ANZAC Kheer!

By Shruti Nargundkar

http://shrutinargundkar.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/anzac-kheer_28.html

26th January 2013

Australia Day, Indian Republic Day

As I settle down to watch the morning news with a cup of tea, the hot topic for discussion on TV is the rising incidence of drinking and alcohol related violence on Australia Day in Australia.

If Australia Day is a celebration of our patriotism and national identity, the latest evidence suggests that we have a major problem on our hands. Research shows that more Australians get drunk and violent on Australia Day than on any other day of the year, says the panel.

Having a drink is often associated with being inherently Australian. You are un-Australian if you don’t drink. While most people celebrate in a safe and respectful way – many with a drink or two, it’s unfortunate that so many people think it is fashionable to binge drink on Australia Day. Many get caught up in drunken aggressive behaviour and yet many get involved in accidents.
Others spend their Australia Day dealing with drunken idiots in hospitals or police lock-ups, or drunk drivers on our roads.

Is it just because the Australia Day weekend is the last long weekend before summer ends and people would like to let down their hair? And letting down one’s hair is always associated with drinking binges for many? Is the traditional barbecue inconceivable without the drinking? Is drinking an indispensable part of celebrations? Is it something that we can blame on the companies that manufacture alcohol and those that promote it so vigorously?

A public holiday on a festival or national day is meant to give you time to remember the reason for celebration, meet with like minded people and remember, redefine and relate the significance of these special occasions to our lives today…

Then we change channels and watch the Indian President address to the nation. Our rascally, irreverent hoots at his accented English gradually slowly dissipated, replaced by keen attention as the Rashtrapati candidly spoke about the recent tragedy in Delhi. His words made impact.

“It is time for the nation to reset its moral compass.”

“The anxiety and restlessness of youth has to be channelized towards change with speed, dignity and order.”

And I remember Mother, who may well have spoken so.

When we were kids, Mother, a proud daughter of freedom fighter parents, always made something nice (and sweet) on national holidays.

“But this is not a festival like Diwali and Dasera”, we would say. Mother would tell us these days were as significant, or perhaps more, as our traditional festivals, for they are more current and related to our immediate lives.

She would liken Dasera, celebrated to commemorate Ram’s victory over Ravan, the triumph of good over evil to the Indian Independence Day. Diwali marked the return of Ram and Sita to their kingdom, signifying the return of peace and sovereignty, quite like the Indian Republic Day. In a few hundred years from now, Independence Day and Republic Day would also be observed like these two days. They will symbolise freedom from bondage of whatever is troubling the society at that time. They will entail a celebration of the establishment of the supreme law and governance of the land for the happiness and well being of the people of those times.

Some of this wisdom is recreated from memory and experience, for it must have been lost on us young kids.

Wow! We would think, as we fantasised how festivals would be celebrated in a futuristic society. Will they make sweets? Will they perform a puja? Will they buy new clothes and crackers?

As we settle down to watch the spectacular, larger than life celebrations at the Republic Day Parade on TV, the family asked “So what’s for lunch, Mum?”

I try to come up with a dish that would have elements of celebration and significance for both the countries so dear to us, one our ‘janmabhoomi’ (land of birth) and the other our ‘karmabhoomi’ (land where one makes a career).

I think oats, coconut and brown sugar of the ANZAC biscuits that sustained diggers (troops) during the Great Wars.

I remember the gavachi kheer, the wholesome sweet gruel made with wheat pearls and jaggery, a feast food in Marathwada.

I see oats or barley, coconut and jaggery.

I say, “ANZAC kheer!”

Ingredients

1 cup pearl barley
1 cup dates, chopped
½ cup chopped almonds
¾ cup fresh grated coconut (desiccated will do)
½ cup jaggery, grated (or brown sugar or sweetener)
1 tbsp white poppy seeds, dry roasted
½ ts fennel seeds
½ tsp powdered cardamom
¼ tsp powdered nutmeg
Handful of chopped almonds to garnish
Handful of chopped dates to garnish
1 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp whole-wheat flour (atta)
2 cups full cream milk
Ghee to serve (optional)

Preparation

Grind the coconut, roasted poppy seeds and fennel seeds together into a fine paste, with some water. Keep aside.

Wash and cook the pearl barley really soft. I pressure cooked it.

