Minty Green Apple Granita

"snow gives the most delicate flavor to creams, but ice is the most powerful congealer and lasts longer."

-Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), third President of the United States.

At summer's height, few people crave heavy desserts, but dinner guests always enjoy something fresh and seasonal. Simple granitas, frozen desserts with an appealing icy texture and crunch, fill the bill.

The Chinese had discovered how to conserve naturally formed winter ice for summer use by building icehouses, which were kept cool by evaporation. The harvesting and storage of ice are recorded in a poem of circa 1100 B.C. in the Shih Ching, the famous collection of Food Canons.

However the granita—the precursor to ice-cream was introduced to the world by Italy. When Marco Polo returned to Venice, from China he brought with him ‘ice’; which the able Italian chefs later made into frozen desserts like granita.

Granita is a frozen dessert made with water and a syrup base, much like sorbet. It is popular in Italy, and closely associated with Sicily in particular. In Italy, granita may be served at breakfast, with Italian brioche, or at any other time of the day.

Like many other frozen desserts, granita is probably related to sherbet, a Middle Eastern drink made with syrup, water, and ice. According to legends, granita was invented accidentally by a sherbet seller who left her wares on ice too long, causing the sherbet to turn into a block of highly granular ice.

It should not, however, be confused with shaved ice. Shaved ice is made by drizzling syrup or a flavoring over a dish of ice which has been shaved from a block. When making granita, the flavoring is mixed into the ice, and even when it is shaved, granita has a crackling crystalline structure which is quite distinctive in the mouth.

I have been making this simple ‘drink’ dessert for a long time now using seasonal fruits. I have tried several versions with coffee, lemon, blood oranges etc. Imagination is your limit to the different flavours you can incorporate in your granita.




Here is one of my all time favourite— Green Apple Granita. Generally this granita contains a dark,apple flavoured brandy like Calvados. However, I made it without any alcohol. Just added a dash of flavoured soda instead, while serving.


Minty Green Apple Granita
Ingredients:
½ cup water
1 cup sugar
¾ cup unsweetened apple juice
2 tart green apples
2 tsp lemon juice
a dash of flavoured soda (optional)
a sprig of mint,bruised

Method:
Peel, seed and slice apples. Place in a heavy saucepan with the apple juice, water and sugar. (I left some apple skin on, just for added crunch.)
Cover and cook over moderate heat until very tender (about 15minutes).
Process the apple mixture in a food processor and stir in lemon juice. Cool.
Add the bruised mint leaves.
Pour mixture into 13 x 9 in. baking pan and place in freezer.
Every twenty minutes, take the pan out and scrape the frozen mixture with a fork until all the frozen pieces are broken into small shavings and mixed well with the remaining liquid. Continue to freeze. Scrape every twenty minutes until no more liquid is in the granita.
Serve it in chilled glasses with a straw and a dash of lemon soda.
Drink your dessert!! :p

Glad to be back....with Dates & Almonds Moon(cake) Cookies

“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!”

So I am back from Malaysia -Truly Asia, my short holiday with my best friend (read my hub). The last few days have been crazy, we’ve seen and done so much, I will try and give you a concise run down!

We reached Kuala Lumpur and drove down to surrounding villages/beach villas and also spent a day at Gentings- the world famous ‘city of entertainment’. As you must have guessed my bones refuse to budge anymore…lol. I am tired yet exhilarated and refreshed …all at the same time.
(No one can understand a woman…not even she herself! ;p)

Please pardon me for not sharing all my personal pictures and other details of our holidays in this post, as I have my apprehensions because of a previous bad experience. And since this is a Food Blog I will restrict my escapades to the culinary world alone.

Talking of food, what was most intriguing were the meal times here. Malaysians have four meals in a day, like most of us—breakfast, lunch, dinner (at 7.30 pm) and supper at around 11-12 pm in a Mamak Stall.
A Mamak Stall was the very first thing we saw in Malaysia (after the international airport that is), when our friends took us there for a midnight snack of Tea Tarek, Chicken satay, Roti Chennai and Nasi Lemak .

My first lunch was delightful here…the waiter travelling around with his trolly complete with dim sums in all varieties ..steamed, deep fried, sticky chicken rice-buns, some other tasty morsels the names of which I don’t remember yet their taste still lingers on my tongue.

