Aamras Tarts

Look at these beauties! Just the sight of them make me smile. I think these pictures will brighten up anybody's gloomy day. And to think I clicked it during Mumbai's dull rains. I am extremely proud of my photography skills in this post. So proud that I've forgotten to talk about the actual recipe...oops!



So I had the last of the mangoes lying in my fridge. My father went on a mango hoarding spree once the monsoon set in. He actually bought 10kgs of mangoes! By the time I was down to my last on I couldn't stand to eat another bite. So I thought, how could I innovate with this poor fella. I didn't want to make the same old boring cheesecake. Then it struck me...why not aamras with a twist? I basically had ready made tart shells that I bought from a local farsan shop, so I whipped these up for a quick tea time treat

If you're not from India, aamras is basically mango pulp that's whipped to a silky, deliciously thick puree and sometimes sweetened with sugar. It is just divine!



Makes approx 10 tartlets
1 large mango
1tbsp honey (replacing sugar with honey to make this healthy!)
10 tart shells*

*You can buy these at any local bakery or the bakery section in the supermarket. I got mine from Trupti Farsan.



Cut the mango in half and scoop out all the pulp. Make sure you don't lose any of the oozing juices. In a blender, add the pulp and a spoon of honey. Blend for 30secs till the pulp is nice and creamy. Spoon it over tart shells or nacho chips or toasted bread or what have you. Sprinkle some chilli flakes (mango and chilli are like Adam and Eve) to give a nice kick (optional) and enjoy!

Pork Vindaloo Spare Ribs

Yes you heard that correctly. Your favourite goan dish also makes a pretty kickass spare ribs. Think of it like vindaloo on a stick. Shrey and I greedily chowed on these babies on a dull rainy day...and it's really really yum!

The authentic vindaloo is not fiery, its supposed to be spicy and tangy.I hope a bite of this will take you back to Goa or Christmas celebrations.



Serves 2

Approx. 6 pieces of pork ribs
For the vindaloo masala:
15 Kashmiri chillies
2 large onions
6 cloves of garlic
1" ginger
2 tsp jeera (cumin)
1 tsp haldi (tumeric) powder
1" bark of cinnamon
6-10 peppers
3-6 cloves
150ml vinegar



Goans use a tradional vinegar made of either coconut or toddy. If you can get your hands on some, use it instead of the regular  white vinegar. It will really elevate your dish.

In a mixer, grind the masala ingredients to form a paste. Rub this masala on the ribs and allow to marinate over night.



Cook the ribs in a pressure cooker for approx 30mins. The meat will be so tender that you can literally pull the bone out. Now you can serve the ribs as in, or brown it off in a pan with some oil.

Udon Noodle Soup

I call this magic soup. Why? Because it's healthy and hearty. Because it takes 15- 20 minutes to put together. Because I can use leftovers from my fridge. And most importantly, it's comforting and delicious.

Udon noodles are thick, slightly chewy, Japanese noodles. It's easy to find in the Asian aisle of a good supermarket. If you don't find it in a supermarket, substitute it for any noodle you like (except for Maggi!), I have even used spaghetti at times.



I call this recipe my un-recipe. It's one of those things you throw together in a pot. It's a good soup to use up those odds and ends - a lone wilting celery stick, the last of the mushrooms, scratch the bottom of the jar pepper powder. I suggest you follow the recipe, but really make your own, if you know what I mean. And if you get your hands on Miso, do not let it go. I wish I could use some here, but I just couldn't find it :( I had leftovers from a Thai ingredients pack which I wanted to use, so my soup has a distinct south east asian tatse. You can skip the Thai ingredients all together.



Serves 2

4 cups water
1 fistful of udon noodles
1 Maggie Chicken cube or 1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup mushrooms (I used Shitake)
1 cup assorted veggies (I used broccoli)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 Thai mix packet: Kaffir Lime leaves, Galangal, Bird's eye Chillies, Lemongrass
Salt to taste

Note: I made a meatless soup as I didn't really have any meat at the time. I would really recommend using chicken for this recipe.

In a pot, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Add the chicken stock or soup cube and stir till well incorporated. Add all other ingredients except the soy sauce, and close lid. Let it simmer for 15 mins. At this point you can either add udon noodles and let it cook in the broth till al dente or you can just pre-cook your noodles and add it to the broth. Add the soy sauce and gently stir. Do a taste check and only then add salt if needed. Both the stock and soy sauce are considerably salty, so do not add salt at the start.

Divide the soup between two bowls. Top with a fried egg and some coriander and eat immediately.

Baklava

Baklava is a dessert from the Mediterranean region. While it's origins are questionable (almost all middle eastern people - the Turks, Arabs, Greeks, Armenians- introduce Baklava as their national dessert), you can never argue about its taste. It's a rich pastry made with layers of phyllo and chopped nuts, doused with honey and butter.

I was really keen on making this at home, but phyllo is tough to find. For those who want to attempt it, I bought mine from Nature's Basket and it is available in Foodhall Palladium in Mumbai.



Notes on working with phyllo:
It's always sold frozen and ensure it remains frozen until needed. To use it, remove from freezer and let it thaw.

• If not defrosted properly, the sheets tend to stick together. The dough must be thawed atleast 12hours before you intend on using it. I removed the packet it from the freezer and placed it in the refrigerator to thaw as is. If you don't thaw the pastry and just work with it cold, the sheets will crack as you unfold them.
• The pastry dries out very quickly. The dough can crack when exposed to air within minutes. Once unwrapped, cover immediately in plastic wrap.
• The sheets are paper this so they tear easily. Hence handle very gently.
• Unused phyllo can be refrigerated or refrozen and will remain for 2 months. Make sure you seal it in cling wrap and store in the original box.

1 pack of phyllo pastry
2 kg assorted nuts, finely chopped or crushed to a crumble in a mixer*
500 gms raisins, dates or sultanas, finely chopped (optional: I find adding raisins gives the baklava a nice burst of flavour and a good break in texture from the extremely nutty taste otherwise)
500gms butter
250gms honey

*I used pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds and cashews. 2kgs is the weight of all the nuts combined once chopped and mixed together.



Preheat the oven to 150 degree Celsius. Butter a rectangular baking pan.

Melt butter in a bowl and set aside to cool. Once cooled, mix in the honey and stir well till combined. In another bowl, mix all the dryfruits and nuts together. Ensure you assemble everything before unwrapping the thawed phyllo dough.

Unwrap the phyllo sheets and lay them flat. If necessary trim the edges incase they are too big for your baking pan. Working quickly, pick 3-4sheets and place on the buttered pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface of the exposed top sheet with the butter and honey mixture. Add in the nuts and arrange to form one layer. Repeat the process (3-4 sheets + butter/honey + nuts) till all the sheets are used up. Finally, spread the butter and honey mixture on the top layer. Using a very sharp knife, cut the baklava as desired (into squares, rectangles, triangle, diamond shape). I forgot to cut my baklava while baking, which is why once done, it got extremely difficult for my baklava to keep up appearances.

Bake for 45 mins until the top is golden brown and crisp.

Tip: You can really experiment with filling ingredients like chocolate chips or even flavoured syrups like maple...just to give you a few ideas.