Marshmallow Candy Cane treats for Christmas

 

The Candy Cane is one of the most familiar symbols of Christmas.

 

It dates back to 1670 in Europe but didn’t appear in the U.S. until the 1800s.

 

The treat we see today, where the shape is Jesus’s hook to shepherd his lambs and the color and stripes hold significance for purity and Christ’s sacrifice, became common in the mid 1900s.[6] (me too got to know it only now ;) )

 

Marshmallow -  Candy Cane Pops

 

 

 

You need

 

Candy Canes

White cooking chocolate

(red and green candy melts would be perfect for this, but that we dont get it here, had to add a drop or two of red and green food colour to the melted white chooclate)

Sugar

Red and green food colour

Marshmallows (large sized ones)

 

To do

 

Trim irregulary, the top edges of a marshmallow to make it look like an umbrella (opened, of course)

Insert a candy cane into the marshmallow.

Now melt the white cooking chocolate about 10 secs at a time, and divide it into two parts.

Add red food colouring to one and green colour to the other.

Take sugar in two bowls and add the green and red food colours to each. Some quick coloured sugar instantly done.

Now dip the marshmallow into the melted chocolate, gently let any drippings fall off the marsh...and roll in the same coloured sugar.

 



(sorry this goes as a very short quicky post...running out of time...)

Hearty seasonal greetings sent your way ....

 

 

 

 

Cucumber Chirstmas Tree & Destination -Broadway, Kochi - a flashback...

 "R" for Recipes..."R" for ramble writes...and those who are "R" for Regular here...will know..that I keep these two separate, in my two twin blogs - QP and PQ respectively. Unlikely this post, for a change,..thought of having both together.

 

A simple "green" edible Christmas tree inter woven with some flashbacks of the Christmas season still bright "red" in memories.

 

  

Christmas ? That's Jingle Bells....Carols....Christmas Tree...Crib...Cakes... 

 

Come December, and these are the typical thoughts that comes first to mind.

Well..for me...going a bit more hearty, to about a decade back.....

The busstop was right in front of my home, yet the almost 1 km walk to Vytilla junction (Kochi, Kerala) was the most common thing that I used to do, need I take a bus plying into the city centrals. In a way, this was also a guarantee that I did get a seat in the other wise crowded buses. Vytilla to Menaka buspoint -  my standard route. Could very well say that my GPS during those days had just these two locations ..the min-max limits. (on self-travel mode that is).

For the Cucumber Chirstmas Tree centre-piece, you need :

 

Cucumbers - sliced dialgonally (as shown)

A small sized onion bulb

A slice of carrot

Tomato ketchup
A bamboo skewer
 

(my Father gets me these custom made knives and my eldest son insisted that it sported a green coloured handle in it, coz its be to used for cutting "green" vegetables !...some matching matching concept ! )

          Destination One  - the most happening place that was then..The Convent Junction. 

  

Goodwill Collections (getting drowned in the tonnes of accessories).... Tops (some casual yet cheap outfit picks).... Steps/Heels ?? (forgot the name of that footwear shop, esp for the cute chettans who owned the shop..hope they don't see this post ;)...Eloor Lending Library....anything and everything from embroidery threads to oil pastels...need anything...it was Destination Convent Junction !!! 

Giving/ taking Christmas cards was soo much a part of  Christmas times then...and come any function, the first haven for any greetings and gifts was The Archies Gallery.  Browsing....browsing.....and browsing  through the endless rows of greetings cards, was kindof a Christmas tradition as well...something, which is getting extinct, by now...sadly.

To assemble the Christmas Tree

  

Cut the head and tail off of a small onion bulb and lay on the base plate - to form the base of the Tree.

 

 

Insert the base of a bamboo skewer into the onion base and get dragging down the cut cucumber slices round the pole.

 

Destination Two - Broadway..the most ironically named street now existant in our Namma Metro.

 

Being a crafty then, my main supplier for art work rawmaterials, was Jose & Co; towards the end of the street, and don't remember the countless number of times I have walked up and down the street. The tiny cowded way...with absolutely cramped parking spaces...but ironically, called "The Broadway ".

The wholesale shops used to look like this...fully adorned with stars, stars and stars in all shapes, sizes and colours.

