Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Marshmallow Candy Cane treats for Christmas

 
The Candy Cane is one of the most familiar symbols of Christmas.
 
It dates back to 1670 in Europe but didn’t appear in the U.S. until the 1800s.
 
The treat we see today, where the shape is Jesus’s hook to shepherd his lambs and the color and stripes hold significance for purity and Christ’s sacrifice, became common in the mid 1900s.[6] (me too got to know it only now ;) )
 
Marshmallow -  Candy Cane Pops
 
 
 
You need
 
Candy Canes
White cooking chocolate
(red and green candy melts would be perfect for this, but that we dont get it here, had to add a drop or two of red and green food colour to the melted white chooclate)
Sugar
Red and green food colour
Marshmallows (large sized ones)


 
To do
 
Trim irregulary, the top edges of a marshmallow to make it look like an umbrella (opened, of course)
Insert a candy cane into the marshmallow.
Now melt the white cooking chocolate about 10 secs at a time, and divide it into two parts.
Add red food colouring to one and green colour to the other.


Take sugar in two bowls and add the green and red food colours to each. Some quick coloured sugar instantly done.

Now dip the marshmallow into the melted chocolate, gently let any drippings fall off the marsh...and roll in the same coloured sugar.
 



(sorry this goes as a very short quicky post...running out of time...)

Hearty seasonal greetings sent your way ....
 
 
 


 

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Cucumber Chirstmas Tree & Destination -Broadway, Kochi - a flashback...

 "R" for Recipes..."R" for ramble writes...and those who are "R" for Regular here...will know..that I keep these two separate, in my two twin blogs - QP and PQ respectively. Unlikely this post, for a change,..thought of having both together.
 
A simple "green" edible Christmas tree inter woven with some flashbacks of the Christmas season still bright "red" in memories.
 
  
Christmas ? That's Jingle Bells....Carols....Christmas Tree...Crib...Cakes... 

 
Come December, and these are the typical thoughts that comes first to mind.
Well..for me...going a bit more hearty, to about a decade back.....

The busstop was right in front of my home, yet the almost 1 km walk to Vytilla junction (Kochi, Kerala) was the most common thing that I used to do, need I take a bus plying into the city centrals. In a way, this was also a guarantee that I did get a seat in the other wise crowded buses. Vytilla to Menaka buspoint -  my standard route. Could very well say that my GPS during those days had just these two locations ..the min-max limits. (on self-travel mode that is).


For the Cucumber Chirstmas Tree centre-piece, you need :
 
Cucumbers - sliced dialgonally (as shown)
A small sized onion bulb
A slice of carrot
Tomato ketchup
A bamboo skewer
 

(my Father gets me these custom made knives and my eldest son insisted that it sported a green coloured handle in it, coz its be to used for cutting "green" vegetables !...some matching matching concept ! )

          Destination One  - the most happening place that was then..The Convent Junction
  
Goodwill Collections (getting drowned in the tonnes of accessories).... Tops (some casual yet cheap outfit picks).... Steps/Heels ?? (forgot the name of that footwear shop, esp for the cute chettans who owned the shop..hope they don't see this post ;)...Eloor Lending Library....anything and everything from embroidery threads to oil pastels...need anything...it was Destination Convent Junction !!! 




Giving/ taking Christmas cards was soo much a part of  Christmas times then...and come any function, the first haven for any greetings and gifts was The Archies Gallery.  Browsing....browsing.....and browsing  through the endless rows of greetings cards, was kindof a Christmas tradition as well...something, which is getting extinct, by now...sadly.
To assemble the Christmas Tree
  

Cut the head and tail off of a small onion bulb and lay on the base plate - to form the base of the Tree.
 
 
Insert the base of a bamboo skewer into the onion base and get dragging down the cut cucumber slices round the pole.
 
Destination Two - Broadway..the most ironically named street now existant in our Namma Metro.
 


Being a crafty then, my main supplier for art work rawmaterials, was Jose & Co; towards the end of the street, and don't remember the countless number of times I have walked up and down the street. The tiny cowded way...with absolutely cramped parking spaces...but ironically, called "The Broadway ".





