Pista Cilantro Korma

Rich and creamy garvies like paneer butter masala, malai kofta etc. always have a special place in a grand dinner menu. After the love for those two, my new found love is this pista cilantro creamy korma :)

This recipe is an inspiration from Anitha Kupusamy's recipe on a tv show. I have made a lot of changes according to my taste buds, but all thanks to her for the pista cilantro idea :)

The richness of pista along with aromatic cilantro can easily steal one's heart :) I can imagine a lot of you nodding your heads for this combi ;) Get set go and give it a try :)

Ingredients:

Pista - 15
Green chillies - 2
Cilantro (coriander / Kothu malli) - 1/2 bunch
Onion - 2
Pepper - 1 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 2
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Potatoes - 3
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder(Dhaniya powder) - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Salt - for taste

Method:

Peel, dice and cook potatoes and keep it aside.

Soak pista in water for half an hour.

Grind pista, cilantro and green chillies together into a smooth paste.

Roughly chop the onion and cook in microwave along with pepper, cinnamon and cloves until the onion turns transparent. Allow it to cool and grind into a smooth paste.

Take a pan and add few tsp of oil. Drop in the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Now add the onion paste, pista cilantro paste, chilly powder, garam masala, coriander powder and salt and fry till the raw smell goes. Pour in just enough water to make the gravy.

Now simmer the stove and add milk or fresh cream and mix well. Finally drop in the cooked potatoes and allow it to boil for 5 mins.

Rich and creamy pista cilantro korma is ready :)

Serve hot with chapathi or roti. :)

Tips:

You can replace the potato with cubes of paneer or tofu.

You can make bread kofta or paneer kofta and add it to the gravy as well.

Written by: Nithya
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Mango Mood #7 - Homemade Mango Ice Cream

The hidden kid in me loves icecreams a lot. The urge for icecreams has not changed even after growing up ;)

I admit that my most favorite flavor is chocolate when it comes to icecreams but I do enjoy such seasonal flavors too.

It was exciting to make icecream at home and I enjoyed the entire process. Hope you all remember my strawberry icecream which was made with custard powder too.

The challenging part was to click pics of the melting icecream. Oh my god! I really wonder why I choose to do the photoshoot at 12pm this day!! ;) Somehow managed to capture decent photographs.

I am sure all of you would have enjoyed mangoes this season just like how I did :) In fact I had a over dose of yellow this season. But I am happy to have done this lovely series with mangoes and would end it up here with this special homemade mango icecream for you all :)

Ingredients:

Milk - 1 + 1/2 cups
Sugar - 10 tsp
Custard powder(vanilla or mango flavor) - 2 1/2 tbsp
Mango puree - 1 cup

Method:

Take few spoons of milk(from the 1 cup of milk) in a small bowl and dissolve the custard powder in it. Add sugar to the remaining milk and allow it to boil. Simmer the stove and add the custard powder mixture while stirring it continuously. Once it starts thickening, remove from flame and allow it to come to room temperature.

Peel and chop mangoes roughly. Blend the pieces to make puree. Add 1/2 cup of milk along with it and blend again. Now add the above prepared custard and blend well.

Transfer to a freezer proof box and chill it in the freezer for atleast 3 hours. Then remove from freezer and blend it again in the mixie. Repeat this process after every one hour for 3 times.

Scoop out the ice cream and serve it on wafer cones or along with chopped mangoes :)

Happy making :) Enjoy eating :)

Note:

Once the custard is ready, keep stirring it until it comes to room temperature. Don't allow it to set hard. This will help in making the texture of the icecream smooth and creamy.

Use mangoes that are not too fibrous. I choose alphonso mangoes for making this icecream.

Tips:

You can add some nuts on top to make it exotic.

If you would be consuming the icecream on the same day, chop small pieces of mangoes and mix it along with the icecream before it sets to get chunks of mango in between :)

Grate some dried mango bar(Naturo mango bar) on top of the scoop for garnishing.

