Who doesn't love a twist & that too a Sriracha one? ~ Garlic & red chilli Vegetable Manchurian (dry) ~

Garlic & red chilli manchurian (dry) served with a side of vegetable fried rice

In one of our numerous chat sessions, as my conversation with my Chinese friend/colleague veered towards Sino-Indian relationship, the cultural differences and similarities, we couldn't help but contemplate on the amalgamation of Indian intricacies into Chinese cooking. It veered towards a very interesting conversation about cooking styles, spices used, favorite dishes etc. etc. and she was extremely amused to know that there prevailed a very popular fusion cuisine known as "Indo-Chinese". She had never heard of it (of course..who has unless they are from India?), and seemed intrigued by the names of dishes I was hurling at her. Manchurian, Mixed chowmein...wait what? Manchurian...what's that?

As I pondered on it a bit more, I assumed that although it's never really surprising to find tastes transcending national/international boundaries to give rise to a melange of flavors, the popularity of Indo-Chinese cuisine in India is something you have to see, to believe. This cuisine which started out as an assimilation of Indian sensibilities and beliefs into everyday cooking of the Chinese immigrants, has now been taken to a whole new level. While it's almost natural for immigrants in any country to adapt to the new place they call home (who better than me to attest to the fact that that's a very effective way to transform a dish to make their own), this fusion cooking style has perpetrated almost every nook and corner of the country. Anyone captivated by the cuisine has their own special version and everybody is right.

While my parents had no such inclination towards this form of cooking, I would happily assume that the rise of the "Chowmein-Manchurian" culture took place sometime when we were growing up. I am so elated (& grateful) to belong to a generation that grew up with the oh-so-delicious Indo-Chinese. Although my Ma never had much exposure to this cuisine, I still swear by her mixed Chowmein, Chicken Manchurian and Vegetable Manchurian that she so enthusiastically made. This is my version of the much loved Manchurian with some of my favorite spice additions. Who said that good just cannot become better? Well, here it is:

~Garlic & Red Chilli Vegetable Manchurian (dry) ~

The plate to devour!

Veggie fritters spiced with Sriracha (red chilli sauce) & crispy garlic bits are tossed with cubes of red bell peppers, assorted sauces and some more crispy garlic. Served hot garnished with a generous sprinkling of finely sliced green onions. Perfect as an appetizer all by itself or a fabulous side dish with Roasted Garlic fried rice or the Chilli garlic chowmein.

Ingredients:

¼ C Garlic – Chopped and crisped over medium heat. Used divided between fritters and sauce.

For the Garlic Veggie balls:

1 C Shredded Cabbage

½ C Carrots (shredded)

½ C Beans (Shredded)

1 tsp Chopped green chillies (Optional)

3 T Corn Flour

¼ C All Purpose Flour 

2 T Sriracha or Red Chilli Sauce

2 T Tomato Sauce

Pinch of salt

2 T Crispy garlic (mentioned above)

Oil for frying.

Sauce:

3 T Oil (in which you fried the garlic)

½ C Capsicum/Bell Pepper – In Cubes

Make a paste of the following:

1 T Dark Soy Sauce

1 T White vinegar

1 T Sriracha or Red Chilli Sauce

1 T Tomato Sauce
½ tsp Brown sugar

2 T Water

2 T Crispy garlic

Method:

1.     In a pan over medium heat, add 2 T of oil and sauté the garlic till its fragrant and light brown in color. Be vigilant since garlic burns really easily. Scoop out the garlic and set aside. They become crispy as they cool.

2.     In a wide-mouthed bowl, mix in all the ingredients for the garlicky veggie Manchurian balls. The batter should be thick so that you can make balls out of it. Add in a few drops of water if it’s too thick. I use the 1 T ice cream scoop to make similar sized balls. Make the balls and set aside.

3.     Heat up the oil over medium heat in a deep pan and fry the balls till they are golden brown in color. Keep it warm in an oven at 200oF.

4.     In the pan you fried the garlic, add in some more oil and sauté the chopped bell peppers (~30 secs).

5.     Make a paste of all the sauces along with water and add into the oil and peppers.

6.     After it boils, toss in the Manchurian balls till it soaks in all the goodness of the flavorful sauces. Adjust for salt if required.

