Persimmon loaf with lemon glaze

Last year I had tried persimmons for the first time, and really did not like the taste as much. I tried it again this year and have falled in love with the fruit. Its like candy, and I have atleast one or two of the flat shaped persimmons everyday.

A colleague of mine, whom I talk to about recipes all the time, shared this wonderful recipe with me, and I ofcourse had to try it out immediately and add my touches to it. This loaf is made with the Hachiya persimmons which are pear shaped and turn out simply delicious. I add toasted pecans and it adds a delicious crunch to the loaf.


Ingredients:

3 very ripe (very soft) Hachiya persimmons (1 1/4 lb total)

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 large egg

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup loosely packed dried pitted dates or raisins(5 oz), finely chopped

1 cup toasted pecans (3 1/2 oz), finely chopped

For glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Glazed-Persimmon-Bars-231206#ixzz2nX1NeDyo


Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Glazed-Persimmon-Bars-231206#ixzz2nX1Gdhrn
Method:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 15- by 10-inch shallow baking pan (1 inch deep), knocking out excess flour.

Discard dried green or brown calyx (stem and leaves) from each persimmon, then force persimmons 1 at a time through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl, using a rubber spatula to press hard on solids (discard solids). Transfer 1 cup purée to a small bowl (discard remainder) and stir in lemon juice and baking soda. (Mixture will become foamy, then jell slightly.)

Sift together flour, salt, and spices in another small bowl.

Whisk together egg, sugar, oil, and dates in a large bowl until just combined. Add flour mixture and persimmon mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and stirring until just combined. Stir in nuts.

Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack.

            

Glaze:  Stir together all glaze ingredients until smooth, then spread over top of cooled  loaf and its ready to eat!

Kachipuram Rava Idlis

This is my masi's(mom's sister) recipe, and the first time she made it, hubby and I loved it!! My masi makes the most delicious food ever! She can whip up 10 dishes in an hour! ;) My nani, mom and masis have been my inspiration and I hope I can do justice to them and continue the "good cooking" tradition!:)

Hubby wanted me to make them so I tried it at home, and they turned out really good:) Happy with the end result!! :) I unfortunately did not take a picture!! :( Until next time now!!


Ingredients:

1 cup coarse rava
2 cups buttermilk
1 small onion finely chopped
2 garlic finely chopped
1 green chilly finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1 carrot peeled and chopped into tiny pieces
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup green beans finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped
1/4 cup broken cashew nut pieces
1/4 cup peas
salt to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
3 teaspoons eno
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4-5 curry leaves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds


Equipment:
Steamer pot
idli maker
oil to coat each idli container


Method:

In a medium bowl, mix the rava and the buttermilk, and stir it for a minute or so, till it is well blended. Keep it covered for atleast an hour. It will rise a little bit after an hour.

In the meanwhile, in a medium pot, on medium heat, take the vegetable oil, and let it heat up. Add in the mustard seeds and curry leaves and let it splatter for a few seconds. Add the chopped onions, ginger/garlic/green chilly into the pot and saute it for a few minutes till onions turn translucent.

Add in the green beans, peas, corn, carrots into the mixture, and saute it again for about 5-7 minutes. Add in salt to taste.Add this vegetable mixture to the rava mixture and stir it well. Add in the sugar as well.

To make the rava idlis, First start the steamer pot with water and let it start boiling. Take half of this mixture and add 1 1/2 teaspoons eno, and stir it continuously for a minute until it gets frothy. Now take the idli stand, and then rub little oil on each idli container, and then add enough batter to cover the container. Fill all the containers with the batter and put it in the steamer. Cover the steamer for 12 minutes and let the idlis cook and rise!

The first batch of idlis are ready! Remove it from the steamer, and let it sit for 5 minutes, and then remove each idli carefully with a spoon. Make the second batch of idlis in the same manner. Your idlis are ready to eat!! :))

Bateta Kanda Poha

This was our snack coming home from school, and we loved it! It always came out so soft the way mom made it. Am glad I can replicate it :)) Here it goes:

Ingredients:

1 cup thick poha(flat rice)
1 small potato finely diced
1 small onion finely diced
1 green chilli finely chopped
1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida
salt to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil


Method

Put the poha in a small bowl, and add about 1/2 cup of water and make sure all the poha is soaked and wet. Keep it aside. Drain out excess water.