The wholesale shops used to look like this...fully adorned with stars, stars and stars in all shapes, sizes and colours.
 
 
 meanwhile...let the cucumber slices do a pole dance round the skewer ;)
 
 

During Christmas, the sale overflows even into the street which will be thickly packed with vendors and shoppers alike..and I was always a part of that crowd....

( image courtesy - Mr. Cochin Blogger -who whole-heartedly agreed to me borrowing one of his images from his blog. Thanks very much, Sir !)  

                       

                                  push the slices down in an inclined angle, as shown above

 
 
A drop of Tomato Ketchup on each of the Cucumber slice to resember some decoration.
A carrot-star cut out for the tip..and bingo !!!


 Nov 2013 - 10 years had made a world of difference in ME...but not a speck of difference to this world I was looking at right now. Got to walk the same busy wholesale section of the Street during my small one week vacation back home last month . The buildings looked the same....the crowd looked the same....the festive feel was the same....and for a moment....did wonder....
                                                              Am I the only person that has changed in the entire crowd ???                                              Will these old buildings recognize me ?                                               Breathed life into them...may be...maybe...one or two of them would...                                    necessarily not....
Anyways.... with wishes for a very Merry Christmas and an even Blessed New Year .....



  ...let this "another wise woman" take leave for the time being....till then....have a great December !!!



 


 

Stay Happy...Keep Smiling !!! ;)
   
(the general images courtesy Award goes to.... most loyal, Google Search)

 (Let me put the blame on my new Canon for the negligence that howered around my blogs over the last few months. Was clicking more of places and people for my FB page and there was literally, no cooking happening at all. This, is my first post with clicks taken using my DSLR, and got to admit..I am pretty happy with the outcome. In a way..this also means, now..I get no more excuse to be staying away from my blogworld. Inshallah...i stay commited to my spaces. )
 
   
 
 
 
 
 

 
 







Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Kashmiri Dum Paneer (no onion, no garlic..yet rich and thick)

 
 
Kashmiri cuisine, to the rescue...
 
 
There was a time ..not very long back..just a few months, actually..and still kindof ongoing in many parts of our country, where onion brings tears to our eyes not coz of peeling..but..more.....coz, of its rapidly rising price.
 
 
 
It did make headlines.
 
And that was when, i started looking into non-onion based recipes and came across the Kashmiri vegetarian style of cooking in which neither onions , nor garlic is used. And more interesting, was that , it was very much in lines to one of my previous post here, on cooking with yogurt as the main base without curdling.
 
Read the post here -  "Yogurt & Heat - dont you worry"

 
It's said that Kashmiri Pandits or the vegetarians refrain from the use of onions and garlic, and depend on the fat of the milk products that are available to them in plenty to protect themselves from the biting cold of the region
 
And a very common dish in their cuisine is the "Kashmiri Dum Aalo". I have adapted a similar recipe, but done it with  paneer and mix veggies (optional) and have added some coconut milk too to the very end (again, this is not typical authentic Kashmiri..but, just a slight tweek from my side)
Ingredients
·         Paneer – approx. 200g ms (cut to 1 and ½ cm cubes)
·         Butter – 4 tbsp
·         Bay leaf – 1
·         Yogurt – 1 ½ cups
·         Ginger paste – 1 tbsp 
·         Cashewnuts  - a handful, soaked in water and ground to a paste
·         Cardamom powder – 1/4 teaspoon
·         Fennel and cumin seeds powdered together – 1/2 teaspoon
·         Coriander powder – 1.5 tbsp
·         Kashmiri Red chili powder – 2.5  tbsp
·         Tomato puree – 1 .5 tbsp
·         Salt – to taste
·         Cooked green peas, carrot cubes (optional )
·         Coconut milk – 1/2 cup (again, this is optional too, and a tweek from the regular authentic Kashmiri cuisine )
Method :

Add the cubed paneer to a bowl filled with salted boiling water for 10-15 minutes. If using store bought paneer, it helps to soften them by briefly soaking them as said. Once the paneer is softened, drain and set aside.
 
Into a wok, drop in 2 tbsp of butter.
Slightly toast the paneer in the butter till light golden brown. Take a small pinch of fennel and cumin powder from the said ingredient list and sprinkle above the paneer while it gets toasted in the butter.



