family and friends. I came up with dishes two, three and four for the leftovers;over the years. The stew was made the day after Thanksgiving, this year, by our son-in-law.

TURKEY STEW: Onions, carrots, celery, cubed left over turkey, potatoes,sliced zucchini, salt and pepper. After the vegetables cooked, egg noodles were added and simmered in the soup. Talk about a one pot meal! HD is vegetarian, so some soup was set aside for him before the turkey was added.
HD and I laced our soup with hot sauce... it was delicious. The rest had it as is. Sorry we didn't stop to take pictures!

TURKEY FRIED RICE: This was a family favorite when the kids were young.
Follow any fried rice recipe. I used leftover rice, stir fried scallions, grated ginger, garlic, 1 large tablespoon hoisin sauce and soy sauce to taste, stir fried left over turkey,snow peas.
Just before serving I would add Chinese bean sprouts and a couple of scrambled eggs.
I've even made this with half noodles, half rice and it always got rave reviews.
I used to do this over 15 years ago so no pictures here either!

TURKEY KEEMA/MINCE: Ever put your leftover turkey into the Cuisinart and minced it?
It tastes so great in cutlets, Shepherd's Pie, keema kababs.
There's something about that roast turkey that lends an additional flavor to any dish one would normally use mince in.

AND A NEW BRAINWAVE: STUFFING UPMA!

Stuffing upma you say? Never heard of such a thing! Well, just read on patiently.

If you buy the box of cornbread stuffing with herbs and spices for the stuffing, like we do, here's a new idea for you...
We've been making our stuffing outside the turkey for the sake of the vegetarians in our family; following package directions.
This year I froze the leftover stuffing and then took it out tonight. After thawing the stuffing in the microwave, I heated some olive oil, added sliced green onions, cubed tomato, green chillies, karipata (curry leaves), and fresh coriander to it. After sauteing it lightly, I added the stuffing and mixed everything gently.
It made great bread upma!
Now I'm planning on getting a couple of extra boxes of stuffing and keeping it on hand, just for this quick new dish.

Good luck with those leftovers! Frozen immediately, they are great for another meal.

THANKSGIVING

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, isn't it.
Besides the feasting, the gathering of family and friends, the shopping frenzy, think of the meaning of this holiday.
A day to give thanks for all we have.
If you want to be really thankful think of those less fortunate than us.

The things that have made me truly thankful in my life are:

1. Faith in God.
2. Friends and positive family relationships.
3. The acceptance and avoidance of people and things I cannot change.
4. Contentment
5. Freedom from envy.
6. Freedom to make choices and live in a democracy.
7. The ability to find joy in Nature.
8. The ability to stick to and follow basic, good principles of life.

Make your own list today and think about it.

MY HIGH TEA IS DONE!

The greenhouse window made a good background to set the stage with my collection of cups and saucers n(the guest admired them while drinking tea out of disposable cups), and my collection of biscuit tins, tea tins and boxes from all over the world (most of which are now empty). It was a great chance to display stuff just lying in the cupboard.

Thanks to all of you who helped me with the recipes and ideas it was a great success.
Special thanks to Joan, Prabha, lan of Cheenachatti (http://cheenachatti.blogspot.com/), Mallu Girl of Malabar Spices (http://malluspice.blogspot.com/) and Cynthia Nelson of Tastes Like Home (http://www.tasteslikehome.org/).
The only bad part was I was so busy I didn't get to take too many pictures of the food to share! Can you believe that?

Last week I made Guava Tarts. Unfortunately I made them too early. The family tasted them, decided we all loved them and polished them off, accusing me of depriving them this far in their lives of such a delicious treat. I had to point out I had just discovered the recipe this year. I made them with really ripe guavas. The green one is just for effect in the picture. I did not ice them as I wanted to avoid the extra sugar.


Here's the link to the recipe, from Cynthia Nelson's wonderful website. The link comes with a warning from me: Hide them, if you want to serve them to guests.
http://www.tasteslikehome.org/search?q=guava+tarts

Tips for the tarts: I had very small guavas which were a nuisance to peel, de-seed and chop.
It took a couple of hours to get 4 cup fulls. Next time I'll wait for larger guavas before attempting this recipe. It was super delicious.

The next item I made, and you are all going to laugh at this, was murku/chakli.
I hid the box and guess what: when I put out all the other food I forgot to put this out!
I remembered it when only 3 couples were left here, and gave them a packet each.
So much for hiding things.

Murku

4 cups rice flour
1 cup gram flour (besan).
Besan is gram flour made by grinding channa dal (a variety of lentil).
1 small stick butter melted.
1 Tbsp brown til/sesame seed or cumin/jeera.
or
1 inch piece ginger ground.
Salt to taste.
Cracked pepper optional.
Oil for frying.

Mix flours, butter, sesame seed/ginger, salt with warm water to the consistency of cookie dough...NOT like chappatti dough or your murkus will be HARD.
Push through murku mold and deep fry to a golden brown in hot oil.

TIP: When I make it I use a large skillet and make the murku as big as the pan.
After it is fried and cooled, I break it into one to two inch pieces and serve.
This makes the frying process easier than shaping umpteen perfect little murkus, and helps us oldies with leg pain!


This is what the final menu was:

Sangria with red and white wine.
There are so many recipes for this on the Internet that I picked a few and then once I got the idea of how it is made, I picked the fruit I liked the best, chose to use sparkling cider as the base and made it with that.
I used a Cabernet Sauvignon for red and a dry white wine.
In the red I added sliced strawberries, orange, lemon and lime slices, with some of the juice too.
In the white I added frozen peaches and sliced kiwi with orange, lime and lemon slices and juice.
Both marinated in the refrigerator overnight.
HONEST TIP: It wasn't very easy to make at the last minute for every guest as ice had to be placed in each glass, then sparkling cider poured in, then topped off with sangria.
Luckily I had help serving but making it was crunch time.

The rest of the menu went like this: (recipes and pictures that i have are coming...having a problem uploading them today.)

Sweets:

Jam Tarts
Lemon drop biscuits
Pistachio cake
Almond thins (from Trader Joe's)
Fruit salad.
Rice kheer
A tray of sliced pineapple.
Brownies.
(The last two items were brought by friends).

Jam Tarts: Recipe given by someone very dear to us. Thanks Joan.
I didn't make the pie crust from scratch...just bought two pie sheets, which gave me such a hard time to unroll, I don't know why. They cracked , broke and stuck together....which according to Murphy's law always happen if you're in a hurry.
I re-rolled the sheets, cut with a circle mold, placed the circles in muffin pans, put a spoon of jam or marmalade in each, and baked for 15 minuted keeping a watch on them.
They came out scrumptious but not as good as Joan makes.
TIP: Do not make last minute unless you have nothing else to do. They store great when cooled in an airtight container, and taste just as great the next day!



Lemon drop biscuits.

These are buttery and melt in your mouth.
TIP: These are definitely another make again recipe but be careful about the 'room temperature butter'...my dough got a little too soft and my cookies came out as discs not balls. When you visit this site for the recipe read the other comments and watch out for that butter getting too soft! Also they are VERY buttery and melt in your mouth.
Wonder if they are called Lemon DROP cookies because you drop them into your mouth again and again!
Here's the site for the recipe:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Cookie/HighTeaCookies.htm




Pistachio Cake



Our daughter brought that and I'll have to get the recipe from here.
It's an old favorite of ours and was a big hit.
She made one big one in a castle mold and the others were five small bundt cakes like the one above.

Fruit Salad



A new variation of the old recipe contributed by my friend, Prabha.

Drain cans of fruit cocktail, pineapple pieces and mandarin oranges reserving juice.
I added lychees too as I had a can.
Cut apples and bananas...place in juice and then strain and add to other fruit.
Add half a packet of vanilla instant pudding mix and stir. Check for sweetness and then add more if needed. Chill and serve.

Variation 2: My neighbor has just been to a party where she saw a combination of condensed milk and whipped light creanm cheese added, which she liked.

