Weekend Baking Session # 25

Weekend Baking Session this week celebrates its 25th round with an Improved Indian Dessert.

Carrot Halva Tartlets

What do we need:

Almond Pastry
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup ground almond
1/4 cup cold butter
1/4 tsp salt
ice water, as needed

Carrot Halva
2 cups carrots, grated finely
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp ghee
4 cardamoms, powdered
a pinch of saffron strands

slivered almonds for garnishing

How do we do it:

Combine flour, salt and ground almond. Grate cold butter into the mixture. Rub lightly with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Gradually, add the ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a time just until the dough binds together. Make sure not to over work the dough. Wrap with cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Heat ghee and fry the grated carrots slightly. Pour milk and sprinkle the saffron strands. Let it boil. Cook the carrot to soft paste stage. Now, add the sugar and continue cooking while stirring. Remove from heat when the halwa looks gooey.

Divide the pastry dough into 8 portions. Press each portion evenly into greased tart mould. Trim edges to remove excess pastry. Prick base of each tart with a fork. Cover and chill again for about 15 minutes. Then, blind bake the pasty cases in a preheated oven at 200º C for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place the tartlets on a wire rack to cool.

To assemble, fill the tartlets with cool carrot halva. Top with slivered almonds.

The Food That I'd Die For # 5

Acar is a Malaysian spicy pickled crunchy salad that is commonly served as condiment or relish to be eaten with a main course. It is sort of a must have item in the food served in Indian & Malay weddings in Malaysia.

Acar is made from different kinds of hard vegetables such long beans, carrots, cucumbers, cauliflowers and cabbage which are pickled in vinegar. The vegetables are then tossed with toasted sesame seeds or ground peanuts.

Acar

What do we need:




1 cucumber
3 small carrots
10 shallots or 1 large onion
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

4 shallots
5 dried chilies
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
oil

1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

How do we do it:

Remove centre of cucumber and cut crosswise the cucumber and carrots. Then cut lengthwise into about 3cm sticks. Peel the shallots and leave them whole. If using big onion, cut into wedges. Mix with sugar, salt and turmeric. Leave aside for 1 hour.

Snip and soak the dried chillies in some water for a while. Drain off the water and grind together with the shallots.

Heat oil and fry mustard seed until it pops. Add the ground ingredients. Fry until the oil rises. Stir in vinegar and water. Let boil for 3 minutes. Turn the stove off. Add the vegetables and immediately turn off the heat. This is to prevent the vegetables from overcooking. Overcooked vegetables led to a soggy acar. Stir well to mix.

Toss with the sesame seeds before serving.




Serve acar with hot rice and kurma or sambar.

Weekend Baking Session # 10

Carrots are nutritional vaults. They store bulks of nutrients. No other vegetable or fruit contains as much carotene as carrots. Beta carotene, a dimer of Vitamin A, is abundant in the carrot and gives this vegetable its characteristic orange colour. It contains about 87% water, rich in mineral salts and vitamins (B,C,D,E) as well as calcium pectate, an extraordinary pectin fibre that has been found to have cholesterol-lowering properties.

The carrot has a woody texture and is a truly versatile vegetable. It can be eaten raw as in salads or blended into juice. They are cooked in soups, stews, curries, stir-fries, and a lot more. Carrots are also used in baking. Carrot cakes, muffins, cookies and pudding are a few of them.

Carrot is the main ingredient in this 10th edition of Weekend Baking Session. I have decided to bake carrot cupcakes for a change. Added some walnuts as they are carrots´ perfect partner. Also adding some sultanas for extra taste. Cream cheese makes an excellent frosting for carrot cakes.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

What do we need:



Cake:
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sultanas




Topping:
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

How do we do it:

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg powder. Set aside.

Grease the muffin tray with butter or simply line the muffin holes with paper cups.

Beat oil and sugar until sugar dissolve. Add the eggs. Beat again. Gradually stir in the sifted flour mixture. Do not over stir. Then, add the grated carrots, walnuts and sultanas.

Fill the muffin holes with the cake batter to two-thirds full. Bake in a preheated oven at 180º C for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, combine all the frosting ingredients together. Beat until smooth.

Spread the cream cheese topping onto the carrot cupcakes. Decorate as per desired.

PuSiVa'S CuLiNarY StUdiO is 1 Month Old!!

It has been a month since I started blogging. This morning when I logged on, I was overjoyed to find that the visitors counter has already hit more than 2000. To me it is a great achievement. At this moment, I would like to thank all those out there, throughout the globe, who has visited my blog. I realise that I now have a few regular visitors who come in on daily basis, without fail. I highly appreciate all your comments and encouragements. To celebrate it, I present Carrot Halwa as a visual treat to all of u.

Carrot Halwa

What do we need:




2 cups carrots, grated finely
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp ghee
4 cardamoms, powdered
a pinch of saffron strands
slivered almonds, garnishing

How do we do it:

Heat ghee and fry the grated carrots slightly. Pour milk and sprinkle the saffron strands. Let it boil. Cook the carrot to soft paste stage. Now, add the sugar and continue cooking while stirring. Remove from heat when the halwa looks gooey.


Serve hot or cold garnished with slivered almonds.