Recipe : Peach Sheera / Sooji Halwa / Rava Halwa / Sweet Upma / Semolina Pudding - (Vegan option)

Sooji halwa in Mangalore and around is called sheera.

Pineapple sheera / pineapple kesari / kesari bath  is the most common variant of this dish and Hotel Woodlands in Mangalore used to make an excellent version.  However in the recent season, mango sheera has been all over my social media feeds.

Friends and family know my aversion to fruits. The smell of most fruits makes me nauseous.

However, I do enjoy a few types of fruits and I do love a very select few. Preserved peaches are not really fresh fruit, but I Love them.

I found this brand called Brenda’s here in Johannesburg that are organic and low on added sugar that I really love, so I pick up a couple of jars each time.

This time instead of adding sugar to the sheera, I used the sweetness of the raisins and peaches with a little canning liquid.

I'm first going to give you the recipe of regular sheera, that is often served as breakfast or tiffin in Mangalore / Udupi. One of my uncles, loves pairing it with pooris for a more filling start to the day. Our Manglorean version of Poori + Shrikhand I guess.

Mum often gave us this for breakfast before heading off to school

Ingredients :

2 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp raisins - (optional)

1 tbsp broken cashewnuts - (optional)

1 cup fine sooji / Bombay rava / semolina

2 cups milk (or water or a mix of the 2 - the more milk, the richer the taste)

1/2 cup sugar

Method :

Soak raisins in a little water to rehydrate.

Heat your liquid component - milk / water / milk + water to boiling hot.

In a large pan or kadhai, heat the ghee.

Toast the nuts to golden brown if using and remove from the pan.

Roast the soji / rava / semolina on a medium flame until lightly browned.

Now add the raisins if using.

Add the boiling liquid and stir continuously to prevent lumps.

When it smells cooked and starts to come together, add the sugar and mix well.

When it starts to dry, turn off the heat, add cashewnuts and serve hot.

You can also set it on a greased plate and cut shapes when cooled and serve it at room temperature.

Variations & Tips :

You can add 2 pinches of cardamom powder / cinnamon powder / nutmeg powder at the end, for a more fragrant version.

Since the liquid in preserved fruit always seems to get leftover, instead of 2 cups milk + 1/2 cup sugar, I used 1/2 cup canning liquid and 1.5 cup milk.

I think the original recipe would call for about 1 cup sugar, that's way too much for us and I have found that 1/2 cup works well. You may want to adjust the sweetness to your personal preference.

If you are making a fruit version, then remember to account for the sweetness of the fruit.

Fruit Versions - Pineapple kesari / Mango sheera/ Peach sheera ...

For the above quantities, use 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup fruit chopped fine (or even pulped if you want a super smooth version)

If you are using an acidic /sour fruit like pineapple, then the liquid is only water, no milk.

Fruits that are traditionally added are bananas or pineapple, but you can use mangoes, peaches or any other fruit that you have on hand.

The fruit is added AFTER you turn off the gas, as it really doesn't need to cook. It will just be gently warmed in the residual heat of the halwa / sheera.

A Note on Udupi Tiffin Rooms Menus:

Pineapple sheera is called kesari bath - the kesar (saffron) colour often coming from turmeric rather than the more expensive herb.

Kesari bath could also be just a yellow coloured sheera without pineapple - but definitely sweet.

Upma is referred to as khara bath (salty)

So if you see a dish called chow chow bath on the menu, it means one serving of sweet sheera and one serving of salty upma.

Recipe : Gond aur Atte ka Halwa. Indian gum and wheat flour dessert. Kada Prasad

I’ve been craving something sweet for a couple of days. Pre-lockdown that normally meant buying one portion of dessert - cake / macaron / pudding / ice cream. But now I was stuck at home wanting something sweet, with no enthu to bake and I didn’t want kheer, but something with texture.

Aunty Shikha (My brothers MIL) used to whip up halwas so easily when I visited with her in February. Halwa and papad is a regular breakfast in her Rajasthani household. So I decided that a wheat halwa would be simple enough and hit the spot.

This literally took less than 15 minutes to prepare.

I started with a basic Kada Prasad idea - ghee : wheat flour : water : sugar :: 1 : 1 : 1 : 1.

I had gond (Indian gum - see how pretty it is) in my pantry (I think I originally bought it because of how pretty and shiny it is ☺️). Gond is used liberally in winter sweets in Gujarat and UP for its warming properties. Given that it’s winter here, I deep fried the Gond and a mix of nuts before starting on the halwa. Removed them and then added them when the halwa was done.