TIP: I ran out of space in the refrigerator before the party and as I could not accomodate a large bowl of fruit salad, I just placed all the cans in the refrigerator till it was time to open and serve. The cans could go into nooks and crannies in the refrigerator.

Rice Kheer

I cooked a cup of rice in the rice cooker and then transferred it to the crockpot and added milk and let it simmer for hours. Halfway through I added, blanched, sliced almonds and raisins (1/2 a cup each), 1/2 a tsp of saffron, 1 level tsp of elaichi/cardamom powder, 1 tsp of vanilla essence, one tiny speck of edible green camphor. I should have added 1/2 a tsp of nutmeg too.
Ten minutes to the end I added 1 1/2 cups of Splenda.
Taste and add more or substitue sugar...our friends watch their sugar so this was a good dessert with all the other sweets. Also there were no kids or expectant mothers coming so I could use Splenda.
It was creamy and thick and I put it in the freezer for an hour for a quick chill.
Had it been a cold day, I would have served it hot from the crockpot.

Pazham Pori: Fried Ripe Plantains

3 plantains repose on my counter eying me reproachfully.
I had no time to make this favorite at the end but I promised the plantains they would be relished by me!
Here's the site for this delicious recipe: http://cheenachatti.blogspot.com/search/label/banana.

TIP: Avoid too many last minute dishes.

Snacks/savories:

Chicken pie
Baked Salmon
Egg salad
Bean dip with a variety of crackers.
Coconuty corn
Chole samosas
Red ghatia (which is a kind of thick spicy sev... this was store bought.)
Khandvi (brought by a friend and yummy).
Cucumber sandwiches.

You'll have to do a Google search for 'ghatia', and 'khandvi' to get recipes and pictures of what these dishes are like, if you are not familiar with them. They are both made with gram/lentil flour and are popular snacks in India.

It was quite a spread at the end and we were happy that we could serve it up!
Finally a friend made Indian tea with ginger as that's what everyone wanted.

Chicken Puffs

Got two rotisserie chicken and took the meat off and shredded it into little pieces.
Fried 3 really large onion and added chilli powder, and garam masala to it.
Mixed chicken with the onion. and put it into baking pans.
Took puff pastry squares (from our local Lebanese store...they are like Pepperidge farm sheets but are square), and laid them on top.
Baked it in a 375 oven till pastry was golden brown and then cut into two inch squares.

TIP: Don't bake in a too hot oven or chicken will become too crisp.
Next time I'm going to try to bake just the puff pastry squares alone and then place on the chicken and cut.
I didn't wrap the chicken in the squares or place a layer underneath to avoid too many carbs which are a big no-no for diabetics.

Egg Salad

Boil 10 eggs...peel...mash with hand.
Add salt and pepper to taste with one cup mayonnaise and one tablespoon of dill chopped really fine.
This was really yummy.
I meant to serve this with focaccia bread but forgot to take it out of the oven and after the party discovered the focaccia was toast!

I need to take a course of Gingko biloba tablets...it is supposed to help improve memory.

7 Layer Bean Dip
Another recipe from my friend, Prabha.

First layer...vegetarian refried beans...I heated this and added one pkt of Fajita mix to it,
some chilli powder and some salsa as our Indian friends need something spicy.
Second layer...on top of the hot bean I put a mix of Monterey and Cheddar cheese so that part of it would be melted into the beans.
Third layer...Guacamole dip from the local Mexican supermarket which was HOT with onions, tomato and what had to have been jalapeno peppers.
Fourth layer...sour cream.
Fifth...green onions...just a thin layer.
Sixth...olives...I don't like them so I left his layer out.
Seven...tomatoes finely chopped with another dollop of sour cream in the middle for decorative purposes.
I tried to take this picture transversely so the layers would be visible.
I served this with a variety of crackers, small toast and multi colored tortilla chips.


Coconuty Corn

Here's Cynthia Nelson's site for this delicious recipe.
http://www.tasteslikehome.org/

Chole Samosas

Recipe given in this blog under 'Puffs'.

HIGH TEA PREP

PREPARING FOR THE DESI HIGH TEA

Thanks to my friends and neighbor for the recipes and tips for make ahead dishes.
More on that when I make them and have pics to show everyone.

This week has been intense prep week...I can't tell you how much stuff we have lying around that needs putting away and how much needs taking out before company comes!
The grandchildren (5&3) have their art gallery in place, to be admired by the guests. The two little ones also listen seriously to my tales of party etiquette and are trying to pick up their cups with their 'pinkies in the air', and giggling a lot. Grand kids are so much fun.
Our daughter, who will be away that weekend, has offered one of her best make ahead dishes (recipe later) and has also lent all her best crystal. She's worrying she won't be around to help me on that day and her busy schedule and my needs make it hard for us to find a free weekend together. Besides, it's good for me to see how much I can manage to do myself.

HD who HATES to put a nail in any wall, deplores the idea that after ten years I want to move some of my pictures around. In some place, our walls need special screws and I distinctly remember him asking all that time ago, "Is this place permanent?" before he put in the screws. I said yes at the time. What other choice did i have?
Now there's lots of rebellion from the bitter half on discovering it is not so.
The only reason I ask him to help is he hangs pictures perfectly. I eyeball the wall space and go bang, bang bang...then discover it's not straight...then go bang bang bang a little to the left. Oops that;s no good, so try again. In the end I have to hang the picture to cover the five other holes I've made in the wall...so now you know why I ask HD and endure the disapproval! He doesn't like parties and this one is making him nervous as usual.
Can anyone tell me why someone who just has to show up and smile and talk to people would get stressed about a party? I'm inviting friends whom I like not throwing a gala official dinner for diplomats where everything has to be 'just so'.

I'm using a set of Corelle plates I got for my grandson's Namakarna (christening). They will lend a touch of elegance as they are white with tiny red and pink roses in three places.
I'll have to use paper for glasses and cups as we are having over thirty guests.
I've planned the table covers and centerpieces trying to come up with the High Tea ambiance. I'm planning to have a good 'desi' (Indian) High Tea which will fill up my guests.
Good food and plenty of it is always the main thing at an Indian gathering.
I am getting stuff from outside too, but the fun for me is making items that we haven't had for a long while... thus breaking up the monotony of all the meals we attend at restaurants that have the same, repetitive menu.
I do have an alternative menu in case I don't feel well or come down with something, as happens often with diabetics...but perish that thought. I'm visualizing a healthy, happy me, able to do all I want to.

Researching dishes, getting ideas from my foodie friends, and a day to day discussion with my neighbor as we walk, is all helping me come up with a party. By the way, my neighbor is from the Phillipines and yous hould see the spreads they have at their party. She has a large family here and everyone brings their BEST dish to the party and there's so much food there's no place to set the dishes down. She cannot imagine the way I work solo, which is what I like to do when I entertain.

Back to the fun I'm having...some people call it work...have to taste the dish I just made and add or drop it from my list.

Do your prep at least two weeks before the party: clean dishes, wash crystal, polish brassware (if like other Indians you have a lot), move pictures, clean cobwebs. cover everything you've washed with a clean cloth so it doesn't get dusty. I do one thing a day to ensure I'm not wearing myself out.
Sit like your guest would and look around critically and you'll be surprised at the things that catch your eye that need doing.
Final cleaning will be done the day before the party by a cleaner, (floors, bathroom, dusting, kitchen), but all this attention to detail, helps ensure success finally. It's confidence building too, to know you have all this under control.

All about the dishes after the party mid-November. Lan, thanks for all the continuous help and support..it's like having another daughter. Prabha, you're my ace in the hole....thanks for all your help too.

