A Christmas Tradition -- Cinnammmanannamon!!!!

Merry Christmas to all my friends in the Blogosphere!!!

Every celebration is foiled with tradition of some sort!!!  We have them in our family too!  Though not born into a christian household, we celebrate Christmas like any other Hindu festival!!!  Maybe because of my mother, my upbringing with a Christian convent right next door while growing up, my grandmother's influence on my mother...I could go on!  We hold this celebrations more so closer to our hearts because, it brings so much joy into our lives in many many ways...giving, sharing, acquiring, entertaining, and so on!  This year, we did a coat drive among friends, and we made blankets as a family to distribute among the less fortunate.  Wish we could do more, but slowly working on it!!!  It is a tradition that we meet at my friend's place for Christmas eve, celebrate the season with my adapted family, here in the tundra!  We exchange gifts and have a merry meal, play some merry games and come home in the wee hours of the morning!  

                                          This year, my 2 eight year old chipmunks, to my delight, stayed young (the clock somehow magically got reversed!!!)!!!  They who scorned at Santa last year were gung ho about believing in him this year!!!  My dear husband played a big part in it!  Anyway...I am not complaining if I am able to hang on to their childishness for one more year!!  Moms of the world...what say you??! 

                                            There is a tradition in our household, it all started when we moved into our home and celebrated Christmas with all the trimmings, I started baking cinnamon rolls, first thing in the morning, and open gifts, savoring each gooey bite with sips of hot coffee with it!  

                                             This year I did something different....made a cinnamon flavored syrup to go along with it.... heavenly!!!  Fresh hot rolls, with a drizzle of the most luxurious syrup, whipped up in a matter of minutes....was pure indulgence.....go ahead and try it.....  here is what you will need!!

 

Bring together the brown sugar and water in a saucepan to a boil. Stir well until the sugar dissolves completely. Simmer till the syrup thickens a bit.  

Add the Condensed milk, stir till smooth, turn the flame off.  Whisk in the ground cinnamon.  I added pumpkin pie spice, as that happens to be my favorite and also, it contains a little of cinnamon, ginger, cloves et al ... making it more classy! 

My cinnamon rolls happily doubling and thriving in the oven at 400F!!  Can't wait to get to it!  We had these lovely, soft rolls with both the traditional icing and the cinnamon syrup!

This is how our table looks as each of us is trying to help ourselves with the toppings!!!!

 

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!  

Merry Seasons Eatings!!!

Apples .... 3 ways!

Autumn is such a bountiful month!!  The air is crisp, leaves are a beautiful marigold/auburn, holiday season is nearing, and this is a gateway to a season of entertaining, fine food and merry making!!!    The perpetual recipe hunt begins!  On the market front, I am sure there are a lot of produce that we all enjoy immensely in Autumn...but of all that..I love apples!!  I could munch on them, blend them into milkshakes to give an oomph to the nutritional value, for a simple snack, spread a tablespoon of peanut butter, for a more decadent snack...substitute the peanut butter with a tablespoon of Nutella and doll it up with a zest of orange and sprinkle of chopped walnuts!! sigh!!  You can tell....I am digressing here!  We went apple picking.....a favorite activity to do and obviously picked up a ton of apples (at least that is what we thought!) and here I am tired of munching and crunching at them and do not have the heart to throw them away either!  So..... I came up with these alternatives.  I used them up in other forms such as ...

A savory Apple Compote ..absolutely yum!!    This will happily substitute your annual cranberry relish at your thanksgiving table, perfect topper to your cracker at the h'orderves table, a fancy "mini" side with your lunch, a sandwich spread...yup...you got it!!!  Endless possibilities!!!  So, let us get on with the actual recipe!  The ingredients that you will need... 2 red delicious apples, or any apples on hand, 1/2 purple onion, thinly sliced, 1 tsp fennel seeds,  2 tsp cayenne pepper powder, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup lemon juice....

 In a small saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter, and saute the onion slices until caramelized. Add the ginger, fennel seeds, cayenne pepper powder, and saute well until they are well combined.

Meanwhile, slice the apples thinly. 

Add the apples, lemon juice and brown sugar to the pan, stir well! 

Apples cooking in different stages.... Cook the apples for 20-30 minutes, covered for the first 15 minutes.  The apples will release their juices, and stew in the most heavenly spiced, lemony sugar syrup till they are soft but still hold their shape!  You could make it your own by adding raisins, nuts or raisins to this!

Spiced Ginger Apple Bundt Cake:

I love bundt cakes for all the right reasons!!  They make the simplest of cake recipes look fanciful!  I love to dress up my everyday cake in a bundt pan and put it on a lovely pedestal stand and serve simply dusted with snowiest sprinkle of good old white powdered sugar!  This apple cake is my everyday, easiest cake recipe....it is soft, moist, melt in your mouth kinda cake!!  the whole cake is made with just 1 cup flour and sugar and 1/2 cup oil!!  So, indulge in it...guilt free!  
You will need... 1/2 cup canola oil, 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 1 egg, 1 cup all purpose flour, (watch out for the typo mistake in the pic) -- 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 1/2 -2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice and 1 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder...

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• First, mix all the dry ingredients together and aerate the mixture with a whisk and set aside!
• Mix all wet ingredients with a whisk.  Grate and dice the apples, add them to the wet ingredients and mix well.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix well, the mixture will be quite thick and lumpy!  Do not be alarmed!!!  
• Grease a bundt pan with some non-stick cooking spray. 
• Pour the mixture into the pan, level it, bake it in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes at 350F.  
• Test for done-ness with the help of a toothpick.  It should come out clean which it will for, this si a fool proof cake!!!  Cool the cake and invert it onto a serving platter and serve with a dollop of whipped cream with a sprinkle of ginger powder!  

Warm, moist cake with a hint of spice with a gentle burn in the back of your throat with a cup of tea....pure heaven!!!!!!!!!

My last entry.....

Apple Thokku aka Apple Pickle!

Thokku, is a pickle that is made and enjoyed the same day!  Since it is cooked well, with the vegetable and spices in the oil, it does not have to rest for a period like avakkay etc.  This gets done fast too...have always wondered about its shelf life!  Maybe it is so darn tasty that we wipe it off as soon as this is made!  But can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month!  This recipe was born out of necessity!  As a new bride, I had to come up with a quick pickle for a dinner party!  No mangoes or lemon in hand; no driver or a car at my disposal to go to the nearest grocer!  But there were two green apples sitting alone, biding their time on my counter...as the light bulb went "on" in my head, they were washed, grated and combined with the spiced oil and cooked to pulpy goodness to the delight of my senses as the pickle aroma wafted through my tiny kitchen!!!  Was proud to serve as part of my south Indian dinner platter.  Today, other apples have found their way into this pickle, and apart from being a part of a traditional south Indian meal, they also star as dips with tortilla and pita chips, on buttered toast or on English muffins, thinned out with oil, serve as a perfect dressing to cut fruits as the cantaloupe and melon cubes!!   You let me know what you served them with! 

You will need ...Spice Mixture:   2 tsp of mustard seeds (black or brown, I prefer black), 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi), 1 tsp ground asofetida (hing).  Toast the above spices till the mustard furiously pops around...so have a lid handy!  The methi seeds need to darken.  Cool and transfer them to a spice blender and powder them to a fine powder. 

You will need ... for the Pickle:  1 tbsp of the spice mixture, 2 tsp salt, 1 1/2-2 tbsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp hing, 1 tsp mustard seeds,  1/2 cup canola oil and 2 apples (any variety... increase the salt and cayenne pepper powder according to taste if the apples are sweet!), grated.

Heat oil in a wok, add 1 tsp of mustard seeds, and hing.  Once the mustard seeds pop, add the spice mixture and cayenne pepper powder, toss well in the hot oil.  Let the oil froth over on medium heat.  Add the grated apples, salt and cook the mixture, covered  till it is well combined.  Let this auburn spicy mixture cook until the oil seeps out.  This should not take more than 20 minutes to come together!  Once the moisture from the apples have evaporated, and the mixture evolves to a deep reddish brown color, turn the heat off.  Cool and store the mixture in airtight jars. 

Enjoy these fall inspired recipe from my kitchen to yours!!!  Make yummy memories in your kitchen!!!  

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I am getting ready.....  to get the candy out.... get my kids all dolled up, and greet the trick or treaters.....tonnes of neuvo candies to hand out!!!  I can almost feel the sugar rush!!!  Wish you all a spooky and a safe Halloweeeeeeeeeeen:))))))))))))

Wish You A Very Happy and Prosperous Diwali!!!

 Festive!!  That would be the apt word to describe my mood right now!  My house, my surroundings, people around me are all just the way they always are...but my heart is singing joyous melodies of festivities!!  I have often heard from people that how they miss being back home as in India during such big festivals, be it Durga puja or Diwali!!  I feel, it is all in one's mind!  In what we do, how involved we are, how much are we willing to invest in carrying out these festivities to etch out our own traditions that can be passed on to the next generation!  My spirit is so infectious (or so I blissfully think :))))!), that my 2 children, who are totally oblivious to what Diwali is (they only know through me) and how it is celebrated in India, jump right into the spirit of it all and embrace it!  My lovely day will start with "holy bath"  in the river Ganges!  Am I going to take a multi thousand mile trip to Banaras????  No way...it is our good old Mississippi waters that flow through my Moen faucet, but sanctified with this special oil that I make like so.....

                                                Heat 1/4  cup sesame oil and coconut oil in a saucepan with 2 pods of pepper and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds.  Simmer for 3 minutes and cool the oil. Massage  this oil in the center of your head for the most cooling effect and wash your hair with your favorite shampoo and conditioner!  My version of Ganga Sanaanam/ Holy Bath is done!!  

                                              Now is the leghiyam moment.... my mom used to concoct (with the recipe handed down over the generations past!) this digestive to prelude all the yummy goodies that she was going to serve that day....her labor of love!  This digestive/chyavanpraash is really yummy if made with the right amount of jaggery and ghee....can be had as an item by itself if you can withstand the slight tingle in the back of your throat!!   I have a very simple, quick recipe, passed down by my mother in law....

Roast 2 tbsp of Coriander powder in 1 tbsp of ghee (butter oil), add in a scant 2 tbsp of ginger juice, mix well.  Add 2 tbsp or more of brown sugar, a pinch of cardamom, and a little more ghee.  Mix everything on a pan over medium heat until it all comes together.  Cool the mixture, roll the mixture with greased palms (greased with ghee!) into small smooth balls!  Your instant leghiyam is ready, and will taste as good as the authentic one, even better!  Do try this out and let me know!!  

                                           Now, we all make an array of sweets and savories and show off our skill set during this time of the year!!!  This year, I have come up with a different kind of a sweet, that I have fondly named it as Chandra Kala...when I mentioned this to my mom...she said it reminded her of an yesteryear movie star!!!  These are like little moons on a platter all dolled up!!  Thus the name!!!  This took me about 5 minutes to put together and 18 minutes to bake, and I had about 16 per batch. I did all this while cleaning my kitchen, putting the kids to bed....et al!  Its an absolute "mommy" favorite.... one for the multitasker in you!!!  How do you go about this???  This is how!!! 

Preheat your oven to 325 F! 

You will need 5 simple ingredients.. 1 pack (14 oz)  sweetened coconut flakes; 1 can condensed milk, 2 tsp cardamom powder, 2 tablespoons each, sliced almonds and dried cranberries!

 

Mix evenly, the condensed milk, coconut flakes and cardamom powder in a bowl.

Drop a tablespoon of this mixture onto a greased baking dish...

 

Dip your fingers in warm water and pat the little pile of coconut flakes evenly into a disc.  

 

 Decorate each disc by sprinkling some sliced almonds and press a dried cranberry in the center for a pop of color!!

Bake the lovely coconut mounds for 18 minutes in a 325 F oven until the edges are golden brown!  Cool them for a minute, not longer than that, as they tend to stick to the pan as the sugar hardens on cooling!  Transfer them onto a serving platter or an airtight container for later use!  Enjoy my little moons on a platter-- Chandrakala!!! 

Chandra Kala....

Wish You All A Very Happy & Prosperous Diwali!!!! Enjoy The Festivities!!!  

Happy Diwali....

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