GUEST POST! GUJIYAS BY RADHIKA AGRAWAL!

 

I love festivals, and I’ve done so from as far back as I can remember. While I’m not big on religious pomp and ceremony, the entire atmosphere (to be incredibly clichéd) when there’s a major festival coming up is exciting. Lucky for me, I grew up in a multi-faith household, so even between Holi, Diwali and Christmas, there was always something “coming up soon”.

 

Diwali’s coming up in a few days, and in my head I’ve already been making rangoli and painting diyas for a few days now, so I figured I’d help my mum make all the Diwali-related stuff she usually does. Or, if I’m being honest, to observe her and take pictures.

 

Coming up today and tomorrow are her recipes for Gujiyas and Mathrees (it would be much easier to write these names in Hindi). Neither is specifically a “Diwali” preparation, they’re fairly no-fuss, and they taste much much better than the store-bought versions (mostly because these are made in oil, not ghee). Try them out this festive season, or anytime during the year, you won’t regret it J

 

I couldn't think of how to describe Gujiyas to those who don't know what it is, so I quote Wikipedia: "Gujia, a cuisine of North India particularly UP, MP and Rajasthan is a sweet dumpling made with suji or maida flour/wheat flour and stuffed with khoya. Several regional cuisines in India feature dishes similar to gujia but with different fillings."

 

I’ve never been able to like a Gujiya that’s from a store, because they’re sickeningly sweet (mostly because they’re doused in sugar syrup or chaashni).  These are fairly easy to make, and are way crisper and lighter than anything any halwai ever made. Also, to make matters more convenient, gujiya moulds are easily available these days (at least in Delhi) and can be used to make the process of pressing and sealing them easier.

 

Makes about 20

 

What You'll Need:

 

For the dough:

 

2 cups Maida/All-purpose flour

 

¼ cup Milk

 

½ cup Ghee (melted)

 

2 tbsp Suji/Semolina

 

 

For the filling:

200 gm Khoya (Khoya is essentially a milk derivative made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan. It is similar to ricotta cheese, but lower in moisture and made from whole milk instead of whey. This is easily available at stores selling milk and milk products)

 

4 tbsp dessicated coconut (this adds an interesting flavour to the Gujiya)

 

150 g sugar (powdered)

 

½ tsp cardamom powder

 

1 tbsp Suji/Semolina (for some texture)

 

3 tbsp chopped almonds (optional)

 

How To:

 

1. For the dough: Mix the Maida and Suji well. Add the ghee – the texture at this point should be like breadcrumbs. Add the milk, and using cold water, knead the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside.

 

2. For the filling: Next, in a deep bottomed wok or kadhai, lightly roast the Suji for the filling until golden brown and keep aside. In the same pan, mash and roast the Khoya until golden brown. Mix the Suji and Khoya, and let it cool.

Note: Don't hesitate to be creative with the fillings, you can use cocoa/cinnamon or whatever your imagination thinks will be delicious.

 

3. Add the sugar, coconut and almonds.

 

4. Making Gujiyas: Make small spheres of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll each one into a circle about 4 inches in diameter.

 

5. If you’re using a mould, spread a circle of dough over it. Moisten the edges with water (or water mixed with very little Maida) – this helps seal the Gujiya. Spoon in one tablespoon of the filling in the centre on one side, and fold one side of the mould over the other. Remove excessive edges. Keep under a damp cloth until you make the others.

 

 

6. To make these without the mould, you’ll follow the same steps, only that once you fold one side of the dough circle over the other, resulting in a sort-of semicircle, use your fingers or a fork to press the edges together and make a design on the edges.

7. Deep fry the Gujiyas (about 5-6 at a time) in any oil until they’re light golden, and cool.

 

 

DIP DE DOODLE DIP

“I believe when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade...and try to find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.”
― Ron White

 

Tis' the season for Taash parties and parties mean finger food and dip - here are 5 of the Reluctant Chef's (easiest) and yummiest dip recipes!

 

1. Super Healthy Hung Curd and Creamilicious Tuna 

 

 

2. Golden Glowing Honey Mustard

 

 

3. Ultimate Lemon and Garlic Hummus

 

 

4. Virtuous Cilantro Pesto

 

 

5. Super Smooth Cauliflower

 

WINDING UP THE SUMMER

"Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well."

