Basbousa / Namoura | A Middle Eastern Delicacy

This months Home Baker's challenge was held by Nupur of UK Rasoi and she selected a variety of Arabian delicacies. When I went through the recipes, I was instantly hooked to the Basbousa. In fact I have been hooked with this sweet for quite some time. I have never tried it but something about this dessert felt so rich and heavenly. I am not sure whether it is the use of dessicated coconut or the combination of almond extract and rosewater but something about this dessert seemed to touch the right spot. And just as I believed this dish is heavenly in every bite. It is best served slightly warm so feel free to zap it into the microwave for few seconds.

~*What U need*~ Fine semolina - 1/2 + 1/8 cup All purpose flour - 1/4 cup Shredded coconut - 3/4 cup(I used homemade, check notes) Milk - 1/2 cup Sugar - 6 tbsp Egg - 1/2 of an egg Almond extract - 1/2 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Butter - 4 tbsp Blanched almonds - 16 For the sugar syrup: Water - 1/2 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Rose water - 1/2 tbsp How I Made it: First prepare the sugar syrup. This is because the syrup should be completely cool when pouring onto the cake. Bring the water, sugar & lemon juice to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 6 mins. Add the rosewater and simmer for another 3-4 mins. Transfer the syrup into a measuring jug and let it cool down. Lets make the cake. Mix together the semolina, flour, coconut, sugar & baking powder. Melt the butter, add the milk, egg and almond extract and mix till combined. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix well. Prepare the pan with butter. Transfer the mixture into the baking pan. Place the blanched almonds on the top. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 20 mins. With a buttered knife cut into pieces. Bake for another 20 mins. Once baked, retrace the cuts made with a knife. Pour the syrup over the warm Basbousa. ** My notes: ** To blanch almonds, soak the almonds in warm water for 10 mins and then peel the skin. Pat dry the almonds and use as needed. ** To make fresh dessicated coconut at home, dry roast freshly grated coconut in very low heat for 6-8 mins or till there is no water remaining when touched. Allow to cool and then blend in a coffee grinder with 1 tbsp of sugar till fine.

Serve warm!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Chole Bhature

This weekend is gonna be fun. Prediction is that the temperature is gonna be in the 40s (C). And so we have planned for loads of shopping. Then there is gonna be baking, red velvet cupcakes to be precise. Its gonna be real fun and I am looking forward to the weekend which I haven't been doing for sometime now. Added to that its been nearly two weeks since I have gone out. Grocery shopping or anything shopping has been taken care by the huss and so "I am looking forward to this weekend".

Let's talk chole bhature. To those who are new to the name, Chole bhature is a popular Punjabi cuisine which is a combination of chole (spicy chick peas) and deep fried bread called bhatoora. I totally love this dish and whenever I visit a vegetarian restaurant back in INDIA, this would be one among the few that I would order. It is one awesome combo. Usually the poori is made very big, big as in the size of a regular dosa but since I didn't have a big wok, I stuck to the regular poori size. Also I was frightened that the poori would not puff up properly if I rolled it too big. And then there was the fear of spluttering hot oil. First timers, I would advice you to go with the regular poori size.

~*What U Need*~ For the Chole: Onion - 1, big Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp Tomato - 1, pureed Channa masala - 1 tbsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Oil - 3 tbsp Salt Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Bay leaf - 1 Cinnamon - 1" stick Chickpeas - 1 cup, soaked overnight For the bhature: Maida / All purpose flour - 2 cups Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 1/4 cup Baking powder - 1/4 tsp Sugar - 1/2 tsp Curd - 1/2 cup Salt - to taste How I Made it: Soak the chickpeas overnight and pressure cook for 5 whistles till soft or you could use a can of garbanzo drained off the liquid. Heat oil in a pan, add the bay leaf, cinnamon and once fried, add the cumin seeds. Once brown add the onions and saute till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and mix well. Fry till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and fry. Once the oil separates, add the red chilli powder and channa masala and saute. After 3 mins, add the peas and mix well. Add enough water and allow to boil in medium heat till the oil separates. Add chopped coriander leaves, season with salt and remove from flame. To make the bhatures, in a mixing bowl, add maida, sooji, baking powder, sugar and salt and mix well. Add yogurt and mix well. Knead to a smooth dough. Cover it with damp cloth and allow to rest for 3 to 4 hrs. After 4 hrs, knead the dough well and divide into equal balls. Roll it to pooris and fry in hot oil till puffed & crisp on both sides.

Serve warm!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Rava Appam | Happy Vijaydhasami

Today is really a very special day for us... Pappu is gonna write his first words in rice. Yes we have a ritual were the kid writes his first words on rice guided by his father (on Vijayadhasami). Not that he hasn't started writing scribbling all over the walls, but officially today is his first word. I am so excited. Our pappu is growing up and every day he does a new stunt. The other day he was wearing his cap (which he never touches) full day and would never take it off. He would remove it put it on in different styles, come over to me and give me a broad grin. That was the cutest thing.

