Banana and saffron malpuas

I was recently in Udaipur, Rajastan at a friend's wedding and tasted malpuas for the very first time. They had a very delicate Swedish crepe like texture, glossy with the syrup on top and accompanied with the creaminess of kheer, simply delicious! I never really imagined that combination before but it really worked.

So, inspired by that, and also wanting to use some really ripe bananas :) , I created this version and served it with vanilla ice cream instead.















Ingredients:
2 tbsp. ghee for making the pancakes

for the batter:
1 large really ripe banana, mashed with a fork into a paste
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1 cup milk

saffron strands

for the syrup:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tsp rose water or orange blossom water

Method:

Warm the milk and add saffron strands, let it steep.

Whisk the flours, 2 tbsp ghee, sugar and then add the banana to it. Now add milk in a thin stream, continue whisking to form an even batter. It should be slightly thinner, like crepe batter... add a little more water to achieve that consistency, if needed. Let it rest while you make the syrup.

Heat the sugar in a saucepan with the water until it reaches the right consistency (around 10 minutes). Turn off the heat, add the rosewater and keep in a warm place.

Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Pour 2 tbsp. of batter, help form a small round pancake with the back of the spoon. Dot with ghee around the sides and flip when golden.

Take a flat serving plate or dish, spoon some syrup in the bottom, place the warm malpua over it as soon as you remove from the pan. Immediately coat the pancake with a tsp. of syrup. It should look really glossy and absorb some of the syrup. Repeat with another/rest of the pancakes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Curried oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms are really delicate when fresh and are delectable in curries with a surprisingly firm texture when cooked. These are the easiest wild mushrooms to find in super markets year round, esp. in the NW but this recipe is great for maitake mushrooms too.

This version in fond memory of my grand mom who loved mushrooms and cooked them in so many memorable ways!





Ingredients:
4 cups -Mushrooms, torn to pieces
1 medium red onion (sliced)
1 tsp. curry powder
1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp. coriander (chopped)
oil
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. creme fraiche

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil in a skillet. Add the bay leaf to flavour the oil, then add the onions and saute with a bit of salt to make the onions sweat. Meanwhile, discard the tough parts of the stalks and simply tear the mushrooms into bite size pieces. When translucent, add the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms wilt and are cooked (around 5 mins.). Then, add the curry powder and peas and toss until the peas are cooked.

Finally add the creme fraiche and combine, add the coriander and salt to taste. It should give a really creamy consistency. Serve with rice, roti or with french bread.

Shahi Tukda

This is one of my favorite Indian desserts...I am not much of a sweet tooth at all but do like anything made from milk. This one is particularly sinful :) and good way to top off a north Indian meal.



Ingredients:
4 slices white bread, trimmed, cut into triangles
4 tbsp chopped pistachios
1 can condensed milk
1 pint whole milk
4 tbsp. ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 cup sugar or to taste
2 pods cardamom, peel and powder the seeds

Method:
Heat the ghee in a pan and coat the bread on both sides before letting the bread fry in ghee to a golden brown. Continue with the rest of the bread and keep aside.

Pour the milk and the condensed milk in a double boiler. Add the sugar or to taste and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer constantly stirring every few minutes. This is a slightly laborious process and can take 30- 45 mins. for the milk to evaporate and reach a creamier consistency ...like double cream. But so worth it!!

Turn off the heat and stir in the cardamom powder. Let it cool to room temperature.

In a serving dish line the crisp bread triangles and pour the cream on top to cover all the slices. Garnish with chopped pistachios and chill before serving.

Badam milk (almond milk)

Almonds and saffron: there is no better way to showcase this winning combination than badam milk or sometimes referred to as badam kheer. The simplicity of ingredients and preparation also make it a great finale to any menu that is Indian or middle eastern. This is not a surprise considering both spices are commonly used in both Indian and middle eastern cooking. In fact, the best saffron I have found was from an Arab market but of the Kashmiri variety which is considered the rarest. It's strands have a deep auburn, almost maroon colour, are much larger than the Spanish ones and have a deeper, flavour too. It good to pick this up and pay the premium if you can find it. It works wonders with Paellas too!

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup condensed milk or to taste
1/2 cup raw almonds
1 pinch saffron strands

Method:

Soak the almonds in hot water for 10 minutes and remove the skins. Crush a pinch of saffron threads with your fingers into a few table spoons of cold milk in a cup and set aside.
Grind the almonds with a little milk to a smooth paste.

Place a sauce pan on low heat and add the paste with half the remaining milk, keep stirring until it thickens slightly. Add the rest of the milk, saffron milk and the condensed milk and keep stirring until heated through. It should look like a thin custard with a gorgeous tangerine colour. I typically like to turn off the heat and chill the mixture at this point as I prefer to serve it in cups making it easier to sip.

However, you could leave it longer if a thicker consistency is desired but remember to keep stirring. If you do decide to go with the thicker consistency, you can serve it in little cups with a spoon garnished with sliced almonds. Either way, chill it in the fridge before serving.

Macchi dum-pukht (baked fish)

This is a unique Indian fish dish that I tried during a business trip to Hyderabad, a real foodie town! I was able to finally recreate it after researching many recipe books. The fish is very flavourful, slightly pungent and has a melt in your mouth texture. It also makes for a great presentation as it can be served right out of the oven in the same dish.














Ingredients:

1 pound firm white fish fillets, cut into 2'' pieces

marinade:
3 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
a pinch of cloves powder
a pinch of cardamon powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp fresh, ginger paste
1 tsp fresh, garlic paste
salt to taste


1 large onion, sliced into large rounds, 1'' thick
2 large tomatoes, sliced 1'' thick
2 tbsp mustard oil


Method:

Powder mustard in a coffee grinder, mix with water to form a paste, add salt to taste and let it sit overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Mix the fermented mustard paste with the rest of the ingredients and marinate the fish for an hour.

In a 10'' baking dish, arrange alternating slices of onions and tomatoes to form a pretty layer. Now cover the top with the fish pieces ensuring there are no overlaps. Drizzle mustard oil on top of the slices and bake in the oven for an hour or until the fish has browned on top.

It might seem like a lot of time for baking fish but it comes out just perfectly cooked! Serve right out of the oven dish with some of the vegetables in the bottom. It pairs well with rotis or rice.

Dal (Rajastani)

Dals or lentils are a great way of eating heathly, yet divine, comfort food. This is a Rajastani variation made typically with butter. I make it with oil instead and just add a pat of butter in the end.

Ingredients:

lentils:
1/3 cup toor dal
1/3 cup channa dal
1/3 cup split moong dal
1 tbsp whole ural dal
1 tsp whole moong dal

masalas:
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
2 green chilies, slit
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp of butter or ghee
1 tbsp of whole tamarind, soaked in 1/2 cup of hot water
2 tsp amchur


Method:

Pressure cook the dals (lentils) with 4 cups of water until soft.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the bayleaf, cloves and cumin seeds until they crackle.
Add green chilies, asafoetida, turmeric, coriander and chili powders and stir for a minute. Then add the cooked dal, tamarind extract and amchur and cook for a few minutes until combined.

Top with a tsp of butter or ghee to give it a wonderful aroma and some richness. Serve with roti, naan or baati.