Winter morning. Warm Sunlight. Warmer Muffins.

Wake up to the aroma of freshly baked orange almond muffins… just out of the oven! What a thought! Just made real.

My inspiration to bake comes from my kid who loves anything pulled out of the oven. His love for these treats make me all the more adamant to bake clean-good stuff than feed him lard-loaded bakes from the local bakers! Not to mention the ever-increasing junk that comes with it (read synthetics, preservatives, colors, and many things gooey and weird).

Here is a simple recipe that wont take too much time or effort. Within half hour you will find a batch of warm, soft, orangy, fuzzy, crunchy, yummy, cupcakes ready.

Big Batch of Almond Muffins with Orange Juice & Peels

My ingredients are always approximates and keep changing everyday but to help you get the idea, here is the closest measurement.

Ingredients for Orange Almond Cupcakes:

• Flour – 1 1/2 cup
• Baking Powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Oil – 3/4 cup
• Sugar – 3/4 cup
• Eggs – 3
• Salt – 1 pinch
• Vanilla Extract – 1 1/2 tsp
• Almond Extract – 1 tsp (optional)
• Orange or Lemon Juice – About few tablespoons or as per taste
• Crushed Almonds – a handful
• Dried orange peels – a handful (optional)

How to make Almond Orange Cupcakes:

• Sieve flour and baking powder together. Keep aside.
• Whisk eggs well.
• Add vanilla essence, almond essence, sugar, oil, salt, orange juice and mix well.
• Add almonds and dried orange peels.
• Add flour to the wet mixture. Mix gently.

To make Orange Almond Cake:
Grease your baking dish with oil or butter and dust with flour. Pour the cake batter immediately. Bake for 30-40 mins at around 170 degrees centigrade or until the toothpick/knife comes out clean.

To make Orange Almond Muffins:
Spoon the batter into cupcake moulds and bake for 15 mins at around 170 degrees centigrade or until the toothpick/knife comes out clean.

Crusty Muffin Top with Craters - An Invitation by Itself

My Notes:

• These cupcakes were born out of available ingredients in the kitchen. Anything that could seemingly fit in the taste meter was popped in. Orange, almonds and vanilla is a good combination. So it works. If you substitute orange juice with lemon juice, you get Almond Lemon Cake or Cupcake.
• The sugar can be adjusted as per taste. I generally use minimum quantity of sugar in the bakes. I do not believe in icing unless the occasion demands embellishment.
• Orange peels are the secret behind many tasty cakes. Follow the link for a quick and easy way to make dried orange peels that can be added to Christmas cakes, chocolate cakes, etc.
• The almond essence is not required unless you need heavy almondy taste. Since most of the available almond essences in the market are synthetics, it is really not needed. Go more on real almonds.
• Some people like their cupcake crust crunchy and browned. For this, you can leave them in the oven for a few minutes extra.

Color me Orange! (Pix Credit: Lukas, Berlin)

Holidays are back again! Time for all things exciting and beautiful. Holiday decorations, gifts, loved ones and not to mention the cakes and bakes.

To help you kick start the baking season, here is a quick tutorial on how to make dried orange peel that goes as a secret ingredient in many yummy cakes, bakes and savories. A little secret about the orange peels is that it curbs your hunger pangs too

Oranges are in season and orange peels go into garbage. A better way is to harvest all the orange peels, sit in the comfort of your chair and make candied orange peels that you can eat right out of your tin or add to your cakes.

How to make dried orange peel
Here is a simple recipe with no hard and fast rules for measurement. You will arrive at the best quantity of each ingredient after an attempt or two. Here is my personal favorite:

• Peels of 2 big oranges (having eaten the lovely fruit)
• Sugar – Handful
• Water – Enough to cover the peels

Having eaten the orange, collect the leftover peels.

With a spoon or a knife, clean the pith. The white part of the peel is slightly bitter and can be removed. If you like a bit of bitterness in your baked goodies, you can leave it on. I prefer scraping the pith as the dried orange peel tastes sweet and tangy.

Scrape the pith for making dried orange peels

Wash the peels thorougly and cut it into thick or thin slices.

Julienne Well - Cut orange peel into thin slices

You can wash the thin slices again before you boil to ensure all the scraped pith and little bits are left behind.

