Raas Malai- the Sweetest Delicacy!

Ingredients:

• Full-cream Milk - 1.25 gallon/ 4.5 liter
• Vinegar - 4 tbsp
• Sugar - 5 cups
• Green Cardamon - 2

Methods:

• 1. In a non-stick pot , bring half a gallon of milk into boil by simmering on very low heat. Reduce the milk to half the amount by keeping it simmering for about 2-3 hours on low heat. Remember to stir occasionally to avoid any burns or lumps.
• 2. Mean while, in another pot bring the rest of the milk to boil. Once it starts bubbling, turn the heat off and add the vinegar. The milk solids (chana) will separate from the whey.
• 3. Drain it in a cheese cloth, and hang it somewhere to drain for about 1.5- 2 hours. Do not squeeze to get the water out faster. This will make the chana (cottage cheese) hard and result in harder sweets.
• 4. Back to the evaporated milk, once the milk has reduced to a thick sticky consistency (you will know when you dip a wooden spoon in the milk and a thick cream sticks to the spoon) add 1 cup of sugar (or to your preference) and keep stirring to melt in the sugar completely. Your sweetened cream is done, set it aside and let it cool. Once cold , keep it in the fridge until it is required for the sweets.
• 5. Meanwhile in a pot with a wide surface area, make the simple syrup by adding 4 cups of sugar to 5 cups of water and the cardamons. Simmer on low heat, and keep it warm while you make the chana balls. You need a large pan*, because once you add the chana balls they will puff up and take up as much area as you give them, that means the bigger they will get.
• 6. Once the chana has properly been drained out of all the liquid, knead it with 1 tbsp of sugar for about 6-10 min. The more you knead it the softer the sweets will be.
• 7. Form tiny little balls out of the chana, the recipe allows for about 70-90 balls. Once all the chana balls have been prepared, poach them in the simple syrup for about 20 min on low-med heat, covered. Do NOT open the lid while cooking. This will make the balls shrink and hard.

• 8. Once the 20 min is up, turn the heat off and let the sweets cool down. Do not open the lid until the pot is cool to touch. This will make sure the sweets are soft and spongy. Soak the sweets in the syrup for about 24 hours.
• 9. Then transfer them (drained of the syrup) to the sweetened cream and soak in the cream for 24 hours more, refrigerated. The longer you soak the sweets, the sweeter and plumper it will get. After the 2 long days of waiting, you can serve the sweetest delicacy ever. It is no doubt a lot of hard work, but the result is heavenly!!!
  

Hints:
* If you do not have a large enough pan, then cook the sweets in two batches or use two different pots, that is what I did. This also means that you need to divide your syrup in the two pots or make extra syrup for two different pots.

Orange Cream Delight

Few days ago, after lunch I felt like having a cream cheese pie. I had none at home, and couldn't be bothered running to the store. So had to do with whatever I had in the fridge. However, I was feeling lazy to create a pie crust and go the whole yard for a pie. So , here is my take on it. This is a lazy version of cream cheese pie, in other words it has most of the ingredients of a pie but just does not look like one. Bon Appétit!

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• Cream cheese -1 cup*
  
• Orange flavoured yogurt- 2/3 cup
  
• Orange Zest - 1 tbsp (zest of 1 fresh orange, can also use lemon)
  
• Orange extract - 1/4 tsp
  
• Canned orange - 1 can
  
• Chocolate Brownie - 2 big pieces **
  
• Strawberry preserve/jam - 2 tbsp
  

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl beat the cream cheese with a electric mixer until frothy.
  
• 2. Add the orange zest, extract and slowly beat in the yogurt with the cheese. Put it in a zip log bag for piping/filling the cups.
  
• 3. Drain the canned oranges from their juice and set aside. Preserve the juice. With a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut your brownies, don't throw away the cut leftover pieces.
  
