My Mother's Special Gujiya

Gujiya is one sweet that most North Indians symbolize with Holi... but that I learnt only in my freshman year in college. At home, my mother used to make them all the time. Father and I liked them much, so Maa would often make them to go with the evening chai or just like that, as munchies after a long day's work. She even packed some in my tuck box when I left for college and that is when I realized how good and special her Gujiyas were. My friends loved them and reminded me to get some back after the holidays. Maa obliged and soon that became a ritual...a ritual that continued even after my marriage. I believe she would have continued to pamper us with her supplies had we still been in India... but... we are not... So the other day, at my request, Maa finally parted with her special recipe and said I could share it with all of you if I liked....  

Anyone who has had Gujiya  will testify that besides the filling, a crunchy crust is the next best thing about it. Often, a wrong  proportion of ingredients and incorrect frying temperatures are considered responsible for a not-so-crisp exterior. Maa says, besides taking those obvious precautions, one also needs to add a bit of sugar syrup to the dough mixture while kneading it. According to her, this little detail does wonders to the texture of the crust. My grandmother had apparently cracked this halwai's-secret and had shared it with Maa and she claims that it is this little thing that makes her sweets stand out. I tried out her trick this time and was so thrilled with the outcome.. 

The initial plan was to take some of the sweets to our friend's place and play Holi there. But it got too cold to go out, so we smeared colors on each others faces and celebrated Holi at home with colors and my mother's special Gujiya....

Now a quick word about Mawa , before I go on to the recipe...

Mawa, also known as Khoya, is made by simmering full-fat milk over low medium heat for hours until it reduces to a mass of slightly caramelized granular dough-like milk solids. If you have the time and energy, you can make your own Mawa at home, just as Maa did,  or like me, you can skip the hard work and buy your mawa from the Indian store... (You can find the recipe here.) 

Paasi Paruppu Payasam # South Vs North Annivesary Celebration

This October,  SNC completed a year in this blogging world and as a celebration we were challenged to cook any one recipe among the 12 challenges that had been posed in the past 12 months. While I have cooked my way through all the challenges since March, I hadn't written about Paasi Paruppu Payasam. 

 

Back in August Divya Pramil of You Too Can Cook had challenged the Northern Team of South Vs North Challenge to cook Paasi Paruppu Payasam. I had prepared it for Janmasthami and had planned to take the photographs the next day... which did not happen.... and then..... we rolled into September and the photographs and the post was forgotten till I received Divya's mail at the beginning of the month...

In the North Indian lingo, Paasi Paruppu Payasam would be called Moong Dal Payash or Moong dal Kheer. In the west, a dessert such as  Payash or Kheer will probably be labeled as a sweetened porridge. Though North Indians use lentils in sweets such as a moong dal halwa, preparing kheer with lentils is relatively uncommon. They typically prepare their Payash or Kheer by boiling rice or suji (semolina) with milk and gur(a form of jaggery) or sugar and flavor it with cardamom, raisins, saffron and cashews. So for us, this kheer with lentils was quite a departure from the usual. We however enjoyed it thoroughly and I certainly look forward to making it again during festivals and special occasions.

