Indian Cooking Challenge - Ras Malai

For this month's Indian Cooking Challenge, we are making Ras Malai which is an Indian dessert made of spheres of homemade cheese (paneer) that have been cooked in syrup and then soaked in cream. ICC is the brainchild of Srivalli, and every month she sets about to challenge members to recreate traditional Indian snacks and sweets that have been long forgotten, or relegated out of the home kitchen to restaurants.

Now I have made paneer (homemade Indian cheese) before and blogged about it. The process itself is straightforward. You boil whole milk, add an acidic agent like vinegar or lemon juice, and separate the curdled cheese that is formed.

I've typically seen or used paneer in savoury dishes like Malai Kofta, so it was interesting to see this same cheese is used in a dessert! its transformation comes about by soaking and cooking the paneer in sugar syrup, and thereafter soaking it in sweetened milk that has been reduced down to almost cream consistency.

I followed the ICC recipe to the letter and I was pleasantly surprised that everything came together so well.

• Paneer. Check.
• Sweet syrup and cooking in a pressure cooker. Check. Yes, no explosions or fragmented paneer even with the use of a pressure cooker, which I am deathly scared of.
• The only part I found a little trying was in making the "Ras" - the creamy milk which is the final abode of the sweet cheese balls. You have to boil. And boil. And boil the milk down till it reduces to half. That was pretty taxing, and I had to constantly scrape out thickened cream that was starting to get burnt at the bottom of the dish.

And finally, the result.

Well, here is where the dessert turns a little sour. I'm really impressed that everything came out so well, but I'm not so fond of the actual taste of the dish. I know, quite a let-down. I think its because I have such a sickeningly sweet tooth, so get this folks, this dessert wasn't sweet enough for me!
I  know. Shoot me!
So, the next time if I make this, I'm toying with trying to sweeten the cheese itself with sugar before proceeding on. I'm sure Ras Malai purists are rolling on the floor with angst as they read this, but hey! To each his own!
=(

Ras Malai (I halved the original ICC recipe)

For the "Malai" - Cheese Balls
1 litre full cream (whole) milk
2-3 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp AP flour

Sugar Syrup
2 cups water
4 Tbsp sugar

Ras - Milk Cream
3 cups full cream (whole) milk
4 Tbsp sugar
saffron, crushed pistachios, slivered almonds, 2 curshed cardamom pods - to decorate

1. Malai - bring milk to a boil.  Add vinegar a tablespoon at a time. The milk will curdle and the cheese will separate out. Only add enough vinegar as to change the color of the separated water from white to a light green color. Drain the cheese in a cloth-lined sieve and place a weight on it to extract a smuch water out. See my more detailed post on making paneer.

2. After an hour of drying, place paneer in a bowl, add flour and knead for about 2-3 minutes. The paneer should not feel wet. Roll into small balls.
3. Bring water and sugar for syrup to boil in a pressure cooker. Add malai balls. Close pressure cooker and cook for about 10 minutes or 2 whistles.
4. Remove malai balls and squeeze gently to remove excess syrup.
5. Heat milk for "Ras" in a heavy-bottomed or non-stick pan, stir occasionally until milk is reduced to half its original volume. Add sugar and cardamom.
6. Add malai balls into milk cream mixture.
7. Decorate with pistachios and almonds. Serve chil

Waiter...There's An Omelette In My Curry...

My mother-in-law is guilty of it.
My grandmother is probably guilty of it.
My mother is guilty of it. But will probably deny being in such dire straits.
I am in esteemed company. Of opening your fridge on a Friday night and staring at a carton of eggs, half an onion, a tomato (on a good day), some left over rice and nothing else. And three pairs of hungry eyes watching you from across the room.

The universal solution for a South Indian home would be to whip up a spicy "omelette" (eggs cooked with onions and green chilli) and serve it up with the left over rice and some yogurt.

Until I was browsing through Kerala Syrian Christian Favourites, a cookbook I picked up whilst on holiday in India last year, where the very smart authoress Thressi John Kottukappally took this meagre offering one step further, and douses the omelette in a  simple and spicy tomato and coconut milk sauce. Talk about kicking it up a notch!

Now omelette and rice, which may be the most embarrassing offering that housewives in India have coughed up, now gets a deluxe make-over and becomes a "curry" honorable of placement in the middle of the table, and served to guests.

Every dish deserves its day =).

Omelette Curry (adapted from Kerala Syrian Christian Favourites Thressi John Kottukapally and Salim Pushpanath)
For Egg Omelette
5 eggs
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 green chillies, finely diced
1/2 tsp Salt
~1 Tbsp oil

For Gravy
1 small tin coconut milk (6 oz) or substitute regular milk
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 Roma tomatoes (medium) size cubed
1/2 Tbsp ginger, crushed
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs curry leaves
4 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chilly powder (add more if you want to make the curry HOT!)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 Tbsp oil
Salt to taste

1. Make Omelettes - Beat eggs with onions, green chillies and salt.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan, add a little oil. Pour 1/3 egg mixture and spread around pan. Flip over to cook both sides. Fold over, slice into three sections and reserve on a plate.
3. Continue with the rest of the egg mixture in the same way as above.
4. Make Gravy - Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
5. Add ginger and garlic, saute slightly, then add onion.
6. When onions have turned slightly brown, add tomatoes and curry leaves. Cook till tomatoes become like pulp and most water has evaporated.
7. Mix all the spice powders listed with a little bit of water to make a paste. Add the paste to the tomato-onion mixture and fry. Add salt to taste.
8. Reduce heat to a minimum, add the coconut milk and mix well to incorporate all the spices. Thin out the mixture if you want more gravy with water or milk. Add the omelette pieces and cook for a minute.
9. Do not let the curry boil, else the coconut milk will separate. Remove from heat and serve.

