Zaiqa

Chana dal, or split bengal gram are an essential item among Pulses in Indian cooking. The other dals most commonly used by indians in their everyday cooking are Tuvar dal or yellow lentils, Masoor dal or Red lentils. These three pulses or dals are the basic source of protein intake in an Indian, chiefly vegetarian diet. Mostly savory dishes are prepared out of dals, but a few of the sweet dishes like the one I am writing today are my favorites.

Chana dal and a block of Jaggery/Gud

My Ammi prepares the following halwa a lot. It brings back many sweet memories from my childhood. It is a simple meetha, which everyone will enjoy, and it is healthy too. It has got chana dal which are rich in proteins, ghee which has got many health benefits and lots of nuts to add flavor and richness.

This meetha is quite subtly sweetish in taste. Once this meetha is done, it is spread out evenly on a flat greased dish and left to set until cool. It is then cut into diagonal pieces, hence called laoz. You can always add more sugar or khoa for flavor according to your preferences. The prepared chana dal or split bengal gram paste is called as ‘Puran’. It is also used as a stuffing for Parathas, just like Aloo Parathas, to prepare ‘Mitthi Roti’, and also as a filling in the ‘Halwa/Puran Puri’ which are the halwa stuffed deep fried pastries/puri which I will write about soon. Khoa and nuts are added to the Puran for that purpose.

Kadai

It is better to prepare this meetha in a non-stick heavy bottomed kadai or saucepan, so that it wont stick to the bottom and burn. A kadai is a deep Indian kitchen utensil. It is wok shaped, has thick walls, usually used to for deep frying purpose. Mine is a new addition to my kitchen utensils, recently gifted to me by my MIL.

Puran ke Laoz – Bengal gram Halva

Ingredients:

Chana Dal – 1 cup
Sugar – 75 grams
Jaggery – 40 grams
Powdered cardamom pods – 1/4 tsp
Khoa – 3 tbsp
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Finely chopped nuts (walnuts, pistachio, almond, pine nut) – 1/8 cup
Slivered nuts – for garnish

Puran ke Laoz – Bengal gram Halva

Method:
-Soak the dal for about 3-6 hours in surplus cool water. Later, drain and wash the dal. Pressure cook the dal in fresh cool water, until it is soft. Let cook until there is little or no water left. Once cool, puree it to a fine paste in a blender.
-Grease a stainless steel thali or any swiss roll tin with a little oil/ghee. Keep aside.
-Put the paste into a non-stick Kadai at medium heat. Add the powdered cardamom powder, ghee, jaggery, sugar and khoa. Mix well and keep stirring continously and let it cook until it thickens, no longer sticks and leaves sides of the pan. It will take around 20 minutes (time depends on the amount of water in the paste). Once done, stir in the chopped nuts. This is the Puran. Put the puran on the greased thali or swiss roll tin and spread it evenly to a thickness of 1 cm or half inch. Flatten the surface using a flat spatula. Once a little bit cool, put it in the refrigerator for an hour to serve later.
You can store these meetha stacked in an air tight food storage box for upto a month.

Luv,
Mona

Chuqandar, in Urdu, also called as Beetroot in English are one of my favorite veggies. This nitrate rich, gorgeous root vegetable is best eaten as a salad, roasted, boiled or steamed and then seasoned lightly for added flavor. They are high in fibre, calcium, potassium, folate, antioxidants, vitamin A and C, minerals and other micro nutrients and quite low in calories. They are also used to treat hypertension and hence maintain a healthy cardio vascular system.

Beetroot – Chuqandar

Be careful when you are working with these ground vegetables, as its juices tend to stain whatever comes in contact, like your hands, chopping board etc.

Beetroots are also commonly referred to as Sweet Beets, as they are very sweet in taste. They have a unique earthy sweetness in them, and are hence perfect for halwa or a dessert to serve on special occasions.

Serves – 2 to 4

Chuqandar ka Halwa – Beetroot Dessert

Ingredients:

Beetroot – 1, medium sized, washed, peeled and coarsely grated
Fat free Half and Half cream – 1 cup
Sugar – 4 to 5 tbsp or according to taste (the amount of sugar depends on the size and sweetness of the beets)
Ghee – 1 tsp
Finely slivered blanched almonds+pistachios – 1 tsp
Raisins + chopped walnuts – 1 tsp

Beetroot Dessert -Chuqandar Halwa

Method:

-Heat a thick bottomed non-stick saucepan at medium heat and add the grated beetroot.
-Pour in the cream and let simmer uncovered on low until most of the cream has been absorbed by the beetroot. Keep stirring it occasionally.
-During the mean time, heat ghee in a pan at medium heat and throw in the prepared dry fruits and nuts. Roast them until they turn golden brown. Reemove from heat and keep aside.
-Add sugar to the cooking beetroot and let cook for a furthur 5 minutes or until the halwa is thickened.
-Serve warm or cold garnished with the roasted dry fruits and nuts in ghee.

