Jowar Chivda (Crunchy Puffed Millet Snack)

Every year around Diwali, my kitchen is a whirlwind of activity. I love making delicious sweets and savouries that we enjoy over the festive month! This year I had planned to try my hand at some sweets I have never attempted at home and share them with you. But time has been moving swiftly and things are so busy for me suddenly that I barely step into the kitchen to make a meal.

In between all the craziness, it appears that autumn has disappeared and winter has arrived in it's stead! It's bitterly cold here with a nasty north wind bearing down on us. Ugh! I can actually hear it beating down the roof and windows. Double ugh! Time for a nice sweet milky cup of tea then! That's right, tea it is because it's the perfect accompaniment for a quick and easy Chivda that I was able to make last night.

Ingredients:
4 cups puffed jowar | millet
1 cup moongphalli (peanuts)
7-8 kari patta (curry leaves)
1/2 tsp rai (mustard seeds)
1 tsp haldi (turmeric)
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp chini (sugar)
Salt to taste
2 hari mirch (green chilies), chopped fine
4 cloves lashun (garlic), chopped fine
3 tbsp oil
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup kismis (dark raisins)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 250F. Place the puffed jowar on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toast in oven for 12-15 minutes. Turn off the heat.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Reduce heat to a medium, add the garlic and fry until it begins to brown and turn crisp. Add the green chilies and curry leaves.
3. When the garlic and green chilies both look crunchy, add the peanuts. Roast till golden brown, then add the raisins and sunflower seeds.
4. Next add the turmeric, salt, sugar, and chaat masala. Blend well.
5. Turn off the heat, and turn the toasted puffed jowar into the pan, stirring all the time.
6. Stir gently until the puffed jowar is coated with the masalas, and the nut mixture is distributed evenly.
7. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
8. Store in an airtight jar.

Vegan Recipe.

All content, text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2011. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

100 Yummy Diwali Recipes: A Free eBook by IndusLadies

With the festive season upon us, I am sure we are all busy making goodies and our homes redolent with the aromas of sweets and savouries. I am also sure that we are juggling demands for making favourites of our familie while trying to decide which delicious new recipes to try this year:) Well, our work just got easier!!

Here is a lovely gift from the IndusLadies and your fellow food bloggers that will make life literally sweeter. IndusLadies has compiled an eBook for this Diwali consisting of 100 Yummy Sweets & Desserts Recipes! You are invited to download it @ Diwali Sweets.

Thanks to IL for this wonderful effort to to all my blogging friends for sharing their favourites with us. My recipe Shahi Tukre | Double ka Meetha aur Kesariya Rabri | Crispy Bread Pudding in a Pistachio Saffron Sauce is on page 35!!

All content, text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2011. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Daring Cooks October 2011: Moo Shu Tofu with Hoisin Sauce

Looks like chappati - bhaji right!! I too was surprised to discover that October 2011 Daring Cooks Challenge was a Chinese recipe that closely resembled and Indian dinner platter or a snack popularly called a frankie roll!! Though I was aware of varying types of Chinese, breads, including pancakes, these Mandarin Pancakes came as a big surprise to me. When I got the dough together for them, I found myself looking at chappati dough and not traditional pancake batter. The rolling and cooking process was similar too!! And they did taste wonderful.

I followed the recipe provided for the pancakes, with one change. I replaced half the AP flour with Atta flour. I also followed the recipe for the sauce as is. For the Moo Shu itself, I began with dry roasting the tofu, then marinading it. The vegetable is a medley of cabbage, carrots, onions, green peppers, and green chilies. The end product was yum!! This was a great challenge, not at all difficult, and tasty to boot!! A keeper once again from the Daring Cooks!! The recipe to my version below.