In a suitable heavy bottomed pan, melt the ghee and add the wheat flour and roast it well. Remove into a small dish. Then to the same pot, add the cooked barley and some water to adjust the consistency. Add the coconut and poppy and fennel seeds ground together, the chopped dates, chopped almonds and some jaggery or sweetener to adjust the sweetness. When it comes to a boil, slowly mix in the roux or roasted atta. Add the milk and bring it back to a simmer. Adjust the consistency. Add the cardamom and nutmeg. Keep on adjusting the consistency till you get a thick creamy gruel.

When serving, garnish with some almonds and chopped dates and top it with some melted ghee.

Serve warm, garnished with some almonds and chopped dates and topped with some melted ghee.

This kheer is like the gavhachi kheer (Wheat and milk pudding) made in Maharashtra and Karnataka, states in India.

I recently made some phirni recently for my mama and mami (uncle and aunt) who were visiting.  I once proposed making phirni for a festive dinner to family elders. I had to explain what it was, and when told what it was – a rice kheer – they were mildly apoplectic! How could I forget that rice kheer is made only for the shraddh (memorial ceremony) lunch of a dead forefather or family member?!

Well, to grant it, the exotic sounding phirni is a far cry from the frumpy rice kheer that is made for shraddh – which one is not allowed to appreciate and relish, nor have second helpings of, for those are supposed to be sad occasions! Actually, I am not sure if phirni can be called kheer without offending some of my North Indian friends. Years ago, when I had served some vermicelli kheer at a do, I was corrected snootily by a matron, “This, my dear, is seviayn, not kheer. Kheer is made with whole rice and milk.” My heart froze and the kheer – sorry, seviyan – must have set into a kulfi .

My heart has since thawed, and I no longer smart from the telling-off, but hang on, in Marathi anything with milk and sugar and semi-soild or semi-liquid in consistency is kheer.

And why not? The word kheer comes from the Sanskrit word (quite obvious) kshir, which means milk. Payas/payesh/payasam- words for kheer in various Indian languages also evolve from the Sanskrit word for milk.

Payasam or kheer is often made during religious ceremonies. That reminds me,

And why is a phirni called a phirni? My friend Google doesn’t seem to have an answer, so I must ask my other friend Encyclopaedia.

Till then, I will hazard a guess. A phirni is called a phirni because it has to be stirred all the time. To stir is ‘to phirana’ in Hindi… so …

Ingredients

1 ½ litre full cream milk
5 tbsps basmati rice
6-7 tbsp sugar/Splenda (or more)
½ tsp cardamom powder
½ tsp kewra water (pandan or screw pine essence)
½ tsp rose water
7-8 threads of good quality saffron
2-3 tbsp almond meal
100 ml cream
Pistachios, chopped

Preparation

Wash and soak rice in water for 1 hour in a cup of water. Using the same water in which the rice has been soaked, grind the rice into a grainy paste. Keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the milk on low heat and bring it to a rolling boil. Keep stirring continuously using a perforated ladle to break the malai skin. Also take care to scrape the bottom of the pan/pot all the time.

In another saucepan, heat the cream gently till it starts bubbling. Keep on stirring and add a cup of the hot milk. Let the mixture boil well. This is to remove the raw taste of cream. It also ensures that the milk will not curdle – sometimes when you add milk of different fat content, temperatures and even from different bottles, it can curdle – leaving you very disheartened and your plans awry!

Add the boiling cream and milk mixture to the larger pan of boiling milk and add the almond meal and keep stirring for a few minutes. Then slowly pour the grainy rice paste in a thin stream into the boiling milk, continuously stirring. The milk will thicken immediately. Keep stirring till the mixture cooks and looks translucent.

Then add the sugar/ sweetener, cardamom powder, kewra and rose water and saffron. Yes, all of these together -they make a very fragrant combination!

Allow the phirni to cool and then chill for a few hours before serving with a garnish of pistachios. You can garnish with rose petals as well.

My Melbourne friends – roses are in season and I am sure your gardens must be in full bloom!

And with the sun is baking everything golden, it’s perfect time to make your gulkand or rose-petal jam! Yes, you can make gulkand even with the non-desi gulabs.

Just select the best petals once the rose starts to shed, wipe each one clean and in a wide necked jar layer the petals alternately with sugar and keep the jar covered in the sun for as many days as you can. Keep stirring the gulkand from time to time. In a few days, you will see a sticky jam forming.

Once formed, keep the jar in a cool and dry place or in the fridge. Gulkand keeps forever!

