Happy Sankrant Everyone ! Tilgul Ghya Goad Bola!!

It's that time of the year again folks, winter is in full bloom in Pune and it is deliciously cold. After experiencing the severe winters in UK for last  six years this mildly cold weather of Pune is a delightful change for all of us. I admit it still makes getting up early in the morning on school days very difficult, and almost everyday I am tempted to let my little one sleep and not bother him to go to school. Hmmm .... but that's not the way it works does it? If I give in to this temptation he would probably miss school every second day, and that is definitely a big NO NO.
Its also Sankranti time. One of my favourite festivals! I love tilgul and gulachi poli and halwa and the fact that the colour black is celebrated. I have a favourite black saree which I always make a point to wear on Sankranti. Sankrant is normally celebrated on the 14th of January,only this time it is on the 15th. So tomorrow I'll be preparing gulachi poli, and tilgul.

 As with most Indian festivals which are in one way or the other associated with the seasons of the year , Sakranti too has an association with the winter season. Sesame and jaggery the 2 main ingredients here both produce heat in the body and are the main heroes in all the sweets prepared for this event.
Many married women also invite other ladies to their homes for a haldi-kumkum ritual ,during which tilgul is distributed and each lady also gets a small gift to take home. That's the fun part of this programme. It's great fun going into the markets which are jam packed with different goodies you can buy for your haldikumkum function.
Today I am going to share with you the recipe for Gulachi Poli, which is a delicious sweet poli made with a filling of jaggery and sesame. Its to be eaten strictly with generous dollops of homemade ghee. That's a must.
So here goes:

Ingredients for 10 to 12 polis

1/4 kg plain jaggery (available at any grocery store)
1/2 cup of roasted sesame powder,
1/2 cup gram flour
1/4 cup oil to roast the gram flour
1/4 tspn cardammom powder

For the outer poli cover:
2 cups of wheat flour
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup fine semolina
1/4 cup gram flour
1/2 tblspn rice flour
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup of very hot oil
1/2 cup rice flour to dust the poli when rolling it out

To make the filling:
Heat the oil and roast the gram flour until it changes colour slightly
Grate the jaggery. When the gram flour cools down add to it the  jaggery and the cardammom powder and the sesame powder. Knead the mixture until it all blends well together. You could even pound it a bit. Keep it to one side.

For the cover:
Mix all the ingredients for the cover and knead into a slightly stiff dough.
divide the dough into 18 to 20 equal portions and the jaggery filling into 9 to 10 equal parts
Now for every poli you need two portions of dough and one portion of jaggery.
Roll out all three portions into small discs of equal size. Place the jaggery portion in between the two dough portions and then roll out all three together into a thin poli the size of the regular phulka or roti.
Roast it on the tawa .
These polis will not be soft like normal rotis . They are slightly stiff to touch and break easily into smaller pieces. That's the way they should be.
They keep easily for 8 days without refrigeration.
Serve with big dollops of ghee.

Other Sankrant special recipes on Food-n-More:
Sesame snaps

Tilgul

Mango Bread-n-Butter Pudding

Although one day late , here I am as promised with the recipe for Mango Bread and Butter Pudding.The Mango flavour is just a twist on the classic Bread and Butter Pud which is a favourite in the UK. It's quick to prepare and delicious to taste. I made mine with Brioche rather than ordinary bread because I had some leftover Brioche, but ordinary white bread is fine too. Butter both sides of the bread slice if using plain bread. For Brioche you do not need to butter it as it already has a  lot of butter in it. As a variety Croissants can be used too .


Ingredients:
8 slices of Brioche/ or plain white bread
2 cups whole milk
3 eggs
handful of raisins
1 cup and a little more mango pulp (use canned or fresh) .If using fresh just blend the pulp to a smooth consistency  before using
2/3 tspns sugar (more if using plain bread)
2 tspns vanilla essense
Ground nutmeg to sprinkle on top (optional)


Method:
Preheat oven to 175deg C
Mix well together the milk ,eggs, sugar, vanilla, and mango pulp
Grease a baking dish and lay out the first layer of brioche slices. Sprinkle the raisins over the brioche.
Now lay out the second layer of brioche, and make sure all the raisins are covered under this layer, so they don't burn when you bake the pudding.
Pour the custard mixture over  the top now making sure to cover all the bread slices thoroughly.
Press down gently so the lower layer also soaks up the custard.
Bake for 25 to 30 mins or until the pudding is golden and puffed up.
Serve with fresh mango slices, warm custard, or  cream

ENJOY!!

P.S. For those of you who haven't yet read the round-up of Mango Moods just scroll down to the next post.