A Seaside Break and a Stack of Sweets

Spring has Sprung! Finally, winter seems to have left for good, and so with the kids off on their Spring Break, we took to the beach for some R&R with our crazy zingbang extended family. Here are some scenes from surfside and the rented beach house.

Morning Ablution

The kitchen was swarming with my uber-talented aunts, so I stayed far away, and the only offering I made was this measly fruit salad. Biut I did get points for cutting the strawberries into pretty shapes!

Under Construction =)A cuppa tea by the sea (inspired by Archana's Cup of Chai)Gone Fishin'

The Rental. No Jersey Shore "Situations" here....

I came home to realize I was hours away from the deadline for the Indian Cooking Challenge - hosted by Srivalli. This month's challenge was the traditional Andhra Pradesh sweet snack called Ariselu or Aathirasallu, usually prepared for weddings or religious festivals.

These ICC challenges are proving quite interesting to me, because I'm pretty sure 90% of the items are going to be things I have never tasted before. So I may need to hire some ICC pros to taste test my renditions of them, just to see if I'm even on the right page!

Ariselu is a thin fried bread made out of rice flour and jaggery. Jaggery is unrefined sugar commonly used in Asia and Africa, and much lauded for its health benefits over refined, processed white sugar. I would define jaggery as lumpy, brown sugar before it got powdered and made into the neatly labelled bags we see in the grocery store.

I was a little intimidated with its use because I thought it would be way too sweet, but surprisingly it was not. The little breads just had a tinge of sweetness to them and the refreshing crunch of coconut comes through too.

Thank you to Srivalli for hosting ICC and for introducing newbies like me to these little Indian treats!

Cook's note: The only change I made to the recipe was to toast the rice flour a little, because I don't like the raw taste of white rice flour.

Recipe (from Srivalli's Cooking For All Seasons)

Toasted Rice Flour - 1 glass (standard measurement)
Jaggery - 1/2 glass
Coconut grated - 2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1/2 glass
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp

Oil for deep frying.

Method to prepare:

1. Cook jaggery and water on high. Then add the cardamom powder. Once it starts boiling, add the grated coconut. You will see lot of bubbles coming out.
2. At this stage, add the rice flour slowly and stir it together well.
The beauty of this dough is, you can store and use it whenever you want. If it becomes too hard, just add about 2 tsp of water along with 2 tsp of sugar. Get it to boil, while you keep stirring it. The mixture should become soft again. When you handle it, it should come together as a soft dough. Divide it to equal balls.
3. Heat a pan with oil to deep fry the arisellu. In a greased plastic sheet, pat them down to equal sized discs. Press down the sesame seeds over the top. Once the oil is hot, gently drop these into them. Fry on both sides. Since the sesame seeds are just pressed over the top, they will get into the oil. If you want to avoid this, try adding to the dough.
4. Once they are golden brown, remove and drain them on a kitchen towel.They will be soft when you remove them, will become crunchy once they are cooled.
Makes about 8.

An Award, A Couple of Gulab Jamuns and A Little Bit About MeMe

Imagine sinking your teeth into a little spherical mass of milky sweetness, releasing a wave of cardamom tinged raindrops on your palate.

This, Gulab Jamuns, is the stuff of cherubic angels. I'm guessing they use them as ping-pong balls?

However, heady with your love for these tiny confections of love, you rush to your nearest Indian or Asian restaurant and order them off the bat, only to receive a wad of brown kitchen sponge soaked in yesterday's pancake syrup, served in a white styrofoam bowl (in which they nuked them in).

People - this is an ALERT.
Stop ordering Gulab Jamuns from those hole in the wall places disguised as Indian food establishments. Make them yourself. Milk powder, butter, fry, soak in cardamom/rosewater syrup.
This message was endorsed by the People for Ethical Treatment of Sweets.

Roll up your sleeves, get the recipe (verbatim) from Cynthia's Tastes Like Home, and try her Caribbean version of them too while you are there, and sink back into bliss.

I have been known to polish off entire batches.
That message was NOT endorsed by the Center for Weight-Loss, American Association of Cardiology and Diabetes Practiotioners, Biggest Loser TV Syndicate, The Association of All the Hole-In-The-Wall Indian Restaurants with the White Styrofoam Bowls.

So my blog also got a "kreativ" award from Sheetal Kiran from the notoriously funny Eats, Eats & Eats. Thank you Sheetal, I am flattered!
I'm supposed to list 7 random facts about myself:

1. I was born in Africa (Zambia) and lived in Botswana till I was 20 years old. Quick, children, run to your atlas and find where BOTSWANA is now! Naturally, I view the world through safari-tinted glasses, which may or may not be to my detriment...
2. The radio stations in my car oscillate frequently from Classical Music to NPR to Alternative Rock to the Best of the Eighties.
3. I love, love, love to travel, and have visited 6 of the 7 Continents. Watch out ANTARCTICA!
4. I am a Sagittarius and have all the bad personality traits associated with this star down pat. I'm loyal, generous and honest to a fault, passive-aggressive and expect 100% from my closest friends. If a friendship is betrayed or I've been hurt, revenge is swift. Don't worry, no blood or daggers, the most I've done is quickly UNFRIEND you on Facebook. And delete all your emails. Or any trace of you in my life.
5. I have had trouble all my life acquiring the taste for coffee (except in cake), beer (except in bread) and dark chocolate. Solely for this reason, I had to decline the position on Top Chef that then went to Padma Lakshmi. *har har har*
6. On occasions, I react to shellfish (iodine) and break out in hives. Its very random, so I'm always taking chances.
7. I am a thorough Procrastinator, with a side of Perfectionism and a smattering of Pessimism. Which means on a good day, I don't get much done because I keep thinking I'm going to mess it up and not do it right, so why bother doing it anyway, because I could always just do it later, perfectly...

