Welcoming New Year with a sweet treat

I wanted to make a cheese cake since a long time. But I have never tasted a cheesecake in my life so didn't know what to expect. I searched for few recipes and all the recipes called for a spring form pan. That was another reason that I kept postponing the idea.
Then one day I wanted to use up half a pack of cream cheese that was lying in my refrigerator. All I could think of was a cheese cake.
Most of the recipes required sour cream along with cream cheese and the quantity of cream cheese I had was very less to follow any recipe. So I just went with basic method and didn't follow any recipe.
With the ingredients I used I could just make a small cake. Infact it looked more like a pie.
For the crust, I powdered some biscotti and biscuits and mixed them with melted butter. Also added a tsp of milk.
Lined a small use and throw kind of a baking foil pan with parchment paper. Buttered the paper and spread the biscuit mixture evenly. Then baked at 350 deg F for 15 min.

Then I took the cream cheese at room temp. and blended it with half an egg, some powdered sugar, little vanilla essence and poured it over the crust. Kept the baking foil pan in a bigger pan with some water(water bath) and baked for 30 min at 350 deg till it was set. Decorated it with some grated chocolate and coloured sprinkles.


It came out quite well and so I wanted to post this dish to refer in future. May the next time I make it I may be able to post the exact recipe.
Now its upto to you whether u call it a cheesecake or a pie or just a sweet treat.

Happy New Year 2009

The year 2008 is very special to me and my blog as this is the year my tiny lil' blog came into this vast blog world. Cooking isn't my new found passion. I have loved cooking from my college days. But i have never cooked a full fledged meal. Before my marriage my encounters with this art were limited to deep frying and making punjabi curries that too only during the weekends. Amma used to do all the cooking. After marriage I used to help mummy in the kitchen but then too she was the one who did majority of the cooking. After I came to US, it was the time I actually started cooking an entire meal. Though I was comfortable making lunch and dinner, breakfast was something that I wasn't so confident about. But slowly I gained confidence. Except for once or twice the rest of the times my dishes turned out quite good or atleast edible.
Then while searching for some recipes I came across blogs. A year ago I wasn't aware of what a blog meant and today I have my own blog.
A variety of items are available in US which motivates you to try dishes which you never thought can be made at home. I couldn't believe that I could bake a cake and pav(bread) at home.
My cooking experience in 2008 was very good and I plan to try out and blog many more recipes in 2009 and also participate in as many blog events as I can.

I wish everyone in this blogosphere a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. May this year bring health, wealth and happiness to you and may you post many more recipes in your blog.

Musti Polo

Musti in Konkani means fist. Musti Polo is a thick dosa which uses very little urad dal just a fistful and hence the name. It is also known as Urada Surnalli.
These dosas are very soft and fluffy and are one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

Urad Dal - 1/2 cup
Uncooked rice - 1 1/2 cups
Fenugreek Seeds/Methi - 1/2 tsp
Poha/Flattened Rice - 3 tbsp
Dessicated Coconut - 2 tbsp
Salt

Wash the Urad dal and rice and soak them with methi in sufficient water for atleast 3 hrs.
Soak the poha in little water just before grinding.
Grind all ingredients together along with coconut in a mixer/grinder to a fine paste adding water as needed. The consistency of the batter should be like any other dosa (not too thick not too thin)
Ferment overnight.

Next morning add salt to the batter and mix well.
Heat a tava or a non stick pan. Drizzle some (1/2 tsp) oil if needed. Pour a ladle full of batter in the center. Spread slightly.
This dosa has to be thick.
Cover and fry till it gets golden from the bottom.
Add some oil on top and flip it.
Cook till this side also gets golden spots.
Remove from tava and serve hot with chutney/ sambhar.


Note: Salt can be added to the batter before fermenting itself but I prefer adding it in the morning.

Pomegranate Juice

Pomegranate/Anaar/Dalimb is a fruit that kids aren't fond of. When we were kids I remember being told that a Dalimb can give u an elephant's strength. But that didn't make me to eat it. I would just eat a few seeds. That hasn't changed in all these years. I am still not very fond of fruits. But considering their benefits I try to incorporate them in our diet in whichever way possible.
This juice is the result of one such effort to consume Dalimb.

For this we need:

Dalimb/Pomegranate - 1
Sugar - 2 tsp
Water
Chat Masala - 1/4 tsp or even less

Remove the skin and the white membranes.
Add the seeds in a blender. Pour a little water(around 1/2 cup). Add the sugar. Blend it for 30 sec. Add more water or sugar if required. Blend again for few more sec.
Seive it to extract the juice. Discard the seeds.
Add the chat masala to the juice and enjoy the freshly extracted juice.


* Whole fruits are always better than their juices.

Sevaiye Payasu/ Vermicelli Kheer

In India friends and relatives often invite a newly married couple for lunch or dinner. The main idea is to familiarize the bride or groom with their new relations. Just after our marriage we were also invited for a get-together at S aunty's place. S aunty is a close friend of mummy(my mil). After the yummy food, she served this kheer as a dessert. We all enjoyed this kheer very much. S aunty readily gave us her recipe for this yummy kheer.
After that mummy made this payasu many a times and now after coming to US I follow suit.
This is a dessert I usually end up making when I am short of time or when I can't think of anything else.