 - GRR Martin

 

I've realized I've developed a strange ritual for using things I buy. I'm very excited when I've made the purchase, which I follow with a phase of building anticipation before I start to use it. Everyday (or periodically during the day) I'll look at whatever it is and look forward to opening the packaging. When I can't take it anymore, I tear through the packing and hop around gleefully. A week of joy follows in which time I manage to get used to whatever it is.

 

The next stage of enthusiasm develops when something is about to run out. I get myself in a whirl over what I liked, disliked and research potential substitutes. I wait impatiently for the tube to empty or the pages to run out or whatever the appropriate conclusion is to happen already so I can move on to the next thing. Throwing away an empty jar/bottle/can or stowing away a full notebook comes with such a (completely misplaced) sense of achievement.

 

It's not easy though. Waiting for the last dregs of hair serum, smidge of body butter in the jar, drops of oil in the bottle to be used up while shiny, new thingamajigs languish in a drawer. But that's the rule. You have to finish what you've started before you move on to the next thing. So I'll wait. Wait and try to be patient, because whether good or bad, there's something new on the way.

 

I feel that way about the summer right now. The next 3 months are my favourite in the year. There will be birthdays, parties, holidays, decorations, occasions to dress up and lovely weather... but I'm waiting. For the last few days of this summer to wrap up. Before we start pulling out sweaters and getting blouses made, here's a look back at my favourite moments on the blog this summer:

 

1. No self respecting Indian food blogger should talk about the summer without talking about mangoes. These mango recipes were so much fun (and so easy)!

 

 

2. Reviewing some of the restaurants I love - Yeti, Carnatic Café, Yum Yum Tree and Ploof. These are places I go to all the time and am sure will be visiting again in the winter. Writing about places I like is so much more enjoyable than ranting about the ones that disappoint me.

 

Filter Coffee at Carnatic Cafe

Pecan Pie at Ploof



Sushi Brunch at Yum Yum Tree

Everything at Yeti =)

3. Finally cracking the recipe for good hummus! This was quite the personal cooking milestone!

 

 

4. Discovering that you can get haleem delivered from Hyderabad to your doorstep! Still can't wrap my head around it!

 

 

5. Putting together the first Reluctant Chef guide! The whole process of compiling (and consuming) this cheese platter was a labour of love pulled together on a gorgeous, rainy weekend.

 

 

Okay now hurry up and be winter already.

MANGO YOGHURT HONEY POPSICLES

“Forget art. Put your trust in ice cream.”
― Charles Baxter, The Feast of Love

 

Pursuant to the Ice Cream Making Disaster of 2012 I'd given up on the idea of frozen desserts. Then the Delhi summer kicked in and forget baking a cake, I didn't even want to look at a slice. The thought of hot fudge had started to seem vile. Thanks to some inspiration from Radhika though I decided to try my hand at popsicle making.

 

The result is this sweet, super healthy, bursting with fruit and honey freshness popsicle. Once again, add as much of any ingredient as you like. Play around with the mix till it tastes right to you. Couldn't be easier =)

 

 

Recipe from Radhika Agrawal

 

What you’ll need:

 

Mango

Yoghurt

Honey

Popsicle Mold

 

How to:

 

1. Puree the mangoes and mix all the ingredients together. Pour into molds and refrigerate overnight.

 

2. If you want the layers you see in the picture, pour in either the mango or the yoghurt honey mix first and wait for a couple of hours for it to firm up. Once firm, add the other ingredients.

Note: You can make more and thinner layers for more of an effect. You’ll just have to keep pouring and waiting for it to freeze.

Here is Radhika's super-nutritious take on popsicles:

Yummilicious Summer Fun

What you need:

2 bananas

 ½ pear, cored and peeled 

½ pineapple, cored and peeled

1 ½ cup fresh spinach

¼ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

 

The easiest recipe in the world:

Cut or break the banana, pear and pineapple into medium sized chunks. Blend all the ingredients together until smooth and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze for at least four hours. Slurp. No seriously, that's it.