Being high on soups I tried the famous Thai Laksa at the Food Republic here with lots of chilli (hot hot!) and Tom Yam at a Resturant. Ha Mee at Chinatown was a winner with prawns and stir fried noodles.
Malaysian food is basically a mix of different cuisines –Indian, Chinese, Islamic, Thai, Korean, Indonesian etc. so it has something for even the most picky eaters.
You can read more about this cuisine here.

Apart from the regular touristy things we also visited places like Chinatown, Little India that had some character and it was a pleasure browsing the streets.
Putrajaya was miraculously quiet and spotlessly clean. Although we could not enter the Putra mosque the domed structure was very overwhelming.
We were lucky as we visited KL during the Thai Possum festival and could see the serpentine queues of devotees piercing their bodies to prove the purity of their soul and get their wishes granted at the Batuk Caves. I was told that if at piercing ur cheeks/or other body parts like toungue etc no blood oozes that is an indication that your soul is pure. (I have no intentions of confirming this theory though.)

The KL tower was good but I was mesmerized by the renowned KLCC Twin Towers. Had read a lot about this engineering marvel and there I was walking on its bridge. The drive from KL to Gentings was picturesque and inundated with wonderful flowers and tress, very scenic and calming. The theme park was 'relatively' not very big but was surely fun. ‘Sky Venture’ was one of my favourite rides. We stopped at the Genting Temple on our return to KL and it was here that I saw the deep connection of Malaysia with India…the 18 immortals of the Malay Buddhism, all hailed from the ‘land of milk and honey’.

As for shopping I shopped more for food items than clothes/accessories as far as I can remember. Infact all my souveniers were also food items. ;p
Goji berries, dried guavas (something I had never seen before), large sunflower seeds, chicken floss, exotic nuts etc. And oh yes I bought some art & craft stuff too like the paper lanterns, paper mache birds and various kind of beautiful beads.(For those who don’t know, my creativity is also vented out in crafts and paintings!)
We returned the second day following the 15th day of the Chinese New Year and have been catching up on sleep since then. (Honestly I can sleep more ….snorezzzzzz!)


Ok I will not take any more of your time, ranting about my fun and frolic Malaysian holiday. Instead I will share with you what I made recently.
Note: I could not take pictures of all the stuff we ate, less people think I am crazy. My apologies to my readers!

I do not know the Chinese name of this cookie, so I call it the Moon Cookie because of the mooncake-mould imprints. The mooncake craziness is the direct result of me buying my first wooden mooncake mould, when we went to China (Shenzhen etc) last year.

This is another one from my ever growing list of culinary adventures. It was inspired by the cookies I bought at the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo, around the time of CNY and couldn’t wait to duplicate it at home.
The only difference being that I baked them with dates and almonds paste instead of the orthodox lotus seeds’.
It is an unusual take on this traditional pastry that came out more crumbly like a cookie. Never the less a tasty treat and fun to make.



Dates & Almonds Moon(Cake) Cookies
Ingredients-

For Pastry-
½ cup plain flour
½ cup almond meal
1 tbsp corn flour
½ cup fine sugar
1 tbsp rice flour
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
¼ cup margarine
2 tbsp or less buttermilk


For Filling-
¼ cup ground almonds
1 cup pitted dates, finely chopped and ground to a paste and cooked for a minute over low flame.
1 tsp ground cinnamon powder
2 tbsp golden syrup (can be substituted with brown sugar, adjust according to desired sweetness)

**Combine all the ingredients for the filling together in a bowl.


Method-
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
In a large bowl combine the margarine and sugar and microwave them together for 30 seconds on high. Allow to cool.
Beat together the egg and buttermilk and add this to the cooled margarine+ sugar bowl.
Add the remaining dry ingredients to this bowl. Mix until well combined with a wooden spoon. Knead the dough onto a floured surface, adding extra flour until it forms a ball that can be easily handled.

Now for the fun part—
Divide the dough into small parts (according to your mould size); flatten and place a spoonful of the filling in the center. Pinch to close and place in a mooncake mould, which has been dredged with flour. Pat down well to completely cover the mould, then knock the mould to remove the cookie.

Tip: Keep your palms floured at all times while pressing the filled cookie dough into the mould.

Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool before consumption. Store in an air-tight container.
It tastes best if eaten after two days.

Sorry but I couldn’t help sharing this interesting piece on mooncakes—
Mooncakes were used as a medium by the Ming revolutionaries in their espionage effort to secretly distribute letters in order to overthrow the Mongolian rulers of China in the Yuan dynasty. The idea is said to be conceived by Zhu Yuanzhang and his advisor Liu Bowen, who circulated a rumor that a deadly plague was spreading and the only way to prevent it was to eat the special mooncakes. This prompted the quick distribution of the mooncakes, which were used to hide a secret message coordinating the Han Chinese revolt on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
Another method of hiding the message was printed in the surface of mooncakes as a simple puzzle or mosaic. In order to read the encrypted message, each of the 4 mooncakes packaged together must be cut into 4 parts each. The 16 pieces of mooncake, must then be pieced together in such a fashion that the secret messages can be read. The pieces of mooncake are then eaten to destroy the message.




I share this wonderful recipe that I have duplicated, with Copycat Recipes at Palachinka. If you want to drool over more do stop by Jennifer- The Domestic Goddess' blog.

Edited: My in-laws are coming over to visit us tomorrow for a week, its their first visit here so will be busy again. Will try to post something , however if I don't please understand my inability! Love you guys. *hugs*

Dragon-fruit Double Chocolate Brownie with Chocolate Dulce de Leche

"I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process.... It may not
be true, but do I dare take the chance? "

The first time I ever ate a brownie was at Nahomes’ in Kolkata, India. It was during school days, that a christian friend of mine introduced me to the oldest bakery at New Market in Kolkata.I never had tasted anything quite like it and since then brownies took over the top spot of cakes in my ‘love-it-list’.

I loved placing bets..still do.. (mostly because I won....and before your mind starts wandering, it was just for fun and strictly non-monetary) on silly things, like “you bet we won’t have tuitions today”…or “I bet the project submission dates will be extended..” etc etc.

And the prize would always be (yes you guessed it !) either a Cadbury’s Perk/Crackle or a Nahomes’ Brownie.

FYI- I still place such bets and almost always win!! ;p



The most important aspect of a brownie, for anyone who loves brownies, is texture.
I generally prefer a brownie, somewhere between chewy and fudgy. However I made this of the third kind—cakey.

A cakey brownie has a moist crumb and a slightly fluffy interior. The batter contains less butter than the other recipes, and I include milk for moistness (the milk is a great way to extend a brownie's shelf life). I don't use much flour and while brownies don't usually use chemical leavens, I add some baking powder to keep this cakey brownie light.

When I mix cakey brownies, I use a bit of cake-baking technique, too: creaming the butter and sugar first (rather than melting the butter) and then whisking the batter to aerate the mixture and get a light crumb. I think this brownie improves on sitting at least one and even two days after you bake it.







I used dragon fruits in this brownie to give it an exotic taste and feel.

As we all know I love experimenting with different flavours and cooking techniques in my lab...err..kitchen. Take for example the microwave tarts , chana dal medhu vada, fruit and nut malpua, steamed squash dumplings, my exotic trifle, macha tea & coffee cake, chives n shrimp balls, my style krusczyki, chicken lollies....and the list continues! ;p



Dragon fruits-
A pitaya or pitahaya is the fruit of several cactus species, most importantly of the genus Hylocereus (sweet pitayas). These fruits are commonly known as dragon fruits.

By eating the highly nutritional pitaya fruit, you gain all of the general health benefits of the pitaya nutrients simply because pitaya fruit is a great all around healthy fruit to eat with lots of beneficial nutrients which are readily metabolized from the natural pitahaya fruit (For example, dragon fruit vitamin C is more easily absorbed than vitamin C from a pill supplement).

One special health benefit of dragon fruit is that ot helps control levels of glucose blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes. Its a store house of dietary fibre and Vitamin C.


Dragon-fruit Brownie with Chocolate Dulce de Leche

Ingredients-
Dragon-fruit Brownie

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp instant coffee
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dragon fruit pulp & juice
¼ cup or less warm milk


Method-


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

First sieve the flour, baking powder, coffee and salt. Keep aside.
In a bowl, whisk the sugar and margarine with vanilla extract. Add half of the milk to this.