HIGH TEA

Entertaining is part of life growing up in an Army family.
Add to that, having a Dad who was in the British Army before it became the Indian Army, and you have a plethora of rich experiences related to entertaining.
As far as entertaining and being entertained is concerned: as a child I didn't enjoy the fact my parents were out almost every evening. As an adult and married to a civilian, I entertained and went out on a moderate scale, keeping in mind that I didn't want the kids to be alone at home all the time.
Now as a senior with diabetes, it isn't easy to entertain. However, we really want to repay all the hospitality extended to us throughout this year. The summer heat makes me dizzy and the winter cold makes me stiff. I have a small wedge of time in the Fall to do the things I want to, so I decided to do something quickly.
I've come up with the idea of having a HIGH TEA, and am looking forward it.

But our High Tea is going to be easy on us (I hope) with make ahead dishes and one last minute standing-by-the-stove fried item.
It is going to be in the comfort of our home and though I plan on using Corelle plates, I will concede to using paper cups and disposable glasses. The plates will go in the dishwasher with the dishes, and I have helped the environment by using them.

Planning this High Tea brings back memories of my varied experiences with them.
I've always loved High Teas, and have enjoyed them in Singapore at Raffles, in London at Claridges, in Victoria BC at The Empress, besides a lot of places in the USA.
Of all these places, The Empress wins hands down for the best tea.
The incredible quality of the high tea at the Empress though expensive, has to be experienced to be believed. Each and every dish was fresh and superb in taste and presentation.
The quantity filled us up and there was a mix of dishes for vegetarians and non-veggies.
An excellent tea selection was served with each cup freshly made not over stewed.
The attentiveness of our waiter throughout the meal topped it off perfectly.

The usual High Tea is made up of scones with clotted cream and a variety of jams, an assortment of sandwiches (I hate the ones made with chicken paste, salmon paste, preferring the actual fresh meat instead), miniature cakes and biscuits and of course a selection of different teas.
Raffles in Singapore with the most extensive menu I have seen of any High Tea, combining tastes and flavors of East and West with huge tables groaning under the weight of the food.
The curried chicken puffs stand out in my memory.

This is what I intend to do for my High Tea: combine Indian sweets and snacks with the cakes and sandwiches to please the palates of all my guests and fill them up as this was what High Teas were originally intended for.

A brief history of High Tea: Low tea was the normal tea served with dainty treats, whereas High Tea was what the farmers and working class wanted when they came in from work. It was filling, it took the place of dinner, and there was nothing 'dainty' about it. High Tea was also known as Meat Tea in early England.

Here I've gone out for High Tea at 10 a.m, noon, mid-afternoon, evening and dinner time!
For mine this year, I'm inviting my guests at 3 o'clock, knowing most of them will show up at 4 (Indians have their own standard time). My High Tea menu is going to be a mix of the menus of low and high teas, so it fills up my guests. That's what a good party is all about, to me: good food, good people, good conversation and nowadays a good chair to sit in!

If you have any easy make ahead sweet or savory suggestions, please send them to me.
I really would appreciate time-saving recipes with great results and I will give you full credit here.

In the meantime while I invite you to stick with me while I plan this event, I'll give you my tentative menu. The recipes will follow when I make the dishes.

Sweet dishes:

1. Scones with lemon curd.
2. Cake
3. Biscuits/cookies/tarts.
4. Fruit salad
5. Brownies (a friend is bringing them)
6. An Indian mithai (sweetmeat)/dessert.

Savoury dishes:

1. Chicken and vegetable puffs
2. Sandwiches
3. Matri/chakli/kodbilla (make ahead dish)
4. Salmon dish (my neighbor is bringing that)
5. Chips/crackers/dip (bought and set up).
6. My last minute fried dish...tikkis/vades/?

Beverages/Drinks: Tea, coffee, soda, punch.

Let me know what you think of the menu and especially if you have GREAT suggestions for easy dishes.
I look forward to hearing from you with anything from sweet, snack, drink recipes and I will be haunting the cooking blogs for ideas too.

12 dishes with an assortment of tea, coffee and soft drinks/punch should make 30-35 people happy. I had a list of 20 but that was too much and I cut back. As a foodie, I want each dish to taste it's best, be really fresh and make my High Tea a 'moment on the lips but forever in their memory' type party.

5 star Dahi Vada

Why does the temperature have to catapult to over one hundred suddenly, for days on end? Just when we thought we were over the worst for this year. Well, the heat sent my mind off in a desperate search for cool foods and I came up with dahi vades. Having loved these for years, I have to share this recipe as it comes out great.
For those who have never heard of them...
What are dahi vadas/vades?
Deep fried lentil balls, soaked in seasoned yogurt. Served cold as an accompaniment to a spicy meal or alone as a snack, these are mouth wateringly satisfying.

Ingredients:

1 cup urad dal (white lentils from the Indian grocery store).
( This quantity makes about forty vades of one inch diameter).
2 quarts yogurt.
For seasoning: mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and hing (asafoetedia).
1 small carton buttermilk.
Ginger, green chillies, jeera and chilli powder, chaat masala.
Green and sweet chutney.
Store bought, very fine sev. (Sev is a crunchy mix made by deep frying a lentil mixture pressed through a fine lentil press).
Oil for deep frying. (I use a mixture of corn oil and olive oil).

Wash and soak these for 3-4 hours. Grind till smooth but do not add too much water.
Dough should be a little thicker than idli batter...dropping consistency.
Add 1/3 tsp baking soda to dough and blend another minute to mix well.
Allow dough to rise for 2-3 hours. (I leave it in the blender to rise.)

Season 2 quarts yogurt/curd: Heat one tsp oil. Add 1 tbsp rai, 4 red chillies, twenty curry leaves and 1/3 tsp hing. Add salt and one tsp sugar to yogurt. Mix and refrigerate.

Grind 2 green chillies, 3/4 inch ginger. Mix into vada dough. If you're making this for kids or people who can't eat spicy food, remove some batter for them and add masala to the rest.
Mix well with salt.

Heat four cups water in a saucepan and keep on simmer on a back burner.

Heat oil in a wok/frying pan/kadai. When you put in a drop of dough and it rises to the top immediately, oil is ready. Drop vades in by the teaspoonful and fry six at a time. Vades flatten out in oil. If oil is smoking turn it down as only outside will fry. If oil is too cool, the vades are going to absorb the oil. Fry golden brown on both sides, then pick up with slotted spoon and slide into hot water on back burner. Leave for a minute or two...this strips the layer of oil on the vades.
Drop next batch of vades into the oil and while they fry, use a different spoon, remove the vades from the hot water and place them in a flat dish. Turn the vades that are frying over in the oil.
When you have them all in a single layer in a flat dish, pour buttermilk to cover them. If buttermilk is too thick, dilute it with a little water. I get the store bought buttermilk and some brands are too thick. The idea here is for the vades to soak up the buttermilk.
If you are freezing the vades, this would be the stage to do it.
I refrigerate them after adding the buttermilk and half an hour before serving, I add the thick seasoned yogurt in a layer on top, gently making room (with a small spoon) for yogurt to settle between the vades.
People use less yoghurt and water it down, but this dish is el supremo when thickest yoghurt is added at the end. These dahi vades just melt in your mouth and once you make them, you will never be able to eat those hard in the center vades some people serve.
On top sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves, chilli powder, jeera powder and chaat masala. When I can get it, I add some fine sev on top. A drizzle of hot chutney (made with green chillies, coriander, salt and lime) and sweet chutney (blend dates with a little tamarind, jaggery, chilli, jeera and ginger powders) makes this even better.
I usually save the chutney when we order samosas and then use those on the dahi vades...if there's a shortcut you can trust me to find it.
Beat the heat with this cool treat.

PUFFS, SAMOSAS, TURNOVERS

The Puff Digest.


This really is a Digest as it contains a compilation of all I know, have learned and researched in cookbooks, on television and the Internet about Puffs.
I've found enough shortcuts with this to ensure original taste without the labor, time and energy originally involved in the recipe.
Puffs are also called turnovers in some countries, samosas in others...by whatever name you know it, a puff still is really amazing. In our house it's a meal in one and I wanted to share all the shortcuts I know with you. The history of my experience with puff making is recorded for those who love reading 'the real version'.