I am still using the one mum made with the glorious roses from my brother’s house- two years ago!

Strudel is one of the things that has been on my list of desserts to make a vegan version of for ages. I haven’t eaten strudel for years! The fruits I normally associate with strudel are apple, apricot, peach and cherries. However, since the summer weather is in full swing here (it’s been hot!) I thought I’d give it a summer tropical twist by using mango and passion fruit. The results were delectable!

Ingredients

Ingredients
1 cup raw blanched almonds
1/4 cup agave nectar
3 tbsp maple syrup
Zest and juice of 1 lemon (tip: zest lemon before you juice it!)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
2 passionfruits
1/2 cup flaked or slivered almonds
1 mango, thinly sliced and skin removed
6 sheets filo pastry, thawed
1/2 cup vegan margarine (nuttelex), melted
Icing sugar, to dust

Preparation

To Make
1. Soak the almonds over night, or for at least 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
3. Place the drained soaked almonds, agave nectar, maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract and water in a food processor. Process until completely smooth, scraping down the sides often. This may take a little while, depending on your food processor. Should take between 5 and 8 minutes to get it completely smooth.
4. Remove the pulp from the passion fruits and fold the pulp through the creamy almond mixture.
5. Slice the flesh off the mango (you can suck on the seed while you cook), remove the skin and slice.
6. Lay out two sheets of filo next to each other with the edges overlapping (see pictures). Brush all over with melted margarine and layer another two sheets on top. Layer with melted margarine again and add the last two pieces of filo (so you should have three layers all together).
7. Layer the almond cream in middle of one of the sheets of pastry (once again, see the picture). Top with sliced mangos and slivered/flaked almonds. Fold the bottom and edges over onto the filling and gently flip the strudel over and “roll” it up right to the end. You’ll probably want an extra pair of hands to help you with this, as it’s a little bit delicate. But if you rip the pastry a bit it doesn’t matter, you’ll hide it when you roll it all up.
8. Brush the top with the remaining melted margarine. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden on top.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool. You can serve it warm (let it sit for at least 15 minutes) or at room temperature (don’t chill!), dust with icing sugar before serving.

For detailed photos of how to construct this gorgeous dessert – visit http://gormandizewithus.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/vegan-mango-and-passionfruit-strudel.html

I first made this recipies for a small anual fundraiser dubbed the Chocolate Fest. They were such a crowd pleaser that I’ve made them several times for friends, family and clients.

Ingredients

6 High quality jasmin green tea bags
2 cups heavy cream divided
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1cup plus one table spoon high fat 70% cacoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tbs. baking powder
pinch salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegatable oil
one cup boiling water
2 cups quality chopped dark chocolate
1 tbs. unsalted butter

Preparation

One day prior to baking, bring the cream to a simmer on the stove top. Add in 4 tea bags, remove from heat, lid tightly and allow to cool 2 hours. Place pan in refridgerator overnight. Bring to room temp. before using.

To make cakes , place the remaining tea bags in the water and let sit. Place the Flour, sugar, 1 cup cocoa baking soda/powder and salt in a mixing bowl attached to a stand mixer. Mix on low for 5 minuets. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the oil in a steady stream. increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2-4 minuets. The batter will become smooth and not look as grainy. Discard the tea bags from the cream and water. Decrease speed of the mixer once more and add the cream. Mix to fully combine then add the water. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on medium 3-4 more minuets.

Grease 24 small cupcake tins and dust with remaining tbs. cocoa.cup cream back to Divide batter equally among the cups and bake mmer with 1 tbs. buttera siat 325 degrees for aprox. 20 minuets. The cakes should not quite spring back when touched. remove from pan and let cool

Mean while, while the cakes are baking bring remaining cup cream and 1 tbs. butter to a simmer again. Remove from heat, add the chopped chocolate and cover. Let sit 10 minuets. Wisk quickly to combine and keep whisking till the ganache resembles pudding. Let sit, tightly covered with plastic wrap till compleatly cool. For best results allow enough time to cool on counter and do not refridgerate.

Ice the cooled cupcakes with a offset spatular or pipe with pastry bag.

To celebrate the launch of the new Tefal Heritage range, Tefal has just announced a partnership with one of Australia’s most popular and celebrated French chefs, Guillaume Brahimi. Guillaume has applied his own French flair to create a selection of beautiful, yet approachable, French-inspired recipes.

