Rasmalai /Pujor Charte Din - Nostalgia

Pujo is a time that screams HOME , nothing like the smell of notun jama (new clothes) , the cacophony of the honking cars, claustophobic mad queues and accidental meeting of the 'unknown' inquisitive dada boudi (acquaintances)gang...the stuff that I had been complaining for years at my ma baba's place is what I'm crazily longing for now in my phoren land .

 The Pujo days are almost identical. .as far as my memory goes. ..they have always been the same  ..just feels so out of reach now.

Ma would scream at me for dipping my hand in the cookie jar before the Anjali, almost bully me to get inside the bathroom with my crisp new clothes so that I can hurry up and go to the pandal with her. By the time I managed to pull my that dressed up look together,  Ma would've had set with the breakfast table with Luchi Alur Chorchori and Payesh.Something to look forward to right after the Anjali. ..I know the food nostalgia is sweeping me away ..how I wish I could be a part of the chaos and cacophony , and now if the fate allows, I promise to be right on time for Anjali, albeit in my notun jama and make up dabbed avatar totally set for the Instragram selfies. Wishful thinking!

Oh well I know I cant replicate the pujor gondho and alhad , or compete with the talent and aromas of my mom's kitchen , I can certainly make an humble attempt to recreate the rasmalai . The family favorite dish we cook year on year...

There are maestros who have posted step by step recipes with techniques, so I have lazily skipped that step. You can take a look at Garima's blog here


 Rasmalai : 

Ras Malai consists of two main steps , First : make the sponge cheese patty and then second step is to prepare the the saffron-and-cardamom-infused sweet creamy milk to soak the patty.

Step 1:  Prepare paneer by curdling the milk with lime juice, once curdled, remove from heat immediately . know knead till it leaves the fat. Now prepare the sugar syrup with a ratio of 4:1 water:sugar.

Then b) divide into 10-12 portions. and now roll each portion into a ball and flatten it gently between your palms.  Your patty will increase in its size after cooking.

Now once your sugar syrup is boiling , drop the patty one by one. I make in a pressure cooker. I pressure cook on high for one whistle. Then 7 minutes on medium heat and 2 minutes without heat. Then open the lip by pouring cold water on cooker. Now take the patty out and drop them one by one in water. 

Step 2 is preparing the Saffron and Cardamom infused milk . I used 1 litre milk and boiled it in a saucepan on medium heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reduced to half . Now add the 1 cup of saffron soaked warm and crushed cardamoms and pistachios. Finally add 1/4 cup sugar . Cook for 5 more minutes. You are set , adjust to taste. Once cooled add the water soaked patty (after draining out the water) and chill for a few hours.  Enjoy!!

Happy New Year!! Let's say it with some Kalakand.

Here's Wishing all a Very Happy New Year ...hope the new year comes knocking at your door with heaps of happiness, truckloads of love....and all that you've ever wished and dreamed of.

Kalakand/Milk Dessert

 
Agree, Its been my longest hiatus--- ever since this little food nook of mine came into being.
A lot has happened since my last post, and those of you who have been reading me here and wondering whether I really disparaged into the great amazons to look for the perfect bride for my brother, will be relived to know that the answer is a very non-adventurous NO :P...In reality I did move continents...packed...unpacked...and now slowly inching towards a 'settled' mode.

I have practically cooked non-stop in these past few months...ate at perhaps even more athletic speed. My newly acquired double digit dress size is perhaps the lone witness..Nevertheless, there are diets and there are these new year resolutions. Arent't they??

In-line with the diet resolutions and the fact that we always begin a new year with a sweet something, let me present a famous Kalakand recipe...This easy peasy microwave Kalakand recipe happens to be my mashi's specialty and I'm just so proud to attempt and share.

Microwave Kalakand recipe : 

 

Ingredients for the KalaKand : 

2 cups full cream milk powder

I cup heavy cream

1 can condensed milk

1/2 cup grated or chopped skinless pistachios

Method : 

Mix all the ingredients for the Kalakand (omit pistachios here) in a microwave safe bowl and keep whisking till the consistency is very smooth. 

Now set the microwave on high (this High setting suggestion is for a 900-watt microwave) for about 7 minutes and run it, but remember to keep an hawk’s eye on the dish to keep the milk from boiling over. If you see the mixture rising then stop, whisk and start again.