I am sending this royal halwa over to RCI-Lucknow cuisine.  

For some more ideas on how to use beets, head over to the healthnut blog.

Luv,
Mona

Basic How To: Yogurt/Curd/Dahi

Preparing yogurt, also referred to as ‘curd’ by Indians, or dahi in Urdu language, the wonder food, a natural antibiotic, at home is quite a simple task. Just like milk, yogurt is packed with good nutrients including protein, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and B vitamins. Probiotic yogurts with active cultures helps reduce constipation and bloating, and boosts immune system function. Yogurt is one of the essential ingredients in Indian cuisine. Its sweet-sour flavor is used in marinating the meats, and to prepare gravies for curries, as a dessert, in face-packs or hair-packs etc.

I often prepare yogurt at home and use store brought yogurt only if I need to get a new starter, or at times when I am out of yogurt and need it immediately for my cooking. Store bought yogurt often has gelatin/pectin mixed in it to enhance the thickness consistency of it, which is very bad news for both non-vegetarians as well as Muslims, because gelatin is not Halal.

Homemade Yogurt

To prepare yogurt you can either use full fat whole milk or skimmed milk, or milk prepared from milk powder, it is your wish. Yogurt from whole milk or full fat milk is definitely thicker and much creamier. The proportion I use to make yogurt is 2 tablespoons of starter yogurt to every 1 litre of milk.

Homemade Yogurt/Dahi:
Makes-2 cups
Note: Make sure you sterilize all the containers and utensils you are using while preparing yogurt

Heat milk until it reaches 180°F/80°C either in the microwave or on stove. Set aside for a few minutes. Let it cool down until the milk is just lukewarm, you should be able to tolerate the heat of the milk on your finger for about 20 seconds or a thermometer inserted should read between 115°F/46°C  (if the milk is too hot or cold, yogurt/dahi will not properly set). Stir in yogurt, either commercial or some of your previous batch, 2 tbsp for each quart or liter of milk. Cover and wrap the container in kitchen towel . Keep it undisturbed to ferment in a constant warm and dark place for around 2-4 hours or overnight. Once set, refrigerate the yogurt to store. Its consistency will firm as it chills in the refrigerator and then slowly continues to acidify. The longer the yogurt is stored, the sourer it becomes
Always save some yogurt as it can be used as a starter for the next batch.

In places where it is warm and humid, making yogurt is quite easy and does not require much attention. You can cover the bowl with the yogurt starter and leave it on your countertop, undisturbed for it to set in around 8 hours.

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Tip: As I currently live in Toronto where the temperatures are usually very chilly during winters, what I do is put the bowl of lukewarm milk on a heating vent and add the yogurt starter, mix it well and cover the bowl with a lid. Wrap the bowl in a towel and leave it to set, undisturbed, for about 6-8 hours or overnight. You will get thick and creamy yogurt by morning.
Some of my friends even use a heating pad at medium heat, below the container in which you are setting the yogurt for a constant supply of heat to aid in its formation.

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Tip:  Many a times it happens that you end up with failed yogurt. You discover that the yogurt has not set at all, and it is just like milk, and you discard the whole thing.
Instead of discarding it, you can prepare two Indian milk products from it:
1. Daan-e-daar Khoa (Granular Khoa): Pour the failed yogurt in a saucepan at medium heat and add about 1 tbsp of lemon juice (to 2 cups of failed yogurt) to curdle the milk and continue cooking. Keep stirring the milk and cook until most of the moisture has been evaporated and the milk is reduced to dry lumpy texture. Remove from heat and transfer to a cup and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate it for a hour so that it thickens/hardens. Remove the prepared Khoa from the refrigerator transfer to a zip-lock sandwich bag and freeze to store for future use, or use immediately.
2. Paneer: Pour the failed yogurt in a saucepan at medium heat and add about 1 tbsp of lemon juice (to 2 cups of failed yogurt) to curdle the milk and continue cooking milk for a few minutes until you see the milk has curdled completely. Carefully strain the curdled milk through the sieve lined with the muslin cloth. Let the whey collect in the bottom saucepan. The whey is highly nutritious. Store it to use later on in other curries instead of water (at this stage if you wish, you can experiment and add a few flavors that you like to the curds in the muslin cloth, like dried herbs, etc. Mix the dried herbs well with the curds and continue). Later, lift the edges of the cloth and tie the corners of the cloth into a bag completely enclosing the curds. Remove the sieve from saucepan and place it in the sink. Place the bag of curds back in the sieve. Set aside under a heavy weight for about 3-4 hours to press to a flat shape about 2 cm thick. Later, transfer the Paneer block to a zip-lock packet and store refrigerated. Use within a week.