Before I married HD, I had only made puff pastry taught in my high school cooking class by Sister Rita Mary.
This was the American/English version with cold butter, flour, water and `cool' hands.
Again, in those days this was a very long version and done only under compulsion in class.

When I got married, to my surprise I found, HD's family made the best puffs with a labor intense version of home made puff pastry, and their own unique filling.
They made a dough out of maida (all purpose flour), water, salt and a little ghee. After letting the dough rest for a couple of hours, they rolled it out to a big circle, then spread a mixture called `saatta', made of equal quantities of ghee and maida. This was spread on the circle, the circle rolled up into a cylinder, starting with a 3/4 inch fold. This large roll was then cut into 1 inch pieces, then each piece rolled out in one direction only, keeping the cut pieces at the ends. This small circle was filled, sealed with a mix of flour and water and then deep fried. The layers were amazing, the taste incredible and the work mind boggling.
The whole process from start to finish took quite a few hours and more than one pair of hands. which in a large family there was no shortage of.

Here abroad, where there is only one person to make your favorite dishes...you...I soon found a shortcut that was pleasing to the palate without compromising taste.
I have made these puffs many times over the years, keeping the original filling but using my healthier shorter version.
Originally, Pepperidge Farm sheets provided the puff pastry. I cut each sheet into three rectangles along the creases lengthwise, and then each rectangle into three squares. I rolled out each square further then cut into two lengthwise, stuffed each portion, sealed it with a mix of flour and water.
So here's the Math: from each rectangle I got six puffs and from each sheet eighteen puffs in total.
Even with the rolling out, there were enough layers in the final puff to impress everyone.
I baked the puffs following package instructions, switching the baking tray from top to bottom rack half through to ensure even baking.
If you don't roll out the dough squares a bit, you'll end up with a cover that's too thick.

Older and wiser now, I have switched to the five by five inch squares (or four by four, depending which brand you pick) of Puff Pastry sold in packets at my local Lebanese store. I roll out the squares and make two large puffs out of each...four would be better and smaller, but I'm not that patient.
I bake them in a 425 degree oven, in the middle rack. They come out great.

On a search for other covers, I came across mention of all these wrappers on different websites and television shows: wonton wrappers, phyllo dough sheets, phyllo dough cups, egg roll wrappers, empanada wrappers, pie crust sheets, puff pastry.

Recently, much to my delight, after reading a recipe for baked empanadas, I discovered frozen empanada wraps in the Mexican Supermarket.
I fill each circle, put water on half the semi-circle, fold over, and press the edge with the tines of a fork.
I was a little disappointed with how dry the baked empanadas were, so I broke my rule of very little fried foods and fried one just to see the difference.
The results overwhelmed me. Though the crust was a little bubbly for some reason, it was a perfect samosa crust....all one could ask for, dream of and enjoy tremendously.

Then I came across a recipe for samosas stuffed with chole (garbanzo beans/chick peas cooked with spices...recipe below). I've looked for the site repeatedly to give them credit here, but I cannot find it. This idea of chole in a samosa, caught my attention and tantalized my tastebuds. Which clever person had thought the recipe up and why was I never that clever person?
For a picnic, I made them with the empanada wrappers. It was just like eating puris and chole in a neat package...so I made them again for a friend to take on a long flight, and stuffed two of them with shrimp from my shrimp curry and four with chole. She loved them and I loved her enjoyment of them.
I use the whole circle of dough, which is each empanada wrapper and make them as crescent samosas. (picture one, top right.)
My daughter came over to help me make the samosas last year, to take on a picnic with her friends and all their tiny tots. She cut the empanada crescents in half and made little triangular samosas so we could differentiate between the non-spicy and the spicy. So if you want triangular ones, there's your method. (picture three top left).

A few days later after we made the samosas for the picnic, I saw Robin Miller making empanadas rolling out a ready made circle of pie crust dough (they come two big sheets in a pack). After rolling it a little, she cut out circles using a round cookie cutter, stuffed and baked them. That's a good baked empanada cover as it comes out flaky and delicious.
Her recipe is on The Food Network.

As for phyllo dough, it's a challenge to work with in small quantities because of the way it dries out, but I do love the Greek spanakopitas (spinach puffs), when someone else makes them.

I tried egg roll wrappers as covers and they do crisp up nicely when deep fried, but really the winners are the puffs made from the puff pastry squares (baked), and empanada covers for the fried ones.

I have done this over and over so I know the best covers when I eat them!

Now on to the fillings.

Filling 1.

HD's family filling. (This is a unique mix of ingredients that makes strange reading but once made and eaten is addictive).

Boil 2 Tablespoons channa dal...mash half of it.
Boil 2 potatoes...mash them.
Combine potatoes and channa dal.
Cook the following together, if all veggies are fresh. If some are frozen, add when the fresh veggies are two thirds done.
1/2 cup peas.
1/2 medium finely chopped nukol (kohlrabi).
1 bunch dill, washed and finely chopped.
1/2 cup carrots. (I use grated carrots ).
1/2 cup beans, finely chopped.
When done add 1 large finely chopped onion.

Masala: Grind 1 bunch coriander, washed and cleaned. 1/4 coconut, 1/2 inch piece ginger, 2 cloves garlic, green chillies to taste, 1 tablespoon khus khus (Indian poppy seed), 2 cloves (the spice).

Assemble all veggies in a pot, add masala and salt to taste and let it cook for a few minutes more till mix is dry. Cool before filling.

Filling 2.

The usual mix of potatoes, peas and spices. You'll find this recipe on a number of websites/cookbooks.

Filling 3. (Middle picture, 2nd row).

Keema (Mince): I use lean turkey minced/ground meat for this.
Fry chopped onions brown, add garam masala (ground cloves, cinnamon and cardamom), chilli powder, salt, chopped coriander and washed & drained ground turkey.
Cook till dry.

Filling 4.

Chicken: Cook chicken well and chop fine.
Fry a lot of onions, add finely chopped coriander, ground ginger and garlic, 1 tsp garam masala, chilli powder and salt to taste.
Add to chicken. Fry till dry.

Filling 5.

Shrimp/Fish: I use leftover shrimp and fish for this from a curry or a fry.
Remember the filling has to be dry as possible, so drain well if using from a curry.
Spicy Salmon makes a really good filling.

Filling 6

Chole/Garbanzo Beans/Chick Peas: Fry 1 finely chopped onion. When brown add 2 tomatoes, finely chopped coriander, 2 cloves grated garlic, channa masala, chilli powder,1/2 tsp amchur powder or 1/4 tsp tamarind paste, and drained chole from one can. Cook till thick.

Any leftover tasty vegetable makes a good filling the next day.

Filling 7 (First picture, 2nd row).

And then for dessert there is the sweet filling given with the Rawa Puffs recipe in this blog.

lan of Cheenachatti http://cheenachatti.blogspot.com/, thanks for getting my batteries re-started.

Eggplant and Potato

Some travel, some health challenges, something or other to do, have all kept me away from this blog for a while. Now the summer heat forces me to rest, so I spend time at the computer playing 'catch up' in a number of areas.

Recently a relative who is a good cook asked us for this recipe.
We both tried to help him with it, shocked that we hadn't made it ourselves in eighteen months or more, and even more surprised that we had forgotten parts of the recipe!
When we got home, we tried it out, forgot parts of it even then, and realized it was time to write it down! A few days ago our daughter reminded me that I had said I would write this recipe down, so here goes.

This is not an easy, quick dish but it is a family classic developed by HD (Hubby Dearest). In the early years of our marriage, we were both impressed by a lady from Andhra who grew her own Japanese eggplant each summer, stuffed them with masala and froze them. Whenever we were invited for dinner, she served a delicious eggplant dish.
At one party HD heard me asking for the recipe of the masala. The next day he got all the info from me, wrote it down and then proceeded to concoct this dish. It turned out so different from our friend's recipe, but so outstanding, that it shot to the group of Family Favorites immediately!
It really made me understand why the kids sometimes used to tell me, "You rest Mom. Let Dad cook!"