 

Tips:

- You don't necessarily need to have popsicle molds handy. I couldn't find ours at home, so I used these cute ice trays. Regular steel or plastic bowls should work as well. Stick a spoon or ice cream stick in when its almost frozen if you really want to.

- We didn't have pineapple at home, so I used two small tetrapacks of Tropicana's pineapple juice, and substituted the orange juice in the recipe with one orange (with the seeds removed, of course) and used one pear to add some texture. 

- Taste before you pour into the molds - I thought it could do with some tanginess, so I doubled the quantity of lemon juice.

- If the popsicles get "too frozen"(for instance if you're having them the next day), they'll taste a bit too ice-y, so you could take them out of the freezer and stick them in the fridge for 20-25 minutes before you eat them. Personally, I thought they were best when semi-frozen.

HOT DOGS & WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE A MOVIE NIGHT

I believe in good food. - Bertrand Russel

 

 

Why you should be planning a movie night this weekend:

 

1. After a while all restaurants, clubs, pubs, bars, gastropubs and what have you, end up feeling like a tired (and expensive) routine.

 

2. Endless fresh popcorn.

 

 

3. You're not going to get the chance to pause, replay or fast forward a movie in a theatre.

 

4. If you're not planning a movie night for this weekend, pack a DVD, pack of popcorn, chocolate and a pair of pajamas as a gift for friend who needs some TLC. Movie night in a box!

 

My movie night box! I'm a terrible wrapper though.

 

5. By definition a movie night is about unwinding (if you had so much energy to spare why wouldn't you be out jigging it up somewhere?) so you don't need to bother with elaborate recipes, fancy cutlery or too much time spent prepping. Keep it simple stupid.

 

6. You're never going to have the same number of options in a theatre - rewatch an old favorite, set yourself up for a Tarantino marathon or giggle it up with a romantic comedy. The price of your DVD will probably be less than the cost of one ticket on a weekend.

 

7. This is one party where everyone can join in, tailor the menu and movie appropriately and you can make it about friends, family, kids or all of the above.

 

8. Movie theatre junk food is well know to be really, really bad for you. A large popcorn with butter is around 1,500 calories and a large soda contains the equivalent of 33 teaspoons of sugar. A typical movie snack combination (popcorn, soda and other junk) contains more calories than an average adult should consume in 1 day. Add to this the fact that it is really overpriced and often stale. At home you can make small choices and pick the best ingredients to make sure you keep the calorie count down and the nutrition values up.

 

I've used lean meat hot dogs with whole wheat buns to salvage these hot dogs from junk food hell.

 

What you’ll need:

 

Hot dogs

Hot dog buns

Ketchup

Mustard

 

How to:

 

Cook dogs as per package instructions, assemble. Douse with ketchup and mustard. Serve hot.

FOOFED UP RUM AND COKE

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut - Ernest Hemingway

These are so simple, they're perfect to put together for a movie night or any other low-fuss occassion. Either make a big batch and stick it in the fridge or lay out all the ingredients and let your guests fend for themselves. The addition of oranges and vanilla essence adds an interesting kick to the old favourite, the Rum and Coke.

 

Recipe from Martha Stewart

Serves 1

What you’ll need:

Ice

Coke
Vanilla Essence
Lime/Orange

How to:

Pile ice into a glass, pour Coke, add a tiny, tiny bit of vanilla essence and a squeeze of citrus. Garnish with a slice of lemon or orange and serve.

 

Yeah, they empty out pretty quickly =)

CUCUMBER FETA OPEN SANDWICHES & HOW TO PLAN YOUR MOVIE NIGHT

“I am a better person when I have less on my plate.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

 

 

 Some things to keep in mind when putting together your movie night plans:

 

1. Prep all the food and set it out at the beginning, people can walk around and serve themselves when they feel like it.

  

2. You can never have enough popcorn! Or cola!

 

3. Make sure the DVD runs in advance. Just in case, keep a back up ready if you experience technical difficulties.

 

4. Keep a lot of tissues around, if you're serving finger food, you don't want blotchy finger prints on your stuff.

 

5. With TV screens... Size does matter.

 

The most important thing though is to keep the food uncomplicated. This cucumber, feta open sandwich is a perfect, light, delicate sandwich packed with the tang of feta and the crunch and crisp of cucumber.