 

 

 meanwhile...let the cucumber slices do a pole dance round the skewer ;)

 

 

During Christmas, the sale overflows even into the street which will be thickly packed with vendors and shoppers alike..and I was always a part of that crowd....

( image courtesy - Mr. Cochin Blogger -who whole-heartedly agreed to me borrowing one of his images from his blog. Thanks very much, Sir !)  

                       

                                  push the slices down in an inclined angle, as shown above

 

 

A drop of Tomato Ketchup on each of the Cucumber slice to resember some decoration.

A carrot-star cut out for the tip..and bingo !!!

 Nov 2013 - 10 years had made a world of difference in ME...but not a speck of difference to this world I was looking at right now. Got to walk the same busy wholesale section of the Street during my small one week vacation back home last month . The buildings looked the same....the crowd looked the same....the festive feel was the same....and for a moment....did wonder....

                                                              Am I the only person that has changed in the entire crowd ???                                              Will these old buildings recognize me ?                                               Breathed life into them...may be...maybe...one or two of them would...                                    necessarily not....

Anyways.... with wishes for a very Merry Christmas and an even Blessed New Year .....





  ...let this "another wise woman" take leave for the time being....till then....have a great December !!!

 


 

Stay Happy...Keep Smiling !!! ;)

   

(the general images courtesy Award goes to.... most loyal, Google Search)



 (Let me put the blame on my new Canon for the negligence that howered around my blogs over the last few months. Was clicking more of places and people for my FB page and there was literally, no cooking happening at all. This, is my first post with clicks taken using my DSLR, and got to admit..I am pretty happy with the outcome. In a way..this also means, now..I get no more excuse to be staying away from my blogworld. Inshallah...i stay commited to my spaces. )

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Kashmiri Dum Paneer (no onion, no garlic..yet rich and thick)

 

 

Kashmiri cuisine, to the rescue...

 

 

There was a time ..not very long back..just a few months, actually..and still kindof ongoing in many parts of our country, where onion brings tears to our eyes not coz of peeling..but..more.....coz, of its rapidly rising price.

 

 

 

It did make headlines.

 

And that was when, i started looking into non-onion based recipes and came across the Kashmiri vegetarian style of cooking in which neither onions , nor garlic is used. And more interesting, was that , it was very much in lines to one of my previous post here, on cooking with yogurt as the main base without curdling.

 

Read the post here -  "Yogurt & Heat - dont you worry"

 

It's said that Kashmiri Pandits or the vegetarians refrain from the use of onions and garlic, and depend on the fat of the milk products that are available to them in plenty to protect themselves from the biting cold of the region

 

And a very common dish in their cuisine is the "Kashmiri Dum Aalo". I have adapted a similar recipe, but done it with  paneer and mix veggies (optional) and have added some coconut milk too to the very end (again, this is not typical authentic Kashmiri..but, just a slight tweek from my side)

Ingredients

·         Paneer – approx. 200g ms (cut to 1 and ½ cm cubes)

·         Butter – 4 tbsp

·         Bay leaf – 1

·         Yogurt – 1 ½ cups

·         Ginger paste – 1 tbsp 

·         Cashewnuts  - a handful, soaked in water and ground to a paste

·         Cardamom powder – 1/4 teaspoon

·         Fennel and cumin seeds powdered together – 1/2 teaspoon

·         Coriander powder – 1.5 tbsp

·         Kashmiri Red chili powder – 2.5  tbsp

·         Tomato puree – 1 .5 tbsp

·         Salt – to taste

·         Cooked green peas, carrot cubes (optional )

·         Coconut milk – 1/2 cup (again, this is optional too, and a tweek from the regular authentic Kashmiri cuisine )

Method :

Add the cubed paneer to a bowl filled with salted boiling water for 10-15 minutes. If using store bought paneer, it helps to soften them by briefly soaking them as said. Once the paneer is softened, drain and set aside.

 

Into a wok, drop in 2 tbsp of butter.

Slightly toast the paneer in the butter till light golden brown. Take a small pinch of fennel and cumin powder from the said ingredient list and sprinkle above the paneer while it gets toasted in the butter.

