Australians and New Zealanders maintain an ongoing "controversy" over who concocted the famous Pavlova. The Aussies lay claim to it but the Kiwis think very differently. Each claim it as one of their national dishes.
Firstly, how do you pronounce the word Pavlova. Here we go: pav-LOH-vuh with the emphasis on the LOH part of the word.
The word Pavlova is taken directly from the name of the famous ballerina, Anna Pavlova. There is no argument about that fact. Anna Pavlova visited Australia in 1926 and then came back again in 1929 visiting New Zealand as well on this second visit. She was billed as the greatest dancer of all time. As can be imagined, she was very light on her toes.
Back at that time there was a very creative chef working in the kitchens of the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, Western Australia. To celebrate the visit of Anna Pavlova he created a meringue-style dessert which was very light and airy. His delightful dessert was considered to be lighter than air, just like Anna's performances were. Consequently his invention was called a Pavlova - that is the Australian version of how the Pavlova got it's name.
Now the Kiwis debate the fact that an Australian invented the dessert. They say it was being made in New Zealand as far back as 1919, although it was not called a Pavlova. The chef in Perth included a small amount of vinegar in his recipe and it is the vinegar which gives the meringue its soft marshmallow centre. It seems the New Zealand version lacked vinegar in the recipe. The dispute continues but that is enough debate for me....
Let me tell you more about the Pavlova and then you can make one yourself. It certainly has the appearance of a very large meringue, measuring as much as 9" to12" in diameter. Pavlovas can stand anything up to 3" in height. They consist mainly of egg whites and sugar and they are cooked very slowly in the oven. When they have cooled they are topped with whipped cream and then very colourful fruits are arranged on the top of the cream. The whole creation is quite spectacular and most usually quite rich and sweet. There are several variations of the Pavlova recipe. I use this one:
Ingredients
4 egg whites,
1 teaspoon vanilla,
1 teaspoon white vinegar (or lemon juice),
1 cup of caster sugar,
1 cup whipped cream,
Fruit to decorate
Method
Line a baking tray with foil or baking paper. On the foil or paper draw a circle with a 22 cm (9") diameter. In a glass or china bowl beat egg whites, vanilla and vinegar (or lemon juice) until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar, one tablespoonful at a time. When sugar is fully dissolved into egg mixture pile it onto the baking tray, keeping the mixture within the circle. Smooth the top but leave a slight hollow in the central area.
Bake at 120 degrees centigrade (250 degrees fahrenheit) for approximately 1 and 1/4 hours. When cooked, the Pavlova should be a very light beige colour. Turn off the oven. Leave Pavlova to cool in the oven.
When cold, top with whipped cream and decorate with fruit. Colourful fruits are good to decorate Pavlovas, ideas being sliced banana, strawberries, kiwi fruit and passion fruit. Passion fruit is particularly nice, in my opinion, as its tartness complements the sweet Pavlova so well.
If you are making the Pavlova in advance then store it in a cool dry place, not in the fridge and then decorate just before serving.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Butter Cream Icing Recipes
Recipe 1
1 ½ cups of different types of vegetable shortenings
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons flavors (colorless)
2 pounds of confectioner’s sugar
¼ to ½ cup of water or milk (water is a good choice, but milk goes well with lavender color)
Combine all the shortenings, flavorings, and salts thoroughly. Add the powdered sugar. Slowly add water and gently mix all the ingredients until well blended. You will notice that after 2-3 minutes, the mixture will become creamy.
Notes:
a) Try to keep the amount in exactly the same quantity as mentioned above. If you introduce lots of variations, you may not get the desired butter cream icing.
b) If you want to make your icing thin, add three to four big spoonfuls of corn syrup.
c) If you want to make chocolate butter cream, all you need to do is add ¾ cup of cocoa powder or three one ounce chocolate squares, mixed with one to two tablespoons of milk, to the other ingredients and proceed to mix well.
Recipe 2
½ cup vegetable shortening
½ cup of soft butter (you can add margarine also)
4 cups of confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons water (milk)
½ teaspoon almond, for flavor
A dash of salt
Mix the shortening, butter, and almond. Add confectioner’s sugar and gently mix by hand. Continue to add other ingredients and mix quickly, for six to seven minutes.