7.     Serve hot with a generous sprinkle of green onions and some more crispy garlic.

A close look at the manchurian balls

While this dish tastes absolutely lip smackingly delicious just by itself, I served it with a side of vegetable fried rice. You could also try the Roasted Garlic fried rice or the Chilli garlic chowmein to up the garlic fest.

Till next time!
J

Oh! the joys of entertaining ~ Ragda Pattice / Aloo tikki chaat~

In our frenzied and increasingly impersonal world of late work nights, busy schedules and conveniently located restaurants luring us with elaborate menus, who takes an effort to cook anything for a meal time - leave alone a party? And in all this chaos, the burgeoning restaurant scene seems to have found its ideal, loyal clientele - busy professionals with little patience and ample of money. Quite a mix! Ain’t it? As more and more people opt to go out for dinners abandoning the age old tradition of making their own meal, it sincerely makes me shudder to think as to what our next generation would learn. What traditions will we pass forward? Are we going to give rise to an unfortunate generation which has been deprived of the sensuous art of cooking? A generation that finds solace in restaurant bought food over home cooked meals? And I believe those are some very valid points to think about. 

Creating and enjoying a home cooked meal has always been my way of adding that personal touch to my otherwise mundane life or to a get together of friends and family. My very personal signature and something my very own. It adds in oodles of love and care to something we all value a lot – our daily meals and of course noteworthy ones like birthday meals!Speaking of birthdays, they have always been special to me growing up. They were the most joyous of days filled with the honor of being treated special for the entire day. The thrill of opening the packet of candies, crisp new dress and to coming home to an array of my favorite dishes...each and every event had a charm- a charm that has gradually slid away with age. These days it means more of an occasion of getting together with friends and family to celebrate the year gone by while welcoming the new one. 

With such distinctive, pleasant memories of our birthdays, M and I wanted to make our guests feel special by making them a home-cooked meal. Exactly in the same way I feel when someone cooks for me. It makes me wonder as to where the novelty of cooking as a means of celebration slid by? Seems such a rarity these days!

In all of this party planning to-do's, trust me when I say that thinking of a fun and exciting dish to make was the first and most difficult part. After going through scores and scores of recipes, ragda patties/pattice or Aloo tiki chaat was chosen just based on the fun, ease and its mass appeal factor. Famous in most parts of the country, this Indian street food has different names - Ragda pattice (Yes its been misspelled!! Ragda Patties not Ragda Pattice) in the west, aloo tikki chaat in the north and Aloo guguni chaat in the east and it's as tasty in all its numerous renditions. It truly has a high crowd pleasing potential with really not a lot of effort and of course what better than to invite friends over for a plate of Indian street food?

~Ragda Pattice/ Aloo tikki chaat/ Aloo guguni chaat ~

This strikingly colorful, savory Indian street food is a delightful combination of aromatic potato patties served with a dollop of spicy yellow pea curry. Generous sprinklings of assorted chutneys, crispy sev ( fried chickpea noodles) and chopped onions add the extra sparkle to the glory of this dish. 

Ragda/Guguni (Yellow pea curry)

This is my way of making this spicy and tangy yellow pea curry and it is incredibly easy and tastes exactly like the one in the roadside stalls. A surprising ingredient is responsible for these ease. Read on and find out.

Ingredients:

2 C Whole Yellow/White peas (Soaked overnight)

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 C Oil

4 nos. Medium sized tomatoes- Chopped

In 1 cup of water make a paste of the following:

3 T Tomato Ketchup

1 T Sambhar powder (Surprise! Surprise!)

1 tsp Chili powder

¼ tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil the peas with salt and turmeric powder till just done. Leave aside.

2. In a deep pan, add in the oil and once the oil heats up, add in the chopped tomatoes and let it cook till soft and mushy (~ 2-3 mins).

3. Remember the paste you made of ketchup, sambar and chili powder? Add in that paste one spoon at a time and wait till the masala mixture is dry. Continue till you finish all of it and oil floats on top.

