Author: Anandhi

Cheese Straw

Flaky, cheesy and crispy is all I can say about this snack! The lock-down had made me to cook in a full swing and it has been a while I baked. So I’m rebooting the baking saga with this simple party snack.

This savory and rich snack requires only a handful of ingredients. Loaded with ample amount of cheddar and some smoky pepper, this is definitely a sheer indulgence. The best part is I’ve used a home made puff pastry. I’ve tried a few puff pastry recipes over a couple of years and brought you the perfect and easy one. I always prefer making the puff pastry when the weather is cloudy or dry. If you’re making it on a sunny day, it’s better to work under a fan or in an air conditioned room to have the butter under control.

—Ingredients—

Puff pastry
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Cheese Straw
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
2-3 tablespoons of paprika or cayenne pepper or red chilli powder
1 egg

—Process—

Puff pastry
1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, pour in the lemon juice and cold butter cubes, tossing to coat. Add in the cold water spoon by spoon until it forms a thick dough.
3. Gather the dough and flatten it into a rectangle shaped slab. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for an hour.
4. Dust the surface with flour and roll the dough maintaining the rectangle shape. Fold in the dough in thirds, like a letter. Rotate it to 90 degrees, roll and fold again.
5. Repeat the rolling and folding for about 2 to 3 times, wrap the dough in a plastic wrap, and chill for 2 hours (chilling it over night will give the best result).

Cheese Straw
1. Preheat the oven at 200 degree Celsius.
2. Thaw the puff pastry in room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Roll out the sheet until it is 1/4 inch thick.
3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the grated cheese and 1 tablespoon pepper powder and fold it into half, like a book. Roll out the sheet until it is 1/8 inch thick.
4. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and pepper and fold it into half. Roll it again into 1/8 inch thick.
5. Cut into 1/2 inch wide strips and line them in a baking sheet with at least 1/2 inch space between each. Hold one end of the strip and twist the other in an opposite direction – this is completely optional.
6. Beat the egg and brush the twisted straws with the egg. Refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes.
7. Bake them for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown and dry to the touch. Baking time varies from oven to oven, so it’s better to eyeball periodically.
8. Transfer it to a cooling rack and let it cool for a few minutes. It is best served warm and on the same day they are made.

—Tips—

Sprinkle a tablespoon of grated cheese before they go into the oven.
You can also sprinkle your favorite herb like dried thyme or rosemary for additional flavor.

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Paneer Lahori

Paneer – it is believed that Portuguese colonization have introduced paneer/chenna to the eastern parts of India. Eventually it has found its way to south India and became prominent in the urban areas over the last decade. Now it is one of the must have dishes in all the get-together and potluck events, especially for the vegetarians. I can never hold back my hands from picking atleast one piece of paneer, despite seeing chicken and goat. Well, I could say I have a thing for the creamy curries and paneer is a perfect ingredient to make one.

There are a handful of options like paneer butter masala, kadai paneer etc., yet, I’m fond of this particular recipe because of the spices and it pairs well with ghee rice, rotis and chapathis.

—Ingredients for 3 servings—

For grinding
2 medium sized tomatoes
1 medium sized onion
8-10 cashew nuts
2 green chillies
1 inch ginger
6-8 garlic pods

4 cloves
3 green cardamom
1 black cardamom
1 inch cinnamon bark
2 bay leaves
150 grams paneer/cottage cheese, cut into medium sized cubes
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1 inch ginger, strips/julienne
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi
6 tablespoons butter/clarified butter
1/3 cup curd
3 sprigs fresh coriander leaves
Salt as needed

—Process—

1. In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and shallow fry the paneer cubes for a couple of minutes and remove the pieces from the pan.
2. Add the onions and sauté until it becomes translucent. Then add the tomatoes, green chillies, garlic, ginger and cashew nuts, sauté for 4-5 minutes in a medium flame.
2. Grind the above into a smooth paste and keep aside.
3. In the same pan, add 2 tablespoons of butter and add the raw spices and sauté for a minute. Add in the onions, once they become translucent, add the ginger and green chillies.
4. Add the ground paste, all the powders except garam masala, curd, salt, 2 tablespoons of butter and a cup of water. Close the lid and cook over a medium flame until the butter separates.
5. Add in the garam masala and paneer pieces, give it a gentle stir and cook for a couple of minutes.
6. Top it off with dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi and coriander leaves.

Rating: 0.5 out of 5.
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Avial/Mixed Vegetable Curry

Avial is one of my favorite dishes. I love coconuts and anything that has coconuts are my favorite. This one will be present in all the special occasions in my family; but for some reason, I’ve always given it a miss. We used to gather in my granny’s house for all the special occasions and most of the veggies will be from the backyard she had, especially the gourds, such a huge one… I’ve been a picky eater in my childhood days and have been eating only fries. Ultimately, this has become one of my favorite dishes over a decade now. The version my mom and aunts make is slightly different from the one I prefer. They use sunflower/vegetable oil for tempering and curd instead of raw mango. I prefer coconut oil and use raw mango to achieve the tanginess, being influenced by the Kerala cuisine.