Here, too, you can add ¼ or 1/3 cup of cocoa powder to make chocolate butter cream.
If the icing is quite thin, you may add more powdered sugar, and in case you find it stiff, put a few drops of water or milk into it.
Recipe 3
Butter cream icing, which has a snow-white appearance as well as a yummy taste, is the best choice for frosting a cake. This so-called “snow white butter cream” is mostly used for decorating wedding cakes or any flat-surfaced cake and for making nail flowers. Remember to dry the flowers uncovered for at least a day. Flowers like apple blossoms or drop flowers are ready for use after four to five hours of air drying.
The good thing about snow-white butter cream is that it does not need refrigeration to become consistent and boasts a delicious taste as well. Here’s a recipe for this delicious icing:
2/3 cup of water
4 tablespoons of meringue powder
12 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 ¼ cups vegetable shortening
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon almond (for flavor)
½ teaspoon vanilla (for flavor)
¼ teaspoon butter (for flavor)
Combine water and meringue powder in a bowl and mix it fast. Next, add four cups of confectioner’s sugar, one at a time. Mix the sugar at fast speed and lower the speed with each addition. Add the shortening, remaining sugar, salt, almond, vanilla, and butter, and mix them gently.
Note: All of the above butter cream icings are easy to make and yummy to taste, you can make all of them at one time and determine which one best suits the different designs on your cake.
1 ½ cups of different types of vegetable shortenings
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons flavors (colorless)
2 pounds of confectioner’s sugar
¼ to ½ cup of water or milk (water is a good choice, but milk goes well with lavender color)
Combine all the shortenings, flavorings, and salts thoroughly. Add the powdered sugar. Slowly add water and gently mix all the ingredients until well blended. You will notice that after 2-3 minutes, the mixture will become creamy.
Notes:
a) Try to keep the amount in exactly the same quantity as mentioned above. If you introduce lots of variations, you may not get the desired butter cream icing.
b) If you want to make your icing thin, add three to four big spoonfuls of corn syrup.
c) If you want to make chocolate butter cream, all you need to do is add ¾ cup of cocoa powder or three one ounce chocolate squares, mixed with one to two tablespoons of milk, to the other ingredients and proceed to mix well.
Recipe 2
½ cup vegetable shortening
½ cup of soft butter (you can add margarine also)
4 cups of confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons water (milk)
½ teaspoon almond, for flavor
A dash of salt
Mix the shortening, butter, and almond. Add confectioner’s sugar and gently mix by hand. Continue to add other ingredients and mix quickly, for six to seven minutes.
Here, too, you can add ¼ or 1/3 cup of cocoa powder to make chocolate butter cream.
If the icing is quite thin, you may add more powdered sugar, and in case you find it stiff, put a few drops of water or milk into it.
Recipe 3
Butter cream icing, which has a snow-white appearance as well as a yummy taste, is the best choice for frosting a cake. This so-called “snow white butter cream” is mostly used for decorating wedding cakes or any flat-surfaced cake and for making nail flowers. Remember to dry the flowers uncovered for at least a day. Flowers like apple blossoms or drop flowers are ready for use after four to five hours of air drying.
The good thing about snow-white butter cream is that it does not need refrigeration to become consistent and boasts a delicious taste as well. Here’s a recipe for this delicious icing:
2/3 cup of water
4 tablespoons of meringue powder
12 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 ¼ cups vegetable shortening
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon almond (for flavor)
½ teaspoon vanilla (for flavor)
¼ teaspoon butter (for flavor)
Combine water and meringue powder in a bowl and mix it fast. Next, add four cups of confectioner’s sugar, one at a time. Mix the sugar at fast speed and lower the speed with each addition. Add the shortening, remaining sugar, salt, almond, vanilla, and butter, and mix them gently.
Note: All of the above butter cream icings are easy to make and yummy to taste, you can make all of them at one time and determine which one best suits the different designs on your cake.
