Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread

Who doesn’t like Garlic bread? No one I ever met said they didn’t love a good Garlic bread. Growing up I always thought that Garlic bread and Pizza go hand in hand thanks to a food joint. I could just not take the fact of people not ordering garlic bread as an appetizer before eating Pizza. And, I am sure that famous “Pizza” joint and it equally good famous competitors must have seen so many like me.

As much as my family and I love getting the Garlic bread and Pizza, at times its just not possible to order restaurant food. I mean, there are Big names and Big companies, but at times the thought of you not knowing how fresh is the food that you are consuming or is it a mix of preservatives. With all that confusion and realizing that you are blessed that you can cook, we decided we make our own. Now, it isn’t that I feel people who order take outs are doing something wrong, but I do feel that eating that kind of food every day or every other day isn’t very healthy. And then when making it at home is pretty easy.

Typically, Garlic bread is made using a French baguette, or sometimes a sourdough like ciabatta which is partially sliced downwards, allowing the condiments to soak into the loaf while keeping it in one piece. The bread is then stuffed through the cuts with oil and minced garlic before baking. Alternatively, butter and garlic powder are used, or the bread is cut lengthwise into separate slices which are individually garnished.

I made mine a little differently. I made the dough using warm milk, yeast and egg with flour, sugar and salt and added butter. Once the dough had risen, I added minced garlic, butter and scallions. Sprinkle some cheesy and bake….Serve hot and enjoy the oozing flavors.

Gajar Ka Halwa

Gajar ka Halwa is our winter favorite. The lovely sweetness of carrots mixed with sugar and milk and a hint of cardamom with desi ghee leaves you taste buds asking for more. Every family has their own version of Gajar ka Halwa and it’s the most common dessert in winters and can be found in most homes, specially during winters. With fresh carrots available in the market and the need to finish every meal with a dessert, this Gajar ka halwa definitely scores high.

I make mine with grated red carrots, milk, Khoya and sugar. It’s a winter delicacy and is made using the juicy red carrots. I also make it another way, which is my Mother’s recipe. Growing up I always felt that my mom makes the best ever carrot halwa. She would in fact even freeze the Halwa so we could enjoy it longer. My mom would cook her Halwa for hours on low heat and I as a kid, I would look forward to the Halwa. This sweet dish is mainly associated with North India. It is a rich, the texture is slightly grainy, with sweetness that makes the warm winter dessert taste delicious. I haven’t heard of any Indian who doesn’t love a good carrot halwa.

Garnished with slivers of dry fruits, it goes well with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on the side. I have a recipe of Gajar Ka halwa with Vanilla Ice cream on this blog too. That Halwa is made using condensed milk. So, it can be made any which way, eaten warm, with/without Vanilla Ice cream.

Most households in North Indian have their own recipe to make Gajar ka Halwa and with minor changes here and there, the taste changes drastically. This recipe of Carrot Halwa is my own and is one of the quickest and best I have had.

I grate the carrots and cook them in Ghee till they start releasing water. Once the water is dried, I add milk and cook the carrots till they are completely soft and the milk thickens while cooking the carrots and is only 1/4 left. I then add Khoya followed by sugar and cardamom powder. Cook till everything blends well and there is no liquid left in the Halwa. I only add Almonds, Pistachios and sometimes, cashews to my Halwa. But some people like adding Raisins which is completely optional and a personal choice.

I make Gajar ka Halwa pretty often and it finishes pretty quickly as well. You can easily double or triple the quantity of the ingredients and make a bigger batch if you want to. Along with the ingredients, the cooking time will also increase.  I try and pick carrots as red as possible and in case if I don’t get my hands on carrots that are red, I sometimes use a pinch of orange food color. It’s completely optional though.

Rose Kulfi

The wonderful world of cold desserts and the version of ice creams served in India “Kulfi”. The word Kulfi or Qulfi is an Indian word derived from the Persian word “Qufli” which means “covered cup”. The dessert was likely originated during the era of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. The mixture of milk, sugar and nuts. Kulfi is a gifted recipe from the Middle eastern travelers and settlers to India and neighboring countries. Along with so many architectural gifts to India, like the Taj mahal, which even till date makes our country so proud and has millions of visitors travel India only to see Taj Mahal once in their lifetime and so many gorgeous forts, along with Red Fort where the PM addresses the nation every year are all an awesome example of Mughal architectural skill.