This post is my contribution to the event Back to Basics originally stated by Jaya, and currently being hosted by Aqua at Served with Love.

Luv,
Mona

Breakfasts are the *most* important meals of the day and I am one among those people who can just not live without a proper breakfast every morning. Nevertheless, breakfast is most neglected and disregarded by people.

Chocolate Cupcakes/Muffins

These Chocolate cupcakes/muffins are another of my favorite breakfasts. Bake them on the weekends and store in air tight plastic boxes in a single layer, so that your breakfast for atleast a week is ready for you to just pick and go, and what more, these are butter free! They keep well for around a week or so.

Recipe adapted from:Cakes – 1,001 recipes from around the world

Chocolate Cupcakes/Muffins

Ingredients:

All-Purpose flour – 2 cups
Unsweetened Cocoa powder – 1/2 cup
Baking powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Milk – 3/4 cup
Canola Oil – 1/2 cup
Granulated Sugar – 1 1/4 cup
Honey – 1 tbsp
Eggs – 2 large
Semi sweet chocolate chips – 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Spray a 16 muffin-pan or individual muffin cups with cooking oil, or line with foil or paper cups.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
4.  Beat the oil, sugar and honey in a large bowl in a food processor or using an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, until just blended after each addition. With mixer at low speed, gradually beat in the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Cool the muffins on racks.

Luv,
Mona

Pound cakes are my favorite for a quick breakfast. Slice them up, spread a jam of your choice, or enjoy them as it is, and you are good to go until lunch. I usually bake a pound cake once every month. I also savor them along with a cup of warm tea in the evenings. Heres the recipe that I follow –

Source: Everyday Food

Pound Cake
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter – 1 cup (2 sticks), room temperature, plus more for pan
All-purpose flour- 1 1/2 cups, (spooned and leveled), sifted, plus more for pan
Granulated sugar – 1 cup
Vanilla powder – 1 teaspoon
Eggs – 5 large, room temperature, lightly beaten
Coarse salt – 1/2 teaspoon

Sliced Pound Cake

Note: Let refrigerated butter sit at room temperature for 30 minutes; it should hold an indentation when pressed. If your eggs are cold, submerge them in warm water for 15 minutes.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly butter and flour a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan (I used a Bundt pan). In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until very light and fluffy, 7 minutes. Scrape down bowl and beat 1 minute more. Add vanilla, then gradually add eggs, beating well and scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add salt, then gradually add flour, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl as needed.
2. Transfer batter to pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 65 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack before slicing. (To Store, wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days.

Alterations
1. Brown Sugar, Maple and Nut Pound Cake:
Swap 1/2 cup light brown sugar for 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 tbsp pure maple syrup for vanilla.
Fold 1 cup nuts of choice (walnuts, pecans, pinenuts, almonds, etc) lightly toasted and chopped, into batter before transferring to pan.

2. Berry Cornmeal Pound Cake:
Swap 1/2 cup fine ground yellow cornmeal for 1/4 cup flour
Fold 2 cups mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, gently tossed with 1 tbsp flour, into batter before transferring to pan.

3. Double Chocolate Pound Cake:
Swap 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder for 1/4 cup flour
Fold 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or chips, into batter before transferring to pan.

4. Citrus Glazed Pound Cake:
Add 1 tsp lemon zest plus 2 tsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp orange juice to batter along with vanilla and eggs.
Make a glaze by whisking together 1 cup confectioners sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp orange juice until smooth. Pour citrus glaze over cooled cake.

Note: To freeze the cake- When the cake is cool, wrap in plastic. Freeze for upto 3 weeks. Thaw, wrapped, at room temperature.

Cheers,
Mona