Palmiers.......Cute Little Hearts Cookies

Palmiers is a French Pastry which is also known as Elephant Ears or Angel Wings because of its shape. It is extremely light, flaky, caramely and buttery. Each time I bake Palmiers, I just fell amazed that how effortless and painless its recipe is. It's a perfect snack to munch on when you want something to eat during those odd hours of the day. 

These cookies are made up of puff pastry which is a dough wrapped around butter so the butter gets completely enclosed within the dough which is then rolled and folded over to double the number of layers and then the whole process is repeated. The number of times you repeat this process the more flaky your pastry will become. But making puff pastry at home is a very time consuming process and needs a lot of elbow greasing. Thanks to the frozen puff pastry sheets available at the supermarkets these days.

Making Palmiers at home becomes super easy if we have frozen puff pastry sheets in our freezer. You just need to thaw them, roll them, sprinkle granulated sugar and bake them. Ta-dah you're done! I know it's very difficult to resist until they cool down. I myself can't stay away from them for long. 

So let's get started:

Ingredients:

1. Frozen Puff Pastry Sheet: 1

2. Granulated Sugar: 1 and 1/2 cup

3. Crushed Green Cardamom (optional): 1 tsp

4. Egg: 1

Method:

1. Thaw the puff pastry sheet as directed.

2. Sprinkle some granulated sugar on your kitchen counter and unfold the puff pastry sheet.

3. Roll the puff pastry sheet to approx 1/8" thick. (If your pastry sheet gets sticky sprinkle some more sugar and roll it until you get the desired thickness)

4. Sprinkle sugar and crushed cardamom (if using) on top of the sheet. 

5. Fold one edge of the pastry sheet into the midle. Fold the opposite edge to the middle. At this point both the edges will touch the middle of the pastry. Continue this process until you can't fold anymore. By now it will take the shape of a log. 

6. Break the egg in a bowl and whisk it with a fork. Brush the log with this beaten egg.

7. Wrap the log with a cling wrap and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

9. Take the log out of the freezer. Cut it into 1 cm thick pieces. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top of each piece and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

10. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes. Flip the cookies after 7 and 1/2 minutes or until they become golden brown on each side. 

11. Take them out of the oven and place them on a cooling rack. 

12. Enjoy them with your evening tea. 

Note:

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Nargisi Kofta Curry

Mughlai Cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines in the Indian subcontinent. It's origin can be found back in Mughal empire where exotic dishes were prepared in the royal kitchens. Many of the dishes in Indian cuisine are influenced by their imperial cooking style.

Mughlai food is known for its richness. It is famous for the generous use of ground spices, nuts and dry fruits which make the dish quite spicy and give it a very unique aroma. The rich flavors and the exotic aroma are so tempting that can make any food loving person carve for more. 

The name of the dishes in this cuisine are so alluring that they invite you to try them out at least once. Whether its Biryani, Kofta, Korma, Shorba, Nihari, Haleem or Kebabs we love them all and usually end up licking our fingers. A huge thanks to the Mughal dynasty who introduced us to the special ingredients and techniques used in this form of cooking. 

We both are huge fans of Mughlai Cuisine and that's the reason our Sunday's are incomplete without Biryani and Shorba. I have already posted few recipes from this cuisine; you may check them out:

• Chicken BIryani
• Chicken Shami Kebab
• Kashmili Pulao (A fusion of Kashmiri and Bengali cuisine)

Today I'm again posting a delicacy from this cuisine which is Nargisi Kofta Curry. The term "Nargisi" is derived from the word "Nargis" which refers to "Narcissus"; a winter flower which has a yellow center with white petals around it just like a boiled egg. These koftas are hard boiled eggs coated with minced meat and then cooked in a gravy. When you cut the kofta it resembles the Nargis flower. There are two parts in making this recipe firstly making the koftas and then the sauce. The sauce can be a simple tomato based gravy or a Makhni sauce which enhances the flavors of these koftas. I prefer tomato based gravy over Makhni gravy to keep flavors intact yet adding a subtle richness to the gravy.

