Pathirpeni - Indian dessert

Pathirpeni is originally from Karnataka and I just adore it. Most of the time (naah!! may be all the time) people seem to confuse this with Paal poli (deep fried flat bread soaked in sweet condensed milk). Most of my friends have not heard about this dish. 

I have a very sweet memory attached to this particular dish. I made it for the first time in UK and that day happened to be my birthday - 2007. My mom couriered new dresses and a packet of raw pathirpeni packet along with a small packet of crushed almonds, pistachios, cashewnuts, saffron and cardamons to be used for it; a small chit was also attached to its cover, which summarized the recipe. I still remember that day - cold gloomy day with drizzling now and then, my friend announced that a parcel arrived, I rushed down in excitement to see what amma had sent me. I opened to see my birthday gifts and little note tucked inside a greeting card slid down my hand. I saw my amma's hand writing after such a long time, I vaguely remember the last time I saw it.  I still have them, have saved it in my dairy.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 Packet Pathirpeni (you can get it in any supermarkets – Spencer’s daily, Nilgiris but I doubt its availability abroad) - Picture above. 

1/2 cup nuts (Almonds, Pistachios and Cashews) - chopped (Save some for garnish)

1 teaspoon Cardamon powder 

1000ml whole milk

Sugar to taste 

10-12 strands Saffron+ 1/4 cup warm milk

Directions

Warm 1/4 cup milk and place the saffron strands. Set aside.

Bring the milk to boil and once they boil, lower the flame and cook for 30 minutes until they reduce to half. Allow the milk to thicken a bit. Now add the crushed cardamoms or cardamon powder and nuts. Now slowly add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Simmer it for next 5 minutes. Keep a cup of remaining milk aside.

Now take a serving bowl,preferably small one. Place the Patherpeni and pour the thick milk on top. Let the peni soak in the liquid well. Garnish with the nuts and serve immediately.

Note:Don’t cook the milk till they go really thick, not too thick or not too thin.

 

Kesar kulfi - Frozen Indian dessert

"Junoon!Junoon! Junoon!" - The most famous Indian TV soap I grew up watching ends with these words at 10.00 PM. In every home, this memorable song of 1990's would echo between the walls and the entire housing complex where I lived would remain silent when the show airs. With no cable TV or fancy play stations to play with, everyone from 6 to 60 years of age will be glued to watch simple yet quality shows in doordarshan (Indian national TV channel). And at exactly 10.01 pm, there in the distant corner of the colony entrance, I will hear "ding..ding..ding" sound of an aluminum bell. I would climb up the sofa to the window pane and stand between the iron beam of the window grill to tuck my face between it and watch the glorious entry of that tricycle guy with a huge circular tank covered with a red cloth. A rustic chimney light by his side would attract the flies that would happily jump between the luminous light, cleaning water and the red cloth.

It is a strict no from my parents to eat those kulfis and that's the case in most homes. Everyone finds its dirty and unhygienic. But sometimes during summer time, my mom would buy it for me. My dad is one super picky and super hygenic person who will stare at a water tumbler zillion times before taking a sip and his eyes would scan for microscopic dirt.So appa is ruled out from the list. With a ten rupee note in hand, I would walk with my dad to buy 5 kulfis, one for each of us (my cousin,amma, perimma, perippa and myself).

I would run to that young guy clad in colored lungi and red shirt and say "5 kulfis, anna!" displaying my tiny five fingers and after a pause, I will complete "Special". Special means he will add some more nuts while serving. He will break open a small cylindrical container made in plastic,with a pairing knife dipped in his water, he would tap around its surface and loosen its edges by running along the corner and tactfully force a wooden stick at its center and pull out the voluptuous kulfi. Finally drizzled with some crunchy toasted pistachios and cashews that will stick to it like a paper to its glue, you are sure to enter heaven alive. While enduring its taste, my amma would add "don't know he made it with which water, look at the water he dips his knife, its milky and blurry and I am sure you are going to fall sick". Even after those strong warnings, yes it was indeed a scary statement for a 7 year old, I would lick and enjoy it every bit. My heart would feel light and the air around me would fluff up into an imaginary cloud that will fly me up in the sky. As I finish clicking the last drop of the kulfi, my first question will be when can we have it again and my cousin would jump in to ask the same. Both the moms would say next summer.