4. Now add in the boiled peas and cook over medium low heat till soft and mushy (~ 5 mins).

5. Adjust for salt and amchur powder.

For the Aloo tikki (Potato patties):

Ingredients:

4-5 nos. medium sized boiled potatoes

1 C Finely chopped mint

½ tsp Dry ginger powder

1 tsp Cumin/Jeera powder

2-3 nos. Finely chopped green chilies

½ tsp Garam Masala powder

2 T Rice flour or Corn flour

½ tsp Chaat masala

Pinch of sugar

Salt to taste

Bread crumbs 

Oil to fry.

Method: 

1. Mash the boiled potatoes along with all the other ingredients. Adjust according to taste.

2. Divide the dough equally into palm sized rounds. Now flatten the mashed potato rounds, roll them in bread crumbs ( for the crunch!) and shallow fry till golden brown.

For the garnish:

Khajoor Imli chutney (For recipe see here)

Hari or green chutney (For recipe see here)

Chopped cilantro (Optional)

Chopped onions

Sev or fried crisp chickpea flour noodles

Chaat masala

Assembling the chaat and the order:

Place the tikki on the plate.

Pour a dollop of the yellow pea curry.

Drizzle it with oodles of imli and hari chutney.

Sprinkle the chopped onions, sev and chaat masala.

Some useful notes:

If making it for a party,

- Soak the peas two nights before the event and boil the next day. Store it in the refrigerator for the day of the event when you prepare the guguni.

- You can prepare the tikkis the day before the event and refrigerate it. Fry it just before the party begins. That way the patties hold together much better leaving you with little work to do on the day of the party.

- You can even prepare all the chutneys beforehand and refrigerate.

- After you are done frying up the patties, cover the dish containing them with aluminium foil and keep it hot in the oven (250 oF) till the guests arrive.

- Place all the components of this dish on your counter and watch the guests get creative with their plate of chaat.

Now as you watch your guests get creative and excited about their plate of chaat, its almost impossible to feel the rush of satisfaction and happiness at that very sight. There's truly no joy greater than feeding someone to their heart's content and especially so when its your own family and friends :) 

So the next time you think about ordering something from the restaurant..think if that's the tradition you would want in your family...and if the answer is no, then go ahead, take some pains and see how fruitful and rewarding this whole process can be.Post in your experience in the comments and share the joys you have felt when you have done the same for someone.

So until next time!

Love,

J

P.S: Submitting this recipe to:
- WTML - May hosted by Gayatri.
- "Anniversary Celebrations" by Cook,Click and Devour
- " Kid friendly dishes" hosted by Vardhini of Cook's joy.

Vegetarian croquette from modern Odia cuisine & the Cuttacki street-food ~ "Vegetable Chop"

There’s never been a cold, rainy day when I haven’t yearned to cuddle up in my cozy comforter gazing out of the window while sipping on a cup of chai generously laced with ginger and munching on crispy home-made pakodas. Although quite a rare occurrence these days, especially with our busy schedules and untimely rain, I considered myself extremely lucky to be home on one such afternoon when it rained generously to my heart’s desire. Just like rain does to every romantic’s heart, it brought out the poetic, creative side of me very willing to experiment.

So on that occasional rainy afternoon, in a quest to celebrate the downpour as I raided my refrigerator to cook up something delish, I came across this half-a-piece of beet lingering in the forgotten corner of my fridge drawer. As I stared at it for a brief moment, the only thing that popped up distinctly was the "vegetable chop". While I am at it, I must confess that I have always had a love-hate relationship with beet.The very few times I had the courage to experiment, it turned out to be a messy, bright magenta blob that tasted a bit too earthy for my taste. So yes! I am guilty of using this vegetable minimally and the only recipe that really motivates me to use it is in its transformed version i.e. in a vegetable chop.In the vegetable chop something really  magical happens and that very beet I detest turns out to be the star.

