Leaving…. on a jet plane

K and i are taking off on a trip… we’ve needed this break but K sprung it on me as a surprise…. the valley of flowers and Dehradun is on the itinerary …. i dont know what else….i will turn a year older before i am back…will see you soon!!

Mamidikaya Pulihara – Raw Mango Rice

Raw Mango Pulihara

Pulihara or Pulihora is one of Andhra’s most prized possesion in its culinary bouquet. infact, perfect pulihora is a way of checking the skill of the cook. While it wasn’t my favourite rice dish to eat, as a kid and the fact that we didnt make much of it at home either, suited me just great. I saw an abundance of it in the lunch boxes of friends and wasnt very thrilled at the bright yellow rice being boringly eaten by schoolgoers. All that changed a few years ago when i tasted a very exquisitely made pulihara at a place i least expected it, a Temple!! the spices, tart and texture were so finely balanced.

Pulihara is an integral part of festive cooking and its blasphemy if it does not make an appearance at any festive occassion. It is a tart and tangy rice dish made in many versions with lemon juice, tamarind pulp or as in this case raw mango. i have to admit, Raw mango is my favourite.

Raw Mango Pulihara

i made this when raw mangoes were just getting into the market at the beginning of summer. With the summer on its way out, nostalgia hit and i reached out for this forgotten picture in my archives to urge the summer to stay on a little more. i will admit, the heat drove me nuts this year. i ranted about it enough on social networking sites and here too…. but am always a little sad to see it go!!

Bangalore – Chocolate Classes 20th June

Dear Chocoholics,

After many delays, I am pleased to announce that Chocolate Making Classes will be scheduled in Bangalore on 20th and 22nd June. Please leave a comment or email me on arundati(dot)rao(at)gmail(dot)com to register. Seats on a first come first serve basis.

What will be covered in the Workshop: Types of chocolate, melting and handling of chocolate, equipments required, storage, making techniques, moulding techniques, packing and presentation.  It is a fully hands on workshop, so come prepared to have fun with Chocolate!

Duration of workshop: 3 hrs

Date for the Class: Saturday, 20th June 2009 and Monday, 22nd June 2009

Timing: 10.30 a.m to 1.30 a.m

Venue: 302 Tropical Homes Apartment, GM Palya, Byrasandra Road, (landmark: Nandini Bakery Lane), Bangalore

Varieties of chocolate: 12 assorted (dark, milk, white, dry fruits, nuts, flavoured, soft centred)

Workshop takeaways: Recipe Booklet, samples of all the chocolates made (250 gms per head)

Cheers!!

Arundati

Daring Bakers strike again, this time its Strudel!

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

apple strudel

What’s life without some drama… infact the Daring Baker’s Challenges are becoming daring drama baker’s challenges for me…this time, I lost the pictures I had taken and it took a few days stress and driving K completely round the bend to find them again. They were hiding in some hidden folder of my laptop and though it drove me crazy, eternal optimist that I am, I believe it taught me a lot of lessons!

I am not very active on the forum for Daring Baker’s. I log in once in a while to check out the pictures that the DB’s have posted of their completed challenges (before posting date). Just looking at the pictures send thrills and chills down my spine. So many variations and so much catching up to do is all I think!

Strudel - Savoury

When I saw the completed challenges this time, I thought of several fillings for the savoury strudel. Having never ever eaten or made a strudel before, I wanted to stick to the classic apple strudel for the sweet version. When the time came to make it, I finally chickened out and made a typical indian filling with potatoes, peas and onion, laced with some chilly and coriander powder, courtesy K’s request.

Savoury Strudel

The challenge turned out to be outstanding. Despite my (compulsive) apprehensions and disaster visaulisations, this turned out to be simple to make and fabulous to eat. The flakes were so delicate and despite the use of very little butter / oil in comparison with most other pastry doughs, it was so buttery. The addition of the butter browned bread crumbs was fantastic and added such flavour to the strudel. I couldn’t decide which one I liked better, the savoury or the sweet version. It was love all! For the first time in many months, K was actually looking forward to my baking and paced up and down in front of the oven asking when it would be ready. We had the savoury version for dinner and the sweet one for dessert.

