Week 5 of 12WOCT: Besan ke ladoo

by Trisha Vaz
Today, I’m going to share with you a wonderful Indian sweet. This little gems make an appearance at every Indian festival. I love them so much that I can have them anytime of the year. I’m talking about none other than the famous Besan ke ladoo – famous in India atleast 🙂 A “besan ka ladoo” is a little ball made out of sweetened chickpea flour, some clarified butter or ghee and flavored with some cardamom. Though this is not typically made for Christmas, I see no reason why it can’t be included on the platter. Moreover, its simple to make and really quick to put together. The best part is that there is absolutely no wheat flour, this treat uses only chickpea flour, so even those on a gluten free diet should be able to enjoy them. They have a wonderfully nutty taste, they’re creamy in texture and can be topped either with raisins or a piece of cashew nut or really anything else of your choice. I went with raisins this time.

Besan ke Ladoo

1 1/2 cup tightly packed Chickpea flour (besan)
3/4 cup ghee (clarified butter), melted
1 1/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
Some raisins for topping

In a nonstick pan, over low heat melt the ghee and then tip in the chickpea flour (besan). Mix well and cook for about 7-8 minutes on low heat or till the mixture starts smelling nice and nutty. Keep stirring all the while so that it doesn’t burn.

Take off the heat and leave it to cool completely.

Add the sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well and let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes.

Divide into 24 portions and roll into small balls (ladoos). Place a raisin on top and this yummy treat is ready.

Note: If the dough feels too soft when shaping into balls, don’t worry. Shape them anyway and leave them to stand for about 15-20 minutes. The mixture should dry out a little during this time. Then re-shape them into balls and they should hold their shape now.

I placed them in little brown paper cups. You can then easily place them in little boxes to give them away.

Don’t forget to check what the others have put together for this weeks edition of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats hosted by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Dessert, Goan Recipes, Recipes

How to make Marzipan from scratch!!!

by Trisha Vaz
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve received numerous requests from readers for my marzipan recipe used for my Easter goodies. Its taken me this long to post it as I’ve got it scribbled on a tiny piece of paper and I haven’t had much time to hunt for it or type it out. But I finally managed to track it down and type it out. That too, just in time for Easter. So this post is for all of you who’ve waited so patiently for it.

 

 
This Easter, why don’t you try making some goodies at home. Marzipan is a little finicky to get right but I’ve used this recipe that specifies exact time for cooking it. That makes it easier to handle. I’ve used this for years now and find it easier compared to some of the other recipes. I know that traditionally marzipan calls for almonds to be used, however, cashew nuts are more abundant here than almonds are so this recipe uses cashew nuts. 
 
 
Marzipan

 

200gms Cashew nuts, ground to a powder
400gms Sugar
150ml Water
½ tsp Almond Extract
 
Melt sugar in the water over the fire on high heat.
 
After the sugar melts, add the powdered cashew nuts and stir on low
heat for exactly 7 minutes.
 
Remove on a flat dish and add the almond essence.
 
Allow it to cool by stirring with a spoon or spatula.
 
Bind into a dough, color and use as desired.
 
Note:

 – If the marzipan turns too dry add a couple of drops of rose water and knead till it reaches desired consistency.
 – If the marzipan is slightly moister than you’d like, knead with some icing sugar till it reaches the desired consistency.
 – If the dough is too moist, put in back on the fire for a minute or so and stir. This step is usually not needed. I had to do this just once when using a different stovetop and the lowest flame was way to low than what you’d find on a regular stove top.

 
 
 

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, Recipes, Vegan

Curried Red Kidney Beans – Rajma Masala

by Trisha Vaz
A couple of days ago, I found a little treasure. Atleast to me it feels like one. I’ve always loved collecting recipe books or recipes from all over the place in the hope of trying them out someday. About 5-6 years ago, before I’d ever even thought about blogging, I’d printed out a bunch of recipes and filed them, and with time, the file kept growing, but I never really got around to trying too many of the recipes. (The only downside to it was I never really thought about documenting the source of these recipes, so unfortunately can’t credit the source. I will try to hunt them down but haven’t had much luck yet.) Then with the many tasks that occupied my day, not to mention an extremely stressful job, taking care of my home, moving from one house to another, and so on, this precious file of mine somehow fell off my radar and ended up in the deep dark recesses of my book shelf. This my friends, is what I found the other day. I was quite excited and quickly perused through it looking for vegetarian options and to my delight, I found quite a few.