Ingredients :

1 cup ghee

2 tbsp gond - Indian gum - tragacanth gum - gond katira

2 tbsp nuts (your choice of almonds, cashews, pista)

1 cup wheat flour

1 cup hot water

1 cup sugar

Method:

Heat the ghee in a wide mouthed pan - ideally, a kadhai.

Drop the gond into it, and remove as soon as it fluffs up (a few seconds)

Now put the nuts in and take them out as soon as they are done (again, just a few seconds).

The ghee might turn a bit cloudy after the nuts are fried, don't worry about it.

Now add the wheat flour, stirring continuously, so it doesn't form lumps.

As soon as you start smelling that the wheat flour is roasted (a few seconds), add the hot water.

Stir continuously as you are adding water, so it doesn't form lumps.

Once it starts melding into a halwa, add the sugar and stir continuously.

When the ghee starts to separate from the mixture, your halwa is done.

Mix in the fried gond and the nuts before serving.

Yummy and very satisfying.The husband was delighted with the totally unexpected sweet treat .

For a traditional Gurudwara style Kada Prasad, drop the gondh and dry fruits and follow the rest of the recipe.

Kim's Tip 1 : Since this recipe cooks so quickly, measure all ingredients and keep ready before you start cooking.

Kim's Tip 2 : You can decrease the sugar if you want, but do not decrease the ghee, you can remove the ghee that separates from the halwa before serving, if you are worried about it.

Kim's Tip 4 : Gond can be very sticky like 'gum' when you eat it. If you don't like the sticky feeling in your mouth, you can powder it after you have fried it. It then blends in better and you don't get sticky lumps.

Since this is cooked in ghee, the recipe is vegetarian, not vegan.  My cousin Jenny who runs an organic cafe in Mumbai, recommends substituting the ghee with a nut butter, but given how the ghee is supposed to work in this dish, I’m not sure if any vegan substitute would work here. Let me know if you have any other ideas.

Fridge Cleanout : Bread & Butter Pudding

Homemade bread and butter pudding.

I made it to finish a whole lot of leftovers.

Husband messaged me this morning to say that when he returned tomorrow, he wanted to do one carb dinner @gopalscorner before going back on no carb, no sugar.

When I’d ordered home delivery from @romulocafelondon last Friday, I’d got some of their fantastic pandesan, but barely touched it.

It had dried out over the weekend and I was ready to get rid of it, but when he said another 48 hours of eat anything before going back on diet, I decided to make this pudding.

Greased a baking dish.

Sliced the pandesan buns in half to thin them out.

Slathered some pandan kaya (a coconut milk, egg and pandan/kewra flavoured spread) This was a bottle of really yummy stuff a friend got me from South East Asia, but I’m not a bread and jam or toast and marmalade eater and it was languishing at the back of a cupboard.

You can use butter or marmalade or any jam you like.

I had some dried cranberries and let them soak in water as I prepped the other components.

I didn’t have milk, but when @anu.hasan.uk was here last month, she had got some coffee mate which was also in the cupboard.

When @spiceupthekari visited Venice for her friends wedding last year, one of the takeaway gifts was a small jar of apple chutney / jam made by his nonna.

So I made the custard of this apple chutney, coffeemate, water, 4 eggs and cinnamon to taste. I didn’t add any sugar, because there was enough sweetness from the pandan kaya, apple chutney and coffee mate.

Layer the bread slices, sprinkle some dried fruit and nut, pour the custard to soak the bread. Repeat till all the bread has been arranged and soaked in the custard.

The recipe has to use slightly stale and hard bread, otherwise you will end up with a soggy mess. Let the bread soak in the custard for at least 20-30 minutes. I left it for an hour.

Just before popping it into the oven, I put the top layer of nuts and a few slivers of dehydrated coconut.

Bake at 180C for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Recipe : Hyderabadi Sheer Kurma - Vermicelli Pudding

A low-sugar, but slow cooked bowl of sheer khurma for that festive feeling. (Today is Ayudha pooja at home in Mangalore and Navami at the in-laws in Kanpur) It’s a Persian influenced - Hyderabadi vermicelli pudding.

Sheer Kurma is similar, yet different from the sevai ki kheer of North India and the vermicelli payasam of South India.

I used raisins instead of the traditional dates, but I got the “right” type of vermicelli from an Indian store in Brick Lane. These are much longer strands than the regular vermicelli.

Recipe :

Quickly fry a handful of raisins and cashewnuts or almonds in some ghee.

Roast the vermicelli in the same ghee.