Paasi Paruppu Payasam Recipe Source: You Too Can Cook
Preparation Time: 15 minutes    Cooking Time: 20 minutes      Serves: 6-8
Ingredients    1/2 cup Yellow Moong Dal 1/4 cup Raw rice (optional) 1 cup milk 5 pieces Jaggery 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder 3 tbsps Grated coconut Cashew nuts - 10 to 15  Ghee - 1 tablespoon (i used browned butter)  -   Instructions Wash the dal and rice and keep it aside. Mix the grated coconut and cardamom powder and keep it aside.  Put the blocks of jaggery into a paper bag.  Crush it into smaller pieces using a meat tenderizer, hammer or wooden rolling pin. Then using the blender, grind the jaggery pieces into a fine powder. Next add the moong dal and rice in a pressure cooker along with 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 2- or 3 whistles until the dal is properly cooked. Switching off the heat, wait till the lid of the cooker drops. Then mash the dal-rice mixture and stir in the milk. Now switch on the heat once again and cook the contents over low flame. With the added milk the consistency of the dal should be fine, but if you find it too thick add some water to the mixture at this point. Once the mixture begins to simmer, stir in the jaggery and coconut mixture. Check the sweetness and add more jaggery if the payasam is not sweet enough for you. Stirring frequently continue to simmer the mixture for another 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile in a separate pan, melt 1 tablespoon of ghee and add the cashews in it. Once the cashews turn brown, add them to the payasam. Switch off the heat. Your Paasi Paruppu Payasam is now ready to serve !  With time, the payasam tends to become more thick. If it thickens too much, add some milk or water and heat it slightly before serving.

Congratulations Divya for successfully running the South Vs North Challenge for the past one year and happy 1st anniversary to all the members of SNC !! Its been wonderful cooking and learning with all of you .  Hope we continue to learn and cook many more wonderful south dishes in the years to come and celebrate many such anniversaries together !

Sharing this with 

• Swathi's event Favorite Recipes Event: Kheer/ Payasam hosted by The Big Sweet Tooth, 
• My Legume Affair Event, an event started by Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook, presently managed by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen and hosted this month at  Spicy Foood.

I shall also be sharing this at the following weekly parties...
Monday Food: Made with Love Mondays, Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Inspiration Monday Party, Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party,Mix it up Monday, The Scoop

Tuesday Food:  Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations, Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul blog Hop

Wednesday Food: What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2
Thursday Food: Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes 

Bootleg Crouu....nuts # Baking Partners September Challenge

This month Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen challenged the Baking Partners to make the latest sensation in the world of pastry ... the celebrated  'Cronut™'. Earlier this year Chef Dominique Ansel launched this unique pastry in Dominique Ansel Bakery, New York. Since then this pastry has accumulated a big fan following around the world. Though it is often described as a hybrid of croissant and doughnut, it appears that resurrecting a copy-cat recipe of the trademarked 'Cronut™' has  been quite a challenge for many accomplished pastry Chefs around the world. However some of them have cracked the code.. and brought the pastry to the doorsteps of the enthusiastic home bakers. Chef Jessica Yang is one of them and here is her recipe of BootLeg cronuts that we tried for this months baking challenge.

Though Crouu..nuts are deep fried pastries, Swathi chose to challenge the Baking Partners with this recipe as it incorporates the techniques of making puff pastry and yeasted doughnuts...  though i was initially very excited as the prospect of learning both the techniques, standing on the other side of the 3 day process I no longer feel the same way. the whole process is long, tedious, tiring and painful. it completely drained me off all the excitement and enthusiasm. admittedly these pastries taste good but I wouldn't dare making them at home again. I'll rather be crazy for a day ... sacrifice a few hours of sleep and take the early morning train to NYC .. and stand in a long queue outside Dominique Ansel Bakery along with hundreds of other crazies like me for a bite of awesomeness ....than toil myself to death hoping to create a magic that i know I'll never be able to create in my kitchen in LI... just 60 miles away from DABakery.....

anyway since i completed the challenge I thought i might as well share my experience with you... just to tell you what i have been up to lately..

