Monthly Archives: December 2014

Stollen

Stollen

Sweets
At a traditional German Christmas table, stollen is likely to appear as a beloved part of breakfast or as a conclusion to the holiday meal. A stollen begins as a sweet, rich yeast dough, which is then accented with dried fruits and nuts, and baked until golden brown.

Stollen’s richness is similar to that of brioche, but dried fruit makes it sweeter and gives it a more interesting texture. Serve this rich holiday treat in thin slices as breakfast bread or with afternoon tea. Like fruitcake, stollen improves with age and can be made up to three weeks in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1                        cup currants
  • 1/4                    cup cognac
  • 1 1/4                 cups golden raisins
  • 1/4                    cup orange juice
  • 5 1/2                cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 6                        tbsp sugar
  • 1/2                    tsp salt
  • 1/4                    tsp ground mace
  • 1/4                    tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1                        cup milk
  • 10                     tbsp unsalted butter, plus 3 tbsp melted
  • 1/4                   cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
  • 2                       packages active dry yeast (5 teaspoons)
  • 3                       large eggs, lightly beaten
  •                          grated zest of 2 oranges
  •                          grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 3/4                  cup chopped citron
  • 1/4                  cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1 1/4              cups blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
  •                         Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
  1. In two separate bowls, soak currants in cognac and golden raisins in orange juice; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, mace, and nutmeg; set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup milk and 10 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.Pour 1/4 cup warm water into a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand 2 to 3 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.
  4. Add the dissolved yeast, warm milk mixture, and eggs to the flour mixture. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until fairly smooth. Transfer dough to a large bowl.Add currants and raisins in their liquid, orange zest, lemon zest, citron, apricots, and almonds, and then work them into the dough with your hands.
  5. Transfer dough to work surface, and knead for about 10 minutes. If the dough is sticky, knead in more flour, but be careful not to overwork.Butter a large bowl with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 by 24 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder. Carefully transfer dough to a Silpat- or parchment-lined baking sheet; join ends together, pinching with fingers if necessary to make it stick, forming a large circle.Using sharp kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough. Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape with all the segments overlapping.
  6. Cover dough with a clean kitchen towel; set aside to rise for 30 minutes. Dough will rise only a little bit.
  7. Brush dough with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake until golden brown and crusty, about 45 minutes, rotating halfway through.
  8. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to cool.
  9. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

To Make 4 smaller Stollen:

You can divide the dough into quarters, roll each quarter in to an oblong 3/4 inch thick and 14 inches long. Brush with melted butter, fold in half and follow instructions from 6.

Daal Kachori

vegetarian

Kachories are crispy, flaky shells with a delectably spicy filling of cooked and seasoned yellow moong dal, every bite of these kachoris is worth a fortune! these can be eaten as a snack, or along with your meals. This dish gets a protein boost due to the moong-based filling, making it a great choice for kids. Take care to deep-fry these kachoris on a very slow flame to ensure even cooking and also to make the crust nice and flaky.

Ingredients

Dough

  • 2               cups all purpose floor
  • 2               tbsp vegetables oil
  •                  salt to taste
  • 3/4            cup water

Filling

  • 2               cups Moong daal (without skin)
  • 2               tbsp oil
  • 5               curry leaves
  • 1/2            tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2            tsp mustard seeds
  • 2               tbsp unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2            tsp fennel seeds crushed
  • 1/2            tsp cumin seeds crushed
  • 1               tsp green masala 
  • 1/4            cup water
  • 1               tsp salt( or to taste)
  •                  juice of 1 lemon
  • 2               tsp sugar
  • 1               tbsp chopped cilantro

Instructions

In a medium bowl, soak daal for a couple of hours.

Filling

  1. Drain the daal.
  2. In a large saucepan, heat the oil on med hot heat. Add the curry leaves, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds.
  3. When the seeds start to pop, add the coconut and the daal. Mix well and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the fennel, cumin green masala and a 1/4 cup water and mix well. Let it cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. The daal should be soft to the touch.
  4. Add the salt, lemon juice, sugar and cilantro. Mix well. Let the mixture cool completely.
  5. Meanwhile make the dough.

