Recipe for Diwali Okkarai

Recipe for Okkarai

This is a jaggery-based, low-fat sweet made from chana dal / kadalai paruppu, does not require much ghee - perfect for health conscious folks.

Ingredients
1 cup chana dal
1 cup jaggery

5-6 cardamoms
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
2 tbsp gingelly oil / you can use ghee if you dont have this oil
1-2 tbsp ghee for frying cashews
10-12 cashews, halved
2-3 tbsp of raisins



Preparation
Chana Dal
Dry roast the chana dal till golden brown and aromatic. This will take 7-8 minutes on medium heat. Soak this roasted dal in lots of water for 3 hours or so.
Coconut
Dry roast the coconut flakes till golden and aromatic. This will take around 5 minutes on low flame. Keep aside.
Cardamom
Remove the skin, grind the seeds along with a tsp of coarsely granulated sugar in mortar-pestle till you get a fairly fine powder. Keep aside.
Cashews and raisins
Heat 1-2 tbsp ghee and fry them till cashews are golden. Keep aside.



Directions

1. Grind the soaked chana dal to a fine paste, adding as little water as possible, to get a fairly thick doughy paste.
2. Place 3 cups of water in a big pressure cooker (5L+) / steamer. Make loose dumplings of the ground dal and place in a deep, big vessel that fits in the cooker.
3. Close the lid of the cooker MINUS the weight- so you use it as a steamer.
4. Steam the ground dal for 20-25 minutes on medium flame. Open the cooker after a few minutes and let these steamed dumplings cool.
5. Now, you can either grate these cooled dumplings or crumble them with your fingers. The former gives a more uniform look to the sweet.
6. In a large wok, hear 2-3 tbsp of gingelly oil (Nalla yennai) and fry the crumbled / grated dal mix on a low flame for 5-7 minutes. Keep aside.
7. Instructions for the Vella-paagu (Jaggery-pak)

Place 1/2 cup water in a heavy bottom pan.
Add 1 cup of crushed jaggery to this and let it melt on a high flame, with constant stirring.
Once the jaggery has melted thoroughly, lower flame and keep stirring.
In 7-8 minutes the mixture will get a deep colour and start thickening.
Keep a small plate handy, and pour a drop or so of this onto it, every 2-3 minutes.
Try rolling this drop between your thumb and index finger. If it turns into a ball and makes a sound when you drop it on the plate, your jaggery-pak (vella-paagu) is ready for the okkarai.

8. As soon as your paagu reaches this stage, turn off the flame. Remove the wok from the stove and start adding the ready dal crumble in batches, giving it a good mix to coat evenly. Once the crumble is all evenly mixed with the jaggery paagu - it will be soft, sweet and not sticky, but like perfectly cooked basmati rice - fluffy, dry and separate.
9. To this, add the roasted coconut, cardamom powder and fried cashews and raisins and mix gently.

Your Okkarai is ready for Diwali. If you like a richer taste, you can use more ghee to fry the cashews, but 1 tbsp is more than enough.

It is a labourious recipe, but with just two main ingredients - to get such a flavoursome and healthy festival sweet, it is totally worth it.

The recipe has been given to me by my maternal grandmother, who has been making this for every Diwali as far as I can remember.
I am so glad I made it this year and it is going to part of my Diwali cooking every year, now on. 

Hope you find this recipe useful to recreate your family tradition :)

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Fusilli with roasted fennel and carrots in vodka sauce

Yesterday morning, with my son at playgroup, I went off to my favourite supermarket to stock up on vegetables and fruits for the week. This place has the freshest produce I have seen in Hyderabad, including most exotic vegetables. When I spotted fresh bulbs of fennel with vibrant and lush green tops, I had to bring one home. At that point I had no clue what I would do with the fennel, but it was too pretty not to take back home.

I had some vague idea of roasting it with garlic and olive oil, but then i'd have to think of another dish to go with it. That's when it struck me to saute this with carrots and toss it with pasta in a light faux cream sauce.

