"Sweet Treats"-Kaju Katli and Kaju Flowers

Kaju Katli: A Cooking lesson
So today was the big day,when my friend 'V' (who still is modest and does not want to me to reveal her actual name to give her credit!) was going to teach me and my other friend 'P' ...how to make Kaju Katli. 'P ' and I decided to make 2 batches...one 'V' would demo us and other batch 'P' will make simultaneously. It was great to get a 'hands on' demo and the Kaju katlis came out much better than my last weeks experiment. We could cut perfect diamonds and put the silver leaf on to make it look 'authentic'. Thanks to 'V' ...I finally could make real Kaju Katlis! And Thanks to 'P' for lending me the 'Silver leaf' and making my katlis prettier!
Here is V's recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup Cashews
1tbsp Milk powder
~1 cup Sugar
1/4tsp Cardamom powder
1 pinch Saffron
1/4 cup water
1 pinch salt
1tsp ghee
Method:
1) Soak cashews in water for 1 hr.Coarse grind the cashews with about 1/4 cup (or as less as possible) amount of water. Measure the amount of paste.
2) Remove the paste in a nonstick pan.On medium heat,stir the paste.Add as much sugar as the quantity of the paste.(i.e.for 1 cup paste add 1 cup sugar)
3) Keep stirring the paste till it looks 'dough' like and starts to leave the edges of the pan.Add salt and 1tbsp milk powder and mix.
4) Add saffron and cardamom,mix well.
5) Apply ghee to the counter top/non stick foiled surface.
6) Roll out the Kaju katli dough with rolling pin on the flat surface
7) Stick the silver leaf on top
8) Cut into diamonds
9) Kaju Katli is ready!

Last Evening:
I was very excited last evening for today's cooking class but wasn't quite happy that I did not have the 'Silver leaf/Vark' to put on the Kajukatli to make it look 'authentic'.So,just to check if AC Moore would have it,'M' and I went to the store.But ..No..they did not have any:(
But what they had was....'Pearl dust' which is used to color 'fondants' for cake decorations.This dust is edible and comes in various colors.'M' encouraged me to be innovative..and said that I could make some other designs with the Kaju katli and decorate as I wish.I really liked the idea,and thought about making 'Kaju flowers'.I bought the 'flower' shaped fondant cutter and some pink pearl dust.I already had the 'sprinkles' to make the flower centers.Here are my Kaju Flowers:They look too good to be eaten!

"Appetizers"-Steamed Cabbage and Carrot Rolls

This morning was pretty relaxed as 'E' did not have to go to school today(He goes only 3 times a week) and also mainly because...we had left overs from last night and therefore did not need to cook for lunch today.Last night made 'Pav Bhaji' for dinner. Whenever I make Pav Bhaji ,'M' always reminds me to make it sufficient atleast for 2 meals.Reasons for that-Well...

It's one of his favorites ... so eating it once doesn't satisfy his 'craving' for Pav Bhaji.Secondly, pav bhaji tastes better the next day...all the flavors marinate and come together well....and lastly...it saves 'cooking' the next day! How thoughtful is that!

So, I had some time on hand...and I decided to experiment on Cabbage I had in the refrigerator.

The whole idea behind these rolls was...kind of 'fusion' of 2 recipes or cuisines. First one is the 'Alu chi vaadi'/Patra Rolls' made in Maharashtra with Colocasia leaves.The second inspiration was 'Paula Deen's (Food Network)Cabbage rolls stuffed with meat.

I used the ingredients that are used to make Patra rolls but used Cabbage leaves instead of Colocasia leaves and instead of using any meat (as in Paula's Cabbage rolls),I used carrots and besan.

There were some modifications I had to do to make Cabbage 'work' like Patra in this recipe-like boiling the cabbage leaves prior to making the rolls and trimming the stems to make the leaf more pliable.

The rolls came out pretty good (Making them was a bit messy though)...and they tasted really delicious after shallow frying (like patra rolls).To my surprise even 'E' liked those!

Here is the recipe of my experimentation:

Ingredients:

1) 4 Whole Cabbage leaves

2) 1/4 cup Carrots(Julienne cut) Fancy name hmm...i.e cut thinly into strips!

3) 3/4 cup besan/gram flour

4) 1/2 tsp sesame seeds

5) 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste

6) 1/4tsp tamarind extract

7) 1/4tsp jaggery

8) 1/4tsp Chili powder

9) 1/4tsp Ajwain seeds

10) 1/4tsp turmeric powder

11) Oil to fry

12) Salt to taste

Method:

1) In a big pot keep water for boiling. Carefully cut 4 whole cabbage leaves from a cabbage head.

Immerse them in boiling water for 3-4 mins just to soften them and make them pliable.

2) Mean time make a thick paste of besan,chili powder,sesame seeds, turmeric, ajwain, salt, tamarind and jaggery.The paste should be thick enough to coat the leaf surface.It should taste spicy, and little sweet-sour.

3) Take out the cabbage leaves from water.Let them cool a little bit.With a sharp knife,carefully trip the backside if the cabbage stem.(So that it becomes thin like leaves and easy to roll later)

4) Keep the biggest leaf on flat surface.Apply the besan paste on the inside of the leaf evenly.