 

Adapted from Martha Stewart

 

What you’ll need:

Cucumber slices

Feta

Slices of Baguette

Salt and Pepper to taste

How to:

Crumble feta on to a slice of baguette, layer cucumber on top and season with salt and pepper.

CREAMY TUNA DIP

“It’s absolutely unfair for women to say that guys only want one thing: sex. We also want food.”  
Jarod Kintz, $3.33
 

The Tuna Dip is the creamy one to the right.

 

This is a pretty great dip (with or without a movie going on). One of the easiest to put together and seafood lovers everywhere will lap it up. This is my personal favourite for (non) vegging out with. Use light mayonnaise and eat with carrots/cucumbers/ salad leaves if you're worried about calories.

Serves 4

Adapted from the ideas of fellow house party lovers

 

What you'll need:
 

1 small can of tuna (approximately 150 gms)

½ cup mayonnaise
3 -4 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper

How to:

1. Shred the tuna and mix in with all the other ingredients. Add more mayonnaise if you want it creamier.

2. Chill and serve with crackers/cucumber/ carrots.

RUCH'S RICH HUNG CURD DIP

If we’re not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn’t settle for junk food. - Sally Edwards

We've made this dip for a bunch of parties this summer and it never lasts very long. It's made of very conveniently found ingredients, is vegetarian and delicious. If you don't have capsicum on hand use something else that's green or crunchy. As you can see from the picture - I used coriander and pomegranate.

Don't knock it till you try it.

The one to the left.

Serves 4

Recipe from Ruchira Goel

What you'll need

1 ½ cups hung curd

 

Note: The easiest way to make hung curd is to wash one of those felt type grocery bags we get these days (since the plastic ones got banned) and throw the curd in there. Loop the handles of the bag over something that sticks out and let the curd drain. Also, store bought curd is much denser than home made curd so if you know you're going to be throwing a party then pick up a couple of packs of curd when you're doing your party shopping. This will give you a richer texture and not waste as much whey.

 

1 red/ yellow/ green capsicum (chopped into little pieces)
Dash of tobasco
1 ½ tsp chilli powder
Salt and pepper

How to:

Throw everything together, stir well, chill and serve.

JUST ANOTHER EXCUSE TO PARTY: MOVIE NIGHT

 

I don't watch too many movies. Actually I don't really watch movies at all but many, many of my good friends are dedicated film aficionados (one of them has even watched Bodyguard thrice). It's not like I have anything against cinema but I grew up with parents who were just much more interested in books. I guess I never got the chance to acquaint myself with films and as I get older I have less and less time to try.

 

In the past few months I've really been wanting to get around to catching some of the classics at least. As much I want to catch up with this art form it's not half as much as I like organizing people getting together! Recently my friends and I realized one of us hadn't watched Delhi Belly (a movie I thought was hilarious) so we organized a special screening. So much for catching up on the classics. Ha!

 

A movie night is a great way to get friends together and chill out without the formality or effort of a dinner or cocktail party.

 

Take your shoes off, put your feet up and use the menu below as inspiration for your own movie night. You can make it as elaborate or low rent as you like but just remember that the focus of the night is not the food and so finger food and snacks probably work best.

 

Since this movie night didn't happen at my house, I was packing the food into a little box when I realized that it would make a cute gift idea. Pack microwavable popcorn packs, a bottle of cola, something sweet (that won't spoil), a movie CD and a pair of pajamas together and gift it to someone as a pre-prepared movie night.

 

I love the little menu format I found (see below), just google movie night images and  there are lots of cute options available. Since the focus is on no fuss food, the menu is:

 

Tuna Dip with Crackers

Hung Curd Dip with Carrot and Cucumber

Cucumber and Feta Open Sandwiches

Hot Dogs

Mango and Yoghurt Popsicles

Mango Cheesecake with Mango Jelly

Vanilla Rum Colas

 

 More ideas and the rest of the recipes coming up this week!

 

RESTAURANT REVIEW: LA TAGLIATELLA

For some really indulgent Italian

 

 

I hate shopping malls. I find it impossible to believe that anything good can happen inside a giant, concrete block that has no natural light. The rows of gleaming, shiny stores with loud dance music blasting out of them makes me nauseous. So I still try to go to markets which are open plan and eat at stand alone restaurants. Malls didn’t have very many interesting eating options earlier so there wasn’t any need to visit the soul sucking holes at all. Unfortunately increasingly people are insisting on opening promising establishments in these potholes. La Tagliatella is one of them.
 