My spaghetti loving husband pronounced this pasta dish totally out of the world, despite the fact that I'd used fusilli for this dish. The vodka is totally optional, but I just felt happy using it in a Friday night pasta dinner inspired by the pasta sauce Rachel Ray popularised by the name of "You won't be single for long Vodka Cream Pasta".

When you taste the fennel raw it has very strong taste of fennel seeds - but sauteeing mellows down the flavour to a great extent. I trimmed off the greens from the thick stems and stored it overnight in the fridge to make a thuvaiyal this morning. This lovely green chutney made in the tambram style, by grinding roasted red chillies, udad dal and coconut along with wilted fennel greens tasted so fresh and different in flavour. With rice and a roasted papad, it made a super lunch for me. My resolve of not to waste any edible food totally paid off and discovered this new twist on a thuvaiyal. 

You could make a classic white sauce for this pasta, but my faux cream sauce has all the positives of a white sauce minus the calories, so do give it a go!

Recipe for Fusilli with roasted fennel and carrots

 Serves 2 generously

Ingredients

4 handfuls of fusilli pasta

1 fennel bulb

2 medium carrots

1 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

salt

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 sprig fennel greens for garnish

For Sauce

1 cup milk

pinch of grated nutmeg

3 cloves garlic,finely grated

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp of whole wheat flour or all purpose flour

1-2 slices cheese

Direction

1. Place a large pot of water to boil. Once this starts boiling put the pasta to cook.
2. To prepare the fennel - cut off the top part with the greens. Take the bulb (lower part) and separate the stalks and slice. Wash these well in a large bowl of water to dislodge all the soil and grit. Drain and keep aside.
3. Peel the carrots. Slice off the tops and tails. Cut into not-very-thin rounds. Keep aside.
4. In a large pan, heat the oil and saute garlic for a few seconds, followed by chilli flakes.
5. Now, add the prepared fennel and carrots. Saute on a medium-high flame till the oil coats them thoroughly and let this brown a bit on a low flame for around 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle salt.
6. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook till the fennel slices are soft. Since fennel is quite fibrous it will not turn as soft as carrots, there will be a bite to it even when cooked.
7. Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce with a fork in a bowl and pour it over the cooked vegetables. Let this simmer till thick (3-4 minutes). Add 30 ml vodka to this and then add the drained, boiled pasta.
8. Add dried herbs, adjust salt, pepper - 1-2 slices of cheese and simmer for 2 minutes, until flavours come together and cheese has melted into the sauce.
9. Serve hot.

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Simple cauliflower mash - Gobhi bharta

Dear Readers,
I have managed to update the recipe index and the blog template after ages. Hope the index is helpful and the colours of the template are cheery enough for you to spend time on the blog.
Your constructive feedback is welcome.


Coming to this post, this is one of the simplest ways of preparing cauliflower, as I discovered only recently. A perfect recipe for a beginner and quick to prepare. Delicately spiced by way of a simple tadka (tempering) this mash is a good match for rotis, bread and as a low-carb filling for masala dosa alike. I served it with toasted bread for a light dinner and it tasted just right. 

All this onion-tomato-ginger-garlic fry up with lots of other spices works fine but sometimes you just crave the simple taste of veggies with some essential spices that gently lend their flavour to the dish without getting overwhelming. This is just that sort of recipe. If you are a newbie in the kitchen, I'd highly recommend you try this with the freshest cauliflower you can find and the results will surprise you.

Please choose fresh cauliflower with tightly bound florets and no discolouration as it is the star of this dish.