The Skinny on Legumes, Seeds and Nuts
Beans, peas and lentels are in the legume family and are excellent food choices. Legumes are healthy complex carbohydrates, full of vitamins and minerals as well as fiber. They are a good source of protein, although they do not have all the amino acids (the building blocks of protein) that the body needs, so supplement your legumes with a variety of foods to get the complete protein your body needs.
Beans have also been shown to help lower the risk of Diabetes and heart disease. Eating a cup of cooked beans a day can lower your total cholesterol by up to 10% in 6 weeks, which decreases your risk of heart disease by 20%. The phytonutrients in beans also help lower the risk of cancer.
Canned beans will give you the much of the same benefits as dried beans, so if you don’t like to cook your beans from scratch, canned beans are a good alternative.
Some people avoid beans because of the gas and bloating that beans cause. This can be avoided in several ways. First always soak your dried beans overnight, and then discard that water and replace it with fresh water before you cook the beans. If beans still cause you problems, you might try gradually increasing the amount of beans you eat over several week, to help your body adapt. You could also try the product “Beano” found in most stores. It works well for most people.
Seeds and nuts can also be an important source of healthy fiber, plus they are often satisfying and help control the appetite. Nuts and seeds are full of healthy unprocessed monosaturated fats as well.
You might also seriously consider adding bean and seed sprouts to your diet, if you don’t eat them already. The nutritional content of sprouts is many times greater than the original seed or bean it sprouted from. Sprouts have the highest concentration of nutrition per calorie than any food. They are also known for their high enzyme activity, which is never surpassed in any other stage of plant growth.
Beans are almost always a good food choice, but one exception to this is soybeans. Although soy is a popular “healthy” additive to food today, originally the Chinese did not eat soybeans as they did other beans because they knew that soybeans contained harmful substances. Soybeans contain powerful enzyme inhibitors which block the action of the enzymes the body needs for protein digestion. Even cooking them does not get rid of these substances, which cause gas and bloating, as well as other very serious problems in the body, like cancer and blood clots.
The only soy products that do not cause these health problems are the traditional fermented soy products, such as tempeh, natto, miso and shoyu (tamari or soy sauce,) since the lengthy fermentation process seems to get rid of most of the harmful substances, and allow the soy to be easily digested. All other soy products should be avoided, and definitely not used as a replacement for meat in the diet.
Beans have also been shown to help lower the risk of Diabetes and heart disease. Eating a cup of cooked beans a day can lower your total cholesterol by up to 10% in 6 weeks, which decreases your risk of heart disease by 20%. The phytonutrients in beans also help lower the risk of cancer.
Canned beans will give you the much of the same benefits as dried beans, so if you don’t like to cook your beans from scratch, canned beans are a good alternative.
Some people avoid beans because of the gas and bloating that beans cause. This can be avoided in several ways. First always soak your dried beans overnight, and then discard that water and replace it with fresh water before you cook the beans. If beans still cause you problems, you might try gradually increasing the amount of beans you eat over several week, to help your body adapt. You could also try the product “Beano” found in most stores. It works well for most people.
Seeds and nuts can also be an important source of healthy fiber, plus they are often satisfying and help control the appetite. Nuts and seeds are full of healthy unprocessed monosaturated fats as well.
You might also seriously consider adding bean and seed sprouts to your diet, if you don’t eat them already. The nutritional content of sprouts is many times greater than the original seed or bean it sprouted from. Sprouts have the highest concentration of nutrition per calorie than any food. They are also known for their high enzyme activity, which is never surpassed in any other stage of plant growth.
Beans are almost always a good food choice, but one exception to this is soybeans. Although soy is a popular “healthy” additive to food today, originally the Chinese did not eat soybeans as they did other beans because they knew that soybeans contained harmful substances. Soybeans contain powerful enzyme inhibitors which block the action of the enzymes the body needs for protein digestion. Even cooking them does not get rid of these substances, which cause gas and bloating, as well as other very serious problems in the body, like cancer and blood clots.
