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.

Juicy Lucy Cutlet Pao

Move over vada pav. If you are non vegetarian, cutlet pav is way to go. If you ever walked the streets of Goa, cutlet pav was never far away. When it's too late for lunch and too early for dinner, cutlet pav is your best bet to satiate that hunger. Crisp on the outside, juicy on the inside meat cutlets, slathered with spicy chutney on toasted pao...can it get any better?! I've humbly tried to endeavour.

I really wanted to add my own zing with this Goan staple. Ever heard of a juicy lucy? If you've never been to Dunkin Dounuts or Minneapolis (where it was 'invented'), it's a burger with cheese inside. As simple as that sounds, the suprising pop of melting cheese when you take a bite into the burger is just pure heaven.



So what happens when you mix a Goan street food with Minneapolis' contribution to the world? Look at the beauty below to find out.



Makes 4 servings

For the cutlet:
250gms minced beef (you can use chicken but I can't promise you the same result)
1tsp garlic paste
1tbsp vinegar or lime juice
1 egg
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
Salt & pepper according to taste

8 slices of cheese*
Oil for frying

For the green chutney:
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1/2 onion
1/2 tomato
1/2 inch ginger
3 cloves of garlic
2-3 green chillis
Salt

4 Ladi pav buns + 4 slices of cheese

*Cheddar or mozzerella is the best cheese to use for this recipe. I had quite a bit of left over blue cheese which I've used instead. If you do end up using blue cheese ensure you use less than a teaspoon serving per patty. Blue cheese has a very strong flavour and it's not everyone's cup of tea. Plus your core won't be molten as evident in the pictures.



In a bowl, mix all the cutlet ingredients together with your hands. Ensure all ingredients are well incorporated. Roll this mixture into small balls and flatten with the palm of your hands to form cutlets. If the mixture is too wet and not holding its shape, add some more breadcrumbs. Ensure the size of these cutlets is just enough to fill your pav. Make 8 thin cutlets for 4 cutlet paos

Cut each slice of cheese into 4 equal slices and stack the pieces. Sandwich one stack of cheese between 2 cutlets. Press down on the edges to tightly seal the cheese within the cutlet. Cook the cutlets on a medium heat in a heavy bottomed skillet. Cook till cutlets are well browned on both sides (approx 5mins). It is common for the meat to puff up due to steam from the melting cheese. Incase you notice this, prick the top of each cutlet to allow steam to escape.

For the chutney:
In a blender, add all ingredients with 2-3 tbsp of water.Blend till a smooth puree. You can bottle excess chutney and refriderate for upto 10days or freeze for upto 1 month. You can use this chutney in any concieveable dish, right from sanwiches to dips to kebab mariandes to even curry.

To serve, toast ladi paos and slather with greenchutney. Add the cutlet and top with another slice of cheese. Top with a fried egg and some more green chutney.

Vegan Pudding

Serves 4

1 cup non-dairy whipping cream*
2 tbsp Maple Syrup (use honey or sugar as substitute though it won't be vegan)
2 over ripe Bananas (preferably plantains)
100 gms Dark chocolate
200gms Oreos (optional)



*Almost all whipping cream available in the market is dairy free and soy based. And trust me it is lighter, lasts longer and tastes better than the dairy version. Popular brands include Rich's, Topolite, MerryWhip & GoldTop. They come in 1kg packs, and since it's not an everyday ingredient, I just divide the contents into individually portioned containers and freeze it. Ensure you write the serving size (1 cup, 1/2 etc) and the date on top of the container. When you need it, just thaw out one container in the refrigerator for a few hours.

In a small bowl, mash bananas so that no big chunks remain. You can use the blender to get a smooth puree if you prefer. In a blender or using a rolling pin, crush oreos till it crumbs and set aside (you can skip the oreo crust if you're not up for it...but seriously...should you?)

In a large bowl, pour in the whipping cream. Using a whisk or hand mixer, whip the cream till soft peaks form. Now drizzle the maple syrup and add the bananas. Fold in the bananas and maple syrup so as to not deflate the cream.

