Mishti Doi / Sweetened Curd

Mishti Doi / Sweetened Curd 

The truth is sometimes we have the ideas in our head but until and unless we get 'proof of the pudding' from someone else we are too afraid to take up the challenge. You see I have always made thick curd at home. My trick, well its simple I thicken the milk a bit and strain it to remove all that unwanted layers of cream which does interfere with the curd's smoothness. I have often thought of adding sugar or jaggery to the curd while setting it but then backed out because I was not sure. Now there are a lot of recipes for the typical Bengali sweetened curd out there but most of them require you to bake it and that is perfectly logical but somehow I have a mental blockage. You see having been born and brought up in Calcutta I literally grew up with numerous sweetmeat shops around me and baking curd is not an option followed by any sweet shop in Calcutta and then I came across Swati Burman's recipe which simply used sugar and then set it like one would with normal curd. Simple enough for me. I did reduce the quantity of milk and what I ultimately had after overnight setting and 4 hours of chilling is thick luscious sweetened curd. I do use those big hot pots which keeps food warm.

Serves 5 to 6

Recipe Courtsey : Swati Burman from Ranna-Bati

So this is what I  required :-

1 litre of full fat milk
1 tbsp of store bought thick curd . In Calcutta I relied upon my local famous sweetshop which makes curd thick enough for one to confuse it with clotted cream
4 tbsp sugar , now the original recipe did call for 4 tbsp sugar for 2.5 litres of milk but that seemed a tad too less for me and so I did increase the amount of sugar
2 tsp clarified butter

So you begin by reducing the milk to half its quantity on low heat after you have added the clarified milk before you begin reducing. Please check notes. I took 35 minutes. Add the sugar after 15 minutes of reducing the milk. Now use a spoon and cream the curd in the bowl in which you are setting the curd.  I usually use a stainless steel bowl. You can only use the milk when it reaches a lukewarm stage, slowly add the milk bit by bit after straining it and keep mixing well with a whisk or spoon. I used a spoon, then cover with a steel lid and put it in a warm place. I put it in my hot pot and let it set over-night. In the morning it was a pot of thick luscious curd. I chilled it well and served it.

To be fair I did buy some of Bengal's famous 'Mishti doi' sweetened curd to just compare and found that the sweet shops use some more sweetener but the amount of sugar I used worked perfectly for me.

Note :Using the clarified butter does ensure that your milk does not stick to the bottom of the pan. I have heard that Earthen pots help you set the curd well. Since I have not used an earthen pot I cannot confirm this bit of information but to be fair all sweet shops in Bengal does serve the curd in earthen bowls.

Jalebi

 Jalebi 

To be fair my first brush with jaelbis was quite some time back when I was in college. Well I made it once but then I do not remember how I had made it the first time . My second brush with them was on last year's  Diwali. See, the problem is when you follow recipes without understanding they wouldn't turn out that well. So basically I decided to keep some recipes as the base and work on it. Thankfully a brush with these juicy buddies last year had made me jot down a few things.

Sometimes I make it without the Rabri
This was made when my mother-in-law came over 

I am  completely a person of extremes so on a regular day I would rather have steamed vegetables and steamed meat with a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil but jalebis , ah you know already they are high in calories, completely tasty and so why not go all the way and make them as good as possible and in my book Indian food especially food cooked the Northern Indian style is best done in pure ghee, thick curd etc etc

Now, it being holi and a 'holi-day' (this was concocted by my uncle) I had initially decided to simply not try anything since I am swamped with work but then last night at 10 a.m. I felt it would be wrong not to celebrate even a little bit on Holi.

So this is what I did, I created my jalebi batter, noted the things I needed to buy and then went off to sleep a happy girl.

