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.

                          

Butter Chicken / Murgh Makhani

Butter Chicken / Murgh Makhani 

Cut to 2017 and when I finally tried the butter chicken from Moti mahal Daryaganj, Delhi where this iconic dish had been created donkey years ago .  I realized how the real butter chicken should be like and I also realized that the butter chicken I had created using the recipe from this fabulous cookbook from the house of moti mahal gifted to me by Pritha tasted quite similar to the one I tasted at Moti Mahal.

Be warned that copious amount of butter has been used in the recipe and its meant to be that buttery. This is supposed to be for those are days of indulgence hence a bit of extra buttering is welcome.

Back in 2007 right out of school I was learning to make a lot of new dishes and I had tried the butter chicken masala but since our oven was broken at that time I used the chicken normally after frying it and so I can assure you that the tandoori chicken makes a whole lot of difference.

To be fair the entire process is not difficult at all. A little bit of patience is needed what with the time for marination and the grilling of the tandoori chicken but the end result is magnificent.

I understand if you have just moved into a new house or are yet to buy an oven then of course you have no other option but to use the gas stove for the chicken before it is cooked in the gravy. In that case pan roast it . I don't recommend this wholeheartedly but then again originally the tandoori chicken is made in a clay tandoor 'Clay Oven' so there you go.

What I particularly liked was that the book used chicken with bones. I personally feel when cooking Indian gravies chicken with bones work much better than boneless chicken and then I was assured by many on social media that originally it was cooked with bones but not with the skin on mind you.

Serves 3 to 4

You need tandoori chicken : Recipe Here : Tandoori Chicken


For the gravy you need 560gm tomatoes (firm and ripe)
1 heaped tsp ginger paste
1 heaped tsp garlic paste
85gm to 100gm softened butter
100ml to 120ml full dairy cream
Salt as per taste
1 tsp tandoori masala / garam masala made with green cardamom, black cardamom, bay leaf, black peppercorn and cinnamon
1 tbsp Kashmiri red chili powder

Once the tandoori chicken has been made start with the gravy.

Melt 1 tbsp butter and add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 1 minute and add chopped tomatoes and saute stirring continuously for 3  minutes to 5 minutes on medium flame and add 3/4th of the remaining butter. Now lower the heat and simmer till the oil separates and the cream , tandoori masala or garam masala , some salt and mix well and cook on low heat till its bubbling away. Joint the chicken (cut it up into medium sized pieces using a butcher's knife) and add this to the gravy , cover and cook for 4 minutes and then Mix well , add the remaining butter and serve with hot butter chapati or tandoori roti. Enjoy

Tips :-

1. If using salted butter go easy on the salt in the gravy 
2. In case you are not using the oven for the tandoori chicken . Marinate it as instructed and then heat a bit of ghee or mustard oil in a shallow flat pan and add the chicken and cook on low heat covered for 6 minutes per side. Then one the pan increase heat and cook for 2 minutes per side. Let it rest for 5 minutes and cut it into pieces. 

Mangochi Kadhi

Mangochi Kadhi

The first time I had Mangochi Kadi was at an event at one of the hotels in my city. I absolutely loved it. For those who do not know, Kadhi is a yogurt based curry which is made in many parts of India and varies as per the region. For me I adore the one from Punjab, thick spicy and luscious.

The one I had at the hotel was celebrating food from Delhi and since the chef is from Uttar Pradesh, a northern state of India the food was heavily influenced by food from the state. I loved the spread and this particular dish stuck with me. Firstly the yogurt based gravy is tangy with a hint of spice and the soft spongy lentil fritters soak up all the goodness of the yogurt based gravy and it is a sheer delight to have this with some Basmati rice or a variant of rice of your choice.

Making Kadhi is easy but needs some amount of patience on the cook's part. Ever since I learnt this tip from celebrity chef Harpal Singh Sokhi's videos my Kadhi has never ever split again.

And then there is the small tip on how you can get the softest spongiest pakoda (lentil fritters)

It was only when I was soaking the pulse that I realized my grandmother makes a similar dish though not yogurt based where she soaks pulse and blends it but makes koftas out of them which are not deep fried but rather grilled on a tawa on the stove top and used in a curry changing the texture of the lentil dumplings.

I did not follow a particular recipe but did take tips from here and there. In fact I have been wanting to make this Kadhi for almost a month now but got around to doing so after Ruchi from Foodfellas4U posted her recipe but then again she made a tomato based gravy and since I find the  tomatoes available during the summers and monsoons in India to be a bit bland I made Kadhi the yogurt based gravy.

For this recipe you do have to plan a bit ahead. You have to soak the pulse overnight or for a good 8 hours or so.