But the craving got uncontrollable, I would beg and cry to buy them often. That's when my mom started making it at home. Even those kulfis were rationed and it was made sporadic. Whenever she made it, I made sure to stick around her. As she simmered and cooked the milk to a thick liquid and added condensed milk and nuts, I would watch her with curious eyes, absorbing her directions step-by-step. My mom while pouring into the molds would say that the freezer should not be opened for 8 hours. I would nod in excitement that I will not open it for sure. But after my mom naps in the afternoon, I would tip-toe to the Godrej fridge, painted in red to check the molds. I will keep opening it every now and then to see whether they were done. Little annoyed with the doors being banged often, my mom would shout from the bedroom that this constant opening is going to delay the freezing process. I closed them after a final check and sat in the corner of the rectangular dining table next to a window gazing at the tall grasses in the backyard until my mom woke up, around 4.00PM. Can we have it now? was my first question when I saw my amma enter the dining room tying her loose hair into a bun, koondai. I don't think so, may be after dinner. Disappointed. I would set out for my evening play time in our park with a hope to come back for some yummilicious kulfis. All set - creamy, nutty and hard, they were delicious till the last drop.

Now its 10.00PM here, there is no Junoon to watch, there is no "Beware" statements from amma, there is no ding-ding-ding sound in the distance but there is my amma' plump-plump-kesar kulfi in the freezer ready for me to indulge. While I engulf myself in that sinfully irresistible dessert, let me tease you all with some pictures.

Makes 6 molds

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream 

1 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk 

1/4 cup warm milk
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

1/2 cup choppedalmonds

1 teaspoon cardamon powder

Directions

1. Warm the milk in a microwave for 30 seconds, add saffron strands and keep aside.

2. Bring the evaporated milk to a soft boil. Then add the cream. Bring that to a soft boil, add the warm milk with the saffron and condensed milk. Whisk while cooking for about 10-15 minutes.

3. Add the cardamon powder, pistachios and almonds. Remove from flame and cool it to room temperature.

4. Pour them into plastic molds. Freeze for upto 8 hours or overnight.

5. To serve, remove from the freezer and keep it out for 5 minutes. Try to pull out with a stick. Most of the time, like me if you end up with just the stick, don't panic. Use a pairing knife, tap the surface and work your way along the edges to loosen it. Then insert the stick at its center and pull it. This time you will not miss it for sure. Enjoy! :-)

Junoon title song for you all - Nostalgia!!!

Janmashtami / Krishnajayanthi 2011

 

Chocolate bread

Clad in bright red zari skirt with a matching blouse, one little girl was playing pallankuzhi (traditional board game with cowrie shells - Picture here) with her best friend T. Having lost her mother within few days of her birth, she became the apple of the eye for her ammamma (maternal grandmother). Little C saw her ammamma sitting in her favorite teak-wood easy chair cracking pakku (bettel nuts) and little did she know that her grandmother was thinking about getting her adorable grand daughter married soon.

As this little girl chatted and laughed with her playmate, her ammamma walked towards her and announced her marriage with their relative living across the street. Small pearls of tears rolled down her dark skinned cheek as she heard the news and she bluntly said that she will not get married now. Tears and shouting and pleadings - nothing worked. The date was fixed and preparations for the wedding had began in full swing.

She was dressed in her mother's precious diamonds, ruby, emeralds and gold, her ammamma bought the most expensive silk saree in the town and hired the best nadaswaram group from Pandanaloor, musical town in the Thanjavur district for the wedding. With in a month her wedding day had arrived and she was about to marry a 17 year old teenage boy.

As she was brought to the mandap, this 14 -year old young bride looked pretty in her shiny silk saree. Her coal painted black eyes beamed with anxiety as she waved at her friends sitting down the aisle and subtly flaunted her jewelry and mehendi to them. Her aunt stared back with her large eyes and ordered her to walk like a shy bride. She sat on the wooden plank decorated with maa-kollam (rice flour paintings), next to her to-be husband who was also her playmate till yesterday. Her thai mama (maternal uncle) prayed to almighty and adorned her with a rose garland. As the wedding ceremony began with chanting the Sanskrit slokas, she started to pluck each petal of the rose and started to munch it and also offered it to her to-be-husband. Her ammamma pinched her shoulders asking her to stay quiet till the rituals end. Within an hour, that teenage boy tied the sacred yellow thread around her neck and she became a married woman at 14 years of age.

