Culinary Xpress: September 2015

Daal Baati Churma- An Ode to Rajastani cuisine

11:19 AM

With every region, we find changes in taste, cuisines, ingredients, specialties and history of food. When it comes to Rajasthan, which is also known as the land of the kings, diverse geography and agricultural economy, food holds its own unique past. Rajasthani cuisine has evolved, under the influence of factors like state climate, early war conditions, inadequate water and lack of green vegetables. Yet, they are admired with similar enthusiasm throughout the world.

Synonymous to Rajasthan, this rustic globe of baked deliciousness is famous as much for its simplicity as for its unforgettable taste. And yet when it comes to tracing the story behind this culinary masterpiece – the dish is a meal in itself .

Rajasthani food is incomplete without the mention of the famous Dal-Baati-Churma which consists of baatis or flaky round breads baked over firewood or over kandas (i.e. cow dung cakes) as done in villages. No Rajasthani festive or wedding menu is never complete without this popular recipe.

Baatis can be baked in a gas tandoor or an electric oven as well. But one thing common for baatis, irrespective of their cooking technique is that they are always served dipped in ghee accompanied with panchmel or panch kutti dal and churma. The dal is cooked with ghee, the masalas in the dal are fried in ghee and more ghee is mixed into the dal before serving. Often a large batch of baatis is made and part of the dough is left unsalted. This unsalted dough then shaped into rounds and deep fried in ghee. Later these deep fried baatis are crushed and sugar or jaggery is mixed into them to make a sweet dessert- churma. The three together, simple though they sound, make a very filling meal.

All of you must be very curious at my knowledge of this famous Rajastani Dish. Since I do not belong to a Marwari family, neither I have ever tasted this dish, but I must say a special thanks to my fellow Blogger friend Waagmi Soni who blogs at www.cookingisfun.blogsopt.com for giving me this challenge as part of our Foodie Monday Blog Hop theme of Regional cuisine. It was a well thought out challenge where we all decided to prepare a regional cuisine which is completely opposite to the culture and region we belong. Since I am an Odia and lives in a coastal part of Indian subcontinent, while preparing this dish, I could feel the hardship of the people living in such harsh condition where water and vegetation is so scarce. So this is a journey which not only enhances my culinary skill , it also taught me about the rich and cultural heritage of Rajastani cuisine.

This recipe is adopted from NishaMadhulika.com.

Preparation Time : 20 mins.
Cooking Time : 1hour
Serves 5.

Ingredients

For the panchmel dal

1/3 cup chana dal (split Bengal gram)
1/3 cup toovar (arhar) dal
1/3 cup moong dal (split green gram)
1 tbsp urad dal (split black lentils)
1 tbsp masoor daal (Red lentil)

3 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tsp coriander (dhania) powder
1/2 tsp garam masala3 cloves (laung / lavang)

2 bayleaves (tejpatta)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 green chillies, slit
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
2 tsp dried mango powder (amchur)
2 tsp tamarind (imli) pulp
3 tbsp ghee
salt to taste

Let's Learn how to make the Daal:

Clean and wash the dals and add 4 cups of water. Pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles or till the dals are cooked.

In a bowl, combine the chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala with 3 tablespoons of water and mix well. Keep aside.

Heat the ghee in a pan and add the cloves, bay leaves, cumin seeds, green chillies and asafoetida. When the cumin seeds crackle, add the prepared masala paste and saut for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the cooked dals, amchur, tamarind pulp and salt and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Adjust the consistency of the dal before serving and if required, add some water.

For the baatis (for 12 to 15 baatis)

2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup semolina
8 tbsp milk/ water
4 tbsp melted ghee
salt to taste

Let's learn how to cook the Baati's:

Mix all the ingredients and knead into a firm dough. Knead well for 5 to 7 minutes.

Divide the dough into 10 to 15 equal portions and shape each portion into an even sized round. Flatten the rounds lightly using your thumb and mark an incision with the help of a kitchen knife.

Preheat the Oven to 250 degree C for 10 to 15 minutes. Grease a baking tray and place the Baatis in them and bake at 230 degree c for 12 to 15 minutes turning the battis after 10 minutes is essential to check that it is cooked perfectly from all sides. Keep them in the Oven for another 5 minutes.

Take them out of the oven and dip all the batis in Pure ghee and serve. If you want you can lightly brush these batis with ghee and serve.

