Chandrakala (Stuffed Sugar-coated Pastry)

Chandrakala, sounds so similar to 'Chandrakanta' and thus takes me to the golden era of Doordarshan Cinema, those Sunday morning specials, the 'Jungle Book', ' The Ramayana', ' The Mahabharat' and then this color-blasted catchy story of the beautiful  princess 'Chandrakanta'. Though Chandrakanta has nothing to do with Chandrakala, except for the fact that both of them are surprisingly enticing. 

Well, I had my first encounter with this dainty delight some 3 years back when I saw it sleeping beside guziya in a sweet shop. It looked like guziya, but was roundy-round, and then had that shiny lustre to flaunt its beauty along with the lovely curls on sides. I was gazing at it with so much love and that day I thought that would try this for sure someday. Years passed in a flash of light and suddenly I went back to the memory lane, recalling this sweet and decided to make this for Diwali. I had no idea about how to turn it on sides and seal it, but had firm determination to give a try at least, and if it would not work, then I would switch to my regular guziya moulds and use up the mixture there. By God's grace, I learned to turn it after 3 unsuccessful trials. In the beginning, I didn't know how to go about and was trying to seal the edges with distant turns, but in the next two trials, the trick just clicked and I reached the moon (with no help from any videos o you tube! :P). 

CHANDRAKALA

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
For the Pastry:
1. Maida/ All Purpose Flour: 3 cups
2. Ghee/ Clarified Butter: 1/2 cup (for the dough)
3. Warm Water: for preparing dough
4. Ghee/oil: for deep frying

For the Filling:
1. Khova/ Mava/ Reduced Milk: 200 gms
2. Powdered Sugar: 1/2 cup or as per taste
3. Chironji: 2 tbs
4. Almond flakes/bits: 1/4 cup
5. Raisins: a handful (optional)
6. Cashew Nuts: a handful (optional)
7. Grated coconut: 1/4 cup (optional)
8. Elaichi/ Cardamom Powder: 1 tbs

For the Sugar Syrup: 
1. Sugar: 3 cups
2. Water: 1 cup

 Method:

1. For preparing the dough, take the maida/APF in a bowl and add ghee to it. Mix well with your fingers till you get a crumbly structure. Take a handful of flour and press it hard in your fist; now rest it slowly on the loose flour and see if it can still keep up its shape. If the flour loosens immediately and falls apart, then you need to add a little more of ghee. The ghee should be enough to loosely bind it.
2. Now add warm water to prepare a soft dough (like that for poori). 
3. Cover it and let it rest for 20 minutes.
4. For the filling, take the khova/ mava in a heavy bottomed pan and heat it.
5. Keep moving the laddle continuously to avoid any sticking at the bottom. 
6. The khova will become loose on heating and will start melting. Keep stirring till it becomes slightly golden and starts leaving the edges of the pan.
7. Take it off fire and let it cool.
8. Once it has cooled down, add the powdered sugar, dry fruits, cardamom powder and grated coconut to it. 
9. The mixture might be slightly sticky if the khova has not dried well, but that will hardly make any difference in the taste. 
10. Keep the mixture aside.
11. In the meanwhile, when the khoya is cooling down, prepare the sugar syrup. 
12. Take 3 cups sugar and 1 cup water in a heavy bottomed wok/ vessel and take a boil with frequent stirring to dissolve the sugar completely . Simmer for 2 minutes and leave it warm.
13. For preparing the pastry, divide the dough into 20 equal parts and make small balls out of them. Also, divide the khova mixture into 10 equal parts and make small balls with each of them.
14. Now take two dough balls and roll them separately like small pooris.
15. Place one poori on a flat surface and place the khova ball in the centre of it. Wet the rim of the circle with some water using your fingertips. Now place the other poori over it to cover it completely. 
16. Now the main trick lies in curling and swirling the edges to give the perfect shape. Press the entire rim gently with your fingers to merge the two pooris or circles. Now start turning/bending the rim within, with each turn getting over the prior one, and thus making a chain like structure. This art of bending and twisting will come with time and practice, so have patience in your first go. It took 10 minutes for me to understand and figure out how to bend accurately, but then it just came automatically. 
17. Once the whole structure is well bound and locked, keep it aside, covered with a wet cloth. Stuff 3-4 pastries at a time and then start frying.
18. In the meanwhile, keep the ghee/oil for heating. The ghee should not be fuming hot neither cold. It should be be just right, that is when a part of dough is immersed, it should rise up immediately but not turn brown.
19. Keep the flame on medium-low, and slide the pastries in the ghee. Deep fry them on both the sides till they become golden.
20. Sieve them out and immediately immerse them in the warm syrup. Take them out after 30 seconds and carefully place them on a plate in a vertical position, so as to let the excessive syrup drain out.
21. If the sugar syrup has become too stringy, white and crystalline, then warm it again with a few drops of water.
22. The perfect syrup will always give a shine, while the overdone one will turn white.
23. Let the sweet rest for 30 minutes, so that the syrup coating can dry up. 
24. Serve with some almond flakes and loads of love. :)

