Knafeh

This month Mena's Cooking Club, I am travelling to Jordan, our host Evelyne from Cheap Ethnic Eatz choose this recipe

Knafeh is a baked Arabic dessert made with phyllo pastry shreds ie is a thin noodles or vermicelli as a base. Kunafeh is an Arabic and Middle Eastern dish. Very popular in Saudi Arabia around Ramadan After baking the crust, it is soaked in rose water flavored sugar syrup. Since, this phyllo pastry shreds is not availabel in India, and just wanted to try this recipe , found a novel idea of making it. I used fine roasted vermicelli and for the filling used khoya and rabri. But let me tell you that this dessert was delicious! We simply loved it. When served hot or at room temperature, knafeh is soaked in sugar syrup.

Ingredients400 Grams  Roasted Vermicelli 100 Grams Butter -   melted

25 Grams Pure Ghee
200 Grams Unsweetened Rabri - Homemade
200 Grams Khoya / Mawa- Homedmade
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Water

Method

In a sauce pan add the sugar and water and cook it till it turn into a thick syrup.  Keep aside.

Melt the butter and ghee together and keep aside.

Break vermicelli into pieces and pour butter on it and with your hands  mix well till the vermicelli is coated.

In a baking dish press half the quantity of  this vermicelli, press to make a firm base especially to edges with thumb.

Cook khoya, rabri and milk on a slow flame till it just strats to bubble.

Pour this mixture over the base evenly taking care that is does flow from the edge or the knafeh with get burnt at the edges.  Then again top with another layer of vermicelli and again press well. 

Bake at 180 degree C for 20 minutes.

Take out of oven and pour sugar syrup while hot. 

Let it cool,  cut in to squares and serve.  This tasted so awesome that we enjoyed this dessert.

Labels : Sweets & Desserts, Continental Cuisine, Mena Cooking Club, Jordan
 

An InLinkz Link-up

Khoya / Mawa - Homemade

Khoya / Mawa is a milk cheese, made either from milk powder or traditionally by reducing whole milk in an open pan for long hours. It is one of the most famous and a classic ingredient in Indian cooking where it is used both for savory as well as sweet dishes. You will see a plethora of traditional sweets calling for this ingredient. The richness that it adds to the sweets is indescribable. For the little time/effort that you put in, the result with fresh home made Khoya far exceeded than from the one you get in sweet meat shops. It is not as hard as you might think. See these steps to realize what a simple process this whole Khoya making business is. Trust me - you will never buy store varieties ever again!

Homemade khoya is prepared in low budget and its also hygienic. This recipe of khoya used in mithai, desserts and cakes. If you live abroad then this homemade khoya recipe is a treasure for you because its not very common to get khoya from stores.

Ingredients2 Liters Full cream milk

Method

Bring the milk to boil in a pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes switch off the flame and keep aside. This step is necessary so that if there is any powder or anything else will settle to the bottom.

Pour this milk in a heavy bottom pan and let it simmer on medium flame.

Keep stirring occasionally, to avoid the milk to stick on the bottom of the pan.

Keep stirring till the milk  starts thickening.

When thicken/reduced let cool on room temperature, after cooling it will be more thick.

Ready to use, wrap with cling foil and freeze into small portions.

This Khoya / Mawa is simply delicious.  I got around 350 grams of Khoya.

Labels: Sweets & Desserts 

Rabri - Unsweetened - Homemade

This is the traditional cooking methodology to prepare nice and thick rabri that has delicious layes of solidified milk cream.

Ingredient

 5 Cups Full cream milk

Method

Bring the milk to boil in a pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes switch off the flame and keep aside.  This step is necessary so that if there is any powder or anything else will settle to the bottom.

Pour this milk in a heavy bottom pan and let it simmer on medium flame. When the cream forms on the surface gently push it to the edge of the pan and gently stir the milk so that it does not get burnt at the bottom. Keep pushing the cream to sides regularly till the milk reduces and form layers of cream.

 When done switch off the flame and keep to cool. The Rabri is ready store it in a airtight container and the freezer for further use. This is a unsweetened version of Rabri. If you want you add sugar and sweeten it. This can be used in many recipes. Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before using.

This take a hour or more to get done.  I got around 300 grams of Rabri.  The taste of homemade Rabri is simply delicious and worth the effort.

Labels: Sweets & Desserts

Jordanian Tomato Rice Soup

My wish to see Jordan, where Jesus was baptized, will be fulfilled God only knows when. But this month Mena's Cooking Club, I am travelling to Jordan, our host Evelyne from Cheap Ethnic Eatz choose this recipe.

Ingredients
1/3 Cup Rice - I used brown rice 

1 Tablespoon Butter
1  Onion - chopped
4  Tomatoes - peeled and chopped
1 Teaspoon Tomato paste
1  Cinnamon stick
A pinch of black pepper
1 Teaspoon salt

Method

Wash and soak the brown rice for at least an hour. Do not skip this step because brown rice takes a long to cook.  If you are using white rice then skip this soaking step.

In a pan, melt the butter and fry in it the onions over medium heat until tender.Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, black pepper, cinnamon stick and salt along with 2 liters of water.
When the mix begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour with lid on.

Add in the rice and check if you need to add more water. Leave to simmer for half an hour or so.  Serve hot.

We enjoyed this soup as our dinner, this was so warm and comforting.

Labels: Soup, Mena Cooking Club, Continental Cuisine, Jordan

An InLinkz Link-up

Bhadang (Puffed Rice Chivda)

This is a very common and tasty snack that is always prepared in every Maharashtrian house.It is very simple and requires little oil. Its a very good snack. When garnished with finely chopped onion,tomatoes, coriander leaves and lemon juice, sev its converted into  bhel. You can prepare this snack and store it in airtight box for a month.  We love this snack and is prepared often in my  house. When I prepared this Bhadang my beta could not stop eating, as he was watching TV he kept on eating it, he loved it so much. 

Ingredients
5 Cups Murmura / Puffed Rice
1/2 Cup Peanuts
1/4 Cup Dalia
1/4 Cup Dry Coconut pieces

1/2 Cup Mixed dry fruits ( Almonds, Cashewnuts, Raisins)

3 Sprigs Curry Leaves
1 Teaspoon Mustard seed

1/4 Teaspoon Asafoetida

1 Teaspoon  Citric acid crystals

 25 Grams Chivda Masala

1 Teaspoon Chilly powder

Salt to Taste

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/2 Cup Oil 

Method
Roast Puffed rice in a big pan till they crisp or microwave  it for a minute.

Heat oil in a big pan on medium flame  add the mustard seeds, when they crackle add the asafoetida then add the peanuts and fry till done , then add the coconut pieces and fry till brown. When they are fried, add the dry fruits, dalia , curry leaves and fry till the curry leaves are crisp. 

Add the chivda masala, chilly powder and fry well.  Add Puffed rice and mix well. Take off the heat. Add Salt, sugar and citric acid crystals mix well.  When it completely cools, store in an air tight container.  

This is my entry for the BM #48, theme Kid's Delight - Holiday Special Recipes. 
Labels: Festival Sweets, Kids delight, Blogging Marathon, Chivda