Microwave the semi-sweet chocolate chips for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Cut the dragon fruit in half and scoop out the pulp with a spoon.

Note: Since the seeds are slightly bitter in taste, I used half the pulp; and used the juice of the other half (with a strainer).

Whisk the wet ingredients into dry. Add the pulp and the dragon fruit juice to this. Add more milk, if required. Pour in your choice of baking tray.
Bake for approx. 30 minutes. Keep a check.

Tip: Brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs still clinging. It's okay for the pick to look moist, but if you see wet batter, keep baking.

One last word: although it's awfully tempting to cut into a pan of just-baked brownies, hold off. The flavor and texture of this brownie will be at its best—and definitely worth waiting for—when completely cool.


I made two brownies and sandwhiched them together with a layer of chocolate buttercream in between. You can try this icing too.
Then topped my brownie with some fresh Chantilly and drizzled with the Chocolate Dulce de Leche .







For Chocolate Dulce de Leche-
(This is my version for simplicity sake!)
I added chocolate chunks to the condensed milk to add flavour. You can use your choice of flavouring or keep it plain too.



In a microwave safe pie dish, empty half a can (200 gm/7 ounces) of condensed milk. Add ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips over it. Stir in a pinch of sea-salt.
Cover tightly, twice with MW safe cling foil.
Place this in a deeper baking tray (MW safe) filled a little over half with water.
MW on medium high for 8-10 minutes. Keep checking mid way through.
(Adjust time/temperature setting according to your MW oven).
Once done, let cool. Whisk until smooth.
Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Warm gently in a warm water bath or microwave oven before using.





Now for some history lesson--
It is said that Dulce de Leche originated in Argentina in 1829 in the providence of Cañuelas in Buenos Aires. Two opposing forces were on the brink of ending a war. The General Lavalle and the General Manuel de Rosas came together in order to make a treaty.

The General Lavalle arrived very tired at the campo of General Manuel de Rosas. Manuel de Rosas wasn’t in the camp at the moment so General Lavalle entered into his tent and took a nap.

While the General Lavalle was napping a serving woman was preparing “la lechada” for the camp. “La lechada” is prepared by heating sugar and milk. The woman went to speak with the General Manuel de Rosas in his tent, but when she entered she discovered the enemy. She didn’t know about the treaty the two generals were about to make, so she ran to find soldiers.

The General Manuel de Rosas arrived moments before the soldiers, and stopped them from waking the sleeping General Lavalle. In the chaos, the woman forgot about “la lechada.”
When she remembered and checked on “la lechada,” she noticed that it had become a dark brown jelly substance. It is said that a very (brave) and hungry soldier tried the jelly and then dulce de leche was born.

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I send this to Lore of Culinarty, for her monthly event.




Also, this was a dry run for my Valentines' day dessert recipe. Wait and watch for Feb 14th! :)
I share this lovely dessert with The Alchemist Chef's Valentines' Day Recipe Competition, who is striving to have a great collection of recipes before the "Celebration of Love" day !

--0--

Another V-day giveway notice( if it interests you)--

Check this place for a surprise V-day basket of goodies!

Vegan Banana Chocolate Bread..a slice of goodness!

The banana plant is not a tree. It is actually the world's largest herb!

As my regular readers would know, that I like to dig up dirt..err...history about the food I eat. Although I may not be a food historian(as so many of you have asked me), but you can trust the information you have here to be true and reliable. Afterall, I wouldn't tell you things I did not believe in. However (as a disclaimer), still the content here are only my humble views/finds and your discretion is advised. ( ahem! I sound so formal..)

The food we eat always has some story attatched to it...and I like exploring them. It can be a simple burger, the humble dal, a rustic gatte ki sabzi , the medicinal use of spinach dumplings, or the new experience of the khasta kachori,the sweet story behind the torte,the tradition of the challah, the love story in the gateau, or the history of the speculas, or even the twist in the krusczyki ...and lots more that you get to read here at Zaayeka.

I love to share ...so alongwith the delicious recipes I share the 'his'-'story' of the food too. You sure want to know all about the stuff that goes on your plate...and eventually in your stomach. The story intrigues...it excites..it informs, and at times I have used the stories alone to feed kids....they eat it all up ....just listening to all the interesting anecdotes about the food.