BootLeg Crouu... nuts  Recipe Source : KitchenSurfing Blog

ingredients    for the dough 2 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting the work table 3/4 tsp salt 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup + 4 tsp milk (I used fatfree milk ) 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast 2 large eggs 2 1/3 tbsp unsalted butter for butter layer 14 tbsps (1 cup minus 2 tbsp) unsalted butter for frying 2-4 cups canola oil  water for brushing on top cinnamon and sugar (4 tbsp sugar + 1 tbsp ground cinnamon) for chocolate pastry cream (I followed this recipe) for the chocolate glaze 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter -  the method  Phase 1 30 minutes before dough preparation take the butter and the eggs out of the refrigerator and allow them to reach room temperature. when ready to prepare the dough, combine all the dry ingredients, flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl of your standing mixer. heat the milk until warm, about 20-30 seconds in the microwave and add it to the bowl of dry ingredients. now add the eggs and butter and mix on low speed until everything is well incorporated. then mix on high speed for another 8 minutes. (note that the dough gets tougher as you mix. though the recipe instructs to mix on low speed for 3 minutes and then on high speed for 8 minutes, I was not able to knead on high speed for 8 minutes as one of the paddles of my hand mixer broke in the process. so unless your mixer paddles are sturdy enough, take a break in between or towards the end, knead the dough with your hands.) remove the dough from the bowl, shape it into a ball and transfer the dough into a well greased bowl. to allow the dough to relax, cut a cross on its surface with a knife. then covering the dough with a plastic wrap, place the dough in a warm area and let it double itself. this takes about 30-60 minutes (in my case around 60 minutes.) after the dough has "poofed" transfer it to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or overnight).  Preparing the butter for lamination While the dough is chilling, prepare the butter for lamination. for this take 14 tbsps (2 sticks minus 2 tablespoons) of cold butter and cut the sticks lengthwise into half. now arrange the cut out pieces on a parchment paper in the form of a rectangle, cover the laid out butter rectangle with a second parchment paper and using a rolling pin even out the rectangle till it is approximately 4x6 inches. then wrapping the butter with a cling wrap, transfer it to the refrigerator and allow it to chill for at least 2 hours. Phase 2 : Note this phase consists of 4 major steps wherein the fourth step is a repetition of the first three. Including the minimum intermediate chilling time, this phase should ideally take 6-7 hours. but for non-experts like me it might require an extra couple of hours. so be prepared for this ! I had allowed the dough to chill for 8 hours before starting phase 2. I hadn't read the recipe completely so i took a long break after the second turn that is the second step of phase 2 and continued the lamination process next day. though it apparently did not effect the outcome, I think it is better to follow the recipe and complete the lamination process at a single go... remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a well floured surface so that a cross is formed with equal arms on all four sides. make sure that the center of the rolled out dough is big enough to envelop the slab of butter. place the butter in the center of the cross and cover the four flaps so that the butter cannot be seen. the opposite flaps should not overlap when folded but should seal the butter inside meeting at the edges.  1st turn.  flour the surface and the dough so that it does not stick to the rolling pin. before beginning to roll out, press the dough down in order to expand it. turn the dough so that the shorter end faces you. roll to expand the length of the dough. to ensure that the dough does not stick to the work table, add more flour whenever required. when you have a rectangle that is 16 x 7 inches, fold the top third of the rectangle down, then fold the bottom third to cover it. turn the dough 90 degrees so that the opening resembles a book. 2nd turn. (though you can do this step right away, I highly recommend that you wrap the dough in film and chill it for 30-60 minutes before doing the 2nd turn. ) like in 1st turn, roll to expand the length of the dough and repeat the subsequent steps, then turn the dough 90 degrees and gently press two fingers in the lower right corner to mark the number of turns. (marking the dough helps you to keep track of your progress and also ensures that the orientation of the dough is correct when you remove it from the refrigerator.) now wrap the dough and let it chill for atleast 1 hour. (this is the point where i took a break and decided to resume the lamination work the following day.) 3rd turn. at this point the dough is hard. so gently pound it to warm the butter. if it is too cold the butter will separate and not spread as well as it should. repeat the previous steps. then turning the dough as in 2nd turn, mark the corner with 3 fingerprints. once again wrap the dough and return it to the refrigerator for 1 hour. 4th turn. make the final turn, repeating the steps from 1-3 turns. then wrap the dough and chill it for at least 2 hours.   In the meantime prepare the chocolate pastry cream  for the chocolate pastry cream, I followed the recipe from Around the French Table. It is the same one that i used as a filling for my chocolate eclairs. you can find the recipe here. Phase 3 . from dough to crouu..nut lightly dust the work table with flour and roll out the dough to approximately 2/3 the size of a sheet pan and 1/2 inch thick. make sure the dough stays cold. in case the dough starts to stick, return it to the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes and roll again when it is cool. transfer to a sheet pan with parchment paper, cover it with a film and chill before using. line a sheet pan with parchment paper and grease it. once the dough is very cold, remove it from the refrigerator and using 2 ring molds, punch out the doughnuts and doughnut holes from the rolled out dough. (the recipe mentions that crouu..nuts do not fry straight unless the dough is very cold.)  transfer half of the punched crouu..nuts to the sheet pan, leaving enough room for them to "poof." brush the tops with water and stick the remaining halves on top. press lightly so that they stick together. place the crouu..nut holes on the same sheet tray leaving enough space for them to poof without sticking to each other. leave in a warm place until they have poofed, about 30-45 minutes. now place the "poofed" crouu..nuts and the holes in the refrigerator for 1 hour or in the freezer for 15 minutes. Phase 4 . frying the crouu.. nuts and adding the flavors.. when ready to fry, heat canola oil in pot around 3 inches high. test oil with a pinch of flour, if the flour foams it is ready for deep frying. Turn heat to low and place crouu..nuts in oil 1-2 at a time.avoid overcrowding the pot. turn and flip the crouu...nuts till they have evenly browned. once it turns golden brown and looks well cooked, remove the crouu..nuts from the oil and place it on a paper towel and proceed to prepare the chocolate glaze. for the chocolate glaze, melt 4 oz semisweet chocochips in the microwave and stir 1/2 tbsp of butter into it. when the  crouu..nuts are no longer shiny, that is the extra oil has been absorbed in the paper towel, transfer them to a container with sugar and cinnamon and toss. then dip the crouu..nuts in the chocolate glaze while it is still warm. once the crouu..nuts have cooled a little, poke several holes and fill with the chocolate pastry cream... serve and enjoy !!