The only soy products that do not cause these health problems are the traditional fermented soy products, such as tempeh, natto, miso and shoyu (tamari or soy sauce,) since the lengthy fermentation process seems to get rid of most of the harmful substances, and allow the soy to be easily digested. All other soy products should be avoided, and definitely not used as a replacement for meat in the diet.
Not all Fats are Bad
Fats have been unfairly lumped together as being all bad for too long. Fat doesn't necessarily cause disease, and can actually cause a role in its prevention. The truth is that some fats are very bad for us and some fats are actually very good for us.
Time has shown us that diets that restrict all fats fail in terms of weight loss. Since the end of World War II, Americans have been told that they need to restrict saturated fat in their diets. So we switched to margarine from butter, and did what we could to restrict fat. We have been constantly told that the reason for our health problems is that we still eat too much fat, especially saturated fats.
Since Americans have been told to eat a low fat diet to lose weight, the results are that nearly two thirds of adult Americans are now classified as overweight and more children are overweight now than ever before. Obviously something is wrong. That is because we need special kinds of fats in our diets that we are not getting.
If you are like me, you grew up being told that vegetable oils were the good oils and saturated fats were the bad ones. Now we are finding out that it is just the opposite. Diets that are moderate to high in "good" saturated fats and oils such as coconut oil and olive oil are actually very good for us. They raise good cholesterol levels and lower bad cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure. As a matter of fact, people who started adding at least 4 tablespoons of coconut oil to their diets every day, have found that they can now lose weight when they could not before on a fat restricted diet. Sometimes the addition of these oils even helps with their health problems.
It turns out that the bad guys are polyunsaturated oils, which carry toxic fatty acids (long chain fatty acids or LCT's). These LCT's tend to produce fat in the body. Polyunsaturated oils are the vegetable oils we commonly see in the grocery store, such as soy, corn, cottonseed, rapeseed and safflower.
We have been told that they lower cholesterol, but they way that they do is not healthy, as it ends up collecting in the liver. These oils are easily oxidized and damaged by free radicals. When cooked they become rancid in a few hours, even in the refrigerator. This causes damage to our body at a cellular level, the end results showing up as problems like diabetes, cancer, hypothyroidism and heart disease. And if that is not enough, these oils help us to get fat, lower the metabolic rate in our bodies, help suppress the thyroid function and cause our skin to age quicker.
Trans-fat is one of the worst bad guys. Trans-fatty acids often appear on ingredient labels as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. It is what they do to vegetable oils to make them into hard fats such as margarine and vegetable shortening. It is used in the prepared food industry in baked goods like cookies, crackers, and most supermarket peanut butter to prolong the shelf life. These bad fats are used almost exclusively in fast foods that are fried. When heated and eaten, they turn into something like poison in your system, because your body can not process this kind of chemically made fat. Trans-fats not only increase levels of bad cholesterol, but they will decrease levels of good cholesterol in the blood stream and trans-fatty acids have been linked to heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Fats such as margarine and shortening should be totally avoided, as well as foods items that contain them.
The United States FDA is finally catching up to this truth, and by January 2006 they will be requiring food products to label the amount of trans-fat they have in them.) What is frightening is that trans-fats are found in over 40% of the products on our supermarket shelves.
The fatty acid chains in coconut and olive oil are medium-chain fatty acids (MCT's) and they promote weight loss by increasing the body's metabolism to create energy. Coconut oil has become popular lately, because it has been discovered that coconut oil is nature's richest source of MTC's. If you decide to add coconut oil to your diet, it is recommended that you purchase virgin coconut oil (VCO), usually found in health food stores, because it from the best part of the coconut and has not been chemically bleached and heat processed. It is better for cooking than olive oil, because olive oil can be damaged by the heat of cooking, making it similar to the other vegetable oils in the body when cooked.
Even saturated fat from animals is not as bad as it once was thought to be, especially if it is from organically raised animals (free range and grass fed). Organic butter has a very high conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content, which helps us lose weight and gain muscle. But non-organic meats may still be dangerous because of the way the animals were raised or fed. Most grocery store meats are filled with hormones, pesticides, medicines and unhealthy fat that gets transferred to us when we eat it.