So let's start preparing this exotic dish:

Ingredients:

For Koftas:

1. Minced Chicken (or meat of your choice): 1 lb
2. Hard boiled eggs: 4
3. Onions (chopped): 1/2 cup
4. Ginger-Garlic paste: 1 tbsp
5. Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
6. Red Chili powder: 1/2 tsp
7. Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
8. Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp
9. Garam Masala powder: 1/2 tsp
10. Cilantro (chopped): 1/4 cup
11. Mint (chopped): 1/4 cup
12. Green Chilies (chopped): 2
13. Salt: to taste
14. Oil: for frying koftas

For Gravy:

1. Onion paste: 1 cup
2. Ginger-Garlic paste: 1 tbsp
3. Whole Garam Masala (green cardamoms, black cardamoms, peppers, cloves, bay leaf, mace, cinnamon) 
3. Tomato puree: 1 cup
4. Cashew paste: 1/4 cup
5. Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
6. Red Chili powder: 1/2 tsp
7. Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
8. Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp
9. Garam Masala powder: 1/2 tsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Kewra Water: 1 tbsp
12. Ghee: 1 and 1/2 tbsp
13. Oil as required
14. Cilantro for garnishing

Method:

For making koftas:

1. In a bowl take the chicken mince and add chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, chopped cilantro, chopped mint, chopped green chilies and salt. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined.

2. Take the boiled egg and coat it with this mixture of minced chicken, smooth it with your hands to form an even coating around the egg. The egg should be completely covered. Repeat the process for the rest of the eggs.

3. Heat oil on medium flame for deep frying. When the oil is hot enough fry the koftas on low-medium heat until it gets a nice golden color.

4. Take them out on a plate lined with paper towel. Keep them aside.

For making the gravy:

1. Heat oil in a separate pan and add the whole garam masala. Let them crackle but take care not to burn them.

2. Add in the onion paste and fry until golden brown. At this point add the ginger-garlic paste and again fry it for a minute.

3. Now it's time to add the tomato puree, cover the lid and cook the mixture for 2 minutes. At this point you will see the oil starts separating. Add the cashew paste and cook the mixture for a minute.

4. Add the dry spices turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt.

5. Add a cup of water, cover the lid and let the gravy cook for 2-3 minutes. Open the lid add the fried koftas, ghee and kewra water. Cover the lid and let it cook for just a minute on low heat. Turn off the heat.

6. Garnish your Nargisi Kofta Curry with cilantro and cream. Enjoy with rice, naan or chapati.

Note:

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Skinny Mango Cheesecake.........A Cheesecake Without Cheese

By now you all know that I have a ginormous sweet tooth. My dinner is not complete unless I have a bowl of anything sweet. But whenever I eat anything sweet I always get a guilt feeling that how much calories its been adding up! This feeling turns me upside down and muddle up the state of bliss.

There was a time when we would gobble up everything without even giving a second thought. That was the time we never thought how would we look like in our profile pic. Well, time changes so do our thoughts. 

I'm a huge fans of Cheesecakes, aren't you? But we all know that cheesecake adds a lot of calories in your waistline.......Sigh :(. So, I decided to cheat these "Caloricious Cheesecakes" without any "Cheese" content in it. Yes, you heard it right: "A Cheesecake Without Cream Cheese". It not only helps you to get rid of that "guilt" but it does full justice to the taste of an original Cheesecake. Isn't that great!

This recipe is very easy and requires very few ingredients. It is also a party pleaser which can be prepared in advance. So let's dig into this recipe of making my version of "Skinny Mango Cheesecakes":

Ingredients:

1. Mango Puree: 1 cup
2. Heavy Whipping Cream: 1 cup
3. Fat Free Yogurt: 1 cup
4. Powdered Sugar to taste
5. Unflavored Gelatin: 2 packets
6. Graham Crackers: 5-6
7. Unsalted Butter(melted): 1/2 cup
8. Vanilla Extract: 1/4 tsp

Method:

Making the crust:

1. Using a food processor or blender grind the graham crackers into fine crumbs. You can substitute graham crackers with digestive biscuits too.

2. Take the graham crackers crumbs in a separate bowl and add the melted butter. Mix it well. 

3.Now take individual greased ramekins or a cake pan and add a layer of graham crackers. Press well and place them in the refrigerator for 15 mins.

Making the filling:

1. Dissolve the gelatin in water as per the instructions on the packet. Mix well and keep it aside.

2. In the meanwhile take heavy whipping cream and whip it until you get soft peaks. At this point add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat it again for a minute.

3. In a mixing bowl take the yogurt, whipped cream and sugar. Mix well until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. It will take around 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the gelatin in this mixture and mix well until everything is well combined. 