Delicious Kesar Pedhas (Delights of Blogging)

Hi all ! Hmmm ... I must say I was a bit disappointed to see only one comment to my Mango Moods post. I am  sure though that many of you have read it and are also giving  a good thought to what you can make and send in . So do that people and send in as many entries as you like . Let me tell you entries have actually started trickling in. So I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway let me get back to this post because this too is  a special post. I call it my "Delights of Blogging" kind of post and that's because it is a recipe I have followed from someone else's blog and has turned out delightfully well. All the credit for this recipe  goes to Ramya of Foodie Catalog. Thankyou Ramya for this awesome recipe I have always been on the lookout for a good recipe for Pedhas. I just love Pedhas and always wanted to make some at home especially as the ones we get here in UK come nowhere near the ones I am used to eating in Pune. So when I saw Ramya's recipe and her photos I just had to make some. I barely managed to wait until I could go out and buy some condensed milk.

The verdict on the Pedhas?  SUPERB !! Simply Superb!! They taste  so fresh and delicious. I shared some with a couple of friends and they were full of praise. One of them even said that had I not told him that they were homemade he would never have known. So there you are.

Now me being me I had to tweak the recipe a little, for the usual reason of not having one or the other ingredient at home . This time it was the butter. I did not have any, so I used ghee. That's it .

Ingredients:

Milk Powder – 2 cups

Condensed Milk – 1 can (14 OZ)

Ghee – ½ cup

Saffron – few strands

Water – 2 tsps

A pinch of salt

For decoration I used  milk masala , which is nothing but a combo of crushed pistachios, almonds, cardammom and saffron

Method:

1.Take a large wide mouthed microwave safe bowl and heat the ghee just until it melts.

2.Now add both the condensed milk and milk powder and microwave on full power  for 4 –5 mins stirring after every minute.

3.Heat water and add saffron. Mix with the dough and microwave again for another 4 to 5  more mins. The mixture kind of begins to thicken and also rise up . Be very careful when microwaving the hot mixture. Do not forget to stir frequently.

4.Cool the mixture  for a good 10 mins until it  is warm enough for you to handle . It get's the consistency of  chapati dough.

5. Now roll the pedhas. If tyou do this while the dough is still warm the Pedhas will roll into smooth balls. Give the pedhas a slight dent in the centre so that they look like the shop bought ones. Sprinkle with my suggested milk masala or any other dry fruit of your choice.

These Pedhas taste even better the next day. After a day or two store them in the fridge so they keep longer. Just microwave as  many as you want for 5 secs before eating or serving and they will taste fresh again. Next time you have a Pooja at your place amaze your guests with this Prasad.

Wish you all a very Happy and Delicious Diwali

!! दीपावलीच्या तुम्हा सर्वांना खूप खूप शुभेच्छा !!

!! Happy Holidays to all on Food-n-More !!

It's just around the corner now!

Yes, it is ,isn't it? Diwali is almost here now and I am so excited. I am completely into the Diwali fever. And this is inspite of the fact that I am in the UK where things are definitely nowhere as exciting as they are back in Pune. I have started preparing the snacks and am also going to make a Aakash Kandil very soon to hang outside my door. Well maybe not outside but definitely inside my house.
I made two snacks today. I started with those that keep the longest. They are Chiwda and Shankarpale. Two classic Diwali snacks . And today I will share with you the Shankarpale I made.

These are All-Butter Shankarpale and believe me they just melt in the mouth. I know Shankarpale are normally made with ghee but try them with butter and you will love them.
So here we go:
Ingredients:
1 cup salted butter,
1 cup + 2 tblspns water,
1.5 cups sugar,
approx 750 gms plain flour
oil for deep frying

Method:
Put the butter ,sugar and water together in a heavy bottom pan and heat gently just until the sugar completely dissolves
Switch off the heat immediately,
Set aside and let this mixture cool down
When it is cool start adding the flour and go on adding it until you have a medium soft dough (Dough should not be too soft , nor too firm. I have stated the quantity of flour as 750 gms but that is only an approx measure)
Once the dough is kneaded cover it and and let it rest for 1/2 hour
Then divide it into equal sized parts and roll out each part thinly.
Cut out diamond shapes and fry on a moderate heat until light golden in colour.
Drain onto a paper towel and store in a air tight container when cool.

That's my first recipe for you this Diwali . I plan on making a few more snacks which too I would love to share with you so do come back again soon and check them out.

!!!Happy Diwali Cooking!!!

Wheat and coconut cream pudding

A couple of days back my good friend Kavita left UK and went back to India for good. Before leaving she gave me a bagful of groceries that she had left over and obviously couldn't finish before she left. This is a normal practice amongst us friends . Whenever one of us is leaving for good we kind of have a grocery distribution programme between us . The person who is leaving accumulates all the store cupboard groceries that she cannot use up and asks us to take what ever we fancy . So everyone kind of gets to explore her groceries which is fun . Although of course it is no fun to have one of your group leave forever. It leaves a kind of empty void that is very difficult to get used to.

So this time along with other things I got something that I had never used before. She had a container full of hand-threshed whole wheat from her family farm back home in India. So it was of the best quality ever. K said her mom-in-law and sisters in law make a kheer out of it although she had never tried it herself it UK. My initial enthusiasm on recieving it faded a bit when I saw the whole grain and wondered how I would cook it. I have cooked bulgar wheat before but this was something else altogether.