 

Soak a handful of cashew nuts in hot water for about 5 minutes and ground to a fine paste.   (* -ref. notes)

Now take yogurt in a bowl. Add to it, ginger paste, the ground cashew paste with all the spice powders (cardamom powder, fennel and cumin powder, coriander powder and kashmiri chili powder). Mix well in ONE DIRECTION only and keep aside. (* - ref. notes)

 

 

Into the same wok used to toast the paneer, add 2 tbsps of butter.

Once hot, drop in a bay leaf and sauté for about 30 sec.  

Add the yougurt –spice mix. Stir immediately and keep stirring till it starts to boil.

 

 

Once the sauce boils and the raw taste of the spices leave, add in the toasted paneer.

Add a cup full of cooked green peas and cooked cubed carrots. (can add these if we need it as a mixed veggie dish. Else, can stick to paneer alone)

Add the tomato puree to the mix, salt to taste  and keep closed for the gravey to be absorbed by the paneer. Keep stirring once in a while. It may take about 10-15 minutes.

 

 

 

The yogurt gravey is too absorded by the vegetables that it ends up like a very thick sauce around the vegetables. So, to keep the dish with a thich gravey while serving, you need to keep it at a very loose gravey consistency to the end of the cooking.

You can add 1/4 cup of coconut milk too to make the gravey more diluted. (you don’t add coconut milk in authentic Kashmiri dum recipes, but as I said…its optional )

Serve hot with roti, paratha, naan or even pulav.

 (notes : You can avoid mixing the chillie and coriander powder to the yogurt and directly add it to the wok after the bay leaves . Slightly fry the powder in butter and then add the yogurt mixed with just the remaining spice powders as in the ingredient list.

 

It is common that yogurt made of cows milk curdles when heated. To avoid this, we add the cashewnut as powder or as paste (as in here) to stabilize the yogurt. We can also stabilize yogurt by whisking-in any starch before cooking in ONE DIRECTION only to prevent it from separating. Add one teaspoon of cornstarch, or 1½ teaspoon of other flours (Atta, Maida, or Besan) to one cup of yogurt)

Snake Gourd - "chikkie" Egg - Burji

 

Snake Gourd - CHIKKI - Egg - Burji



When I started this blog, my second attempt in blogging, I had named myself - The Teflon Frypan. You know...the kinda surface, to which nothing sticks. Now dont get me wrong...its as far as my hobbies are concerned. Like to cook, click and to write. But the problem is ... its now kinda soo difficult to get all these three going on together.

 

With at present, more into clicks, for my fb page..its soo evident the neglect on my two blogs.

 

And feel really touched..and warm..when i get someone around enquiring...about my disappearance from here, really really appreciate it !!!

 

It was just about 2 months or so, that I was kinda away from here...but, it definitely seem like ages. Have a lot of catching up to do. Will try to drop by most of my dear co-blogger friends' place..

 

Akhi CHIKKI Laaki CHIKKI....CHIKKI...Laaki Chum...

 

The Bijli ki Rani , Sridevi....is back with a big bang. Sure, no Indian would ever forget one of her besty perfomance spewing  gibberish like --

 

I see Lucy.... You see Lucy..... Haasi Tussi..... Laasi Peesi..... Mombassa King Kong !!!!!  (what in those lines...lol)

 

                                                 ************************************

 

Flew to India twice during this break..one to Delhi, and other back home to Kerala ..but both short visits..less than a week each.

Did a lot of sight seeing, shopping @India capital...caught up with old time schoolmates and family @home... was fun.

 

 

Bum CHIKKI CHIKKI Bum..CHIKKI bum bum...CHIKKI bum...

 

those of my generation will still cherish this soo hearty song

 

*************************

 





Alright, back to work !

 

Sharing a  very simple recipe..quite common in our household .

 

 Snake Gourd - Scrambled Egg Burji.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

3 tsp oil...
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 onion (finely chopped)
3 green chilies (finely chopped)
2 garlic pods (crushed)
Few curry leaves
200 grams snake gourd (chopped into small pieces)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
75 gms freshly grated coconut
Salt to taste
2 eggs

•Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard and cumin seeds, let them splutter for a minute.
• Add onion, garlic, green chilies, curry leaves and fry them until the onions becomes soft.
•Now add the snake gourd, turmeric powder, grated coconut, salt and mix well.
• Cover the lid and cook until they becomes soft and tender.
•Move the vegetable mix to a side, then break the eggs in same pan, mix well to break the egg yolks and keep mixing until the raw smell goes out from eggs.
•Finally add coriander powder and mix everything well and fry 2 more mins, then switch off the flame.