Sesame Seed Modak for Ganesh Chaturthi # SNC September Challenge

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all ! May  the Lord be by your side and avert all obstacles that come your way. May he protect you from the evil and help you achieve the fruits of your hard work. 

Courtesy the SNC challenge, this year I managed to make the traditional Indian sweet namely Modak, that is associated with the celebration of  this festival. Thanks to +Vijaylakshmi of Viruthudhu unna vaanga for the recipe and clear pictorial instructions. With all that in hand the process of making Modak at home felt like a breeze. 

All that said I must confess that while my Modaks turned out o.k... they weren't perfect.... I have never tasted a Modak earlier so I can't judge them from experience... but as opposed to the soft outer shell that Viji described, my outer shell was a little hard. maybe i over-steamed the Modak or used too much oil in the dough or may be my homemade rice flour was not fine enough.. there could be other reasons too that i cannot think of right now.. however i intend to make these sweets few more times while the Indian festival season is on.. and if i do crack the secret behind on how an amateur can steam out Modaks like a pro... i share it with you then... ;-)  

for now here is what i did...
Step 1. Make the Rice Flour (you can use store bought rice flour too.. but in case you don't have the time to make a trip to the store just for rice flour this recipe will help. The recipe is from Sharmis Passions.)

Homemade Rice Flour Recipe Source : Sharmis Passions

ingredients  1 cup raw rice ............................................................................................................................................................................................   the method rinse the rice and soak it in water for an hour. then draining off the water spread the raw rice on a soft towel and leave it there for 45-60 minutes.  now using the mixer, grind the raw rice to a fine powder. sieve it and grind the bigger grains once more until the ground flour attains the texture of fine semolina. finally dry roast the sieved flour until you see steam coming out of it, cool it by spreading over a sheet of paper and store it in a air tight container.