• 4. In each wine glass***, first put 1 tbsp of the strawberry preserve, then top it with a layer of oranges, then a layer of the broken/leftover brownie pieces.
• 5. Cut of one corner of the zip log bag with the cheese in it to create a piping bag. Gently squeeze the bag to pipe over the cheese/yogurt mix on top of the brownie layer in swirls.
• 6. Arrange some more orange pieces on top of the cheese. With the piping bag do some decorations on the cut-out heart shaped brownie and place it in the center of the yogurt.
• 7. Pour about 2-3 tbsp of the preserved canned orange liquid over the brownie to allow it to soak up the juices. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
  

Hints:
*You can use fat-free or reduced fat cheese and yogurt for a healthier version.
** I baked my own brownie to have control over the thickness and crunch I wanted. I also used heart shaped cup to bake my brownie so that I wont have to cut it later. You can use store bought brownie and cut it to your desired shape.
***You can use margarita or any other glasses as well. Instead of using any fancy glass, you can also use flat cups with leads and store your orange delight in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. In this case just defrost it for about an hour or so in the fridge before serving.

Roast Chicken with Garlic Mustard Rub

I bought these tiny little Cornish hens which were too cute to look rather than cook. They were so small that they would fit on your palm. However, for our New Years dinner I decided to cook them(finally) and the result was this. I had also roasted some vegetables with it which were a great accompaniment to any roast (I think). Enjoy!

Servings: 2

Ingredient:

• Cornish Hens - 2, whole
• Garlic - 1 tbsp, crushed or paste
  
• Dijon Mustard - 3 tbsp
• Ketchup - 3 tbsp
• Chili powder - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 tsp (or to taste, remember the mustard will be salty)
• Black pepper - 1 tsp
  
• Butter - 1 stick/ 8 tbsp
• Garlic - 1 whole bulb (for roast)
• Vegetables of your choice*

Methods:

• 1. Wash and pat dry the chickens. Leave the skin on, as it will help keep the meat moist.
• 2. In a bowl mix in all the ingredients except the veg. Rub the marinade on the chickens thoroughly. Make sure you also put some under the skin of the breasts and thighs.
  
• 3. Let it marinade for about 24 hours, min of 2 hours. The longer you marinade the tastier it gets.
• 4. Preheat your oven to 400F (200C). On a roasting tray**, first place the vegetables (peeled and cut) that you want to roast. Open up the cloves of garlic from the whole bulb. Reserve 4 cloves and scatter the rest (skin on***) on the tray with the vegetables. Sprinkle some salt, pepper on top.
• 5. Cut the stick of butter in 8 pieces (to make 8 tables spoons). Scatter around 4 pieces on top of the veg. Stick 2 remaining pieces of butter(breaking them in smaller dollops) underneath the skin of the chicken breasts and thighs.
• 6. Stuff the cavity of each chickens with 1 piece of butter and 2 cloves of garlic. Use small metal roasting skewers to keep the legs close to the breast. You can also tie the legs with a pieces of kitchen string.
• 7. Bake for about 1- 1.5 hour (20 minutes per pound of meat). Rotating the chickens every 15 min. If you do not want your chicken to be crispy on the outside, then after the 1 hour mark, insert a knife to the thickest part of the chicken. If the juices run clear, your chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the oven. Otherwise let it cook till the skin gets charred and crispy.
  
• 8. Let the chickens rest for about 15 min before serving. Serve with a side of the vegetables roasted in the delicious juices dripping from the chickens

Hints:
* I used 1 large onion quartered, 2 med potatoes cut in wedges, 3 large carrots chopped in 2 inch long pieces, 1 whole bulb of garlic, cloves separated.
** Line your roasting tray with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
*** Leaving the skin on while roasting, leaves the garlic flesh really juicy and sweet. It is also really easy and fun to peel them while eating. You can also use roast a lot more than a bulb in this recipe and reserve the extra for uses in other dishes. I use them in salads, pasta, sandwich spreads, etc.