In a small pot, put the oil, and let it heat up on medium heat. Put in the asafoetida and mustard seeds and let them splatter. At this point, add the onions and saute them till translucent. Then add in the tiny diced potatoes, and saute them for 5 minutes, until soft.

At this point, add in the green chilli, red chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder, and saute the onion-potato mixture for a minute. Now add in the thick poha, and saute to mix it all well. Dont overmix it!

Add in the lemon juice and cilantro.

You can add a little bit of sugar. Thats the way I like it :) You can even add peas, or peanuts or both!

ENJOY!!

Ragda Pattice

I had a couple of friends over on Sunday, so I decided to make ragda pattice and dahi wadas. The ragda pattice turned out really good. It is pretty straight forward. I had soaked about 2 cups of the white vatana(white peas) overnight. Here is the recipe:


Ingredients:

For the pattice
2 large potatoes
4 small green chillies finely chopped
2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
3/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon amchur powder(mango powder)
3 slices soaked bread(without the outer rim - soak the bread slices in water for 30 seconds and squeeze the water out)
salt to taste
Oil for shall frying

For the ragda
Soaked white vatana
6-7 curry leaves(kadi patta)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons date tamarind chutney
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt to taste

Garnish
cilantro chutney
date tamarind chutney
finely chopped onions
finely chopped cilantro


Method:

For the pattice
1) Boil the potatoes, cool them and peel the skin off. Mash the potatoes.

2) In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the pattice together, and mix it thoroughly with your bare hands. Make round balls, and flatten them out about 1/2 inch thick with oil brushed on both sides so that they dont stick.

3) Shallow fry the pattice, 4 minutes on each side, until a dark goldenish brown in color and it shows that its crisp enough! Place them on paper towels to soak the excess oil.

For the ragda
1) Pressure cook the vatana for 5 whistles. Dont do more, else it will overcook.

2) In a large vessel, at medium heat, put in the oil, wait for a couple minutes for the oil to heat up. Put in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, and wait for a minutes for it to splatter.

2) Add the cooked ragda, and all the remaining spices, chutney, cilantro and salt. Add about one cup of water and let it boil for about 10 minutes and then switch off the heat. It is ready!

Final Preparation:
On a plate, place 2 pattice. Add about 2-3 servings of the ragda on top of it. Add a couple teaspoons of cilantro chutney and date tamarind chutney on each pattice. Top with onions and cilantro and its ready to chow down :P Have fun!!

Herb Coated Goat Chese Crostini

I made this as an appetizer as well for the party, and it turned out really good!! A great tip though would be to make the goat cheese spread a couple days in advance and let the flavors of the different ingredients blend in well together. The taste is even more defined, and is great by the time of the party!

Ingredients:

36 slices (1/2-inch thick) baguette bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces soft fresh goat cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
Salt and coarsely ground multi-colored or black peppercorns
1/2 cup pitted Sicilian green olives or kalamata olives, finely chopped
2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives


Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Arrange the bread slices on 2 heavy large baking sheets. Brush olive oil over the bread slices. Bake until the crostini are pale golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.

Blend the goat cheese and cream cheese in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add the parsley, thyme, and lemon peel. Using the on/off button, pulse just to blend. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spread the cheese mixture over the crostini. Sprinkle with the olives, chives, and more pepper. Arrange the toasts on a platter and serve.

As I mentioned before, the cheese mixture can be made a couple of days ahead. Cover and refrigerate the cheese mixture. Let the cheese mixture stand at room temperature for 1 hour to soften slightly before spreading over the crostini.

Avocado and Corn Tostaditas

The avocado sour cream works as a dip, and so does the black bean and corn salsa. I uesd them as dips for a party that I had recently, but this is the actual recipe, where you put both the dips on a tortilla chip and this tastes heavenly! Excellent appetizer for parties ! :)

Ingredients:

1 ripe Hass avocado, peeled, pitted, and halved
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves, plus leaves for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cups store-bought fresh salsa
1/2 cup canned black beans rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted, rinsed and drained
2 scallions, white and light green parts only, chopped
Dash hot sauce, or more to taste
20 round tortilla chips


Method:

