Shakarpara "sweet little devils"

Shakarpara's are often made during diwali festival in north India, with every family having a favorite recipe  which has been passed down to them through generation.

For diwali this year, I wanted to make something traditional. Natural step was to ask MIL for her amazing shakarpara recipe.  For the last five years, I have always got two boxes from her upon departure, one full of home made mathri (my favorite), other of shakarpara (S's favorite). Five years back I was not a big fan of Shakarpara and S. was not a big fan of Mathri. Now, we both love mathri and shakarpara!

Also, did I tell you ? In addition to thanking my MIL for the recipe, I have to thank two gadgets without which this would have been very difficult. These are my new electronic weighing machine for kitchen and Kitchenaid stand mixture. I resisted electronic weighing machine for years. S kept suggesting that I should get it. Finally, he gifted it to me on my birthday. I am not exactly sure if it was a gift for me or him:) By doing so, he saved himself from the "last minute weight to cup conversion through google for various ingredients"- that were forced on him often in the crisis state. Jokes apart, this is really handy and totally worth it. Now I can easily make european and indian recipes without worrying about the conversion.  Thanks S.

Second thing that has made my life super easy for making mathri and shakarpara is the kichenaid stand mixer. The key to fluffy mathri and shakarpara is the kneading process. More you knead softer they turn out to be. Well stand mixer can knead for you as long as want :) This was gift  from my dear sister (thanks didi !). I also enjoy it a lot for making dough for pizza, naan, puri etc. Its quite handy if you are making anything at large scale:)

Now time for the shakarpara recipe:

Ingredients:

500 gm (1/2 KG) all purpose flour (Maida)

150 ml oil for kneading (2/3 cup)

~ 3/4 cup warm water
oil for frying (~2-3 cups)

For syrup
1 and 1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup water 

- Add all purpose flour and oil in the stand mixer and mix/knead on low setting for 15-20  minutes
- Add little warm water (about 1/4 cup) at a time to make a tight dough (you will need little water so add slowly)
- Leave it covered for 15-20 minutes
- Divide the dough into four equal parts
- Roll out one of the parts into 1/4 inch thickness
- Cut parallel lines in the circular part and then perpendicular (at an angle) lines to make small pieces out of the rolled dough
- Heat oil for frying in a kadai/deep pan on low-medium settings and place all the pieces once the oil is hot and let them fry for  10-15 minutes until golden brown color and remove with a slotted spoon on a paper towel
- While first batch is frying, roll out the second ball of dough and cut into pieces
- Repeat for 3rd and 4th ball
- Let them cool in a wide pan

  Syrup
   - While frying the fourth batch of shakarpara,  start making the syrup
   - add 1 1/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in a pan and place it on medium heat
   - Once the mixture starts boiling reduce heat to low-medium setting
   - Make 2 taar chasni (sugar syrup) by heating it on low for 20 minutes
   - Meanwhile spread the cooled fried shakarpara in a wide pan and spread the sugar syrup on it.
   - Mix the sugar syrup and shakarpara gently and quickly with spoon for five minutes to  evenly coat  them with sugar syrup
   - Leave the mixture open for 30 minutes and then let it cool covered over night and the next day your shakarpara are ready to be eaten. Pieces might stick to each other so gently separate them.

Enjoy your shakarpara with Tea or as is!

Aata ka Halwa

I remember waking up in late morning hours with an aroma in house. Often it was from aata (wheat flour) halwa in winters. Behind the aroma was a trick. A trick played by my mom to wake me up. As she new I would want to eat it as soon as it is removed from the gas. Sizzling hot halwa eaten with fingers is one of my favorite breakfast in the winters . This is one thing that I feel does not taste good if you eat it with spoon :) You can eat it plain or with papad for breakfast or after aloo puri as dessert.

This is one of the favorite sweet dish prepared in India for guests, during festivals and celebrations.  At times, this is the first dish prepared by a new bride at her in-laws place. If someone bought a new car or new house, first thing that was done was to make halwa at home and offer it to god. I have made very few attempts to make halwa at home. Even though it comprises of three simple and essential ingredients: Flour, Ghee (clarified butter) and Sugar. Some people may find it easy to make it but somehow I always thought its quite complicated precisely for the same reason: it only has three simple ingredients!