You can use individual glasses to portion or a large serving dish. To assemble, spread the oreo crumbs at the bottom, topped with the cream mixture. Alternately, you can build a trifle with layers of oreos, cream and mashed bananas. Refrigerate for 30min to an hour to cool the pudding. Grate dark chocolate on top and serve!

Spiced Rum Banana Fritters

If you are mallu you know what pazham pori is. Or maybe you call it Ethakka appam. Either way, it holds a special place in every malayalee's heart. It's Kerala's favourite tea time snack and you can buy it anywhere in the state; from restaurants to road side carts to trains. I particularly have fond memories of eating this in the train and really looked forward to Kerala journeys because of it.

The trick to making these Banana fritters is using over ripe Kerala plantains (ethakka or nendra pazham). On the occasion of Vishu, I really wanted to twist this traditional snack, so I decided to serve it with a very untraditional rum sauce. You can obviously eat it as is minus the sauce, and it's still delicious. Remember to serve piping hot!



For the Fritters:

2 Kerala plantains (the riper the better)
3 tbsps all purpose flour / maida
1 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp sugar (castor sugar preferred)
Pinch of Salt
Coconut oil to fry

For the Sauce:
2 tbsp sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 cloves
1 star anise
2 tbsp cream
1/4 cup rum


Heat oil in a pan. More often than not these fritters are deep fried. I don't see the need for it and uses a shallow frying pan instead. Peel the plantains and slit it lengthwise. In a bowl mix the flours, sugar and salt with water to form a thick paste. Dip the plantains and coat evenly. Fry till golden brown, turning occasionally to fry on all sides. Once golden brown, drain excess oil with a paper towel. Serve piping hot with tea or dust powdered sugar and drizzle with sauce below.



For the sauce:

In a pan, add the rum and the whole spices and let it simmer for 7-10mins. Remove the cinnamon, cloves and star anise from the rum. Now add sugar and stir continuously till sugar is fully incorporated. You'll get something that resembles caramel. Add the cream slowly, and step a little away while doing so as the mixture will start bubbling vigorously. Immediately remove from heat and keep stirring till cream is incorporated and the sauce thickens. Spoon over the banana fritters. You can store the leftover sauce in the fridge for upto a month. A spoon of this goes deliciously well with ice cream, cakes or even coffee.

Chocolate P&B Squares

I've been out of action for a while. Between moving houses, buying appliances and painting walls, life just caught up with me. I got a brand new KitchenAid, but now I also have a tiny kitchen with absolutely no shelves. Get the joke?

Cooking and baking in a makeshift kitchen is a real challenge. But these Peanut Butter & Chocolate bars are almost too easy to be true. With just 5 ingredients, it's no bake, no cook and absolutely no fuss. All you need is a bowl. Obviously it helps to use a grinder to get biscuit crumbs, but elbow grease and a rolling pin don't disappoint either. And obviously it helps having a microwave to melt chocolate or butter, but Indian summers are just as effective.



Adapted from Buzzfeed

100 gms melted butter

400 gms digestive biscuits crumbed

2 cups creamy peanut butter + 2tbsps

50 gms powdered sugar

300 gms dark chocolate 

Line a pan (preferably 9"x9") with aluminium foil and set aside.

In a bowl, combine melted butter, peanut butter, sugar and biscuit crumbs. Stir till well combined. Spread the mixture evenly in the lined pan and refrigerate. While the peanut butter mix is chilling, melt the chocolate. Once melted, stir in 2tbsps peanut butter and mix till smooth. Spread evenly over the refrigerated P&B mixture. Chill until firm (approx. 1hr). Cut and serve!

For a vegan version of these bars, just substitute the butter for 2 tbsps of a neutral oil.

Tip: When the chocolate is melted, sprinkle a pinch of salt. Salt brings out the inherent sweetness of chocolate :)

Note: I've used very little sugar because I didn't want these bars to be overly sweet. Obviously, if you have a huge sweet tooth, feel free to add between 100-150gms sugar.

De-constructed Pavlova

I died, went to heaven and came back to ground reality all in one bite. There was just so much going on in one bite...so many textures, so many flavours and sensations.  Picture a crispy meringue shell with a marshmallow soft centre, luscious cream and a mountain of fresh fruit. It's such a graceful dessert, and yet so intoxicating. I'm addicted.