It’s horrible to even think about but the next time I’m craving Italian food I might have to go to Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj.
 

Looks Like

The décor is run of the mill and not particularly committed to any particular kind of ambience or style. There really isn’t much more to say but what can you expect from a restaurant in a mall, anyway.
 

TASTES LIKE

I made the mistake of turning up at La Tagliatella very, very hungry and so ordered way too much really good, really heavy food. Maybe gluttony is the sin I’m best suited for. Unfortunately, I don’t regret it at all.
 

The restaurant charges for its bread basket and if you’re a fellow carb lover you can’t miss this. Strips of bread dotted with chunks of olives, tomatoes and slivers of onion. Served with a splatter of different oils and vinegars, I could probably put away 2 of these all by myself. Try also their calzones, which are very different from the folded over, stuffed pastry shells I’m used to. They’re actually very, very thin crust, crispy bases topped with cheese, meat and vegetables. If you have a taste for truffles, I recommend the pungent Tartufo E Funghi (Black Truffles Cream, Mushrooms and Assorted Cheeses) – overflowing with flavorful cheese and the unapologetic aroma of black truffles.
 

For meat lovers, the Sorrentino (Pasta stuffed with Parmigiano cheese, Iberian ham and sausage) with walnuts and gorgonzola cheese is unique. Soft pillows of pasta and meat punctuated with the crunch of nuts and the tang of cheese. There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing.

 

La Tagliatella is seriously decadent, creamy Italian cooking and though you could probably pick through the salads and lighter pastas, I’d recommend you go with a raging appetite and unabashedly make your way through the menu that has so much to offer.

 

 

FEELS LIKE

The service is standard but the La Tagliatella menu is quite complex and the staff isn’t trained enough to be of much help. The restaurant really needs to work on this so their patrons can make the right choices.
 

Should you go: If you’re up for some uninhibited Italian. Yes.

Vegetarian Options: Yes

Liquor License: Yes

Smoking Area: No

Address:  Upper Ground Floor, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj

Phone: 011 40870747

FILLING EGG SANDWICHES

Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

- Fran Lebowitz

 

When I started this blog, I looked at a bunch of awesome food blogs and thought "oh well that looks easy, how hard can it be if every second person has a food or design blog these days?" I was pretty much totally wrong but I'm used to that. I just spent the last 5 and a half hours fixing the formatting on my previous posts. I realize I don't have the technical ability to make this blog really pretty but I'd prefer if it was atleast uniformly ugly. Yup. That's me, setting high goals for myself.

 

So anyway, 5 and a half hours, first fixing the formatting (I hate text which is not justified, left/right align drives me nuts), then realizing how many typos there were (so embarrassing!), and finally attributing my recipes to the right sources. 5 and a half hours spent on making sure this webpage does not completely suck. Phew.

 

For gargantuan tasks like not completely sucking in life you need hearty, filling food to keep your energy levels high. This classic egg sandwich is creamy and comforting but not so heavy that you'll need a nap after. It's perfect for when you're running low on time and need to fix yourself something easy and substantial. Like most of my favourite recipes, feel free to add or remove whatever you like. Off the top of my head I would think tomato, tobasco or bacon would make great additions.
 

Makes 2 sandwiches

Recipe my own

What you’ll need:

 

4 slices toasted brown bread

2 tbsp butter (for spreading on the bread)

3 hard boiled eggs

¼ cup mayonnaise (I’ve taken to using a low fat mayo these days)

Handful of Cilantro/ Parsley/ Chives if you have some on hand

1 tsp red chilli powder

Salt and pepper to taste

 

How to:

1. Butter the bread and set aside.

 

Note: The bread is going to have to be toasted or it won’t be able to hold up the heavy filling and will fall apart in your hands.

 

2. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and make a nice mash of it. Leave it chunky or make a smooth paste as you prefer.

 

3. Slather on the egg mix and make your sandwiches. Serve with a bowl of soup or salad.