Enjoy the summer with a chill mango feast :)

Written by: Nithya
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Mango Mood #6 - Mango Custard Tart

Tarts are one of the most beautiful looking ones among pastries. Love the versatility of this delicacy. You can make them sweet or savory, fruit or custard, chocolate or cinnamon!! Yummmm would be the only reaction for tarts :)

Mango custard tart that I made today was a super duper hit at home. It had a lovely flavor of mango with flaky and crispy base :) Totally melt in the mouth kind and I'm proudly raising my collars up today :)

I have or rather Chennai has been suffering from power cuts, low voltage and fluctuation issues for the past few days. These problems made me realize how inevitable electricity is :) Went crazy without cooking and blogging. Sigh!! Finally back with a post and hope you all enjoy the mango treat yet again :)

Ingredients:

Short crust pastry to make the tart shell
Custard
Mango
Cherries

For tart shell:

Cold Unsalted Butter - 75 gms
All purpose flour(Maida) - 300 gms (1 1/2 cups)
Powdered sugar - 45 gms (3 tbsp)
Salt - a pinch
Cold water - few spoons

For Custard:

Custard powder ( Mango flavor or vanilla flavor) - 4 tsp
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/3 cup

Method:

To make short crust pastry shell -

Sieve flour, powdered sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Chop chilled butter into small pieces and drop them into the flour mixture. Rub in the butter and flour with your fingers till it resembles fine crumbs. Now add just enough cold water to it and mix well till everything comes together into a fine dough. Do not kneed. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.

Roll out the dough on lightly floured surface until it is 1/4 inch thick and slightly bigger than the size of your tart pan.

Line the base of the tart pan with the rolled pastry. Press the dough at the sides of the pan slowly and then run the rolling pin once on the pan to cut off the excess dough. Chill the lined pan for 15 mins or so to minimize shrinking before baking.

Prick holes on the tart base with a fork. Now place a butter paper or foil on the pastry and arrange metal pie weights or dried beans. I filled it with rice for my blind baking.

Preheat oven to 375°F or 190°C and place the tart pans on the center rack and bake for 10 mins at 190°C. Remove the weights and bake for another 10-15 mins at 200°C or until golden.

Cool the shells completely on a wire rack.

To make custard -

Take few spoons of milk in a small bowl and dissolve the custard powder in it.

Boil the remaining milk along with sugar and once the sugar dissolves, reduce the flame and add the custard mixture. Keep stirring until it thickens slightly and remove from flame.

Allow it to cool for just few mins.

Assembling the tart -

Pour the custard into the tart shells.

Cut out strips of mango and arrange them neatly on the tarts. Place few fresh cherries on top for decoration :)

Mango custard tart is ready.

Chill and serve :)

This quantity was sufficient to make one large tart base of 6" diameter and 4 small tartlets.

Note:

Blind baking is to bake the tart shells separately. You can simply place some weights on the base before baking so that it does not raise.

Chill all the ingredients before using to get flaky and crispy tarts.

Tips:

Use fruits of your choice to make this tart interesting.

Replace the custard with melted chocolate to make chocolate tart.

Enjoy making tarts :) Have a happy weekend :)

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here.

Mango Mood #5 - Mango Squash

How would you like to have a home made Maaza or Slice when you are back home after a trip under the scorching sun???!!!!

The thought of it makes me feel thirsty and I'm sure even you would nod your head and agree with me :)

I have been quenching my thirst with it almost ever other day. Don't you want to do it too???

Get set go to make it right away :) Simple and yummy home made mango drink all for you :)

Ingredients:

Mango pulp - 1 ltr
Water - 1 ltr
Sugar - 1.5 kgs
Pottasium Meta bisulphite (KMS)– ½ tsp
Citric acid - 2 tsp

Method:

Peel and chop mangoes roughly. Make a puree using a blender and keep it aside.

Take the sugar, citric acid and water in a pan and heat it until the sugar dissolves and it bubbles up. It should be a thin syrup.

Allow this sugar syrup to come to room temperature and then mix up the above made mango puree.

Take a tsp of warm water and dissolve the Pottasium Meta bisulphite (KMS - preservative) in it. Add it to the squash and mix it up.

Now pour the squash into sterilized bottles and store in refrigerator :)

Mango squash is ready.