This is one challenge I will be repeating. It is simple to make and makes for a great addition to the buffet table.

Apple Strudel

I did not double the measures as suggested, as I was baking for just two. I divided the dough equally into two and had some of the apple strudel leftover.

Here is the recipe for the filling I used for the savoury version.

1 large onion chopped

3 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and roughly mashed

½ cup peas, frozen or fresh

2 slices low fat cheddar cheese / 4-5 tablespoon grated cheese

1 tablespoon oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon red chilly powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves

In a pan, heat the oil, add the chopped onion and sauté till translucent. Add the salt, pepper, chilly powder and coriander powder and sauté till the raw smell disappears. Add the potatoes and peas and sauté another 3-4 minutes till everything is incorporates. Garnish with the fresh coriander leaves and cool a bit.

To assemble the strudel:

Roll out the dough and stretch as much as you can on a table cloth. I had many gaping holes by this time, but I didn’t panic! I used a pastry brush to brush the dough with melted butter. Spread the bread crumbs all over. I heaped the potato filling on one side of the pastry, leaving a few inches clean to turn over. Dividing each cheese slice into two, I placed the cheese slices over the filling. After folding over the overhang, I used the tablecloth to roll the strudel over. Placed it on a baking pan and baked for 30 minutes. Once done, I brushed it over with some melted butter. It was very difficult to wait for 30 minutes till I cooled. I found slicing it, even with a serrated knife a little difficult as the layers of the pastry were so delicate and fragile. I didn’t want to crush them.

Thanks Linda and Courtney for a wonderful challenge. Do check out what the other Daring Baker’s have lined up for you!

Read on for the recipe …..

Mango Lassi – To beat this blessed heat

Its so hot in Hyderabad, that i wont even make a joke of it. and the one thing that makes the summer a little bearable is Mangoes. Alas,  this time around, with some unseasonal rains in december last year, the mango crop has been dismal. which automatically translates into a dissappointing supply in the market, and what’s available isnt very good either. the fruit are harvested when still green and then ripened. ofcourse the best way to do this would be to allow the fruit to naturally ripen on the tree, or at least not take the aid of chemicals. reality and market conditions are contrary to this and we have had a plethora of patchy, sour mangoes this far.

I usually wait till the “good ones” start coming into the markets, but it was difficult to exercise patience, especially with the heat reminding us it was summer at its worst / best. Was very unhappy that they were unripe and sour. With the heat being what it is, a chilled yogurt based drink with loads of ice is just right. keeps you hydrated and is a great way to start the day especially if you dont feel like a warm / hot breakfast. K and i usually down a lot of buttermilk and lassi during the hotter parts of the year. one favourite is the rooh afza lassi and ofcourse, who can refuse a mango lassi? its ok to use a less than very ripe fruit in this, the sugar more than makes up for it. i used honey to make it a tad healthier. try it, you will love it.

Mango Lassi (makes 2 beer glasses full)

2 cups natural unsweetened yogurt (i used home made)

2 cups skinned and cubed mango peices

sugar / honey to taste (i used 3 Tablespoons)

1/2 – 1 cup water

2 cups of ice cubes crushed

how to make the lassi: put all the ingredients except the ice cubes in a blender jar and whizz for a few minutes using short pulses till everything is incorporated. this will result in a rather thick  liquid. use a few tablespoons of water to get the desired consistency. it should be a tad thinner than condensed milk. check for sweetness and adjust. divide the crushed ice between two talol glasses, pour over the ice and serve.

