All posts by nasdatoo

Christmas Cookies

Special Occasion, Sweets

For  Christmas I have made the following Cookies:-
On the platter starting at the top left,
Kifli – is a Hungarian  Cookie.  It is a soft flaky pastry around a sweet walnut filling.
Shortbreads – can not have Christmas without Shortbreads.
Cuccidati – theses are Sicilian cookies and they have a spicy fig-and-nut filling enclosed in a cookie crust and finished with candy sprinkles.
Crunch Drops
Linzer Cookies-This is a crisp nut cookie, sandwiched together with raspberry filling..

food pictures Dec 2012 002

 food pictures Dec 2012 010

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can make a basket with all the cookies you have (I have bagged the cookies
and then made a basket) and give it as a gift or you can arrange it on a platter to serve to your guests.

Cookie Basket 2Dec 2012 006

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken and Beetroot Fillo Nests

Poultry

I found this recipe  in Australian Women Weekly.

Makes 30

  • 3             sheets filo pastry
  • 1             oz butter
  • 1             cup finely chopped cooked chicken
  • 1/4          cup sour cream
  • 1/4          tsp ginger
  • 1/4          tsp garlic
  • 1/2          tsp salt
  • 1/2          tsp crushed  black pepper
  •                coriander leaves

Beetroot Relish

  • 1             small beetroot uncooked
  • 1             small onion, finely chopped
  • 1             tbsp caster sugar
  • 1/4          tsp grated lemon rind
  • 1             tsp lemon juice
  • 1/4          cup white vinegar
  • 1/4          tsp black pepper
  • pinch      chili powder

Instructions

  1. Lightly grease mini muffin pans.
  2. Layer pastry sheets together, brushing each sheet lightly with butter.
  3. Cut into 2 inch squares.  Gently press squares into prepared pans.
  4. Bake in moderately hot oven 350  degrees for  5 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool.
  5. Combine chicken, sour cream, ginger, garlic, salt and black pepper in a bowl.
  6. Spoon a level teaspoon of mixture into each pastry case.

Just before serving,

  1. Spoon beetroot relish into nests, top with coriander leaves.

Beetroot Relish:

  1. Shred the  beetroot or cut it into thin strips.
  2. Combine beetroot, onion, sugar, lemon  rind,  juice, vinegar,  black pepper and chili powder in a pan and bring to a boil, simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the liquid evaporates.
  • Pastry cases can be made a day ahead.
  • Relish can be made 2 weeks ahead.
  • Store:  Pastry cases in airtight container.
  • Relish, covered, in refrigerator.

Lemon Grass and Chili Beef Parcels

Snacks & Appetizers

 

saree picture 013

Makes 24

Ingredients

  • 2             tbsp butter
  • 1             lb beef fillet, chopped
  • 2             tbsp finely chopped fresh lemon grass
  • 2             small fresh red chilies, finely chopped
  • 1             tsp green masala
  • 4             green shallots, chopped
  • 1/2          tsp salt
  • 2             tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/4          cup water
  • 12           large cabbage leaves

Instructions

  1. Heat butter in a pan, add beef, cook, stirring, until well browned.
  2. In a blender blend lemon grass, red chili and green masala.  Add this to the meat.
  3. Add chopped shallot, salt, tomato paste and water and cook till the meat is tender and the water has evaporated.
  4. Cool the mix to room temperature.
  5. Trim thick stalks from cabbage leaves; cut leaves in half.  Steam leave until wilted, drain on absorbent paper.
  6. Spoon beef mixture onto narrow end of each leaf half, fold sides in, roll up, secure with tooth picks.
  7. Cover, refrigerate until cold.

Kifli

Cakes and Cookies

Kifli is a Hungarian cookie.  You may find a few different recipes for it.  These melt in your mouth morsels feature soft flaky pastry around a sweet walnut filling.