Organic grass fed and free range meat and eggs avoid these problems, and give us a much healthier source of protein and saturated fat. Organic saturated fats and oils are actually good for you and should be eaten daily. The body needs these fats for healthy functioning.
So, forget the guilt and fry up that range-fed chicken in some coconut oil and enjoy!
Time has shown us that diets that restrict all fats fail in terms of weight loss. Since the end of World War II, Americans have been told that they need to restrict saturated fat in their diets. So we switched to margarine from butter, and did what we could to restrict fat. We have been constantly told that the reason for our health problems is that we still eat too much fat, especially saturated fats.
Since Americans have been told to eat a low fat diet to lose weight, the results are that nearly two thirds of adult Americans are now classified as overweight and more children are overweight now than ever before. Obviously something is wrong. That is because we need special kinds of fats in our diets that we are not getting.
If you are like me, you grew up being told that vegetable oils were the good oils and saturated fats were the bad ones. Now we are finding out that it is just the opposite. Diets that are moderate to high in "good" saturated fats and oils such as coconut oil and olive oil are actually very good for us. They raise good cholesterol levels and lower bad cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure. As a matter of fact, people who started adding at least 4 tablespoons of coconut oil to their diets every day, have found that they can now lose weight when they could not before on a fat restricted diet. Sometimes the addition of these oils even helps with their health problems.
It turns out that the bad guys are polyunsaturated oils, which carry toxic fatty acids (long chain fatty acids or LCT's). These LCT's tend to produce fat in the body. Polyunsaturated oils are the vegetable oils we commonly see in the grocery store, such as soy, corn, cottonseed, rapeseed and safflower.
We have been told that they lower cholesterol, but they way that they do is not healthy, as it ends up collecting in the liver. These oils are easily oxidized and damaged by free radicals. When cooked they become rancid in a few hours, even in the refrigerator. This causes damage to our body at a cellular level, the end results showing up as problems like diabetes, cancer, hypothyroidism and heart disease. And if that is not enough, these oils help us to get fat, lower the metabolic rate in our bodies, help suppress the thyroid function and cause our skin to age quicker.
Trans-fat is one of the worst bad guys. Trans-fatty acids often appear on ingredient labels as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. It is what they do to vegetable oils to make them into hard fats such as margarine and vegetable shortening. It is used in the prepared food industry in baked goods like cookies, crackers, and most supermarket peanut butter to prolong the shelf life. These bad fats are used almost exclusively in fast foods that are fried. When heated and eaten, they turn into something like poison in your system, because your body can not process this kind of chemically made fat. Trans-fats not only increase levels of bad cholesterol, but they will decrease levels of good cholesterol in the blood stream and trans-fatty acids have been linked to heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Fats such as margarine and shortening should be totally avoided, as well as foods items that contain them.
The United States FDA is finally catching up to this truth, and by January 2006 they will be requiring food products to label the amount of trans-fat they have in them.) What is frightening is that trans-fats are found in over 40% of the products on our supermarket shelves.
The fatty acid chains in coconut and olive oil are medium-chain fatty acids (MCT's) and they promote weight loss by increasing the body's metabolism to create energy. Coconut oil has become popular lately, because it has been discovered that coconut oil is nature's richest source of MTC's. If you decide to add coconut oil to your diet, it is recommended that you purchase virgin coconut oil (VCO), usually found in health food stores, because it from the best part of the coconut and has not been chemically bleached and heat processed. It is better for cooking than olive oil, because olive oil can be damaged by the heat of cooking, making it similar to the other vegetable oils in the body when cooked.
Even saturated fat from animals is not as bad as it once was thought to be, especially if it is from organically raised animals (free range and grass fed). Organic butter has a very high conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content, which helps us lose weight and gain muscle. But non-organic meats may still be dangerous because of the way the animals were raised or fed. Most grocery store meats are filled with hormones, pesticides, medicines and unhealthy fat that gets transferred to us when we eat it.
Organic grass fed and free range meat and eggs avoid these problems, and give us a much healthier source of protein and saturated fat. Organic saturated fats and oils are actually good for you and should be eaten daily. The body needs these fats for healthy functioning.