Strips of orange peel ready to become candy

Boil the peel in adequate water with sugar. You could leave it on slow fire for a while for the peels to become tender.

15 minutes should suffice.

Boil - to infuse the peel with sugary sweetness

Drain out the peels, spread it on a plate or tray and leave it out in the sun for 2 days.

Sun-kissed luscious strips

After two days, take a bite of this peel to see if it is done.

If it is crunchy and crumbles, it is done and dried.

Done and Dried

Stock on this dried orange peel which can last for months. You could simply chew on them (as they are addictive), add a few into your iced tea or hot tea, dip into molten chocolate and set it to dry or simply pop in a few into the cake or cookie batter.

Whats an orange cake without a peel within?

That was yummm!!!

But even yummier are the candied orange peels that follow the same procedure as above. The moment you drain the peels from the water, roll them in powdered sugar so that the peels are well coated and put it out to dry. You could also bake these to speed up your drying time.

I’d prefer the sun-kissed peels and day. I made quite a few of these but needless to stay that they are disappearing at a fast rate. You know why!

For all the christmas cakes, apple cinnamon cakes, carrot cakes and more, this one ingredient does wonders. Did I tell you that chocolate and orange is a killer combination?

So all you bakers, make you own box of candied peel and keep adding that yummm factor to your baking escapades!

You could also gift a box of these as goodies to someone who bakes. Hmmmm, thats a very thoughtful handmade gift.

Let me know if this helped. And if you too are munching it away

Hot, Crisp and Spicy Fried Arvi

This is neither a vegetable that figures first on your shopping list nor is a choicest pick when you go grocery shopping. This poor fella is usually left out in favor of the good looking luscious veggies. Cant blame it on looks alone, this one gives a nasty itch to your hands if you dont know how to treat (peel) it right.

Fuss apart, Arvi is a lovely little vegetable that packs in a lot of taste, texture and surprise. Also known as arbi or taro, this rhizome is a great filler and substitute for potatoes in curries and most dishes. Its leaves are edible too and make great wraps for steaming other delicacies.

My childhood memories are linked with arvi ka khatta, or even better arvi gosht ka khatta. This root goes well with any meat. It is equally tasty in simple and solo dishes. I guess it important how this vegetable is introduced to you as a child. Once you like it, there is nothing like it.

Here is my version of simple arvi fry. When you cook this, you should not worry about the slime, spice or quantity of oil. They all end up as a marvel in unison.

Cooking Colocasia Can Cause Craving

Here are the simple steps:

Mix arvi chunks with salt, chilli powder, dhania power and turmeric. Keep aside.
Temper hot oil with mustard seeds, dry chillies, curry leaves and garlic.
Add the masala coated arbi chunks to the tadka. Keep frying till done.
Thats it. The crispier the better.

My Notes:

• If you are new to colocasia, you will definitely end up with itchy hands. The trick is to peel this vegetable dry. The moment water comes in contact with its scaly skin, you will end up scratching your hands for a while…  swearing never to touch it again. But who said good things come easy?
• Most people pressure-cook before peeling. It makes your job a lot easy for its half cooked and less itchy.
• The key to tempering is to wait till the mustard seeds split and crackle. Then add the other  ingredients of tadka.

Now, is colocasia in your shopping list?

“A house is not a home  unless it contains  food and fire for the mind
as well as the body”
Benjamin Franklin

Think food and mind comes alive with vivid images of various cuisines, fusion delicacies, lavish spreads, macro shots of tasty looking food, gourmet blogs, fine-dining, favorite restaurants, full meal thali, sinful desserts and what not.

This food explosion has opened up new vistas, experiences, indulgences and not to mention the business models. Want to make killer profits? Try education, healthcare or food. Move on entertainment, there is no business like food-business.

Thanks to affordable global travel and internet, an house wife from two-tier town in India not only procures international ingredients but also makes the tastiest zucchini bread while pairing her Asparagus quiche with Pinot Blanc. India has truly arrived on the gastronomical foodscape. We live in the era of sensory explosion where all senses have been trained to come alive when it comes to food. As food pundits predict, it is only going to get better.