I had bookmarked this recipe from Indian Cuisine since it sounded so easy to make and I am ok with making deep fried sweets occasionally. The only change that I made was I replaced the sugar with jaggery. However my appams were nowhere smooth in finish compared to the original recipe. Must be the jaggery I guess. But if you are ok with using sugar then go with the original recipe.

Prep time: 10 mins; Cooking time: 15 mins; Makes: 10 Adapted from Indian Cuisine ~*What U Need*~ Rava - 1/2 cup Grated Jaggery - 1/2 cup Water - 1 cup Grated coconut - 1 tbsp Crushed cardamom seeds - 1/4 tsp Ghee - 1 tsp Oil - to fry How I Made it: Dry roast the semolina till you get a nice aroma. Bring water to a boil, add the grated jaggery and allow to melt. Once completely melted, remove from heat, strain to remove any impurities and return to the pot. Add the rava and mix well without any lumps. Add ghee, coconut and crushed cardamom and mix. Cover and cook until the mixture thickens and forms a mass. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. When the mixture is warm, grease your hands with ghee and knead the mixture. Divide into lemon sized balls and flatten into a disc. Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown.

Serve warm!!!

** My Notes:
** Do not fry the appams for a long time.
** I replaced the sugar with the same amount of jaggery.
** I used the crushed seeds of one cardamom pod as I was out of cardamom powder.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,
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Mango Semolina Chocolate Chunk Cake

Mango... the king of fruits paired with bittersweet dark chocolate incorporated in a soft sponge... I say this is the king of cakes. Yes, the just-melted chocolate chunks were perfect with the pulpy mango flavor. A cup of cold milk and anyone will be good to go with a favorite book, Nancy Drew in my case.
When the mango season started coming to an end here in my part of the world, I started baking, cooking and preserving mangoes like a maniac. I was wild making a dessert every other day with mangoes and clicking them to be put up here. As a result I was flooded with mango recipes, some made it to the space while the others were tucked away. So now you know when this was made. The copyright mark says it all... I was in the process of reviewing my photo album when I came across these clicks. Remembering the cake, memories on how soft and delicious the cake was, came flooding in and I knew I had to share it here. So dusted the pics, sharpened and lightened 'em and this was all that I could. I know that they are not good as they were clicked a year a back, when I didn't know how important natural light was.

Mangoes can never go wrong in any sweets or desserts and that holds true with this cake. You can replace the chocolate chunks with dark chocolate chips too. I drizzled it with some warm chocolate sauce the first time and for the next day we had it with mango squash. Both tasted equally good, however I preferred the warm choco-sauce.

~*What U Need*~ All purpose flour - 1 cup Semolina/Sooji - 1/4 cup Whole wheat flour - 1/4 cup Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup Mango Pulp - 2 cups Butter - 4 tbsp Baking powder - 1 tsp Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Egg - 1 Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp Butter - to grease Dark Chocolate chunks - 1/4 cup

How I Made it:
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease the baking pan with butter. Sieve together maida, atta, powdered sugar, sooji, baking powder and baking soda atleast thrice. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg using a hand held mixer for 2 mins. To this, add the mango pulp, butter and vanilla extract. Now fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture evenly. Add half the amount of chocolate chips and fold together. Donot overmix. Pour this into the greased pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of the cake and using a tooth pick swirl it around. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once done, remove the pan and cool it for half an hour. Unmould and cool for another half an hour before slicing.

When serving drizzle chocolate sauce / mango squash and serve.

So thats it Folks...
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Pineapple Kesari | Happy Ugadi to all my readers

...version 1.0
Let's talk about the version later... First of all Happy Ugadi to all my readers. Hope you had a fun filled gala time with all that sweets, pooran bolis and everything traditional not to forget the ugadi pachadi.
Its just like everyday over here and preparations are going on to welcome the Tamil New Year along with the kid. Amma makes the traditional South Indian Thali with kootu, aviyal, sambar, rasam, paruppu, vada and payasam and nothing can beat having all the varieties on a banana leaf. #simplepleasuresoflife#

And now to the version. I already have a pineapple rava kesari recipe in the blog but it contains food coloring and artificial flavorings. Its not good but it surely satisfies your pineapple cravings off season. Then why another recipe... I have an answer to that too :) The kid had moved on to solid foods long back but its just been rasam saadam or fresh curd rice on his plate. I have been advised to show varieties in his food incorporating more flavors ~ sweet, sour and spiciness.

And so I made this kesari again with no artificial flavoring or coloring and with some fresh chopped pineapple pieces for him and for Ugadi. And when he took his first bite, there I sat with the camera on one hand to capture my big boy's moments. I wouldn't say he loved it , all he had was two mouthfuls and one thing I could say is that he is just like mama.. not quite a sweet tooth except for cakes and chocolates. As of now his is a lover for milk chocolates and vanilla cakes but kesaris and payasams are just not his type...