To serve, fill 1/3 of serving glass with the mango squash and remaining by water. Mix up well and serve chill topped with ice cubes :)

Note:

Use disposable kitchen gloved when you do the entire process.

KMS or PMS preservative is available in super markets like Nilgiris.

Tips:

You can use this squash as dessert topping also :)

Drizzle some mango squash on vanilla ice cream and serve :)

Written by: Nithya
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Mango Mood #4 - Mango Preserve & Milk Shake

Next on "Mango Mood" series is a very simple method to preserve mango puree until next mango season.

Even after eating 100+ juicy mangoes this season my thirst for mango would never go dry. So thought of saving some mango in my bank for future cravings :)

My aunt suggested this simple method that she has been following for ages and I'm wondering how I missed it all these years.

If you love mango milk shakes, this is sure a keeper method for you to get them done in a jiffy :)

Ingredients:

Mangoes
Sugar

Method:

Peel the skin and chop the mangoes roughly.

Make mango puree without adding water.

Sterilize a freezer proof box.

Pour the puree into the box until it reaches 1 inch height. Now smear sugar on top of the layer until it is completed covered with sugar. The sugar layer should be atleast 1/4 inch thick.

In the same way alternate mango puree layer and sugar layer until the box is full. The top most layer should be of sugar.

Close the box tight and put it in the freezer.

This can be preserved for a year.

Use it when you want by scooping out the mango puree to make milk shakes, yoghurt shakes and so on.

After you scoop out some mango puree from the box, remember to smear sugar on it again to prevent it from getting spoilt.

Note: Use disposable kitchen gloved when you do the entire process.

Since Sugar is a natural preservative, it will keep the mango puree fresh and flavorful for a year or even a little more :)

You can rejoice your mango mood throughout the year :)

Scoop out some mango puree from the preserve and pulse it with some milk and cardamom powder to enjoy fresh mango milkshakes :)

You can use the preserved mango puree as dessert toppings etc :)

Written by: Nithya
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Mango Mood #3 - Mango Swiss Cake

Mango Swiss Cake!!!! lot of you must be wondering what this cake is all about. I am not even sure if a Swiss cake really exist ;) May be I was the one who invented it!!! :P

The intended Mango Swiss roll gave me a heart break but then it only ended up as a cuter looking cake :)

My little niece who was back home enjoyed making this cake with me and she also loved it so much :)

Ingredients:

All purpose flour (maida) - 3 1/2 tblsp
Corn Flour - 2 tblsp
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 2
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Food color (Yellow) - a pinch
Boiling water - 2 tblsp

Whipped cream
Chopped mangoes

Method:

Sieve all purpose flour and corn flour together and keep it aside.

Add eggs and sugar to a large beating bowl and beat till it becomes a thick paste. When the beater is lifted it should leave a trail for at least few seconds.

Now beat in the flour mixture in two batches. Finally add the hot water and vanilla essence and beat for a min.

Preheat oven to 390°F or 200°C.

Line the baking pan (9" by 6") with grease proof paper and brush with some butter.

Pour the batter upto 3/4th of the pan and bake it for 10-12 mins at 390°F or 200°C. Adjust the time according to your oven settings.

Check if cooked by inserting a skewer in the center. Once done, allow it to cool on a wire rack for a while. Once cooled, sprinkle some caster sugar over it.

Chop mango into fine bits.

Slice the cake into squares and spread some whipped cream on top and decorate generously with chopped mango pieces.

Mango Swiss cake is ready to serve :)

Enjoy eating :)

Tips:

If you want to make Swiss roll cake pour a thin layer of batter in a larger pan (11 inches by 9 inches) and bake the cake.

Spread a kitchen towel on the workspace and sprinkle some caster sugar over it. Turn over the cake on the towel and peal the grease proof sheet.

Now carefully roll it along with the towel and allow it to cool.

Once it comes to room temp, unwind it, spread the cream and chopped mangoes and roll it neatly and put it in the refrigerator for an hour. Slice and serve :)

Note:

Since we have used fresh mangoes for the topping, its best to finish it up in a day or two max.

Enjoy the yummy treat!!!! :)

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here.