8. I bet you still haven't found Botswana *hee hee hee*

I'd like to in turn pass on this award to the following 7 Hall of Famer's (in my books!) -

Joanne of Eats Well With Others
Rina of Rina's Recipes
Arundhuti of Gourmet Affair
Cherine of Chicho's Kitchen
Joumana of Taste of Beirut
Aimee at A Twist Of Spaghetti
Sayantani at A Homemaker's Diary

ICC - Khachori - Fried Bread Stuffed with Onion

Real World : Cannot miss deadlines.
Blogging World: Can miss deadlines. Sometimes might get thrown out of group, but bloggers are known to be generally benevolent. I have yet to meet a Genghis Khan blogger in disguise.

Real World: Face threats, impact job security, reputation at stake if deadlines are not met.
Blogging World: You get to eat your deadline.

And so along I come with a painfully overdue challenge - from Indian Cooking Challenge - the monthly event hosted by Srivalli where she challenges bloggers to try out authentic Indian treats. This month's challenge was Khasta Khachori - a fried bread or dunpling which is traditionally stuffed with curried moong dal, peas or onions.

Big reveal - I've never had a khachori, so I didn't quite know what to expect when making them. OK, I take that back, I once visited an Indian snack stall during an event years ago, and bought a box of "katori" - they were round balls of fried dough with a pungent green interior. I recall they tasted pretty bad, and I never attempted to have them again.

The problem was that person who made those "katoris" that day did not have Srivalli or Medhaa to guide them. These kachoris are pretty delightful, they are golden, crisp and filled with a heady aromatic blend of spices wrapped around some golden onions. I didn't get to try the peas and moong dal fillings, but I hope to at some later stage. The only reservation was the fact that these snacks are DEEP FRIED, painfully DEEP FRIED, as in 6-7 long minutes to get them to cook.

Thanks Srivalli and Medhaa! And check out Srivalli's step-by-step tutorial on how to make these beauties!


Kachori - adapted from Medhaa and Tarla Dalal

Resting Time for the Dough is app 1/2 hr - 1 hr
Frying time for the Kachoris - 20 mins for each batch.
Soaking Time for the Filling is app. 1 hr
Cooking Time for the Filling is app 15 mins
Yields - 12

For the DoughAll purpose flour - 2 cups
Oil/ Ghee - 1/4 cup ,
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Chilled water for kneading

1.Mix the flour and salt, Add the oil/ghee and mix till you get a bread crumbs texture.
2.Slowly add water and make a soft dough.
3.Knead well for about 8 minutes. Cover and keep aside to rest for at least half hour.

Special Tips / Notes for the dough:
Keep the dough covered at all times, if not it will dry up and not puff up when frying.

Fillings (3 options)
1. Khasta Kachori - Moong Dal Kachori

Split Moong Dal (yellow) - 1/2 cup
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry Leaves - 2 tsp chopped fine (opt)
Green Chilli - Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Sauf / Fennel seeds powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Mango powder / Amchur - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

1. Wash and Soak dal in water for at least 1 hour. You can go upto 4 hours not more.
2. Drain the water well.
3. Grind the dal coarsely.
4. Heat oil in a pan.
5. Add the hing and cumin seeds.
6. Once the seeds splutter add the curry leaves.
7. Add the dal.
8. Lower the heat and keep stirring for 5 minutes till the dal stops sticking to the pan.
9. Cook for another 10 minutes on low till the dal turns slightly brown.
10. Add all the masalas.
11. Cook for few minutes till the aroma of the spices hit you.
12. Add Salt.
13. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool.

Special Tips / Notes for the filling:
The fillings have to be really dry if not when rolling they will ooze out when rolling.

2. Muttar Ki Kachori - for the Peas filling (from Tarla Dalal):
2 cups green peas
1 teaspoon green chillies, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds (saunf)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
4 tablespoons chopped coriander
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste

1. Coarsely grind the green peas,green chillies and ginger in a blender without using any water. Keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan,add the nigella seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaves and ground green pea mixture and saute over a very slow flame for 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Add the chilli powder, garam masala, coriander and salt and saute for 2 more minutes.
4. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Divide into 12 equal portions.

3. Pyaz Ki Kachori - for the Onion filling
2 cups onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds (saunf)
2 bay leaves
1½ teaspoons green chillies, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Bengal gram flour (besan)
2 teaspoons coriander (dhania) powder
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
3 tablespoons chopped coriander
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the nigella seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaves, green chillies and onions and sauté till the onions turn light brown in colour.
3. Add the gram flour, coriander powder, chilli powder, garam masala and salt and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the chopped coriander and mix well.
5. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
6. Divide into 12 equal portions and keep aside.

To Make Kachori's
1. Make a small ball from the dough.
2. Roll out into a 2 inch diameter circle. Or flatten the ball using your fingers having the center thick and sides little thin.
3. Place about 1.5 tsp of the filling in the center of the rolled dough.
4. Cover the filling with the dough by slowly stretching it over the filling.
5. Seal the ends and remove excess dough.
6. Repeat with all the balls and keep aside for 5 -7 mins.
7. Then using your palm, flatten the balls by lightly pressing it.
8. Keep aside covered. Repeat with the remaining dough.
9. Meanwhile heat some oil for deep frying. The oil should not become smoking hot. Test to see if the temperature is right by dropping a tiny ball of dough and see if it is rising slowly to the top.
10. Drop the kachoris in batches of 3-4 gently into the oil.
It should rise up slowly. If you don't want to use lot of oil, use just enough for two or three at a time and fry them.
11. After it rises up (about 2 minutes), turn it over.
12. Cook for about 6 to 10 minutes till the side down gets a golden brown color.
13. Turn and cook the other side for another 6 minutes or till its golden brown in color.
14. Remove when done, cool and store in airtight container.