Of course HD is aka The Maharaja of Butter, so the amount he used to put into each dish made it `delicious on the lips but forever on the hips!'
Now we know it is `forever in the arteries' too.
Now that he can't cook much, I use the best olive oil in the dish and no one (except HD) can tell the difference.

This is not one my quick recipes...in fact when HD used to make it, he took the whole day to prepare it and then two hours to clean the kitchen!
I do it in three hours but am so exhausted that I make it only once a year when I get his help with it!
As i write this I am reminded of the old biriyani recipes that the cooks would take a whole day to prepare.
Your investment in time making this masala from scratch, will be fully re-paid by the number of times you can make this dish quickly in the future, using the stored masala.

EGGPLANT AND POTATO









MAIN INGREDIENTS

6 Japanese eggplants (six inch dark purple eggplants.)
3 red potatoes (yellow/brown is fine too, but cooking time is longer.)
Olive oil for frying.
Ingredients for masala 1 and masala 2 listed below.

Masala 1

1 cup rai (mustard seed)
1 cup jeera (whole cumin)
3/4 cup split urad
3/4 cup channa dal
1/2 cup toor dal
1 tsp whole methi (fenugreek seeds).
1/2 cup whole pepper
2 Tbsps whole dhania (coriander seeds).

Fry each separately in a skillet on medium heat.
Rai, methi, jeera and dhania need a few minutes only
Urad and dals take a little longer and will be light brown and smell good.

Shortcut: I do rai,methi, dhania and jeera in microwave for 10 seconds each while frying the dals stovetop.
If dhania and jeera are not done in ten seconds, I put them in for another 5 seconds.
Watch carefully as whole spices will start burning in the middle of the plate first.

Let everything cool, grind everything in a blender till really fine, cool again and store in an airtight container.
We made it after two years. I might refrigerate it this time to make it last a long time.

Masala 2

1 medium large onion
2 Tbsps fresh grated coconut.

1/2 tsp tamarind (this adds the required tang to the masala).

Broil one medium onion till outside is charred.
(30 to 40 mins on top shelf).
Peel black, outer layers and put inside in a blender jar.
Roast 1-2 Tbsps fresh grated coconut in oven or stove top till golden brown.
Watch carefully as it burns quickly in the oven.
Blend to a smooth paste. (the onion will release water so don't add any).

(I double this quantity too and freeze half of it for the next time).

The masala mix:

To the onion and coconut paste, add 1 heaping tablespoon of masala 1, along with red chilli powder and salt to taste.
Mix well.
Wash and let eggplant and potatoes dry on a paper towel.
Slit eggplant upto one inch of where the green sepals of the stalk begin.
Stuff masala between slits of eggplant taking care to keep it whole.

Halve potatoes.
Heat one inch of oil in a 10-12 inch wide skillet.
Put in potatoes, face down and let it fry till cut surface is golden brown.
Turn and fry for a minute or two on the other side.
(Potato does not have to be fully cooked...3/4 done is fine).
Remove and place in 9 by 12 baking dish. Sprinkle with a little salt when hot.

Remove extra oil carefully to another pan, leaving about 1/4 inch in skillet.
Heat.
Put eggplant into hot oil, only one layer at a time, taking care to sear every side (brown lightly).
If needed, add a little more oil to pan with each set you sear.

Remove and place in dish.

Add garlic cloves to hot oil and let them soften on stove.
Add to dish.

Make sure eggplant and potatoes are in a single layer.

If there is masala remaining, and there usually is; put it on top of potatoes and eggplant.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 mins.

This dish comes out looking and tasting superb...decorate with green coriander if you want to but the colors look so great, the dish needs no garnishes.

Enjoy with garlic bread or naan or rice and dal.

The eggplant can be frozen, but the potatoes can't so I use less potato and more eggplant.
This dish can be refrigerated for a day (two at the most), but not longer.

When I had a veggie garden, I too prepared the eggplants, stuffed them, fried and froze them as I got so many eggplants from each plant. Now, I'm content just to do this blog.

Three great finds

Three friends, three great recipes...

I met two of them through their blogs and one of them while researching a recipe.
I started out trying out their recipes and the results made me appreciate what they share through their blogs...their taste buds and mine get on like peas in a pod.
Their recipes and the stories that go with them not only entertain me; they inspire me to get into the kitchen and start cooking...so when I'm suffering from 'the cooking blues', I just go to all 3 blogs and read till I have compiled a list of dishes to try. Sometimes I just go through them and get inspired to make my own dish!

A personal message to these great cooks:
I'm so glad I know you three through your blogs. Thank you for the enjoyment I get reading your stories and making your recipes. You've earned my trust.

I made one recipe from each site and here they are, with my shortcuts and tips.

Orange Marmalade from Cynthia Nelson's Tastes Like Home.

Click on the above link for the original recipe.

I always loved orange marmalade as a kid. Even now a piece of toast with a little butter, a teaspoon of marmalade and a hot cup of tea is a near perfect breakfast. To my surprise I couldn't find any marmalade in the States, with that slight tinge of bitterness that makes it perfect for me.
When I saw Cynthia's write-up, I had to ask for the recipe and try it. It really has that slight tinge of bitterness I expect in a good marmalade.
Success at last... and this was truly spoon licking good.



My shortcuts: I grated the orange peel in a food processor using a large hole grater and the pieces (top right) came out like matchstick pieces.
Then when I read 'cook for two hours', I got out my trusty old crockpot and let it cook down there...if you go this route, stir every half hour.
The smell of this marmalade cooking was out of this world and the end result was as shiny as Cynthia's recipe said it should be.

What a great find this recipe is...


Beetroot Thoran from Malabar Spices.

Click on the above link for the original recipe.



My variation: I fried some of the chopped beetroot leave I got with my beets in a tsp of ghee with the masala and added it to the beetroot.
I pre-cooked beetroot in the microwave and then let it slow cook on stove for ten mins on very low heat.

I love the masala used for this dish and the flavor it lends the beetroot.

Excellent, scrumpilicious recipe.


Pazham Pori (Fried Ripe Plantains) from Cheenachatti

Click on the above link for the original recipe.



Don't laugh at my brown bits and the bubbles on the fritters...think the oil got too hot.
I made no changes to this recipe; just made my batter like the thicker version stated in the recipe.

Absabloominglutely delish.
Couldn't stop eating them...can't wait to have them again.

Again, thanks to you amazing trio of great cooks.

PEDAS, PEDHAS, PEDOS.

Pedas (pronounced PAYDAAS) or Pedhas, hold an important place in the hierarchy of Indian sweets. I think they come in second, right after laddus. In my book of favorites, they are right on top of course.

There is a custom in India...at the birth of a boy, laddus were distributed to family and friends, at the birth of girl, pedas.
Pedas are also known as Doodh Pedas (doodh=milk, which is the main ingredient).
North India is proud of it's Mathura pedas also called Gokul ke peda, while South India has the delicious Dharwar Peda, which is a dark brown ball rolled in fine, granulated sugar.

There are some sweets that are made at home in India and some that are just bought at the halwaii or sweetmeat shop. The latter need a degree of expertise, originally handed down from father to son. Pedas are one of the sweets we bought in India.

As a child I remember clutching my mother's hand with excitement as we walked towards the Tunnel Shop in Commercial Street, Bangalore's well known shopping area. The Tunnel Shop was so named because from the street there was a dark dingy corridor with a low roof, that we had to traverse carefully to get to the shop. There was often water seeping out of the sides of the tunnel, coming from places it was better not to know about. The Tunnel opened up into Ali Baba's cave of sweetmeats. There sat Bhagatram the owner and magician, making his delicious sweets on a wood fire over which he balanced a huge kadai full of hot milk being boiled down to make khoa.

Of all the multitude of sweets in there, we always got pedas. He placed them in a cup of leaves, wrapped in newspaper and tied with string. Nothing tasted as delicious as those 'bundles' of fresh pedas!