Now having mentioned the term “vegetable chop” so many times, it would be unfair if I don’t introduce it to you soon. Well, vegetable chop (as we Cuttackis’ call it) is actually a vegetable croquette, distinctly characterized by the presence of bright colored beet in the melee of vegetables within. On an unrelated note, we Cuttackis' for that matter should really think about copyrighting the word “Chop” since it seems very native to Cuttack and I am meted with a blank stare the moment I mention it to any non-Cuttacki. So to simplify, in an average Cuttacki's vocabulary, the word “Chop” is very generally used to refer to any battered and fried vegetable stuffed eatable – be it the Aloo chop or the Vegetable chop.

So here’s the recipe for the famous “Vegetable Chop”

Vegetable Chop

These crispy rolls, made of sautéed veggies wrapped in spiced potato mixture, bread- crumbed and deep fried till golden brown, get their additional punch from the occasional sweetness of the raisin and the freshness of mint. Most aptly described as the Odia version of the dainty croquette.

Ingredients:

1-2 Cloves of thinly sliced garlic

2 T Beet (Thinly sliced)

½ C Carrot (Thinly sliced)

½ C Beans (Thinly sliced)

1 C Onions (Thinly sliced)

2 C Cabbage (Thinly sliced)

3-4 Chilies (Thinly sliced)

1 T Raisins (Optional)

1 T Mint leaves (Chopped)

Tomato Ketchup

Red Chilli powder

Black Pepper powder

Pinch of garam masala (Optional)

Salt to taste.

4 Boiled Medium Sized Potatoes

1 T Cornstarch

1 tsp Black Pepper

½ tsp Amchur (Dried Mango powder)

Salt to taste

1 C Bread crumbs for coating

Oil for frying

  

Method:

For the filling:

1. In a pan over medium-high heat, add oil and let it heat up. Add the garlic and stir till fragrant. Now add in the raisins, beets, carrots, beans, chilies, onions and cabbage in that order.

2. In a separate bowl, mix in the tomato sauce with one tablespoon of water along with red chili powder, pepper powder and salt. Mix well to form a smooth paste.

3. Sauté the vegetable mixture for about 3-4 minutes and then add in the sauce.

4. Keep stirring till the vegetable filling looks glossy. Taste and adjust if necessary. Add the mint leaves and garam masala while the filling is hot still and keep aside.

For the outer covering:

Mash the cooled, boiled potatoes to a smooth paste along with cornstarch, red chili powder, black pepper powder, amchur and salt. Taste and adjust if necessary.

Making the croquettes:

1. Make equal sized balls of the potato mixture. I used the ¼ C scoop measure to measure out equal amounts.

2. Flatten the potato ball and add in 1 T of the filling in the middle. Gather the potato mixture from the sides and form an oblong shaped croquette. You can keep it round too if you like. I preferred it oblong since that's how its originally made.

3. Now, roll the prepared croquettes in seasoned bread crumbs till well coated.

Optional: After this stage, these can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hrs in advance. I keep them at least for about 1/2 hour to make them bind well.

4. Heat up oil in a pan and fry till golden brown.

Notes:

1. The croquettes can be formed almost a day in advance and kept well covered in the fridge. Fry it up the moment when you want to serve them.

2. Tip: I suggest preparing the croquettes and keeping them in the fridge at least half an hour before frying. This binds the balls better and they do not break up while frying.

While it takes time to fry up, don’t forget to put your teapot to work too. There’s nothing more surreal than the heavenly combination of vegetable chop and ginger tea. Once you make it, chai and pakodas might seem a little bit outdated to you.  Don't forget to thank me later when you are done enjoying the bliss.

Love,

J

Submitting this recipe to:
- "Navratri recipes" hosted by Nupur.
- "Diwali Special" by Gayatri
- "Diwali Bash-2013" hosted by Vardhini from Cook's joy
- "Anniversary Celebrations" by Cook,Click and Devour
- " Kid friendly dishes" hosted by Vardhini of Cook's joy.

The quintessential Cuttacki fare - Dahi Vada Aloo Dum aau Guguni Chaat aka "Dahi Bara Aloo Dum"

The name itself conjures up thousands of memories and for anyone who’s ever

been to Cuttack or hails from the same, needs no intro to this legendary street food – Dahi Bara Aloo Dum and Guguni, mostly known as “Dahi Bara Aloo Dum”. But for the uninitiated, this lip-smacking street food is the combination of Dahi Vada topped with aloo dum and guguni (yellow peas curry), served generously garnished with cut onions, coriander leaves and sev. The savory tartness of the dahi vada perfectly complements the spicy aloo dum and guguni and all of it wonderfully comes together with the crunchiness of the onions and the sev. It’s truly a wonder how all three distinctly different dishes with strong flavor character of their own can meld together in this unique, indescribable way.