5) Keep the next leaf on top of the pasted leaf.Repeat the same and stack the leaves on top of each other.

6) On the last leaf,spread the besan paste and the julienned carrots.

7) From the edges,start rolling the leaves into a big roll

8)Stick the edges with besan batter

9) Oil a plate/pan, and keep the roll on it.Steam the roll in a cooker( without whistle) for about 15 mins.Let it cool

10) Cut the roll horizontally into discs.

11) Shallow fry the rolls/discs in oil till golden brown.

12) Serve hot with ketchup.

"Pat a Cake"- 'Car' Vanilla Cake

Had a perfect lazy and relaxing weekend. Since 'M' had to work on his MBA assignments, did not go out much either.Just attended 'E's friends birthday party.
Lately I have been experiencing 'homegrown' competition......are you wondering what that means??? Hahaha! "M' had been pretty active in the kitchen on weekends.Last weekend he made 'sheera'...this weekend he made 'Aloo-Chole' for Saturday night dinner.And he is really good...all the seasonings are perfect! It's a threat to my 'head chef' position in the house...but I love the 'threat' of this homegrown competition...it gives me some time off the daily cooking!
So, since I was 'relaxing' this weekend,I thought of sharing this cake which I baked for my Little 'E's 2nd birthday(in June 2009).'E' is crazy about cars...and needless to say he has tons...literally tons of those.So, when I thought about baking a cake for him,I did not have to think much....'CAR' was the first thing that came to my mind.Here is the cake I baked for my Little Racer...
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2-1/2 cups All-purpose flour
1 cup (250 mL) milk
3/4 cup (175 mL) vegetable oil
2-1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence

For the icing:
2 cups powdered sugar, sift before measuring
1 1/2 tbsp butter, soft
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
3 to 4 tbsp milk
1 tbsp cocoa powder for chocolate icing
Edible colors

Method:
1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease one 9x13-inch (23 x 33 cm) rectangular baking pan.
2) In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs together until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add flour, milk, oil, baking powder, and vanilla and beat for another minute, just until the batter is smooth and creamy. Don't over beat. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan.
3)Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick poked into the center of the layer comes out clean.
4)Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with a thin knife, then turn out onto a rack. Let cool completely before covering with frosting.

Icing:
1)Combine all icing ingredients in small mixing bowl. Stir until smooth and well blended. Adjust for spreading consistency if necessary, adding more milk or more powdered sugar.
2)In a small bowl mix some cocoa powder in the icing to make chocolate frosting

3) Divide the rest of the icing into parts and mix the desired colors for the car.

Cut the Vanilla Cake into 'Car' Shape by placing a car stencil on the cake.I just drew and colored the car on a paper and cut out the shape.

'Car' Cake after been cut.

Slice the cake horizontally into 2 layers. Spread the chocolate frosting in between and place the upper layer back again.

Spread and decorate the 'Car' with remaining frosting mixed with desired colors.
The 'Car' is ready to Race!

"Around The World in 30 Weekends"-Weekend 3 = Egypt

Dish Name: Basbousa(Egyptian Semolina Cakes)
Middle Eastern ‘Basbousa’ is a dessert traditionally served in Middle Eastern countries, primarily Egypt. Sugar syrup drizzled over the top makes it a unique dessert for any occasion, but Middle Eastern Basbousa is traditionally served with tea or coffee.

I first had this dessert when I was working at Cornell University. One of my colleagues wife is from Egypt. She once made this cake and send it to the lab for all of us.
Is was so delicious, sweet, moist, little crunchy from the almonds…we just devoured it!
I asked for the recipe the very next day….and since then, I have been making this dessert at home for ‘M’ who just loves it! It reminds us of the 'Eggless Rava cake' that mom used to make back in India.
We hardly have it with tea or coffee as they have it in middle east, as it is too sweet to have with tea/coffee. It makes a perfect dessert/ snack on its own though!
Here we go to Egypt ...with the sweet taste of Basbousa:
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
1 and 1/4 cup Semolina/Rava
1/4 cup All Purpose flour
3/4 cup Yogurt
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Water
Almonds for garnishing
For the Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2tsp lemon juice
Boil water,sugar,lemon juice,together for 10-15 mins.
Method:
1) Mix together melted butter,semolina,yogurt,all purpose flour.Keep aside for 1/2 hour
2) Add sugar,baking soda,baking powder,salt,lemon juice and mix together into smooth batter( Consistency like cake batter) Add little water if necessary.
3) Garnish with sliced almonds and bake at 350F for 40-45 mins.
4) Pour warm syrup over hot cake evenly.Let soak for 15-20 mins.Cut into classic 'diamond' shapes of Basbousa or into wedges like a pie.
5) Enjoy hot/warm/cold!

