BADAM POORI

This is a very simple and tasty dish which my daughters love. Other than the taste, its crispiness is one thing which makes people love it.  Preparing is also quite simple  and in spite of that  I have not come across this item in any sweet meat stalls. You can try this.

Ingredients:

For the flour:

Maida                                                 1 cup
Chiroti ravae/samolina                       1 tablespoon
Salt                                                     1 pinch
Butter/Refined oil                                1 table spoon
Water                                                   About half a cup
Refined oil                                           2 cups, for frying
Pure ghee                                            1 teaspoon (add to oil while frying)

For the syrup:

Sugar                                                   1 cup
Water                                                    About 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder                              1/4 treaspoon
 
Method:

For the flour:  Mix well maida, chiroti ravae, salt and butter in a bowl.  Add water little by little and knead till you get a consistency which is almost like the flour you knead for pooris.  What I mean is, it should be a bit hard, and not like that you knead for rotis or parathas. Smear with oil or cover with damp cloth and and keep aside for about half an hour.

For the syrup: Take sugar in a shallow container. Add water just to cover the sugar and  bring it to boil. Boil till you get a two or three string consistency. Add cardamom powder and mix.

Next step:

Now, take small balls of the flour and knead into  thin pooris.  It is a good idea to smear the rolling board and the pin with a little oil before rolling so that the flour doesn't get stuck to the board or the pin.  (You can even roll a big poori and cut it to any shape by pressing on it a sharp edged cup or the lid of small box). Take oil in a pan and  deep fry these pooris on a medium heat till golden brown.  Take them out into a plate.

Now start frying the next batch of pooris. In the meanwhile, dip all the already fried pooris in the syrup and take them out one by one with a tongs and arrange separately on a plate so they don't stick to one another.  Leave them to dry. 

Repeat the process till flour gets over.  When dry store in air tight boxes. 

From one cup of flour, you can make about 20-25 badam poories of   about 1-2 inch diameter each.

The badam pooris get a glazed finish and remain crisp for days provided the syrup  is of proper consistency.

CHRISTMAS CAKE

This wonderful cake needs some planning and the ingredients required are also more. The process of baking this is a bit laborious too, but I feel it is really worth the trouble. You know how happy I get watching people enjoy my cake.  This has made me bake more and more.  Anyway, I suggest you do try this out.

You need to take:

Maida/fine whole wheat flour                      1 cup
Baking powder                                            1/4 teaspoon
Sugar   powder                                            3/4 cup
Eggs                                                            2
Butter                                                           2 tablespoons
Vanilla Essence                                           5-6 drops
Dry fruits                                                      1 cup (like cashew, almond, walnut, dates, raisins, glazed                                                                                cherries, tutti frutti)                               
Rum                                                            About 100mls., to soak the dry fruits
Cinnamon powder                                      1/2 teaspoon
Clove powder                                              1/8 teaspoon
Candied orange peel                                   1 teaspoon, very finely cut.               
Instant coffee powder                                   3 level teaspoons
Sugar caramel *                                        (made from about 3 tablespoons of sugar)

                         

In this picture you can see the dry fruits I have taken :

Procedure:

Soak dry fruits and nuts in rum for at least 2 to 3 days.

Soak spices in warm water just before you start preparing the cake batter.

Sieve maida/wheat flour with baking powder.

Now preheat the open for 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. 

In the meanwhile get the batter ready. 

Break eggs into a bowl. Add vanilla essence and beat till fluffy using a hand mixer.

Add butter and whisk it well. Then add sugar powder and continue mixing. Add soaked spices, sugar caramel* and coffee and beat well.

Mix in maida/wheat flour.  If you feel that the batter is hard, add some milk to get a dropping consistency. When it is very well mixed, add cut orange peel, dry fruits and nuts. Mix them well with a spoon.

Transfer the whole mixture into a greased baking trey. 

Bake in an oven at 180 degrees C, for about one hour.

Allow it to cool. Loosen the sides of the cake from the baking trey. Reverse the trey,  tap the bottom and transfer the cake on to a plate. Reverse it again on the plate.

Your Christmas cake is ready! 

(* To make sugar caramel: Heat sugar in a pan. It first melts. In a while it starts turning brown and starts foaming. Immediately add water and turn off the stove. The resulting solution is the sugar caramel)