And that young bride was my achi. I had heard this story millions of times and I would feel as if l witnessed the celebration myself. Every time she would describe her wedding day, she would boast about the elaborate foods, the talk of the town decorations, the expensive jewelries, the fireworks and the thoughtful return gifts, her side of the family had organized for her.

For this strong willed cancer survivor, her husband is her pillar of strength. Having married her most trusted ally, this man is more a loyal companion than a husband to her. They just celebrated little more than 50 years of marriage. Despite the high blood pressure and high blood sugar, her craving for rich food (high in sugar and oil) hasn't stopped. Just to tempt her, I am baking a chocolate bread on her birthday (April 3rd). Her self-confidence and go-getter attitude is something I look up to. She may not even know that I have been influenced by her and on her 75th birthday, I want to let her know that she is loved and her life has a great meaning.

Happy 75th Birthday achi ! Hugs.

I am celebrating her birthday with Ann's chocolate bread. I warmed the bread and served it with vanilla ice cream and roasted hazelnuts. Delicioso!

I am dedicating this cake also for my ammamma and S's ammamma's who are celebrating their 80th birthday this year.

Ingredients
1 stick - Butter
2 cups - Sugar
2 large - Eggs
2 cups - All purpose Flour
1/2 cup -Cocoa powder (Unsweetened)
1 1/2 teaspoon -Baking Soda
1/2 cup -Yogurt
1/2 cup - Milk
2 teaspoon - Vanilla Extract

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Sift all purpose flour, Cocoa powder & Baking powder for 3- 4 times. This will mix all the dry ingredients together and leave it aerated and without lumps.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter to a soft and creamy consistency. Add powdered sugar and beat again, until butter and sugar is mixed well. Scrape down the sides using spatula and mix well.

4. Add the eggs one at a time. Beating for about 1 min for each egg at med-high speed. Scrape down the sides using spatula in between.

5. Add yogurt and milk and beat for a minute or two.

6. Now using a silicon/ wooden spatula or a beater at its lowest speed, add the dry ingredients little by little and mix. Do not over beat it, but make sure dry ingredients are wet and incorporated well. Pour this into the prepared dish.

7. Bake at 400F for 5min in the middle rack. Then bring down the temperature to 350 F and bake for 45 - 55min till a skewer put in comes out clean.

TIPS from Ann:
1. Maintain all the ingredients at room temperature.
2. Do not open the oven door during first half hour, this could fluctuate the temperature inside and may not make the cake rise.
3. If the batter is poured into a more wider baking pan, or more than one, the baking time will be lesser, like about 30-40min.
4. For those who likes the cake to be little bitter sweet, reduce the sugar to about 1 1/2 cups.

Semiya payasam - A dessert with milk and vermicelli

Ask any Indian about hot payasam?
He would spare a bright smile and his mouth will crave for a cup immediately.

 

Semiya payasam is the most popular dessert prepared in India and no celebration is complete without it. Vermicilli is a famous ingredient used in Indian cooking. Dishes like upma, bagalabath (recipe here) and puddings are made with them. When there is an Indian festival, get together or birthday/anniversary, I prepare this dessert for my family. I made semiya payasam last weekend for S's cousin (newly weds) who visited our home for the first time.

Rich and creamy in texture, this delightful dessert has tons of ghee roasted cashews and raisins in it. The nuts enhances the taste of the payasam and further creates exotic crunch in almost every spoon. A touch of few strands of aromatic Iranian saffron blends beautifully with the simmering hot milk and fills the kitchen air with the smell of earthly ghee and saffron. Saffron has to be used in small quantities, excess addition can harm your stomach. Restrict your use to minimum amount of it (about 12-15 strands). 

My grandmother lives in small village near Panrutti, known as the commercial center of Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu. This place is known for cashews and jackfruit. They export them to various countries like USA, Australia, Singapore. The broken and powdered cashews that are rejected for export are sold at much lower price for the locals. My grandmother would buy several packets as they are cheap and we use it for dishes which requires the use of cashew paste. She would say "Pretty whole cashews should be used for garnishing while the broken ones for making paste". During my trip to Indian this year, she gave me two 1/4kg packets and I have been using them in chicken curry, paneer curry and in desserts too. I am planning to make kaju katli someday.