So I tentatively cooked it in my pressure cooker with some water. Thankfully it cooked beautifully and the kheer or pudding that I made from it turned out just fabulous. I cooked it in coconut milk and the taste was mind-blowing. So thanks to K for that! Bulgar wheat being widely available and imparting the same taste is my recommendation as a substitute to the wheat I used for this pudding

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Bulgar Wheat,

1 can of coconut cream

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut,

3/4 cup jaggery (or use light brown muscovado sugar)

a generous pinch of saffron,

1/2 a tspn of cardammom powder

1/2 cup approx milk (to thin the kheer if needed)

2 tblspns ghee (clarified butter)

Method:

Cook the Bulgar wheat with the grated coconut and some water in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles.

In another pan heat the ghee and add the cooked wheat and stir for a couple of minutes

To this add the coconut milk/cream from the can and stir it in well,

Next add the jaggery/sugar and the saffron . (you can soak the saffron in warm water or milk for some time but it's not neccessary)

Now simmer the kheer /pudding for a good 20 to 25 minutes on a very low heat, stirring occasionally so it does'nt stick to the bottom of the pan.

If you would like it a bit thinner in consistency add the milk. Remember it becomes thicker and thicker as it cools down, so it a good idea to have it a bit thinner than you would like when it is hot.

Switch off the heat after 25 mins and sprinkle the cardammom powder and stir it in well.

This pudding tastes good warm or chilled. We love it chilled. So I chilled it in the fridge for an hour before serving. To serve decorate with cashews or almonds or any dry -fruit of your choice.

Mango Mastani (It's seriously addictive)

My memories of enjoying a Mango Mastani go back a long long way, right to the time when I was about 10 years old. I mean today Pune has some fabulous Mastani places where the Mastani is sold in many different flavours but back then my dad used to take us to a small place , a stall actually, located at Saras Baug (readers from Pune will know the location ) . It was called Vasant Cold Drink House . It belonged to a friend of my dad's and he and sold the most awesome Mango Mastani made from fresh Alphonso mangoes and made in a hand turned ice cream maker. Eating this Mastani was a luxury and at a price as low as Rs.10.00 per glass it was practically free considering today's prices. A Mastani today costs around Rs.60.00 to 70.00 at Sujata Mastani in Pune .

So every time I think of Mastani I always remember that small place which gave me my first taste of this beautiful beautiful dessert. No wonder it's also got this royal name . Mastani was a danseuse and wife to Bajirao Peshwa . She was a stunning combination of beauty and bravery that history recollects and it is said that her skin was as smooth and delicate as porcelain. Well our Mastani is just as beautiful, don't you think?

So here's my version of the Mango Mastani:
As it the Mango season I used fresh mangoes but otherwise just go ahead and use canned mango pulp, but preferably Alphonso mango.

To make 2 tall glasses of Mastani you need:
Pulp of 1 large Alphonso Mango or 2 medium ones (or of course the equivalent in canned pulp)
1.5 glasses of cold whole milk,
4 tpns sugar
lots of ice cubes
And good quality mango icecream or mango kulfi (I used kulfi)

Method:
Whizz up the milk ,mango , sugar and ice in a blender until thick and frothy. Pour out into tall glasses upto three quarters. Then put in 2 scoops of mango icecream on the top and decorate with cubed mango and some whipped cream . Put in a straw and a long spoon and serve chilled. Or drink it and go straight to heaven.

Other good variations are :
Rose milkshake and mango icecream,
Rose milkshake and pistacchio icecream,
Strawberry milkshake and vanilla icecream
But of course nothing comes close to the total mango version.

Happy Holi everyone !

The Spring Festival of India, Holi which is on the 10th of March this year is a festival of colours. Celebrated in March or April according to the Hindu calendar, it was meant to welcome the spring and win the blessings of Gods for good harvests and fertility of the land. As with all the Hindu festivals, there are many interesting legends attached to Holi. It is the second most important festival of India after Diwali.

Special sweets are prepared on Holi with the Puran Poli taking the place of pride and in the evening friends come together around a bonfire which is a representation of burning away all that is evil and starting afresh. It is a festival of fun and frolic and the exuberance and the festivity of the season are remarkable. The day after Holi is called Dhulwad in Maharashtra and is celebrated by splashing colours and water on each other. This is particularly popular with teenagers and collegians who are seen going around the city in large groups on their bikes and scooters having a fantastic time.

So coming back to Puran Poli this is what I have for all of you today. Puran Poli is the like the heart and soul of Maharashtrian cuisine and and it's a true test of your cooking skills. It's a skill not just learnt from a cookbook but something that is handed down generations. The best Puran Poli I have eaten is the one made by my mother-in-law. They are just the ultimate and I really have to keep a check on how many I eat . Having said that I also take great pride in saying that my own Puran Polis come out beautifully as well considering the fact that I make them only once or twice a year. My family loves them and we can never have enough. So I have to share them with all of you, don't I?