 
 

Suggestions:

1. The khova/mava should be fresh, else the whole sweet will get spoiled.
2. You can always keep the filling as sweet as you want. Since the pastry is already sugar coated, so I preferred keeping the filling mildly sweet. 
3. The dry fruits can be of your choice. If you wish to store this sweet for more than 2 days, then avoid using raisins and fresh coconut.
4. Avoid refrigerating, else the outer crust will go soggy.
5. It's always better to finish off khova sweets within 2 days else they need refrigeration, and then the crust doesn't remain the same crunchy. 
6. You can also make guziyas with the same filling and dough; just that the sugar syrup coating is not required there. 
7. If the sugar syrup is too thin, then it will not dry up and thus the sweet will stay slightly sticky, and if it is too thick and crystalline, then it will go all white white and flaky, so make sure you prepare the perfect syrup. Anyway, it will still be delicious. :)
8. Don't keep the rolled dough too thin, else it will break on bending and curling. 
9. Chandrakala generally has a thicker crust than Guziya.

Chatpati Palak Patta Chaat (Spinach Fritters)

How many of you count on calories before picking up the kitchen ladles and jars for trying out a new recipe? Well, for sure I'm not the one. I hardly think about the calories, the fat content, the sugars and carbs when I'm in a mood to try out a recipe. Though I'm a doctor and this is quite contradictory to how my behavior should be, but who says doctors don't have diabetes or hypertension. Jokes apart, I believe in eating good, and good here means something that is soul-satisfying.
Now this recipe here on this page is pretty close to my heart and tongue both, because it has been reigning these two for years. How can I forget the first time I saw this and had love at first sight. (My hubby was surely jealous about this! :P) That was the first time ever I had heard of something like that, I mean a 'Chaat' with 'Palak'!! Since then, I've been wanting hard to make this but don't know what was keeping me aback. Finally when I made this a couple of days back (You know how lazy am I not to post things on time!), I was almost on cloud nine, before even tasting it and getting remarks from my better loving half. As usual he said 'acchha hai', with his mind completely engrossed in some stupid cricket match, and hardly giving his taste buds the chance to relish something as great as this. Anyway, men are finally men, so I moved forward with my own bowl and skipped my dinner that evening because of this chatpati chaat (I'm sure many of you can do that! ;))



CHATPATI PALAK PATTA CHAAT

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Makes 10 Servings

Info Meter:

• Spinach is an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals, especially folic acid.
• Spinach is not only great for women, children and growing teens, but it can slow the age related decline in brain function and has anti-inflammatory properties.
• During the First World War, wine was fortified with spinach juice and given to French soldiers weakened by hemorrhaging.
• It is always advisable to cook the spinach than consuming raw spinach.