Bhagatram passed away some years ago. His sons have built the place into a huge modern cafe and sweet shop where they do flourishing business, BUT the pedas don't taste the same...much to my disappointment. They are in fancy boxes and we are served from a glass case by smiling salesmen, but the pedas are different.
I gave them three tries on my last visit and all three times had to acknowledge a sense of deep disappointment that the sons haven't stuck to the original recipe.

After returning from India last January, I decided to work on a good peda recipe here.
The peda odyssey led to research on the Internet and looking at old cookbooks because I was looking for a recipe that would give me the taste of the old pedas.

Trials were not so hard as both grandkids love pedas (they have my Indian sweet tooth DNA). HD (Hubby Dearest) didn't mind tasting them and giving his opinion. ('Remember, all the things I do for you!' he said nobly, devouring the fourth peda in the spirit of true suffering). As he likes only a very few sweets, maybe it was noble of him.

Here is my collection of peda recipes garnered from the web. In the case of finding the same recipe on many sites with the same recipe, I have given credit to the first site I got the recipe from.
I tried 3 recipes,keeping in mind time and effort involved. The recipes that are quick and easy are the ones you'll find here. Please don't try a recipe till you read my tips at the bottom of each recipe.

So after months of experimentation, I was able to finish this piece on Pedas.

And the winner is...




PEDAs,TAKE 1

http://showmethecurry.com/2007/11/05/peda-indian-sweet/ was the first of seven sites this recipe was on.

Ingredients:

Instant Dry Milk (Milk Powder) - 2 cups (150gm)
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1, 14oz can (396gm)
Unsalted Butter - 1, 4oz stick (113gm)

Method:

1. In a microwave safe dish, melt the butter.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Cook in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirring very well after every minute.
4. After the 3 minutes, mix well again and leave aside for the mixture to cool down enough to handle.
5. Once the mixture has cooled down, grease your hands and make balls.
6. Gently press the balls and flatten them to shape…round and flat.
7. Decorate them with chopped pistachios.
8. Let the pedas set and cool down.
9. Store in refrigerator
Tips:

1. Try half the amount listed in this recipe. I did and got 18 pedas
2. Add 1/4 tsp cardamom powder to the mixture.
3. I microwaved the mix for only 2 mins...3 mins makes it too grainy and crumbly. Though it looks soft it shapes well when cool.
4. After microwaving it for 2 mins I mixed it in a food processor to get the mixture smooth.
Look at the picture...the pedas on the right are grainy after being cooked for 3 mins and shaped...on the left are the pedas which I kneaded for smoothness.
5. Wet your hands to shape the pedas...when the mixture is hot, I press it down in the small spoon in the picture, turn it out of the spoon then pick it up, roll it and flatten it...it just seems an easy way to get them more or less the same size.
I tried this recipe twice as I forgot to take pictures the first time...next time I will add a tablespoon of sugar to the butter when I melt it just to see if it's going to change the consistency and taste of the peda.

HD says it's perfect the way it is (which, in husbandspeak means 'don't try to fix it and ruin the recipe!')
My photograph may not show perfect pedas in shape and texture but the taste was great...not yet like Bhagatram's, though.

****************************************************************************************

PEDAS, TAKE TWO.

Doodh Peda Recipe

http://www.recipes.keralaz.info/ganesh-chathurthi-recipes/DoodhPeda.shtm#

Ingredients

2 cups of Milk Powder
3 tbsp of unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk - sufficient enough to make a soft dough
1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup water
3 or 4 cardamom (powdered or crushed)
1 tbsp pista crushed

Method

Mix butter and milk powder, and add milk to make a soft dough.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Take out the dough after 15 minutes and crumble it with your finger breaking all the
lumps.
Make sugar syrup of one strand and put the crumbled dough and keep stirring till it
starts leaving the pan.
Remove it when it starts leaving the pan and cool it lightly.
Make small balls and flatten it into a shape of Peda and decorate it with cardamom
and pista powder on the top.

TIPS: Be sure the sugar syrup is well done and the mixture leaves the side and bottom of the pan and stays in a mass, before you remove it from the heat.

I liked these pedas too, but the family voted on Pedas Take One.


****************************************************************************************

PEDAS, TAKE 3

http://www.awesomecuisine.com/recipes/1380/1/Festive-Pedas/Page1.html

Ingredients
1/2 kg. soft white khoya
2-1/2 cups (approx.300gms) sugar powdered
1/2 tsp. cardamom powder
1 tsp. cardamom seeds semi crushed
1 tbsp. slivered or crushed pistachios

Method
Grate khoya with a steel (not iron) grater. Add powdered sugar and mix well.
Put mixture in a large heavy or nonstick pan. Heat first on high for few minutes.
The on slow till done. Make sure to stir continuously, while on heat.
When mixture thick and gooey, add cardamom. Mix well, and take off fire.
Allow to cool, gently turning occasionally. Use cookie moulds, or shape pedas with palms into patty rounds.
Mix pistachios and cardamom seeds and press a bit on top of each. If using moulds, first sprinkle some at bottom.
Take some mixture and press into mould. When set well, invert and carefully, unmould.

Note: Above is the basic recipe.
Any colour ( yellow, orange, green, cochineal), essence (pineapple, orange, pista, chocolate), topping (almonds, walnuts, cashews), can be added. To above recipe add any of following for varied flavours: cashew powder 1/2 cup, cocoa 2 tbsp.(then increase sugar by 1/2 cup), walnuts powdered 1/2 cup, etc. Add when the mixture is half cooked.

TIPS: This took longer and I was not happy with my results as my khoya was not the soft, white kind. I should give this another try. When I do I will report back here.

****************************************************************************************

PEDAS, TAKE FOUR (I haven't tried this out yet).

http://www.dgreetings.com/gifts-to-india/diwali-gifts/diwali-recipes3.html

Doodh peda is easy to prepare and even a novice cook can whip up one in a very short time. And it has a great taste. To prepare it you will require 2 kg khoya(very easily available in any Indian sweetmeat shop), milk (250 gms), grounded sugar(250 gms), rose water, 2 tbsp each of slivered almonds and pistachios, 1 tsp cardamom powder.

Add sugar to the khoya and knead it into a smooth lump. Heat the khoya over medium fire and a few tbsps of milk at a time and mix well. Repeat it over and over till all the milk is utilized and a smooth paste is derived. Now add the cardamom powder and rose water and mix well. Let the mixture cool down a little. Now make small balls of the mixture and flatten them a bit to give them the shape of pedas. Sprinkle some slivered pistachios and almonds over the pedas. Let them cool till they are solid and serve.

This really reads like a recipe worth trying.

***************************************************************************************

PEDAS, TAKE FIVE

http://www.daawat.com/recipes/indian/sweets/malaipeda.htm

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp corn flour
1/4 tsp citric acid
4-5 cardamoms powder
1 tbsp ghee or butter
A few drops of yellow color

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a pan, add condensed milk, milk and citric acid dissolved in a little water.
2. Continue heating and allow it to curdle.
3. Make a paste of corn flour with 2 tbsp water. Add to the milk mixture after it curdles.
4. Continue cooking on slow/medium heat till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
5. Add the yellow color and mix well.
6. Empty the contents onto a dish and shape into pedas. Decorate with cardamom powder.
Makes: 20 Pedas
Preparation time: 20 minutes

Bhagatram's pedas were a chalky white not yellow, but this recipe sounds like a good one too. I should try this recipe too.
*****************************************************************************************

There are many other recipes on the Internet for pedas including the famous one with ricotta cheese.
If I find other easy ones, I will add them to this peda compilation, or keep updating my results after further trials. .

****************************************************************************************

MAWA COPRA PAK

The following recipe is from my high school cookery book.
I made it first when I was sixteen, under the guidance of my cooking teacher.
This is the original name she gave us for the dish, so I'm keeping it.
Since then I make it on very special occasions as it does take time and patience.
It's well worth the effort though, as it gives a new taste to the classic coconut burfi.
Pak, pronounced paak, is another name for an Indian sweet that is served, cut into squares.