Ingredients

Nougat glacé
80 gm egg white
35 gm sugar
35 gm glucose
75 gm honey
350 gm thickened cream
30 ml grand mariner
70 gm glacé fruit, diced to 1/2 centimeter pieces
50 gm hazelnut, roasted and roughly chopped

Crepes
200 gm flour
50 gm sugar
1 pinch salt
20 gm melted butter
2 eggs
270 ml milk
1 lemon zest, finely grated
1 orange zest, finely grated

Garnish
100 ml honey
140 gm glacé fruit, diced to 1/2 centimeter pieces
50 gm hazelnuts, roasted and roughly chopped

Preparation

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Place sugar, honey and glucose in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Place egg whites in an electric mixing bowl, when the honey mixture reaches 118 degrees, start whipping the egg whites. Once the mix reaches 121 degrees, add to the whites slowly, whip until cool. Add the fruit, nuts, grand mariner and whipped cream and mix gently with a spatula. Place in a lined 20 cm x 10cm x 2 cm container and freeze.

Place flour, sugar, salt and zest in a mixing bowl, combine eggs and milk separately and whisk together. Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the flour, to make a paste.

Place the Tefal Heritage non-stick induction 28cm crepe pan on the heat, and add the mixture to thinly cover the pan. Cook for 2 minutes and then flip, and cook for another minute. Allow to cool.

Remove the nougat glacé from the freezer and tin and cut into 3cm x 10cm pieces, wrap crepe around the nougat.

For garnish place honey in a pan and heat, add the nuts and fruits and mix. Spoon the mix over the top of the crepes and serve.

To celebrate the launch of the new Tefal Heritage range, Tefal has just announced a partnership with one of Australia’s most popular and celebrated French chefs, Guillaume Brahimi. Guillaume has applied his own French flair to create a selection of beautiful, yet approachable, French-inspired recipes.

Ingredients

4 x 160 gm fillets of baby snapper, pin boned with skin on
2 bulbs spring onion, thinly sliced
1 punnet grape tomatoes, blanched and peeled
Juice of ½ lemon
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 punnet mixed baby herbs

Season the snapper with salt and white pepper.

Preparation

Place the Tefal Heritage non-stick induction 30cm fry pan on medium to high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, place the snapper into the pan skin side down, leave for 30 seconds then press down to flatten, cook on skin side for 4 minutes on medium heat. Flip fish and cook for further 1 minute then remove from pan.

Place spring onions in a bowl, add in tomatoes, toss, add extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice then pour into a bowl, and add baby mixed herbs and mix to combine.

Place fish on a plate and place over the sauce vierge.

French chef Guillaume Brahimi applies his own flair to create this beautiful, yet approachable, French-inspired braised veggie dish.

Ingredients

300 ml extra virgin olive oil
12 baby orange carrots, peeled
12 baby purple carrots*, peeled
12 baby yellow carrots*, peeled
12 pieces baby turnip, cleaned
12 pieces spring onion, cleaned
12 pieces French breakfast radish, cleaned
12 pieces asparagus, peeled
12 pieces baby beans, peeled
50 g broad beans, blanched and podded
50 g fresh (podded) or frozen peas
12 baby roma or cherry tomatoes
1 head radicchio, cut in 6 pieces
1/2 bunch tarragon, leaves picked
1/2 bunch thyme
1 bay leaf
1 head of garlic, separated
Sea salt and pepper

Preparation

Place wok over medium heat and add olive oil, carrots, turnips, garlic, spring onions, thyme and bay leaf. Add 150ml of water, a pinch of salt, and place a lid over the wok. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, and add the radicchio and radish. Cook for another 5 minutes, then add the asparagus, beans, and peas (and 2 tablespoon of water if dry). Cook for 5 minutes further. Add broad beans, tomatoes and tarragon. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Serve either as a vegetarian entree or a garnish with fish.

* You can substitute baby yellow and purple carrots with standard (orange) baby or dutch carrots.

Many years ago a well-meaning neighbour fed me English-style rice pudding as a small child fresh out of Japan and it traumatised me immeasurably. I’d only known rice to be a comforting, nourishing staple so being given a serve of mushy, sweet, milky lumps was just an assault on my young, unsuspecting senses. I do however love Spanish style rice pudding which thanks to cinnamon and vanilla makes me forget that I’m eating sweetened rice!