Step 2: Once the rice flour was made i proceeded to make the Modaks following Viji's recipe.... before i go on to the recipe, i wanted to mention here a few nutritional facts about two of the star ingredients namely, jaggery and sesame seeds that i learnt from Viji's post.

while most of you must be aware that Jaggery is a iron rich natural sweetener, it might be helpful to know that this sweetener also cleanses the respiratory tracts, lungs, pipe, stomach and intestines. It pulls out unwanted particles from the body and gives relief from constipation. It also activates the digestive enzymes and itself changes to acetic acid in the stomach, thereby speeding up digestion.probably that is the reason why in many regions of India, people have a small chunk of jaggery and roti as a dessert at the end of their meal. 

About sesame seeds... studies say that they are rich in copper and magnesium contents and also have a good amount of calcium and zinc. they have a number of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant enzymes and are apparently they are good for rheumatoid arthritis. they also support vascular and respiratory health and help lower cholesterol and high blood pressure. being a sufferer of rheumatoid arthritis from the early age of 17, i found the above information very useful. i usually do not use a lot of sesame seeds in cooking... but i think i'll try and do that more often from now on....

now the recipe for Sesame Seed Modak.... 

Ellu Kozhukattai  (Sesame Seed Modak) (makes 5) Recipe Source: Viruthudhu unna vaanga

ingredients for the sesame filling 1/8 cup sesame seeds (1 used white sesame seeds)* a little less than 1/4 cup jaggery 1/8 cup grated coconut (1 used frozen) 1/8 tsp cardamom powder  for the outer shell 1/2 cup rice flour 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp oil 1 cup water  * in the original recipe black sesame seeds are used but it is mentioned that you can use either. -   the method for the sesame filling dry roast the sesame seeds until fragrant. once it cools completely, using the mixer grind it to a coarse powder and keep aside. powder the jaggery in the mixer in case it is hard or crumble it with your fingers (i did the later since the jaggery at hand was soft enough.) and put it in a pan. add  2 tsps of water to it and holding the pan over low heat melt the jaggery. once it melts completely, switch off the heat and using a tea strainer sieve off the solution into another pan. immediately add ground coconut to the syrup. holding the pan over low flame and stirring continuously bring the mixture to a boil and once it turns frothy add the ground sesame seed and cardamom to the mixture, mix all the ingredients well and when mixture begins to come together switch off the heat and keep it aside.  the filling is now ready and while it cools, make the dough for the outer shell. the outer shell add the salt and oil to the water and bring it to a boil. switching off the heat add the boiled water to the rice flour one tbsp at a time. i needed to add 5 tbsps of water until the dough came together. amount of water required depends on the variety of rice flour that you are using. you might need some less or some more water before your dough comes together.  then covering the dough with a damp cloth and leave it aside for 5 minutes. by then you'll have nice warm dough to work with.  knead it with well greased hands and pinch out 5 lemon sized balls of the dough. now using well greased hands press the dough ball in the center and shape it out into a circle about 2-1/2 to 3 inches in diameter. place a tablespoon of the sesame seed filling in the center of the circle and fold the sides to meet in the center in a way forming a cone on top. you can also shape it like a crescent. but since Modaks are usually shaped like cones i did it that way. once they have all been assembled, steam them for 7-10 minutes, (ideally) until the outer shell looks transparent. (as i mentioned above i steamed for 10 minutes without checking on the Modaks in between and that might have made my sweets a little hard in texture.) now the Modaks are ready. offer to Lord Ganesha and afterwards enjoy the prasadam.

Many thanks to Sharmis for the rice flour recipe, Viji for the challenge and a big thanks to Divya for starting the South Vs North Challenge. 

Linking this to Viruthudhu unna vaanga  & Divya's space...

Hope you enjoyed this. Now that the Indian festival season is on expect more Indian sweets in the few weeks.