What you need :-

Serves 5 to 6

1 cup + 6 tbsp (these cups hold 210ml liquid) all purpose flour /maida
2 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp semolina/sooji
Approximately 400gm very thick curd
1 fat pinch of bicarbonate of soda . It is popularly known as 'khnewale soda' in some places
1 pinch of yeast
1 pinch of saffron soaked in water for 10 minutes

For the syrup

3 cups of sugar
3 cups of water
1 fat pinch of saffron
4 to 5 small cardamom

For the Kesari Rabri :-

1 litre full cream cow milk
1 handful sugar but you can increase the amount of sugar as per your palate and taste
A handful of blanced pistachios
Pinch of Saffron soaked in water

150gm ghee
100ml oil

Cloth to whirl the jalebi batter in oil

The batter post fermentation and addition of saffron 

Create a batter with the all purpose flour, semolina, yeast, bi-carbonate of soda and the curd. Now remember that you have to use your instinct and so pour the curd bit by bit to create a batter of dropping consistency like that of a cake batter. I ask everyone to use their instincts because the initial recipe I followed had called for 1.5 cups of flour and 1 cup of curd and that yielded a dry dough and that is when I increased my amount of curd and I later thought that perhaps that other recipe had used churned thinned curd. I used thick curd. Anyways as long as you have a batter with a heavy dropping consistency you are good to go. Cover with a cloth and let it ferment overnight.

The next morning start with the making of rabri by first soaking the saffron in water and  bringing the milk to a boil with 1 tbsp ghee. Now this addition of ghee ensures you have the smoothest of rabri. Then simmer for 1.5 hours to 1 hour 45 minutes till you have a beige thick mass with tiny bubbles. Add the saffron mixture halfway into cooking say after  30 minutes of simmering. This simmering low heat though a long process makes the most amazing rabri. In the end you have an yellowish thick mass of rabri and now simply add the blanched chopped pistachios.

By the time the rabri is done make the syrup by bringing everything to a boil except the saffron and then simmering on medium flame for 15 minutes. Add the saffron mixture after 5 minutes of simmering

Take out the batter add the saffron and mix well and then start with the jalebi making

Now heat the ghee and oil together and while making jalebis keep temperature at low at all times  make a small hole in the middle of you cloth and simply whirl circular patterns in the oil. Use a slotted flat spoon to turn the jalebis once you see the golden brown colour. Remember that the only key to golden brown jalebis are low heat and a constant eye on the frying jalebis. Turn and fry golden brown on each side and then soak in the sugar syrup for 3 minutes to 5 minutes and take out and leave it for a minute or 2 (this helps in making them crispy)  before serving with rabri.

Enjoy these crispy , sugary amazing delights with or without rabri .

Aubergine salad

Creamy and tangy Aubergine salad 

There comes the time when you are tired, tensed with an approaching deadline yet there is the weekend to spend with the other half (Cannot be sure if better) So despite the work schedule we lazily watched movies and then there were the hunger pangs at 4 p.m.

My funny bachelor of a husband as I call him lives in the City of Dreams while I stay in the City of Joy. Quite naturally I expect compromises such as having to not have the joys of an oven, absence of many a kitchen appliances both electronic and otherwise but what was beyond my anticipation was the absence of a gas-stove. Apparently the electronic stove which was probably invented during the discovery of Electricity itself does the work for him.

Swamped with work I asked the other half to stock the pantry and come Saturday I had garlic, onions, tomatoes , plump purple aubergines , a few stale wholewheat bread slices  , chili flakes salt Olive oil which I had stocked in my previous visit some 4 months ago and some curd which I did hang for a quick dip which meant a visit to the market was a necessity deadline or no deadline but before that it was lunch time and so I decided on making some cooked salsa and storing it for further emergencies. You see these humble tomatoes can work wonders when in need. Use it as a dip for veggies and you have a lovely snack, use it with salads , use it as a condiment for meat. Well its usefulness is endless.

Now the salad is extremely simple :

All you need is

Plump purple aubergines
Whipped hung curd
Homemade salsa


So I went ahead with my batch of salsa.