An easy side dish for rice.

 

...even decades later...CHIKI's keep poping up.

 

I wanna Chiggi wiggi  with you boy...

featuring another gorgeous lady all the way from Oz - Kylie Minogue

 

*************************

And what with all these CHIKKI songs ??

hee hee...nothing much..just that for my kids..scrambled eggs are "CHIKKI" eggs and so, just got in all the "chikki" songs too to compliment.

;)



 
 

Will be-right-back....till then...

Hi dearest co-bloggers, friends....

 

I know i have not been here much the last few days, or weeks infact and couldnt drop by your spaces too. Just got tied up with a few other nick nacks..was posting more on my "Pick Quicks" blog and my fb page. We flying off to Delhi for a week, so was busy with that.

 

Hopefully, I will get to drop by your spaces after I am back...

 

and for the mean while, jsut sharing the link to the latest post on "Pick Quicks"

 



"My Thykoodam is famous" !!!

 

Thats my place in Kerala, where my paternal home is "Thykoodam", the name gone soo famous now with the formation of this new musical band that has gone viral all over social media...called "The Thaikkudam Bridge". 

 

All the beautiful old melodies, breathing a new fresh air.

 

Do drop by in there, for some lovely music.

 



 

(and..just to share....a closeup of the (MY) "mango -tree" that i have mentioned in the above post. The best mangoes ever...100 % homemade !!!

 

Those who luk closer, can see a teddy bear hanging in there amongst the mangoes...a suicide!!!! (omGodd!!)

 

..well...lol..not exactly...will write about it as my next post on Pick Quicks. ;) )

 

Take care..catch you all later..once am back after the vacation.

 

Gonna give a try if I can stay off internet for atleast a week !!!

 

Stay happy..keep smiling.

 

 

 

Yogurt and Heat - dont you worry !

Many a times,  going through recipes that uses yogurt in cooking, I have always wondered..."but, does not it curdle ? Can yogurt be used in dishes while cooking on high heat ?...many doubts in these lines lingered, until I happened to read about it.

Just sharing few points that I came across, which eventually, did clarify my doubts in this regard.

* How to prevent yogurt from curdling when making curries?

 

Yogurt is a major ingredient in making Indian Curries. The cow-milk yogurt will separate when heated beyond a given point, unless it is stabilized.
 

In the olden days, yogurt for cooking was made from freshly drawn buffalo whole-milk. It did not curdle with heat. Technically, foods high in proteins and acids (yogurt has lactic acid), become unstable with high heat. Higher the butter fat, proportionately lower is the amount of protein, that is the case with buffalo-milk yogurt.
 

You may choose to add Cow-milk yogurt at the end of cooking to minimize effects of high heat. The only problem is that spice flavors will not fully permeate the yogurt.

* Steps to prevent yogurt from curdling during cooking

Following steps will prevent yogurt from curdling
 

1. Use whole-milk (high fat) yogurt.
 

2. Stabilize yogurt by whisking-in starch before cooking. Add one teaspoon of cornstarch, or 1½ teaspoon of other flours (Atta, Maida, or Besan) to one cup of yogurt.
 

3. Minimize thermal shock to yogurt when adding to curry being cooked. First shut off the heat. Start with yogurt at room temperature and not directly from the refrigerator. At this point, you may add starch to stabilize yogurt. Temper yogurt just like eggs are tempered in making custard. Raise yogurt temperature gradually by mixing hot curry sauce little bit at a time to the yogurt. After the yogurt temperature has risen sufficiently, add it to the curry. Turn on heat to finish making curry.
 

4. When the yogurt is made, it is not stirred during incubation, so the structure of yogurt is set in a matrix. After adding yogurt for cooking, stirring vigorously will break down the matrix and cause separation. Gently fold-in yogurt by stirring in one direction (either clockwise or anticlockwise), till the yogurt is well blended.
 