 
Soak a handful of cashew nuts in hot water for about 5 minutes and ground to a fine paste.   (* -ref. notes)
Now take yogurt in a bowl. Add to it, ginger paste, the ground cashew paste with all the spice powders (cardamom powder, fennel and cumin powder, coriander powder and kashmiri chili powder). Mix well in ONE DIRECTION only and keep aside. (* - ref. notes)

 
 
Into the same wok used to toast the paneer, add 2 tbsps of butter.
Once hot, drop in a bay leaf and sauté for about 30 sec.  
Add the yougurt –spice mix. Stir immediately and keep stirring till it starts to boil.

 
 
Once the sauce boils and the raw taste of the spices leave, add in the toasted paneer.
Add a cup full of cooked green peas and cooked cubed carrots. (can add these if we need it as a mixed veggie dish. Else, can stick to paneer alone)
Add the tomato puree to the mix, salt to taste  and keep closed for the gravey to be absorbed by the paneer. Keep stirring once in a while. It may take about 10-15 minutes.

 
 
 
The yogurt gravey is too absorded by the vegetables that it ends up like a very thick sauce around the vegetables. So, to keep the dish with a thich gravey while serving, you need to keep it at a very loose gravey consistency to the end of the cooking.
You can add 1/4 cup of coconut milk too to make the gravey more diluted. (you don’t add coconut milk in authentic Kashmiri dum recipes, but as I said…its optional )
Serve hot with roti, paratha, naan or even pulav.
 (notes : You can avoid mixing the chillie and coriander powder to the yogurt and directly add it to the wok after the bay leaves . Slightly fry the powder in butter and then add the yogurt mixed with just the remaining spice powders as in the ingredient list.
 
It is common that yogurt made of cows milk curdles when heated. To avoid this, we add the cashewnut as powder or as paste (as in here) to stabilize the yogurt. We can also stabilize yogurt by whisking-in any starch before cooking in ONE DIRECTION only to prevent it from separating. Add one teaspoon of cornstarch, or 1½ teaspoon of other flours (Atta, Maida, or Besan) to one cup of yogurt)

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Marshmallow Candy Cane treats for Christmas

 
The Candy Cane is one of the most familiar symbols of Christmas.
 
It dates back to 1670 in Europe but didn’t appear in the U.S. until the 1800s.
 
The treat we see today, where the shape is Jesus’s hook to shepherd his lambs and the color and stripes hold significance for purity and Christ’s sacrifice, became common in the mid 1900s.[6] (me too got to know it only now ;) )
 
Marshmallow -  Candy Cane Pops
 
 
 
You need
 
Candy Canes
White cooking chocolate
(red and green candy melts would be perfect for this, but that we dont get it here, had to add a drop or two of red and green food colour to the melted white chooclate)
Sugar
Red and green food colour
Marshmallows (large sized ones)


 
To do
 
Trim irregulary, the top edges of a marshmallow to make it look like an umbrella (opened, of course)
Insert a candy cane into the marshmallow.
Now melt the white cooking chocolate about 10 secs at a time, and divide it into two parts.
Add red food colouring to one and green colour to the other.


Take sugar in two bowls and add the green and red food colours to each. Some quick coloured sugar instantly done.

Now dip the marshmallow into the melted chocolate, gently let any drippings fall off the marsh...and roll in the same coloured sugar.
 



(sorry this goes as a very short quicky post...running out of time...)

Hearty seasonal greetings sent your way ....
 
 
 


 

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Cucumber Chirstmas Tree & Destination -Broadway, Kochi - a flashback...

 "R" for Recipes..."R" for ramble writes...and those who are "R" for Regular here...will know..that I keep these two separate, in my two twin blogs - QP and PQ respectively. Unlikely this post, for a change,..thought of having both together.
 
A simple "green" edible Christmas tree inter woven with some flashbacks of the Christmas season still bright "red" in memories.
 
  
Christmas ? That's Jingle Bells....Carols....Christmas Tree...Crib...Cakes... 

 
Come December, and these are the typical thoughts that comes first to mind.
Well..for me...going a bit more hearty, to about a decade back.....