Basically it is very easy

I used about 6 plump small to medium sized tomatoes
1 whole medium sized onion and half a medium sized onion
5 to 6 pressed garlic (the size is 1/4th of the giant garlic cloves)
salt as per taste
Olive Oil
Chili flakes (I used 1 tsp since the other half has developed an intolerance for hot food) You can use it as per the amount of hotness you can handle

Just use a good lug of oil and saute your pressed garlic  , when you get that beautiful aroma add your chopped onions and saute till translucent and add chopped tomatoes. Mix well and then simmer covered. remember that tomatoes have high water content and hardly needs extra water in the salsa. When you see bubbles on top add salt and chili flakes and mix well. and then simmer mashing everything with a masher from time to time till it reduces and becomes sticky. Cool the cooked tomatoes and simply blend away to a chunky paste. This can be stored upto 5 days. Simply add 1 tbsp of olive oil when putting it in the jars

The next step is simple . Simple whip your hung curd to yield a smooth creamy texture. Tip Do not throw it in a blender please else you shall have a creamy but liquid curd.

Frying aubergines

Cut your aubergine in circular shapes neither too thick nor too thin because if its too thick it absorbs way too much oil and too thin would burn it easily. Simply fry these in olive oil. Now you might think that refined oil which is much cheaper is the better option but believe me when I say that olive oil has its own flavour which it imparts to the aubergine when fried in it. Simply rub salt and fry on both sides till golden. I usually cover the pan when frying aubergines to speed up the process.

Frying bread

Make little cubes out of your bread slices and simply fry to a crunchy delight

Assembling the salad is a piece of cake. Simple layer the aubergines add whipped hung curd on top and top it with salsa and the fried pieces of bread.

Now while this salad is neither low calorie nor fat free it is one hearty salad perfect for the gloomy cold weather of which Bombay had neither on that particular but nevertheless the husband licked the plate clean. I took a single bite and was tempted to try bite after bite but refrained from doing so with great difficulty

Creamy chili garlic dip

I am not a fan of mayonnaise and here is why, though they are utterly creamy, wonderful in taste open any article on health from anywhere in the world, and what do you see? All asking you to avoid it like the plague. So be I am been psychologically brainwashed by numerous articles and so on an everyday basis I would never use mayonnaise and instead like healthier option. This particular condiment was born when Lebanon and a known sauce to me from the picturesque mountainous North Bengal made a commitment. I call it the creamy chili garlic sauce. Its thick, spicy with a kick and is very delicious with fries or even for vegetables.

You need

1 pod / head of garlic
4 to 6 dried red chilies (Now please adjust as per the hotness you can handle)
Peppercorn say about 15 of them (Again adjust as per taste)
Salt as per taste
250gm of hung curd
Olive oil say about 1/4th cup. Keep half a cup ready
Enough red wine vinegar to simply soak the garlic and chilies in
1 tsp to 2 tsp granular sugar

Start by soaking the individual skinned cloves of garlic, chilies broken in halves , sugar  and peppercorn in red wine vinegar. This step is very important to cut down on the heat of the chilies. Leave aside for 4 hours to 5 hours. Now simply blend away with salt and hung curd (which again cuts down on the heat) . slow add a stream of oil. If you like it extra creamy add half a cup of oil and if not 1/4th is just fine. I personally prefer 1/4th cup oil. There you go with the dip which is not too unhealthy. After the first time it becomes easier to adjust the ingredients as per taste buds :)

Apple cinnamon wrap

" An apple a day keeps the doctor away" 

 Ah but of course the season of apples in India is almost getting over. My fruit-seller told me that the best of the lot is done with. The crispiest, reddest and crunchiest ones usually start making their appearance by end August and by November you have the second grade stock. With everyone in a mad frenzy to make apfelstrudel, apple pies I was flabbergasted when I was scared for the first time. Scared of pies? Yes. My mind asked me the reason, ;but you have made pies before?" yes but what about my exercise and the healthy regime? All these pies and tarts and cakes are delicious but well how does your waistline feel? What about that mounting mountain on the back.