Ingredients

2 cups cauliflower florets (broken into medium size)

1 medium potato, peeled and cubed

 1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp rice bran or any other cooking oil

Pinch of asafoetida

1 green chilli, finely minced

1 tsp finely minced ginger

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Directions

1. Soak the cauliflower florets in salted water for 10-15 minutes while you cut the potatoes, chillies, ginger and get the ingredients ready.
2. In a pan with a lid, place 2 cups water with the salt and turmeric powder. Bring it to a boil. Drain the cauliflower and add this to the boiling water with the cubed potato. 
3. This will take around 8 minutes to be fork tender. Drain the boiled vegetables, transfer to a bowl and mash with a fork to a rough puree. Do not throw away the residual water. Use it in soup, rasam or dal.
4. In a small wok, heat the oil. Add the asafoetida,splutter the cumin and mustard seeds. Saute the chilli and ginger for a few seconds and transfer the tempering to the boiled, mashed vegetables.
5. Lightly mix around with a fork to flavour the vegetables evenly. Check for salt and adjust if required.

This tasted divine to my taste buds and the pure tastes of the vegetables came shining through, with the ginger giving the right spice hit.


Try this for your toddlers to go with rotis or soft bread, I'm sure they will like it too.


A lot of my bachelor friends on Twitter have been asking me to post bachelor-friendly recipes and this one is the first of many to come.

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The best ever cornbread baked in my kitchen

I have already been raving about my crush on Mexican food ever since I opened that tiny tin of Chipotle chillies that Nupur got me. I don't know if winter has officially set in, in Hyderabad or is it some random cyclone effect - but the mornings and evenings are chilly and the day is generally cloudy. I am not a big sun person, so this suits me just fine. More so, I can indulge in infinite cups of tea, drink big bowls of soup for dinner and my taste buds suddenly develop a liking for spicy stuff. "Bring back the Chili" said my tastebuds to me yesterday. And opposites attract, don't they. What better way to complement the hot and flavour blasting chili than this mildly sweet cornbread, scented with cumin and coriander leaves?

I have baked cornbread some 3-4 times and this was THE. BEST. EVER. I am not exaggerating.
Especially if you are someone who has shied away from baking this because you don't eat eggs, you are in for a pleasant surprise. My husband quit eating eggs a few years ago and I am constantly figuring out ways to turn out decent baked stuff with replacements for egg and yesterday I hit gold. Flaxseed which is one of the best sources of Omega-3 for a vegetarian. You can buy the seeds and powder the quantity required for each recipe in a coffee grinder / chutney jar of mixer.

For each egg to be replaced - use 1 tbsp flaxseed powder whisked into 3 tbsp of very hot water. You will get an emulsion like beaten eggs and use it at the stage of the recipe when it calls for eggs.

This was most perfect match for the chili and I must add that my toddler son loved this too - in fact he was making it extremely difficult for me to take a picture, by digging his tiny fingers into it!

Recipe for Eggless Cornbread
Serves 3-4
Loosely adapted from Alton Brown's Creamed Corn Cornbread recipe

In a large bowl, mix-
1 cup yellow cornmeal (Makkai ka atta)
1/2 cup all purpose flour (Maida)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

In a medium bowl, whisk well-
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp flaxseed powder whisked into 6 tbsp hot water
1/2 cup milk

Extras
2 tbsp finely chopped pickled jalapenos or 1 tsp finely chopped green chillies
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds for garnish (optional, but gives a nice look to the bread)
1/4 cup frozen corn kernels (gives a nice sweet crunch, but I did not have it on hand, so did not use)

Directions
Preheat the oven at 200C.
Grease a loaf tin or line with tin foil.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry - till just combined and stir in the jalapenos, coriander leaves and corn kernels. I added a few spoons of the brine from pickled jalapenos as I found the mix somewhat dry. This gave a big flavour boost to the bread.
Pour into greased loaf tin. Flatten lightly with wet fingers and bake for 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Let it rest for 15-20 minutes outside, before slicing.
Serve warm with chili. Recipe for chili posted here.