Spicy Cauliflower Bake - Cheese Vali Gobi

Fresh off the heels of my book review at the "This Book Makes Me Cook Club", I chose to make this spicy cauliflower baked dish or "Cheese Vali Gobi" from the recipe collection in Madhur Jaffrey's autobiography "Climbing the Mango Trees".

Start placing your bets on why I chose to make this particular dish:

1. 
   
   It was one of the easiest recipes in the collection (sucker!)
2. 
   
   I had 2 cauliflowers in my fridge in imminent danger of being unused and tossed
3. 
   
   I actually have no idea how to turn cauliflower into a tasty side dish and was intrigued when I saw this recipe
4. 
   
   All of the above
5. 
   
   None of the above. Shut up and get on with the recipe already.

I'm not sure how "authentic" of an Indian recipe this is, because since when do Indians generously douse their dishes with cheddar cheese. Paneer, yes, but cheddar?

I had to backtrack a little, and thought maybe it was some trascribing error given the dire circumstances I had copied this recipe under *cough*.

Regardless, I really liked the dish. I'n not a fan of cauliflower unless its been spiced, cheese-d, fried or baked into oblivion. Given this had a spicy tinge to it AND the cheese factor, I was sold.

The Man of Chez Split-Pear was not duly impressed, I guess because, again, it is a little hard to picture this as an "indian" accompaniment dish with the cheese and it doesn't help that he detests cauliflower more than I do. But I loved the melted gooiness of the dish and thought it had the right spice punch to it.

Spicy Cauliflower Baked with Cheese (Cheese Vali Gobi) (adapted slightly from Madhur Jaffrey's "Climbing the Mango Trees)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 head of cauliflower , florets and stems roughly chopped
2 medium Roma tomatoes, grated
1" piece fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, grated
2 hot green chillies, sliced in rounds
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp chilli pwd
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
1/2 Tbsp coriander pwd
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.Pour oil in non-stick saute pan.3.When hot, add cumin seeds. Sizzle for a few seconds and then add tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chillies, cayenne, turmeric, coriander. Stir and allow ginger and garlic to soften.
4.Add cauliflower, stir to mix. Add salt and cook for about 5 minutes or until cauliflower has almost cooked though or tomatoes have been absorbed.
5.Add cilantro and stir. Remove from heat.
6.Put contents of pan in lightly greased ovenproof dish. Add cream, mix, and then sprinkle cheese over the mixture.
7.Bake in oven till cheese is bubbly, about 10 minutes.

To read other book club members reviews and their contributions, check out:

Simran made powdered rice pudding Phirni.
Janaki made Palak Gosht.
Sheba made Cauliflower with Cheese. Just like me. Except she was smart and posted it earlier!Sweatha made Madhur's "everyday" cauliflower Roz Ki Gobhi.
Jaya made a potato and tomato curry Bazar Jaisey Aloo.
Aqua made rice with peas Tahiri.

If you would like to join this book club, contact Simran at Bombay Foodie.

Indian Cooking Challenge - Moong Dal Halwa (Split Mung Bean Dessert)

The ICC (Indian Cooking Challenge) is the brainchild of Srivalli, and her aim is to get all who are interested to attempt heirloom Indian recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. However with our increasingly modernized lifestyles, some of these recipes are being side-stepped or forgotten, so there in itself is the challenge!

I'm a sucker for Internet food groups as can be seen by my growing blog sidebar (and waistline!). This month's challenge was Moong Dal Halwa, a North Indian specialty dessert or sweet treat made with moong dal (split mung beans), clarified butter, milk and sugar. I found it interesting that this dish is apparently only made in winter months, since it has such a high protein and fat content, it actually helps to keep the body warm!

Challenge - I've never tasted, let alone seen, this dish. But following along with Srivalli's exact recipes, I took to the kitchen.

Moong Dal Halwa (Recipe Version 2 With Milk from from Srivalli, with help from Lata and Simran)

Split (Yellow) Moong Dal - 1 cup
Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cups to 1 cup (as per required sweetness)
Milk - 1/2 cup
Cashews/ Raisins roasted in ghee for garnish.

Method:

Make sure you get the right dal. I first bought split mung beans WITH skin (green in color) and came home to realize this recipe is made with split mung beans WITHOUT skin (yellow in color). Return to store and get the right dal before beginning =).

1. Dry roast the dal in a dry saucepan over medium heat till the lentils are heated through.

This is a melt-in-your-mouth dessert, you can really taste the richness of the clarified butter/ghee in this dish, I don't think I even used the full amount called for in the recipe. I love the taste of the cashew nuts and raisins with it, I think they are an integral addition, rather than optional. Thanks ICC for letting me in on this challenge!

2. Soak the dal in water overnight.

3. Next morning, grind dal with a little water to a paste. I forgot to take a picture of this.4. Heat a non-stick saucepan, take only 1/2 of the ghee called for and heat it.