Ingredients

500g whole milk (If you are diet conscious, you can use half or all hi-lo)
250g whipping cream
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 vanilla bean
200g Bomba or other Paella rice (you can use medium grain rice or risotto rice in a pinch)
60g granulated sugar (I used rapadura for a richer flavour)
1 tbsp butter
Enough sugar to brûlée the top

For cumquats:

1 cup of cumquats, washed, slit and deseeded (use a chopstick to poke out seed through the slit)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water
1/3 cup of brandy

Preparation

1. In a medium enameled cast-iron casserole, combine the milk with cinnamon stick and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Add the rice and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard cinnamon stick. Continue to cook the rice, stirring often, until it is just tender, about 50 minutes. Add the cream and simmer, stirring often, until the rice is very tender and the pudding is creamy, about 15 minutes.

2. Stir in the granulated sugar and simmer over moderate heat until dissolved, about 2 minutes. Spoon the pudding into six 1-cup ramekins or similar baking dish and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

3. Using a coarse sieve, sift 1 tablespoon of sugar over each pudding and use kitchen blow torch to brulee the sugar, or place under hot grill until same effect is achieved.

Cumquats

Blanch prepared cumquats at least twice to remove bitterness and put aside. Lightly caramelise the sugar by heating on medium heat in saucepan. Once browned, add water carefully and dissolve the caramel into water over low heat. Bring to boil until syrupy. Add brandy carefully and stir. Add cumquats into mixture and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool then transfer to storage container. Cumquats should be fine for two weeks in syrup. Probably longer!

2 fillets of white fish (such as barramundi or snapper), skin on, cleaned
3 tablespoons fish sauce
Juice and grated zest from 1 lime
1 tablespoon oil (peanut or vegetable)
1/2 bunch garlic chives or garlic stems, sliced into 6cm-long pieces
½ cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
3 green onions, while part only, sliced on the diagonal, to garnish
1 large tomato, sliced, to serve
Steamed rice, to serve

chilli paste
1 red onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 red birdseye chilli, seeds intact or removed depending on desired heat
1 green birdseye chilli, seeds intact or removed depending on desired heat
Knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
3 coriander roots, finely sliced

1) Place the onion, garlic, birdseye chillis and ginger and coriander root into a mortar and pestle and crush into a chunky paste (alternatively, use a food processor).

2) Cut small slices – both widthways and lengthways, resulting in a criss-cross pattern – into the flesh of the fish to all it to absorb the paste flavours. Place fish in a dish and pour over fish sauce, lime juice and lime zest to coat. Leave to marinate at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

3) Heat oil in a frying pan on high heat. When the pan is hot, fry the garlic chives for a couple of minutes until slightly softened, then remove to a bowl. Add remaining tablespoon of oil and add fish fillets skin-side down (reserving marinade) for about 2 minutes until flesh is crispy, then turn over and fry for 1 minute further. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the marinade and simmer 3 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

4) Garnish with coriander leaves and green onions/shallots, and top with the garlic chives. Serve with steamed rice and tomato slices on the side. If you’re choosing to eat the traditional Burmese way, dig into the rice with your right hand, forming a small ball, then add the fish as you scoop it into your mouth.

I am not a dessert person, not at all. If dining out, often when others are having dessert, I will opt for the cheese plate. It will take something exceptional to head for something sweet, but there is one general exception. Crème brulee, if I see it on the menu, then there is a high chance it will be chosen. The magic of cracking through that thin toffee layer to get to a creamy custard wins me over every time.

Ingredients

Serves 6

300ml cream
300ml milk
4 green tea and lemon myrtle tea bags
6 egg yolks
1/4c caster sugar
extra caster sugar to top

Preparation

1. Preheat oven at 150 degrees C. Place a folded over tea towel in an large roasting pan. Place six 160ml ramekins on top of the tea towel.
2. Place milk, cream and tea bags in a medium pot. Bring the mixture to scalding point and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl whisk egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy.
4. Remove tea bags from milk/cream mixture. Pour mixture in to the egg mixture while whisking.
5. Strain mixture in to a pouring jug. Evenly pour among the ramekins. Pour enough boiling water in to the roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
6. Bake for 40 minutes until just set. Remove from oven and transfer ramekins to a wire rack until cooled. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill.
7. When ready to serve, remove plastic wrap and sprinkle the brulees evenly with caster sugar. Use a kitchen blow torch to melt the sugar until it bubbles and caramelises. If you don’t have a torch, place brulees under a hot grill for a minute or two to achieve the same result. Serve immediately.