Coming to today's recipe I made this delicious and healthy Vegan Banana Chocolate Bread. This is my first foray into vegan cooking. Its rich with the banana flavour and so moist it practically melts in your mouth. A must try if you are going to have guests over; as the bananas spread their fragrance...right through from the oven in your kitchen into the whole house (you don't need to spray any room freshener) and enticingly welcome your guests, making them feel at home instantly!

Vegan Banana Chocolate Bread
(The recipe is adapted from here.)

Ingredients-

1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup margarine/vegetable fat,softened
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 large bananas, mashed to pulpy form
1/2 of a large banana, sliced
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder


Method-
Grease a bread loaf pan and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl combine the flours,baking soda,corn starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and make a well in the center.
In a separate bowl combine the bananas, sugar, vanilla extract and vegetable fat.
Add the wet mixture to the dry mix, all at once.
Gently but thoroughly bring all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon, then pour into the prepared loaf tin.Fold in the chocolate chips.
Layer the sliced bananas on top.
Bake in the oven for an hour or so (depending on your oven),or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing the cake from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Tip: Since this cake does not contain any protein from the egg, and has mashed fruit pulp, it may take longer to cook. Be patient, but keep checking!



Now for the interesting bit-

The true origin of 'bananas', world's most popular fruit, is found in the region of Malaysia. By way of curious visitors, bananas traveled from there to India where they are mentioned in the Buddhist Pali writings dating back to the 6th century BCE.
In his campaign in India in 327 BCE, Alexander the Great relished his first taste of the banana, an usual fruit he saw growing on tall trees. He is even credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western world.
According to Chinese historian Yang Fu, China was tending plantations of bananas in 200 CE. These bananas grew only in the southern region of China and were considered exotic, rare fruits that never became popular with the Chinese masses until the 20th .
The people in this region were rice eaters, and wheat was unknown here, so breads were not part of their culture.

Theophrastus (a Greek naturalist philosopher) around the 4th century B.C., in what is probably the first scientific book on botany, describes the banana plant. We know that the Greeks made bread with honey, spices and fruits around the time of Pliny (23-79 A.D.), and we also know that Pliny had knowledge of the banana (he also described them in 77 A.D.) So, could the Greeks have made any banana bread? A possibility, they made 'bread' and had bananas.

It was almost 350 years later that Americans tasted the first bananas to arrive in their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in Pennsylvania in 1876 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Instructions on how to eat a banana appeared in the Domestic Cyclopaedia of Practical Information and read as follows: "Bananas are eaten raw, either alone or cut in slices with sugar and cream, or wine and orange juice. They are also roasted, fried or boiled, and are made into fritters, preserves, and marmalades."

However, Banana bread first became a standard feature of American cookbooks with the popularization of baking soda and baking powder, in the 1930s (and appears in Pillsbury's 1933 Balanced Recipes cookbook). The origin of the first banana bread recipe is unknown. The home baking revival of the 1960s and the simplicity of its recipe led to an explosion in banana bread's popularity. The cookbooks of the 1960s added to its popularity because they commonly listed multiple variations of this bread that added fruits and nuts.







Bananas & Us--


Anaemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anaemia.
Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect food for helping to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at an English school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
Constipation: High in fibre, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin - known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body so if you suffer from heart-burn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods (such as bananas) every two hours to keep levels steady.
PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, trypotophan.
Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking, as the high levels of Vitamin C, A1, B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalise the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water-balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be re-balanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes: According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine"eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!
Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronic ulcer cases. It also neutralises over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that, if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

To health and goodness!

I share this recipe with Sweet and Simple Bakes' current challenge.

Grace for her Cinnamon Celebration. And this goes to Varsha who is hosting the One Page cookbooks' event for the dessert part/section.

A friendly reminder-

Rose (of All about Cakes) who is giving away a 100 piece Betty Crocker Cake Decorating Kit at her blog, to celebrate her 100 posts. Visit her to win the bundle!

My style Dundee/Mixed Fruit Cake....indulgence without guilt!

"Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don't quite know how to put our love into words."

And for us cooks/bakers, when even buying gifts isn't enough..we put our love into our cooking/baking. The joy in my heart and the love for my beloved is poured with care, into this Dundee cake of mine...and his loving reciprocation in the mm..hmm...yum...sounds he makes after devouring it, allows me to have the satisfaction of a job well done. Loves' labours' not lost..but won!!