It's also a great hit at dinner parties for its novelty and easy to make recipe. You can easily portion them into glasses or small bowls for individual servings and you can make the meringues ahead of time.



Pavlovas are relatively easy to make and the ingredients are pantry staples. I have a confession to make however, I've tried to make meringues multiple times, but failed miserably. I tried whisking egg whites with my hands and progressed to using hand mixers, but nothing works except a stand mixer. If you don't own a stand mixer like KitchenAid, don't even try attempting this dish. But if you do own one, you can whip up this dessert in under 10mins (minus baking time).

Makes one large (approx 12") Pavlova

4 egg whites
250g castor sugar
1tsp vinegar
1tsp cornflour
1tsp vanilla extract

For the topping
5000gms stawberries, halved
3tbsp icing sugar
1tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
250ml cream
1tsp icing sugar

Pre-heat oven to 150C. In a stand mixer, whisk egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Now whisk in the sugar one tablespoon at a time, until the meringue looks glossy.



Whisk in the rest of the ingredients. To bake the pavlova use a silpat or line a baking tray with parchment paper. Spread the meingue in a circular fashion. Spread it such that the sides are a little higher than the middle.



Bake for 1hr and let the pavlova cool completely inside the oven.

For the topping:

Whisk cream with a pinch of icing sugar, till it swells up a bit. I don't recommend adding too much sugar to the cream as the meringue and strawberry mixture already contain quite a bit of sugar. The cream cuts the sweetness beautifully.

In a saucepan pan, add the halved strawberries with sugar. Heat on a low flame till the sugar dissolves, then bring to a simmer. Cover pan and cook for 2-3mins. Cool, and add balsamic vinegar if you like. What we've made here is a basic compote which can be stored for two weeks and can be used to top anything from pancakes and waffles, to scones, to even bread.

Once the meringue is cool, spread the cream over the meringue followed by the strawberries. Drizzle the strawberry syrup over the meringue and serve.



To serve as my de-constructed version, cut out part of the meringue and crush with your fingers to form rough sized crumbs. Drizzle cream on top of the crumbs and place individual pieces of strawberry on top. Bring it all together by drizzling some strawberry syrup.



I honestly find this de-constructed way the best way to serve. Its easier to portion out, plus less messy to cut.




P.S: I'm going to let you in on a discovery I made. I stored the leftover Pavlova over night and tried it the next day, and it tasted even better. Try eating your Pavlova cold rather than room temperature. The meringue has a beautiful silky, custard like taste and texture. It is beyond tasty.

Bacon Chutney

I am a big believer in edible gifts. I'd rather gift a friend a jar of something delicious than a lame shopping voucher. It shows thought, effort and love. A colleague from work and a good friend was leaving the city and moving to Bangalore. This guy is a sucker for all things bacon. So after a lot of searching I found an amazing Bacon Jam recipe. But what started out as jam came together while cooking to become an amazing Bacon chutney.



Having a jar full of this is so handy, its one of those condiments that can brighten anything. Use it as sandwich spread, in pancakes, stuff in in omelettes, or my personal favourite...eat it right out of the jar. Needless to say, my friend loved it and unknown to him, I've selfishly reserved half for myself. Don't judge! you wouldn't want to share it too!



Makes approx. 250gms

250gms chopped Bacon 250gms
1tbsp Mustard seeds
1tbsp Chilli powder
1tbsp Sugar
1 stick of cinamon
250gms Cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 tsp oil

In a saucepan, heat oil. I'm using the bare minimum amount of oil, as the aim is to cook this chutney in rendered bacon fat for additional flavour. Add the bacon and cook till done. Now add the mustard seeds. Once it tempers i.e. starts popping, add in the sugar and chilli powder. Now add the tomatoes and cook on a low heat till cooked. You know the chutney is done when the tomatoes start losing its shape and mash easily.

Waffles

I don't need to tell you how good waffles are. They are the perfect vehicle for cream, honey, syrup, berries or chocolate. Or you can go the savoury way with gravy, chicken or cheese. Either way, waffles are amazing.