5. Sometimes, it is possible to fix the yogurt after it has separated. Shut-off heat. Make a paste by mixing one teaspoon of cornstarch (or two teaspoons of all-purpose flour) with ½ Tablespoon of cold water. Stir paste into the separated mixture. Gently heat curry to let it thicken and recombine the yogurt. Repeat if necessary.

 

 lol  :P

* Recipe for Stabilized Yogurt

Cow’s milk yogurt will separate when heated beyond a certain point.

 

Use of stabilized yogurt will minimize separation.

 

1. Whole-milk plain yogurt: 1 Quart

2. Large egg white, lightly beaten: 1

3. Cornstarch: 1 Tablespoon

4. Salt: 1 teaspoon
 

Mix all ingredients together in a heavy saucepan. Whisk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, in one direction until mixture starts to bubble and comes to a boil (approximately 8 minutes). Reduce heat to moderately low, and simmer until thickened, it will take approximately additional 4 minutes.
 

Stabilized yogurt can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks

 

...or.....

 

You can also stabilize cow-milk yogurt by stirring-in a starch to the yogurt before cooking. For starch, you can use any flour: Besan (Chickpea flour), Atta (whole-grain wheat flour), Maida (All-purpose flour) or Cornstarch. Cornstarch is flavor neutral.

 

"now...this, was the kinda tip that I was always on the look out for !!!".

 

 

.......will be right back, with a yogurt sauce based recipe..now..that I no longer need to worry about yogurt getting curled due to heat.

 

Until then..keep smiling...have a great day ahead !!!

Italian, gets an Indian makeover...Spagetti Puliyodarai

Thairu saadham, Pulisaadham, lemon saadham..all goes with rice...so, on some wild instinct, thought, why not try the same with something else other than rice.

And by this wild instinct..i mean, the kind of "out -of-the box" thoughts that you end up with... especially, on a Friday... a weekend..and when there is nothing much to be done. An idle mind is a devil's workshop..and You are not supposed to be doing things the way it is done normally...

again..i repeat...coz, its weekend !

                                                                                  

 

So, that was it for the day - Spagetti, blended with the indian sweet-tangy tamarind-jaggery combo.

 

 

You see that ? Even Aunty Acid luks cool in Sari..so, why not Spagetti in Indian attire ???

 

Basically, the procedure is the same. Make the "pulikaachal" (the tamarind-jaggery paste) and mix it with the pasta instead of the rice. (But before going into the mains, please note that this is not the exact way  in terms of ingredient list,  the standard "puliyodharai" is made. I just made something similar in taste, with what was avaialble at home then. )

 

You need

Cooking oil - 4 spoons

Mustard seeds - 1 /2 tsp

Urad dal / Black gram - 1 tsp

Jeera / cumin - 1/2 tsp

Onion - chopped small - 1

Tamarind paste - (used the store brought one)

Jaggery (grated) - 2 spoons

Cashewnutes  - A handful

Curry leaves - Few

Fenugreek seeds - 3/4 spoon

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 spoon

Turmeric powder - 1/4 spoon

Kashmiri chillie powder - 1 tsp

Salt - As per taste

How to

 

                                                                                                                                                   

In to a wok, add the oil.

Splutter the mustard, fenugreek and urad dal.

 

Add the curry leaves, chooped onions and the cashewnuts. 

 

Meanwhile, while the onions are getting sauted..cook and drain the spagetti .

 

Welll..not like this...!

 (a borrowed image from googley)

 



..and..definitely..not like this either !!!

 

For those who have not watched this eposide of Mr. Bean cooking spagetti in the bathtub with a row of tea candles lit below !! lol...i love this funny soul !

Once onions are sauted, add in the Asafoetida, Turmeric, Kashmiri chillie powder, tamarind paste, jaggery and salt to taste.

 

Once the raw smell of the malasa goes, add in few spoonfulls of water, bring to boil to form a thick paste.

 

Can adjust the amount of jaggery, tamarind at this stage,if you want more of it.

 

  

 

Add the cooked spagetti to the wok and mix well.

 

 

Lunch is served !!!



 

Well...not just italian pasta..not just Aunty Acid...even SHE...luks HOT in Indian wear !

 

Until next....tada !..keep smiling...and have a great day !