After water in 2010, this year’s focus for Blog Action Day 2011 is on Food. Last year, writing on water gave me a chance to stop, think and write. It also gave me an opportunity to read about so many different viewpoints on water.

Writing about food should be the easiest thing to do for I have blogged about traditional recipes, gardening and growing your food, soul of kitchen, etc. But today, it just does not seem to flow. This time, it is not easy.

There is lot more to food than what meets the eye.

While we bloggers write/ celebrate the delights of various cuisines, share recipes, converse on calorie intake, comfort food and gourmet chefs, there is a huge world out there that goes without a few grains of rice. While one section of population frets about calorie intake and tries every rule in the book to sweat it out, the other half quenches its hunger with tap water. There is a horrible imbalance of over-fed obesity and under-nourished bellies.

We are a nation where more than 50 million metric tons of food grains rots due to storage problems while more than 600 million people suffer from malnourishment. The food for whom it is stored does not reach them. The system that is made to keep India in motion, does not work. Even the ration card system designed to help the poor eat, works against them.

To live in a country like India needs a lot of guts. Not because India is a gastronomical paradise, but for the fact that we live in midst of gut-wrenching facts of malnourishment and the misfortune that comes with it. And we chose to do nothing about it.

Here, everyday living is centered around working for and fixing one square meal for oneself and loved ones. It is not easy.

And as an icing on the calamity cake was the Planning Commission’s classification of people above and below the poverty line by an earning of Rs.32/ day which included their expenditure on food, healthcare and education. Needless to say that it is still being debated and challenged by the literate urban man and media. The poor man however oblivious of this brouhaha continues his struggle of fixing a single meal for his family.

To understand the food paradox better, please about Basavi, a tribal and what food meant to her.  Be rest assured, our dilemmas will multiply.

For those Tehelka spoke to, the rickshaw-puller, farmer, waste-picker and others, bitterness came later in the conversation — after the shock (of the report) passed. The precariousness of their lives is held at bay by dignity, hard work, generosity to those even poorer, loyalty to family, resilience and faith. All to be frayed again by those who have never known what it is like to be hungry.
SOURCE: Tehelka

Here is a sample of real people, their struggles, their hunger and the lengths they goto make it meet.

While one is deeply disturbed by these contradictions, one also feels sad at the state of the Public Distribution System. India can boast of having the largest public distribution of subsidized food grains in the world. It has a network of nearly 500,000 Fair Price Shops (FPS) that distribute commodities worth more than Rs 15,000 crore (150 billion) to 160 million households. The 2005 Planning Commission report says that 57% of the PDS food grain does not reach the intended people. For every Rs 4 spent on the PDS, only Rs 1 reaches the poor. The food subsidy bill for 2006-07 for the Government of India was Rs 242 billion. 36 million tons of grain was procured that year, and 31.6 million tons was distributed through Fair Price Shops. Looking at these figures, one feels both disturbed and confused. Confused that we are doing so much but have so little to show; angry and disturbed at the enormous leakages and corruption that has seeped into this system.
SOURCE: Dr. R.Balasubramaniam

Yes, I did want to write. And write a lot about it. But words don’t flow easy. For every sentence that I want to write, I stop to think for I find myself to be responsible for creating and supporting a system so flawed that food does not go where it is needed the most. It stops at us, our super-markets, kitchens, stomachs and finally in thrash (but ofcourse it get picked up from there too).

Our country faces multi-faceted problems of hatred, violence, illness, poverty, discrimination and these can be raced back to the struggle of the stomach and soul. We now face a huge world in front of us that is under-fed, hungry, sick and in pain.

More than half of the Indian population struggles to achieve Maslow’s first level of needs. With the need for food comes the question of dignity, self respect, community, survival, hope, faith and perseverance. The hungry are actually high up on the self actualization scale, are resigned to fate.

It is just not about food. In this struggle, there are compromises to be made, conscience to be muffled, and hard pills to be swallowed. And sometimes suicide is the escape key. It somehow seems justified.