For those to whom Puran Poli is a new dish, Puran is basically a sweet stuffing made from chana dal and jaggery. Poli is a flat bread. This puran is stuffed in dough and then rolled out gently to make Puran Poli which is eaten with loads of melted ghee. It is heaven on earth.

Here's how I go about it:

Ingredients for the Puran:

1.5 cups chana dal

1 cup jaggery

1/2 cup sugar,

1/4 tspn grated nutmeg

1/4 tspn cardammom powder,

1/8 tspn saffron strands soaked in warm water

1/4 tspn salt,

3 cups water to cook the chana dal

Ingredients for the outer cover or Poli

1 cup wheat flour finely sifted

1 cup plain flour (maida)

1/4 tspn salt

8 to 10 tblspns of oil to knead the dough,

1 cup rice or plain flour to dust while rolling out the poli

Method for cooking the Puran:

Ideally the chana dal is cooked in a open saucepan till it gets soft and mushy but I prefer to cook it in a pressure cooker as that is much faster and and I don't have to watch it all the time. So place the chana dal with double quantity of water and pinch of turmeric in a pressure cooker container and then pressure cook it . I cook it for a little longer that I would cook normal dal .

While this is cooking prepare the dough for the poli. Mix the 2 flours and salt and form a soft dough by adding enough water. Pour all oil and knead well. The quantity of oil seems a lot but believe me it is necessary to make a delicious puran poli. Leave the dough covered for 1 to 11/2 hour.

When the dal is thoroughly cooked and mushy remove the container from the cooker and drain the excess cooking liquid from the dal. This is called Kat and is used to make a delicious spicy soupy meal accompaniment called Katachi Amti.

What I do now is blend the dal well with a hand mixer still it is smooth with absolutely no grainy texture. Then place this dal ,the jaggery and sugar in a heavy bottom pan and cook it on a low flame stirring frequently till the mixture thickens to the point where if you insert a serving spoon in it , it will stand in the mixture. This is how experts test it. Finally add the nutmeg , cardamom powders and the soaked saffron and give it all a good mix . Switch off the gas. Stirring the mixture frequently is important as it sticks easily to the bottom of the pan.

After the Puran has cooled you can rolling out the Puran polis by taking a ball of dough and thrice as much puran . Roll out the dough a little then place the Puran over it and pulling all the edges to the centre close the mouth of the dough. Dust a small amount of flour on the surface and on the rolling pin and gently roll the poli ensuring that the puran is evenly spread inside without breaking out of the dough.

To roast you need the tawa (skillet) just moderately hot. Roast on one side then flip once and the poli is done. Do not over cook. This is a delicate creation and treat it accordingly. To serve melt ghee and spoon generously( and I mean really generously) over the poli and with some warm saffron flavoured milk alongside. Serve hot.

Ganapati Bappa Moraya

A very big Hello !!! to all my dear readers and blog friends. I am back after a very very long break and believe me I am now really really ready to blog again. My trip to India was super. It was one big social event. I was visiting friends and family left ,right and centre. Visited some nice restaurants too and ate lots of delicious stuff and inspite of all the hogging I did there I lost some weight. Isn't that amazing? I am very happy.

And here I am with my latest dish that I have just prepared minutes ago and is fresh off the stove. I couldn't have chosen a better day than today to start blogging again . Yesss! It's Ganesh Chaurthi today . That special festival of Maharashtra which is celebrated for 10 days with great pomp all over the state. Before starting any new venture we believe in praying to Lord Ganesh or Ganapati Bappa as he lovingly called in Marathi. It is believed that Ganapati can remove any obstacles that may be a hindrance in your way to success and that is the reason why any new venture is first started by praying to Lord Ganapati.

So I am definitely starting on a very good day. What I have for you today is also a very special dish made particularly on Ganesh Chaturthi as it is Ganapati Bappa's favourite. It is Modak. The one I have for you today is the fried version



Ingredients:
For the outer cover
1 cup Plain Flour,
2 tspn Fine Semolina,
3 tblspn very hot oil
A pinch of salt
Ingredients for the filling:
210 gms fresh shredded coconut
1 cup jaggery (palm sugar)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tspn cardammom powder
1/2 tspn nutmeg powder

Procedure:
Filling: (Filling can be prepared one day in advance and kept ready)
1. In a heavy bottom pan mix the coconut, jaggery and sugar on a moderate to low heat . Keep stirring until the the mixture loses moisture and becomes slightly dry. This takes about 10 t0 15 minutes
2. Switch off the gas and then sprinkle the two spice powders and mix well. The mixture is ready. Optionally you can make it richer by adding raisins, broken cashewnuts etc. Keep the mixture covered until you need it.