Make the dough.

  1. In a medium bowl, add salt to the flour and rub in the oil.
  2. Use enough water to make a soft dough.
  3. Cover and leave it aside.
  4. When the filling is cold, take a tbsp full and form a ball.
  5. Divide the dough into 25. Roll each dough into a round ball.
  6. Flaten the ball into a puri about 2 1/2 inches round.
  7. Put the filling in the centre of the puri, bring the edges together, pinch the edges together.
  8. In a wok, on medium heat, heat the oil and fry the kachori for about 10 minutes, turning them a couple of times. They sould be light gold in colour and crispy.

Bhinda Masala on Rotla

Gluten Free

Ingredients

Rotla

  • 1                cup Bajra (millet flour)
  • 1                tsp oil
  • 3/4             cup water

Bhinda Masala

  • 1/2             lb Bhinda (okra)
  • 3                tbsp oil
  • 1/4             tsp cumin seeds
  • 1                small onion, thinely sliced
  • 1                small tomato
  • 1/2             tsp dhana Jeera powder(coriander and cumin)
  • 1/4             tsp turmeric(haldi)
  • 1/2             tsp salt
  • 1-1/2          tsp green Masala
  • 1/2             cup yoghurt
  • 1                tbsp finely chopped onions
  • 1                tbsp finely chopped tomatoes
  • 1                tsp finely chopped cilantro
  • 1/2             tsp finely chopped jalapeño

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl add the bajra, rub in oil and make a soft dough with the water.
  2. Kneed it well.
  3. Divide the dough into 15 small balls.
  4. On a paper towel, flatten the ball into a 2-1/2 inch small rotla.
  5. Cook this on a preheated medium hot tawa.
  6. Cook till it starts to change colour, about 2 min, flip it over and cook for 2 min.
  7. You can cook a few small rotlas at a time.

Bhinda

  1. Wipe the bhinda with a wet cloth.
  2. Cut them in rounds about a 1/2″ thick.
  3. Rub 1 tbsp oil and bake it in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes. They should be a little crispy.
  4. Heat oil in a medium frypan, add the cumin seeds and sauté the onions till they are transparent.
  5. Add the chopped tomato, dhana Jeera powder, haldi, salt, 1 tsp green masala, mix and cook covered, on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
  6. Add the baked Bhinda, mix well and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.
  7. Mix half tsp green masala in yoghurt and leave it in the fridge.
  8. Mix the chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro and jalapeño.

To Assemble:

  1. Just before serving, spread a tsp of Bhinda mixture on the rotla, sprinkle it with the tomato mix and serve with yoghurt.

Sev Pak

Sweets

Sev Pak 

Ingredients

  • 4              oz goond
  • 1              cup vegetable oil for frying goond
  • 2              Pkts sev (5.5 oz each)
  • 1              lb butter
  • 4              oz coconut
  • 1/2           cup powder milk
  • 1              lb almond flakes
  • 1              can condensed milk
  • 1/2           tsp cardamom coarsely ground
  • 1/2           tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4           tsp saffron threads
  • 1/4           cup pistachios finely chopped as a garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a fry pan and fry the goond.  The goond will double in size and become transparent.
  2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Break the sev and fry it in the butter for about 5 min.  The sev will be dark and fluffy.
  3. Add the coconut and powder milk, cardamom, nutmeg, and saffron,  fry for 2 min stirring all the time.
  4. Add the almonds, goond and condensed milk and mix well.
  5. Pour the mixture in a 9 x 12 baking tray and spread it evenly.  Sprinkle the pistachio and cool it completly.
  6. Cut into squares or diamonds and serve.
  7. The Pak can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a month.

Note: You can bake the goond in the oven.   Spread the goond on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 5 minutes.]Sev Pak