Turn your flame to medium.

Add warm milk and slow cook until the milk thickens and the vermicelli is soft.

(Start with 2 measures of milk for 1 measure of vermicelli and keep adding milk)

Keep adding milk, so that the consistency isn’t sticky.

You want a smooth pudding consistency.

Add sugar to taste

And keep stirring gently, so that the milk and sugar caramelise together.

I left it a little more liquidy overnight, so it could absorb some more. But this is optional.

Garnish with powdered cardamom seeds or a few more roasted nuts.

A hint of rose water or saffron is also a lovely option for a different taste.

Served hot for breakfast or as a dessert.

To make it vegan, use coconut milk instead of regular milk.

It’s a simple recipe, but requires patience, constant monitoring and stirring.

I also don’t like having anything else going on the cooking top when making milk based sweet stuff, because I feel their delicate nature absorbs the other smells of food being cooked. But that’s me.

Recipe : Rice Kheer / Payasam - Happy Diwali

This Diwali we really didn't have the time to make a major celebration out of it. I've started another course (with Oxford this time), signed up for some other commitments and he had to work late on the 19th. I had signed up for a lecture at the Royal College of Nursing on Food and Culture.

Also, we are still eating light, so no snacks or deep fried or store bought sweets this year. But Ganesh needs something sweet to be offered as prasad, hence this light kheer with most of the sweetness coming from raisins.

While this time I made it really light on sugar, the recipe I give below is my normal recipe with a full tin of condensed milk. You can halve that and increase the raisins, or ignore the condensed milk and use sugar or only raisins / dates (but then you have to cook it for longer)

Ingredients :
100 gms / 1 katori basmati rice rinsed and soaked.
1-2 tbsp ghee
1 handful broken cashewnuts
1 handful raisins (rinse and remove the stalks if any)
1 liter milk preferably at room temperature or warmer
1 cardamom (if you want stronger flavour crush before using)
1 tin condensed milk - carnation / milk maid
pinch of saffron or cardamom powder (optional)

Method :
Take a large pan, preferably non-stick.
Heat the ghee.
Fry the cashewnuts till light brown, remove from pan with a slotted spoon.
Saute the raisins lightly and remove with a slotted spoon.

Now drain the rice and add it to the pan. Fry for 1-2 minutes
Lower the heat to medium and add the milk and cardamom.
Let the rice cook completely in the milk.
If it is a non stick pan, it won't need to be stirred, but you can keep stirring gently if you like.
Keep an eye on it, so it doesn't bubble over when the milk boils.
Stir or lower the heat, if it is on the verge of bubbling over.

Once the milk is cooked, add the condensed milk and most of the raisins.
Keep cooking on medium heat, until the kheer is nice and thick.
Sprinkle the saffron or cardamom powder on top if using.

The kheer can be served hot immediately, at room temperature or chilled.

Garnish with fried cashewnuts and raisins.


Tip :
Cold milk has a higher chance of splitting, so better to bring the milk to room temperature.

If you like the flavour of cardamom, you can use more, crush it and add it when frying the rice  instead of waiting to add it with the milk.

I prefer to leave the cardamom whole and add it with the milk. This imparts the flavour of cardamom, without the bits exploding in my mouth when eating (its too strong a spice for me to bite into)

Recipe : Mango Fool

There's an abundance of ripe mangoes in my freezer. In the summer, we get boxes of mangoes home and then once they have ripened, I clean and chop them and freeze them in smaller boxes and then defrost them one at a time to last the rest of the year

The husband loves to have them mixed into his morning muesli or cereal and the watery bits I normally blend into milkshakes for him.

However, this time there is so much mango in my freezer, that I'm running out of space for freezing my meat, so I dug up an old but easy recipe for a dinner party that we had the other day. Everyone loved it and its so fast to prepare.

 Ingredients :
1 kg ripe mangoes (any variety that you like)
1 tin milkmaid condensed milk
3 cardamom pods
Sliced nuts for garnish (optional)

Method:

Remove the cover of the cardamom pods and coarsely pound the seeds in a mortar and pestle.
Skin the mangoes and separate the flesh.
Puree the mango flesh in a blender until smooth
Add the condensed milk and the powdered cardamom seeds and blend till well mixed.
The condensed milk and the mango are normally sweet enough to not require any additional sugar, but taste and check.
Chill until ready to be served.
Garnish with sliced nuts. I used almonds.

It keeps well in the fridge for over a week.

Kim's Leftover Tip :
The cardamom seed covers can be added to your tea leaves / powder for flavour.