5. Add the dal and stir continuously, not allowing lumps to form. This part is very tricky as the dal cooks really fast, irrespective of the ghee. Well they did say tricky, and I obviously got it wrong. My dal turned into a giant lumpy mess. This dessert started looking like the McClump Special.6. Turn heat low and keep stirring even after the dhal becomes thick. No luck for me, still clumpy.
7. Add the rest of the ghee intermittently and cook the dal until aromatic and the ghee starts oozing out. Still no luck...At this point, even the cherubic baby on the ghee jar is strarting to laugh at me. Look at him! he's trying so hard to stifle his grin...

8. Meanwhile mix the sugar with water/ milk in a pan and bring to a boil. Add this slowly to the dal. I thought perhaps this step may redeem me, maybe, oh just maybe the milk would dissolve my lumps?

9. Keep the heat on low at all times and break lumps if formed while adding the sugar and water/ milk mix. Cook until the ghee surfaces or the mixture becomes shiny. Yes! We have shiny!!!10. Garnish with cashews and raisins. OK, this part I could do! * triumphant*

Counterfeit Appams

While reading Ladies Coupe for This Book Makes Me Cook this month, I was struck by the passage where the central character in the book picks up a white, fluffy appam (Coconut flavoured rice pancake - a specialty from Kerala, India) from the railway station food vendor.

Well, "struck" was as far as that went, because I have a history of making appams that are the polar opposite of the mouthwatering visual that author painted in the book. My appams have not risen, or have risen to sourdough extremes, or were hard as an actual coconut and never quite the ethereal white color that appams are famed for.

So as I sat desolately, my cousin G chanced upon me and I mournfully told her about my appam woes. "Have no fear!" G exclaimed. "Have you tried Sprite appams?"

Sprite appams? I asked incredulously... And therein, G reeled me in hook, line and sinker into the deceptive world of making "instant" appams, without the 12 hour fermentation time.

DISCLAIMER: These appams are counterfeit. They are nowhere close to the real-deal appams that are made with long grain rice and lovingly coaxed into little bubbles of heavenly clouds.

No - these are brash, in-your-face appams that are ready in a jiffy and will provide you with instant gratification or an appam-high, the heights of which will be escalated if you cunningly serve them with a gravy rich curry to mask their inadequacies . Appam purists and Gods of Kerala cuisine - prepare your fatwas against me, I stand surrendered. Oh wait, is that another batch of insta-appams waiting for me. Sorry, gotta run...

Ingredients
2 cups rice flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1/2 cup water
1 tsp sugar + 1 Tbsp sugar (divided use)
1 can Sprite
1/2 cup coconut milk or regular milk
2 tbsp rice flour + water to dissolve

1. Prepare thickening agent - dissolve 2 Tbsp rice flour in just enough water to make a thick paste and heat in a small pan to "cook" it. When warm and thickened, remove from heat.
2. Warm 1/2 cup water in microwave till lukewarm. Add yeast and 1 tsp sugar and let it froth or bubble up (about 10 minutes).
3. Mix 2 cups rice flour, thickening agent and yeast mixture in a bowl. Add Sprite as necessary to make a mixture of medium consistency.(Rice flour should be dissolved, but overall consistency should not be too thin). I used about 3/4 of a regular can of Sprite. Add 1 Tbsp of sugar into the mixture and stir in.
4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and turn the oven off. Place the bowl of rice mixture in the warm oven for about three hours or until mixture bubbles/ferments. I did not do the preheat step, I turned the pilot light in my oven on and placed the bowl near the light.
5. When the mixture has frothed up, add coconut milk or regular milk (2% or skim, whatever you have on hand) to thin out the batter (do not make the batter too thin) and add a teaspoon of salt right before you start cooking the appams.
6. Ladle enough mixture into a heated appam pan or non-stick frying pan and cover till cooked.
7. Serve with a gravy based curry like Potato "Ishtu" =)

Bengali Grilled Salmon with Spicy Panch Phoron Sauce - Shorshe Salmon Maachh

I chose to make this dish after seeing a verion of it in the book "The Hindi-Bindi club" which was the October choice at Books That Make Us Cook, see my review of the book here.

Each chapter in the book had a recipe that resonated with the main character in the chapter. Since I have ZERO exposure to Bengali food, I wanted to try one of the recipes featured - which was a baked salmon with a mustard glaze.

I already had some panch phoron spice in stock - this is a Bengali five spice - essentially an equal mix of cumin seeds, brown mustard seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and nigella seeds.

After I started making the dish per the recipe in the book, I realised I was going to have to make some adjustments. First, the marinade as per the book's recipe seemed too watery, it just called for the panch phoron spice to be blended with water and salt. Well, I tried that and I ended up with a watery paste with some whole seeds floating in it. The panch phoron consists of whole spice seeds, not powder, and that may have been the root of the problem. Then I realised that the salmon would just be dry after grilling it, so I decided to make a gravy to go with it, but also using the panch phoron spice.

I ended up merging the recipe with one I had seen in Cooking Light magazine, where salmon was cooked in a panch phoron "sauce" and named Salmon Kalia. Bengali Food Authenticity Police out there - hopefully, I haven't offended any of you out there with my wrangling of the dish!

Bengali Grilled Salmon (my adaptation from recipe for Shorshe Salmon Maachh in Hindi-Bindi Club - A Novel with Recipes by Monica Pradhan)

3 Tbsp panch phoron spice mix
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 large salmon fillet cut into 8 pieces
1/2 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp mustard oil (I used olive oil)

1. In a blender, puree the panch phoron, onion, garlic, turmeric, salt and water to a paste.
2.Brush both sides of the salmon fillets with oil, and then rub both sides with the spice paste.
3.Refrigerate the salmon to marinate for a minimum of an hour, but use within 24 hours.
4.Spray a grill pan with non-stick spray. Heat to high. Sear each fillet on the grill until lightly browned on both sides.
5.Remove fillets from grill, and keep aside.