Although I do not like to clip/chip off the authentic traditional recipes...I am all for healthy eating, so will cut corners (if I can) on the fats and sugars used in the original without giving up much on the flavour or texture of the final product. And oh yes, did I mention I am bought by the simplicity and ease of a recipe. Hence, most of the recipes you find here, will be simple and relatively easy and are prepared in far less time than their original counterparts. (wink wink)

The origins of Dundee Cake are thought to date back to a time when fruit cake was popular during the 19th century and Keiller's of Dundee sold a version of the cake but with almonds on top. This gave the fruit cake a new distinctive look and flavour and was named Dundee Cake.

This is a really good fruit cake for those who don't like the heavy, rich sort. It does have an excellent flavour and crumbly texture. It's said a large cake should be stored for a week before eating to improve the flavour...well patience in not one of my virtues!

At an unknown date towards the end of the 17th century, Janet Keiller bought going cheap a load of oranges from a ship forced to dock in Dundee harbour due to bad weather. With sugar from her husband'’s grocery business she cannily turned the fruit into marmalade, which she then sold through Mr. Keiller's store. Mrs. Keiller's marmalade proved to be a great success, and in Dundee in 1797 a full-time business was established producing marmalade, and also eventually producing jams, confectionery and Dundee cakes. Keiller's quickly evolved into large-scale food producer, with the work-force and equipment to produce other goods alongside the marmalade.
Dundee cake was first made by Keiller's at some point in the 19th century. They cannot take the credit for the recipe, as similar fruit cakes were made across Scotland, but they were able to produce cakes commercially which then sold across the globe as 'Dundee cake'. The use of almonds on top, to decorate the cake in a distinctive way, was probably just a marketing ploy to ensure product individuality. For Keiller's cake making was also a clever way of ensuring the factory workers were kept busy when oranges were out of season, and to use up any left-over peel.


My style Dundee/Mixed Fruit Cake
Ingredients-
2 over ripe bananas, mashed ( in place of butter)
1 cup + 2 tbsp honey ( in place of sugar; you can use molasses too if desired)
3 large eggs, beaten ( u can add two more mashed bananas + one extra pinch of baking powder & one pinch of baking soda instead)
1 cup all purpose flour + extra flour for dusting
1 cup whole wheat bread/pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
2 tbsp ground almonds
1/2 cup chopped blanced almonds
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup sultanas
1/4 cup chopped glace cherries
1/2 cup chopped mixed fruit peel
2 tsp finely grated zest of lemon and orange (one tsp each)
1 tsp of lemon juice/orange juice
3-4 tbsp whisky/rum/brandy

(my extra additions, optional)-
1/4 cup chopped strawberries/cranberries
1/4 cup chopped fresh/preserved mangoes
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cashew nuts, chopped



Method-

Sift both the whole wheat and all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and spice into a bowl, set aside.
Put all the fruit, including the grated lemon and orange zest(except the bananas), into another bowl. Dust with enough flour to coat all the fruits and peels.
Tip: This prevents the fruits from sticking to one another and forming lumps.


Now in a big bowl, whisk the eggs, honey, orange/lemon juice and your choice of alcohol together.
Add the mashed bananas.
Fold in the dry ingredients to the above (whisked) mixture.
Spoon the batter out in your cake mould and bake in microwave for 8-10 minutes.
Note: The batter would be a little liquidy, thus will take a little longer to cook. And if you are not using eggs...it will take even longer,so be patient and keep checking. :)


(If you want the temperature settings/timings for a conventional oven, please do get in touch.)

Once done, check with toothpick in the centre of the cake,if it comes out clean, its done.
Cool. Decorate or simply cut and store them in air tight containers..or better still...EAT! :)

There is a legend connected to Dundee cake which talks about Mary Queen of Scotland.

The story goes that Mary didn'’t like cherries in her fruit cake, and so a Scottish baker came up with a special recipe which didn't include them. This a 'genuine' Dundee cake should therefore not include cherries.
However almost all the recipes that I have seen include them..its all about flavour and your choices...'coz its your cake!

So you will not find the decoration of blanched almonds in my version, instead tiny dollops of whipped cream and to add to the richness, a whole lot of fruits (and ofcourse chocolate) go in, making this cake healthier ( and yummier) than it already is !

