Ice cream !

Some days you have to have a scoop of chocolate ice cream, some other days you have to have many :)

 

 

No churn, dairy free, banana chocolate ice cream

Ripe/overripe bananas peeled, cut into ½ inch pieces -2

Unsweetened cocoa powder - ¼ cup

Instant coffee granules ( optional) - ¼ tsp
 

Freeze the banana pieces for at least 2-3 hours or overnight or many days :) On the day that you are making the ice cream, take the frozen banana pieces and blend together with the cocoa powder and coffee granules till the mixture is soft and creamy. You will notice at first that the banana pieces break down into small rice like bits, at this point add 1-2 tbsp. water to keep the blades running. Serve immediately as a soft serve ice cream or freeze at least 1 hr. to serve as scoops. If you want the ice cream to be sweeter, add honey or some sugar syrup instead of water while blending

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Light !

May your inner light shine so bright year around, Happy Diwali !

 

Karikku payasam ( Tender coconut payasam )

 Recipe

Tender coconut pulp - 2 cups ( more the merrier)

Condensed milk - 14 oz ( 1 can)

Tender coconut water - 5 cups

White rice cooked - 1 ½ cup

Cooked tapioca pearls ( optional ) - 3 tbsp

Cardamom crushed - 2 pods

Pistachio crushed - ¼ cup

Coarsely chop the tender coconut pulp, keep aside. In a food processor grind the cooked rice till each grain breaks into 3-4 pieces. Take out half of the ground rice and then grind the remaining to a smooth paste. In a saucepan boil the tender coconut water,add the rice paste, semi ground rice, chopped tender coconut and tapioca pearls for 5 minutes with constant stirring. Add the condensed milk and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Turn off the heat, add crushed cardamom and pistachios. Serve chilled.

  

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Panchara palpayasam

I now officially enter the week of nostalgic ramblings, please bear with me. This Friday marks the day of Onam, the state festival of Kerala celebrating the glorious days of yore. Getting together with family and friends and sitting down to enjoy a splendid vegetarian feast known as ‘Sadya” served on a banana leaf marks an important part of the celebrations. There is also a sense of relief and restfulness in my head and a lingering sense at the back of my mind that now since the exams are over I will have more time for my meandering ways. This passing sense of ease is rooted on those days eons ago when as school children we all finished the term exams just before the Onam holidays began. I am never the one to let go off such peaceful thoughts ever , even if I am not writing exams any more !



 

Payasam is THE dessert of the Sadya spread, and there are many ways to make it using different ingredients. Here is an easy recipe for a timeless classic, Panchara palpayasam- a rice payasam flavored with sugar and milk and nothing else, made the easy way using a pressure cooker.

Panchasara pal payasam ( Made in a pressure cooker)


Rice - ( broken rose matta variety) - ½ cup

Sugar - ½ cup+ 2 tbsp.

Milk -3 cup

Water - 2 cup

Wash the rice, drain, mix with the rest of the ingredients in a pressure cooker. Lock the lid on ( keep the pressure regulator off) heat till you see small wisps of steam coming out of the vent pipe. At this point place the pressure regulator weight on the vent pipe. Now wait till you feel that the cooker is going to let out the first whistle. You will know it by instinct :), or keep an eye on the regulator weight, it will begin to shake a little. Now turn the heat to low and focus on doing something else. Come back to the pressure cooker 45 minutes after and turn off the stove. Open the pressure cooker after another 30 minutes or so, after letting out any residual steam. This payasam tastes best when served at room temperature. I love it chilled as well.



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Cherry almond cake

This cake is too good to be existing, really ! Whole wheat flour, cherries, whole almonds, and a no stress mixing method, but the result is a moist and tender cake which is served best with a cup of black tea.

 

 

 

Cherry almond whole wheat cake

 

Recipe

Whole wheat flour - ½ cup

Whole almonds - ½ cup

Softened butter - ½ cup

Sugar - ¼ cup

Baking powder- 1 tsp.

Eggs -2

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp.

Pitted cherries - 20-25 nos

Confectioners sugar ( Optional) - 1 tsp.