5. Pour this mixture into the ramekins or cake pan. Let it set for 3-4 hours. 

6. In a separate bowl take the mango puree, powdered sugar and add the remaining gelatin mixture. Mix well.

7. Pour this mixture into the ramekins and let it refrigerate for another 3-4 hours.

8. Now hold the ramekins in warm water for 10 seconds. Demold the ramekins on the serving plate.

9. Garnish it the way you like. 

10. Enjoy these skinny cheesecakes without any guilt :)

Note:

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Cream Horns

From past one and half month I'm just roaming around my oven. I know that but I'm so addicted to it that I become helpless when it comes to baking. The aroma of freshly baked cakes, cupcakes and cookies pulls me towards my oven. 

Whenever I go to my nearby grocery store I always get stick to the bakery section those cute little cupcakes, beautifully decorated cakes, freshly baked breads magnetize me. I can fell the magnetic properties of that section. My husband literally drags me out of there. Anyway enough of rambling lets come back to today's recipe.

Cream Horns or Kremrole is a pastry made with flaky or puff pastry and filled with flavored whipped cream. My husband love them but the saddest part is we don't get them in our local grocery store. We get them in an Asian Store tough. I'm not a big fan of these cute little pastries, last time when we bought it , they somehow invited me and compled me to try one; that day I decided to try them at home. But I was not having molds or funnels for making the cream horns then I "Googled" a little bit and got the idea to make these cutie pies without molds.

So let's start making these Cream Horns without molds:

Ingredients:

1. Puff Pastry Sheet:1
2. Heavy Whipping Cream: 1 cup
3. Powdered Sugar: 1/2 cup
4. Granulated Sugar: 1/2 cup
5. Vanilla Essence: 1/4 tsp
6. Egg: 1
7. Flour: for dusting
8. Ice cream cones: 5-6

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Prepare the ice-cream cones by wrapping it with aluminium foil and lightly greasing it with butter.

3. Thaw puff pastry sheets as directed. It's absolutely okay if you see some cracks in it, seal it with help of water by just wetting your fingers.

4. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out the puff pastry gently.

5. Cut into equal long strips (2 cm wide approx).

6. Take a strip and roll onto the prepared ice-cream cones, push down and overlap as you go. Repeat the process for rest of the strips.

7. Crack the egg in a bowl, add 1/4 tsp of water and beat it with fork. Brush the prepared puff pastry with the egg and sprinkle granulated sugar.

8. Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake the pastries in the oven for 15 mins.

9. In the meanwhile beat the heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla essence until you get stiff peaks. Keep it aside.

10. Take the pastries out of the oven and let it cool down.

11. When the pastries are completely cooled fill in the whipped cream with the help of a cream bag or a ziploc bag.

12. Enjoy !!

Note:

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Malpua....Sweet Indian Pancakes

As I mentioned in my last post that I'm celebrating "Poush Sankranti" or "Makar Sankranti" on my blog so this will be my last recipe to celebrate the same. We Bengalis celebrate this festival with Pithe-Payesh. Since childhood I have seen my Mom and Grandma to make different varieties of "Pithe". Among them Patisapta (Indian Rice Flour Crepes) and Malpua (Indian Sweet Pancakes) were my favorites. I used to call them Dosa Pithe (as they look like Dosas) and Bhaja Pithe respectively.

I learnt the skill of making Pithe from my Mom. But this year I tried two very unusual Pithes; Hridoy Horon Pithe and Golap Pithe. They not only include cooking but crafting too. As far as their taste is concerned they are ambrosial. I have already posted the recipes of Hridoy Horon Pithe and Golap Pithe. Check them out :)

To wrap up this festival I decided to make Malpua. It is fennel flavored sweet Indian pancakes dipped in sugar syrup and when served with Rabri, believe me its just a slice of heaven. There are many variations and proportions used for this recipe but I'm penning down what I learnt from my Mom.

Let's begin:

Ingredients:

For Sugar Syrup:

1. Sugar: 2 cups

2. Water: 1 cup

For Rabri:

1. Milk: 2 cups

2. Sugar: 1 cup

3. Green Cardamoms: 4-5

4. Saffron Strands: few

5. Almonds (chopped): for garnishing

For Malpua:

1. All purpose flour(Maida): 2 cups

2. Rice Flour: 1 cup

3. Semolina: 1 cup

4. Khoa(solidified milk): 1/2 cup

5. Sugar: 1/2 cup

6. Green Cardamoms(crushed): 4-5

7. Fennel Seeds: 1 tbsp

8. Salt: a pinch

9. Oil: for frying 

Method:

For Making Sugar Syrup:

1. Take a heavy bottomed pan add sugar and water and let it boil on medium heat. Stir in between and remove the scums (if any). 