Coming back the Kulfi, Indian cuisine were not aware of using Orange blossom, Rose water, saffron or a wide variety of dry fruits in the cuisine. The Mughals while introducing their cuisines and blending them with Indian flavors resulted in wide variety of Biryanis, Kebabs, curries and sweet dishes including Gulab Jamun, Jalebi and Rabri to name a few and of course, Kulfi.

This sweet dish is rich in flavor and can be made in various flavors and is always served cold. It can be served with Basil seeds or sabza that are soaked for an hour, as falooda. It can be flavored while serving as well. I usually like mine to be served with Rose syrup, or the popular Rooh Afza.

This particular recipe has Milk boiled till it thickens and reduces. Added Khoya and cooked further after adding sugar, cardamom powder, saffron, crushed Rose petals, Rose flavoring, a little red food color and Milk powder to thicken the mixture making the Kulfi more dense and creamier. You can always change the flavors in a Kulfi keeping the base the same.

I also use Silver leaf for decoration, but that’s always optional, but something that makes you home kulfi different from the restaurant and trust me, even better.

Kalakand

Kalakand is a popular and delicious Indian sweet. Its made by mixing Paneer with sugar and further mixing them with Reduced milk. Its a pretty dense milk fudge. It’s soft, grainy and delicious. It has a light flavor of Cardamom and saffron.

It has a subtle flavoring of cardamom and fragrance of Saffron. The top is decorated with Almonds and pistachios. You can also add some Rose petals. This recipe helps you make Kalakand at home with ease. The fact is when you are in a country far from home and you don’t get your favorite sweets where you live, then you have to make them at home. This recipe has all the details that will make the perfect Kalakand, the exact flavor from our home country.

Not that this recipe will be easy, but for sure the steps from this recipe are simple to understand and if you follow them properly, your Kalakand will be as amazing as it should be. The recipe is made from scratch and you can do it pretty easily, no fancy gadgets or ingredients needed either. It requires basic skills to stir well and stay focused for an hour and trust me, the result won’t just amaze you but it will be worth every second you spend. My hometown Jodhpur has some wonderful stores that specialize in making Kalakand and every time my family wanted kalakand, we would always get it from that particular sweet shop. When I tried making it at home, my mother definitely thought that I have gone completely nuts, but I didn’t have another option. Another problem with sweet stores in USA is that they do not make sweets other than those which are popular like Bengali sweets, one or 2 kinds of laddus, jalebi to name a few. They do sell Burfi but if you ever feel that you will find a wide variety like India then you will be highly disappointed and that’s when people like me come in and teach you easy ways of making your own.

Kalakand recipe is made using a handful of very basic ingredients like Homemade Cottage cheese/Paneer, Milk, cardamom crushed / cardamom powder, saffron, sugar and almonds+pistachios to garnish. As fancy as it looks, there is actually nothing too hard about this scrumptious sweet dish. Kalakand is best served cold, so make sure you keep it refrigerated.

Just make sure you keep a few things in mind when you decide on making Kalakand. Its always advisable to use freshly homemade Paneer. Fresh Paneer is soft in texture and blends well when we cook it with milk, giving that perfect grainy texture to the Kalakand, which is what you really want. A store bought Paneer is usually not too fresh and becomes firm. A firm and old Paneer or a frozen Paneer will never give you the same results. Almonds, Pistachios are rose petals look on Kalakand. To make it look more expensively rich, adding a few saffron strands would be great too. Enjoy!!!

Besan Halwa

It is the month of September and despite the pandemic, the festival mood has been set all over the world. Autumn season is coming and the cool breezes brings nice nip in the air and declares the beginning of the festivities. Besan ka Halwa is the quintessential dish to celebrate the season for every reason. The rich and decadent Besan ka Halwa takes you over the moon and make you fall in love it.

Besan is also known as Chickpea Flour or Gram Flour. Besan has a high protein content that makes it good for weight watchers. It is also good for heart health and managing the cholesterol. But, I don’t mean you eat Besan ke Pakode and Halwa everyday, I wish we could but NO. But, what you can do is eat this Halwa with a little lesser guilt than what you would usually do.

There are many ways that people prepare Besan ka Halwa. Everyone makes it super amazing. Honestly, I don’t think there is any way you can go wrong with Besan ka Halwa, its so easy to fix if you do go wrong by any chance. I start with roasting besan in ghee and once it is done roasting, I add hot milk infused with little saffron and once the milk is all absorbed, I add sugar and cardamom powder for sweetness and enhancing taste and cook till desired consistency.