Some serve this delicious payasams hot like soups and some prefer it cold like smoothies. I would like to have mine warm. Serv it in pre-warmed ramekin and they taste even better the next day.

SEMIYA PAYASAM
Serves 4-6
Source: My mother


Ingredients
1cup raw vermicelli - available in Indian grocery store
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup raw cashews
6-8 cardamon pods (crushed) or 1tsp powdered cardamon
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
1/2-3/4 cup sugar ( adjust accordingly to your palate) or 1/2-3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter/ ghee (clarified butter) - available in Indian grocery shops
10saffron strands 





Soak and grind
1 tablespoon broken cashews
1/4 cup milk


Directions
1. Heat 1 tablespoon ghee /clarified butter in a small cooking pan. Once they get heated up, roast the cashews and raisins till they brown lightly. Remove and let it cool. Soak broken cashews in warm milk for 10 minutes and make a smooth paste out of it.

2. Heat a large cooking pan and add the remaining ghee. Fry the vermicilli till they roast and crisp up, about 5 minutes. Pour the milk along with the crushed cardamons and bring it to a boil. 

3. Simmer the flame and cook for 20-30 minutes. Don't cover it, if you cover them up till be boil and spill over. Mix in the cashew paste and stir to combine.

4. Throw in the fried cashews and raisins and cook for further 3-4 minutes. Turn off the flame and add the saffrons. Cover and let them rest for 15 minutes. Serve hot. You can store them in the fridge for couple of days but re-heat before you serve.

Strawberry banana smoothie

I love smoothie! Who doesn't? I am sure it is a part of us on a hectic day at work. My most favorite one is strawberry and banana smoothie.

By definition, smoothie is a blended creamy beverage made from fruit / vegetable and served chill. They may contain crushed ice, frozen fruits, frozen yogurt, cold milk, sweetened syrups and will have a milk shake like consistency.

California is getting chilly day by day and I feel so cosy wearing a thick jumper and fluffy slip-on most of the time and additionally, my home is so warm with the lighted candles in the corner. Last night as I sat down to watch "Chopped" in Food Network, S who was till-then-busy with his laptop wanted something to munch (late night snack). We have been trying to cut down on calories to lose few pounds, hence I denied any snack and offered fruits. He said "NO" (that was quite a big loud No!).

He demanded strawberry pastry or strudel to satisfy his sweet tooth and finally after tough negotiations , he got convinced for a glass of smoothie made from fully skimmed milk. The frothy smoothie with natural sweetness of ripen bananas and tempting red strawberries was a true dessert for wrapping our late nights. That's my story on making this healthy delicious drink last night. It is such a simple drink made in a couple of minutes and tastes absolutely heavenly.

Well, I brought down the milk to room temperature by placing a glass of it in warm water and didn't serve them very cold. I am sure many wouldn't enjoy a cold beverage on a chilly night, atleast I wouldn't enjoy it.

Here is the recipe for it.


Serves 2
Ingredients
10 strawberries - cleaned & halved
1 ripen banana
500 ml skimmed milk
1/2 tbs sugar syrup/honey (optional)
or
1/2 tbs Hershey strawberry syrup (optional)

Method
Blend them all in a food processor till they become frothy. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Paal payasam (Indian pudding) to celebrate Rahman's Oscar

JAI HO! (meaning "let there be victory" in Hindi) --- This famous track in Slumdog Millionaire begins with the lovely sound of guitar, grows into an opera with a Bollywood touch and ends with the notes of Violins.The more I listen to it , the more I feel proud about Rahman.

Indian music maestro A.R.Rahman became the first Indian to bag two Oscars for his mind blowing work in "Slumdog Millionaire". He received the much-awaited Oscar on the night of the 81st Academy Awards.

He ended the acceptance speech by saying "Yella pugazhum Eraivanuke" (meaning "All praise for the Lord" in Tamil). Congrats to Rasool Pookutty as well.

Its a proud moment for every Indian and especially for Chennaites!

My humble city - Chennai was so colorful with fireworks last evening. There were proud smiles every where and Rahman's famous tracks was heard in every tea stall/auto/bus stand. There was a celebration time in Chennai.

I kept watching Rahman Oscar acceptance speech in every news channel possible and it was indeed an emotional moment for me.I wanted to celebrate this in my own style.

