Teel Gool!

My grandma's recipe for teeL gooL made on Makar Sankranta. This year amazingly, Sankranta is on the 15th of Jan.

1/4 kg (250g or 1 lb) sesame seeds, roast on low flame. Roast evenly and thoroughly(smell test) as it will taste uncooked in the final 'vadi' or cake otherwise. After roasting, grind them in a mixer where they are just ground, not fine powder, just ground looks like some powder, most sesame seeds broken and some fully intact seeds.

Keep elaichi i.e. cardamom powder ready to be added, about 2 tsp.

1/4 kg grated jaggery ( I used powdered Jaggery which needed little ghee at the outset for it to melt smoothly instead of into crystals first) to be melted over low flame. Add 2 tablespoons of ghee along to aid the smooth texture. While still on low flame, add 2-3 tea spoons of milk. The mixture rises with bubbles and this is to be expected. Let the molten jaggery cool to the point where it just feels too hot to touch (45-50'C). Add the teel and elaichi in batches while stirring with a strong ladle until evenly mixed. Keep on going until most of the teel is incorporated. Take a small amount of mixture, roll in ball in your fist and open the hand. If the mixture breaks open, then add milk DROP by DROP!! If the ball stays intact but is too shiny, add some more teel.

Either roll them into balls or flatten mixture over wax paper in a tray. Sprinkle desiccated coconut on the top, pat down the mixture to compact the sheet so that when cut later, it doesn't crumble. While still slightly hot, use pizza cutter to make squares. Let it rest and then transfer to a container when at room temperature.

Eat at a slow pace with a good tea. Too many of them at 1 time and you are sure to have pimples the next day and more than that you'd be seeing a lot of the bathroom!! ;)

Other tips - Use a light colored jaggery to make the final dish look more appetizing. If individual cakes are to be made, the mixture utensil needs to be covered all the time.

Padron peppers poppers (PPP)

Ingredients-

• Bunch of padron peppers. The ones that are small in size are sweet. Medium sized ones have a probability of being hot. We found 2 hot peppers among 6 of the sweet ones.
• Goat cheese!
• Panko bread crumbs.
• Egg
• Salt
  
• Sauce/ketchup as condiment.

Preparation-

1. Turn the oven on, convection bake on 400'F.
2. Hollow out the insides of the peppers making sure the seeds are miles away.
3. Fill with goat cheese.
4. Dip in 1 whisked egg.
5. Roll in a mixture of panko bread crumbs mixed with salt/other seasonings that you think you can take assuming the flavor of the pepper and goat cheese is overwhelming.
6. In your preheated oven, put in the poppers neatly arranged on an aluminum foil. I sprinkled these with little oil.
   
7. Take out when the cheese starts oozing out and the crumbs turn brown. Serve hot with hot chai and sauce of your choice.

Potato patties with California vegetables

This is a recipe I make for my son once a week. It incorporates vegetables and is easy to eat for a messy toddler. Additionally, it can be dipped in tomato ketchup which is a vital condiment in the foods that all toddlers consume.

Finely minced onions, cummin seed powder, oregano, parsley, lemon grass get sauteed. In go frozen california veggies followed by whole milk(instead of water). Cooking covered steams the vegetables. Microwave potatoes while you are doing this. Whole potatoes go into the veggies which get ready in 5 minutes. Add salt and fresh pepper to taste. Toddlers help to squish the veggies together with a potato masher. I made patties the size of a golf ball and put them on a pan which had vegetable oil sprayed. Turn the patties..you can add bread crumbs to make it fancier..and voila.

For the adults in the house, the following very original chutneys are made and consumed-
1. Soy ahoy.
2. Garlic ka jhatka

1. Soy ahoy - reduced sodium soy sauce, sriracha, salt and orange marmalade. Mix in vinegar/water to reduce sharpness of soy.

2. Garlic ka jhatka - Raw Garlic, Olive oil, basil, salt, pepper(just a tad bit), chilli powder, paprika get ground in a counter top mortar. To be added in minimal quantities to keep the taste of the combination well tied.

Goan fish croquettes

Goan fish croquettes
Originally uploaded by Taswiir.

Recipe from Atul Kochar's Indian Essence book..recipe soon to come with faux pas to be avoided!

Mac & Cheese

Mac & Cheese
Originally uploaded by Taswiir.

The most amazing M&C I've had so far. Sweet and tart mushrooms on the side were the perfect accompaniment.

Saboodana vada like poppers with a spinach dip.

Spinach Dip
Ingredients-
- fat free sour cream
- spinach
- fromage du blanc
- salt
- chives
- basil
- balsamic vinegar

Preparation- Mix uncooked spinach and the rest of the ingredients in a mixer. Turn it on. Done. I garnished with walnuts.

Sabudana vada poppers

Ingredients-

- saboodana/sago
- peanut powder
- green chillies
- salt and equal amount of sugar
- baked potatoes enough to hold the sago together when made into patties.

For the cover- egg white, bread crumbs, cumin seeds

Preparation-
Wet all the sago. Leave just enough water that it comes to about 0.5cm from the bottom of the bowl you wet your sago in. Set aside for longest of times depending really on the quality of sago. Best ones need about 30 minutes. I used mine after 2 nights. You can tell it is done if the sago feels soft through and through to touch. The better of the sagos will not gather inspite of wetting and will have distinct sago balls instead of becoming one mass of carbohydrate. Add the peanut powder(this powder is to be a loose powder as well, not crushed to be anywhere close to peanut butter), cut green chillies, salt, sugar, baked and mashed potatoes(only if the sago has become too dry or to act as a filler when you fall short of sago). Roll them into patties shaped liked your favorite patty shape. Now, this is where I divert from the standard Indian frying. Sago soaks in a lot of oil and pan fry doesn't work. Hence, I rolled my poppers/patties in egg white then in bread crumb-cumin mix and then deep fried them. Traditionally these are to be eaten when hot with a cold peanut-yogurt chutney. I had a tonne of spinach at home, so I opted for a cool spinach dip. Enjoy, get fat.

Kaju Katli by Jason Balkman

He calls it Cashew Nut Fudge. He writes-

Cashew Nut Fudge:
=================
3/2 cups unsalted cashews
3/2 cups boiling water
2 tbsp milk
2/3 cup zuccherro
1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp vanilla xtract
several sheets silver leaf

Pour boiling water over cashews
in a bowl & soak 1 hr. Grease
an 8x8" pan or line with wax
or parchment paper.

Drain cashews and food process
w/milk until smooth. stir in
zuccherro. melt ghee in a skillet
and add processed cashew paste
and cook 15-20 minutes, constantly
stirring. The paste will get
very thick and a little unmanageable.
Stop heating at this point.

Stir in vanilla xtract and lay
evenly into pan (easier said than
done. i soaked a spoon in hot water
to assist, otherwise the nutpaste
clings to everything). Cool 10
minutes or more. Press silver leaf
onto surface (also easier said than
done. silver leaf is difficult to
work with. i also used a little water
to get it to adhere better to the
nutpaste).

Cut fudge into diamond shapes using a wet
knife.