Ingredients:
For Palak Pakoda/Fritters:
1. Palak Patta/ Spinach Leaves: 10
2. Besan/Gram/Chickpea Flour: 1 cup
3. Water: 1 cup + 2 tbs
4. Salt: 1 tbs or as per taste
5. Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp
6. Jeera/Cumin Powder: 1/2 tsp
7. Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp
8. Coriander Powder: 2 tsp
9. Garam Masala: 1/4 tsp (optional)
10. Asafoetida/ heeng: a pinch
11. Oil: for deep frying

For Chaat:
1. Spicy Green Chutney
2. Sweet Tamarind/Imli Chutney
3. Bhel Ki Sev
4. Anaar/ Pomegranate Seeds



Method:
For Palak Pakoda/ Fritters:

1. Clean the palak/spinach leaves with water and pat them dry. Be careful not to break them.
2. If the leaves are too big, cut them into two halves each.
3. Now prepare the batter by adding the besan/gram flour with all the spices and water.
4. Add water slowly and keep mixing continuously so as to avoid formation of lumps.
5. When the batter reaches ketchup-like consistency, stop any further addition of water.
6. Heat some oil in a pan.
7. Check if it is properly heated by dropping a small portion of the batter and notice if it immediately rises up and starts floating. If so, the oil is ready.
8. Now carefully take one leaf/patta at a time in your palm. Coat it with the batter on both the sides and slide it smoothly in the hot oil.
9. Flip over after a minute and see that both are sides are well fried and are golden brown.
10. Take it out and drain any excess oil on a kitchen tissue. 
11. Fry the leaves one by one after coating them with the batter.
12. Do not keep them aside for cooling as this chaat is enjoyed hot and crisp.

Assembling The Chaat:

1. Now take one crisp spinach leaf/ palak patta and smear it lightly with spicy green chutney and tamarind/imli chutney.
2. Shower some pomegranate/ anaar pearls over it and finally ornament with bhel ki sev.
3. Serve immediately else the leaves will so soggy and soft.

Suggestions:

1. You can also add 2 tbs of rice flour to the batter to make the fritters even crispier.
2. Adjust spices as per your taste.
3. This dish is not meant for storing and keeping, rather make it and finish it at one go.
4. It always tastes heaven when served immediately so that the leaves stay crisp.
5. You can also add chopped onions and tomato to the chaat while assembling.
6. If the batter is too thick, the leaves will have a softer and thicker coat, but if it too runny, the batter will all scatter in the pan, so make sure the consistency is right.

Guest post for CWK Series: Instant Raw Mango Pickle

In this life full of hustle n bustle, hurries and worries, sometimes you come across pearls that shine and leave their radiating reflection in your eyes never to be forgotten. One fine day when I was playing with my daughter, rhyming with her on the tunes of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', and I received a buzz from this young, talented girl on my chat. I only knew her as a blogger by then and that day I saw the other side of her, the brilliant girl who's going for her C.A., all destined and aimed towards her goals, and still the passion for cooking reigning her mind. I was bewildered to know that she learnt cooking at the age of 9; gosh, I didn't know how to make tea at that age!! She is a girl full of life, vivacious and charming, talented and determined, and I wish she stays like that forever. We all love you, Kavi, and your blog 'Edible Entertainment' rocks!!

This girl has been hosting a number of events, and now with this new event of hers, called 'Cooking With Kin', she's inviting her fellow blogger and non-blogger friends to guest post on her blog; what an honour!! I'm literally delighted to be a part of that team and I feel great in writing this post for her. 

 

This recipe is a favorite in my family because it's very simple, very quick and goes well with just anything and everything. I always used to see my mom and grand-mom making pickles/ achaar during summers and saving them for the whole year, but I never did that. For me, life has always been a run from here to there, flipping countries like pages and going on and on. With this fast pace of life, this recipe is what I cherish as a gift. This one is very close to my heart and hence I feel elated in posting this for someone who's also a sweetheart. 