~*What U Need*~ Sooji / Semolina / Rava – ½ cup Sugar – 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Water – 1 ½ cups Ghee – 3 tsps Cashew, raisins - 5 each Pineapple essence - a few drops(optional) Chopped pineapples - 1/2 cup

How I Made it:
Dry roast the semolina till golden brown and u get a nice aroma. Boil 1 ½ cups of water till you see bubbles coming up. Add in the semolina and keep stirring till the water is absorbed, say 3-4 mins. Add the sugar and mix well. When the sugar has melted and combined well, add the 2 tsps of ghee, pineapple essence and the pineapple pieces. Stir well till the mixture comes off the pan. Remove from flame.

Fry the cashew and dry grapes in ghee, add this to the kesari and combine well. Grease a plate with ghee, drop the mixture onto this and smooth out. Once cooled, cut into slices or if you are lazy like me, scoop and serve in bowls.

Serve warm!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Day 10#: Kaaramani Idli Podi Sundal / Vijayadashami & Dussehra Wishes

Happy Vijaydashami and Dussehra wishes to all my dear readers. I know I am late in wishing but I wanted to, never mind the time. So again hearty wishes.
Today ends the maha~navratri festival and with due respect and prayers we pray to Durga maatha to bring us prosperity and happiness. Wanted to end the vrat with a sweet note and so made this delicious pineapple rava kesari and black-eyed peas sundal for neivedhiyam. I had some pineapple essence in my pantry so used that to flavor the kesari but you can use crushed pineapple pieces too. Also I was out of sugar and cashews, so used what I had in hand ~ only half cup of sugar while the recipe called for 1 cup but the sweetness was okay for us. Feel free to use one cup if you are a sweet-tooth. Also I replaced the cashews with almond and pistas since that was what I found in my pantry.

~*What U Need*~ Sooji / Semolina / Rava – ½ cup Sugar – 1/2 cup Water – 1 ½ cups Food color – a pinch Ghee – 3 tsps Chopped almonds, pista - 5 each Pineapple essence - 1/4 tsp Dried grapes - 5

How I Made it:
Dry roast the semolina till golden brown and u get a nice aroma. Boil 1 ½ cups of water till you see bubbles coming up. Add in the semolina and keep stirring till the water is absorbed, say 3-4 mins.

Add the sugar and mix well. When the sugar has melted and combined well, add the food color, pineapple essence and the ghee. Stir well till the mixture comes off the pan. Remove from flame.

Fry the almonds, pista and dry grapes in ghee, add this to the kesari and combine well. Grease a plate with ghee, drop the mixture onto this and smooth out. Once cooled, cut into slices. Serve!!!

Kaaramani idlipodi sundal ~ After adding ginger to my previous sundal, I wanted to add flavor to my next try and hence tipped in some idli podi which I had in hand and bang, the sundal was yummy and different from the regular ones.

Adapted from Priyasfeast ~*What U Need*~ Kaaramani/Cow gram - 1/2 cup Grated Fresh Coconut - 2 tbsp Idli podi - 2 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp Urad Dal - 1/4 tsp Dried Red Chillies - 1-2 Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Hing - a small pinch Salt, Oil

How I Made it:
Soak kaaramani for 4 hours. Rinse and drain. Pressure cook for 2 whistles till soft. Drain and set aside. Heat 1 tsp oil in pan. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal and let them splutter. Add the broken red chillies, curry leaves and hing and fry for a few seconds.

Now add the cooked cow gram and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the idli podi and mix well. Next goes in the grated fresh coconut and salt. Mix well. Remove from flame. Serve hot!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Nei Rava Laddoo

By this time I think everyone would have read about my huss's love for ghee and how I am a miser in adding ghee. At times I feel sorry for him, for denying him his desired level of ghee. He has been asking me to make rava laddoos for a long time and he was so specific that he needed ghee to be added as the bonding agent. :(

I have been postponing this for a long time but I felt he deserved a treat as he takes care of most of the household chores these days. So finally made them for Vishu and I knew that he loved it the instant the laddoo hit his mouth by his wide grin.

~*What U Need*~
Rava/Semolina - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Cashew-nuts & Raisins - few
Ghee

How I Made it:
Heat a skillet, add ghee and toast the cashew-nuts and raisins. In the same pan, add rava and fry it until a nice aroma comes. Remove from pan and allow it to cool. Grind the rava and sugar to a smooth powder using a blender.
In a large bowl , add the ground powder, cashew-nuts-raisins-ghee mixture and cardamom powder. Melt ghee and add little by little checking if you can make balls out of it. When the desired consistency is reached, take a small portion of the mixture and press it between your palms and make laddoos.

Delicious rava laddoos ready... Take a sniff and you will love them.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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