Panch Phoron Vegetable Gravy (slightly adapted from Cooking Light)

1 tsp salt or to taste
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp Panch Phoron Blend
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 large peeled Yukon Gold potato, cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 large tomatoes
1 large zucchini cubed
1 cup water
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp plain low-fat yogurt
5 serrano chiles, halved and seeded
1 tsp Garam Masala
a handful chopped fresh cilantro

1. Combine oil and Panch Phoron Blend in pan; cover and cook for 30 seconds, shaking pan constantly.
2. Add onion, garlic and ginger, chilli powder and garam masala, stir fry till slightly cooked then add potato; stir-fry for 6 minutes or until potatoes begin to brown, stirring frequently.
3. Add tomatoes, salt and zucchini to pan; stir fry, then add water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4. Reduce heat or take off heat completely and stir in yogurt until well blended (take off heat to prevent curdling).
5. Return salmon fillets to the pan, carefully nestling them into the vegetable mixture.
6.Cover pan and cook 10-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Sprinkle with cilantro.
Serve with a simple rice dish, I chose peas pulao.

When Life Gives You Sharks, Make Pickle!

Shark Pickle.
Not something I rustle up at the drop of a hat, but I thought I'd venture my blog into Anthony Bourdain territory.
Because I'm Bad Like That.

And why exactly do I have a shark lying around my kitchen? Well, the male species in my house decided to go for a deep sea fishing trip the past weekend, zing-bang in tow. And of course, not only did they haul fish back, they brought a shark home too.
Yes, a stupid lumbering oaf knuckle head shark.
And that consequently left me with sleepless nights pondering how to turn this potentially mercury laden meat into an appetizing entree.I ruined the dish right there with that visual.
But I was sleepless. Wouldn't you be, if effin' JAWS was in your freezer down the hall from you?
Insert '70s terror music here (din-dan-din-dan-din-dan SCREEEAAAAMMMMM)

OK, I exaggerate. Wildly. The shark had been filleted and parceled impeccably by the boat hands before they even got to shore. It looked like chicken, to be honest. Shark meat is not the best seafood out there. Scientifically, it's prone to have a mercury content higher than other types of seafood due to a sharks position in the food-chain. Like all types of food out there, you eat it at your own risk. Like wild mushrooms. Or fast food. Children and pregnant ladies, stay away. I rest my case.

Someone came up with the brilliant idea to use the fillets to make a Kerala pickle.

Kerala Pickle 101 - whilst traditionally pickle is made with vegetables and fruits like lime, lemons, mangoes and gourd vegetables, it can also be made with beef or firm fleshed white fish. The pickles range from tangy, hot and sour and are used sparingly as condiments or as an accompaniment to a traditional Kerala meal. Emphasis on the word S-P-A-R-I-N-G-L-Y.

So my first foray into pickle making. I used the brilliant "Flavors of Kerala" cookbook and adapted their fish pickle recipe. I was also pleasantly surprised to note that this type of pickle does not require aging or any period of fermentation. It's ready to go as soon as you are happy with how well the oils and spices have been absorbed by the meat. I deviated from the original recipe in the proportion of wet ingredients, we liked our pickle with a lot of "sauce", the original recipe resulted in a drier pickle.

Fish Pickle (prepared with shark fillet) (ever so slightly adapted from "Flavors of Kerala" - Hena Jacob and Salim Pushpanath)

500g Boneless fish/shark fillets, sliced into small cubes
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup sesame oil
2 heaped Tbsp red chilli powder
1 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 Tbsp crushed ginger
1 large bulb garlic - chopped
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp asafoetida powder
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 stalks curry leaves
Salt - to taste

1. Clean and wash fish pieces, marinate with pepper, turmeric and salt to taste. Keep aside for about an hour.
2. Deep fry the fish pieces in coconut oil. Reserve on a plate lined with paper towels.
3. Heat the sesame oil, add fenugreek and mustard. When they splutter, add the ginger, garlic and curry leaves.
4. Remove the pan from heat, add chilli powder and asafoetida powder.
5. Add the fried fish pieces into this oil mixture and then add vinegar and give everything a big stir.
6. When cooled, transfer to a clean dry bottle with tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate.
7. Use as a condiment with rice-based dishes.

Taste of Kerala - Potato Mussakhan (Fried Spicy Potatoes)

So the whole blogging trip is to educate myself and increase my repertoire so that my family is not eating the same chicken dish everyday.
OK, that was an exaggeration.
We eat the same food every other day.

So I made up a little do-lally here called Taste of Kerala where I wanted to personally explore dishes from God's Own Country - other than the three dishes that I currently know of. So why Kerala? I grew up eating typical Kerala fare because my parents were born there, however I have never lived there and have only gotten to visit on several short vacations. The food I had experienced as a child was a slightly watered down version of the original, given the lack of authentic ingredients and the gradual adaptations to the recipes that my parents would make.

The picture above was taken last year when we went on a houseboat tour down the backwaters of Kumarakom, Kerala - a recent tourist draw (some may call it a trap) - which I always refuse to take part in, but end up going on and enjoying anyway.
But I digress....

I've gotten a little excited about trying my hand at other dishes from Kerala and wanted to record them here, hits or misses.

So announcing Potato Mussakhan, a dish from the Malabar region of Kerala which has a heavy Arabic/Muslim influence.

The name of the dish itself sounds very Muslim, so I asked my colleague, a Mr. Khan himself, if he knew what it meant. Other than having an uncle who was actually named Mussa Khan (!) - he couldn't quite figure it out, and then proudly announced that it must be derived from the Urdu word for "complicated" or "difficult".
So I had just made "Potato Complicated"?