1 lb. mawa/khoa (see my notes on Khoa below for help with this ingredient).
1/2 cup water
6 ozs dried coconut/copra grated fine.
1 oz chopped/sliced almonds
1/2 lb sugar
Vanilla and cochineal (red food color).
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder (it's theonly change I've made).

For copra/dried coconut in the US, we break a coconut and leave one half uncovered in the refrigerator. It dries out and starts to separate from the shell.
Is tore it like that till needed.
Then I remove the coconut meat from the shell and grate it in the food processor.
If you have a fine grater, good, or grate it twice in the food processor to get the right fineness. This burfi requires finely grated copra.

I grate the khoa I buy in the Indian store too.

Mix khoa and coconut.
Make a thick syrup with the sugar and water.
Remove pot from fire and add khoa and coconut.
Cook stirring continuously.
When it get thick, it will start 'spitting' at you...it's time to don a cooking mitt and then stir from that point on.
When mixture is thick and leaves base of pan, add vanilla and a few drops of cochineal.
(I omit the food color these days).
Pour onto a greased plate and be sure to scrape the bottom of the vessel for the slightly burnt part at the bottom and pile it on the plate...it tastes great.
Decorate with almonds.
Cut into squares when cool.
Enjoy.

KHOA Shortcuts

One of the things I inherited from my mother is my sweet tooth.
It's the one that craves a little sweet after lunch and dinner.
My mother had many reasons for making sweets: we had to have something sweet at tea time each day, there were festivals where special sweets were made on special days,on birthdays one got the sweet of one's choice and so on.
I can't remember a time when there wasn't something sweet to eat at home.

Here's my short list of favorite sweets:
Chocolate of course has no substitute...I must have been one of the happiest women in the world when they brought out the fact that a piece of dark chocolate eaten every day boosts the immune system. My sweet tooth could have told them that but they had to go and spend millions on research to learn that.
Next to chocolate, and sometimes more than, I like our Indian burfis especially almond and kaju.
When I'm able to, I make the sweets at home now and treat myself to a little piece at a time.
The other time I was very very happy was when my diabetic counsellor said, "If you don't drink (two drinks a day are the allowance), you can have the equivalent of a normal piece of pie or two cookies. To my sweet tooth that translates into a piece of burfi/chocolate after lunch and dinner AS LONG AS I CONTROL THE CARBS AT EACH MEAL AND MY BLOOD SUGARS ARE NORMAL.
It's all the inspiration and encouragement I need.

Back to my burfi making ...

Khoa is a base for 90% of all Indian sweets/burfis. Khoa is milk that has been reduced to the consistency of butter/cream cheese by boiling.

Khoa has many aliases: KOVA/KHOYA/MAWA.

Once you get the hang of how to make/where to get khoa, you can make sweets at home as if you are a halwaii! (sweet maker).

I buy the khoa ready made in the Indian grocery stores, or in my more inspired moments use my crockpot to reduce the milk to khoa consistency. In the crockpot khoa does not need constant stirring...I check on it once an hour, stirring with a wooden spoon if required.

There are many shortcuts/substitutes to get the desired results for khoa. I have compiled those I have found on the web, and those I have been told about here:

1. Just buy it from your local Indian grocer.

2. CROCKPOT RECIPE: Fill crockpot two thirds with whole milk. Set on HIGH till it boils. IF you're not sticking around, lower it and leave for two hours or leave on high and check every half hour, stirring with a wooden spoon if necessary. It reduces to a mass without scorching though milk will stick to sides of crockpot and turn reddish brown if not stirred at all. After twenty five years in the US this easy way of making khoa is unbelievable.
The impatient have been known to add a little milk powder at the end to hasten the solidifying process.

3. A quick khoa substitute steaming a mix of milk powder, ghee and water can be found at:
http://happyburp.blogspot.com/2006/08/make-khawa-khoya-mawa-at-home.html

4. Another quick recipe freezing a combination of evaporated milk and milk powder: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Make-Khoya-Or-Mawa-At-Home-(Khoya-Is-A-Main-Ingredients-In-Many-Indian-Sweets)&id=428083


5. A khoya recipe using ricotta cheese can be found here: http://www.cuisinecuisine.com/Khoya.htm

6. A recipe from a source I cannot find on the web now using paneer is given below:

400g condensed milk (or 1 tin),
300g grated cottage cheese (paneer)

Method:
Mix condensed milk and cottage cheese in a pan and cook on a medium flame stirring continuously.When the mixture starts thickening, reduce the flame. When it leaves the sides of the pan and is semi-solid, it is ready.

So, after reading all these, take your pick, and get on to the sweet making bandwagon.

Some folk take khoa, cook it with sugar (if there isn't any sugar or condensed milk added in the khoya already) and cardamom powder till it leaves the bottom of the pan, sprinkle almond/pistachio on top and voila! there's a simple burfee that's ready to it.

Others take the khoa made with sugar/condensed milk roll it into small balls, flatten it, add pieces of chopped pistachio on top and you have pedas.

Most people make unsweetened khoa and use it as a base for other burfis.

Now you've completed required reading for making burfis and have a virtual degree in
khoa making, add anything to your khoa to make it into a delicious gastronomic delight.

For starters, try my recipe for MAWA COPRA PAK.

Sooji Rawa Laddu for Beginners

My cousin's recipe for sooji laddus, that I shared a few days ago, is for graduate cooks with hands that can stand the heat and mold those mouth wateringly delicious laddus.

The following is my mother's recipe and one for those who want to venture out in the world of laddu making and whose hands, like mine, aren't able to handle very hot stuff.
I've made these many times with very good results.
Lan, this one's for you...not that you are in any way a beginner...but just because you are in laddu making mode.

Sooji/Rawa Laddu

4 cups fine rawa/sooji
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup ghee (original recipe says 3/4 cup).
1/2 cup raisins, soaked in water and dried on a paper towel.
1/2 cup cashewnuts, halved and chopped.
1/2 level tsp. cardamom powder

Heat ghee.
Fry cashews, when 3/4 done add raisins and fry. Drain and reserve ghee.
Cut down the quantity of cashews and raisins if you like less...I like my laddus chock full of them.
Dry roast sooji with cardamom powder over medium flame for 3 minutes...use a kadai/wok for this if you have one (aluminum or non-stick). They heat up quickly so keep stirring the suji.
Add ghee and keep roasting for another 2 mins BUT do not let it brown.

Heat the water and sugar. When it has dissolved, let it simmer 1 minute on medium and remove.
The syrup has to be pre-one string stage so do not let it simmer too long or you will have rock laddus!
Add sooji, cashews, raisins and mix.
Let it cool and when it is lukewarm, shape into laddus.
This is done by picking up a handful, squeezing it to compress the mixture and then rolling it with both hands to get a good, round shape.
Wet your hands if they get too sticky or mixture sticks to them.
These laddus were always made smaller than other laddus...less than one inch diameter.
They get a little harder after they cool.

TIP: If your mixture does get too hard...heat very slightly with 1/5 of a cup of water or milk to soften it.

OPTIONAL: Add one tablespoon of dry roasted, golden brown, grated coconut to the sooji after it is fried.

Sooji/Rawa Laddu

Rawa or sooji is made from the endosperm of wheat through the process of milling/grinding.
When we first came to the States I would have to use it's coarser cousin and US by- product, Cream of Wheat as a substitute if I ran out of sooji before our annual trip to the Indian grocery store. Farina, another name for sooji, was one I often came across in English cookbooks, as a teenager.

Sooji comes in three varieties as far as I can see in the Indian stores here: the coarse kind, the medium coarse and the very fine variety. The latter is known to South Indians as peni (paynee) rawa or chiroti rawa. It's the kind used in the following recipe.

The author of the recipe is my cousin who gave me the murku recipe. When they heard of my blog, my cousin's daughter insisted her mother give me this, her best recipe.