For the outer cover:
1. Mix all the ingredients and knead into a firm dough. Keep covered for at 30 minutes.
2. Before using soften the dough by drizzling a bit of Ghee (clarified butter) on it and pound it in a pestle and mortar. This is very tedious but very neccessary. It makes the dough pliable.
3. Now make small balls of dough. Roll out one ball at a time into a thin puri.
4. Place it on your palm and put a tspn full of filling in the centre. Pinch the sides of the puri at regular intervals and close the modak firmly from the top. Place the modak on a plate and cover the dish with a clean wet cloth so that the modaks do not dry out
5. Make all the modaks in the same way.
6. Deep fry 3 to 4 modaks at a time on a moderate to low heat. Let cool and then store a container.
This will make appoximately 21 modaks. The other version of Modak is the steamed version which is even more delicious. For the recipe click on the picture on the right side bar.

• Have also updated Chintu cartoon strip after a very long time. Sorry for not having updated for so long. Do scroll down and take a look.

Kesar Rasmalai (Bollywood Cooking)

Blogging has changed my outlook towards cooking. Cooking for me is no more just something that I do to fill our stomachs but it has acquired a completely different facet. I go to extreme lengths now to make the food look as good as it tastes. And when there is a blog event that challenges me to bring out the best in me I am definitely game. That's exactly what Meeta's Monthly Mingle has done. The theme she has presented us (or rather challenged us with) this month is Bollywood Cooking. It's a fabulous theme with a wide variety of dishes to explore. Glamorous as Bollywood is , I thought my dish had to be equally glamorous . And my Kesar Rasmalai is just that. It's elegant, sophisticated, and has just the right balance sweetness and creaminess. I also wanted to try out something from a different culture than mine.

The other reason why I chose to make a Bengali sweet like Rasmalai is to celebrate all the beautiful Bengali actresses in Bollywood. Right from the beautiful Suchitra Sen and talented Aparna Sen, Jaya Bhaduri and Sharmila Tagore to current heartthrobs like Rani and Bipasha, Sushmita and Konkana the Bengali babes have ruled the silver screen in every decade. So here's to you girls!

Coming back to the recipe now, I an really surprised myself as to how well it came out. It is not difficult at all just a bit time consuming. My suggestion to all those who try it out is to make it at leisure when you have plenty of time on hand. Preferably when hubby and kids are out of the way.

Ingredients :
For the malai (or paneer balls):

1 lt cow milk,

1/4 cup lemon juice or ordinary vinegar,

6 cups water to cook the balls,

1 cup sugar,

1 tspn cardamom powder,

1 tray of ice cubes to be kept handy.

Ingredients for the flavoured milk:

1 can 400 gms evaporated milk,

750 ml whole milk,

15 tspns sugar,

1 tspn saffron soaked in a little warm milk,

1 tspn cardamom powder

Method for Malai balls:

1. Boil the milk in a heavy bottom pan.

2. Add to it the lemon juice when the milk begins to rise. This will instantly curdle the milk. As soon as the milk curdles switch off the gas and pour in the ice cubes to stop the cooking at once. Place a lid on the pan for a few minutes.

3. Remove the lid and strain the curdled milk through a clean muslin which is placed in a colander. Wash the paneer under running water to remove all the traces of the lemon juice.

4. Tie the ends of the muslin and hang the paneer for at least 1/2 hour so that all the water in it is completely drained out.

5. Meanwhile mix the evaporated milk and the whole milk and put on the heat to boil in a non-stick pan . Once it comes to a boil lower the heat to minimum and continue stirring the milk until it thicken just a little. This will take about 1/2 an hour. Continuous stirring is important or the milk might stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

6.Once the milk thickens switch off the gas ,stir in the sugar , saffron and cardamom powder. Keep aside and let it cool a bit.

7. Before removing the paneer from the muslin give it a gentle knead through the muslin so that it comes out smooth in texture.

8. Now roll out small balls and flatten them slightly with your palm. Just like to see in the pic below. 1 litre of milk will make about 15 . Balls should not be too big as they do swell after they are cooked in the sugar and water syrup. 9. Boil the 6 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar in a large pan till sugar dissolves. The syrup should be kept boiling on a high flame when you drop the paneer balls in it. This is very important. If the lower the heat the balls will simply break in the water and disintegrate. Place a lid over the pan and let the paneer balls cook for 6 to 7 minutes on high flame.
10. They rise to the top and get fine cracks on the surface when they are completely cooked. To remove them first take a few ladles of the hot syrup in a bowl and then place the cooked balls from the pan into this bowl. They stay intact and firm when they are kept in liquid. Let them cool down a bit .

11. When you add the paneer balls to the flavoured sweet milk remember that the balls and the milk should both be lukewarm. Add the balls gently to the milk and place in the fridge to cool the dish thoroughly before serving. This dish is best made one day in advance. Before serving garnish generously with sliced almonds and pistachios for that special touch.

I really urge all of you to try this dish out at least once. It's just too delicious for words. I hope Meeta tries it out too. Knowing her, she will!