Yes, yes I gained quite a bit of weight post marriage and was finally tired of the "butt" jokes (quite literally).So had started an intense regime and well it worked, praise the lord it worked but that does have a few conditions, while I may bake a cake or two and quickly distribute it what do I do when there are enough apples in the refrigerator and a desire for dessert. Ah I worked out a plan. "hee hee hee"

Of course planning was easy, while executing it my hands shivered , dreading failure.

So you see the flat bread we have in India, the whole wheat chapatis are not just used for savoury items in my household. When I was a child and virtually refused most dishes cooked at home my impatient mother would often sit me down with hot fluffy chapatis and some condensed milk, sometimes honey and come winter it was always the "new jaggery" from Bengal. Ah I used to take such delight in that. While my grandmother (the both of them) were astonished as how a mother could be so casual about her child's dinner my mother's motto being, 'too much attention is the reason for spoiling and when she feels hungry she will eat" I actually enjoyed my chapatis with sweet condiments way too much than those dreaded days when either of the grandmother's depending on whose house I was staying in would coax and force feed me a full meal of rice, pulse, fish etc.

So back to 2013, have lost a lot of weight, need to stay fit, craving dessert. I get to work. I make this soft dough with water and whole wheat flour. Keep it aside wrapped with wet muslin cloth for about 4 hours.

What a day it is with easily hailing a cab to go to British Council. Calcuttans will know why this delight in hailing a cab. Their refusal is a daily notorious affair . Delighted at being able to borrow Mrs. Beeton's cookbook from the library.

In the meantime I grate apples, cook them in honey with 1 wedge of lemon and cinnamon. Drain my curd to make thick curd. A bit of dry roasting the thinly  rolled out dough, stuffing with hung curd mixed with honey, the beautiful apple filling, a bit of baking at 180 C for 30 to 40 minutes (I use a convection. Damn things take too long) , a bit of sprinkling with toasted ground almonds and la la la la la  I satisfy my sweet tooth and waistline, hips etc.

You need

Wheat flour
Water which is a little less than half the content of wheat flour

Stuffing
250gm yogurt drained of whey by hanging it in muslin cloth
1 grated apple (since this is supposed to be healthy I did not core it)
5 to 6 tablespoonful of honey
2 good pinches of tsp cinnamon powder

I will be honest here. I made the dough with 300gm of whole wheat flour and 140ml warm water, sprinkled it for quite a long time and made the dough as soft as possible but then I used most of this for breakfast. So I cannot tell you the exact amount of whole wheat flour that went in. I used the dough which was roughly enough to be thinly rolled out to fit a normal household round rolling surface.

Started by first hanging the curd. It stay hung for 5 to 6 hours. Grated the apple, added lemon and 1.5 tablespoonful of honey and cooked it . halfway through added the cinnamon leaving a little for sprinkling when serving. Cooked this till it was well cooked. Mixed the thick curd with 1 tablespoonful of honey. Now I spread out the dough and heated tawa and cooked it so that it was still soft enough to roll but the raw taste was gone. Quickly spread the curd honey mix and then the cooked apples. Rolled. Had already preheated oven to 180 C and baked this for about 35 minutes to 40 minutes. I use a convection oven, so those using other ovens would require less time. Once done served it warm with a sprinkling of toasted ground almonds.

Happy me , happy hips :)

Tzatziki

Tzatziki 

Listen to your heart, listen to your soul, listen to your taste buds , look around where you live , be as confident as the head chef as advised by Gordon Ramsay, and you will be happy and all will be perfect. So I was involved in a bit of discussion about precision of the quantity of ingredients with my fellow bloggers. I maintain that you eyes , taste buds, love is all that is required. So Calcutta has this funny weather, cool in the mornings, quite hot during the day time. So I badly wanted a summer salad and something creamy and well voila I had cucumbers, garlic and yogurt, hung my curd for the creaminess than Tzatziki offers. 