Far from it.
This is a simple tangy side dish of par-boiled potatoes doused in lime juice and lightly fried with some piercing spices and fragrant ginger, garlic and shallots. This is no ordinary potato bhaji to be callously stuffed into dosas or lopped up with bread. This potato has attitude.
Potato Bada$$.

Potato Mussakhan (adapted from "Malabar Cuisine" - Rasheed, Roshna Khader, Reshmi Joseph, Salim Pushpanath)

3 medium-sized potatoes
1 Tbsp grated/crushed ginger
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
4-5 medium-sized shallots - chopped
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp oil (coconut or vegetable - I used vegetable)
Optional - 2 small green chillies, sliced

1.Peel and cube potatoes. Boil in water to which salt and a pinch of turmeric has been added. When slightly cooked (should not be mushy), remove from heat and drain.
2.Make a paste of red chilli powder and turmeric in lime juice, pour onto potatoes, mix to ensure potatoes are coated.
4.Heat oil in a frying pan. Add shallots, followed by ginger and garlic. Fry lightly.
5.Add curry leaves and green chillies (if using), followed by potatoes. Fry on medium heat till potato cubes get a golden crust or color. Add salt to taste if necessary.

Sweet Plantain Fritters

OK, this snack of deep fried batter dipped-plantains may be a no-brainer for many of you out there - it is such a staple in Indian, Caribbean, Far East and South American homes or anywhere else tropical that plantains can be found.
But whilst I was an expert at EATING them, I actually didn't know how to MAKE them until I started trying it out myself. And since everyone and their mother-in-law from the aforementioned countries and continents had their own way of making the requisite batter, I had to play around a bit before I got it just right.
For me.

I remember my mom mixing rice flour into the batter back in the day. I'm not sure why but I'm guessing the rice flour gives the batter an extra thick quality to allow the plantain slices to be coated evenly.
Ahhhh...the gloppy factor.

Similarly, recently when I visited a neighbor, I caught their nanny sprinkling sesame seeds into the mix as well.
Hmmm - never seen that before, but could be the crunchy factor.

And this is why I will land that high paying job as a Food Editor at a posh magazine and be a celebrity judge at the Aspen Food and Wine event - because I use words like gloppy.

So here is my take on plantain fritters and enjoy these juicy sweet fried morsels for your late afternoon snack, right after siesta =)!

In Kerala, India - these fritters are known as "ethakka boli" or "ethakka appam" - What do you call this snack item?

Sweet Plantain Fritters
3 ripe plantains (look for fairly firm plantains, you don't want them too mushy or over-ripe)
1/2 cup All Purpose flour
2 heaped Tbsp rice flour
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar - Optional (I usually omit the sugar if I find the plantains sweet enough)
Water - to form batter (approx 1/2 cup)
Oil for frying

1. Peel plantains and discard skin, slice the flesh in half lengthwise. Then slice each half into quarters.
2.Mix the AP flour, rice flour, sesame seeds and salt in a bowl.
3. Slowly add water to the dry ingredients , mix to dissolve all lumps and add enough water to form a batter with pouring consistency. The batter should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and should not be too runny.
4. Heat oil in a frying pan.
5. When oil is hot, dip plantain slices in the batter, make sure each slice is coated and deep-fry to a light golden color.
6. Drain on paper towels.
7. Serve warm.

How To...Make Indian Cheese - Paneer

Paneer is an un-aged cheese made by curdling hot milk with some sort of acidic agent. It's a drier version of cottage cheese and a close cousin to queso blanco. The reason I started getting fascinated with paneer is that it is typically the only type of cheese that is used in a lot of Indian recipes, and then I found out that its fairly easy to make at home which can give one a lot of boasting rights.
I make my own cheese.

Pretty impressive. Loser.

However, I do have a lot of conviction to make this at home now, because store bought paneer, usually frozen and chock-full of preservatives and well past their prime, tastes absolutely, well, tasteless. It would be the equivalent of grating chalk into your curry.
Soul Food is a hip blog run by an equally hip and talented and cheery web friend of mine, and her exacting post on how to make your own paneer sealed the deal for me. Do check out her post for some awesome tips on how to flavor the paneer as well. What??! You can flavor the cheese too???
Cardamom paneer.
Sweet paneer.
Chilli paneeerr...
Oooohhhh, my head is spinning.

I'm just documenting the method below with some super cheesy pictures (he he), but it was sourced completely from Soul Food.
Method:
1. You need full cream or full fat milk. The less percentage fat in the milk, the less cheese you will be able to strip out. In terms of quantity yielded, I used about a litre of milk, and ended up with a a little less than a cup of paneer. Pour your milk into a heavy based pot or stainless steel utensil.

2. Boil up your milk to a roaring boil.

3. Add your curdling agent and take the milk off the heat. Vinegar is the most preferred based on what I've read, but lemon juice comes in a close second. For 1L of milk, I used 100 ml vinegar.

4. As seen above, the cheese curdles from the milk and separates to form a soft grainy mass and a clear liquid (whey). If the whey is yellowish, add a little more vinegar till the whey becomes a light green color. BE CAREFUL, adding too much vinegar at this point will end up affecting the taste of the cheese!! When everything cools down, drain the cheese using a muslin cloth in a colander.

5. After all the whey has drained, gather up the corners of the muslin cloth, and transfer the cheese to a flat surface (that can get wet). Cover the cheese with more muslin cloth. Place a heavy object on top of the cheese (to flatten and drain out the remaining mositure. When sufficiently dry (a few hours to overnight), cube or crumble the cheese and freeze or use right away.