For this we need:

Thin Vermicelli (preferably the plain ones) - 1/2 cup
Milk - 3 cups
Sugar - 1/2 cup approx.
Cardamom powder
Cashew halves - 2 tbsp
Raisins - few
Ghee - 2 tsp


Boil the milk and keep it aside.
In a pan heat ghee and fry the cashews till they are golden. Remove and set aside.
In the same ghee fry the vermicelli on a low flame till it is lightly golden in colour. Add about 3/4 cup of the hot milk. Let the vermicelli cook in the milk for about 3-4 mins. When the vermicelli becomes soft add sugar and cashews. Finally add the raisins and cardamom powder.
Just before serving add the remaining milk, adjust the sweetness and give it a boil.
Serve hot.

PS : For best results use whole milk. The recipe requires the plain variety of vermicelli but I have used the roasted ones as it is the only variety available here. The vermicelli makes the kheer thick and so the remaining milk is added at the end. If serving immediately add the entire quantity of milk in the begining itself. Saffron can also be added to enhance the colour.

I am sending this to FIC White Event of TongueTicklers being hosted by Yummy Food.

Palak Paneer (Spinach-Cottage Cheese Combo)

Spinach or Palak is one of the first vegetables i learnt to cook. It is rich source of Iron and Calcium. The cartoon character Popeye is also depicted as eating spinach to grow stronger. Spinach is such a wonder vegetable. But in Mumbai it is mostly grown besides the railway tracks and that is one of the main reasons that people avoid eating it.
When i came to US i felt that we would get some fresh clean spinach here but my assumption proved wrong. When all the other vegetables look fresh and clean i am still not satisfied with the quality of Spinach.
I have also tried the frozen stuff but then they dont taste the same as fresh ones. I have also seen fresh clean baby spinach sold in plastic boxes but these are way too expensive.
So I mostly buy the fresh ones, clean them thoroughly and hope that rest of the germs are killed in the process of cooking.
This dish is originally from Punjab where it is called Saag Paneer. Saag is also refered to Mustard Greens in the dish Sarson ka Saag.
I always like to add some peas whether its Palak Paneer or Aloo Palak. At times I add all three and make Aloo-Palak-Mutter-Paneer or should I say Palak-Aloo-Mutter-Paneer, whichever sounds correct.

Ingredients

Palak/Spinach - 1 bunch
Paneer - 150g, cut in cubes
Frozen Peas - 1/2 cup (optional)
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Garlic - 2 to 3, grated
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Green Chilli - 2
Tomato - 1 small, chopped
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Kasuri Methi - 1 tbsp, crushed
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder - a pinch
Turmeric - pinch
oil - 4 tsp
Salt - as per taste

Remove the stem of spinach and discard. Clean the leaves thoroughly. Heat some water in a large vessel. When it comes to a boil add the spinach leaves. Turn it once or twice. Let it boil for 3-4 mins. Strain it through a sieve and add some cold water. Drain all the water. Grind the leaves with 2 green chillies into a smooth paste adding little water. Keep aside.

In another pan, heat 2 tsp of oil and add the onions. Fry till it becomes slightly golden. Then add the grated ginger and garlic and also the ginger-garlic paste. Fry till the raw smell goes.
Now add the tomatoes and cook till they turn soft. In the mean while add all the spice powders. Add half a cup of water and mix well. Now add the Spinach puree and the frozen peas (if using) and adjust salt. Add more water if required. Let it boil for 5-10 mins on a low flame.

In a small kadai, heat the reamining 2 tsp of oil and fry the paneer pieces till their edges turn golden. Add it to the gravy and cook for 5 more mins.
Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

Note: The entire cooking procedure has to be carried out in an open pan. On covering the pan, the Spinach loses its colour. Also cooking for very long or on a very high flame makes it lose some of its colour. For a thicker consistency fresh cream can be added to the gravy before the final boil.

Viangana Saglen (Egg plant in Coconut Gravy)

Egg plant/Brinjal /Aubergine is called Viangan in Konkani. It comes in 3-4 different shapes and colours. Another variety of brinjal is round, light green in colour and is called Gulla.

Gulla is rarely found in Mumbai though it is very common in my hometown and used to make Gulla bajji.
Both Vaingan and Gulla are also commonly used while making Sambar.
Saglen means whole. In this curry small whole brinjals are used and hence the name.
Compared to others here we get many different vegetables in the Indian grocery stores. But only a few make their way to our home. S loves this dish and so do I. Hence it is one of the most common veggies in our purchase. Sometimes I buy the green Thai eggplants instead of the purple brinjals. They also go very well with this curry. Except for the colour I haven't noticed any change in the taste.

Ingredients

Small variety of brinjals/ Thai egg plant - 8 to10 nos.

For the Coconut Paste
Dessicated Coconut - 2/3 cup
Fenugreek Seeds(Methi) - 1/4 tsp
Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
Dry Red Chillies(Bedgi) - 3
Tamarind - very small piece

Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 3 tsp
Salt
Sugar/Jaggery

Remove the stem of the egg plants and make vertical slits in such a way that the bottom is intact.


Heat 1/2 a tsp of oil and fry the methi and coriander seeds. Also fry the red chillies. Grind the methi, coriander, red chillies, coconut, tamarind with little water to a fine paste.
Little salt and a little jaggery(1-2 tsp) can also be added to this paste.
Now add the finely chopped onions to the coconut paste.
Stuff this mixture into the egg plants. Reserve the remaining paste.

Heat the remaining oil and add the mustard seeds. When they sputter add some curry leaves. Now place the egg plants and add the remaining coconut paste. Add about 1/2 a cup of water.


Cover and cook. Keep turning the egg plants so that they are cooked from all sides. Check salt and sugar. Add more if required. Cook till done. Serve with hot rice and dal.



Note : This curry has a sweetish taste. The sugar/jaggery can be reduced if desired.