Makes 60 cookies

Ingredients

  • 2             cups  all-purpose flour
  • 1             tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1             tsp baking powder
  • 1/4          tsp salt
  • 1             cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1/2          cup sour cream
  • 2             egg yolks
  • 1             tbsp icing sugar

Filling:

  • 1               cup finely ground walnuts
  • 1/3            cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2            tsp finely grated lemon rind
  • 2               tsp lemon juice
  • 1               tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2            vanilla essence
  • 1               egg white

Instructions

  1. In a bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  2. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until in coarse crumbs.
  3. Whisk sour cream with egg yolks; stir into flour mixture just until dough comes together.
  4. Divide dough in half; flatten into discs.
  5. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

or

If using a food processor:

  • In the bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and butter and pulse a couple of minutes until the mix is like crumbs.
  • Add the sour cream and egg yolk and pulse till the dough comes together.

Filling:

  1. In a bowl, mix walnuts, sugar, lemon rind and juice, cinnamon and vanilla.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk egg white until stiff peaks form; fold into filling.
  3. On lightly floured surface roll out each piece of dough into 12 x 10 inch (30 x 25 cm) rectangle.  Cut each into thirty 2-inch (5 cm) squares.
  4. Place 1/2 tsp filling in the centre of each square.  Starting at corner, roll cookies to opposite corner.  tucking point under.  Bend to make crescent shape.
  5. Bake on parchment paper-lined baking sheets in top and bottom thirds of 400 degree oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until golden, about 15 minutes.  Let cool on pans on rack for 5 minutes.  Remove to racks; let cool.
  6. Dust with sugar.

(Make ahead and store in airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks).

Cuccidati

Cakes and Cookies

These Sicilian treats have a spiced fig-and-nut filling enclosed in a cookie crust and finished with candy sprinkles.

This recipe is from Canadian Living Special Issue Fall 2008.

Makes about 48 cookies.

Ingredients

  • 2             cups all purpose flour
  • 1/3          cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4          tsp baking powder
  • 1/2          tsp salt
  • 1/2          cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2             eggs, beaten

Filling:

  • 2             cups stemmed chopped dried fig
  • 1/2          cup raisin
  • 1/3          cup candied orange peel
  • 1/3          slivered blanched almonds
  • 1/3          cup dark rum or orange juice
  • 1             tsp finely grated lemon rind
  • 1/2          tsp each cinnamon
  • 1/2          tsp ground cloves

Icing:

  • 1 1/2        cups icing sugar
  • 3              tbsp milk
  • 1/2           tsp vanilla
  • 1              tbsp candy nonpareils or sprinkle

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  2. Add butter; pulse until in fine crumbs.
  3. Add eggs; pulse just until dough comes together.
  4. Divide dough into quarters; flatten into discs.
  5. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Filling:

  1. In food processor , finely chop together figs, raisins, orange peel, almonds, rum, lemon rind, cinnamon and cloves.  Set aside.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece of dough into 14- x 3- inch rectangle.  Place one-quarter of the filling in 1-inch strip lengthwise down centre of the dough.
  3. Bring sides of dough up over filling and pinch edges together to seal; gently roll into log.
  4. Place log, seam side down, on cutting board; cut diagonally into 1-inch thick slices.
  5. Bake on parchment paper-lined baking sheets in top and bottom thirds of 350 degrees oven, switching and rotating pans halfway through, until lightly golden, about 20 minutes.
  6. Remove on racks and let cool completely.

Cooies can be frozen in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

Icing:

  1. In a bowl, combine icing sugar, milk and vanilla.  Spread scant 1/2 tsp over each cookie; top with a few sprinkle. 
  2. Let stand on racks until icing is set, about 1 hour.

Iced cookies can be stored  layered between waxed paper in airtight container for up to a week.

92 Calories per cookie

Linzer Cookies

Cakes and Cookies, Sweets

This is a crisp nut cookie, sandwiched together with raspberry filling..  I found this recipe in Womans Day Magazine in late seventies.

Linzer Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes 4 dozens

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2                  cups butter, softened
  • 1                        cup sugar
  • 1                        egg
  • 1                        egg yolk
  • 1                        tsp grated lemon rind
  • 1/2                     tsp vanilla essence
  • 3 1/3                  cups finely ground hazelnuts or
  •                           almonds
  • 3 1/3                  cups cake flour or all purpose flour
  • 1                        tsp baking power
  • 1 1/4                  tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1                        jar (12 oz) raspberry jam.
  • 1                        cup icing sugar