Instant Noodles – My Favourite Version

Its tough to find anyone who hasn’t had a quick fix meal of instant noodles. In India, Maggi is a generic name for instant noodles and the smallest town / village will have understood you if you ask for it at the grocers. I didn’t take to them till i left home and lived in a hostel! and any home sick person will vouch for the role instant noodles played in keeping them sane when the hostel food got more unbearable than usual!

my preferance for an instant noodle brand is Top Ramen, i find the texture much better, and the seasoning tastemaker isnt as overpoweringly salty like that of the other more famous brand. thankfully so does K and when and if we do buy instant noodles, we buy Top Ramen. i admit, i haven’t eaten as much instant noodles in the first one year after my wedding than i had in all my life put together. what with just setting up home, having no clue what kind of groceries to stock, keeping outrageous hours of work timings and being plain lazy at others, we ate instant noodles at the drop of a hat. after which i banned it from my grocery list for a few years and now its back to being an emergency food. Despite all said and done about how bad processed food is etc, it is a convenience to have some ready to eat / instant food on hand. a few weeks ago when i was a little out of action, K almost lived the entire week on instant noodles and swore he’d eaten enough for a lifetime!

a few nights ago, i had to make dinner to just feed myself and here’s what i made. i like to add vegetables to make it more nutritious and filling and here’s what i made.

My Version of Instant Noodles

1 package instant noodles ( I used Top Ramen) Cooked in 3 cups of water (without the seasoning mix) till just done, drained and set aside.

1 1/2 C Vegetables of choice ( I used red, yellow and green capsicum, carrot, peas and onion in equal proportions)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 pkt instant noodle tastemaker / stock cube

in a pan, heat the oil and saute the vegetables (i added all at once), cover and cook for 2-3 minutes till cooked yet crunchy. add the taste maker seasoning / stock cube and 2 tablespoons of water and stir to combine well. Add the cooked noodles, mix well with the vegetables. Serve hot.

best enjoyed while spending a lazy weekend with a loved one, chilled beer and a movie.

Cheesecake cheesecake… which colour do you choose?

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

While I didn’t wait till the end of the month to do the challenge, I certainly took my time in posting…. Well… I’d be totally out of character if I didn’t trip in after the deadline ended…without offering anymore blah about the how’s and why’s lets just say I really loved this challenge.

To begin with, blueberry cheesecake, that of the classic and now legendary status is my favourite kind. I wallop it every time I have half a chance. Which is everytime we are in a place that can use imported canned blue berries, translated into fancy very expensive places…not to mention cream cheese which is still very difficult to get in india even if you are willing to sell an arm to pay for it!

I’ve always wanted to make it and have scoured the internet and books for recipes. The ones which allow you to use a substitute for cream cheese are overflowing in my bookmarked file. Yeah I am quite the hoarder and never really got down to actually making a cheesecake ever… so when I saw the April challenge, I hoped the dry spell would finally end.

The idea was to be creative….and I went a little berserk… I tried three flavours, cos I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to make. From strawberry, caramel, lemon, chocolate and orange, I weaned myself away and chose black currant, irish coffee and plain simple vanilla. I had a blast. I used a few substitutions and baked mine without the water bath.

I used a mix of curd cheese and tofu and made mine eggless. They turned out great. I will be trying out all the flavours I gave up to choose the ones I finally did. Thanks jenny for a superb challenge. I will think of you every time I make a cheesecake now…

This is the recipe I used. I’ve adapted it from several online sources

Cheesecake (makes 8-10 slices – 8 inch round pan)

For the Crust

1 ½ biscuit crumbs (I used digestive marie biscuits)

2 T sugar

3 T melted  unsalted butter

In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the crust, press gently into the baking dish. Set aside.

I made 10 servings using disposable aluminium casseroles. 2 Single serving ones for the black currant and  larger ones (to serve 4) for the irish coffee and vanilla.

For the Cheesecake

200 gms tofu (firm is the only kind I found)

1 ½ c curd cheese (in a large strainer, cover with a thin cloth such as muslin and place about 4 cups of curd/ yogurt, place in the fridge overnight to remove the whey, the result is firm like cheese)

2 T corn flour

2/3 C Fresh Cream (low fat)

1 T lemon juice

1 T vanilla essence / extract

2/3 c sugar

I added all the ingredients to a blender jar and pulsed on low for about 8 minutes. Checking in between and adding a Tablespoon of water once. The result was an incredibly creamy mixture with a slight tang (from the lemon juice) that I had to stop myself from licking.