But despite its iconic status within the state, it’s a pity that outside Odisha hardly many people know about it. In my past one year of blogging, I must admit that I have never shared anything as authentic and true to Cuttack than this. Every nook and corner of Cuttack beams with a Dahi Bara (a short name for the trio) vendor these days and despite the growing fervor for “westernized” fast food, I can very gladly say that little has changed as far as its popularity goes. Quite aptly put, it’s the “Vada Pav” of Cuttack in the nature of which it has its way into people’s hearts and their everyday lives. I have known people eating this street food for all three meals for several days together. But unlike the Pav Bhaji or the Vada Pav, it really hasn’t received the limelight it rightly deserves. But I am sure....absolutely sure that all this needs is a little bit of promotion and there’s no doubt it can stand tall or even exceed many iconic street foods in their lovability quotient.

Now, having grown up in Cuttack, my love for this street delicacy has been truly innate and absolutely justifiable. For me, it represents festivity and all such happy times when as kids we would savor every bite of the street food we were occasionally allowed to eat. It conjures up memories of joyous occasions and brings back cheerful childhood memories of springing towards the gate as soon as the vendor rang his cycle bell and drummed the container to attract attention. It was difficult to contain the excitement of holding the “thola” (the container made leaves) in our hands. Yes, sometimes managing the thola in our tiny hands did get difficult, but that never discouraged us from gulping it all down and not to forget the last desperate plea for some more dahi paani (“tike dahi debe bhaina”) or some crunchy seu.

So just like every other delicacy we have loved, my Ma has tried her hand many a times at making this dish and well, after a few failures got it right for us. Now with my Ma around I had the privilege and the luxury of her teaching me this iconic, street food. We had a total blast making this and yes a memorable time eating it too. I am sure this is going to be made on many such occasions when I feel the need to go back to Cuttack in an instant. My own quick time travel you see :) 

(Clockwise from the left) Guguni, Dahi Bara, Aloo Dum, Plate of chopped onions, cilantro and sev and the final "Dahi Bara Aloo Dum" plate. 

  Dahi Vada (Dahi Bara)

Dahi Bara (Dahi Vada)

Savory and tangy fried lentil donuts soaked in a thin yogurt base forms the heart of this street food. Light and fluffy, it forms the perfect neutral base the to complement the spicy additions.

Ingredients

(Makes ~ 12 medium sized vadas)

1 C Whole Urad Dal

¾ C Rice flour

1 tsp baking soda

Oil for frying

For the dahi

½ C Yogurt

¼ C Water

Salt to taste

Black salt to taste.

Cumin and red chili powder (Optional)

For the tempering

1 T Oil

½ tsp Mustard seeds

2 nos. Dry red chillies.

Method:

1. Soak the whole urad dal overnight in luke warm water (6-8 hrs).

2. After the dal is perfectly soaked (it will feel light and puffed up), grind to a smooth batter. Keep it aside for ~4-5 hrs for fermentation in a dark, warm place.

3. The batter rises up and the surface has many small bubbles. Now slowly mix in the rice flour and baking soda. Keep it aside overnight.

4. For the dahi: In a small vessel,thin out the dahi with some water. Add salt to taste, black salt and jeera powder.

5. Heat up the oil. Wet your palms and make a donut shaped batter. Slowly slide the donut shaped batter into the oil. Fry till golden brown.

6. In another bowl, add some salt to iced water and keep aside.

7. Soak the fried vadas in the salted water till soft and fully soaked.

8. After the vada becomes soft, gently squeeze out the water and place it in the dahi.

9. For the tadka: Add oil into a pan, splatter some mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry red chillies. Then, pour the tadka on the dahi vada.

