Frozen Plum Yogurt

 Frozen Plum Yogurt 

One of the ingredients I miss in the Indian market during the summers are berries. As it is India does not grow too many berries and we get out share of strawberries during the winters. The truth is there is an abundance of fruits we get here during the summers but somehow I always crave a tart fruit during the summers especially to be used for frozen desserts etc etc.

Anyway the rains came in, the humidity rose and along came the season for plums. So when I got this season's first batch of plums it turned out a bit more tart than expected and while at first I did not know what to do with them I suddenly had an idea and it resulted in a creamy tart frozen yogurt.

I adapted BBc food's recipe for Plum preserve and made some frozen yogurt

You might be left with some extra plum sauce which you can use later on

Please note that the  amount of sugar I have used is a bit on the lesser side so feel free to use more sugar

For the Plum Preserve

450gm Plums
170gm sugar
200ml water
2 inch cinnamon stick
A few drops of lemon juice

For the frozen yogurt :-

400gm yogurt which is made into hung curd
100ml dairy cream


Tie the yogurt in a cheesecloth or muslin cloth and let the water drain away for 2 hours to create hung curd.

In the meantime make your plum preserve. Stone the plums and chop them. After chopping them they would roughly weigh 400gm or so.

Bring the water and sugar to a boil and boil for 1 minute and add the chopped plums , cinnamon stick and lemon juice and boil for 10 minutes. Remove the scum. Let it cool down.

Chill the cream in a large bowl. Once the hung curd is made whip it with the chilled cream and then add 1 cup of the plum preserve and fold it in.

Cup used holds 250ml liquid.

Freeze for 2 hours to 3 hours until just set and scoop out and serve immediately. Do not over freeze it else it becomes rock hard and you end up with scoops of frozen yogurt with a little bit of ice crystal in them.

The end result was perfect for me , mostly tart with a hint of sweetness. If you want it to be sweeter make some syrup of single thread consistency and add the syrup which you must cool before adding to the yogurt and cream when whipping it.

                          

Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad

Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad 

For me the best feeling in the world is breaking bread with friends and family over laughter at the dinner table. I would happily spend the entire day in the kitchen preparing dishes and if my guests like what they are served that does make me happy but at the same time it gives me equal pleasure to prepare a dish for myself alone.

As a freelancer who works from home I am not required to step out of my home unless for that trip to the market or a quick visit to the bank or courier service . Then there are times when I want to go out and enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend.

Anyway the point is I would put in the same amount of effort when I am cooking for myself as I would when I cook for 8 guests.

So on a mundane Wednesday afternoon with Lana Del Rey's songs to keep me company I made this salad for myself which includes some of my favourite ingredients. I somehow like a sharp tart taste more than anything else . Hence I used hung curd for this salad and its not just to make the salad healthy. Another favourite ingredient is the humble potato. The softness of the boiled potato alongside the crunch of iceberg lettuce and the sweet taste of dried figs with the creamy dressing made this mundane Wednesday a little less mundane. I do not like overcrowding my dishes with too many flavours hence I used one herb alone.

My father did take a  small serving and he liked it mostly for the yogurt which is quite cooling for this sultry weather.

Here is some absolute random thought from my end :-

"Just because I appear to be a blank page

Do not take the liberty to think that you may scribble all over it 

For I have written all over it with my invisible ink " 

Makes 2 servings :-

Cup used holds 210ml liquid

1.5 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
2 large boiled potatoes
6 to 8 dried figs

For the dressing :-

200gm curd which you make into hung curd by tying it in a cloth and letting the excess liquid drip away for 2 hours
1 tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
Salt as per taste
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil


Boil the potatoes but take care not to over boil the potatoes because if its over boiled it breaks easily and you would be unable to chop them up to a shape of your choice. Cube the potatoes. Chop the figs.

Shred the lettuce and chill the lettuce , figs and potato cubes.

Just before serving make your dressing by whisking the hung curd, EVOO, salt and finely chopped parsley and pour over your salad and enjoy a healthy meal.

Roasted garlic dressing

Roasted garlic dressing 

Don't you just love it when you accidentally discover a recipe which you immediately love and what more its a bonus when you tweak it to make it absolutely healthy. 

I am tired of vinaigrette. I mean I like a healthy low calorie dressing for my salads and the usual common easy option are different  vinaigrette and so I was browsing through Martha Stewart's website when I suddenly came across this Roasted Garlic dressing. Ah for a garlic lover such as myself I knew it was the right recipe but the original recipe had sour cream among other ingredients and so I tweaked it and had a fabulous salad . You can use this as a great dip as well.

Serves 1 to 2

200gm curd which you have to drain by hanging
1 head of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt as per taste

For the salad :-

1 wedge of iceberg lettuce

Start by first hanging the curd to drain it of all the water. Preheat the oven to 200C and then take a foil and place your garlic head and lop off a bit from the bottom and pour the olive oil wrap the foil and roast for 40 minutes to 50 minutes. Once done let it cool down and squeeze out the creamy roasted garlic and smash it with a fork and then add the hung curd and whisk well and add salt.

Pour it over the ledge of iceberg lettuce for a delightful creamy garlicky meal

Mashed Fish salad

Mashed Fish salad 

I dedicate this recipe to my friend Surupa. Strange thing is you never know when you meet a beautiful human being.  This dear lady is someone who has encouraged me ever since I became an active member of a culinary group and to be fair there was something in the way she would write her sentences which made me look forward to her encouragement. After a while we quite obviously became friends and that is when I actually was glad to know someone as elegant as this lady. From the few photographs of hers I did see she was a lady who was gorgeously beautiful but behind that beautiful face and amazingly volumnious hair there is a witty, charming , compassionate person and one who sees beauty. I didn't ever tell her but those posts of Claude Monet's work always puts a smile on my face. So she posts a few pictures of some gorgeous dishes she has had from a newly opened cafe this morning and just by looking at them I suddenly was struck with my idea for lunch .

I knew it had to be something creamy and fishy but the only fish I had was the humble 'Pona' a fresh water fish with tiny needle like bones all over. I have always hated this fish with a passion because it neither has that exotic taste of some varieties of fish we get in this Eastern part of the country such as 'Tangra' 'Parshe' 'Gule' etc nor is it boneless but I suddenly knew what I wanted so begun the hanging, the chopping, the pounding, the boiling the mashing and I must say the result was quite nice. And the best part is it is 100% healthy and completely low calorie in nature.

So here is what you need for 2 servings :-

150gm to 200gm fish with bones or boneless
6 to 7 garlic cloves
 1 inch ginger
4 green chilies
1 large tomato and 1 small tomato
1 medium sized potato
1 onion
Chives 1 tsp
1 tsp xtra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp vinegar (any kind will do , I used Apple cider vinegar)
Juice of lemon (About 2 tsp)
200gm curd hung
Salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Hand the curd in a muslin cloth. Boil the potato. Cool it down and dice it in small pieces. Dice the tomatoes and onion and then chill them  .

Meanwhile skin the garlic and ginger and make a smooth paste of ginger garlic and green chilies and then boil the fish with as little water as possible along with the ginger garlic paste and 1 tsp vinegar . Boil the fish till all the water evaporates and the ginger garlic and chili stick to the fish . Now spread it out , discard the fat and mash it well with a fork and when cool enough to handle pick out the bones carefully. It will take a bit of time owing to the fine bones . Once the bones are taken out chill this as well. before serving simply add a squeeze of lemon juice to the fish and mash again and add it to the diced salad  and add salt, freshly ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil , chives and the hung curd and mix well and serve. It does taste quite nice.