Mix baking powder and whole wheat flour gently with a wire whisk.. Pulse whole almonds with 1 tsp sugar till coarsely ground, add to the flour mix, mix again with a wire whisk. In a large bowl, using a wire whisk beat butter, remaining sugar and eggs together till it is combined ( 3-4 minutes), slowly add the flour mix and gently combine with a wooden spatula. Pour into a greased and floured 9 inch tart pan. Evenly arrange cherries on top, bake at 325 C for 20 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a skewer, it should come out with tender crumbs attached. Serve dusted with confectioners sugar.

 

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Happy 4th !

To the country I have come to love, more by each passing year, HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

 

Mascarpone- berry custard tart

Almond tart shell

All purpose flour-1 ½ cup

Almonds-3/4 cup

Sugar- ½ cup

Salt - 14/ tsp.

Softened butter-9 tbsp.

Egg yolk - 1

Grind almonds with sugar in a food processor till coarsely ground. Add rest of the ingredients and pulse till the dough comes together and not more. Press the dough evenly on a tart pan, cover with cling wrap and freeze for at least 2 hrs. Pre-heat oven to 350C. Remove the cling wrap from the frozen tart shell, line the shell with Aluminum foil, arrange pie weights or dried beans on top. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights, bake for another 12-15 minutes or till the shell is golden brown. Cool completely on kitchen counter.

Mascarpone custard

Mascarpone cheese - 1 cup

Milk - 2 cups

Egg yolks -2

Corn starch - 3 tbsp.

Vanilla bean - 1

Sugar - ¾ cup

Unflavored gelatin - 1 tbsp.

Mix milk, eggs and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add vanilla bean, gelatin and sugar and cook in medium heat with constant stirring till the custard thickens. Remove the beans, scrape seeds and add it to the custard. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 2 hrs.

Fruits

Chopped strawberries- 1½ cup

Blue berries - ½ cup

Berry jam -2 tbsp.

Keep the prepared fruits in a bowl. Microwave jam to loosen it. Mix with fruits, refrigerate.

Assembling the tart

Remove the tart shell from the pan. Keep on a serving plate, fill the shell with the cooled custard, arrange berries on top. Drizzle some more of the cooled custard on top. Refrigerate for 6 hrs. or more before serving.

 

 

 

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FALOODA!

The name says it all ! This is the stuff dreams are made of, if you happen to dream any dreams comprised of exemplary desserts. In non-exaggerating terms Falooda is a splendid dessert both visually and taste wise, an astounding blend of textures and colors ! There !! You just can't  describe it in ordinary terms, I tried.

There are many ways to make this dessert, but Tukmaria ( sweet basil/sabja) seeds and corn flour noodles are the ingredients which makes this parfait a FALOODA !

You know this already, but Tukmaria ( sweet basil) seeds are not Chia seeds even though the looks are deceptively similar, read why one is not the other here

Recipe

Falooda noodles cooked, rinsed in cold water, and drained - 2 cups tossed with 1 tbsp. rose syrup. You can substitute the falooda noodles with thin vermicelli

Rose syrup (I use Dabur brand ) - 2 tbsp.

Dry tukmaria( sweet basil) seeds - 3/4 cup Soak in 4 + cups of water for 30 minutes, drain, rinse with more cold water, drain and refrigerator

Strawberry Jell-O cut into small pieces - 3 cups (Make Jell-O according to packaging instructions, but with half the amount of liquid suggested, so that you will have a sturdier Jell-O to chop into fine pieces. ( Optional)

Very finely chopped mangoes, pineapples, bananas etc.- 3 cups

Finely chopped assorted toasted nuts ( pistachios, cashew nuts and almonds) - 1/2 cup to garnish

Kulfi cream

4 cups milk

½ tsp. crushed Cardamom

5 pistachios

1 ½ slice white bread with edges removed

½ cup sugar

Pour milk over bread, keep for 10 minutes. Grind the soaked bread milk mixture with rest of the ingredients in a blender till the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a thick bottomed saucepan and add sugar. In low heat, cook with constant stirring till the mixture thickens. Chill for at least 1 hr.

Rose cream whipped topping

( This is my quick fix ice cream substitute, but if you have ice cream in stock use it by all means)

Whipping cream - 2 cups

Gelatin - 1 tbsp.

Rose syrup - 1 tsp.