Leftover Mango Fool can be blended with milk for a milkshake.

You can even wash out the blender with milk for a great milkshake.

Recipe : Sanjukta's Mum-In-Law's Drunken Dates - Cornflakes Cake (Eggless)

My friend Sanjukta, recently shared her MIL's (Mrs Ranju Dutta) Drunken Dates - Cornflakes Cake Recipe. This time, the recipe was a little more detailed than her Assamese Pork Fry recipe :)

Since the recipe needed no butter or eggs or maida (all purpose flour) or sugar, I thought it would be a great after dinner dessert (we have stopped having desserts after dinner for calorie control - they can only be consumed after lunch right now)

Sanjukta's original recipe can be viewed at the end of this post, I made a few modifications, I skipped the whipped cream topping and added more dates and rum and used a mixture of wheat and cornflakes to up the fibre quotient.

The taste was quite yum with the rum soaked dates giving a blast of flavour in between bites, but when I made it the texture wasnt very cakelike, it was more like slightly soggy cornflakes. Husband did not mind it with the freshly chopped chilled mangoes, but I'm not sure if I would try this recipe again. It is however an interesting variation. Most of this "cake" got consumed as a slightly boozy weekend breakfast :)

It can also be made without the alcohol.

Ingredients :
1 handful dried dates
enough rum to cover the dates.
2 pinches cinnamon powder
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1 standard bowl (large katori) of cornflakes
1 standard bowl (large katori) of wheatflakes / branflakes
1 1/2 cups of milk
Fruit to serve

Method:
Soak the dates with little water and the Rum.
If you want to keep it non-alcoholic, use only water and omit the rum
Add the cinnamon and nutmeg powders.
(you can even add a hint of ginger powder, I think the flaour would work well)

After half an hour or so, the dates should get soft. So de-seed them and lightly mash by hand.
If the dates are really dry, then you can make a coarse paste in the mixi.

When your dates are completely prepped, in a bowl, add the cornflakes, wheatflakes and the milk (Just enough to soak the cornflakes).

Lightly mash it by hand (we don't want it pasty, crumb texture will work. is just fine.

Then add the mashed dates to the mixture and taste if its sweet enough (Normally the dates are sweet)
Adjust sugar if required and mix thoroughly.

Lightly grease a baking dish, add the Dates-Cornflakes mix and in a preheated oven, bake it at 180 deg for about 25 minutes.

Slice and serve hot or cold with fresh fruit.

Sanjukta / Ranju Dutta's Original Drunken (Rum) Dates - Cornflakes Cake

1)Dates- one fistful
2) Rum- about 30 ml
3) 2 standard bowls of cornflakes
3) 1 1/2 cups of milk
4) Whipped Cream
5)Butter for Greasing the baking dish

PROCEDURE:

1) Soak the dates with little water and the 30 ml Rum. De-seed it as it gets soft and mash it using hands. In case you are using the dried variety of dates, just run the mixer to make a coarse paste of the dates.

2) In a bowl, add the cornflakes and the milk (Just enough to soak the cornflakes). With your hands mash it up (We do no want a fine paste), so crumb texture is just fine.

3)Once done, add the dates to the cornflakes and taste if its sweet enough (Normally the dates are sweet and adjusts to the requirement of sugar). Mix it thoroughly.

4) In a baking dish, add the Dates-Cornflakes mix and in a preheat oven, bake it at 180 deg for a period of 25 minutes.

5)Once done, let it cool and turn the dish upside down. Once the cake comes off to the plate allow it to cool. Put it in the fridge to chill.

6) Beat Whipped Cream (I added a drop of orange colour to the cream). Pour it over the cake and again chill it for another hour plus.

Simple, tasty and healthy cake is ready to be savoured. I am enjoying my piece with my evening cup of tea

My Fantasy Dinner Party!

Someone asked me, what would be my ideal dinner party menu.

Now, I've cooked for and hosted multiple dinner parties - from sit down dinners for 4 to buffet style dinners for 50+ people. The largest party I've ever hosted though was in 2006 for Diwali in Cairo. Our house was an open house throughout the day - with our closest friends coming in early for a late breakfast and staying on until late night for cards and groups of people who were invited throughout the day, for lunch, tea, puja, dinner or late night snacks. I think the number of people who ate at home that day crossed a 125. And except for a few friends who brought in some dishes for lunch, everything was cooked at home, by me with some assistance from my friends and my aunts who were visiting us.