Place the avocado in a bowl. Mash with a fork and add the sour cream, lime juice, and chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well and mix to form a cream. Set aside.
In another mixing bowl, combine the salsa, black beans, corn, scallions, and hot sauce; season with salt and pepper. Mix well.
Take 1 of the tortilla chips and add a small dollop of the avocado cream. Top with the corn mixture. Garnish with a cilantro leaf.

poha chevdo

This Saturday, I had a sudden urge to make roasted poha chevdo! YES! Roasted indeed!;) less oil, but amazingly tasty!! Its my favorite kinda chevdo, and I love having it with tea in the mornings! YES another weird habit of gujaratis;) lol!!, To have snacks with tea in the morning. But its an awesome combination! Anyways, I went to the indian store and got the ingredients, and made this delicious chevdo. Trust me, it does NOT take more than 1/2 hour to make it!



Ingredients:
4 cups thin poha(flattened rice)
1/2 cup broken cashewnuts
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup white raisins
1/2 cup dahlia(yellow gram daal)
6-7 kadi patta
About 4 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 green chillies coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon chilli powder
salt to taste
pinch of rock salt to taste

Method:

First in a huge saucepan, roast the poha one cup at a time, till it is crisp for about 2-3 minutes/cup of poha. This is on medium heat. Put this into a large bowl.

Next, in the same saucepan, heat the 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil at medium heat, and then add the kadi patta and green chillies and fry them. Remove them into a second large bowl. Next, fry the peanuts, remove them into the same large bowl. Next, fry the cashewnuts, remove them into the same large bowl. Next, fry the dahlia, remove them into the same large bowl. Add the raisins to this same bowl.

Now, add the roasted poha to this bowl with all the fried mixture and add the chilli powder, turmeric, salt and sugar, and mix until well blended!

In the same saucepan, remove the dirty oil and add fresh 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and on medium heat, add the entire mixture into this saucepan and mix it well for about 3-4 minutes. Now wait for it to cool down and its ready to eat!!! :))

Papdi chaat

Here is the recipe for papdi chaat! This recipe is crazy delicious as I mentioned in my previous entry!

Ingredients:
2 boiled potatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes
About 20 puris broken into big pieces
(One can even use tortillas, cut into small squarish pieces and fry them till cripsy golden brown)

1/2 cup sev
Dahi wadas(Recipe for Dahi Wadas in label: Appetizers, Snacks)

Method:

In a serving dish, plate the puris at the bottom, then spread the potatoes all over. Then plate the dahi wadas as in the dahi wada recipe method. After putting the yogurt, date tamarind chutney, and spices, sprinkle sev generously on the top and then garnish with cilantro.

You will NOT have leftovers! ;)

Dahi wadas

I had some friends over yesterday for dinner, and I had decided to make dahi wadas since they are so popular with everyone! I dont know anyone who does not like dahi wadas!! It is a perfect blend of fried wadas with yogurt, tamarind chutney and spices! I learnt how to make these from my dear mom, who made the best dahi wadas!

So coming back to last night's dinner, I had friends over and decided to make papdi chaat instead of serving dahi wadas, and they turned out amazingly delicious! :) Papdi chaat is made with puri and sev, where puri is fried small rotis made with white flour. You can even make puris out of tortillas, cut them into small pieces and fry it. I will post the papdi chaat recipe next :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup urad daal
2 green chillies
1 teaspoon ginger minced
salt to taste
oil for frying

2 cups nonfat yogurt
1-2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder(make sure the cumin seeds are roasted and freshly ground)
1-2 tablespoons date tamarind chutney (Recipe in Label : Chutneys)
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Method:

Soak the ural daal in water overnight. Next morning put all the ural daal in the grinder with very little water, and grind it along with the green chillies and ginger until it is pasty and of smooth consistency. It should NOT be watery at all! it should be of thick consistency for the wadas to be fried well. Add salt to taste.

Heat the oil at medium to high heat in a large frying pan. Wait till the oil is really hot. You can ensure this by putting a drop of the batter into the oil and if it rises up quickly, you know that the oil is ready. Now drop in tablespoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry the wadas till golden brown. Let them rest on a plate for a couple minutes.

Keep a large bowl with water next to the stove. Next soak the fried wadas into the water for 2-3 minutes and then squeeze them between your hands, till the water is drained out. Put them in a container and let them sit in the fridge for an hour for them to be cold.

In a medium bowl, take the yogurt and mix it with a little water, and a pinch of salt and the sugar, and mix it until it is well blended. It should again NOT be of runny consistency. It should be smooth.