The first one that I tried was the Rajma Masala or Kidney Beans Curry. I’ve tried a couple of recipes for curried Kidney Beans in the past, but this one is my husbands favorite and considering the fact that he doesn’t like kidney beans, that says a lot. I loved the simplicity of the recipe. This one is a keeper.
Rajma Masala 

1 cups red kidney beans
2-3 onions, roughly chopped
3/4″ ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilly powder
2 green chillies, slit
2 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Soak the rajma in water overnight or alteast for 4-6 hours.
Drain, rinse and cook the rajma in fresh water till it is tender. I pressure cook it for 10-12 minutes on slow fire after the first whistle. Drain the beans and reserve the liquid.
Grind the onions, ginger, garlic and garam masala powder to a paste.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and let them sputter without burning them. Add the onion paste. Saute it till the paste has cooked off and the oil separates. 
Add the chopped tomatoes and continue to saute till the tomatoes are soft and have incorporated with the onion paste and the oil starts to separate.
Add the turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and stir well till mixed. 
Add the green chillies and the beans and stir gently to avoid mashing the beans, making sure the spices coat it well.
Let it cook on high heat for a couple of minutes.
Add the reserved liquid that the beans were boiled in till you have reached the consistency you like. You may not need to use all the liquid or if your reserved liquid is not sufficient, you can add water.
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Lastly take it off the heat and add the chopped coriander leaves. 
Serve hot.
Note: Sometimes this is served with a dollop of butter on top.


This recipe is linked to –
Full Plate Thursday

                                        

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Mains, Recipes, Vegetarian

Dal Khichdi

by Trisha Vaz
Here’s a quick post and an even quicker recipe. Khichdi is a rice dish cooked in a pressure cooker for about 10 minutes and seasoned in many different ways, depending on which part of the country your eating it in. I’ve eaten a Dal Khichdi which is a rice and lentil dish and a Paalak khichdi, a spinach and rice dish. I’ve not yet tried making the Paalak Khichdi at home. If you have I’d love if you could share the recipe with me so that I can try it out too. The Dal Khichdi, however, I’ve tried multiple times. This khichdi should be served with some aachar or pickle. You could also serve it with a side of salad or yogurt, if you’d like. I’ve tried a few takes on this and the one that I made a couple of days ago, I think, was my best attempt so far.

Dal Khichdi


1 onion, finely chopped
1 green chilly, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 garlic peels, finely chopped
1 tbsp veg. oil
1 tbsp. ghee or clarified butter
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 cup rice
1/4 cup split lentils (I use whatever I have on hand usually moong or masoor dal. This time I used a combination of both)
1-2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves and tender stems, chopped
Salt, to taste

Wash the rice and the lentils together and let them soak for 10-15 minutes. You can start prepping the rest of the ingredients in the meanwhile.

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add the cumin seeds and let them sputter, taking care not to burn them.

Add the chilly and the onion and saute till the onions are soft and pinkish brown.

Tip in the turmeric powder and stir till well mixed.

Drain the rice and lentils that have been soaking and add them to the cooker. Stir gently to mix everything.

Add salt to taste and 4 cups of water.

Stir gently. Cover the pressure cooker and add the stopper.

Cook on high flame. After the first whistle, cook on low flame for 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let the pressure drop on its own.

Once the cooker can be opened, add the chopped coriander and stir to mix.

Prepare the tempering. In another small frying pan, place the ghee and the chopped garlic. Let it saute gently on low fire till it turns fragrant. Don’t burn the garlic as you’ll lose all the flavor. Add this ghee and the garlic to the cooked rice and stir to incorporate.

Serve pipping hot.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Mains, Recipes, Vegetarian

Peas Pulao … yes please!

by Trisha Vaz
I love peas pulao! There, I said it. This mildly flavored rice dish adorned with little green peas is something that I can eat by itself with a fresh garden salad on the side. Having said that, this rice is usually whipped up in Catholic homes all over Mumbai and Goa for a special meal, be it a festive occasion or a birthday or any other gathering. It pairs amazingly well with a variety of meat curries, like pork sorpotel, chicken cafreal and many, many more, and I can tell you it is a real treat. I look forward to sharing my family recipes for these meat curries with you soon.
 
For now, we’ll get back to the peas pulao. The preparation is really simple and the few spices used add a fragrant warmth to the rice rather than a spicy heat. Don’t let the simplicity of this dish undermine its flavors. Try it out and see for yourself.
 