But coming back to my ideal menu, I considered multiple options, but finally realised that the star of the evening would have to be biriyani - my absolute favourite dish and the rest of the menu would have to revolve around it. Also, my ideal dinner party size would be 10 (including us) - so we could have great freewheeling conversations together, rather than breaking up into smaller groups.

As soon as our friends arrive, we would greet them with chilled strawberry flavoured iced tea in tall Glasses. This will be a lovely way for them to cool down from the blazing heat of Ahmedabad, before the procession of heavy food to follow.

A few bowls of honeyed coconut nuts would be scattered around on the side tables, so people can help themselves to some sweet and spicy, crunchy goodness, while waiting for everyone to arrive and for the hot snacks to be freshly prepared.

The tiranga chicken tikka kebabs would be previously marinated for around 24 hours and freshly grilled when all the guests arrive. Juicy succulent morsels of boneless chicken in 3 flavours. A delicate red chicken tikka in a chilli + ginger garlic paste and yoghurt marinade, a creamy white malai tikka marinated in ginger garlic + cashewnut paste and cream with some kasuri methi and a hariyali tikka with a green chilli and fresh coriander marinade. These would be served in alternating colors in a beautiful chip and dip bowl with a spicy mint chutney in the center.

Next to follow would be beautifully soft and smooth Shikampuri Kebabs in individual Mini Plates. A crisp coating, followed by smooth spicy mutton paste and a surprise of crunchy onions marinated in lime juice at the center.

Jugs of non-alcoholic mojitos and chilled badam milk (we are currently living in a dry state) would be on hand, to cool the mild burn of spices in the kebabs and chutney.

The next course that I would like to offer my friends would be the exotic Hyderabadi speciality of haleem. Mutton and wheat cooked together for hours with special spices until it all blends into one creamy mass of deliciousness, topped with some crisply fried onions and freshly torn mint leaves. Since its easy to get stuffed on just haleem, I would serve it in Individual portions.

The main course of biriyani would be served on the dining table. While 10 people would be a bit of a squeeze, biriyani is meant to be shared at a table. I love assembling the biriyani in a glass Cook and Serve dish, before the final dum. This tends to show off the beautiful layers of milky white rice and rich delicious chunks of chicken in spicy masala. The transparent glass top, gives a peek into the mild yellow saffron stained top layer of rice. And this dish has to be opened at the table. The aroma that escapes when the dish is finally opened is meant to be shared by all and not just a guilty selfish pleasure of the person cooking it.

Bowls of birasta - crisply fried onions with a crunchy texture and sweetish taste and kachumber - a cucumber, tomato, onion and coriander salsa would be on the table, so each guest can serve themselves according to their personal preferences.

Individual katoris of creamy piquant onion and green chilli raita would be served to all.

Given that dinner has only biriyani on the cards, I would go a bit overboard on dessert. A light and airy Mango and Cardamom Cheesecake served in a Fluted dish would be a dessert with Greco-Roman roots, but with Indian flavours.

A large Bowl each of gooey Gajar ka Halwa with crunchy slivers of almonds and a smooth, creamy and soothing Sevvaiyan Paysam / Vermecilli Kheer with little nuggets of fried raisins that pop in the mouth with a burst of flavour.

Our guests could serve themselves, their choice of desserts and I would hope that they would try all 3.

Knowing our friends, we still wouldn't be done talking by the end of dessert, so after such a heavy meal, they would definitely need something to wash it down, while we continued gabbing into the night. While I think that a pot of Suleimani chai or the Bedouin Shai with their minty fresh taste and digestive properties would be perfect for this purpose, I would also offer my guests a selection of green teas.

We would be forced to say goodbye around 5am, so that we could get a couple of hours of shuteye before the next days program begins.

So, what would your ideal dinner party be?

-------------------------
This is my entry for the My beautiful food contest on Indiblogger.

Happy to share that I am one of the 50 bloggers shortlisted for Round 2 from over 350 entries.

Recipe : Ayurvedic Dates Kheer

This is another lovely recipe from Jigyasa & Pratibha's "Sukham Ayu - Cooking at Home with Ayurvedic Insights"


Its made without any sugar or jaggery and is naturally sweetened by the dates. If it isn't sweet enough for you, you can add some jaggery or rock sugar to maintain its Ayurvedic nature.

The book, gives details on why Dates are good for you and which constitutions it works best for. If you are interested in eating right for your body, depending on its constitution, you SHOULD pick up a copy of this Cookbook.