   

Guguni and Aloo Dum

Guguni (Left) and Aloo Dum (Right)

Aloo dum

Spiced potatoes in a thick tomato gravy provides the necessary spice for this chaat. Can also be eaten by itself with poori or even with rotis.

Ingredients

½ lb Small potatoes (Regular sized potatoes will also work)

2 T Oil

¼ tsp Turmeric powder

½ C Onion and ginger garlic paste

½ C Tomato puree

¼ tsp Red Chilli powder

1 tsp Curry powder

¼ tsp Garam Masala powder

¼ tsp Sugar

1 C Water

Salt to taste

Chopped cilantro leaves to garnish.

Method:

1. Boil potatoes. Peel and keep aside.

2. In a separate pan over medium heat, lightly sauté the boiled potatoes with salt and turmeric powder. Take it out of the pan and keep aside.

3. In the same pan, add the onion, ginger and garlic paste to oil. Add in salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder.

4. Then, add in tomato puree little at a time and sauté the masala till the oil floats.

5. Now add in curry powder, sugar, garam masala powder and the potatoes. Add in the water and bring it to a boil till oil separates. When oil floats at the top, it is done.

6. Sprinkle chopped coriander and keep aside.

Guguni

Spiced yellow peas curry is the necessary add on to this dish. This also can be eaten just by itself along with rotis or pooris.

Ingredients

¼ lb Yellow peas

2 T Oil

¼ tsp Turmeric powder

½ C Onion and ginger garlic paste

½ C Tomato puree

¼ tsp Red Chilli powder

1 tsp Sambhar powder

¼ tsp Garam Masala powder

¼ tsp Sugar

2 C Water

Salt to taste

1. Soak the yellow peas overnight in lukewarm water.

2. Boil the soaked peas in a pressure cooker with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder. Take it off the stove after a whistle from the pressure cooker.

3. In a separate pan over medium heat, add in the onion, ginger and garlic paste to the heated oil. Mix in salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder.

4. Then, add in tomato puree little at a time and sauté the masala till the oil floats.

5. Now add in sambhar powder, sugar, garam masala powder and the boiled yellow peas. Add in the water and bring it to a boil till oil separates. When oil floats at the top, it is done.

For the garnish

Chopped Onions

Chopped Cilantro

Chopped Mint (Optional)

Sev

Assembling the Dahi Bara Aloo Dum and Guguni.

In a bowl, place 2-3 dahi vadas and a little bit of dahi. Then scoop in some aloo dum and guguni. Then add in some more dahi and sprinkle some black salt and cumin red chilli powder. Garnish the dish with cut onions, coriander leaves and sev. Now dig into it and savor every bite!

Like they say, there's nothing more effective than food and music to conjure up happy memories of time well spent. 

Here's to more such happy times!

Love,

J

I am submitting this recipe to:
- "Monsoon temptations" hosted by Manasi
- "Walk through memory lane" hosted by Manju and Gayatri. 
- "Chaat and Chutneys" hosted by Cooks Joy
- "Diwali Bash-2013" hosted by Vardhini from Cook's joy
- "Anniversary Celebrations" by Cook,Click and Devour
- "Let's Cook with yoghurt" hosted by Nayna

Some sheer creamy happiness - Kesar Badam Kulfi/ Saffron Almond Kulfi

This unforgiving sun, soaring temperature along with the sweltering heat make me reach out to one age old cooling recipe that has always been close to heart. Way before all the plethora of ice cream choices in our refrigerator, I guess everyone would remember looking forward to the kulfiwallah shout out on the scorching summer streets. During summer holidays, when all us cousins would gather at my grandma's place..fun-frolic-masti was all that would ensue. In between the giddying rounds of hop scotch, hide n seek & lock n key, the shouts of the kulfiwallah on the streets would make us run to our parents begging for some (any!) money. After incessant begging, the kulfiwallah would be brought into our aangan and we would gorge our hearts out. Its memories that in fact ties everything together..So even till this date I could gladly give up all rights to any ice cream just to have all exclusivity to kulfi alone ;) Such is my dedication.