Instructions

  1. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; beat in egg, egg yolk, lemon rind and vanilla; stir in nuts.
  2. Stir in flour, baking powder and cinnamon, blending well to make a stiff dough; wrap in wax paper; chill several hours, or overnight.
  3. Cut dough in half(refrigerate other half).  Roll out dough between sheets of wax paper to slightly less  than 1/4 inch thickness.  Remove top sheet of wax paper.
  4. With a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out as many circles from the dough as you can.  Carefully remove circles from bottom sheet of wax paper; place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets .
  5. Repeat with other half of the dough, cutting out an  equal number of 2 inch circles as from the first batch.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets.  With a 3/4 in cookie cutter, cut out centre of each of the second batch of cookies.  Use any scraps of dough for second rolling.  Roll scraps of dough out for second rolling.  Cut out equal number of solids circles and circles with open centers.  (You can also use a Linzer Cookie Cutter).
  6. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 12 min, or until edges are golden brown.
  7. Remove cookie sheets from the oven.  Let it cool.
  8. Spread each of the solid cookie completely with a thin layer of raspberry jam.   Top each with a cut-out cookie; press gently to make a sandwich.
  9. Place on a wire rack.  Sprinkle tops of cookies with icing sugar.
  10. Spoon dab of preserve in opening of each cookie, let preserve set slightly.  (Optional)

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Cherry Crumble

Sweets

 

This is a recipe I found in Martha Stewart Magazine – Nov 2012.  The crumble can be eaten as a snack, breakfast bar or served as a dessert with ice cream or custard.

Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Serves 12

Ingredients Filling

  • 4                cups fresh cherries
  • 3/4             cup sugar
  • 3/4             tsp cornstarch
  • 1/4             cup orange juice

Dough

  • 1                 cup butter
  • 2                 cups all purpose flour
  • 2                 tsp baking soda
  • 1                 tsp salt
  • 1/2              tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1-1/4           cups light brown sugar
  • 1                 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1                 tsp vanilla essence
  • 2                 cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 3/4              cup finely chopped toasted walnuts (3 oz)

Instructions Filling:

  1. In a food processor blend the cherries with the sugar until a coarse paste forms.
  2. In a medium saucepan bring the mix to a boil.
  3. Mix the cornstarch with the juice and add to the cherry mix, whisking to combine.
  4. Simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
  5. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Dough:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. (You can spray it with Pam).
  3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  (You can omit the salt if you are using salted butter)
  4. Add brown sugar and butter, and stir until well combined.
  5. Mix in egg and vanilla, then oats and walnuts.
  6. Press half the dough into the pan.
  7. Spread the filling evenly over the dough, then crumble remaining dough on top of filling.
  8. Bake until golden and cooked through, about 40 minutes.
  9. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack, about 1 hour.
  10. Cut into  2 inch squares and serve.

Vedmi

Sweets

A Gujarati delicacy, is made during festive occasions like Diwali, Weddings etc. The half moon shaped deep fried sweets  are stuffed with coconut.

Vedmi is also known as ghugra or singora.

This is a recipe given to me by my grandmother.  She made the best vedmi.

She would start making them after lunch and she would finish before tea time.  She would sit on a patlo (low wooden stool, used to sit on, when you had to sit on the floor) and make them.  She would get somebody to break the coconut and grate it on a coconut grater.  If you were experienced grating then it would take you  10 minutes to grate a coconut if you were a learner it would take you an hour.  The first layer of the coconut is sweet and moist so we would end up eating that and that bugged her.  She would then make the filling and cool it and then make them into vedmi.

Today we use the dried coconut to make it easier.

Vedmi

Vedmi

Vedmi folded

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filling

  • 2              tbsp butter
  • 2              tbsp crushed viriyari (aniseed)
  • 1              lb shredded coconut
  • 1              cup homo milk or evaporated milk
  • 1/2           tsp saffron
  •                 pinch yellow food coloring
  • 1/4           cup sugar
  • 1/4           tsp cardamom seeds crushed
  • 1              tbsp kas kas
  • 1/2           tsp saffron

Dough

  • 1/ 2           lb goor (jaggery)
  • 1               cup milk
  • 2               oz cup oil
  • 1               lb all purpose flour

Intructions

Filling:

  1. In a saucepan melt butter, add viriyari and stir fry for 1 minute.  Add the coconut and stir fry for about 5 min.
  2. Add the saffron and the food coloring  to the milk and microwave for 1 min.
  3. Add the milk to the coconut and cook on med heat for about 5 minutes.
  4. Add the sugar and cardamom seeds, nutmeg powder, sultans and cook for another 5 minutes till the sugar has melted and milk evaporated.
  5. Add Kas Kas and mix well.  The mixture should be thick.