Malai Kofta - Cheese/Paneer Dumplings in Gravy

On one of my daily travails around the internet, I discovered Maria's blog which is a delightful collection of recipes and South Asian delicacies. There was an interesting 2-in-1 recipe she had for paneer balls, which could be served up as an appetizer, and then an elegant creamy curry that then utilized said dumplings again. This I had to try, especially since I was giddy from having some freshly made paneer ready to go.

Ooops, Paneer. Gots to have some to make this recipe.

But before you all get your bloomers in a twist and blow off this recipe, the Indian version of cottage cheese is surpisingly easy to make at home - and so now that I have mastered the feat of making my own paneer, I don't recommend using the store bought paneer cubes that you see languishing in Asian grocery store freezers. Unless there is someone (emphasis on the ONE in someone) out there who can prove me otherwise, store bought paneer has always tasted like a subtle mixture of chalk and cardboard. And since I have eaten both earnestly in my heady youth, I can attest to that review strongly.


Step 1 - Paneer Dumplings (adapted from Maria's Menu blog)

Ingredients
1 cup crumbled Paneer (cottage cheese)
2 medium Potatoes (boiled & mashed)
Crushed pepper - 1 heaped tsp
Red Chilli flakes - 1 heaped tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon
Cornflour - 1-2 tablespoon
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying

1. Mix potatoes and paneer together in a bowl. I like to do this when the potatoes are still warm so that the paneer cheese gets to melt slightly
2. Add all the seasonings and salt - adjust to taste.
3. Add cornflour and mix thoroughly - this is to help bind the mixture.
4. Form small balls or patties.
5. Fry lightly in hot oil. I chose not to deep fry, but ended up browning the dumplings a little.


At this stage, you may end up scoffing up the paneer balls as they are tasty little treats in of themsleves. Try them with a chilli sauce or dip.


Step 2. Gravy for the Malai Kofta Curry (reproduced entirely from Marias Menu blog)


2 medium onions - sliced
Tomato puree - made from 2,3 tomatoes
Gingergarlic paste - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon
Chilli powder - 1 tablespoon
Garam masala - 2 teaspoon
Cream - 1 cup


1.Cook sliced onions in 2 cups water. Make sure you have the vent fan going, this is going to "smell" a little...
2.Once the onions have cooked (they will look blanched and lighter in color), drain the water completely and grind the onions into a smooth paste.
3.Heat oil in a pan and saute onion paste.
4.After 5 minutes add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2,3 minutes.
5.Add all the spice powders and stir for 5 minutes or until the oil starts forming a layer on top.
6.Add tomato puree and once the puree is mixed well in the gravy add the cream.
7.After 5 minutes, remove from heat. Spread prepared koftas in a plate and pour the gravy over it.

This is best served with a mixed fried rice or Indian bread like Naan or Paratha.

Tandoori Chicken

I once attempted to make tandoori chicken with a jar of ready-made tandoori paste.
Result : Never will I do that again, though I did get that fiery red color thing going, more on my dish towels and countertops than the actual chicken,.

Fast forward to a year ago, where I saw a review of a Williams Sonoma recipe on the now closed Trial and Errors blog (Nabeela, Nabeela, oh where art thou?) which etched itself firmly in the back of my head as The Recipe To Try If Ever...

I have to giggle though. Ironically, I defaulted to an American cookbook for a recipe of the most popular item in any Indian restaurant, both on and off the sub-continent. And as if stars collided, I also chose to post on tandoori chicken the same week HE did. OK, not that I'm proposing a recipe duel of sorts, but the recipe below was GOOD. Thanks Nabeela, for sharing, even though I don't know how to get that across to you anymore =(.

My Rating: 4 out of 5
Gripes: Requires previous day prep, so don't try to pull this one out for a surprise treat.
Glows: Restaurant style chicken right out of your humble oven

Adapted from Williams Sonoma - Essentials of Roasting and Trial and Error blog

Ingredients:
8 chicken legs , skins removed
1/2 cup yogurt
1/3 onion, cut into chunks
2 serrano chilis, cut into thick rings
mint leaves from 4-5 sprigs
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground pepper
OPTIONAL - 1/4 cup tomato ketchup or tomato sauce
OPTIONAL - 1 drop red food color
Glaze:
1 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp lime juice
Method:

1. Make the marinade by blending or processing in a food processor yogurt, onion, serrano, mint, ginger-garlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt, chilli powder, garam masala, ground pepper, food color and tomato ketchup/sauce. Blend to a smooth puree.
2. Taste for salt and adjust. The marinade should be a little on the salty side so that the meat absorbs it.
3. Rinse the legs. Using a sharp knife, make a cut to the bone around the bottom of the drumstick, about 3/4 inch from the end. Remove the flesh and any tendons. This will ensure the meat will contract in a nice clump when you bake it. (Note - I didn't do this, the chicken looks like a giant lollipop when you do this, I left the tendons on.)
4. Slash 3-4 cuts on each leg to the bone to help the marinade penetrate further.
5. Place the chicken legs in a ziploc bag or bowl and pour in the marinade. Make sure the marinade covers the chicken pieces and gets into all the slashes.
6. Marinate for 12-24 hours in the fridge.
7. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before roasting.
8. Preheat the oven to 500 F. You need this high temperature since we are trying to replicate a tandoor oven which can go to very high temperatures.
9. Take out the chicken from the marinade, place on the roasting rack and roast in oven for about 20-25 minutes, till the juices run clear.
10. Melt butter and add lime juice.
11. Brush butter-lime mixture over chicken before serving (it's best to serve the chicken hot).