Waffle batter is pretty similar to that of pancakes but there is one prominent distinction - butter. Not that pancakes dont call for butter, but waffles always call for a fair amount of butter. Butter is what gives waffles its crisp light texture and ensure that it releases easily for the waffle iron. The more butter in the batter (sounds like a tongue twister no?), the richer, crispier the waffle. For lactose intolerant peeps, you can substitute 3tbsp vegetable oil for evey 4tbsp butter.



Makes approx. 8 waffles

2cups flour
1tsb baking powder
1tbsp castor sugar*
1/2tsp salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup melted butter**

*Since I was going to top my waffles with whipped cream and strawberry compote, I went a little low on the sugar in the waffle batter. 1tbsp sugar is also perfect for making savoury waffles. If you will be eating the waffles as is, add in another tbsp of sugar

** Use 4tbsp of butter for a 'low calorie' waffle, 8 tbsp (or 1 stick) for a classic fluffy waffle or 200gms for the crunchiest waffles ever

In a large bowl mix all your dry ingredients i.e: flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In another bowl, mix in the wet ingredients i.e: eggs, butter and milk. Ensure that your melted butter is not hot while mixing it with eggs. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine.

Heat the waffle iron until your indicator shows its ready. Ladle on the waffle batter, enough to cover around 2/3rd of the grid surface. Close the lid. My waffle maker takes 7-10mins to make a batch of waffles. Cooking time will depend on individual waffle makers. A waffle is ready when steam stops emerging from the cracks of the iron. If you lift the top and the waffle shows resistance, it means that the waffle is still not done.



Waffles can be kept warm in an oven on low heat. This will also help retain its crispiness until you are ready to serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated for 2-3days or frozen for several months.

I served mine in two batches: one with strawberry compote and whipped cream, and the other with some irish cream and whipped cream. Yummy in my tummy!



Tip: you can separate the eggs and beat the whites separately and incorporate for a lighter, fluffier waffle

Strawberry Parfait

It's that time of the year again! Fruits are aplenty and strawberries are leading the pack. Now I had a lot of leftovers from all that Christmas baking - a little cream here, a little jelly there - and the most obvious thing to make would be a trifle. But this post is titled parfait and not trifle so this begs the question, what is the difference between a parfait and a trifle? They are both layered desserts which pretty much look the same. Well after a lot of digging around I think it fundamentally boils down to two key ingredients that make a trifle which do not usually feature in a parfait - one is cake and the other is custard. Cake and custard is essential for a trifle while a parfait usually is made of ice cream or whipped cream. Not earth shattering distinctions if you ask me but tasty all the same.



My parfait today comprises of everything I had leftover from Christmas, namely whipping cream, mascarpone cheese and cranberry jelly. So I just got some strawberries (because everything is better with strawberries!) and whipped up this dessert.



It makes more sense to serve this dessert in fancy glasses as individual portions, but you can also layer it in a trifle bowl if you like.

Makes enough for 12

250gms digestive or glucose biscuits
2tbsp melted butter
250gms of cranberry jelly *
250gms Mascarpone cheese
250gms whipping cream
50gms castor sugar
500gms strawberries

*adding jelly is optional, I had some homemade cranberry jelly in the fridge and hence I used it up.



Whip the whipping cream till triple in size. Add the mascarpone cheese and sugar and whip again. If the mixture looks too thick, add a little milk. You can also add a little booze or liquor to cream if you like.

Crush the biscuits to a coarse crumb texture. Drizzle in the melted butter and mix thoroughly. Slice strawberries into bite sized pieces. You can also choose to slightly mash the strawberries with a fork. If your strawberries are too tart, sprinkle some castor sugar on top of it and then mash.

To assemble, line up all the serving glasses. Add the biscuit mix to the bottom of the glass and gently press down. Now add in the jelly. Top with a big spoonful of strawberries followed by the cream mixture. Repeat the strawberry and cream layer until the glass is filled.



 Top with some grated chocolate if you like. Refrigerate and serve chilled.