I am very picky with this dish  as I really like it when it is well cooked and looks dark brown in color in comparison to the less cooked (light brown) version. When I would ask my mom for the recipe, she always says andaje se daal lo, 20 logon ka khana banoge to measuring spoons mein hi aadha din lag jayega ( Just add ingredients with approximation, if you have to prepare food for twenty people every day, half the day will be spend in using measuring spoon).  I am amazed how she never tastes the food while she is making it and yet all the spices are perfectly balanced.

When she was visiting me last summer, I convinced her to use the measuring cups to take out each of the ingredients (although she was still making it with her "andaja" but I had my numbers right :)

Ingredients for ~ 1 1/2 -2 cup halwa

1/2 cup wheat flour
6-8 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 cup sugar
about 3 1/2-4 cups hot water

- Put a karahi (a deep pan) on gas stove on medium heat. Immediately add wheat flour and ghee to the karahi and mix them.  Slowly cook them, stirring often so that flour and ghee mixture does not stick to the karahi

- After about 15 minutes, flour mixture will change color from light to dark (if you like your halwa really well done continue to cook for another couple of minutes)

- In parallel, boil 4 cups of water in a pan

- Add hot boiling water to the flour ghee mixture and stir everything really fast. Mix everything properly for about 3-4 minutes or until it becomes a thick mixture. It is very important to mix it properly to remove any clusters of aata in the water/flour mixture. A special type of flat ladle  is used to make halwa so that it is easier to mix and scrap while making the halwa.

- Add sugar and continue to stir for another 2 minutes. The mixture will become darker after adding sugar
- Enjoy this for breakfast or eat with papad and add some nuts for garnish

Mango in Estyle!

 

" What diamonds are for women, mangoes are for Indians! "

American: What do you miss most about India in summers ?

Indian: Mangoes man!

After putting things in perspective, let me share the legendary story of mango flower with you. 

Cauliflower Soup

Sorry for disappearing for a while. Things are kind of busy at my front and I really missed not adding anything on the blog. Today's post is about "soups". Somehow I have never been a soup person. Really strange, I know. The first soup that I really liked was creamy carrot soup, which I learnt from a Chef in Philly, perhaps because it was full of cream and butter.

Breakfast Parfait almost from Nanihal

Like many kids, I went with my mom to my Nanihal/Nanera (Maternal grandmother's house) during summer vacations.  I played with other kids without any time restriction and got pampered by zillions of Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents. Like everyone's Nani (Grandmother), my Nani pampered us by cooking delicious food. Her cooking style was very simple. Yet she made the best moong daal (lentil) I have ever had and perhaps the reason that moong daal is by far my favorite daal till date. She cooked the lentils on a Chulha (Stove) in a dekchi (vessel) using coal without pressure cooker and cooking gas in 1-2 hours.  She is no longer with us but her lovely memories will always remain with us.  Here is a picture of the Haveli where my maternal grandparents used to live.  The place where I have spent countless hours/days/months full of fun during summer vacations.

Zucchini Pancakes with Sweet Tomato Chutney and Greek Yogurt

These little savory pancakes are rare. Rare because pancakes do not ring a "healthy" bell that often.  These little angels are as healthy and delicious as it can get for breakfast.  Alternate pieces with greek yogurt and sweet tomato chutney (or tomato ketchup) give the right satisfaction.  The satisfaction that you need on a weekend morning after having morning tea. The morning that really wants you to get out of your comfortable bed and help you plan your day. These little angels provide the energy exactly for that.

Sahi Tukre/ Double ka meetha

I read about Sahi Tukre (Egg less bread pudding) through a recent post by Shayma of The spice spoon. Shamya writes beautiful stories with each post and I always look forward to reading them. Pictures of Sahi Tukre looked so delicious that I couldn't resist making them at an earliest opportunity.  Apparently, these are similar to a dessert called "Double ka meetha" in Hyderabad.  It was such a treat. I will surely be making this on a regular basis now.