Yorkshire pudding

Yorkshire Pudding, also known as batter pudding, is an English dish made from batter and usually served with roast meat and gravy. The Yorkshire pudding is a staple of the British Sunday lunch and in some cases, is eaten as a separate course prior to the main meat dish. Traditionally, though less so now, the Yorkshire Pudding could be served as a sweet, with sugar or even with orange juice as a sauce.

I always make the salty version, and it has been part of my menu since about 1988. My kids used to look forward to the ‘Palak paneer and Yorkshire pudding’ dinners so eagerly!

Ingredients:

Wheat flour      - 150 gms

Milk     - 200 ml

Water   - ½ cup

Egg      - 1

Salt to taste

Butter or ghee   - 2 tbsps

Method:

- Take the flour into a large bowl with the salt. Combine the milk and water.

- Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the egg. Beat the egg and combine with some flour around it.

- Pour in a little milk and water, and then whisk the lot together to make a smooth batter. - Mix in the rest of the liquid, until you have a batter the consistency of pan cake batter.

-  Leave at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees C and keep a baking pan with 2 tablespoons of butter or ghee in it.

- When the ghee starts smoking, take the pan out and carefully pour in the batter.

- Keep the pan with the batter in the oven and after 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 200 degrees C. Bake for another 20 minutes when the top looks golden brown.

- Serve immediately with palak paneer or matar palak.

14 April 2020
Today with aloo palak (Spinach potato) I wanted to have Yorkshire pudding and my husband wanted makke ki roti (Maize flat bread). I went for a short cut to make the Yorkshire pudding in a kadai, and was surprised to see that there was no compromise on taste! I used 40 gms of wheat flour, 1/3 of an egg after beating it (fried the remaining portion separately), salt, 70 ml milk and 1 tbsp ghee. The kadai should be on high flame while pouring the batter, then keep it on lowest flame and cover the batter. After about five minutes, turn it upside down and cover again. In five minutes, it is ready.

Broken wheat breakfast dish

This is a cross between dalia and  upma and I couldn’t think of a proper name for it. If any of you reading this can suggest a name, you are most welcome J

This is a great comfort food for me. It peps you up, lightens your mood and increases your energy, don’t ask me how. And it is very easy to prepare. 

Ingredients:

Broken wheat   - 100 gm (1 cup)

Water   - 2 cups

Jaggery syrup   - 1/3 to ½ cup, according to taste

Milk (optional)  - ¼ cup

Ghee    - 1 tbsp

Saunf (Fennel)              - ½ tbsp

Cashews, broken)        -1 tbsp

Kismis              - ½ tbsp

Method:

Soak the broken wheat for about half hour. Drain the water and keep aside.

Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker, add the saunf, stir, add the cashews and let it brown a bit.

Now add the soaked broken wheat, stir for a few seconds, add the water and pressure cook for 3 minutes.

Cool and open the cooker. Keep it on low flame; add the jaggery syrup and the milk.

Stir for one or two minutes and remove from fire.

While serving, you can pour a teaspoon of ghee over it to enhance the taste.

Note:

Since the jaggery contains some impurities, I make jaggery syrup by keeping jaggery with some water on fire and letting it dissolve. It is then sieved and poured into a container, cooled and stored in the refrigerator. It comes in handy for so many dishes, and saves time too.

Mango kheer

This is a very yummy sweet. I have to make it at least once every mango season.

 Ingredients:

Half ripe mango – 1, skinned and grated

Milk     - ¾ litre

Sugar   - 1 cup

Cardamoms      -3

Grated coconut -1/2 cup

Method:

Boil the milk and simmer it till it becomes quite thick, and cool it.

Powder the sugar with cardamom in mixi, add the cooled thickened milk and run the mixi again.

Take this out, add the grated mango and 1/2 cup grated coconut and mix well.

Refrigerate before serving.