The busstop was right in front of my home, yet the almost 1 km walk to Vytilla junction (Kochi, Kerala) was the most common thing that I used to do, need I take a bus plying into the city centrals. In a way, this was also a guarantee that I did get a seat in the other wise crowded buses. Vytilla to Menaka buspoint -  my standard route. Could very well say that my GPS during those days had just these two locations ..the min-max limits. (on self-travel mode that is).


For the Cucumber Chirstmas Tree centre-piece, you need :
 
Cucumbers - sliced dialgonally (as shown)
A small sized onion bulb
A slice of carrot
Tomato ketchup
A bamboo skewer
 

(my Father gets me these custom made knives and my eldest son insisted that it sported a green coloured handle in it, coz its be to used for cutting "green" vegetables !...some matching matching concept ! )

          Destination One  - the most happening place that was then..The Convent Junction
  
Goodwill Collections (getting drowned in the tonnes of accessories).... Tops (some casual yet cheap outfit picks).... Steps/Heels ?? (forgot the name of that footwear shop, esp for the cute chettans who owned the shop..hope they don't see this post ;)...Eloor Lending Library....anything and everything from embroidery threads to oil pastels...need anything...it was Destination Convent Junction !!! 




Giving/ taking Christmas cards was soo much a part of  Christmas times then...and come any function, the first haven for any greetings and gifts was The Archies Gallery.  Browsing....browsing.....and browsing  through the endless rows of greetings cards, was kindof a Christmas tradition as well...something, which is getting extinct, by now...sadly.
To assemble the Christmas Tree
  

Cut the head and tail off of a small onion bulb and lay on the base plate - to form the base of the Tree.
 
 
Insert the base of a bamboo skewer into the onion base and get dragging down the cut cucumber slices round the pole.
 
Destination Two - Broadway..the most ironically named street now existant in our Namma Metro.
 


Being a crafty then, my main supplier for art work rawmaterials, was Jose & Co; towards the end of the street, and don't remember the countless number of times I have walked up and down the street. The tiny cowded way...with absolutely cramped parking spaces...but ironically, called "The Broadway ".





The wholesale shops used to look like this...fully adorned with stars, stars and stars in all shapes, sizes and colours.
 
 
 meanwhile...let the cucumber slices do a pole dance round the skewer ;)
 
 

During Christmas, the sale overflows even into the street which will be thickly packed with vendors and shoppers alike..and I was always a part of that crowd....

( image courtesy - Mr. Cochin Blogger -who whole-heartedly agreed to me borrowing one of his images from his blog. Thanks very much, Sir !)  

                       

                                  push the slices down in an inclined angle, as shown above

 
 
A drop of Tomato Ketchup on each of the Cucumber slice to resember some decoration.
A carrot-star cut out for the tip..and bingo !!!


 Nov 2013 - 10 years had made a world of difference in ME...but not a speck of difference to this world I was looking at right now. Got to walk the same busy wholesale section of the Street during my small one week vacation back home last month . The buildings looked the same....the crowd looked the same....the festive feel was the same....and for a moment....did wonder....
                                                              Am I the only person that has changed in the entire crowd ???                                              Will these old buildings recognize me ?                                               Breathed life into them...may be...maybe...one or two of them would...                                    necessarily not....
Anyways.... with wishes for a very Merry Christmas and an even Blessed New Year .....



  ...let this "another wise woman" take leave for the time being....till then....have a great December !!!



 


 

Stay Happy...Keep Smiling !!! ;)
   
(the general images courtesy Award goes to.... most loyal, Google Search)

 (Let me put the blame on my new Canon for the negligence that howered around my blogs over the last few months. Was clicking more of places and people for my FB page and there was literally, no cooking happening at all. This, is my first post with clicks taken using my DSLR, and got to admit..I am pretty happy with the outcome. In a way..this also means, now..I get no more excuse to be staying away from my blogworld. Inshallah...i stay commited to my spaces. )
 
   
 
 
 
 
 

 
 







Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Kashmiri Dum Paneer (no onion, no garlic..yet rich and thick)

 
 
Kashmiri cuisine, to the rescue...
 
 
There was a time ..not very long back..just a few months, actually..and still kindof ongoing in many parts of our country, where onion brings tears to our eyes not coz of peeling..but..more.....coz, of its rapidly rising price.
 