Ingredients:
15-20 pitted dates, washed and chopped fine (dried, not fresh)
4 cups cow's milk (for Ayurvedic Reasons, you can use any milk of your choice)
8-10 strands of saffron
1 tsp wheat flour
pinch of nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp cow's ghee

Method:
Bring the milk to a boil and allow it to simmer

Take 1 tsp warm milk into a bowl and rub the saffron in it to release its flavours and the milk turns orange. Keep aside.

In a thick bottomed pan, heat ghee, add the dates and saute for 2 minutes on a low flame.
Sprinkle wheat flour over the dates and saute for another minute.

Slowly add the milk, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Cook on low flame for 7-8 minutes. If you want it sweeter, add some powdered rock sugar. (Jaggery does sometimes curdle hot milk, so if adding jaggery, add strained jaggery syrup after cooling the kheer)

Stir the prepared saffron into the kheer, with nutmeg and cardamom powders. Switch off the flame.

Enjoy a small helping at the end of your meal as a digestive.

Recipe : Sevvaiyan Payasam / Vermicelli Kheer

I've posted a recipe for Vermicelli Kheer before, actually around 3 years back. Much has changed since then, we have become a little more health conscious since then, cream and sugar are being minimised in our diet and we are trying to find lighter alternatives to heavier foods.

This is a really fast recipe, there's absolutely no chopping or anything required. simple ingredients, simply made.

Ingredients:
1 packet vermicelli (roughly 175gms, little less is better than more)
1 litre milk
2 tsps sugar
1 tin milkmaid
100 gms cashewnuts
2 tsps ghee / semna / clarified butter (substitute with white butter if you need)
a pinch of powdered cardamom seeds (optional)

Method :
In a wide mouthed pan, heat the ghee.
Fry the cashewnuts in the ghee and when browned, take them out of the pan.
Now roast the vermicelli in the same ghee.
Once the vermicelli is browned, add the milk haltingly (so that it doesn't clump) and keep stirring.
When the vermicelli is half cooked, add the sugar and then the milkmaid and keep stirring and scraping the sides where the milk turns sticky.
When almost done, add the cashewnuts, give it a light boil and turn off the fire.
Sprinkle the powdered cardamom on top if you like.
Serve hot or chilled.

Recipe: Vorn - Manglorean Lentil Paysam/Kheer - (Vegan)

This is a kheer that nana used to prepare for us as kids. We were often served this at tea time. The lentils in this dish make it high in proteins and hence extremely nutricious for growing children.

Also, since this particular dish is made with moong dhal (split green gram), its very light on the stomach and easy to digest and can be given to people recovering from fevers and other illness.

This dish uses coconut milk and hence unlike other Indian paysams/kheers which use regular cows/buffalo milk, this can be served to vegans too.

Ingredients:
1/2 kg moong dhal (split & husked green gram)
1/2 kg jaggery/gur (molasses are an acceptable substitute)
1 cup rice flour
400ml thick coconut milk (extract of 2 coconuts or packaged coconut milk)
powdered cardamom seeds to taste (optional)
salt to taste
roasted cashewnuts to garnish (optional)

Method:
Wash the dhal and soak for awhile till soft (moong dhal cooks quickly, so soaking isn't really required, but it helps speed up the process and saves fuel)
Extract the thick and thin milk from the coconuts if using fresh coconuts.
Boil the dhal in water and thin coconut milk (if you are using packaged coconut milk, you can mix 2 tsps thick milk with a glass of water) until soft.
The total liquid used when you start should cover the dhal + 1-2 inches.
If you find scum/thick froth rising to the top, skim and discard, but add more water to maintain the liquid level.
Always ensure that there is enough liquid, so that the mixture can bubble and not stick to the bottom.

When the dhal is cooked, add a pinch or 2 of salt and the jaggery/gur/molasses.
Remember the sweetness of jaggery/gur/molasses varies widely, so start with 1/4kg and then keep adjusting to your taste.
Keep stirring constantly till the jaggery is fully dissolved and the dhal has begun to absorb the sweetness.

Make a batter with the rice flour and water, until it is of pouring consistency.
Slowly stir in this batter into the dhal, stirring constantly to prevent the formation of any lumps,
Keep stirring the dhal and boil well
Cook until the vorn reaches your desired consistency and the flour is cooked (loses its raw taste).
Add more water if it is too thick and rice flour has not yet lost its raw taste.

Once the vorn has reached your desired consistency, lower the flame and add the coconut milk and bring to a slow boil while continuing to stir.

Cook on low flame until you are satsified with the consistency, then take it off the heat.