Cardamom powder - ¼ tsp.

Confectionery sugar - ¾ cup

Add 4 tbsp. boiling water to gelatin, stir well till the mixture is clear. Allow it to cool down to room temperature with occasional stirring. Mix all the ingredients and the melted gelatin and immediately start whisking and keep whisking till stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a freezer container and freeze at least for 3 hrs. or overnight

Assembling the Falooda

This I promise, is the best part. Take a tall Sundae glass and spoon/scoop in the prepped components in the following order. I usually eyeball the quantity and try to divide the stuff equally between the glasses that I am using . So depending on the size of the serving cup used the quantities listed here will make 12-24 servings

Noodles

Soaked Tukmaria seeds

Kulfi cream

Chopped Jell-O

Mixed fruit

Kulfi cream

Chopped nuts

Rose cream whipped topping

Now drizzle with rose syrup and top with more crushed nuts.

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Sunny side up

We did not use a single egg for making this sweet tart, I promise. Even if we wanted to, there was no choice other than hopping off to the grocer’s to grab some eggs. We ran out of eggs you see, painting them away on Easter day ! So we give you this Peach Mascarpone tart, a recipe inspired purely by what was left over.

 

Mascarpone peach tart

Recipe

Ready to use frozen puff pastry sheet (10”x15”)  - 1

Jam - 4 tbsp

Yellow or white cake crumbs - 2 1/2 cups

Mascarpone cheese/or cream cheese - 1 cup

Confectioners sugar - ¼ cup

Rum flavoring - 1 tsp

Corn starch - 2 tbsp

Milk - 2 cup

granulated sugar -1/2 cup

Gelatin - 1 ½ tbsp

Canned peaches or apricots in syrup - 8-10 halves

Thaw puff pastry, leaving a half an inch border on all sides prick or score with a knife.The unscored part will serve as an edge for the tart  when the pastry is fully baked. Heat oven to 400C. Bake the puff pastry on a baking sheet for 12-15 minutes or until the pastry turns golden. Cool. Microwave jam for 1 minute. Spread it evenly over the puff pastry, refrigerate for 15 minutes. While the pastry base is getting cooled, whisk  the cheese with confectioners sugar and rum flavoring, till the mixture is smooth. After the cheese mixture is ready, add the cake crumbs in 4 batches, gently mixing with a fork. Spread this mixture over the cooled puff pastry base evenly and smoothen out the top with an offset spatula. Drain the peach slices, and tap it try on paper towels. Arrange the peach halves on the pastry base with some space in between. Refrigerate 10 minutes.

Warm the milk with granulated sugar, add ½ tbsp gelatin, whisk to combine. Make a paste of cornstarch and ¼ cup water, add it to the warm milk with constant whisking, keep whisking till the mixtures thickens. The mixture needs to be of pourable consistency. Transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl with a beak to help with pouring. Keep whisking for 3 more minutes. Pour this over the prepared tart in such a way that it spreads around the peach halves.

Mix 1 tbsp gelatin with 4 tbsp water. Melt the gelatin completely by microwaving for a minute. Mix very well to make sure there are no lumps and the mixture is clear. Using a pastry brush, gently apply the gelatin mixture over the peach slices.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving

 

  

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Palm Sunday treats

We went on a spring break trip to the Olympic Peninsula last week, got floored by the wonders of nature, and got back just in time yesterday to make “Kozhukattas”, the rice flour dumplings filled with jaggery sweetened coconut for celebrating Palm Sunday today.

 

Sweet Kozhukatta ( Coconut rice dumplings)

Recipe

Rice flour – 2 ½ cups

Grated jiggery – 1 1/3cup

Coconut – 2 cups

Ground cumin – ¼ tsp

Ground dried ginger – ½ tsp

Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

 

Salt – ¼ tsp

Hot water – 3 cups +

Oil -1 tbsp.


Mix grated coconut and jaggery in a pan, cook with constant stirring at medium heat, till the jiggery is melted and mixed thoroughly well with the coconut. Cook for 5 more minutes till the mixture is dry, at this point add cardamom, dried ginger and cumin powders. Mix well, turn of the heat.