Ingredients:
1/2 cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, julienne
1 onion, sliced fine
2 green chiles, chopped
1/2 green pepper, sliced fine
1 block tofu, cubed or sliced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
11/2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp white vinegar
4 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, blend together the soy sauce, rice wine, vinegar, and one tablespoon of the sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper. This is the marinade for the tofu and the sauce for the vegetables.
2. Cut or cube the tofu as desired. Dry roast on a non-stick pan on an even medium heat. Drop into the marinade. Let sit for an hour at least.
3. Remove tofu from marinade. Set aside.
4. In a wok, pour in the remaining sesame oil. Heat, the add the onions. Fry till transparent, then add the green chilies, the green pepper, garlic powder and the carrots. 
5. Stir fry on a medium heat till the carrots just begin to cook, then add the cabbage. Stir and cook till the cabbage begins to wilt. Stir in the leftover marinade and cook till all the liquid begins to dry out.
6. Check for seasoning, add the tofu, turn off the heat.
7. Ladle the Moo Shu Tofu onto the centre of the prepared pancakes. Top with Hoisin Sauce.
8. Serve hot.

Post Script: The October Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce.

Click here for the Complete October 2011 Daring Cooks Challenge.

Vegan Recipe

All content, text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2011. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Delicious Apple Pecan Crumble

Its apple season here, and we getting a wonderful variety of local apples at the many orchards that dot the countryside. While some orchards have a pick your own policy, some do all the hard work for you and you can just walk into the barn and get a 5lb bag of you favourite fruit or even a bushel if you fancy!! 

We like one orchard that is not too far out from where we live and make an annual trip there for the fresh crunchy fruit. We love the place - its an old apple orchard, has these amazing apple trees that are old and gnarled and bred primarily to survive the snowy winters of the northern hemisphere. A seating area with a small coffee shop that sells home baked apple goodies with apples from the orchard makes the trip all the more fun. Apple pies, apple and blueberry pies, apple and cherry pies, apple turnovers, toffee apples, and apple cider doughnuts are just some of the wonderful treats to be found.

My favourite dessert is an apple crumble!! The moment temperatures begin to fall and the leaves begin to turn, I can think of nothing more perfect than a warm apple crumble straight from the oven with a dollop of fresh cream or even ice cream!! Apples were created for just such a dessert. Over the years I have baked many crumbles with both filling variation and crumble variations. For this lovely dessert that can be baked for a special occasion or will make any evening special, I always recommend going with the ingredients you feel partial to at that moment:) Here is one of my simplest albeit amazingly delicious recipe that I developed recipe to enjoy this dessert without excess fat and sugar.

Ingredients:
5 apples, peeled, cored
1/2 lime
2 tbsp cornflour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pecans, chopped coarsely
3 tbsp butter, cold and chopped


Method:

1. Halve the apples then slice them about an eighth inch thick.
2. Place slices in a large mixing bowl and squeeze the lime liberally over them.
3. Next add 1/3 cup of the sugar, cornflour, cinnamon and the golden raisin to the apples.
4. Mix, cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
5. To prepare the crumble, mix the rolled oats and flour. 
6. Add the chopped pecans and the remaining brown sugar. 
7. Next add the butter and using both hands rub the butter into the mix until it is well blended.
8. Grease a baking pan with some butter.
9. Pour the apple mix into the baking pan. Distribute evenly.
10. Press the crumble blend onto the apple mix
11. Bake at 300F for 45 minutes or until it begins to brown and the apple juices bubble thickly from the sides of the pan. 
12. Reduce heat to 200F and allow to sit in oven for another 15 or so minutes.
13. Remove from oven and enjoy warm.

This crumble can be refrigerated for 4 days. I recommend warming in the oven before eating.

All content, text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2011. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Very Orangey Orange Cake (Eggless)

 

I love citrus in cakes and bakes!! While I bake lemon pound cake and my olive oil lime cake every so often, I have not baked an orange cake in quite some time. Several years ago, I would bake an orange cake that required a syrupy drizzle icing, one that would soak into the sponge of the cake making the crumb juicy and moist. Mmmmm