French Crullers with Blackberry Glaze # GYCO Blackberry Challenge

Well it is that time of the year when fruits are available in abundance and you feel like trying out all the recipes that you've pinned over the year. so here is another fruity dessert that i whipped up today for the 

GYCO Blackberry Challenge organized by 

Julie of White Lights on Wednesday and Jen of Four Mars..One Venus.....

 French Crullers with Blackberry Glaze... 

and i am pretty happy with the way it turned out...

The thing is, every once in a while we enjoy snacking on a doughnut or two. but then making a big batch or even frying donuts isn't my thing. i prefer baking. and it so happened that the other day a spotted a recipe for baked Crullers in use real butter. i wanted to try it sooner but then all the challenges came in the way and it wasn't until today that i finally baked my first batch.

As opposed to the popular doughnuts, crullers aren't yeasted.  one shapes them out of Pâte à choux, a light pastry dough very similar to the dough for gougères and eclairs,  then bakes or fries them and glazes them as i have done. 

the idea of  using blackberry glaze was from  The Café Sucré Farine. I thought her doughnuts looked rad in purple. but since my concoction was slightly different, i ended up with a reddish tinge. not that i mind it... but purple would have been pretty too..

now the recipe....

French Crullers with Blackberry Glaze Adapted from use real butter

ingredients for the cruller dough 1 cup water 6 tbsps butter, cut into pieces 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsps superfine sugar (i used ground sugar) 1 cup all purpose flour 3 large eggs 1 egg white 1 tsp lemon zest for the blackberry glaze (enough to glaze crullers with  2 1/2 inch diameter) a handful of black berries 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tbsp honey pinch of salt pinch of ginger powder -   what i did to begin with, i added the water, butter, sugar and salt to a heavy bottomed saucepan and holding over medium-high heat brought the ingredients to a brisk boil.  i then added the flour to the boiling solution and still holding the saucepan over medium heat, stirred the ingredients in the pan constantly till a thin film of the dough began to coat the bottom of the saucepan. switching off the heat i then transferred the readied dough into the bowl on the standing mixer and using the paddle attachment stirred the dough for a minute or so in order to cool it down. still stirring with the mixer attachment, i then added the 3 eggs and the egg white to the dough, one at a time, taking care so that each addition is completely incorporated into the dough before the next one is added.  after all the eggs and egg whites had been added to the dough, i beat it at medium-high speed for a couple of minutes, to make sure that the eggs were well incorporated. i then preheated the oven to 450 degrees F, lined two baking sheets with parchment paper and using a piping bag fitted with a star-shaped nozzle, piped out circles of the prepared dough into the prepared baking tray. since my piping skills aren't excellent, i ended up piping 25 mini crullers.  while i refrigerated most of the piped dough for later, i transferred a tray of 6 crullers to the preheated oven. 5 minutes down the line, i reduced the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and baked for another 15 minutes. at the end of 15 minutes, when the timer beeped, i switched off the heat, opened the oven door a little and let the crullers stay in the oven for another 5 minutes. after that i removed the crullers from the oven and set them aside for a while till they cooled down.  in the meantime i prepared the blackberry glaze by mixing all the ingredients in a saucepan and holing it over medium-low heat for a minute or so until the glaze changed color and somewhat thickened. i then dipped the crullers into the prepared glaze, waited for 5 minutes and then dipped them again just to make sure that each cruller is generously coated with the glaze.

and thats it... the crullers were ready to be served ! husband liked them and so did baby boy. but he wasn't overly excited about them. he had one and then wanted just the berries dipped in the glaze...

Sharing these with Made with love Mondays, Full Plate Thurdays, Foodie Friday and a few other Weekly parties.

Eggless Crispy Cheesy Donuts

This month I joined Gayathri's Eggless Baking Group. Well its no secret that I love baking. I bake a lot and every now and then I like my cakes and bakes to be eggless . While I had been hesitating on whether or not to join another baking group, their last months challenge convinced me that to join the group. They had baked eggless Tiramisu. Now that is something I would like to try but I wonder if I would try to bake it unless I was challenged to do so. so yes. I left a message at Gayathri's Cook Spot and soon enough she added me to the group and mailed me the challenge for May... Eggless Crispy Creamy Donuts. The original recipe that Jayanthi of Sizzling Veggies suggested from All Recipes   included eggs and we were challenged to bake rather fry an eggless version of it.