 

Please click here for the recipe and do check her fabulous blog for those utter tempting recipes. :)

 

 

Linking this recipe to my ongoing event: Cooking Made Easy With Mango

 

 

 

Palak Ka Saag (Spicy Indian Spinach)

I guess I was too busy baking and making desserts these days, and my blog and space is herded with sugar-loaded recipes, also because of the dulcet desserts event that I recently had and now for sure it calls for a break. After tons of calories jamming up, there is a need for something which is nutrient-rich and calorie-less. Facing back, I see spinach lost somewhere is my recent posts except for the Firangi Kebabs, and this is what possibly buttons me to take up a spinach recipe for this course. This is a recipe by my mom, and she generally makes it with 'Makki Ki Roti'. I can never ever dream of reaching those unbeatable flavors that she imbibes in, but this definitely is a memory refresher for me. 

PALAK KA SAAG (SPICY INDIAN SPINACH)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Health Meter:

•  Spinach is a member of the goose-foot family, making it a close relation to beets and chard. 
  
•  Spinach is best eaten fresh. It loses nutritional properties with each passing day. Although refrigeration slows the deterioration, half of the major nutrients are lost by the eighth day after harvest. (For long term storage, freeze while fresh.) When fresh, it has crisp leaves. As they deteriorate, the leaves turn limp. 
•  Cooked or raw? Both have their advantages. Whereas cooking reduces Vitamin C and folate levels, it simultaneously boosts beta-carotein and lutein bioavailability. A sensible idea is to have it both ways. Have spinach raw in your lunch salads and cooked in your evening dinner, for example. Some varieties of spinach are rarely eaten raw, though baby spinach is common in salads. If cooked, it is best lightly steamed to preserve nutrients as much as possible.
• When eaten raw, spinach should be very well washed and dried prior to use. (A sensible precaution with all fruits and vegetables, anyway.)  
• Spinach leaves are a mild diuretic and mild laxative.
• It is a myth nowadays to believe that spinach has rich iron content. A second analysis of the green vegetable in the lab revealed that there was a minor decimal error in recording the readings. However, one need not worry about the fact that spinach does not have iron content. In fact, spinach has much more invaluable nutrients that help in block such substances such as bioflavonoids and antioxidants that might lead to cancer if not arrested in the early stages. 

 

Ingredients:

1. Palak/ Spinach: 2 bunches

2. Tomato: 1(big)

3. Onion:1 (big)

4. Garlic pods: 3

5. Green Chilly: 1

6. Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp

7. Coriander Powder: 2 tsp

8. Red Chilli Powder: 3/4 tsp

9. Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp

10. Garam Masala: 1/4 tsp (optional)

11. Salt: 2 tsp or as per taste

12. Oil: 3 tbs

13. Cumin seeds/jeera: 1/4 tsp

14. Asafoetida/Heeng: a pinch

Method:

1. Chop the spinach/palak and wash it well with running water.
2. Chop the onion, tomato, garlic and green chilly.
   
3. Heat oil in a pan and once hot, add in cumin seeds followed by asafoetida/heeng.
4. Throw in onion and fry till light brown on medium fame. Add the chopped garlic and green chilly and fry for a minute.
5. Splash in the spices and cook for 2 minutes till the oil separates.
6. Add the chopped tomato and cook for 3 minutes till it goes mushy. Keep the flame on medium/low.
7. Now pull in the chopped spinach/palak and give a stir. Add the salt, mix and cover for 5 minutes on low flame.
8. Stir twice in between for proper mixing and see that it doesn't burn.
9. Once the palak/spinach is soft, cook uncovered for 5 more minutes to dry off excess water/moisture.
10. Serve fuming hot with chapati or better 'Makki Ki Roti'. :)

 

Suggestions:

1. There's no need to blanch the spinach before cooking.
2. 2 tbs besan/gram flour can also be added if you want the gravy to be slightly thick. 
3. Garam Masals is always an option, but I usually don't prefer it. 

  The recipe flies off to:

 Gimme Green by Rosh, For 'U' Mum by Nupur

 Cooking Concepts: Vegan Diet by Srav's,

Sumee's Bon Vivant: Savory Items,  Show Me The Hits - Fiber Rich Foods at Spicy Treats

Comfort Food at Daily Cuppa, Lets Cook: Greens by Radhika
I'm The Star  at Veg Food and Me, Hot and Spicy Treats at Food Corner

Healthy Morsel pregnancy  and Any one can cook- 44 by Umm,