Serves 3 to 4

Cup used holds 210ml liquid

1 cup split moong pulse
2 green chili
1/4th tsp ginger paste

200gm yogurt
500ml to 600ml water
3 cloves
7 to 8 whole peppercorn
2 large dried red chili
Pinch of hing / asafoetida
Salt as per taste
1 large bay leaf
1 heaped tsp cumin powder
1 heaped tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder

Mustard oil for frying the lentil fritters
1 tsp ghee
Pinch of turmeric
Finely chopped cilantro or coriander leaves for garnishing


Wash the pulse till the water runs clear. Now soak the pulse overnight or for 8 hours.

Drain the pulse and blend it with 2 green chilies , a pinch of salt and 1/4th tsp ginger paste till you get a fluffy smooth mixture. Do not add any water. This pulse mixture will be thinner than the pulse mixture made with soaked Urad pulse. Take this pulse mixture in a separate bowl. Do not wash the blender.

Blend 200gm yogurt in the same blender in which you have blend the pulse. The little bit of pulse mixture which is stuck to the blender when blend with the yogurt helps in thickening the Kadhi. Normally some gram flour is mixed with yogurt when making Kadhi but here that will not be required.

Now take the yogurt in a bowl. Add 500ml to 600ml water bit by bit and whisk it well. Add salt and turmeric and whisk well.

Heat oil and make little fritters from the pulse mixture. Kep a bowl filled with water near you. You have to keep adjusting the flame from medium to high to low. Ideally when you are putting the batter in the oil it should be hot and and then lower it to medium or low. It takes a bit of time and practice to master this technique. Once a batch is browned but not burnt. To prevent burning you need to keep adjusting the heat. So once the fritters are fried put them in the bowl of water. This way a lot of oil is soaked by the water so that your fritters are less oily in the end. I learnt this tip of soaking the fritters in water from Ruchi's blog.

Once all the fitters are fried pour excess oil in another bowl and reserve it to be used once again but make sure this oil is not used after the second time. Now take 1 tsp mustard oil and 1 tsp ghee and heat it and asafoetida, cloves, whole peppercorn, dried red chili and bay leaf  and fry it for a few seconds. Make sure you do not char them and then add the yogurt mixture, cumin powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and a bit of extra turmeric . Now is where you need a bit of hard work. Keep stirring the pot constantly on medium to low heat till it comes to a bowl. It takes time and it can be a bit frustrating but this is the only way to ensure your Kadhi is velvety smooth.

Once it comes to a boil gently squeeze the fritters but ensuring that you do not break them and add it to the pot where the Kadhi is simmering and simmer for 7 minutes to 10 minutes and rest for 2 minutes. Garnish with finely chopped coriander /cilantro leaves. Serve with hot rice.

Tips

1. When making the fritters you have to keep adjusting the heat from high to medium. When you add the batter to the oil it should be hot else the fritters become hard and then adjust heat to medium to prevent burning.
2. It is extremely important to keep stirring the pot constantly after adding the yogurt mixture to ensure the Kadhi remains velvety smooth. 

Mango Sorbet

Mango Sorbet 

The season for mangoes is coming to an end. My favourite variant , Gulab Khas had already bid adieu some time back and the only other variant which I am getting here in Kolkata is the 'Langa'. I love variants of mango with a sweet and tangy taste.

Most people in India love mangoes and consider mangoes to be the King of all fruits. I personally love them but I do love other fruits as well.

My mother particularly adored them and since she is very choosy I was quite happy with the dish even though I found it a little bit on the higher side of the sweetness meter but the tangy taste from lemon balanced it out .

 I followed the recipe to almost a tee from Larousse Gastronomique and the result was  outstanding with almost no ice crystals at all. It was  the sugar syrup which prevents ice crystals and along with the lemon juice made it a perfectly refreshing delicacy. So even without a sorbetiere or ice-cream maker this recipe gave me smooth velvety sorbet.

1 kilogram mangoes which is peeled and gives 530gm mango puree (I used the Langda variety of amngoes)
250ml sugar (Make a syrup with 330gm sugar and 500ml water. Simmer it till it  reaches 106 Centigrade and comes down to 250ml of sugar syrup. Takes 10 minutes 15 minutes or so)
Juice from 1 big lemon


Make the syrup and add a bit of lemon juice which prevents crystallization of the syrup. The recipe is particularly easy. Peel the mangoes and de-seed them and then blend the pulp and then strain it. Mix it with the syrup and juice of lemon and whisk well. Freeze it and scoop out delicious balls of mango sorbet.

Please note that I did not keep track of the exact amount of time it took me to make the syrup. I used a candy thermometer and when it reached 106 C and was bubbling away I switched it off but its definitely for 10minutes and a bit more.