When ready to serve, in a serving dish, place the wadas neatly. Now pour the yogurt mixture all over the wadas. Drizzle the date tamarind chutney all over it. Sprinkle salt, chilli powder and the cumin powder all over evenly. And finally garnish it with cilantro! Its ready to eat!:)

Batata wadas

Last Sunday, I had this urge to eat pav wadas, an indian fast food dish, readily available at any street or any corner of Bombay! I was making batata wadas for the first time, and was extremely enthusiastic about it! They turned out really tasty(thats's me praising my own food! ;) ) and Raj, who had never eaten a pav wada, loved it too! Here goes the recipe!

Ingredients:

3 medium boiled and peeled potatoes
2 green chillies finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon ginger finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
6-7 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
pinch of asafoetida(hing)
salt to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 - 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the batter:
3-4 tablespoon of gram flour(besan)
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
pinch of asafoetida
salt to taste
1/5 cup of water

vegetable or canola oil for frying

Method:

First step, mash the potatoes, not completely though.

In a deep pan, on medium heat, put the oil. Once hot, put in the asafoetida, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and let it splatter. Then put in the ginger, garlic, green chillies, and saute for a couple of minutes. Put in the mashed potatoes, and the spices, namely turmeric and salt, lemon juice and cilantro. Mix it until well blended. The paste is ready.

Now for the batter, in a small bowl, take the gram flour, with the spices and mix it until blended. Now put in water a tablespoon at a time, and put just enough to make a thick pastey like batter. It should NOT be runny. It should be smooth and thick enough to be able to coat the potato mixture.

Now, make small balls of the potato mixture. They should be about the size of small limes.

Heat the oil for frying in a saucepan at medium heat. Put a drop of the batter, if it comes up immediately, the oil is ready to fry. Now coat each potato mixture ball in the batter, and put it immediately into the oil. Put about 4 at a time for frying. Fry them until golden brown about 1-2 minutes each side.

The batata wadas are ready!! :) To make the pav wadas, cut the bread roll in half, put a little garlic chutney, tamarind chutney and the batata wada, and ENJOY! :)

Potato corn cakes

Ok, I know I was going to put up the recipe for vegetable sandwich but I like this recipe a lot, and its really tasty and turns out really good. I try to control the amount of oil that goes into it to make it healthy.

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes parboiled(for about 5 min in boiling water)
1 cup cooked corn
1 small onion finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
3 green chillies finely chopped
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp rice flour
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1.) Grate the potatoes coarsely along with the skin. Coarsely chop the corn in the food processor.

2.) Saute the onions in a pan with the butter.

3.) Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well till its all blended.

4.) Make small pancakes out of the mixture and put little oil in a pan and put the pancakes till they turn slightly brown. Brown them on the other side also. Put them on a tissue paper to drain out the excess oil and its ready to eat!

You can eat this with the cilantro mint chutney or tomato ketchup.

Vegetable Samosa

So for my signature recipe, I have vegetarian samosas for you today! Everyone loves vegetarian samosas. So here we go!

Ingredients:

2 Large potatoes (or 4 small potatoes)
1 cup peas
1 small onion diced
2 large garlic
same size ginger
3-4 green chillies(depending on how spicy you want it)

Spices:

1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh coriander
puff pastry

Method:

1.) Boil the peas and potatoes that have been peeled. Let it cool down and mash it completely.

2.) In a pan, take about 2 tbsp oil, let it get slightly hot, and then we ate the finely chopped onions. I have the chopped ginger, garlic and onion paste, and I put that along with the onions. Saute it till it becomes golden brown.

3.) Next we add the mashed mixture, and add all the spices(give measurements for all the spices) and let it cook for about 7 minutes, till its all well mixed.

4.) We let the mixture cool.

5.) Now to assemble our vegetarian samosa, we take the thawed puff pastry and put about a tablespoonful of the mixture and cover it! Brush it with some olive oil for a crusty top.

6.) Next you bake them in the oven at 350 degrees preheated oven till they turn golden brown, which is for around 5 minutes. Voila! The samosas are ready!!:)

You can eat them with cilantro mint chutney or with ketchup. ITs DELICIOUSSSS!!!!!

Next, I shall be giving you the recipe for cilantro mint chutney.

Inputs for the vegetable samosas are most welcome!!