Mango Sheera (Sheer Indulgence)

Mango Sheera (or Sweet Semolina flavoured with Alphonso Mango ) is a firm favourite in our house. Now Sheera which is traditionally flavoured with bananas tastes awesome and I have savoured it loads of times since childhood .But about 10 years back I tasted this modern variation with Alphonso Mango pulp and that too the fresh kind for the first time at my sister's and loved it. Surprisingly though I never made it myself till last year when I hosted a food stall.

At the stall the initial reaction of most people when they read my menu was that of intrigue . Just as I had expected people were drawn to it as anything that has mango in it and particularly Alphonso mango is simply impossible to resist to any Maharashtrian. After savouring the first spoonful most of them were completely bowled over by the combination of the delicious flavours of mango and cardammom and ghee and soon I had people asking me for the recipe. Needless to say I had sold out all the Sheera in about 2 hours or so.

It gives me great pleasure to share this recipe with you all . I admit I have used canned alphonso pulp as the fresh one is obviously not available right now , but do make sure that you use only alphonso pulp canned or fresh and no other variety of mango. My apologies for not keeping my promise and posting this yesterday. I hope you find that the wait was worth it.

Ingredients needed:

1 cup semolina,

1/4 cup ghee /clarified butter,

1 can (400 gms) of alphonso mango pulp or 2 cups of fresh mango pulp. Blend the fresh pulp to a smooth consistency before using it,

2 cups hot milk,

1 1/2 cup sugar,

1 tspn cardammom powder,

1/2 tspn saffron strands.

Method:
1. In a heavy bottom wok or flat pan , heat the ghee and add to that the semolina. Mix the two and roast the semolina on a very gentle heat to a golden colour. The aroma of the roasted semolina with ghee is very tantalising.

2.While you are roasting the semolina, gently bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan. Switch off the gas once it comes to a boil.

3. After the semolina is nice and golden add the hot milk very gradually into it. Be careful as hot steam rises as soon as you pour the milk into the semolina. Mix it all very well and cover the pan with a lid for a few mins so the semolina ccoks by the steam . (Note the heat should be gentle at all times as it is very easy to burn the semolina.)

4. Remove the lid and next add the sugar. Mix again. As the sugar dissolves the entire mixture will change in consistency and become very loose. But it comes back to normal as soon as all the sugar is dissolved. Again cover and let cook for a few secs.

5. Now uncover again ,switch off the gas and add the mango pulp ,cardammom powder and the saffron strands. Stir these in gently. Cover it for one last time for a few seconds. At this stage again the sheera gets a loose consistency but it gets firmer in texture once it has cooled down again.

Your Sheera is ready to eat.

It's a great accompaniment to a festive meal and is served in this traditional dome shape which is achieved by using this little plastic gadget.

Ukdiche Modak (JFI Rice)

15th September is Ganesh Chaturthi and I am already in a tizzy. We are celebrating the Ganpati Festival this year at our home in the UK for the first time and boy are we excited about it. I have always celebrated this festival with the rest of my family so there was always either my mother or then later my mom-in-law who were in charge .This is the first time that I am going to be completely responsible for the way things turn out. So I am excited as well as nervous.

I already have visions of how I am going to decorate the room in which the Ganesh idol will be placed and what kind of sweets I can make for the daily Puja and Aarti. Speaking of sweets brings to mind the Show Stopper of the Festival Lunch,which are these Ukdiche Modak.

Ganesh Chaturthi and Ukdiche Modak have to go hand in hand. I cannot celebrate this day without these delicious creations. So best way to ensure that you can make these, is to take a trial run a few days before the actual day of the festival. And that's exactly what I did today. This was also my idea of a perfect entry for Sharmi's event JFI Rice .

Of course like every year I called Aai for the recipe and for the important tips to remember while making them. Although the recipe is very simple the actual procedure requires a bit of practice.

Here's how I went about it:

Ingredients (For 7 to 8 Modak):

For the outer cover:
1 katori (see pic) very fine Rice flour (sieve the rice flour to get a fine and soft flour),
1 katori water,
a pinch of salt,

Ingredients for the sweet stuffing:
2 cups fresh grated coconut,
1 cup jaggery (palm sugar)
1/2 tspn cardamom powder,
1/2 tspn grated nutmeg

Steel Katori used in all maharastrian homes


Procedure for Outer Cover:

1.In a steel container mix the rice flour ,water and salt to make a smooth paste(see pic)

2. Pressure cook this paste like you would do for dal in a pressure cooker, (thats about 3 whistles and simmer for 5 to 7 mins)

3. Let the pressure cooker cool for a while before opening it.

Uncooked Rice Flour Paste

Procedure for the stuffing:

1. While the pressure cooker cools down prepare the stuffing.

2. In a heavy bottom pan mix the grated coconut and jaggery and cook the mixture for 20 to 25 mins on a very low heat, stirring frequently

3. After switching off the heat add the cardamom and nutmeg. Let the stuffing cool

Coconut and Jaggery Stuffing

4. After the rice flour dough which is called Ukad has cooled down enough to handle ,oil your palms well and knead this dough till it becomes very pliable and soft enough to fill and shape into a modak. Along with oil also use water on your hands to further assist you with this.