Dividing the mixture into 3 parts, I added the flavours and blended well before pouring it into the prepared crust and baking at 175 centigrade for 40 minutes without a water bath. I left it to cool and then chilled it overnight in the fridge before cutting and serving.

Variations:

Black Currant: add 1/3 C of black currant squash to the cheesecake batter and blend well, pour into a prepared crust and bake.

Irish Coffee and whiskey: dividing the batter into two equal parts, i added 3 T of  readymade Irish  coffee sauce and 1 T whiskey to one half and 6 T irish coffee sauce to the other half and poured them into the crust to make a two toned cheesecake.

My verdict:

I loved the black currant and irish coffee. The plain vanilla was too plain when compared to the other two. I should have baked them a little longer I think cos they sort of sank a bit in the middle after cooling. Anyone knows why that happened? the texture was beautiful and creamy. The black currant was in a smaller container and may have overcooked a bit.

Read on for the original recipe here. Do also check out what my fellow Daring Bakers have been upto. The array is stunning!

A Birthday Cake for Neal and a milestone….

I have this friend who lives in the building across us, lets call her D. one balcony in my apartment faces one one hers. We struck up a conversation over a wicker chair one day, and that has led to a refreshing friendship. Because we are at least 40 feet away from each other, (we live in different buildings) most of the time we end up talking rather loudly, much to the chagrin of our respective spouse ot to mention the neighbours. She’s got two adorable kids and initially, k was used as a source of terror when they would give her a hard time. Of course it didn’t last long, because there’s nothing like a goo goo eyed kid to get him to turn all protective, and fear factor with K didn’t last very long.

We keep exchanging food. she plies me with Bengali delicacies and I with my experimentation in the kitchen and with baking. When I mentioned that I made chocolates for a living (now, that feels like a previous life!!) and did a bit of baking she was excited. Then I sent her the caramel cake we made for daring baker’s and she told me she wanted me to make her son’s birthday cake.

Neal turned three a few weeks ago and though I was away at an offsite training workshop, I made this cake a day earlier and kept in the fridge for her. I also made the tomato and cheese layered muffins and butter cookies in the shape of ‘3’ for the big lad. D thinks my version of the helicopter I tried to draw was ridiculous, but they all loved the cake and the other goodies. I can tell you I could do better with drawing helicopters with buttercream icing…. But what the heck!!

This post was written and lying in my drafts since Dec. D and family went to Kolkata for a month’s summer vacation in March. D’s hubby’s career needs him to stay on there indefinitely and this turned all their plans awry. Neal was to go to school this year, with the uncertainty ahead, D decided to stay put in Kolkata and put Neal in school there so that it doesn’t get interrupted. if you don’t know how nightmarish it is to get school admissions in India, then read this. So now it doesnt look likely that i will see them all again, atleast not very soon. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. All the plans of going shopping and having lunch together now remain just as plans! I miss you guys…. yelling over the balcony, rushing out to share something important / trivial….and just checking in to see how you are doing…. yes and i miss the chai you used to offer me when i was tired and cranky after work.

On a happier note, this blog registered one lakh hits a few days ago!! I REALLY didn’t thing this would happen. Thank you my readers, fellow bloggers and friends  …. one by one, you came here and made this happen. I am humbled.

Read on for the recipe of the Cake

Daring Bakers Challenge – Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna

Yahoo!! Yippee!! I’d do cartwheels today if I could!! While its almost time for the April challenge to be posted, i wont be ashamed by the fact that i am posting this almost a month late. various things kept me out of action, but anything for Lasagne!!

I am finally posting the March Challenge of the Daring Bakers which was Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna.  The challenge was hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They chose Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.ge.

Check out what the other’s were upto in March here.

The Daring Bakers group isn’t for the faint hearted. It also isn’t for the lazy. It isn’t for those who sleep through the month and run around like headless chickens because posting day is less than 24 hrs away. Then what am I doing in the group? Don’t ask!