A lot of folks seem to have trouble with the rice ending up very soft and mushy. This happens for a number of reasons like wrong amount of cooking water, too much stirring while the rice is cooking etc. I’ve made this rice hundreds of  times and have never encountered such a problem. So I think if you stick to the measures, you should be good to go.

 



Peas Pulao


2 bay leaves
1-2″ cinnamon sticks
2 pods green cardamom
4-5 cloves
6 black peppercorns
1/2 large or 1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 cup long grained rice
2 cups water
1/4- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
A handful of green peas
Salt, to taste

If you’re using frozen peas, keep them out to thaw for a while.

Wash the rice and leave it to soak in some water for about 15-20 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Heat the oil mildly in a vessel and add the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns and let them warm up and infuse the oil with their aromas and flavors, taking care not to burn the spices.

Add the chopped onion and saute till the onions and soft and translucent and start taking on a little colour.

Add the turmeric powder and stir well.

Drain the water that the rice was soaking in and tip the rice into the vessel.

Stir gently making sure you don’t break the grains down while stirring.

Once the rice is well coated with the spices in the pan, add the water, salt to taste and the green peas.

Cover and let it cook on a low flame, till all the water has been absorbed.

Fluff up the rice using a fork and not a spoon so that you don’t mash the grains.

Serve hot with your favourite curry.

Please remember that if you’d like to change the quantity of rice used, the rice to water ratio should always be 1:2. That is 1 measure of rice to 2 measures of water to cook it in.

This recipe is linked with –
My Meatless Mondays
Mouthwatering Mondays
Mangia Mondays
A Little Birdie Told Me

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Mains, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Week 9 of 12WOCC: 2nd issue of Double Treats … Coconut Toffee & Milk Cream

by Trisha Vaz
UPDATE: I’ve added a new, better picture for the milk cream and the video recipe for it at the end of the post. The recipe is still the same great recipe. 

As promised in last weeks post, this week as well, I’m sharing 2 lovely treats. One is a little time consuming, the other far quicker. Both of these can be found on the traditional Goan Christmas sweets platter. These are none other than Milk Cream and Coconut Toffee. I simply love them both very much. I remember when I was a kid, my Nana (may she rest in peace), would be solely responsible for whipping up the coconut toffee and to this day I remember, she would tinker about the kitchen for about 15-20 minutes at the most and voila, the coconut toffee was ready. We then simply had to wait for it to cool. I’ve always been a big coconut toffee lover (Bounty being one of my favourite candy bars) but since my Nana passed away, we never made this any more. I wonder why. This year that is about to change.

Now the Milk Cream was a completely different story. You see, neither my Nana or my Mum knew how to make milk cream, but my Aunt used to make some of the best milk cream I’ve ever had to this date. She guarded her recipe with her life. Eventually, I managed to persuade her to share the recipe with me and she obliged. So I came home and decided that I was going to make Milk Cream that Christmas. And make it I did. Little did I know how fickle sugar was. The recipe seemed fairly simple and I figured like the rest of the traditional sweets, it wasn’t done till your arm fell off from all the stirring. How wrong I was. I ended up with nothing close to the perfect Milk Cream that my aunt used to make but with some milk cream crumbs, some really delicious crumbs. I figured that while this couldn’t be shared with friends and visitors, there was no reason why we at home couldn’t enjoy it. So once my crumbs cooled off, I bottled it and we enjoyed this strange version of the Milk Cream for quite a while. When I called my aunt later and told her about it, she told me that my only error was I had overcooked it and thats why the mix had crystallized. She asked me to have a go at it again, but being the teenager I was, once was quite enough. I wasn’t as persistent back in the day. I figured I would just enjoy the generous portion she usually gave us, since she knew it was my favourite.
Years later, with some much needed guidance, I attempted making this again and this time it worked out. I’ve never looked back since. I hope you try this out when time permits you won’t be sorry. It’s a lovely little bite that simply melts in your mouth.
Last week we started with the more time consuming treat first. This week, I’m starting with the quicker one.

Coconut Toffee


1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
A pinch of ground cardamom seeds
A couple of drops of food colour of your choice
Clarified butter for greasing the plate

Place the sugar and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan and place on a medium flame. Cook till it reaches 235ºF on a candy thermometer.

Grease a steel / aluminium plate or cookie sheet using ghee / clarified butter.

