Chocolate and Malai Peda for Holi/Five Minute Chocolate and Milk Fudge

Here's wishing all my readers a Very Happy Holi. Have fun, stay safe and healthy. This past weekend we were out on a road trip on a little vacation driving around the state to the usual vacation spots. Took some time off of the early part of spring break as well. By the time we got back yesterday, just in time for Holi, I already had several ideas crawling in my head for what to make for the festival of which - like most festivals - food is an essential element. Holi is all about having fun, painting each others with colors, spending an hour in the shower to get all the paint off you and then having some wonderful food from the kitchen. Coming back from our trip yesterday you would think I would take some time and relax but instead I went right to the kitchen (yes I did stop at the grocery store on the way). Since it was late at night, did some basic prep work and starting this morning  over a few hours put together five dishes. This sweet dish is one of them which in fact was easier of the five. You may find several versions of these Pedas out on the web that use almost similar ingredients. They are all done pretty much the same way with minor differences based on personal preference. I tried to put together the general concept of the dish together with my love for chocolate. A fine dessert to serve with an exquisite meal or a casual candy to have around and to pop in when you please.

Read more »

Thandai/Spicy Nutty Almond Milk

oli is this Thursday. This Festival of Colors is undoubtedly one of the most fun filled of all the festivals in India. The celebration of the advent of spring, this festival is tied to a lot of religious significance as are all the other festivals in India and also signifies the triumph of good over evil. Huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi to commemorate this spirit.

As with any festivities, there are loads of fond memories with Holi as well. For those not aware, the tradition might seem a little odd but here is how it was done - and boy was it fun. The morning of the festival, you would wake up and go out on the streets armed with all your washable paints, colors and gulal. Any person you find young or old, whether you know them or not, you make sure you get them painted beyond recognition. Of course you get the brunt of it too, so much so you would not recognize if you saw yourself in the mirror... no kidding. While you did all that, you would sneak an occasional peek in the house and pick a taste of all the goodies mom was busy cooking up. I remember how my mom and aunts used to cook up a storm and how all of us children would huddle up in the kitchen and be curious and all excited, waiting for the treat. The sweet aroma of festivity, sounds of laughter, the deep frying, chit-chat, gossip.

On this occasion it is customary to drink thandai - a cold refreshing beverage made with milk that is infused with almond and few exotic spices often traditionally mixed with ground hemp paste or bhaang. Bhaang  is prepared with ground leaves and flowers buds of the cannabis plant which works like a relaxant and gives a intoxicating kick :) You guessed it, as kids, we weren't allowed. This  version here is of-course the non-intoxicating version and perfect for the upcoming hot summers and not to mention very nutritious as well.

Read more »

Gujiya - Holi hai!

ujiya is a traditional indian sweet dish made typically during the festival of Holi. The sweet delicious filling inside the crunchy flaky pastry covering tastes out of this world and makes you want to grab some again and again. Gujias slightly vary from region to region. In the Northern parts of India, the filling is made with sweetened khoya and dry fruits and nuts while in South Western States, it consists of shredded coconut, nuts and jaggery or sugar. I of course like this the way my mom makes them.

Where I come from, we call it Pedukiya. These are made in most households during the festivities of Holi like it was in ours. They always take me back in time to those days when on the morning of the festival, you would wake up and go out on the streets armed with all your paints, colors and gulal. Any person you find young or old, whether you know them or not, you make sure you get them painted beyond recognition. Of course you get the brunt of it too so much so you would not recognize if you saw yourself in the mirror... lol. While you did all that, you would sneak an occasional peak in the house and pick a taste of all the goodies mom was busy cooking up. I remember how my mother and aunts used to make it and how all of us children would huddle up in the kitchen and be curious and all excited, waiting for the treat. The sweet aroma of festivity, sounds of laughter, the deep frying, chit-chat, gossip... I miss them all... here in my kitchen when alone I cook something like this there is not someone always to taste as it comes hot off the frying pan, the chit-chat... but the aroma of cooking the warmth of festivity makes me feel at home again. I have the sweetest and the most caring man in the whole world who is my sous chef my taster my food critic, my everything. With him and my our little bundle of joy everyday feels like a festival and keep me going!

Read more »

Malpua

Malpuas... whenever I think of them, the festival of Holi and Dussehera comes to mind... and along comes some sweet childhood memories. I remember my mom making these along with loads of other delicacies on festivals like pedukiya/gujhiya, nimki, dahi vada... and our home would be filled with the sweet and wonderful aroma of warmth and festivity! Growing up, it was a family tradition to make at least malpua and dahi-vada for Vijaya-Dashmi.

Despite some regional variations and versions, I think the original and authentic malpuas come from my native Bihar and Bengal. It is an Indian pancake made with flour, milk, khoya, mashed bananas, nuts, cardamom powder, deep fried and then soaked in sugar syrup. I don't have a sweet tooth (other than chocolate) so I don't care much for them, but my hubby is head over heels in love with them since time immemorial... he can eat like 10 of them in one go... I am not kidding... he really does!! Also, this was one the first few dishes I made for him after we got married and he was mighty impressed :) All the credit goes to my mom for this wonderful recipe.
Extending the family tradition, this Vijaya-Dashmi I made them too.Being caught up with the festivities, I did not get a chance to post. Here's how we do Malpuas. Will follow soon with Dahi-vada.

Read more »

Potato Jackfruit (Aloo Kathal) curry with Poori

It is amazing how we take certain things for granted. Growing up, Kathal (pronounced cut-hull) or Jack fruit used to be abundant during the summers. Mom used to make an amazing curry. So coming to the US, I was pretty disappointed that folks here did not even know what a jack fruit was let alone sell it. We had to go without it for a couple of years. To my absolute amazement, I found that they sold the canned variety in some oriental grocery stores. They were good to satisfy our craving for kathal but did not even come close to the taste of the fresh ones. The other day I decided to search for it on the web and found that there actually is a local farmer that has jack fruit trees and he sells the fruit at his store. The catch, his store was about a hundred miles from where I am. This past weekend, hubby and I decided to take the trip. Believe it or not, we drove a hundred miles (two hundred including the return!!) but it was all worth it as we came back with a huge 10 pound jack fruit :D (so much for my carbon footprint but hey 'am not gonna do this everyday... besides he charged me 20 bucks for it so that's a good deterrent for doing it very often)

Now I have 10 pounds of jack fruit that I want to use as I cannot afford to let it go bad. So get ready to see some kathal creations from me. Here is the first in the series. The most common and traditional kathal preparation in our household. It is a traditional kathal and potato curry with spicy onion gravy. The kathal is pan-fried to get a nice caramelization and then simmered in a nice spicy sauce. I just ate some and feel like having some more as I am writing this. It is best paired with pooris . In case you are not aware what a poori is it is a deep fried puffed unleavened bread. They are an absolute treat to eyes and taste buds alike!!

This is my Mom's recipe, so here goes

Read more »