"Pat a Cake" - Black Forest Cake (easy version)

"Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte" is the actual name of this German Dessert.It is one of my favorite cakes(and probably everyone else's too...right??)
I took a baking course back in India,and this was one of the cakes the teacher taught us.Since then, for my sister's birthday,for my mom's birthday,father's birthday,their anniversary....all I wanted to bake was ....this black forest cake! Everyone loved it...and I liked spending the whole day in the kitchen baking this 'masterpiece' from scratch!
But,now, especially after 'E' was born,I do not have the luxury of spending the whole day in the kitchen just baking....so when I baked this cake (On Valentine's day Feb 2009)....I took some help from the store..and made it the 'semi homemade' way and hence the 'easy version' in the title.
But let me tell ya' this one was no less delicious than the one made from scratch ...and on top of that I actually got to enjoy 'Valentine's Day' with my sweethearts....instead of being in the kitchen the whole day....baking.
So here is my 'easy' version of this chocolaty delight!

Ingredients:
‘Betty Crocker’ chocolate cake mix 1 box
Pillsbury ‘whipped’ fluffy white icing 1 can
Hershey’s Semi sweet/dark chocolate bar 1
Pepsi/coke ¼ cup
Cool whip Whipped cream topping ½ can
(Or make whipped cream at home)
Coffee 1/2 tsp
Maraschino cherries 1 bottle

Method:
1)Bake the chocolate as directed on the box. Let it cool completely before cutting and icing.

2)Meanwhile boil ½ tsp coffee in ½ cup water and then let it cool

3)Make chocolate curls by peeling the chocolate bar with vegetable peeler( option: grate the chocolate bar with grater)

4)When the cake is cooled, cut carefully into 3 layers. Cut with a big sharp knife and carefully lift the layers with 2 flat spatulas and keep them on separate plates.

5)Mix the cooled coffee, ½ can Pepsi/coke and little cherry syrup from Maraschino cherries bottle and put in a spray bottle. Spray all the 3 layers of cake with this mixture evenly and generously. Let is sit and absorb for atleast 15 mins. Otherwise it will be difficult to put the icing on.

6)On the 1st layer of cake sprayed with coffee/Pepsi, spread the cool whip topping evenly. (Optional: cut the cherries into tiny pieces and add on the whipped topping)

7)Put the 2nd layer of cake on this. Repeat step 6.

8)Add the last layer. On this layer spread the Pillsbury icing evenly.
9)Add the chocolate curls/grated chocolate bar on top

10)Decorate with the remaining icing and cherries.
11)Refrigerate the cake (because of the whipped cream the cake has to be refrigerated immediately).

12)If you want to store longer, you can also freeze it. Just thaw for 10 secs in microwave before eating.

13)Enjoy with your loved ones!

"Appetizers"- Gobhi Manchurian

I am always intrigued ....how different cuisines are modified to suite the taste of the locals.Like for example....Chinese food.The 'authentic' Chinese food is much different than the Chinese food sold in the restaurants in India or US. It is more aptly called 'Indo-Chinese' food in India.It is heavily spiced with chillies,garlic,ginger etc to suite the taste of 'we' Indians...otherwise it will be mere 'bland' food for us.
It is interesting, that every person has an acquired taste for certain food.A food which is 'delicious' for one could be 'tasteless' for other person.As it is rightly said by Lucretius (96 BC - 55 BC), De Rerum Natura :'What is Food to One,is to others bitter poison".Leaving aside the extremity of 'poison',the quote is really true! We like food, which our taste buds approve of.If our taste buds are 'tuned' to certain taste,we prefer only 'that' type of food.You have to go out of your way to appreciate other tastes and other's food.
This makes me wonder,how the judges at food competitions like 'Iron chef' ,can judge impartially??? If the judge himself is born and brought up in .....say Italy and has mostly cooked and judged Italian food (And may be other European food),how can he appreciate a ..say..Japanese chef..or an Indian chef? Are his taste buds appreciative of all tastes???
Anyways.....the 'Indo-Chinese' dish that I prepared today,made me ponder on the 'Taste Buds' and these other thoughts...
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
1) About 20 florets of cauliflower
2) 5tbsp All purpose flour
3) 3tbsp Corn flour
4) 1/4 tsp black pepper
5)1/4 tsp chili powder
6) 1/4-1/2 tsp chili sauce(depends how spicy you want)
7) 1tbsp Soy sauce
8)2tsp Ketchup
9) 1/2tsp Ginger garlic paste
10) Water
11) Oil to fry
12) Green onion stems for garnishing
13)Salt to taste
Method:
1) Wash the cauliflower florets and dry well.
2) Mix together all purpose flour,corn flour,black pepper,chili powder,salt and water to make smooth paste.Not to watery nor too thick.
3) Dip each floret in the batter and fry till golden brown on medium heat.Drain well and keep on paper towel.
4) In a pan,heat 1/2 tsp oil,add the ginger garlic paste,soy sauce,ketchup,chili sauce and the fried cauliflower florets.Mix all together.Take off the heat.
5) Garnish with green onions stems cut diagonally.
6) Serve with noodles/fried rice,soup etc.

Variations:
1) Other vegetables like carrots,mushrooms,onions,capsicum etc can be diced and added to the sauce.
2) Manchurian gravy can be made by adding water and corn starch to the above sauce.