Though every once in a while we love to pick up donuts from our neighbourhood Dunkin Donuts, to be honest I wasn't very excited about trying these at home. The reason. I hate to deep fry. not just because it isn't the healthiest option but because I cannot fry. getting the correct oil temperature always seems like a tricky business and you know everything goes wrong if the temperature is not correct. the fried stuff is either undone or soaking with too much oil. and no one is happy. anyway since it was the challenge for the month I gave it a try. the first batch of donuts and their little star shaped kins came out fine. but i wasn't very happy with the second and third batch. so though 1 made 13 normal sized donuts and several little star shaped ones, it is only the mini star donuts and 6 of the 13 donuts that I am proud of... its however a different question if I'll ever make them again. probably not. but i do intend to try out the baked version .

Apple Jalebi with Finger Millet

So for breakfast today we had Apple Jalebi with Yogurt. Weird ?? Not really. the combo is actually very tasty. I had jalebi or fritters with yogurt or Dahi Jalebi as they called it for the first time in Allahabad.. they served it for breakfast in our hostel mess. at first I was a little skeptical about how that would taste... but once i had it... i kept going back to the mess very Sunday for the rest of that month. i say, 'that month' because, well, our mess menu changed every month according to the likings of the rotating mess managers... so that was there on the menu for that month and again came back when we became the mess managers :)

needless to say, that for memories sake, to this day, Nishi and I relish Dahi Jabi. however this morning i decided to punch in a little more health to the combo. so i substituted some of the flour with finger millet and instead of making mere jalebis i adapted the recipe of apple jalebi from Manjula's Kitchen. and just to make life a little simple, instead of making the usual sugar syrup in which the fritters are dipped I coated them with a sugar-cinnamon glaze before serving with beaten yogurt... and the result was YUMMMM.... a good beginning to a working day.

ingredients

for the fritters

1 1/2 apples peeled and sliced them in thin rings
1/8 cup finger millet/ragi
1/3 cup minus 1/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2  teaspoon dry yeast
1/2  teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon oil
pinch of baking soda


Oil to fry

for the glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons apple juice

1 tablespoon milk

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

what i did.

I began by dissolving the yeast and sugar in 1/8 cup of warm water and allowing it sit until the mixture became foamy. meanwhile i mixed the flours, sifted them and added oil into the mixture. once the yeast solution was ready, i added that to the flour mixture and adding water a little at a time formed a pancake like batter with it. I then set the batter aside and let it rest in a warm place till it rose about 7-10 %. it took about an hour for the batter to ferment and become slightly lacy. 

while the batter fermented, i prepared the glaze by simply mixing the listed ingredients.

once the batter was ready, I  poured  oil in a medium sized saucepan to reach a depth of 1 inch and heated it over medium heat. To check if the oil was ready, I put one drop of the batter in the oil. Once the batter came up without changing color right away I knew that I could start frying my fritters.

For the Fritters, I coated the apple rings with the prepared batter in batches and dropped them into the oil and fried them until the batter was golden brown. Then transferred them to a paper towel to drain of the extra oil. Finally i dipped them into the glaze, coating both sides and let the glaze settle on the fritters before serving them with beaten yogurt. 

Have a good day !!


Sending this to

Cook like a Celebrity Chef at Food Corner,  Priya's event Cooking with Seeds- Quinoa/Ragi, Vardhini's event  Sweet Luv 2013: Event Announcement (CJ #4) at Cooks Joy, What's cooking Wednesday , the event Walk Through  Memory Lane announced by Gayathri of Gayathri's Cook Spot and hosted at Merry Tummy,and  Wednesday Whatsits (48)