5. Now make a lemon size ball of dough ,place it between two oiled plastic sheets and spread out the dough with your thumb to the size of a puri (see pic)

6. Place this puri on your wet palm and place a tblspn full of stuffing in the centre. Make vertical pleats in the dough by pinching it at regular intervals between your thumb and forefinger (I wish I could show you a pic but I was struggling so much at this stage that holding a camera was simply impossible)

7. Now close the modak from the top by creating tapering shape .(Gosh! I am so bad at explaining this) But I guess all marathi readers will know what I am taliking about and for others the final product should look like the modak in the main pic and the pic below. )

8. To steam these I used an idli cooker and idli moulds. Use any kind of good steamer. At home in India we normally place a soft muslin in a colander ,put all the modaks in it and then place the colander just inside the rim of the pressure cooker and steam for 15 to 17 mins. Alternatively they can be steamed in an electric rice cooker too. Imp Note: Before steaming, dip each modak quickly in water and then place in the steamer. This prevents the modaks from cracking

Serve with generous dollops of homemade ghee. No ! don't say no to Ghee. You must have Ghee (or Sajuk toop as we call it) with Modak.

I hope my post inspires many of you to try them out this year, that's the reason why I wanted to post these a little before the 15th and secondly let me now go over to Sharmi's for JFI: RICE

Ghaarge (A Delicious Travel Snack)

OK People I am leaving on Sunday morning for India and will not be blogging for 3 whole weeks. There are a thousand things I need to do before I leave but it seems as if I just cannot let go of my blog. I am still cooking as I need to finish quite a lot of stuff in my kitchen cupboards and fridge. So when I saw this big piece of red pumpkin in the fridge I knew I had to use it, and use it in such a way that everybody in the house would finish it up before we left . I do not want any leftovers at this moment. Then I had an idea. You see my little one does not take too well to airline food and just barely manages to nibble on a piece of bread or roll or whatever the airline people have deemed as suitable to serve the economy class passengers. So its always a good idea to carry some easy to carry food alond with me just for him. So when I saw the pumpkin these Ghaarge were the first and the best thing that came to mind. They are easy to make, easy to carry,easy for a child to eat while travelling, very nutritious, and keep for at least 5 days without refrigeration

Ghaarge is such an authentic Marathi snack that calling it puris or anything else would just be so wrong. The word is pronounced ghaargay for those reading it for the first time.

Here is what you need:

About 200 gms of grated raw pumpkin (i.e about 2 cups)

1 cup fresh grated coconut,

1.5 cups grated jaggery,

1 cup rice flour,

2 cups wholewheat flour,

a pinch of salt,

apinch of turmeric powder,

1 to 2 tblspns oil,

Oil for frying

Procedure:

In a pan heat 2 tblspns oil ,mix the grated pumpkin, coconut and turmeric powder and steam them over a gentle heat until the pumpkin softens. Next add the jaggery and let it melt completely. After the jaggery has melted cover the pan and cook for a few seconds on gentle heat. Now add the rice and wholewheat flours and stir them in . There is no need of heavy kneading. Just bring all the ingredients together to form a dough. Cover and let it rest for at an hour. You can also keep it overnight.

Next make small balls from the dough and spread them out between to sheets of greased plastic to the size of a puri and fry these in hot oil .

These Ghaarge taste great when they still hot, but even better once thay have cooled down and the best when they are one or two days old. If they last that long that is.

And yes this is definitely my last post now until I come back end January. Wish you all a Very Happy Wholesome New Year

Coconut Cream Barfi (Jihva for Ingredients: Coconut)

It was my idea that my posts during Christmas would be my last ones before leaving for India on my holiday, but Ashwini's event with Coconut as the chief ingredient was too good to miss. So I had to do it. This recipe has been on my mind since I saw Coconut Burfi-Fudge made by Saffronhut. Her photos were so tempting that I knew I had to make them. When I made these I did not follow her recipe but just used whatever was available at home and in whatever quantities . The result was not as picturesque as hers but taste gorgeous.

What I used:

2 cups grated frozen coconut,

1.5 cups sugar,

1/2 cup double cream,

1 tspn cardammom powder,

1 generous pinch saffron

Procedure:

• Heat a heavy bottom pan
• Mix the first 3 ingredients in the pan and cook on a gentle flame till the mixture begins to get dry at the edges. This takes about 25 mins,
• After the mixture starts moving along with the spatula switch off the heat and add the cardammom powder and the saffron strands mixed in a small amount of warm milk.
• Stir well and immediately turn out this mixture onto a greased tray and spread it evenly.
• Mark out the barfi pieces. Let cool and then cut out the pieces.
• Decorate with slivers of almonds
  

Sweet Semolina with a Touch of Saffron (Food Fit for the Gods)

Sweet Semolina with a Touch of Saffron, originally uploaded by Anupama 72.

