at 21:43

Badam Kala Kand (Cashew Nut Kala Kand)- Bengali Version

Kala Kand is a pan Indian sweet with various versions depending on the state you are eating it. Largely, it is made with milk, cottage cheese, sugar and is usually decorated with Pistachio nuts. Many also make the sweet using milk solid instead of milk. Some use coconut, carrots etc with the milk to give a different flavor to the taste.

I made the Badam Kala Kand on 17^th Feb 2013 for Saraswati Puja celebrated by ‘Adda’ of Slough. The version I am making came about due to shortage of milk while making the sweet for 20 of our friends. So what did I do? I decided to add some broken cashew nuts to increase the quantity with the original recipe. And that how the birth of ‘my’ Badam Kala Kand

Ingredients:

2-Litre full fat milk for chana/paneer/cottage cheese

½ -cups sugar (or even less)

2-litre Milk (or a can of evaporated milk. If using evaporated milk, then do not or use very less sugar)

2-Lemon (juice taken)

1-cup cashew nut broken using a blender

Sliced Pistachio to decorate (use, as much or little you want)

 Method:

1.     Boil 2 litre the milk in a pan and heat well until boiling point

2.     Slowly add lemon juice  to make the chana/paneer/cottage cheese

3.     Drain the chana using a strainer/ Muslin cloth. Wash the chana so that it does not smell of lemon.

4.     Hang the cloth for at least 1hour  so that water drain properly from the chana

5.     Meanwhile in a heavy bottom pan heat the other 2 little milk stirring constantly until it has reduced to half. If using canned evaporated milk, then heat until boiling

6.     Add the broken cashew with the boiled and halved milk or the boiled  evaporated milk (which ever using)

7.     Stir for 5/7 mins

8.     Then add the chana/paneer with the milk and cashew mix and cook until it is almost dry. You will need to stir constantly. it takes time as the flame needs to be on very low heat.

9.     Add sugar and cook until sugar is dissolved

10. Take off the heat

11. Line a tray with parchment paper or rub oil all over the tray and spread the milk and cashew nut mix

12. Sprinkle the Pistachio all over the tray and let it cool

13. Refrigerate  overnight so that kala kand can dry well ( but remain moist )

14. Then cut squares and serve cold or at room temperature

at 22:53

Microwave made Mango-Blackberry Layered steam Sandesh

To me, when I think about ‘food’ like a main dish and its color, mostly I think about yellow, red, green, maroon, white as the normal color for food. Any other colors such as blue, pink, purple etc are colors for cake icing or ice cream rather than main food. Although ice cream and cakes are also main food, yet I would not really think about a purple chicken dish. Would you?
Therefore, when the blogger buzz recipe contest required bloggers to make food needs that are yellow or purple or of butterfly theme, I was really at loss. Making a yellow dish is easy. Most of our dishes are yellow. But purple? Purple only remind me of feminist purple which I like a lot. Nevertheless, I am not very keen on eating purple color food. And I do not eat ice cream of purple or pink color at all. And to be honest I am not fond of purple as individual color.

Hence, to make something purple, without using food color was a struggle. And I wanted to make something that is both purple and yellow. To think of it, it is a great combination; my organisation’s logo is a combination of purple and yellow. However, it also means that I had to think out of box to make something that is easy, tastes wonderful and looks great.

So after much thought I decided to make Mango-Blackberry Layered steam Sandesh (Bengali Sweet). I love mango and it gives a lovely yellow color, blackberry is sweeter than other berries which is good news and it gives a lovely purple color to food ( unlike blueberry) and making steamed Sandesh is as easy as boiling egg. And, I wanted to make something sweet from Bengal so that people get to know our treasured desserts. And it solves the purpose of the yellow-purple combination. Basically, it meets the hunger of the eyes as well of the tummy. Absolute win-win situation!

I am sending this to Blogger’s Buzz and also attending the event on 23^rd Feb 2013, UK . To know more about them, click here

Hope you enjoy looking at it and end up making it!