When the sugar solution reaches the desired temperate, add the coconut, cardamom powder and food colour. Mix well and take it off the fire.

Pour the mix onto the greased pan and flatten out evenly.

Let it cool for a while and then cut into squares.

Enjoy your coconut toffee!!!

Moving onto the milk cream. It is a time consuming recipe and you will be tempted to turn up the gas. Please don’t. You get a lighter coloured end result if it is cooked on a slow flame. Do not leave it unattended.

Milk Cream

1 litre milk
400g sugar 
100g cashew nuts, ground to a powder
 
Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and continue cooking till is reduces to half the quantity on a very slow flame, stirring occasionally and ensuring that the milk that’s on the sides of the vessel is stirred into the rest of the milk and not allowed to brown there. 
 
Add sugar and keep on stirring. 
 
When thickened, add the cashew nut powder. Keep stirring over a very slow flame till it starts leaving the vessel. 
 
Test to see if done. (Use water test). 


Pour the mixture onto a steel plate and stir to cool a little.
 
Knead it into a dough while still warm. Mould into desired shapes.
 
NOTE: If the dough turns out too sticky add a little icing sugar and knead.




Watch the video recipe here – 


 
 
 

Don’t forget to stop by next week for the 3rd issue of Double Treats.

I can’t wait to see what the others have brought to the table this week. Go ahead and check it out –

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, Recipes

Bombay Street Food Special #6 – Aloo Cheese Frankies – Mumbai Style

by Trisha Vaz
As promised yesterday, today I’m going to share with you a meatless version of the delicious frankie – The Aloo Cheese Frankie. Potatoes and cheese – to me that’s a match made in heaven.

Check out the post on the Chicken Frankie for the naan roti recipe and instructions on how to assemble the frankie.

Aloo Cheese Frankies


For the Aloo Cheese filling – 


2 potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
Salt, to taste
1/8 tsp chilly powder
A pinch of cumin powder
A pinch of turmeric powder
A pinch of amchur powder (dried mango powder)

Mix all the ingredients well. Check for seasoning and adjust if needed.

Here are the details on the recipe for the roti and the frankie assembly.

UPDATE: One thing I’ll probably try out the next time I make this, is I’ll make a long sausage of the mashed potato filling and lightly fry it off on a pan and then use it in the roll. I would love to see how that works out.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Mains, Recipes, Vegetarian

Bombay Street Food Special #5 – Chicken Frankies – Mumbai Style

by Trisha Vaz
Chicken frankies are yet another version of a chicken wrap, but yeah, Mumbai style. I don’t know what it is about wraps, but a lot of cuisines seem to have a version of their own. The Americans have the ever so versatile Wrap, the Mexicans have the burrito, the Asians have the spring roll, the Italians the calzone. In India we call wraps Frankies. It is another version of street food. Its not uncommon to see stalls around the city selling these wraps piping hot. Today, I’m going to show you how to make one from scratch in the comfort of your own home.

The street stalls have many varieties on offer. The Chicken, Mutton, Veg., Aloo, Egg are just a few. Then you also have the option of adding cheese to these wraps. And we know cheese makes everything better. I made a couple of these this time around – the chicken one for the meat lovers and the potato or Aloo version for those of you who don’t eat meat. We love them both. Today I will focus on the Chicken Frankie and stay tuned for the meatless version tomorrow.
Chicken Frankie

