A traditional Indian dessert called Shrikhand made with yogurt that is hung in a cheescloth overnight. It is then whipped with saffron and cardamom.
In case you were wondering why I have disappeared from the blogosphere and have not added any new recipes for a little more than a month, here is the scoop: We decided to sell our house. As part of that, there was a lot of preparation that had to be done – cleaning the house, finding the broker, the paperwork and did I say keeping the house clean. Finally our house is on the market and it has been a few weeks since it went on sale. It’s really a chore to keep the house clean – we have to clean it up the previous night so that the mornings are easier on everyone. Also, I have to make sure I do not cook food that will spread the aroma or smell of the food around the house, depending on how you look at it. If I do cook with spices, I make sure I air the house out to get the aroma or smell out by morning! Anyway, long story short, now that we have got the routine down pat, I decided to start cooking again. So now I will “try” posting the recipes every Thursday again until we move the first week of April to a new place.
…continue reading Shrikhand (Traditional Indian Yogurt Dessert)
Tags: Dessert · Gluten-free
Almond and Pistachio milk made by heating milk till it is reduced in consistency. Cardamom, Sugar and Saffron are added.
There was this fantastic “hole in the wall” restaurant we used to go to in the city where I used to live, where the food was worth dying for. It was a very small restaurant but very popular because of the food being lip-smacking good. Everything was prepared right in front of you. They had the Tandoor oven right in front of the restaurant where the cook would make amazing Naan and Tandoori Roti. He would take a ball of flour and roll the Naan with both his hands – like he was clapping, with the flour in between his two hands. Once it attained the requisite shape, he would take a folded wet kitchen towel, place the Naan on the towel and with his hands place the Naan on the side of a very very hot Tandoor oven! After a few minutes, the Naan would fall off the side, which would then be taken out of the oven with a long metal rod and placed right on a plate to be eaten! Yum. Nothing like eating a hot Naan with a really spicy Dal (lentil cooked in spices in a clay pot and topped with fresh herbs and deep fried thin onion strips and green chilli).
…continue reading Almond and Pistachio Milk
Tags: Dessert · Gluten-free
This is a very tasty dessert made with cracked wheat, slivered almonds, cardamom, ghee (clarified butter) and sugar.
I remember attending various weddings in India and as any one from India would attest, a wedding in India is a huge undertaking. The various ceremonies, food preparations for the various events, shopping, wedding invitations, guests, guests and more guests. All this starts a month in advance of the marriage where the bride and groom are stars of the show and are treated like royalty, especially the bride.
There are all kinds of ceremonies leading up to the day of the wedding. I remember when one of my aunts was getting married, one of the ceremony consisted of women applying turmeric paste mixed with yogurt and other herbs on her face, arms, hands, legs while singing. The women applying the turmeric would come one after another, take a little of the turmeric paste on both their hands and sing and apply it on the bride-to-be. This would go on until every woman in the room got a chance to apply the turmeric paste on the bride. Of course, after a few of the women had their turn, I was totally bored watching the same thing go on for almost an hour! An hour!! Not sure how my aunt sat through the whole ritual and still have a smile on her face.
…continue reading Lapsi (Cracked Wheat with Almonds and Cardamom)
Tags: Dessert · Vegetarian
A nutritious dessert made with semolina flour and ghee (clarified butter) along with almonds and raisins.
Every time I think of Halwa, it brings memories of my childhood in India. I remember attending various weddings and was in awe of the amount of food that was being made by the cooks. They were cooking for hundreds of guests in huge woks and cooking utensils. Indian weddings are usually attended by hundreds of guests since the wedding invitation usually says come with friends and family. The cooks would start making the food in the morning with huge quantities of vegetables, flour, ghee, oil, and of course the spices.
Halwa can be made with various ingredients – semolina flour, wheat four, almonds, carrots, lentils, yams etc. My favorite is halwa made with semolina and almonds or just with almonds (I will post a recipe of almond halwa in a future post). The traditional way to make halwa is with lots of ghee and sugar. I have made modification to the recipe to cut down on the amount of ghee and sugar.
A really good quality organic semolina is from Bob’s Red Mill. You can also buy the flour from any Indian store. It is called Sooji. Ghee is available in Whole Foods and other grocery stores or at an Indian store. I prefer the Pure Indian Foods brand of ghee shown in the photo. You can get the ghee via mail order by clicking on the link under Online Stores. Ghee has an excellent nutty taste and a pale yellow color. Ghee is made by heating butter long enough until the moisture in the milk solids evaporate. It has an excellent taste and is used in a variety of Indian dishes. I usually buy it ready made since it is too much of a hassle to make it from scratch.
…continue reading Semolina Halwa
Tags: Dessert · Semolina · Vegetarian
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