For the Churma

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup semolina
4 tbsp melted ghee
½ cup powdered sugar
2tbsp almond
Ghee for deep frying

Let's Learn how to make Churma:

Combine the flour, semolina and ghee and knead with ¼ cup water to make a stiff dough. Keep aside covered for 15 to 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 10 to 12 equal portion and fry on slow heat till it becomes brown on both sides. Transfer to a kitchen towel and let it cool.

Once it cools down, grind it to a fine powder along with the powdered sugar and sprinkle the chopped almonds on top.

Now ….place crumble the baatis on a plate…Pour the daal over it , sprinkle some chopped onions and green chillies and serve it with the Churma as a side dish.

I loved each moment of making this dish and hope you all will also echo my sentiment when you will try it for the first time.

Dip

Pumpkin Hummus

4:11 PM

There’s nothing like good, healthy, homemade hummus, and there isn’t really a reason for you not to try making it yourself.Hummus or Houmous is traditional food dip from eastern Mediterranean now gaining popularity all around the globe. Hummus is a fairly ancient staple of the Middle East, particularly Lebanon, and has been around for at least 1500 years. The word itself is just Arabic for "chickpea", so what we call hummus is known in the Middle East as "hummus bi tahina", or "chickpeas with tahini". Traditionally, hummus is made in a pestle. It is served as an accompaniment with Falafel or as a spread/dip with pita bread in mezzeh platter or with shish touk and dressed up with tomatoes, cucumbers, seasonings, pickles and served.

Chickpeas: being a legume are a great source of protein and dietary fiber. One cup of cooked chickpeas contains 50% of our daily value of dietary fiber, no cholesterol, no saturated fats and a solid 15g of protein.

Tahini: is a paste made from ground sesame seed. This paste is full of essential vitamins and minerals and is an excellent source of protein on its own. Tahini brings some fat to the party where chickpeas lack, but it is a healthier fat, unsaturated. 2 Tbsp of tahini brings with it 5 g of protein, 16g unsaturated fat and an excellent amount of calcium.

Olive oil: is High in monounsaturated fat, low in saturated fat, olive oil is here to regulate our cholesterol and improve our hearts submission defense.

Garlic, lemon and Salt: These three are powerhouses all on their own. They are packed with antioxidants. Lemon juice also aids in our bodies ability to fight off bacteria and viruses, thus why we drink hot water with lemon when we are sick. Salt brings some sodium to the party and nothing is wrong with water retention especially when we go and dehydrate ourselves on a daily basis.

Some good additions include well-roasted pumpkin, caramelize onions, whole cooked chickpeas, capsicum, toasted pine nuts, sumac, and so on. Roasted hazelnuts or walnuts with cumin, paprika and bit of cinnamon goes down a treat. Add a bit of chilli powder or cayenne for some bite.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Serves: 1 and 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

Chickpeas- 1 cup

Garlic cloves-4 nos

Tahini sauce/ sesame paste- 2 tablespoons

Lemon juice- 1 lemon

Olive oil- 4 tablespoon

Salt- to taste

Chilli flakes- big pinch (optional)

Pumpkin- 1 cup

A pinch of freshly ground pepper

Few tablespoons of chickpea boiled water

Let's learn how to make Hummus:

Soak the chickpeas for 6 hours or overnight and pressure cook with some salt for about 3 whistles. Switch off and allow to cool.

Peel off the skin of the pumpkin and cut them into thin slices. Sprinkle salt, chilli flakes, freshly ground pepper and olive oil. Bake in a pre heated Oven at 180 degree for 25 to 30 minutes. Wait till it cools down.

In a blender jar or food processor add the drained chickpeas, roasted pumpkin, garlic cloves, tahini sauce, lemon juice and olive oil. Blend well to make a smooth paste. Add little chickpea cooked water if you find difficulty while grinding.

Transfer the hummus on a bowl and make a depression inside using the backside of the spoon and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle chilli flakes on top.

Serve with pita bread, vegetable platter, crackers or tortilla chips.

Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds generally used as a dip or spread in middle east or Turkish cuisine. This tahini is a major component of other popular middle east dishes such as Hummus, baba ghanoush and halva. Raw tahini is flavoured with garlic or lemon and diluted with water and served in restaurants as a dip.This spread become bitter as it is high in oil content so refrigeration after making this spread is essential. For longer storage add more olive oil which floats on top to prevent spoilage.