A gravy version of avial pairs well with paruppu adai than rice. I’ll share the adai recipe here in the days to come. If you have a picky eater in home, this is the perfect recipe to make them eat the veggies.

—Ingredients for 4 servings—

3/4 cup yam
1/2 cup snake gourd
1/4 cup beans
1/4 cup carrots
1 drumstick
1 raw banana
1/4 cup ash gourd
1/4 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup malabar cucumber
1/4 cup raw mango or curd
1 sprig curry leaves
4 tablespoons coconut oil
Salt as needed

*Cut all the vegetables into 1 1/2–2 inch strips

For grinding
1 cup grated coconut
3 green chillies
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
4 shallots
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

—Process—

1. Coarsely grind all the ingredients for grinding and keep aside (do not add water while grinding)
2. In a pan, add 1/2 cup of water and the vegetables with yam going first(as it will take sometime to cook), cucumber and pumpkin at the end
3. Add the ground mixture, curry leaves, salt, coconut oil and mix well. Cover the pan and cook until the vegetables become soft, approximately 12-15 minutes. Make sure they doesn’t turn mushy.
4. Add a tablespoon of coconut oil and switch off the flame.

—Tips—

If you’re using curd, do no add raw mango and pour in the curd after switching off the flame.

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Vathal Kuzhambu

There are a few dishes that stay close to my heart and make me reminisce the childhood days each time I have them. This is one such dish and it has never failed to make me binge eat for the next 3-4 meals. Warm steamed rice, fire-roasted papadam, and this kuzhambu with some gingelly oil… I got no words to express, a few moments has to be lived rather heard. My granny’s house had a hearth in the backyard and she used to fire-roast the papadams — good old days!

My mom makes the best version, and everyone who comes to our place know what to ask for, good food of course. My cousins and aunts always asks my mom to pack this one for the road. The best part is we make the masala powder right from the scratch and use homemade sun dried berries — no store bought ingredients. The taste gets enhanced the next day; however, it barely gets to see the next day!

Fortunately, Sashi loves vathal kuzhambu and this has become one of our frequent resorts. I love the bittersweet version and have used both sundakkai vathal/sun dried turkey berries and manathakkali vathal/sun berries. There are a wide range of options for sun dried veggies/berries and every house has their own preference. Give it a try and let me know your comments!

—Ingredients for 4 servings—

For grinding
1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper corns
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek
1 tablespoon toor dal
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon raw rice
5 dried chillies
2 tablespoons grated coconut

For curry
1/2 cup gingelly oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon urad dal
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek
2 dried chillies
2 sprig curry leaves
25-30 garlic pods
25-30 shallots
1 cup tamarind paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 tablespoons jaggery powder
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon hing
Vathal/sun dried berries/veggies as needed
Salt as needed

—Process—

1. Dry roast all the ingredients for grinding and grind them into a coarse powder.
2. In a pan, heat 4 tablespoons of oil, add mustard seeds and let it splutter, then add urad dal, fenugreek, dry chillies, curry leaves and garlic pods. Once the garlic pods have turned golden add the shallots and fry for a minute or two.
3. Pour in the tamarind paste, ground powder, turmeric powder, jaggery powder, salt and a cup of water. Close the lid and let it boil in a medium flame for 10-12 minutes.
4. In another pan, heat 4 tablespoons of oil and fry the sundried berries/veggies. I’ve used sun dried turkey berries and sun berries, each 3 tablespoons. Pour it atop the boiling curry and add hing. Switch off the flame after a couple of minutes and serve hot!

—Tips—

The masala powder has a shelf life of 3-4 days. It will stay fresh for a couple of weeks if you exclude the graded coconut.

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Mango Dayspring

What’s cooking in your kitchen?

Make hay while the sun shines! As the mangoes are nearing the end of the season, it’s time to make the most out of it. I step out to buy something but always end up buying mangoes too. They are hard to resist! Less in calories, loaded with vitamins — who would want to miss?

We have a myriad of mango varieties to pick from, and here, I’ve chosen Banganapalle as they’re sweeter and inexpensive in my place. You can use whichever variety you get your hands on. This recipe is one of the ultimate summer refreshers you would ever slurp. I didn’t know that mangoes marry well with lemons and taste insanely delicious until I tried this. So, do yourself a favor and make this yummy drink today.

—Ingredients—

1/2 cup fresh mango juice
2 tablespoons mango pulp
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup of club soda/sparkling water
Salt as needed
Ice cubes as needed

For rim (optional)
1 tablespoon coarsely powdered sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 lemon wedges

—Process—

1. Moisten the rim of the glass with lemon wedges then dip into the powdered sugar and chili powder mixture.
2. Mix mango juice, lemon juice and salt together in a shaker or a container.
3. Add ice cubes and mango pulp in a glass and pour in the mixed drink. Top it up with soda/sparkling water and some fresh mint leaves (optional).

Serve chill!

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