For the uninitiated - kulfi stands apart from its numerous counterparts for its absolute creaminess and richness. I would inch towards saying that its more like a gelato than an ice cream just for its sheer creaminess and softness. I had tried my hand at making kulfi previously too but I have always wondered about the chewy texture of the store bought ones. Mine never quite turned out as the one from the matki UNTIL I got this teeny weeny secret.

The last time I had tried my hand at it , it was a quick simple recipe too but only with the slight glitch of being icy at the same time. Kulfi originally is supposed to feel very creamy as it melts in your mouth. So ice is definitely NOT welcome. So in my desire to get the perfect consistency, I thought of adding something into the milk to make it thicker. So right came the idea of adding some rice flour- a little bit and try. When I finalized the recipe to be a saffron and almond kulfi,. I decided why not add in almond powder too to intensify the flavor along with thickening the mixture. Finally I got it..and of course I couldn't be any happier to find my own kulfi recipe for keeps ;)

Here's the no fuss-creamy-perfectly chewy and yes a winner of a recipe for my beloved kulfi. No need to watch over the milk or fret over the consistency. Get it, mix it, cool it and let the magic begin.

Kesar Badam Kulfi (Saffron Almond Kulfi)

Creamy and perfectly chewy with melt-in-the-mouth texture, this typical Indian summer dessert is heightened with the richness of saffron, crunchiness of almonds and the earthiness of cardamom powder. A quick, easy and sure-fire way to earn brownie points from loved ones. Most importantly, no more icy crystals and all creaminess always.

Ingredients (Makes 8-10 servings)

12 fl oz (1 can) evaporated milk

2 cup Heavy whipping cream  

1 C condensed milk (You can alter this quantity for sweeter kulfi)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder (Optional)
1/2 C slivered almonds

1/4 C warm milk + 1/4 C room temp. milk

1/2 tsp saffron threads

2 T ground basmati rice / rice flour

2 T almond powder

Sliced almonds and saffron strands as garnish

Method

1. Soak the saffron strands in 1/4 C warm milk and keep aside.

2. Heat the evaporated milk in a pan (preferably non-stick) over medium heat until it comes to a soft boil and add the cream, condensed milk, saffron soaked in milk and cardamom powder.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk in ground rice and almond powder with 1/4 C room temperature milk to make a smooth paste and add it to the heated milk mixture.

4. Whisk the milk mixture properly to ensure its smooth in consistency. Heat it over medium-low flame for 7-8 minutes until it thickens to the consistency of heavy cream.At this point, taste the mixture and adjust sweetness. If you like the consistency, then take it out from the stove and let it cool.

5. Pour the mixture into popsicle molds/ containers and put it in the freezer till frozen.

Notes:

- Usual route: If you plan to go the usual route, instead of heavy cream and evaporated milk, use 4 cups of whole milk and reduce it to 2 cups over low flame and consistent stirring. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe as stated.

- For almond and rice powder, mix in 2 T each of slivered almonds and basmati rice into a spice grinder to get a fine powder. If using whole almonds, soak the almonds to remove skin and make a paste.

- I used 1 C of condensed milk since I prefer my kulfi just perfectly sweet. 1C seemed just right and anything more I felt would take away from the richness. So if you like your kulfi sweeter, don't shy away from adding in more condensed milk.

- Ice prevention tip - Wrap the edges of the kulfi mold tightly with plastic wrap to seal it completely. This prevents any ice formation during freezing.

- Substitute almonds with any other nut that you desire and there you have a completely different flavor.

- Finally, I wish I had earthern pots for kulfi. They just add a different level of earthiness to this delicacy which is beyond compare.

Well equipped with this comforting recipe, I now have the confidence and the desire to take on this scorching heat with much more patience than anyone would give me any due credit for.Here's to sincerely hoping the sun to be a little more gentle with us and yes...make sure to avoid any distraction while enjoying your slice of kulfi..;)

Have a great rest of the summer! :)

Love,

J  
I am submitting this recipe to :
- "Desi Vidheshi food fest" hosted by Kalyani
- "Walk through memory lane" hosted by Archana and Gayatri
- "Fun and fair food event"
- "Diwali Bash" by Vardhini
- "Bon Vivant #10: Festive feast" hosted by Sumee.