See my affair with Tzatziki began when I had first lain my eyes upon its recipe way back in 2007. I was browsing through British Council's books when I decided to visit the cook-book section and laid eyes upon this beautiful book of salads. There were enough salads to last for years and years, cooked , uncooked, summer salads, winter salads, vegan, vegetarian, non-vegetarian etc. I took the pains of writing down as many recipes as I liked and those which had ingredients that are easily available fresh in India.  

See I was always for fresh ingredients for reasons of health taste etc but ever since I got married my environmental friendly husband had pointed out how much fuel we waste by importing things. While I still cannot resist cheese I guess it did have an effect on me so I try and buy these which are locally made and India is producing some tatsy Gouda, Goat's cheese and an array of other cheeses. Thanks to J.Johnson in New Market I get to compare these cheeses with the foreign ones and must say that the taste of our Indian brands are not that bad. Well of course I still use some imported products but am trying to reduce my footprints . Anyways so this tzatziki is much simpler than it sounds. Do not head of towards the market to buy a jar of Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is nothing but hung curd. So if possible make curd and hang it in a muslin cloth till all the whey has been drained else buy a packet of curd and hang it either ways you have lovely creamy yogurt :) 

For years I have followed the recipe from this beautiful book on salads that I had found in British Council which only dealt with salads. For no good reason I searched for yet other recipes and what I found made me chuckle. While my former recipe had called for a clove of garlic with the same amount of yogurt and cucumber Mr.Lebovit's recipe calls for 4 cloves. My former did not include olive oil this new one did. My former had paprika , this did not. So I headed straight for the market and was shocked to find that no one in such an old market has mint leaves which is available all the time. Maybe my friend's grandmother is right maybe this is the 'Kalikal' The dark times. 

Well Tzatziki I would make with our without mint. I listened to my taste buds. Used 3 cloves of garlic, added the olive oil and did not use paprika. I had a happy happy happy lunch . Here is to everyone's happiness no matter how varied their taste buds are. here is to cooking from the heart 

This post is especially dedicated to someone I know who has recently moved to another country for higher studies and have started cooking on her own. Easy to make , healthy and tasty to have I hope this strikes a chord with all of you. Now there are varieties of this recipe which has dill leaves parsley and even paprika so experiment to your heart's content. 

What goes in is simple : 

1. 1 large cucumber chopped in small bite sized pieces. Now authentic ones demand that you deseed and chop them but why waste food? So I never have deseeded cucumbers 
2. 250gm of curd / yogurt hung and drained of all its whey in a thin cloth 
3. 3 cloves of garlic (see as I have written in the post please listen to your taste buds even if you are new in the kitchen. So you must be knowing if you like garlic or not so if you like it strong then add 4 cloves (maximum) and for mellow flavours you can do with 1 clove. Now cloves are also tricky there are many sizes so cook with your eyes. 
4. 1 tsp castor sugar which I usually leave out if the yogurt is fresh 
5. A handful of chopped mint leaves (Due to unavailability of mint leaves I had to leave them otu thsi time but it tasted wonderful, of course the minty leaves when added which I have previously done leaves you with a summery feel) 
6. Salt as per taste
7. 1 tablespoonful of extra virgin olive oil (why extra virgin because ti is the best one for your health so cheers to your heath) 

Its simple simple, make hung curd, it takes about 1 hour to 2 hours or could be less but I just leave it hanging and complete pending work. It would be creamy enough to make you smile if creamy dishes make you happy without creating panic for your hips :) Mix the Evol (extra virgin olive oil) , salt , minced garlic (mincing the garlic as small as you can ensures a uniform taste ) chopped mint leaves and add add your cucumbers. You should ideally start with the oil and curd and then slowly add salt and then garlic and finally the mint leaves. Ah of course the cucumbers as well at last :) Mix well and enjoy a simple lunch with perhaps some steamed fish or chicken :) Here is to everybody's health.