Food shopping in Hyderabad

Flaxseed also called Alsi in Hindi and Tashi in Bengali (knowledge shared by my twitter friends) is available with most grocers nowadays.
In Hyderabad, you can buy it at -
Ratnadeep (Srinagar Colony / Madhapur)
Q Mart (Road no.2 Banjara Hills)
Hypercity (Inorbit Mall, Madhapur)
Fabindia outlets that stock food

Pickled Jalapenos are available in all supermarkets. American Garden, Frigata are some of the good brands.

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Ukrainian Honey Cake - Exotic and low-fat

When I saw this cake posted on Blondie's Cakes as an entry for the Foodbuzz Blogger Challenge, I knew this was just my kinda cake. Low on oil, lots of flavours and can be adapted to be made eggless.

A Ukrainian cake sounds so exotic. The ingredients however can be easily sourced on our kitchens. Addition of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg make it a perfect warming cake with your morning cuppa tea and the addition of coffee gives it a depth of flavour. I substituted the two eggs in the original recipe with yogurt and the results were quite good. The icing with honey, sugar and lemon juice gives it that extra kick - making it perfect for your tea party.

Ukrainian Honey Cake

Adapted from Blondie's Cakes
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups atta (whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup strong coffee (1 tbsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 175 C / 350F. 
2. Seive the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spice powders, and salt together into a large bowl. 
3. In another large bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, honey, coffee and oil.  Add the dry ingredients and whisk till combined. 
4. Pour into a greased 8" round pan and bake for around 30min, until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes and unmould.
5. In a small bowl, beat well with a fork the ingredients for icing and drizzle over cake before slicing.

A cake with such regular kitchen ingredients and easy to put together in a jiffy, plus just 2 tbsp of oil is sure to be a hit with us. This recipe now resides in my iPhone notes so can make it just about anytime!

Though I used freshly grated nutmeg, I've tasted stuff made by my friend using Keya's Travencore Ground Nutmeg and the flavour is absolutely hard-hitting delicious. So I would totally recommend you use it if you like bold nutmeg flavours in desserts.

Thanks a lot Blondie for this superb family recipe.

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Cottage cheese cake - Paneer Cake : Perfect tea-time treat

A trip to Madras is incomplete without a drive to Pondicherry. Once, we took up a homestay and stayed over for a couple of nights - walking around the lovely streets in the French quarter, peering into some bookshops, boutiques, incense and candle shops while we were there. During a peek into one such bookshop I came across this little book on baking called Baking Delights by Aruna Sheth with the kind of recipes my mother's generation would make at home. The sections include breads, biscuits, cakes, multi-purpose meals, puddings & pies and snacks.

I have a liking for all things old-fashioned and so I got this home. After reading those quaint old recipes many a times - I fell in love with one Cottage cheese cake, the recipe of which had no butter or oil. With my slight modifications, I turned this into a faux mava cake, using the Mixed Fruit essence and some tutti frutti - a total 70s style cake, perfectly simple to make, and just right with that cup of tea / coffee - feels like a treat but not like a sinful indulgence.

So here is the recipe for Cottage cheese cake with Tutti Frutti

Ingredients

Makes 2 small square cakes or 1 loaf

1/2 litre milk, 1 tbsp white vinegar - to make paneer

1.5 cups atta

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar, or slightly less, ground with seeds from 3 cardamoms

4 tbsp milkmaid

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp vinegar

1/4 cup tutti frutti in any colours

1/4 cup milk (if required)


Directions

1. Bring the milk to a boil, add the vinegar and stir till milk splits to give paneer and clear whey. Filter out paneer and save the whey.
2. Preheat oven at 180 C.
3. Line 2 square tins of 12 cmX12 cm with foil or a loaf tin. Grease the foil with some oil.
4. Sieve the flour with the baking soda and baking powder.
5. In a large bowl, mash the paneer well with the oil, milkmaid. Add 1 tbsp vinegar, sugar-cardamom mix to this and half the whey water.
6. Add the flour in batches into the whisked wet ingredients. Use the reserved whey water and extra milk if required to get a batter consistency.
7. Fold in most of the tutti frutti, reserving some to decorate on the top of the cake.
8. Divide the batter into the two square tins or a single loaf tin, sprinkle remaining tutti frutti on the top.
9. Bake for 30 minutes (in case of two small tins) or 45-50 minutes for loaf at 180 C reducing the temperature after 20 minutes to 160 or so in case of square tins to prevent excessive browning of the tops.
10. Remove, cool in the tin itself for 15 minutes and remove out with the foil. Slice and serve warm.