White Chicken Rezala

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breasts - 2 lb (1 kg), boneless, cut into 1.5 inch cubes
• Onion - 1 med, 1/2 of it thinly sliced
  
• Green Chili - 4, (2 sliced)
  
• Garlic cloves - 2-3
  
• Ginger root - 1/2 inch (to yield 1/2 tsp in paste)
• Ghee/ Clarified Butter - 4 tbsp
• Garam Masala Powder - 1.5 tsp
  
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Plain yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 2 tbsp (or to taste, the dish is meant to be on the sweet side)
• Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1.5 tsp
  

Methods:

• 1. Prepare the chicken by washing and patting them dry with a paper towel, before chopping them into cubes.
  
• 2. In a blender, blend 2 chilies, garlic, ginger and half of the unsliced onion into a puree.
• 3. In a sealable container, marinate the chicken pieces with the blended aromatics, garam masala powder, 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper, for about 1/2 -1 hour. The longer you marinate the tender the meat gets, I did for about an hour.
  
• 4. In a bowl, beat the yogurt with the sugar and set aside.
  
• 5. In a heavy base non-stick pan, heat the ghee/butter. In batches, saute the chicken pieces until cooked through. Make sure your heat is not too high as it will brown up the chicken. Remove and let it rest on a plate.
• 6. Add the sliced half of the onion to the pan, and 1/2 tsp of the salt. Saute till translucent.
• 7. Add the yogurt mixture and simmer on med heat for 4-5 min. Return the chicken pieces to the pan along with the milk. When adding the milk, make sure to remove your pan from heat, and then once stirred in properly, return it on the heat. This will stop the milk from breaking.
• 8. Add the remaining 2 chilies. Simmer the chicken on low-med heat for about 25-30 min or until the milk evaporates and the ghee separates to create a thick shiny white gravy. Serve with Polao or Nutmeg Rice.
  

Kofta Curry

Servings 4- 6

Ingredients:

• Ground Sirloin - 1.5 lb (750 gm)*
• Onion - 1 med, finely chopped
  
• Tomatoes - 1/2 lb, chopped finely, reserving their juices
  
• Plain Yogurt - 1 cup (full cream)**
  
• Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp (I prefer freshly made paste or crushed for full flavour)
• Garlic Cloves - 3, crushed
• Green chili - 2-3, seeded and crushed
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Black pepper - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Ground Cumin - 1/2 tsp
• Ground Coriander - 1 tsp
• Hot spice powder - 1 tsp**

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl mix in the garlic, ginger , chili, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp of oil with the ground meat. Do not over work the meat as that will result in hard meatballs when cooked. I use a fork to mix in the ingredients with the meat rather than smashing them with my fingers.
• 2. Form the meat into round balls, the recipe should yield about 20-25 balls. Cover them with a plastic wrap and chill for at least 1/2 hour to 2 hours.
• 3. When ready to cook, heat 2 tbsp of oil in a deep base pan, add the onions and the remaining salt and pepper. Saute till the onions turn brown on the edges.
  
• 4. Add the tomatoes with their juices and saute for about 5-6 min. Add the cumin, coriander, hot spice powder and the sugar. Stir to combine.
• 5. Add 1 cup of hot water and simmer on med heat for about 6-10 min, till the tomatoes turn soft and gooey. Remove the pan from top of the heat and stir in the yogurt. If you add the yogurt to the pan while keeping it on heat, the yogurt will break.
  
• 6. Return the pan to the heat. Add 1 cup of hot water. Take the meatballs out of the fridge and gently place each onto the sauce.
  
• 7. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 1.5 hours to 2 hours. Stirring occasionally to avoid burning at the bottom. The final gravy will be thick and rich. Serve with naan/flat bread or even on a bed of rice or pasta and a salad.
• Simply bellissimo !!

Hints:
* You can also use ground chuck or even chicken. However, I prefer sirloin since it is the leanest and works best with this dish.
** I prefer using the full cream yogurt as this dish does not require much oil to cook. So the full cream yogurt gives it a rich body. However, for a more diet version you can use fat-free yogurt, but you will be sacrificing the flavour a bit.
***I make my own hot spice powder by first toasting the whole spices (cardamon, cinnamon, cloves) on a skillet and then grinding them into powder. However, store bought hot spice powder will do fine. The store bought mix usually includes powder of cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, fenugreek, and mustard seeds.