On my second visit to their place, I got to taste these melt in the mouth laddus. After I had eaten one so quickly...before I could even say, "Scrumptious!" I wrote down the recipe to share with everybody. I have to point out here that I nobly refrained from eating more though my cousin urged me to.
My cousin, who's in her seventies, is tickled pink that her recipe would be on my blog.

She says till a few years ago she would 'hold' these laddus with both hands and it took one hour to make seventy five. I'll take her word for it as holding/molding/shaping anything hot is not one of my talents.



RAWA LADDUS

1 kg. (2.2 lbs) fine sooji.
2/3 kg.(1.47 lbs) sugar.
4 cardamoms
350 gms (12.35 ozs) ghee
100 gms (3.53 ozs) each cashews and raisins.

Roast sooji on medium but do not let it brown.
Powder sugar and cardamoms in mixie/blender, remove and throw cardamom peel.
Heat ghee on medium.
Fry cashews, when almost done add raisins.
Add roasted sooji and sugar powder.
Mix till warm but do not let it brown.
Remove from stove, let it cool slightly, and hold/shape into laddus.

Laddus are held by picking up a handful and compressing them in one hand.
Then place it in the palm of one hand and shape it with pressing with all the fingers of the other hand and using a slight squeezing motion by the hand cupping the laddu.
It is an acquired art and one I can accomplish with cooler mixtures but my cousin insisted these had to be held while warm.

Her tip was if this was too difficult to hold: Add a little...just a little, milk to the mixture. But, my cousin warned, that would alter the taste.

Her daughter who can set up dishes for photographs better than I can, and who should be a food artist set up the shot for this. I nodded while my cousin went over the recipe again, I wrote, and gave in to my cousin's request and took another laddu.
Who knows when I will get to taste this delicious version again? Tasted and true, definitely or do I mean, tested and true?

Murku

The winter sun is finally up after a week of rain and chilly days, urging me to share yet another special recipe on my blog. This one is a great snack on a cold day.

Murku in South India is different from the chakli of Maharashtra.
Our murku is made through the thinner smoother mold and the final shape is like a many layered twisted pretzel while the chakli is the thicker spiky mold and the ultimate shape is either one circle or a concentric circle with a two inch diameter.
In Tamil Nadu, where my my mother and cousin grew up,this was also called 'tayn koyil murku.'

One of the highlights of my trip to India was the chance to meet family I had not met since my mother's passing and collect all the family history stories they knew.
I met my oldest cousin sister who generously gave me this recipe as one of her best.
The two visits to her daughter's house, to meet her, were really great.
Not being able to switch to the cooking and cleaning gear from the 'just having fun' mode, I am posting this recipe as 'tasted and true' one. The older I get the more this category appeals to me vs. the make it before you write it up one.
Here's to more 'tasted and true' recipes.

SAROJA AKKA'S MURKU RECIPE
(Akka is the term of address for older sister in Telugu).
Note how the recipe was given in kg's and grams...I have lbs and ozs in brackets.
The oil is given in US fluid ozs.

1 kg (2.2 lbs) raw rice powder (rice flour)
200 gms (7.05 ozs) urad.
1 Tbsp whole cumin (jeera).
1 Tbsp white sesame seed (til)
75-100 gms (3.52 ozs) butter (melted but not hot).
Salt to taste.

1/2 litre (33.8 fluid ozs) oil. (for frying).

Roast urad over medium flame till you get a good aroma, but do not brown it.
Powder fine in blender. (I would use a coffee mill).
Mix all without water.
Put into murku mold.
Heat oil and squeeze out like pretzels and deep fry, turning once, till cream colored.
(do not fry golden brown like chaklis).

Cool and stored in airtight tin/plastic bag for a month.

OPT: You can add coconut milk while mixing but the storage time will be less. In India you get this by soaking fresh grated coconut in warm water and then squeezing out the 'milk'.
Here I would just use the canned coconut milk from the Chinese store.

Below are three types of presses used for making murkus (among other dishes).
The tayn koil mold is in the latest aluminum press.

Mysore Eggplant/Mysore Badnekayi

Eulogy to a special Eggplant

Eggplant of any kind cooks into a tasty veggie. The varieties are many.
Here in the States, the Japanese eggplant is my favorite.
In India, this last visit, I fell in love all over again with this slim, light green variety known as Mysore Badnekayi or Mysore Eggplant.
It deserves a special mention as the taste it adds to any dish it is cooked up in, is unique.
I used it in the Vankayi Munkayi Talimpu/Fried Eggplant and Drumstick mentioned below.

Vankayi Munkayi Talimpu/ Fried Drumsticks & Eggplant.

For those of you who've never heard of drumsticks here's a picture of the vegetable (which are actually the fruit pods of the tree).



The botanical name is Moringa Oleifera (Tamil:Murengakai, Kannada: Noogekai, Marathi: Moongi shenga, Telugu: Munkayi).
The green pods are the ones used in this recipe. The leaves considered highly nutritious and flowers are also cooked, the former usually with lentils in Tamil homes.
There are various medicinal values attributed to the drumstick plant with a lot of information available on Wikipedia.

The pods grow on trees and when harvested at the right time and cooked well, provide a succulent interior with a unique flavor. The outside is ridged and slightly hard. If you're buying drumstick for the first time, make sure the seeds are not bulging out...this denotes an old pod. The pods shouldn't be too thin either as you won't be able to enjoy the fleshy interior.

PREP: Cut half inch tips of drumsticks, leaving one end attached and pull down like stringing beans. Do this with both ends. Next cut pod into two to three inch slices...continue stringing but leave outer shell intact.
I usually soak the fresh pods in water for 5 minutes before cooking.
I have sen drumstick trees in Hawaii and Florida, but in places where fresh drumstick is not available, packets of frozen drumsticks can be used with the same results.

Growing up in India, we had a drumstick tree. It was a Mysore drumstick tree that produces even longer, better quality drumsticks than the norm.
Put this together with a cook who loved making this dish and would have liked to make it every day when drumsticks were in season and you will be correct in guessing we ate this dish often. He made it so well, even my mother acknowledged he had the best way with this dish.

On a recent visit to India, I made this dish often, as it is one of my husband's favorites and we were lucky enough to find a few drumsticks in December. The name of the dish is in Telugu, one of the main languages of Southern India.
Here in the States I use the frozen packet of drumsticks available in the Indian grocery stores.



VANKAYI MUNKAYI TALIMPU/FRIED EGGPLANT AND DRUMSTICK.

2 Tbsps oil
1 tsp mustard seed/rai.
3 red chillies
3 drumsticks
2 brinjals/eggplant (Japanese/Chinese/ 1/2 large American or the thin green Indian kind).
1 onion, chopped.
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled.
Salt and chilli powder to taste.

Heat oil, put in mustard seeds, cover pan.
When mustard seeds splutter, add red chillies and after half a minute add garlic cloves. When garlic cloves turn translucent add onion.
Fry till onions are brown then add drained drumstick, chopped eggplant and chilli powder and keep frying till done on medium heat.
Cover pan and stir occasionally.
Halfway through, add salt and mix well.
Eggplants will look soft and mushy when done and for those who want to be sure drumsticks are ready poke one with a sharp knife. If it goes in easily, drumsticks are done.
Drumstick and eggplant is a happy marriage as each complements the other superbly.

TO EAT DRUMSTICKS: Open pieces with fork and knife or by inserting a finger into one side while holding the other end with your thumb.
It usually breaks open into two to three pieces...pick each one up and drag against teeth to get the pulp out (like artichokes), or use edge of fork or tips of fingers to scrape the pulp off.

Drumsticks are also wonderful in sambar (a curry made with lentils).

TIP: Easiest way to peel garlic cloves is to microwave cloves for 10 seconds. The inner pod slips out easily.

This vegetable tastes best when eaten with hot chappattis/tortillas or rice and sambar or rasam.

MYSORE DRUMSTICKS READY FOR THE PICKING