So, forget the guilt and fry up that range-fed chicken in some coconut oil and enjoy!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Mysore pak
Mysore pak or Mysore paak must be one of the most popular sweets in Karnataka. It is one of my all time favorite sweets. But there are different kinds of Mysore pak available in market. When I was a kid, they were always long rectangular shaped(as in this picture). They used to be solid, very porous, melt in the mouth kind of sweets. But these days we get them either like semi solid ones with dripping ghee or even if they are solid ones, they don’t have pores in them, so they are too hard, they are very light in color (almost the color of besan). Somehow I don’t like this variety. Though both are still Mysore paks and there are many fans for both types, but I like only the first one.
Since this is my hubby’s favorite too, I asked my aayi if she knew how to make these. She said when she was just married, she used to make these very regularly. When she was here, she even wanted to give me a demo, but somehow we never got to make this at that time. She gave me the exact steps to make this. She also said after sometime she had stopped making these at home since they were readily available in markets and also she clearly knew the response to any sweets at our home.
So after keeping this recipe without being tried for about 4-5months, I thought it is high time to give it a try. Since there are just 6 days left for Diwali, I thought this is the best time. Frankly, I didn’t have much hopes when I started. Even though I have 100% faith in my aayi’s recipes, I have a natural talent for messing up the dishes. These got ready in about 45mins and I had got one of the best Mysore paks, just the way I loved them. They were very porous, light, solid, crunchy. I have cut them in the shape available in bakeries, the color also came out perfect.
If I say I am on 7th sky, it won’t be wrong. Two days straight, I have been very happy. Yesterday, I had a major breakthrough in my project and I almost danced in front of everyone. My boss, who always thinks I am a quiet girl, started laughing when I was jumping with joy. Today, even though a mere sweet is nothing compared to that success, I am too happy, just can’t express in words .
This is my first entry to Vee’s Diwali special JFI. I did a lot of circus today to take pictures with one hand while I was mixing the contents with other hand. So pardon the poor quality of most of the photos.
Ingredients:1 cup gram flour(besan)1 cup sugar1 cup ghee1/2 tea spn cardamom powder
Normally 2 cups of ghee for 1 cup flour is used, I think that makes the texture still better. But I am very satisfied with the texture for amount of ghee I used.
Since this is my hubby’s favorite too, I asked my aayi if she knew how to make these. She said when she was just married, she used to make these very regularly. When she was here, she even wanted to give me a demo, but somehow we never got to make this at that time. She gave me the exact steps to make this. She also said after sometime she had stopped making these at home since they were readily available in markets and also she clearly knew the response to any sweets at our home.
So after keeping this recipe without being tried for about 4-5months, I thought it is high time to give it a try. Since there are just 6 days left for Diwali, I thought this is the best time. Frankly, I didn’t have much hopes when I started. Even though I have 100% faith in my aayi’s recipes, I have a natural talent for messing up the dishes. These got ready in about 45mins and I had got one of the best Mysore paks, just the way I loved them. They were very porous, light, solid, crunchy. I have cut them in the shape available in bakeries, the color also came out perfect.
If I say I am on 7th sky, it won’t be wrong. Two days straight, I have been very happy. Yesterday, I had a major breakthrough in my project and I almost danced in front of everyone. My boss, who always thinks I am a quiet girl, started laughing when I was jumping with joy. Today, even though a mere sweet is nothing compared to that success, I am too happy, just can’t express in words .
This is my first entry to Vee’s Diwali special JFI. I did a lot of circus today to take pictures with one hand while I was mixing the contents with other hand. So pardon the poor quality of most of the photos.
Ingredients:1 cup gram flour(besan)1 cup sugar1 cup ghee1/2 tea spn cardamom powder
Normally 2 cups of ghee for 1 cup flour is used, I think that makes the texture still better. But I am very satisfied with the texture for amount of ghee I used.