Ingredients: (will make six pieces)

1litre full fat milk

1-lemon/lime, juice

11-blackberry

2-tablespoon mango pulp

2/3-dry mango pieces, cut in to thin slices

6-teaspoon sugar

½-cup sugar to make black berry compote

2-tablespoon of any nuts, cut into small piece

Little bit of oil or butter or ghee

 

 

Method:

1.    Boil the milk

2.    Add the lemon juice in the milk so that it curdles

3.    Using muslin, strain the curdled milk and keep it hanging for at least 1 hour so that all water is drained properly. What you will have is called chana in Bengali, paneer in Hindi and nearest English would be cottage cheese

4.    Soak the dry mango into very little milk. Keep aside

5.     Meanwhile heat a pan, add sugar and blackberry, and cook until blackberry and sugar have melted. It would look like blackberry jam

6.    Now take a strainer and strain the blackberry seeds so that you are left with just the sugary juice. This is almost blackberry compote

7.    Now take the Chana and divide in to half

8.    Take half of the chana, place it in blender, add sugar, blackberry compote, and mix it well. You can your hand to do the mixing too. Then you will have to mix until sugar has melted. Keep aside

9.    Wash the blender

10. Now take other half of the chana, add sugar, mango pulp, and dry mangoes (not the milk) and mix well either using hand or mixture. keep aside

11.  In case you are not getting the desired yellow or the purple please use few drops of natural food color to the respective halves

12. Now take a microwave proof square dish and oil/ butter it

13. First of all, make the first layer by spreading the blackberry chana mix all over the dish. it would be around 1cm in height

14. Sprinkle the nuts on the layer

15. Now make the second layer by spreading the mango chana mix over the nuts layer

16. Press a little with hands

17. Fill another big microwave proof bowl with little water and place the square box. Keep a eye so that water is not too much

18.  Steam in full microwave powder for 3 to 4 mins

19. Take it out and let it cool

20.Turn in over a plate and cut into square shapes

21. Serve either cool or at room temperature along with fresh fruit or on their own

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at 21:56

Eid walla Semaiya/Semai/ Seviya Kheer/ Vermicelli Kheer

It is a beautiful sunny day in London. The kind of warm, lazy day- perfect for  staying home, eating fish and rice with Gondhoraj lebu and dal , playing a game of ludo and having a cup of Darjeeling tea standing by the balcony ( or so called) and  enjoying the smell of  mutton and chana daal keema coming from my neighbors kitchen in preparation of Eid. And that’s when the problem started. We were not merely enjoying the smell. We were drooling over the smell. We dreamed for an invite, a great Eid meal and many bla bla da da things. Finally, I decided to take matters in my hand and cook some Eid walla Semaiya. Well, it does not substitute aunty ji’s keema smell, but some consolation!

Semaiya Kheer

Serves: Ideally for 4. Nevertheless, my R alone eat it all.

Preparation: 5 mins
Cooking time: 20/30 mins

Ingredients: 3- Handful of thin Semaiya 500ml whole milk 3- Cardamom 10- Cashew nut (optional) 10- Raisins (optional) 7-teaspoon sugar (or according to your taste. We like light sweetness) 1-tablespoon oil Pinch of saffron (optional)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and fry the Semaiya until golden brown and a lovely nutty smell hits your nostril
2. Add Cashew and Raisin (if using). I like to fry my nuts a little for the smell that oozes out of the fried nuts
3. Add milk. On a low heat, stirring constantly reduce the quantity of the milk. Remember once cool, the Semaiya thickens a little more.
4. Stir in sugar, cardamom and a pinch of saffron. Cook for another 5 mins
5. Serve it hot or cold. Sprinkle some coconut slice on top if you like. Or some chopped nuts.

 Yummy! We are happy, our tummy is full and our heart is satisfied.

 Enjoy your Eid!