Food-shopping in Hyderabad

Where to buy Tutti-Frutti - Branches of Heritage- Fresh, QMart-Banjara Hills, branches of Ratnadeep

Disposable aluminium foil baking containers available at most supermarkets - eg. Balaji Grand Bazaar in Road.1

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Vegetarian chili made with black eyed peas and a Mexican Pizza

Ingredients inspire dishes. My sudden love for Mexican cuisine is totally inspired by the tins of Chipotle Chillies in Adobo sauce that Nupur (One Hot Stove) was so sweet enough to gift me when she was visiting us in Mumbai last year, among many other gifts including a handmade Eggplant cap for Atri :)

Having never cooked Mexican food before, they were just lying at the back of my kitchen shelf for many many months. The day I opened the can and took a teeny taste of the contents, I was sold on this. One tin goes a long way and the large chillies soaked in adobo sauce are bursting with heat and smoky flavours, giving any Mexican recipe an authentic touch.

This Chili dish is something you can serve as a stew to eat with soft tortillas, top slices of bread or make it thinner and have it as a hearty soup on a cold evening. Whichever way, this is guaranteed to be a sureshot crowd pleaser and the spicy flavours will easily agree with the Indian palate.

Vegetarian Chili with black eyed peas

serves 6

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5-6 mushrooms

1 green capsicum

1 red capsicum

1 onion

6 medium tomatoes

2 cups boiled black eyed peas (Pressure cooked with enough water until very soft and mushy)

2 chipotle chillies in adobo sauce (or use regular green / red chillies finely chopped)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder or more as per preference

1 tsp dried ground oregano

1 tsp freshly ground cumin 

Preparation

Finely chop the garlic, onion, mushrooms and capsicums.

Fill a large pot with 2 L water. Score the tomatoes with a cross at the smooth end. Allow to come to a boil and drop the tomatoes. Once this comes to a simmer, turn off flame and cover for 2 minutes.

Fish out the tomatoes and place them in tap/cold water, until cool enough to handle. Peel off skins and chop to a medium dice, seeds included.

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large wok. Saute the garlic for 30 seconds, before adding the onions, capsicums and mushrooms. On a medium flame, let these cook for 7-10 minutes with a pinch of salt added towards the end.
2. Once the vegetables are nearly done, add the chopped blanched tomatoes, cooked black eyed peas, chopped chipotle / chillies and spice powders along with a tsp (or as per taste) of salt. Add 1/2-1 cup of water, cover with a lid and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Check for spiciness and salt, adjust the taste according to your preference and remove into a serving bowl. This chilli should be quite dried out if using as a pizza topping or else the base will get soggy. If serving with tortillas or rice, you can leave some amount of liquid in the chili.

You can use black beans, kidney beans or any other beans instead of black eyed peas.

For Pizza

Ready pizza bases - 6

Black eyed peas chilli

Grated cheddar cheese - 1 cup

Dried oregano

Dried chilli flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 200C

Spread the chilli over the base. Top with grated cheese and bake for 5-7 minutes, till cheese melts.

Sprinkle oregano and if you like it really hot, then chilli flakes too.

Keep a chilled beer or iced water handy!

 We started the Mexican dinner with a bowl of guacamole and baked corn chips (Italia brand). It was the most fun dinner we had in a long time. Thank you Nupur!

If you happen to spot tinned chipotle chillies in a supermarket near you, please leave a comment and I shall include it in a note here, to help the readers.

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