For the Tamilian in me : What more than a simple bowl of warm Paal Payasam will convey my happiness?



The post for today is Paal Payasam, condensed sweetened milk dessert cooked with little dash of Indian rice. Its a famous Tamil delicacy. Paal means milk in Tamil and Payasam means pudding inTamil. This recipe was taught to my mom by her sister S and its our all time favorite one for festivals and birthday celebrations.

This dessert is one of the favorite of Lord Krishna and is cooked during Janmashtami (Lord Krishna's Birthday). It is deliberately slow-cooked and involves constant stirring. The mild aroma of the cardamoms are beautifully infused into incredible rice cooked in milk.The smell of the boiling milk adds a divine smell to the kitchen air. At the end of it, I am sure its worth the wait and the silken creamy milk pudding is sure to rekindle the hidden Tamilian taste bud of yours.Slurp!




Ingredients

• 2 tsp long Indian rice (No basmati rice)
• 500ml whole milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 2-3 cardamon pods
• 8-10 saffron strands
• 10-12 roasted unsalted cashwenuts

Method

Heat the milk in a large cooking vessel and bring it to a boil. Add in the rice. Once boiled lower the flame and cook for 1 hour with constant stirring. Spoon out few rice grains and mash it with curved end of the spoon or finger. The rice should get mashed by this time and thats the right texture we want.

Now add in the sugar and cardamon and cook on a low flame for 15-20min.Garnish with saffron strands and roasted cashewnuts. Serve warm. Enjoy!

or you can follow this easy method:

Clean a cooking pan and set the lid with gasket and whistle. Clean the rice in running water.Drain the water and keep the rice aside.Pour in the whole milk along with the rice, sugar, cardamon and cook for 10-12 whistles.Switch off the flame and let it cool. Transfer it to a clean vessel. Add saffron strands and roasted cashews. Serve warm. 

Creamy pumpkin soup

"Yippee!! He's leaving!yo yo yo!!" I yelled as I saw Bush leave the White House.

Fresh, young , sensible and of course a true leader: Obama has become the 44th President of the US on Tuesday (Jan20, 2009). What a memorable day!

BARACK OBAMA: Fired up n ready to go!!!!

The sea of cheering enthusiast have landed at Washington despite the sub-zero temperature to witness the change in American history. It was a very special and emotional moment for everyone. I was glued to the TV and I felt very emotional and elated as I heard him speak.
A brilliant orator has raised the hopes of millions around the globe.From Chennai to China to Chicago, people are thrilled and excited about the new US President. He seems to be a new ray of hope; not alone for America but for every other nation. A new wax-work of Obama was unveiled by Madame Tussuad's, London.
Welcome Mr.President!

To mark this celebration, I made a yummy pumpkin soup for my family. Well, a simple celebration to start with :-) (wink).


This simple soup is so easy to fix. The lovely cute yellow pumpkin, the handsome potatoes and the sexy carrots gives it a beautiful texture and sweetness.The mild spices adds a lovely aroma in every mouth. The almonds enriches the richness of the soup and makes it more creamier and thick. The heat comes from the pepper corns and its just the perfect dinner soup for the season.
Ingredients

• 1 cup cubed yellow pumpkin
• 1/2cup cubed carrots
• 1/2 cup cubed potatoes
• 1/2 cup sliced onions
• 500-750ml vegetable stock
• 10-12 soaked deskinned almonds
• 250-300ml semi-skimmed milk
• Olive oil
• White pepper
• Salt

Masala

• 1 tsp black pepper balls
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 1/2 Bay leaf
• 2-4 cloves

• 

Method
Heat the olive oil in a cooking vessel. Saute the onions for a couple of min, then add the potatoes and yellow pumpkin. Cook for 5-7 min. Pour in the vegetable stock and the whole spices. Bring it to a boil and simmer the flame for 10-15min.Once they are cooked, turn off the flame and let it cool.

Fish out the whole spices. Grind the vegetables along with the almonds to a fine thick paste. Mix in the semi-skimmed milk and transfer it to fire. Cook on medium flame for 3-5min.
Dont add too much milk or vegetable stock, the soup tastes great when its thick and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on pre-warmed soup bowls with soup sticks/cheese toast / pepper pappads. Enjoy!



This is my entry for Harini's Food in Colours - Jan 2009.