“We can no more do without spirituality than we can do without food, shelter, or clothing.”
Ernest Holmes

Sometimes I wonder what is the meaning of food availability, food security, the feeling of being sated, nourishment, etc? I don’t know anymore. How longer can we boast about traditional food systems, culture, civilisation, Ayurveda, healing with food, and nature healing when we have totally lost it. India, the land of excess and rich resources now grapples with problems of its own creation.

Isn’t our country is poor, under-nourished and sick because of people like us? Aren’t we also the reason for its malaise? We don’t ration. We load, hoard, eat, glutton, waste, indulge, and thrash, but don’t make enough effort to help the food reach where it is most wanted. Isn’t our indifference, silence, resignation, blame-shifting, to equally blamed for this food crisis? We will realise and appreciate this only after the full circle of self-destruction.

Solution to Food Crisis?

There was a time when food was holy. Food went with worship. Food was not be wasted. Food was not sinful. Food was food. We need that simplicity back.

There were principles, traditions and culture that governed and nourished body and soul. Not just Ayurveda and natural life sciences, but there was timeless and priceless wisdom that we need to dig back into.

At the risk of sounding preachy, we need to look back into the centuries of wisdom that have abandoned in pursuit of happiness and instant gratification. Like we always did, we have a choice. Either we continue to live the way we lived or chose to make a small difference. There are no mountains to move here. Few simple holistic changes to our lives.

Less is more. Less is Green.

This is not about denial or abstinence, but we will always be amazed at how well people can live with less and that our body does better with less. Moderation is the mantra.

Not for the sake of diet or dieting, we need to eat less than what we do because we are no longer those foraging cave men and women who are always on the go. We need a plate of food that just fills us.

If there is more, find those who need it. It is not difficult to find.

It is time to think what really works!

We have been conditioned enough to eat three square meals, drink enough water, and so on. It is time to question our real needs. Do you really need what you once were in need of? Do you really need to cook or stock up so much? Do you really need to follow the food pyramid? Is one big meal and two smaller meals better?

There are so many questions that an urban, literate citizen needs to ask and find answers to. More-so because, we are the major reason for this food imbalance. We can blame the Government later.

I cannot write enough. I wish to share with you an old artwork of mine that hangs in our dining area… as a reminder of how wretched we are in comparison.

Untitled - 12"x18" - Pencil on Paper - Framed

The next time you dine out at a fancy restaurant, it is ok to eat your plate clean (even though dining etiquette suggestes leaving a bit behind) for those few morsels should remind you of the farmer whose sweat and blood went into the making of your gourmet meal.

Nothing should be wasted.

Bon appetit!

Rich Sheer Khurma with Dry Fruits

Eid in Hyderabad is not complete without Sheer Khurma. After haleem and biryani, Shir Khurma overdose lingers on a little longer as it is continued to be served for days to come.

Legend has it that the recipe for sheer khurma was imported to India during the Mughal rule and has ever since been a part of the Dhakni culture and tradition. Sheer Khurma has nothing to do with religious practice. It is purely a regional tradition of making something sweet for the special occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. Since dates are of special significance during the month of Ramzan, these are integrated in a creamy and tastier form on the day of Eid.

There are many names to this dish ranging from sevaiyyan, semiya, sheer qurma, semiya pudding, vermicelli pudding, and what not. Hyderabadis have always known it best as shir qurma. This dessert is made with equal frenzy and love in Pakistan and that is one thing I would love to taste.

Our grandparents once told us that the word shir was derived from the word shireen which meant sweetness and always stressed upon being shireen-zubaan (sweet language) in dire situations too. Eat sweet and speak sweet; that’s all I remember about the dish. I thought khurma meant gravy until Google clarified as dates aka khajoor.

A Festive Vermicelli Dessert made in India, Pakistan, Afganistan, and Bangladesh

Shopping for sheer qurma in this city is an event by itself. The moment the moon is sighted, the market reaches its highest crescendo. No matter how much you plan in advance and sort things out for the festival, there is always something that will make you step out into the festive air.

The energy is infectious. The traffic is horrible. The policemen are fretting and frantically swearing. Anywhere you turn to, there is vendor screaming at the top of his voice. You are partially deafened. And the pick-pockets are right beside-behind you.

But you still want to go out.