2. Once sugar is dissolved completely reduce the heat. Keep it aside.

For Making Rabri:

1. Take a pan and heat milk on medium heat. Cook the milk till it is reduced to half.  At this stage add sugar and mix well.

2. Cook the milk-sugar mixture for another minute. Add crushed cardamoms and keep it aside.

For Making Malpua: 

1. As I used store bought khoa so I first grated and then mashed it. If you are using homemade then you just need to mash it well.  

2. In a deep bowl add all purpose flour, rice flour, semolina, khoa, sugar, crushed green cardamoms, fennel seeds and salt. Give it a nice mix so that all the ingredients gets combined.

3. Add milk to this mixture and mix well till no lumps are visible. The batter should have a pouring consistency neither too thick nor too watery.

4. Heat oil in a kadhai or pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot enough test your malpua batter by pouring a spoonful in hot oil. 

5. If required add more flour or milk (little at a time) to make it thick or thin.

6. When you are satisfied with the batter take a laddle full of batter and pour it into the oil. Fry the malpua till it gets a nice golden hue. Remove them in a palte lined with paper-towel.

7. Dip the malpuas in sugar syrup. The syrup should be warm enough.

8. While serving take out Malpuas from sugar syrup put a generous amount of Rabri on top of it. Garnish with few saffron strands and chopped almonds.

9. Enjoy.

Note:

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Golap Pithe.......Edible Rose Garden

As I'm celebrating "Poush Sankranti" or "Makar Sankranti" on my blog so my posts are revolving around "Pithe". Let me just give you an idea of what this festival is all about, so basically its a major harvesting festival which is celebrated in many parts of India. As India is a very diversified country, this festival is celebrated in many regions but with different names: 

Assam==> Bhogali Bihu

Andhra Pradesh==> Makara Sankranti

Bihar, UP and Rajasthan==> Sankrat

Gujarat==> Uttrayan

Goa and Maharashtra==> Makar Sankranti

Himachal Pradesh==> Magha Saaji

Karnataka==> Suggi

Kerala==> Pongal

Punjab==> Maghi

Tamil Nadu==> Pongal
Goa and Maharashtra==> Sankrant

West Bengal==> Poush Sankranti

I believe it really doesn't matter how a same festival is being celebrated in different regions, but what counts is same level of happiness that it brings along.

We Bengalis celebrate it with "Pithe-Payesh". For those who don't know what is "Pithe" so let me introduce it to you its basically a type of cake or dimsum common in the Eastern India and Bangladesh. They are made up of rice flour or wheat flour batter (or dough), stuffed with sweet or savory ingredients and then cooked and "Payesh" is rice pudding which is made with "Nolen Gur" (date palm jaggery) available only this time of the year.

To keep the spirit up of this festival I chose a very unique dessert called "Golap Pithe". It involves not only "Cooking" but "Crafting" too and when these two combine they give a recipe which pleases your mind aesthetically.

So let's begin:

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour: 1 and 1/2 cup

2. Sugar: 2 cups

3. Milk: 1 cup

4. Egg: 1

5. Ghee (clarified butter): 2 tbsp

6. Green Cardamoms(crushed): 5-6

7. Salt: 1/2 tbsp

8. Oil: for frying pithe

9. Water: 3 cups

Method:

1. In a heavy bottomed pan boil two cups of water with sugar on medium heat. Stir in between and remove the scums (if any). Once sugar is dissolved completely reduce the heat.

2. In another pan boil a cup of water with salt on medium-high heat. Once the water starts boiling add the flour and mix well with a wire whisk. Remove the mixture from heat and let it cool down.

3. Crack the egg in a bowl and beat it nicely with a fork. 

4. Add ghee, beaten egg (very little at a time) and remaining crushed cardamoms to the flour mixture. Knead well until the mixture comes together into a dough.

5. Make small balls (8-10) out of the dough. Take one ball at a time and roll it into a flat puri (bread) with your rolling pin. 

6. Now take the puri (bread) and cut a circle with the help of a cookie cutter. In the same manner make the other two puris (breads). We need three puris (breads) to make one flower.

7. Put one puri on top of the other and make three cuts leaving the center as shown in the figure. Take one part at a time and fold it inwards to form the petals. Use water to seal the edges together. Continue the process until you are done.

8. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan on medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the pithe. Fry them until they get a nice golden hue. Take them out on a plate lined with paper-towel. 

9. Put them in sugar syrup (the syrup should be warm enough) and let it rest for good 2-4 hours.

10. Enjoy these beautiful "Golap Pithe" with your friends and family.

Note:

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If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.