Once the 7 minutes are over in the oven, whisk the Kalakand briskly to break all lumps and set in the microwave for 7 more minutes. Break lumps, but by now the milk solids will be little soft and grainy in texture. Spread on a deep dish or plate and sprinkle with pistachios. Cut to shape when cooled.

Serve at room temperature.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do...

Chocolate Granola Apple Delight

Chocolate Granola Apple Delight

My little one now knows what Coke is. Even after spring cleaning my pantry ...stacking refrigerator with only (so called -100% )juice...avoiding takeaways....even cooking my own ketchup to avoid the big  bad world of preservatives ...the  word 'Coke' still managed to sneak into her vocabulary. I was taken aback when my little one sat in front of the refrigerator demanding C-O-K-O in her glass. Appalling. Perhaps I have yet to come in terms with the fact that :

1. Even toddlers have a mind of their own
2. There is an information overload. T.V, Daycare, neighbors...the list will add as she grows up
3. Coke can't be that bad. Why can't I just stop drinking it, camouflaging the fiZz inside big ceramic cups over the weekends. Hell.
4. Coke is Coke- its not like she's asking for substance abuse!!

Do I sound like I have given up, slowly accepting the fact that my toddler knows about C-O-K-E. She might  even drink it someday.. at-least for now let me think of making something nice for her to distract her mind -------FAR FAR away from these attractive fizzy stuff and junky snack items...

Chocolate Granola Apple Delight (Recipe adapted from cooking light)

1 or 100 gms packet semi-sweet milk chocolate (I used dairymilk chocolate)

1/4th cup granola

1 large juicy red apple

1.Place chocolate in microwave for 2 minutes. Till it melts. Cut the apple into wedges. Dip the apples tops into the chocolate. Allow excess chocolate the drip.

2.Sprinkle granola on top.

3. Set on a plate  with chocolate side up. Refrigerate till chocolate is set.


I served it to my little one today with Peanut Butter and banana shake. You should have seen the look on her face. C-O-K-E has to do a lot of catching up with this mommy.

For a grown up treat - you can replace the milk chocolate with real dark chocolate and flaky almonds instead of granola.

Sending this entry to mad scientists kitchen and Priya's now serving 

No Bake Chocolate Pie

Every once in a while we all face scenarios wherein we have to cater to guests which puts our patience and skill of cooking to test. So it goes, yesterday it was mine and hubby’s turn. We thought of individually catering to the tastes of 6 different guests, and all of them with own dietary needs and requests, and an uneven age group ranging from four to forty!

Initially it felt more like the doing the 'science of maths' than the 'art of cooking'; taking headcount, scribbling down the menu and the process involved tedious arithmetic of adding and subtracting, buying ingredients after taking the existing stock into account and finally getting down to business of cooking ; multiplying the recipes meant for two to cater eight! Who says cooking is a dumb housewives job! My mind is still droned in all these numbers. However, the numbers cant surely take into account the sounds of laughter orchestrated with the tinkling of glasses which filled our house yesterday , the fussy four year old’s enchantment with ‘gems’ on her dessert and the happy burp of the filed tummy. Feels incredible! So I gather, its art after all.

Yesterday we tried tons of new recipes, and some were truly a HIT and surprisingly they took so little time to make, here is one of my personal favourites adapted from Aayis Recipe.

No bake Chocolate Pie

With guest list which comprises of anyone under 5: chocolate is a must , or so my instincts told me and the smile on my little guests face confirmed my doubts.So here is the easy no bake choclate pie recipe, which is sure to bring a smile on your little ones face too.

Ingredients:
3 packs of Parle G (or any glucose biscuit)
2 heaped tbsp cocoa powder (sugarless)
½ cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 tsp instant coffee
1 cup fresh cream
1/2 cup warm milk
1 cup granulated sugar
Sugar dust/Gems for sprinkling on top

Method:
If you are using glucose biscuit, try and fetch a rectangular or square large bottomed pie vessel to keep up with the shape of the biscuit. Line the pie dish with 2 layers of biscuits and soak them with 1/4 cup milk.

In a separate bowl, mix sugar, chocolate chips vanilla and cream. Mix slowly to get a uniform mixture. Add sugar as per your taste. Drizzle this mixture on the soaked biscuits. Top it with a biscuit line up again. Repeat the process.

Serve chilled, not frozen. .

Sharing this with Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms