Nongu Paal (Palm Fruit Drink)

If it's different type of colourful berries in the west for summer, here in India we have plenty of tropical fruits like mangoes, jackfruit etc...  Among fruits if you ask me which is the best, I definitely can't.  Each fruit is unique and has it's own goodness.

 Yes you have unbearable heat in summer when it comes to tropical countries like India, but God  has also blessed them with abundant amount of fruits which cools down their body. The recipe which I made here is using palm fruit.  I'm sure atleast people from South India will be familiar with this fruit.   In summer people just crave for this fruit.  One thing which amazes me about this fruit is, palm tree is grown in extreme hot climate and the place where the tree grows is totally dry and looks like a dessert, actually not like a desert, it is a desert.   As you know palm tree grows in most of the dry desert regions, but  the fruit inside is high in water content and it also cools down your body, by which I'm amazed by this fruit.

When you go for a drive or walk in 40 degree C and come back home no matter how much bottle of water or juices you drink will not satisfy you.  But a glass of chilled palm fruit drink is a perfect thirst quencher.

  This recipe was strongly suggested by mom in law to publish in my blog but I made it in my mom's place and publishing it now.  Almost everyday  in summer this is a must in our mom in law's place and yeah I got the exact recipe from her.  Ever since I named my blog as Taste Of Pearl City, I never published any recipe to represent my home town and now I'm more than happy to publish the real Taste Of Pearl City , from Pearl City i.e my home town.

Recipe source: Mom-in-law and Mom
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes( Chilling time for 3 to 4 hours)
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Milk- 1/2 litre
Sugar or honey- according to your taste you can add to sweeten the milk
Cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp
Rose water- 1/2 tsp
Palm fruit- 10
Pomegranate seeds- 1 tbsp( optional)
Rose- 1 ( optional)

Method:
Boil the milk along with cardamom powder and let it cool down completely.  Peel the palm fruit.  Blend 5 of the fruit in a blender and chop the remaining into small pieces. Add the pureed and chopped palm fruit, sugar or honey, rose water to the cooled milk and mix well until the sugar dissolves.
Pour the milk in a container and place it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours.  Just before serving add some ice cubes and top it with pomegranate seeds and rose petals.
If you are not a big fan of pomegranate seeds and rose petals, you can omit it.  It taste absolutely perfect just on it's own.

Note:
I haven't mentioned the amount of sugar or honey, since different people use different amount of sweetness, you can vary it according to your taste.


This recipe goes to the following event,
Bookmarked recipes by Priya and Aipi,  Serve it chilled by Oh Taste N See, Kid's Delight - Cool Comfort by Seduce your Taste Buds originally started by Srivalli, Only Coolers and Mocktails by Simply Food started by Foodelicious, Fun N Sun by Tickling Palates, Seasonal Indulgence- Series Summer Coolers by Saffron Streaks  and What's Everyone having for Iftar

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Orange Ricotta Cake

I was so much determined not to blog until I get settled in one place, but I couldn't stop myself since I have some recipes on my hand.  I have recipes lying down in my draft which I made in Germany.  Once I leave them in my draft for certain period of time, I'll discard them since I'll start hating the picture which I took.  So if I prepare something and picture it, I have to publish it immediately or they lay back in my drafts forever.
   
 Just counting the days for us to move to our new place , once we move I'll get back to full blogging mode again, yay!

 Right coming to the recipe, as you all know I love the flavour of ricotta cheese.  Anything with ricotta is always a winner for me.  I wasn't quite sure if we'll be able to get ricotta cheese in India, so I made this cake while we were still in Germany.  Without any doubt I loved the flavours and texture. You can omit orange and add lemon, vanilla or any flavours of your choice.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Makes 8 slices

Ingredients:
Plain flour- 200 g
Butter- 100 g
Sugar- 165 g
Ricotta cheese- 150 g
Grated orange zest- 1/2 tsp
Orange juice- 1 tbsp
Eggs- 3
Baking powder- 2 tsp
Bicarbonate of soda- 1/4 tsp
Flaked almonds- 1 tbsp( optional)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 190 degree Celsius.  Grease and line a 20 cm round baking tray.  Cream together the butter and sugar until it looks light and creamy.  Add the eggs one by one and continue beating with a electric beater.  Add the ricotta cheese and beat until it blends together.
  Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda to the liquid mixture, along with that add the orange juice and grated orange zest.  Mix it with a wooden spatula until it's just combined.  Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tray and sprinkle the flaked almonds on top.  Bake it in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Serve the cake warm with whipped cream and fresh fruits.

Note:
If you couldn't find ricotta cheese in your area, replace it with fresh home made paneer which has wet consistency.

Also my apologies to all my dear bloggers who showered me with lots and lots of wonderful awards, it's been in pending for a long time.  I promise that I'll post it as early as possible which means I'll take an another month ;-)  Thank you all dear bloggers who passed me those lovely awards.

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AWED Roundup

  Hello Foodies,
        It's been nearly a month later I'm opening my blog and it makes me feel so good.  Ooops actually I forget to announce about my break.  For a long time I have been saying that we are moving to India and now we are finally in India . Yes we moved to India on March 31st, we haven't settled yet here.  I still have the tiredness of relocation , but when it comes to blogging I feel like I have got all my energy back.
   Although I wasn't blogging in the past few days, I was still going through all the blogs silently and good to see so many budding bloggers with yummy recipes. I have to say I'm still on my break in blogging but I don't want to delay the roundup for AWED too long.
  Although I requested with DK for the delay in the roundup, I know the viewers and participants will be eagerly waiting for the roundup, so here I'm with the roundup for AWED- Indian Cuisine.  As we all know AWED is started by DK and it features different cuisines every month.  For the month of March I got the opportunity for hosting AWED- Indian Cuisine.  Thank you DK for giving me this opportunity, it's been a real pleasure for me to host this event, we have received many wonderful entries from starter to dessert, so take your time to go through each and every recipe individually and enjoy the world of Indian Cuisine.

Starters

Starting from top left
1. Aloo kachodi by Priyanka
2. Aloo Tikki by Akshaya's recipes
3. Chana Chat by Curry leaf
4. Curd vadai by Harini
5. Dahi vada by Najla Khoya
6. Dal pakwan by Shoba
7. Dill masala vadai by Veena Krishna Kumar
8. Kaaraadai by Priya Sreeram
9. Kachori by Torviewtoronto
10. Kachori by Wit Wok and Wisdom
11. Kuzhipaniyaram by Harini
12. Masala vadai by Curry in Kadai
13. Papri chat by Srav's Culinary Concepts
14. Potham Panji by Priya Mahadevan
15. Spiced Superseed Porridge by Jane
16. Mint Ambode by The V Kitchen

1. Ulunda vadai by Gayathri Raani
2. Thavala adai by Kamakshi
3. Sweet potato ravioli by Archana

Maincourse:


Flatbreads

1. Beetroot paratha by Kurinji
2. Aloo paratha by Umm Mymoonah
3. Naan by Harini
4. Tandoori Naan by Savitha
5. Paneer Onion Kulcha by Harini

Rice:

1. Bisbelabath by Panchpakwan
2. Coconut Rice and Kaala Chole by Priya Mahadevan
3. Ghee rice by Ila's Kitchen
4. Ghee rice with raita and relish by Plateful
5. Hariyali Pulav by Shobha
6. Mushroom Briyani by Akshaya's recipes
7. Saffron rice by Dhyuthi
8. Tava pulav by Curry leaf
9. Vegetable pulav by Akshaya's recipes
10. Vegetable pulav by Anisha

Sides:

1. Achari aloo by Priya Suresh
2. Aloo methi ki subzi by Deepika
3. Dum Aloo by Wit Wok and wisdom
4. Amritsari Chole Poori by Priyanka
5. Avial by Plateful
6. Baby Potatoes in red coriander sauce by Jayashri
7. Bendakaya Gojju by Harini Jaya
8. Bharli Vangi by Priyanka
9. Braised eggplants in tamarind sauce by Saffron streaks
10. Chole masala by Raksha
11. Creamy egg curry by Yummy Tummy
12. Paneer Tikka Masala by Umm Mymoonah
13. Dahi Wale Aloo by Vandana Rajesh
14. Dal Makhani by Harini
16. Dal Makhani by Prathima Rao
17. Dal Makhani by Raji

1. Green Chilly pickle by Veggie Foodie
2. Hariyali Methi Chamman by Saffronstreaks
3. Hyderabadi mirchi ka salan by Saffron streaks
4. Idichakka thoran by Kaveri
5. Inji Puli by Plateful
6. Kadai Aloo Gobhi by Curry in Kadai
7. Kale dhal by Usha
8. Kolaurundaikulambu by Gayathriraani
9. Kulita Kabe randai by Akshaya's recipes
10.Lentil soup by Vidhya
11. Malai kofta curry by Akshaya's recipes
12. Mattar Paneer by Priya Suresh
13. More kuzhambu by Harini
14. Moth beans gravy by Jayashri
15. Palak aur kubani ka kofta by Deepika
16. Palak Paneer by Najla Khoya

1. Palak Paneer by Raksha
2. Paneer butter masala by Radhika
3. Peanuts and cilantro chutney by Curry Leaf
4. Peas sagu by Akshaya's recipes
5. Poondu Kuzhambu by Schmetterling words
6. Potato stew by Priya Sreeram
7. Radish Chickpea curry by Usha
8. Uppa heasaru by Curry Leaf
9. Varutharacha sambhar by Shri


Sweets and Desserts:

1. Barfi by Nayna
2. Dry Gulab Jamun by Harini
3. Gajar Ka Halwa by Najla Khoya
4. Gujiya by Priyanka
5. Gulab Jamun by Harini
6. Gulab Jamun by Mariam Abidha
7. Gulab Jamuns with fried ice cream by Najla Khoya
8. Healthy Barley dessery by Sangeetha
9. Kasi Halwa by South Indian Home

1. Malpua by Saffron streaks
2. Mango lasssi by Savitha
3. Mysorepak by Sojo Joshua Kottil
4. Phirni by Chandrani bannerji
5. Raagi halwa by Archy's Recipe book
6. Rasagulla by Harini
7. Rasagulla by Hasna
8. Rasmalai by Ila's Kitchen
9. Shai Tukre by Curry leaf
10. Rosette Cookies by Nayna
11. Strawberry Shrikand by Najla Khoya
12. Wholewheat pudding by Ankita Jain

Few entries which I missed in the chart

White Radish with chickpea and pumpkin by Sweetartichoke

Kanchipuram Idli by Kamakshi

Idly by Rani acharyulu

Venpongal by Harini

Haale Kadubu by The V Kitchen

Kadalai Manja Tarkari by Swetha

Thandai by Raji

Moong ki dhal by Prathima Rao
Thank you everyone for participating with AWED, I hope everybody enjoyed the roundup.  If I have missed any of your recipes, or mentioned the names wrongly, please let me know immediately so that I can make the correction. Once again thanks a lot for participating, see you all soon :)

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Buttery Flaky Croissants With Step by Step Pictures

I never imagined I would make my own croissants.  Like all homemade cakes, breads and cookies, home croissants are also the best.  The buttery smell when you bake these croissants and the flaky croissants straight from the oven to your plate is just amazing.  Well this is not my first attempt in making croissants, I have tried a couple of times before and I wouldn't say my previous attempts were complete disaster, it was good, but this is the best of all croissants which I made.  I know there is a hell lot of butter in this, but you have to forget about your diet and calories if you want to enjoy these.
 Don't worry, once in a while it won't hurt you much ;-)

  The critical think in making this is, your butter has to be at the right temperature and rolling the dough carefully.  Don't worry if your first attempt didn't give  the results you expected, try it again and again , practise will make you perfect.
 I followed the recipe from Annie's Eats, she has explained the recipe well with clear step by step pictures. You can check her recipe from here.  It's like a dream come true for me, making my own croissants in home.  Thank you Annie for this wonderful recipe.  I'm sure you'll enjoy making this at home.

Preparation Time: aprroximately 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Makes 12 croissants

Ingredients:
All purpose flour- 600 g
Instant yeast- 1 tbsp
Cold Milk- 180 ml
Butter-2 tbsp
Sugar- 40 g
Salt- 1 1/2 tsp

For the butter square:
Butter- 300 g
Flour- 2 1/2 tbsp

For the egg wash:
1 egg beaten lightly with 1 tbsp of water.

Method:
Prepare the dough:
Add about 550 g of flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl.  Slowly add the cold milk to the dry ingredients and start beating with your electric beater fitted with dough hook.  When dough comes together add the butter and start beating again until the butter gets incorporated and dough forms together into a big ball.  If the dough looks too sticky add the remaining 50 g of flour and beat with beater again.  Wrap the dough tightly in a cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Prepare the butter square:
Add the cold butter chopped into small squares and the flour to the work surface dusted with flour.  Smear the butter back and forth with a spoon or bench scraper until it forms a homogenous mixture.  Make the mixture into 7 inch, wrap it in a cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until ready to use.

Start preparing the dough for croissant:

Take the dough out from the refriegerator and roll it into a 11 inch square.

 Place the butter square diagonally in the middle.  Seal the edges together.

Start rolling the dough gently starting from the middle, make sure you dust the work surface with plenty of flour.  Roll the dough gently into 14 inch square.

Fold the dough into third to form a rectangle.

Again fold the dough into third to form a square.  Wrap the dough tightly with a cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Repeat the entire process again twice. Wrap the dough tightly with a cling film and refrigerate it over night.

To make the croissants:

Place the chilled dough in a floured work surface and start rolling gently from the middle to the outwards into a long rectangle.  Roll it about 30 cm length and 20 cm wide rectangle, cut into half.  Place the 1 half covered with a cling film separately.  Then roll the other half until you get 60 cm length and 30 cm wide rectangle.

Cut it into triangles as shown in the picture.

Take a triangle, slightly make a slit at the wide end in the middle.

Start rolling from the wide end to the narrow end to form a croissant.  Repeat the same process for the remaining.  Place the croissants in a greased and lined baking tray.  Space well between each croissants as they spread.   Cover loosely with a cling film and let it rise at room temperature for 40 to 45 minutes or until it looks puffed up.
Preheat the oven to 190 degree celsius.  Brush the croissants with egg wash and bake it in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes until it looks golden brown on top.
Serve the croissants warm with tea or coffee.  You can also store the croissants in a airtight box for upto 1 week.

This recipe goes to Bookmarked recipes by Priya and Aipi, yeastspotting, also linking this to Heart and Soul hop# 41

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Meringue filled flower buns for Daring Baker's Challenge March 2011

This is my 8th challenge with Daring Baker's and my last challenge in Germany.  Hopefully I'll continue the challenges in India after a break.  This month our challenge was by Jamie and Ria.  Our challenge was to make Meringue filled yeasted coffee cake.  Jamie's version was sweet buns filled with meringue, chocolate and nuts. Ria's version was a saffron dough filled with meringue, cashews and a touch of garam masala.  I would have loved to make Ria's spicy and aromatic version but this time I adopted Jamie's version, next time Ria's may be.  This was so good, so definitely I'm going to make it another time.  Thank you Ria and Jamie for this wonderful challenge.

Ingredients:
For the yeasted dough:
Flour- 300 g
Sugar- 25 g
Dried yeast- 1 1/2 tsp
Milk- 90 ml
Water- 30 ml
Egg- 1
Unsalted butter- 60 g( softened)
Salt- 1/2 tsp

For the meringue:
Egg white- 1
Sugar- 30 g
Vanilla essence- 1/2 tsp
Salt- a pinch

For the filling:
Pecan nuts or walnuts- 50 g chopped
Sugar- 1 tbsp
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
Dark chocolate- 60 g chopped

Jam- 1 tbsp( for the topping)

Method:
To make the dough:
Add 150 g of flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl.  Heat the milk, water and butter until the butter gets melted completely.  Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture slowly beating with your electric mixture.  Now add the egg and remaining flour and beat with a electric mixture until it hold together like a dough. Turn the dough to a floured work surface and knead it for 5 to 10 minutes until it looks smooth and elastic.  Place the dough in a clean and oiled bowl, cover with a cling film and allow it to rise for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Prepare the filling:
Mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl and keep it separately.

Prepare the meringue:

Once the dough has doubled start preparing your meringue.  Beat the egg whites with salt in a clean bowl with a electric mixer.  Once it looks foamy, add the essence and sugar little by little .  Increase the speed to high and beat it until it looks stiff and glossy.

Prepare the buns:

Once the dough has risen, punch the air back.  Divide the dough into 4 equal rounds and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

Then flatten each round , spread 1/4 th of the meringue in the middle and sprinkle with the filling mixture.

  Seal the edges and make it into a round again. Dust your working surface with flour and flatten the filled buns slightly. Take a kitchen scissors and make small cuts around the buns.

 Make a deep dimple in the middle and fill it with a tsp of strawberry or any jam of your choice.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius and bake the buns in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Once they are cooked,  take it from the oven and leave it to cool down in the cooling rack.
Enjoy these yeasted soft buns with a cup of tea or coffee.

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