Traditional consistency is slightly thick, not as thick as a pudding, but slightly more liquidy than that.
When you scoop out a spoon of vorn, the rest of the vorn should fall in to occupy the negative space.

Vorn is served either hot or cold.
Before serving, sprinkle a little cardamom powder or garnish with roasted cashewnuts.

Kim's Tip:
If you don't have access to jaggery or gur, you can use molasses, but don't use sugar as the main sweetening agent.

Warning:
When you look at the orginal quantities, you may be tempted to use a smaller pot. But the dhal expands when cooked and you need a large margin on the top for the constant stirring. So for these quantities (1/2kg dhal) use at least a 7 liter pot

Recipe: 10 Minute Nutella Cheesecakes

First off, this isn't strictly a cheesecake. I just needed something creamy and chocolaty with a bit of saltiness and crunch and I wanted it ASAP at 11pm in Ahmedabad.

I had some mascarpone cheese that I had bought on a recent trip to Bombay, so I decided to use that and make a practically instant dessert. It took me less than 10 minutes once I'd made up my mind, to have the finished ramekin in my hands. Honestly, its taken me longer to type up this recipe, than it did to assemble it.

Ingredients:

200gm digestive biscuits (I used McVities, if you don't have access to digestive biscuits, you can use Marie biscuits, but it wont have as much texture)
200gm mascarpone cheese (use a good brand, else it will split and ooze liquid - I use Impero brand)
2 tbsp butter (yellow if you want a bit of saltiness)
2 tbsp nutella (adjust for personal sweetness & chocolate love)
2 tbsp cashewnut bits (optional)
4 ramekins

Method:
Line each ramekin with 1/2 tsp of cashewnut bits if using.
Using a rolling pin, crush the biscuits inside the packet itself by rolling with a bit of pressure, but watch the seams of the packet, so nothing pops out.
Divide the powdered biscuit between the 4 ramekins.

Drop 1/2 tbsp butter in each ramekin and pop the ramekins in the microwave for 30 seconds (or less - untill the butter melts completely).

Gently mix the mascarpone and nutella with a spoon (Since I had a 200gm container of mascarpone, I mixed everything in the same container)

Take the ramekins out of the microwave and gently mix the biscuit, nut, melted butter together.
Split the nutella+mascarpone mixture equally in the 4 ramekins. Don't worry about evening it out, it will automatically flatten out when it starts to melt.
Don't fill the ramekins too high, the mixture will rise a bit when its heated.
Pop the ramekins in the microwave for 1.5-2 minutes. The nutella+mascarpone mixture should melt and bubble just a little.
Take the ramekins out of the microwave, let them rest for a minute or two and then eat straight out of the ramekins.

Kim's Note:
The texture will not allow it to be turned upside down, as it won't hold its form. It will still be a bit gooey, so its best served in the ramekin that it is microwaved in.

Recipe : Vermicelli Kheer (Indian Sweet dish)

Vermicelli Kheer is a very popular Indian sweet that is prepared across the country. Each household may have a different version of the dish. I have eaten versions with dates in the Middle East and with mashed bananas and jaggery in South India.

My recipe does not use raisins, as most of us in our family don't like raisins in our sweets.

Remember with most Indian sweets, while you can substitute splenda for sugar, there is no substitute for full cream milk. Its pointless to try and make an Indian dessert with skimmed milk. You will never get the right consistency and texture.

Ingredients:
100gms vermicelli
1 litre full cream milk
10 almonds finely sliced
10 pistas finely sliced
1tsp chironji

1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar (I mix 2 tsp of brown sugar to get a caramel colour in the kheer)1tsp ghee
2 green cardamoms crushed and seeds powdered
kewra water for fragrance

Method:
Heat the ghee in a pan and roast the vermicelli in it.
When the vermicelli starts to turn brown, add the nuts and roast a little longer.

 Add 1 liter milk and keep stirring constantly to ensure that the vermicelli does not clump up.

Keep stirring, when it starts to thicken up, add the sugar, cardamom powder and a tsp of raisins if you like.
Keep cooking till done to required consistency.
Add a little kewra water for fragrance.

The kheer can be served hot or chilled depending on preference. We normally have chilled kheer in summer and hot kheer in winter.

(Kim's Tip: With vermicelli kheer, the kheer may start to thicken as it rests. Add a little more milk and stir to get it back to required consistency)

Recipe: Nutella and Nut Rippled Ice Cream

The ice cream flavours I have swimming in my head, can't be matched by any ice cream chain. Yet its not very easy to churn out ice creams at home, without an ice cream maker (hint hint to the husband)

While its easy to churn out sundaes with store bought ice cream, why not take it to the next step? All you need is imagination and a large bowl.