For the naan roti –
Makes 8 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp oil
2-3 eggs, whisked well
Mix the ingredients except the beaten egg in a bowl and using water, bind to a soft, pliable dough.
Divide into portions and roll out into a disk about 6″ in diameter. Make sure you don’t roll it out too thin. At the same time, it shouldn’t be too thick either.
Place it on a hot griddle or pan. Apply a few drops of oil on the top and spread it lightly using the back of a spoon. 
Turn it over. Spread a couple of spoons of the whisked egg on this side. (Some vendors use 1 beaten egg for every roll, you may use as much or as little egg as you like. I find about 2 spoons or whisked egg works fairly well.)
Once the egg has slightly set, turn over and cook on this side as well.
Once both the sides have cooked well, take off the pan and keep aside.
Note: I usually cook off all the rotis and keep aside. You don’t want to overcook it, since it needs to be warmed up again, just before you assemble. If you’re just making a couple of these, you can assemble them straight on at this stage.
For the filling – 
250g boneless chicken, cut into small pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1″ ginger, finely chopped or grated
1 – 1 1/2 tsp amchur powder (dried mango powder)
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
4-5 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Heat oil in a pan. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute or so.
Add the chopped onion and fry off till the onion turns golden brown.
Add the chilly, garam masala, coriander and cumin powders and stir well.
Add the tomatoes and stir fry till the spices and tomatoes cook. The oil will start to separate around the edges of the vessel. The tomatoes should lose some of its moisture by now.
Add the chicken pieces and fry off, stirring well. You may add a tiny bit of water to cook it further. You need a moist filling, not a runny one. (I had some leftover chicken that was marinaded and gently cooked. To make you own, check out this post. Since the chicken was already cooked, I simply shredded the chicken and cooked it till it warmed through and absorbed all the flavors. You can add a tiny bit of stock or water if it seems too dry.)
Once the chicken has cooked, add the amchur powder, fresh chopped coriander and mint leaves and salt. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.
Keep aside.
Onion salad mix – 
1 onion, finely chopped
A pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. chilly powder
A few drops lemon juice
Some fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Mix all the ingredients.
I usually keep the coriander leaves aside and use it as a garnish.
To assemble the frankies – 
Chaat masala
Cheese, grated

If you’ve made your rotis in advance. Place them on a pan and gently warm them up. 
Spoon some of the filling onto the roti. 
Sprinkle some of the onion salad on it. 
Sprinkle lightly with some chaat masala if desired.
Sprinkle some grated cheese, if you’re making a cheese version.
Top with some fresh chopped coriander leaves.
Wrap it up nice and tight and serve hot.
Here’s what they look like all done – 
Left – Aloo Cheese frankie
Right – Chicken Cheese frankie
Check back tomorrow for the Aloo Cheese version.
This recipe is linked to – 
A Little Birdie Told Me
Hearth and Soul

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Chicken, Mains, Recipes

Gobhi Parathas

by Trisha Vaz
Parathas are one of my favorite breakfast items. Do you remember the Aloo Parathas and the Methi Parathas? If you haven’t seen those, you really should. Here’s another variation to the stuffed paratha that you can try. The method is the same as the one used for the Aloo Paratha except here we’re going to make a gobhi (cauliflower) filling.

Do you have a favorite paratha? Leave me a comment and let me know what it is. I’d love to try it out!

Gobhi Parathas


For the dough recipe and on how to make the parathas, click here.

For the Filling- 
1 head of cauliflower, washed and grated (Do not use the greens)
1″ ginger, grated
1 green chilly, finely chopped
Salt, to taste

Mix well and use a spoonful of this mix to stuff the parathas.

For details on how to make the parathas, go here.




This recipe is linked to –
My Meatless Mondays

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Bread, Breakfast, Recipes

Aloo Tikkis – Potato Patties

by Trisha Vaz
The last couple of weeks have just passed me by. There are so many goodies that I’ve whipped up during this time, but I just haven’t gotten around to posting any of them yet. To top that I had the craziest weekend. We had the family over for lunch on Saturday, it was so much fun having them over, that’s 11 people and 3 dogs in all. Once they left, I had to focus on a real quick clean up since I had to complete an order of a kilo of handmade liqueur chocolates and a couple of dozen thank you bars for a Monday pickup. By the time Monday  arrived, I was ready to sleep it off. Of course, that was not possible. Even though things were so hectic, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Since I had very little time to put meals together in the last few days, I whipped up some of the quick but good stuff. One such treat is the Aloo tikki, or a potato cutlet. Its comes together fairly quick and is really tasty. I served it as a side but I think it would be really tasty in a vegetarian burger as well. This tikki is fairly versatile and you can add a few finely chopped veggies to it if you’d like. You need to add some bread crumbs to make these a little sturdier than they would ordinarily be. It also adds a lovely crunch to the tikkis.  This would be a great way to serve the kiddies their veggies, in a burger. I think they’d enjoy it. Try it out and let me know how it goes.
Aloo tikkis before frying
Aloo Tikkis

2 potatoes, washed, boiled and mashed
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 green chilly, finely chopped (optional)
Some fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
A pinch of chat masala (optional)
1/2 tsp red chilly powder or to taste
A couple of pinches of cumin powder
1-2 tbsp bread crumbs
Oil, for frying
Mix all the ingredients except the oil well. 
Check for seasoning and adjust if needed.
Shape into small cutlets.
Shallow fry in a pan.
Serve hot.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Sides, Starters / Appetizers, Vegan