"DEEP JALTE JHILMILATE RAHE, HUM AAPKO, AAP HAME YAAD AATE RAHE, JAB TAK ZINDAGI HAI, DUA HAI HUMARI AAP CHAND KI TARAH JAGMAGATE RAHE"
WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS DIWALI
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I have gorged on sweets the entire week as Diwali is just two days away, and gift exchange fever has started in earnest, all well wishers have been visiting my home, so it always helps to have some good homemade snacks ready, like this date fall cake I baked earlier assuming that everyone else has also stuffed themselves with sweets to the point taht even they can't have a gulab jamun more!:), I am craving something saltish and am sure so are you, let's make this awesome gujrati classic!!
Before I START let me tell you that the recipe below is by far the most fool proof, tried and tested recipe with amazing results, my ma-in-law who hails from Gujarat itself has been making dhokla with the exact same recipe for close to 50 yrs, and friends and family specially request for it all the time, yes during Diwali it is a must have on the menu, as some family members come just to eat the dhokla made by her, and use Diwali as an excuse!!
Combine gramflour and semolina together in a large bowl, add the curd and enough water to form into a thick, pancake like batter.In a coffee grinder, add ginger+garlic+green chillies, grind with as little water as possible, add to the gramflour mixture, add salt and turmeric powder, lastly add the soda and mix well.On the other hand keep a large vessel filled with water on the stove, heat till boiling, place a perforated tray on top.Take a thali/tray and grease it well, put on top of the perforated tray with the water simmering below, keep another large plate ready to cover the thali tightly, thus steaming the dhokla thali effectively.Just before pouring batter into thali, beat in the eno fruit salt, do not keep batter after this, it should be steamed immediately.Cover and steam for 20 minutes.Cool and cut into squares before tempering.
To prepare the tempering(tadka)-Heat oil, add all the other ingredients till seeds crackle, turn off flame, add 2 tbsp water, relight stove and cook for 1 minute till syrupy, pour on top of dhokla, let the dholka soak in the syrup, serve.
WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS DIWALI! GOD BLESS!!
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The weather's changed, from really hot summer's to cooler October, you can feel a slight nip in the air, and naturally one tends to gravitate towards more warming foods, with the festive season around the corner, there is also a tendency to indulge, so here's just the cake for you- warming fall indulgence, with a lovely crumb, just like you get at the bakery shop and little nuggets of sweet dates, crisp almonds, and golden raisins, this recipe sure is a keeper!.To make this lovely cake you need-
Cream butter and sugar well till light, add the eggs one at a time, mix well and keep aside.Sieve flour and baking powder together, add the chopped dates, fruit, raisins and almonds into the flour.Lightly fold in the flour into the beaten creamy mixture, add the extract and mix lightly, spoon into a well greased and lined loaf tin.Smooth top.Bake at 150C for about an hour or till a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
This cake is oh-so-perfect for high tea so it is off to Aparna for this month's "Monthly mingle"- High tea treats, brainchild of the lovely Meeta.
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Lotus stem/root also known as kamal kakdi or bhay makes for a delectable curry or side dish, today I made it punjabi style today but I also love it the kashmiri way, in a yakhni or as nadru churma/monje, you see it is called nadru in kashmiri :), any thing you call it, it is so exquisitely beautiful with a earthy flavor that sort of soaks up whatever you put it in.Fresh stems are crisp and crunchy and have a snap to them, here's how you can prepare a delicious curry with it:
There are no hard and fast rules in preparing this kind of a curry, just play along with what you have!.Take about four stems and scrape the top just like you would scrape radishes or carrots, remove top and bottom woody part, now slice somewhat diagonally into longish discs, as you will be able to see that they have a lot of mud sticking to them because they grow in muddy waters, so with a jet spray remove as much dirt as is visible, those who do not have a jet spray tap, wash them well in plenty of running water, as an extra precaution to avoid any grit getting into the curry, I boiled them for 15 minutes, till a fork inserted into one of the discs slips in softly.drain and keep aside.
Mince one large onion with 4-5 cloves garlic and a 1 inch piece ginger, fry in 2 tbsp oil till brown, while onions are browning, heat some more oil in a pan and fry the lotus stem discs till lightly colored, drain and keep aside.Add 1 large pureed tomato to the browned onions along with 1 finely chopped green chilli, 1 tsp garam masala and salt, cook till masala leaves oil, add the fried discs, cook for another 15-20 minutes, adjust seasoning, serve hot with chapatis/basmati rice.ENJOY!
As Diwali is right round the corner, my garden in full of lovely marigolds grown specially for the Diwali pooja :)
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The aroma of freshly baked bread bottled and sprinkled on this blog for you all to savour, could anything be better? BAKE IT, LIFT IT, BROWN IT, SPREAD IT, LOVE IT...That's the story of this pretty loaf for all you precious people, who honour me by reading through my posts...
Combine milk, curd ,butter, sugar and heat till warm to the touch, add in the yeast and leave for 15 minutes till frothy, Add the butter, salt , 1/2 of the egg (reserving half for the egg wash) and the flour, combine well to form a ball of dough, add more flour if neccessary, knead to a smooth elastic dough, oil a bowl and leave dough to rise for 1 hour till double in bulk.
Punch down and form into loaf shape, gently smooth down into a loaf pan, leave for proofing for about 1 hour more, the dough will now rise to top of pan, brush top with egg wash and sprinkle some sesame seeds, bake at 200C for 1/2 an hour, slice when cool.
Did I tell you how I enjoyed a slice- simply by spreading some golden butter and fruit preserve as soon as the bread was out of the oven, loved it with both the butter and jam seeping through and dripping all over...ha heaven!
Soft, milky bread is off to lovely Susan for her weekly showcase of yeasted goods-yeastspotting.
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Easy, easy, easy that is what I was chanting when I made these, I read the recipe somewhere, can't for the life of me remember where, but they stuck me as well, pretty convenient and with just 5 ingredients, the cookies were whirling all around my head, I wondered how they would turn out to be, cookies without flour??Can you believe it?? Get ready for some delicious magic!!...
Combine half cup peanut butter with half cup powdered sugar and half a beaten egg, mix well, I added a splash of vanilla and as a last minute indulgence a fistful of chocolate chips, shaped them into balls and baked at 200C for 20 minutes....that's it!
Ha! didn't I say magic!! No complicated steps, nothing to memorise, no butter, no flour in the fridge?.. don't worry impress your guests with these crunchy nibbles...
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