Preparation Time:5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Cuisine: Middle East/Turkish
Makes: 1 cup

INGREDIENTS:
Sesame seeds - 1 cup
Olive oil- 1 tablespoon
Salt- to taste

Heat a pan add add the sesame seeds and allow the seeds to slightly toast. Check by touching the seeds. This step is just to speed up the grinding process.

Allow the seeds to cool; when it reaches room temperature add the seeds in a blender jar and powder well.

Initially it forms a powder and then at one point of time it starts to turn butter.

Once it is powdered add the oil and grind well to make a smooth paste.

Refrigerate in an airtight container to prevent spoilage.

You could use garlic or lemon juice to flavour this tahini if you are using this paste as such as a dip or spread.

Italian Cuisine

Penne Pasta with assorted vegetables

4:56 PM

Its was getting cold and rainy and what better way to beat this than a Pasta dinner. This is a rich and warm Pasta dish for such cozy and warmer moments of life. I wanted to make our pasta dinner healthy and I ended up with this version of Pasta dish which was so yummilicious . This recipe is all about bringing in the various textures and aromatics. Meaty mushrooms and sausage add a rich and hearty taste to this dish. I wasn’t sure this pasta was blog-worthy until I tried my reheated leftovers. They were amazing.

This is a classic pasta dish - tomatoes with creamy mozzarella and fresh basil. Herbs and onions add extra depth of flavour. Perfectly-cooked Penne and richly flavoured tomato sauce come across as a heavenly match.

Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine. Pasta is generally a simple dish, but comes in large varieties because it is a versatile food item. Some pasta dishes are served as a first course in Italy because the portion sizes are small and simple. The servings are usually accompanied by a side of meat. Pasta is also prepared in light lunches, such as salads or large portion sizes for dinner. It can be prepared by hand or food processor and served hot or cold. Pasta sauces vary in taste, color and texture. When choosing which type of pasta and sauce to serve together, there is a general rule that must be observed.For a detailed knowledge do click on the link below.

http://www.chowhound.com/assets/2009/03/pasta_chart.pdf

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 to 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
1 cup Assorted Vegetables like baby corn, mushrooms, Cauliflower, Green, Red and Yellow Bell Pepper
2 tbsp red sauce
1/2 cup chicken sausages
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of sugar
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano

To serve

400g Penne Pasta, cooked according to packet instructions
150g Italian mozzarella

Heat the water in the pan on high flame, when water starts boiling add pasta and salt. Check pasta continuously. It’s become soft and tender within 15 minutes. Press and check the pasta’s softness means it’s become well-cooked not over-cook or under-cook. Drain the water from the pasta and wash it with cold water and toss with little olive oil.

Heat the pan on medium flame with few drops of olive oil and sauté onion for 2 minutes, when onion look little transparent pinkish color add roughly chopped tomatoes and sauté until cook completely and look like sauce , add ground pepper ,tomato sauce and all spices. Mix well and sauté for 2 minutes. Remove pan from the fire and keep aside to cool.

Heat the oil in a wide frying pan over a gentle heat.Add the basil. Oregano, chopped garlic and onions and fry gently, stirring frequently, until translucent. They should be softened and not browned. Add the cherry tomatoes and the vegetables .Add salt and freshly ground black pepper, sugar . Cook till the vegetables are cooked but retains its crunchiness. In another pan, add a 1 tsp of Butter and slightly fry the sausages. Take from heat and add to the vegetables.

Add red sauce and stir. Taste for seasoning and add salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary.

Serve with mozzarella and basil on tops.

Sending this dish to 6th Foodie Monday Bloghop theme....PASTA..

Bengali sweets

SITA BHOG - An Iconic Cheese Delight

1:06 PM

The mere mention of the word “sweet” invokes numerous positive sensations. You are bound to have a smile on your face the moment one compliments you with the given adjective or just says it all with a bar of chocolate. Indulging in sweetness has, therefore, become an inherent part of the human DNA.