Chicken corn soup
chicken corn soup recipe
Ingredients:-
1 tbsp —— Corn Starch
1 cup —— Chicken, skinned, cooked and diced
250 gms —— Creamed Corn
Egg Whites from 2 eggs
2 tbsp —— Fresh Parsley, finely minced
2 tbsp —— Cold Water
3 cups —— Chicken Broth
Method:
In a large saucepan, mix corn, chicken and chicken broth.
Boil it over medium heat and stir occasionally.
Mix cornstarch well with cold water and add to soup. uncover the saucepan and continue cook for 3 minutes.
Beat Well egg white till it becomes foamy than stir it into soup. cook until foamy on low heat.
Pour soup in to a bowls and garnish with parsley.
Pak foods
Pakistani cuisine is as diverse as it's people. Most of Pakistani cuisine has Afghan-Turkic-Iranian roots, a legacy of Muslim rule in South Asia, which got 'Indianized' due to the greater usage of spices; this is specially true for Pakistani Punjabis, Sindhis and Muhajirs (also Muslims in India); whereas Pakistani Pashtuns and Baluchese have retained their cuisine similar to our western neighbors. So in a wider sense Pakistani cuisine is a blend of our western (Afghan-Iranian) and eastern (Indian) neighbors, depending on the region and people, of which many have evolved into their own unique distinct characteristics. Meat is a major part of Pakistani diet, whereas vegetables and beans are as important. Wheat is also the main staple of Pakistani diet, whereas rice is also popular. The content of spices can range from very spicy/hot to mild, although spicy/hot seems more popular. In recent times some of the Chinese and American cuisine have also been adopted by a few segments of Pakistani urbanites as well. The recipes in this section contain both metric and imperial measurements. Use the Conversion chart if you need to convert or adapt any measurements yourself.
http://www.contactpakistan.com/pakfood/
http://www.contactpakistan.com/pakfood/
Mysore Pak
This rich sweet dish is popular in the regions of Mysore. This is prepared using Clarified Butter/Ghee and Gram Flour.
Time Required: 20 Minutes
Ingredients:1 Cup Kadale Hittu/Besan/Gram Flour2 Cups Sugar2 Cups Ghee/Clarified Butter
Method:Heat a Kadai and add Kadale hittu and dry-roast for a minute on low flame and keep it aside. Heat 1 cup of water in a thick bottomed pan/vessel and add Sugar. Stir until Sugar dissolves. Now, add half a cup of Ghee and stir for 2 to 3 minutes on low flame.
Add the roasted kadale hittu to the Sugar syrup and stir continuously ensuring that there are no lumps formed. Keep adding the rest of the Ghee until bubbles start forming on the surface and the mixture becomes light and starts to come out of the sides easily.
Pour this mixture on a greased tray. Cut into desired shapes.
Because of the heat the color of the pieces will become golden brown at the bottom and light yellow in the top. When it cools down store in air tight containers. Read more: http://www.itslife.in/2008/09/mysore-pak#ixzz0fWtbxcNHRead more: http://www.itslife.in/2008/09/mysore-pak#ixzz0fWtc0Ojt
Time Required: 20 Minutes
Ingredients:1 Cup Kadale Hittu/Besan/Gram Flour2 Cups Sugar2 Cups Ghee/Clarified Butter
Method:Heat a Kadai and add Kadale hittu and dry-roast for a minute on low flame and keep it aside. Heat 1 cup of water in a thick bottomed pan/vessel and add Sugar. Stir until Sugar dissolves. Now, add half a cup of Ghee and stir for 2 to 3 minutes on low flame.
Add the roasted kadale hittu to the Sugar syrup and stir continuously ensuring that there are no lumps formed. Keep adding the rest of the Ghee until bubbles start forming on the surface and the mixture becomes light and starts to come out of the sides easily.
Pour this mixture on a greased tray. Cut into desired shapes.
Because of the heat the color of the pieces will become golden brown at the bottom and light yellow in the top. When it cools down store in air tight containers. Read more: http://www.itslife.in/2008/09/mysore-pak#ixzz0fWtbxcNHRead more: http://www.itslife.in/2008/09/mysore-pak#ixzz0fWtc0Ojt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)