Dough:-

  1. In a small saucepan heat the goor and milk on low heat till the milk is hot and goor melted.
  2. Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the oil.  Add the goor mixture and make a soft dough using more milk if needed.
  3. Divide the dough into 22 equal balls. 
  4. Roll each dough into 5” circle.  Lightly brush the edges with water and place 1and half tablespoon of filling in the centre of the circle.
  5. Fold in half, gently press and seal the edges.
  6. Deep fry on med heat until golden brown.

If using a perogy maker divide dough into 4 parts, roll each part into 1/8 inch thick, cut circles with a round cutter and use the perogy maker to seal.  (Follow the instructions for the perogy maker)

Shirkhand

Sweets


Shrikhand  is an Indian sweet dish made of strained yogurt.   It is one of the main desserts in Gujarati  and Maharashtrian cuisine.  . Preparation of this dish is very simple but it takes some time to process yogurt properly

In Gujarati cuisine, shrikhand is eaten as either a side-dish with breads such as poori or as a dessert. It is commonly served as part of a vegetarian thali in Gujarati restaurants and is popular as part of wedding feasts. It is often served chilled as a counterpoint to hot and spicy curries.

You will find a lot of different recipes for shirkhand but I like this recipe. 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 1               container (750 ml) 6 % MF Yoghurt
  • 1               container(500 ml)  sour cream
  • 1               cup sugar

Decoration

  • 1               tsp cardamom seeds (crushed)
  • 1/4            tsp nutmeg powder
  • 1/4            tsp saffron
  • 1               tbsp slivered almonds
  • 1               tbsp slivered pistachio

Instructions

  1. Line a large sieve with cheese cloth and put the yoghurt in.  Put the sieve over a bowl and let the whey from the yoghurt drain out.  Leave this covered  for 5 hours or overnight.
  2. Add the sour cream and sugar and mix well.  Transfer it into a serving bowl.
  3. Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients, cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Serve with chapatti or poori  or it can be served as a dessert.

Shirkhand can be made the day before.

Badam Pak(Goor Pak)

Mithai, Sweets

Goor Pak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes 20 pieces

Ingredients

  • 1/4              lb goond
  • 1 1/2           lb butter
  • 1 1/4           lb whole wheat flour
  • 1                 cup powder milk
  • 1 1/4           lb crushed almonds
  • 3/4              lb goor
  • 1/4              cup water
  • 1                 tsp cardamom seeds crushed
  • 1/2              tsp nutmeg powder
  • 1                 tbsp kas kas(poppyseeds)
  • 1/4              cup slivered almonds
  • 1/4              cup slivered pistachio
  • 2                 cups oil for frying goond

Instructions

  1. In a frying pan heat the oil.  When the oil is hot add 1 tbsp of goond at a time.  The goond will pop up and it will be transparent. Turn it, making sure the goond is transparent on all sides.  Take it out of the frying pan into a colander and let it drain.  Leave it aside.
  2. In a large saucepan over medium hot heat, melt 1-1/2 lb butter and fry the whole wheat flour. The flour is ready when the butter starts bubbling and the flour is golden brown, about 15 minutes.
  3. Add the milk powder and stir it for a few minutes.
  4. Remove from the heat, add the cardamom, nutmeg, crushed almonds, goond and mix well.
  5. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat add chopped goor, remaining  and 1/4 cup of water.  Let it cook till the goor melts and the mixture starts to bubble, about 10 minutes.
  6. Pour the goor mixture into the flour mix and mix well.
  7. Over medium heat cook the mix for about 5 minutes stirring continuously.
  8. Pour the mix into a well greased 10 X 12 inch cake tin.  Spread it evenly.  Sprinkle kas kas, slivered almonds and slivered pistachios.  Roll it with a rolling pin to make it smooth, or smooth it with the back of a spoon let it set overnight.
  9. With a sharp knife cut into square or diamonds and serve.

The pak can be stored in an air tight container for a couple of weeks.