Beans chorchori

Chorchori is a Bengali dish in which the flavoring agent is a blend of five spices called Panch Phoron. It is a great accompaniment for rice.

Ingredients:

Beans, stringed and cut into small pieces            - 1cup

Salt      - to taste

Mustard oil       - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds  - ¼ tsp

Jeera (cumin)    -  ¼ tsp

Onoin seeds (kalaunji)  -  ¼ tsp

Fenugreed seeds           -  ¼ tsp

Black sesame seeds      - ¼ tsp

Turmeric powder          -1/3 tsp

Chilli powder    - 1/3 tsp

Garam masala powder  - 1/3 tsp

Method:

Heat the mustard oil in a pan and add all the five seeds. When the mustard splutters, add the beans and stir for some time on high flame. Add salt and sprinkle a little water, cover and cook. Add the masala powders, stir for a few seconds and remove from the fire.

Lady's finger (okra) mezhukkupuratti

Mezhukkupuratti is a traditional Kerala dish that can be made with lady's finger, beans, cabbage and a variety of other vegetables. It is very easy to make and since no spices are used, the flavor of the vegetable is totally retained.

Ingredients:

Lady's finger, split in the middle and cut into one inch long pieces           - 1 cup

Onion   - 1 cut into small pieces

Green chilli       - 1 cut into long pieces

Salt      -to taste

Oil        - 1 tbsp

Mustard           - 4 tsp

Curry leaves     - a few

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cut onion, curry leaves, and green chilli. Stir for a few seconds and add the lady's finger and salt. Stir for a few seconds on high flame and cover and cook on low flame. Open in between and stir. It has to be cooked in its own juice. Taste will be compromised if you add water. 

Cucumber Carrot Kosambari

The traditional name used for salads in Karnataka is ‘Kosambari’. It is an integral part of all special occasions like wedding, festivals and gatherings. I just love it!

Ingredients:

Cucumber peeled and cut into small pieces        - 1 cup

Carrot peeled and cut into small pieces (or grated)        - 1/2 cup

Tomato            - 1 big cut into small pieces

Ground nut roasted, skinned and powdered      - 2 tbsp

Coconut scrapings        -1 tbsp

Curds   - 2 tbsps

Salt to taste

To season:

Oil        - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds  - ½ tsp

Method:

Mix all he ingredients together and season it

Corn flour bread

Sweet corn became a staple food in the diets of Mayans by 2,000 to 1,500 BC. They held it in great reverence and it was a part of their daily rituals and took on a religious significance.

Corn contains some of the B-complex vitamins, making it good for hair, skin, the digestion, heart and brain. It also contains vitamins C, A and K along with amino acids, flavonoids, and large amounts of beta-carotene and a fair amount of selenium which improves the functions of the thyroid gland and plays a role in the proper functioning of the immune system. It possesses potent antioxidant properties which help to protect the body from the ravages of free radicals which can damage the cells and cause cancer.

Corn flour bread tastes awesome and I wanted to bake it at home. When I searched for a recipe, all of them had egg as an ingredient. I wanted to make it without egg and experimented. Voila! It turned out to be successful. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

Corn flour         - 1 cup (100 gms)

Maida  - 1 cup (100gms)

Salt      - ½ tsp

Baking soda     - ¼ tsp

Refined oil        - ¾ cup

Buttermilk         - 1 cup

Sugar   - ½ cup (50 gms)
Pumpkin seeds (optional) - 1tbsp

Method:

Pre heat oven to 175 degrees C (375 degrees F).

Mix oil and sugar.

Add baking soda to the buttermilk.  

Combine corn flour, maida and salt.

Pour the buttermilk to the oil sugar mix and stir well.

Add this to the corn flour maida mix and knead lightly. Take care not to knead too much.Mix in the pumpkin seeds.

Pour into a greased 6 inch square baking vessel and bake for about 35- 45 minutes, or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Tastes awesome with butter or jam.