Wising all a Merry Christmas and joys untold for this Yuletide season !! Live, Love, Laugh... !

I share this with -

A dear friend, Sangeeth for her Eat Healthy-during Pregnancy event, as this dish is filled with health,(with all the fruits n sans fat). :)

Fishy Tagliatelle with Tuna balls in Marinara sauce

“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.”

-William Shakespeare

Like many of my other blogger friends (now known and still being discovered..), I too am a self professed Italian food junkie. One Italian friend of mine,had playfully mentioned that there are three basic ingredients that are to be found in all Italian recipes--olive oil, garlic and tomatoes. I don't doubt him, but I really don't think thats' all..there is 'passion' !

Every food has its history that makes it rich and wonderful. Discovering these stories, the facts, the myths...its a joy untold for foodies. Because cooking isn't just about mixing ingredients...its magic, an alchemy of flavours...each dish prepared is a story in itself and the cook the author.


I made this Tagliatelle dish, inspired by David Rocco's La Dolce Vita ("Life is Sweet") that I had seen on T.V. one lazy afternoon while surfing channels (my favourite passtime..lol).


There are two kinds of Italian pasta--Pasta all'uovo, egg pasta such as tagliatelle, fettuccine, and whatnot and Pasta di semola di grano duro, made with semolina, water and a touch of salt.The former are flat and of varying width, while the latter comes in all sorts of shapes, from spaghetti to penne to cart wheels.
Tagliatelle are also commonly flavored with other ingredients, for example spinach, which turns them green, tomato, which turns them red, or squid ink, which turns them black. They are used for hearty fares and lasagne made with tagliatelle are just awesome.

Now a little 'interesting' something on Marinara Sauce-Marinara derives from the Italian word for sailor, marinaro. Due to these origins many people say that marinara sauce must contain something from the sea, usually anchovies. Actually this is not the case, the origins of marinara sauce are that it is the sauce that they made in Naples for the sailors when they returned from the sea.





Here's my favourite recipe for you.

Fishy Tagliatelle with Tuna balls in Marinara sauce

Ingredients-

For the Tuna balls--
1 cup flaked Tuna fish
2 tbsp parsley,chopped finely
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese
2 small green chillies, minced
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

For the Marinara sauce--
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic sliced in half
4 large ripe tomatoes, pureed
3 basil leaves, washed, patted dry and chopped
salt & pepper to taste


For the Tagliatelle--
4 rolls of tagliatelle pasta, cooked in boiling water, drained and set aside


Method-
Tuna Balls
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and using a little water( if required), form a dough like consistency. Now make small balls out of this dough, and deep fry in cooking oil.

Marinara Sauce
Place garlic and olive oil in large sauce pan.
Turn heat to medium and cook until garlic is soft and lightly browned.
Add the tomato puree, basil, salt and pepper.

Cook for a minute or two, then add the tuna balls.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until thickened approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Finally, on the serving plate lay the pasta/tagliatelle and pour the marinara sauce with the tuna balls on top of this pasta.

Ready to eat!!YUM.

I bring this dish to the Seven Fishes Feast thrown together, by Joe (of Italyville) and MaryAnn(of Findind La Dolce Vita).

What is the Seven Fishes Feast? Southern Italians around the world celebrate Christmas Eve with a Feast of the Seven Fishes, also known as La Vigilia (Italian: "the vigil").
It is a meal that typically consists of seven different seafood dishes.This celebration is a commemoration of the wait, Vigilia di Natale, for the midnight birth of the baby Jesus.
It is quite paradoxically a period of abstinence for the Italians.

Why 7? There are many hypotheses for what the number "7" relates to, one being the number of Sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. Another theory is that seven is a number representing perfection.The traditional Biblical number for divinity is three, and for Earth is four, and the combination of these numbers, seven, represents God on Earth, or Jesus Christ.




It would be worth all the effort if you enjoyed reading the post, as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I also send this to Truti (Recipe Center) for her Winter Treat Event.

This creative dish I made also goes to Lore (of Culinarty) for her Original Recipes monthly event.

I also send this to Presto Pasta Night hosted by Ruth (Once Upon A Feast)...the first one for Jan. 2009. :)