Mix rice flour and salt in a large bowl, add the hot water while mixing with the handle of a wooden spoon to make very soft but lumpy dough. Allow the dough to cool enough for you to knead with your hands, a stand mixer with the dough hook attached works just as well. Knead till the dough is soft and pliable.

To make the dumplings. Make key lime sized portion of the dough. Make a deep thump print on the dough ball at the middle and work around it with your hands to make it bigger. Fill with 1 tbsp. of the coconut filling, and completely cover the filling by working the dough around it. You can smoothen the dumpling further by gently rolling it in your hands.

 

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Simple strawberry verrine

Here is an easy dessert that you can serve to friends no matter how awesome they are !

Fruit Verrine

Cake

Recipe here. Cut the cake into rounds fitting the dessert cups you have. You need two cake rounds per /serving. I usually slice the 9X13 sheet cake into two layers before punching the circles out

Thin custard

1 ½ cups milk
1 cup water
1 egg yolk
½ tbsp. corn starch
 ¼ cup sugar
 ¼ tsp vanilla essence

Blend all ingradients together and cook at low heat with constant stirring till the mixture bubbles plus one minute. Cool down, do not refrigerate. Add 1 tbsp. rum if you will

Thin fruit syrup

1 cup strawberry jam
2 cup water
1/2 tsp gelatin
2 tbsp rum ( optional)
Mix all ingredients together in a blender and warm in a sauce pan till the mixture looks clear. Cool down, do not refrigerate.

Fruits

Finely chopped banana and strawberry – 3 cups

Whipped cream

Whip 2 cups of cream with ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar till soft peaks form


Putting it all together:

Take two cake circles. Keep the first one in the dessert cup and add the thin fruit syrup till the cake is soaked. Arrange the fruit pieces on top and keep another cake circle on top, gently press down. Spoon some thin custard over to soak the cake. The custard will take some time to seep in , wait 10-20 minutes before proceeding to the next step. Top with whipped cream and level with a spatula. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hrs. Decorate with thin strawberry slices

I have made 12-36 individual servings out of the measurements given here, depending on the size of the serving glass used

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Hello spring !

When spring gently tiptoes in, there is no denying it. Almost every tree here is in bloom, air is brisk, and I sneeze twice for every word I speak. Hello spring, also hello Zyrtec !

 

 

Last weekend I was going through some of the food photographs I have taken in the past couple of years. Most of these pictures were hastily taken and therefore much begs to be focused in many. There were also a couple of photos of some of my favorite desserts, here is one. This is a version of the delicate “Pastel de Tres Leches”, the three milks cake. The milk mixture for this recipe has whole milk,coconut milk and condensed milk instead of the classic combination of condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream. I have made this cake many times over but managed to take pictures apparently only once, and that was two years ago in summer when Petunias were in bloom. 

 

Coconut Tres Leches cake
Recipe
2 1/2 cups - all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons - baking powder

1/4 teaspoons - salt
                                                
1 ½ cups - sugar

½ cup - butter

2 - eggs

1 teaspoon -vanilla essence

1 1/4 cups -water


Milk mixture
1 can -condensed milk

1 cup -milk

1 cup -coconut milk

½ tsp -rum flavoring

¼ tsp -cardamom powder



Topping

1 ½ cups-Whipping cream

¼ cup-Confectioners sugar

Assorted fruits chopped

Toasted coconut flakes ( dry roast the coconut flakes in a pan over low heat)


Mix all ingredients for the milk mixture, refrigerate till use.

Lightly butter and flour a 9x13 pan. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, keep aside. Cream butter and sugar together till light and fluffy ( 4-5 min). Add eggs one by one, and mix till the mixture is creamy. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in three batches alternating with water till everything is thoroughly combined. Add vanilla, mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, bake at 325C for 25-30 minutes. Check doneness using a wooden skewer, it should come out clean

Once the cake is done, quickly unmold to a serving plate ( keep the cake upside down, it will give you a flat surface to decorate), press lightly so that the cake sits even. Poke holes all over the cake with a skewer stick. While the cake is still hot, spoon the milk mixture over the cake and refrigerate for at least 2 hrs. If you see any milk that seeped through, spoon it over the cake.

Whip cream with confectioners sugar till soft peaks form. Spread or pipe over the cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes and assorted fruits, serve chilled
 

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