 
 
It did make headlines.
 
And that was when, i started looking into non-onion based recipes and came across the Kashmiri vegetarian style of cooking in which neither onions , nor garlic is used. And more interesting, was that , it was very much in lines to one of my previous post here, on cooking with yogurt as the main base without curdling.
 
Read the post here -  "Yogurt & Heat - dont you worry"

 
It's said that Kashmiri Pandits or the vegetarians refrain from the use of onions and garlic, and depend on the fat of the milk products that are available to them in plenty to protect themselves from the biting cold of the region
 
And a very common dish in their cuisine is the "Kashmiri Dum Aalo". I have adapted a similar recipe, but done it with  paneer and mix veggies (optional) and have added some coconut milk too to the very end (again, this is not typical authentic Kashmiri..but, just a slight tweek from my side)
Ingredients
·         Paneer – approx. 200g ms (cut to 1 and ½ cm cubes)
·         Butter – 4 tbsp
·         Bay leaf – 1
·         Yogurt – 1 ½ cups
·         Ginger paste – 1 tbsp 
·         Cashewnuts  - a handful, soaked in water and ground to a paste
·         Cardamom powder – 1/4 teaspoon
·         Fennel and cumin seeds powdered together – 1/2 teaspoon
·         Coriander powder – 1.5 tbsp
·         Kashmiri Red chili powder – 2.5  tbsp
·         Tomato puree – 1 .5 tbsp
·         Salt – to taste
·         Cooked green peas, carrot cubes (optional )
·         Coconut milk – 1/2 cup (again, this is optional too, and a tweek from the regular authentic Kashmiri cuisine )
Method :

Add the cubed paneer to a bowl filled with salted boiling water for 10-15 minutes. If using store bought paneer, it helps to soften them by briefly soaking them as said. Once the paneer is softened, drain and set aside.
 
Into a wok, drop in 2 tbsp of butter.
Slightly toast the paneer in the butter till light golden brown. Take a small pinch of fennel and cumin powder from the said ingredient list and sprinkle above the paneer while it gets toasted in the butter.



 
Soak a handful of cashew nuts in hot water for about 5 minutes and ground to a fine paste.   (* -ref. notes)
Now take yogurt in a bowl. Add to it, ginger paste, the ground cashew paste with all the spice powders (cardamom powder, fennel and cumin powder, coriander powder and kashmiri chili powder). Mix well in ONE DIRECTION only and keep aside. (* - ref. notes)

 
 
Into the same wok used to toast the paneer, add 2 tbsps of butter.
Once hot, drop in a bay leaf and sauté for about 30 sec.  
Add the yougurt –spice mix. Stir immediately and keep stirring till it starts to boil.

 
 
Once the sauce boils and the raw taste of the spices leave, add in the toasted paneer.
Add a cup full of cooked green peas and cooked cubed carrots. (can add these if we need it as a mixed veggie dish. Else, can stick to paneer alone)
Add the tomato puree to the mix, salt to taste  and keep closed for the gravey to be absorbed by the paneer. Keep stirring once in a while. It may take about 10-15 minutes.

 
 
 
The yogurt gravey is too absorded by the vegetables that it ends up like a very thick sauce around the vegetables. So, to keep the dish with a thich gravey while serving, you need to keep it at a very loose gravey consistency to the end of the cooking.
You can add 1/4 cup of coconut milk too to make the gravey more diluted. (you don’t add coconut milk in authentic Kashmiri dum recipes, but as I said…its optional )
Serve hot with roti, paratha, naan or even pulav.
 (notes : You can avoid mixing the chillie and coriander powder to the yogurt and directly add it to the wok after the bay leaves . Slightly fry the powder in butter and then add the yogurt mixed with just the remaining spice powders as in the ingredient list.
 
It is common that yogurt made of cows milk curdles when heated. To avoid this, we add the cashewnut as powder or as paste (as in here) to stabilize the yogurt. We can also stabilize yogurt by whisking-in any starch before cooking in ONE DIRECTION only to prevent it from separating. Add one teaspoon of cornstarch, or 1½ teaspoon of other flours (Atta, Maida, or Besan) to one cup of yogurt)