Bengal, like its delectable variants of food, also boasts of a rich sweet tradition. However, despite a wide variety of desserts, the sweet image of Bengal has somehow stayed stuck at Rosogolla, Mishti Doi and Sandesh. Though this sweet is a lesser known sweets in Bengal that somehow remain hidden from the national limelight but are a rage within its territorial boundaries.To a layman it appears as a bowl of sweet white rice accompanied with miniature gulab jaamun pieces, but there’ s more than what meets the eye and definitely the palate.

The Sitabhog of Burdwan has been exciting many a taste buds for more than 102 years now. An invention by sweet maker Bhairav Chandra Nag- who is also known for creating the iconic Mihidana - the Sitabhog is made of powdered rice and cottage cheese mixed in a proportion of 1:4 along with ghee, sugar water and saffron. The Gobindabhog rice – that grows solely in one patch of Burdwan district which is why it is also called the Rice Bowl of west Bengal– is said to give the sweet a distinctive flavour and taste to this iconic sweet dish. Sitabhog is made by frying tiny, oblong, rice-like bits of a dough made of chenna and powdered gobindabhog rice, which grows in Burdhwan alone, in ghee. It is then soaked in sugar syrup. It is served with nikuti, which is also made from milk powder, curd, ghee and baking soda. A myth about this dish is that it was the favourite dish of Mata Sita of Ramayana.

Bengalis may dislike Lord Curzon for attempting to partition Bengal, but it was his visit to the district in 1904 that led to the king requesting a local halwai to invent a special sweet something to commemorate the British Viceroy's visit. From a distance, piled on counter tops in sweet shops across Burdhwan, bowls of sitabhog resemble pulav made with the longest grain of basmati, topped with raisins and fried cashew. It's a labour of love because the halwai must know how long to knead the dough, how hard to rub it against the metal grater like plate to ensure soft but firm basmati-like grains fall into a kadhai bubbling with ghee.

Sita Bhog Or Cheese delights

Ingredients:

Cheese-3 cups
Rice powder -3/4 cup
Milk- ½ cup for use during kneading
Sugar- 1 cup
water-1cup
Ghee – for frying
Green cardamom powder- 1 tsp.
Golden Raisins. – 1 tbsp
Green Pistachios- 1tsp
Saffron- a pinch

Ingredients for Nikuti:

Milk Powder- 1cup
All Purpose Flour or Maida- ½ cup
Soda –a pinch
Ghee – 1 ½ tsp and for frying
Curd- 2 tbsp
Sugar-1cup
water-1 cup
Green cardamom powder- 1 tsp

Let’s Learn how to make Sita Bhog:

Soak 1 cup of Govind Bhog rice in water for 1 to 2 hour. Drain and spread over a kitchen tower and keep under the fan to make it completely dry. Then you can put the rice in a dry grinder and grind to a fine powder. Alternatively you can use store brought Rice powder.

Boil 1 and ½ liter of milk in a large pan. When it starts to boil. lower the heat and add 1 to 2 tbsp of vinegar to it. Turn off the heat. Start stirring the milk, you will see that the milk has started to curdle. If needed you may put one more tsp of vinegar to completely curdle the milk. When you see a greenish colour whey, then pour this over a strainer lined with cheese cloth to drain out the water. Let it cool.

Take the cheese in a big bowl and add rice powder .Mix it well. Keep kneading. If it feels rather hard, add a bit of milk into it and knead again. Make the dough soft & elastic.

In another bowl put the sugar and water and let it boil. Make a thick syrup; Put the rest of the cardamom powder to it and the saffron for color and flavour.

Fry the raisins slightly in 1 tsp full of oil and keep aside.

Now put the pan on flame. Pour oil and heat it. In a sieve, put one ball of cheese and press it so that tiny, oblong, rice-like bits of cheese drops into the oil.

Deep fry till a light brown colour. Take them out and keep aside.

Add the fried Raisins and the cheese drops in the sugar syrup. Mix it well. Let it be soaked in the syrup from 10 to 15 minutes and then spread it on a plate to cool.

Nikhuti:

In a Mixing Bowl add Milk powder, Maida, Soda-Bicarbonate,1 1/2 tsp ghee and curd as Much required to make a dough.

Heat ghee in a deep frying pan.Make small 15-20 oval shapes and fry until golden brown in color.

In another pan add water and sugar and put it to boil, Heat until it make a light syrup.. Put these small balls into the hot syrup. Let it cool and then you can mix these Nikhutis in the Cheese grains prepared earlier.