As the month went by, I realized I hadn’t even logged into the new Daring Baker’s site. I knew it was lasagna, but only having eaten it (and loved it) at restaurants, I was terrified of this challenge. I love pasta.  Pasta can be the only food that feeds me for as long as I live if there was no other food to be had. I store it by shape and colour and horde it quite a bit. However, lasagna was a different ballgame. One that I wasn’t sure I would be able to tackle. A chat with a fellow DBer and got some very good tips from her. For instance one of the things I decided to do was make the pasta eggless, after I talked to her . She also shared with me, that the sauces should be quite thin so the end result would not turn out like goop.

With one day to go before publishing date and oh yeah! Not to forget making the lasagna from scratch, I set about finally getting down to business.

What I finally did:

Pasta Sheets:

First the dough for the pasta. I made the eggless version. I pureed the spinach and added it to the dough which I made in my food processor. So the dough had a nice allover green colour and it got done super quickly. All I had to do was give it a final knead before resting it. If there’s one thing I hate about making chapattis, it is getting that icky dough under my nails, I wasn’t about to make an exception, even for handmade pasta! I halved the recipe given. Divided the dough into lemon sized balls and rolled them till i could see my hands when held up against a tubelight.I had enough lasagna for 5 main course servings, plus the scraps I cut up into tagliatelle.

Béchamel sauce:

I followed the recipe and made just half of the quantity. There’s nothing worse than having unused béchamel sauce at home that stares at you in the face, asking for its cheesy soul mate. Not good news for the mid riff. So I steered clear and made a small amount.

Ragu:

I sautéed brinjal and mushrooms in extra virgin olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper and added it to the pasta sauce that I usually make. The sauce can be made in larger quantities and frozen. i use it in gravies and as a dip even.

Pasta Sauce:

4 cups of chopped ripe tomatoes.

6-8 pods of garlic

1/2 c chopped red onion

1-2 tsp red chilly powder

2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

10-12 leaves fresh basil / 1 T dried basil

Whizz everything in the blender. heat 3 T olive oil and add the puree. simmer till cooked and thick. add 1/2 c tomato puree from a can / carton. mix well. bring to a simmer. store/ use as required. for the lasagne i made, i needed just about a quarter of this recipe.

Cheese:

I used grated mozzarella cheese and a little of cheddar.

Assembling the Lasagne:

i made the pasta sheets just before i used them. they were air dried for about 15-20 minutes. I cooked them in boiling water to which a little salt was added. Dabbed them dry on a kitchen towel and followed the layering instructions. I baked it covered  with aluminum foil for 30 minutes, and then uncovered for about 10. when the edges turned golden i took it out of the oven and let it sit about 20 mins before serving.

The whole dish was made at one go and took me about 21/2 hours overall. Considering it was made on a night when I was entertaining at home, and got done despite having house guests to attend to is testament to the fact that it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Two parts that I felt nervous about was, rolling the pasta thin enough and getting the layers right. Rolling wasn’t tough, considering we make rotis almost every day here. I just had to make them much thinner than the rotis. For the layering, I went with Aparna’s advice and kept the sauces thin.

The verdict:

We loved the lasagna. Most of all me!! It served about 5 people comfortably as a main course. the texture and flavours were fabulous. I just couldn’t get enough of it and had it for the next two days for dinner, albeit smaller portions than I would have liked. We had the lasagna along with focaccia that I tried for the first time. Would I make this again? Definitely yes. I can’t think of eating store bought pasta again! Thanks for the fabulous challenge. For forcing me to stretch myself beyond what I thought I could do!

Chocolate Making Classes – 4th April

Dear Chocolate Enthusiasts,

For all those who called and emailed regarding the next workshop, it will be on 4th Apr 2009 at  Hyderabad.

please email me for registrations, details regarding the fees etc. Limited availability.

The details are as follows:

Class duration: 3 hrs starting at 10.30 a.m till 1.30 p.m

Date: 4th April 2009

Venue: Kondapur, Opp Botanical Gardens

Contact: email at arundati.rao@gmail.com