For there is no stopping you for that last experience of the frenzy that surrounds, for that last plate of haleem, maybe that last visit to the Charminar (even if there was nothing left to buy), the steaming hot chai, the shouts and screams, the jaw dropping discounts offered…. and all this while you or your loved one is trying to save the intricate mehendi on both hands from getting smudged. You don’t want to come back home soon for more work waits.

Dry fruits would be bought only from the friendly neighborhood dava-saaz ki dukaan for it was believed that they had the most authentic ingredients. Semiyan is picked up from the makeshift stalls along the road followed by fresh milk, chicken, mutton, veggies and so on for that rich biryani. Sometimes Khobani ka Meetha is also included in the festive menu.

You are quite lost and loving every moment till you remember what you had stepped out for. And that brings me back to the recipe for sheer khurma, the traditional Hyderabadi way.

My method of cooking is not measured so given below are nearest estimates. You will have to tweak the proportions to make it work for you. You can add or remove the quantity of ingredients to suit your taste and style. Some like it thick with more vermicelli and some prefer it milky. That is why most of the dry fruits and milk are served additionally, to customise the dish.

Dry Fruits for Dressing the Creamy Shir Khurma

Ingredients for making Sheer Khurma

• Pure Milk – 1 litre
• Sugar – 1 cup or as per taste
• Vermicelli – Semiyan – Sevaiyyan – 1/4kg
• Pure Ghee – ¼ kg (or just enough for frying the vermicelli into light golden brown)
• Cardamom – 3 pods.
• Dry Fruits such as almonds (badam), cashewnuts (kaju), raisins (kish mish), watermelon seeds (tarbooz ke beenj), musk melon seeds (kharbuze ke beenj), charoli (chironji), pistachios (pista), etc. Use what you like and as much as you want to for the final dressing.
• Dates – Dry or Raw, for dressing.

How to make Shir Qurma

1. Break the semiya into manageable size. Fry this vermicelli or semiya in a thick bottomed dish in ghee on medium-low flame. The color of the vermicelli should be light golden brown and even. Keep it aside.
2. Bring milk to boil and stir continuously to reduce the quantity. Add sugar, powdered cardamom and stir.
3. Add the semiya to the milk and stir for few minutes till it is soft and cooked. Don’t overcook.
4. Before serving, top it with the nuts, raisins, dates and maybe a speck of ghee.
5. Serve this as you like – hot, warm, room temp or chilled. Since it has ghee, it is better to avoid the colder version.

My Notes:

1. To make the dish creamier or tastier (we will never talk about calories here), you can take more milk and boil to reduce the quantity. Some recipes call for addition of condensed milk for shortcuts.
2. The nuts are generally prepared the previous day/ night. They are soaked for couple of hours to easily skin and sliver, before roasting.
3. The key to bringing out the flavor of nuts is to roast it right. All the nuts need to be roasted in low flame till they change their color and give out their flavored fragrance. Most people deep fry the nuts in the ghee and this works great too. Never over fry or darken the nuts.
4. In good old days, the dried dates would be soaked overnight to soften them. Now, with Mediterranean dates available in every nook and corner, the concept of soaking and waiting is over. Just buy, slice and garnish.
5. Personally, I like it with less sugar. It not only tastes good but is a welcome relief for most guests who are fully fed up with the sweet dish. The dates can be added for sweetness.
6. The cooking vessel needs to be thick-bottomed. This dish requires frequent stirring to ensure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the dish which eventually gives out the burnt smell. A No No.
7. Milk is the base for this dish. Get it as fresh and pure as possible. Toned or skimmed milk can take a hike.

Sheer Delight of Tasting the Rich and Creamy Sweet Sheer Qurma Dessert

This year, following Eid was Ganesh Chaturti which is equally festive in Hyderabad. The crowds take to streets for ten days. There is a lot of dazzle in the city at the moment. And shir kurma is still going strong.

The beauty of this dish is that it  is served to and is loved by one and all. What matter is the love that goes into making it for anyone who comes to your doorstep. Nothing rich or poor about it.

Let me know if you made this dish and have some interesting twists up your sleeve. The best one I read was about adding some orange zest to this creamy pudding. It sounds nice and contemporary. But I’d dig for the good ol semiyan any day.

Please leave your thoughts and ideas for me to tinker with.