Its amazing how sometimes the most obvious choice of food is right in front of you and you are racking your brains to come up with a good idea. This happened to me when I read about the Festive Food Fair hosted by the lovely Anna of Morsels and Musings. When I first read the word Festive it conjured up in my mind all the food that we Indians make at Diwali, but then I thought " Oh! but everyone has already blogged about it very recently. So it won't be anything new" In the last few days while cooking at home my thoughts often strayed to what I would make for the Festive Food Fair but kept drawing a blank. Another small problem was that there is no upcoming special occasion or festival that my family and I celebrate atleast till coming January.

But the solution came to me through a very cute request made by my 4 yr old son. He has a major sweet-tooth and makes such requests now and then which I sometimes fulfil and sometimes ignore . He asked me to make this Sweet Semolina preparation which we call Sheera. Its one of his favourites. (Actually its one of my favourites too). Thats when I realised that this was the perfect entry as this is what we make as an offering to the Gods on all religious occasions. Its quite simple to make and tastes delicious. When it is made as an offering at a Pooja we make it richer than normal, flavouring it with bananas, almonds and.. saffron and just ignore the calories.But thats because it is eaten in very small quantities. The recipe below is for a less richer version.

Food fit for the Gods, originally uploaded by Anupama 72.

Ingredients:

1 cup fine semolina,

1 cup granulated sugar,

3 tblspns clarified butter (ghee),

1 banana mashed,

2 cups whole milk

1 cup water,

1/2 tspn cardammom powder,

1 generous pinch saffron strands,

1 tiny pinch salt,

roasted almond slivers to decorate (optional)

Procedure:

• In a heavy bottom wok or flat pan , heat the ghee and add to that the semolina. Mix the two and roast the semolina on a very gentle heat to a golden colour. Mash the banana and add it to the semolina The aroma of the roasted semolina with ghee and banana is very tantalising.
• While you are roasting the semolina, gently bring the milk and water together to a boil in a saucepan. Switch off the gas once it comes to a boil.
• After the semolina is nice and golden add the hot mixture of milk and water very gradually into it. Be careful as hot steam rises as soon as you pour the milk into the semolina. Mix it all very well and cover the pan with a heat proof (steel) plate for a few mins so the semolina ccoks by the steam . (Note the heat should be gentle at all times as it is very easy to burn the semolina.)
• Remove the plate and next add the sugar. Mix again. As the sugar dissolves the entire mixture will change in consistency and become very loose. But it comes back to normal as soon as all the sugar is dissolved. Again cover with a plate and let cook for a few mins.
• Now remove the plate again ,switch off the gas and add the cardammom powder and the saffron strands. Stir these in gently. Your Sheera is ready to eat.
• This is a great snack for everybody as well as a good sweet dish to accompany the rest of a festive meal.

For all my readers who wanted to know how I moulded the semolina. Its is this mould that I used. It is easily available in India.

Wish You All A Very Happy Dassera

With warmest wishes to all my Bloggo-Buddies. have a Very Happy Dassera. Leaving you a taste of the Amrakhand I have made to celebrate Dassera.

Coconut Ladoos with a touch of Saffron Part 2

All my dear Bloggo-o-buddies, right now I am confusion personified. The recipe of the coconut ladoos I posted along with the picture and the other info has just disappeared into thin air. And for some wierd reason Blogger refuses to edit my post. So I had to create an entirely new post for the recipe.
I made these ladoos for Narali Poornima .It is the festival celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Shravan when all the fisherfolk worship the ocean with offerings of coconuts. Its that time when the south west monsoon is supposed to abate and the fishermen can cast their nets in the seas again and trade resumes again. For foodies like me it means preapring some sweetdish with coconut as one of the chief ingredients.

Here's how I made them

Ingredients:

3 katoris coarse semolina

1 coconut grated (or 2.5 katoris dessicated coconut flakes)

1/2 katori milk

1/2 katori ghee (clarified butter)

For the Sugar syrup:

1.5 katori water

2.5 katoris sugar

1 tspn saffron

1 tspn cardamom powder

1 tblspn raisins

Procedure:

1. Heat the ghee in a heavy bottom pan and roast the semolina on a gentle heat till it turns a nice golden colour

2. Add the milk in 2 parts and roast again

3. Now add the coconut and roast further for a couple of mins or till the fresh coconut completely dries up. Turn this mixture onto a plate.

4. For the syrup add the sugar to the water and bring to a boil. After it starts boiling, boil only for 3 mins more on a gentle heat. Turn off the heat and add the saffron and cardamom.

5. Now add the semolina and coconut mixture to the sugar syrup and mix well. Leave the mixture in this condition for a couple of hours just stirring the mixture once in a while.

6. After 2 hrs check to see whether you can roll the mixture into balls and roll the ladoos. If mix is still too sticky you just need to wait for some more time and if mix is too hard just add a little hot water to it and stir again

7 Decorate tthe ladoos with almonds or raisins or edible silver foil<>

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