I always have a brick of vanilla ice cream in the freezer and that's all you need. In Delhi, I prefer to use Mother Dairy's ice cream.

Kim's Tip: I transfer the brick out of its cardboard box into a freezable plastic box, so I can easily cut out a bit whenever I'm in the mood for ice cream without a mess. Also, inside the box, the ice cream doesn't absorb other smells from the freezer, so it lasts much longer.

 I absolutely love Nutella. For me, its truly happiness in a bottle. 1 tsp is a sure mood lifter for me. So I always have a bottle or 2 in my pantry.

This is so easy to assemble, you can either mix an individual bowl for yourself, or refreeze after mixing and serve your own signature ice cream at your next dinner or party.

The pictures are of a bowl I mixed for myself, so its not very "neat", but I thought it was a recipe worth sharing.

Take 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in a bowl.
Using a pastry cutter or sharp spoon, roughly cut up the ice cream into uneven bits.
Drizzle 1 tsp of nutella over the ice cream.
Sprinkle 1 tsp of roasted cashewnuts.
Now mix thoroughly and reform into a ball or pack tight into a box (if serving later)
You can refreeze this mixture until ready to serve or dig in immediately.
I also like to sprinkle a crushed amaretto bisuit on top after reforming.

Other options:
You can mix finely chopped fruit (don't refreeze for too long if using fruit), nuts, baby marshmallows, m&m's, bits of chocolates, syrups. Your imagination is the only thing that can limit you, so unleash it and go crazy.
Remember, don't freeze fruit or ingredients that can turn soggy for too long.

Kim's Tip: To roast nuts, just warm a pan and rol the nuts around for awhile till they brown slightly.

Let me know what combinations you try and how it goes :)

Recipe: Watermelon Juice

This is my number one favourite drink in the summers, the only other drink that comes close is chilled tender coconut water (bonda neeru). It is a little troublesome to prep, but the end product is soooo worth it.

The reason, my recipe is troublesome is because I de-seed the watermelon completely before juicing it.You can blend it with the seeds and then strain the juice, mum swears this is healthier as the seeds have some healing properties, but I gleefully substitute taste for extra-healthy. I find the seeds impart a bitter taste and little bits of seeds still manage to find their way through a strainer.

I chop and deseed the entire watermelon and keep it in the fridge. Then each time we want some juice, I just whip it up in the blender.

I do not normally need to add any water or sugar to the juice, but it depends on the melons that you use. You can add chilled water or ice if you like. Since I keep the chunks in the fridge, it doesn't require additional chilling. Its ready to drink as soon as it is blended.

Normally, between the 2 of us we finish off a complete watermelon within 3 days either by juicing it or eating the cleaned chunks for breakfast/dessert.

Variations:
Dress the cleaned watermelon chunks with condensed milk or whipped cream for a fancy looking dessert.

When making watermelon juice, you can add
-freshly grated ginger
-mint leaves
- a squeeze of lime/lemon juice
for a twist in the flavour
 (In the picture above, I have used a little ginger as you can see)

This juice goes very well as a mixer with vodka or white rum.

Recipe: Batega - Goan Coconut Cake

This is a Goan recipe. It is baked like a cake, but the consistency isn't what you would normally expect in a cake. It isn't light and fluffy. Its slightly heavier. A cross between a burfi and a cake if you will.

There is a lot of standing time for this cake, so if you start preparing it at lunch time, it will be ready just in time for tea.

It tastes best when eaten warm. And ice cream does improve the taste of everything, does't it? :)

Ingredients:
1/2 kg sugar - 2.5 cups
450 gms rawa / semolina- 3 cups
2 medium or 3 small coconuts ground fine
6 egg yolks (I use the whites for batter frying something or just whip up an egg white omelette)
2-3 tbsp ghee / clarified butter / semna
1/2 tsp almond essence (badam)

Method:
Make a syrup with the sugar and 1.5 cups water by bringing it to a boil.
Cool the syrup.
Add rawa and allow it to stand for 2 hours.
Mix in the ground coconut

Whip the yolks in a different bowl.
Stir the yolks into the rawa-coconut mixture alternating it with the ghee.
Add the almond essence and mix well.
Allow it to stand for one hour.

Pour into a greased cake tin. Bake at 190C (375F) for 45 minutes or till done.

Slice and serve while warm.

The ice-cream is optional.

This is Maria Thereza Menezes version of this recipe from :The Essential Goa Cookbook