A lot of times people turn on their “guilt mode’ while cooking sweets and substitute Ghee with a healthy Oil. What you need to understand is that you cannot make such changes and complain of the flavor. If you are avoiding any dish for health reason then either you do not make it altogether or make it only once in a while, but do not substitute Ghee or Sugar. Using the right quantity of ghee will also give your halwa the right texture.

There are few things to remember while making besan ka halwa.The Besan flour needs to be sifted through a sieve, to make sure that there are no lumps. Besan flour has tendency to clump up into mounds, so make sure it is a fine flour. The Besan tends to burn easily, therefore the roasting needs to be monitored at all times, while you saute’e and roast the besan.

Besan ka Halwa is more regularly made during winters. My Grandmother and Mother and My Mother in law always say that Hot or warm served besan Halwa is great during winters specially because it keeps our body warm and also is soothing when you suffer from cold and congestion. I also feel that Autumn brings in ,more Orangish and Golden foods, specially the sweets, Pumpkin pies, Apple pies and Besan Halwa. This moreish halwa redolent with fragrant ghee, saffron and dry fruits is perfect for celebrations or any time you crave a sweet treat. So, make it and Enjoy!!!

Chawal ki Kheer

Chawal ki Kheer is a popular meetha/sweet dish in all Indian/ Pakistani/ Bangladeshi homes. For every special occasion when Kheer is supposed to be made, of all the different varieties of Kheer, Chawal Ki Kheer is made the most.

My love for Chawal ki Kheer is probably since birth. I have never come across any chef/cook or for that matter any person who can make Chawal ki kheer as good as my mother. Since I could understand things well, I would always look forward to days when she would make Kheer. A spoonful in your mouth was enough for anyone to experience a taste of heaven. The funny part is that I never liked the Kheer anyone else made, it was in my view a complete injustice to the dish. I expected people to work harder and make it just like my mom. Since I was a kid, I never realized the amount of effort and hard work she puts into it. When I grew up, and with time started getting ready to explore the world of spices and learn the art of cooking good food is when I saw how many hours it took her to actually make something so deliciously wonderful and that’s when I understood why I see so many faces of relatives and friends on Eid, that I do not see all year round and requesting for my mother’s special Kheer.

There is no way that I will be able to describe the number of hours she gave into it, but I can definitely give you an idea. So, we are a family that comprises almost 150+ members, almost. Please do not get shocked reading this. This includes my grandfather’s children and their families and considering that my grandfather had 9 children, all kids have large families and most of my aunts had grandchildren while I was still in my teens. So it was this plus distant family and friends. Making Kheer for these many people made my mom look like a “Khansama”. I am sure she felt that at times too. She would get around 40-50 liters of milk, maybe more and slow cook that milk till it reduces to almost 2/3 of the original quantity. Now, reducing the milk isn’t as easy as it sounds. That’s actually the first and the most important step. The Milk has to be stirred continuously so it’s evenly cooked and it shouldn’t get burnt at the bottom either. The flame or heat should be kept low. The process is tiring but worth it. The way my mom taught me was to stir once in a circular way and the second time makes the number eight. Honestly, I never realized till I was a grown-up that this is the best way to cover the whole base of the pot.

So, once the milk is reduced, you add cashew powder to it. The cashew powder does not just add some thickness and texture to it but also gives out a little sweetness and nutty flavor that is super amazing. Besides that adding, chopped almonds are a delicious add-on as well. After that, add khoya/maawa or Khoya powder, but that’s completely optional. I prefer using small grained Rice for the kheer because they are easier to mash and the texture is perfect for the Kheer after being mashed. You can use Kani ke chawal or Kaima Rice or any other small grained Rice. My mother always added condensed milk to her Kheer and some people thought that was the secret ingredient, but honestly, it’s just the magic of her hands and all the hard work. Only ingredients never make a dish great, it’s mainly the effort put in by the person cooking.

This is a wonderful way of making Kheer. I am still not as good as my mom when it comes to making it but it still comes out delicious and each spoonful makes you crave more.

Rabri

Rabri has been one of my most favorite sweet dishes ever. The thick mavaa and just perfect amount of sugar makes this dish delicious enough to die for. There is a very old shop/ small eatery in my hometown Jodhpur that is popular for Rabri, Lassi and Kulfi. They sell amazing Rabri which is something I have to eat on every visit. But, the sad part is that I visit my hometown only during the scorching summer days and as much as I love to try all my favorite foods, it kind of gets impossible to enjoy them the way i should. Rabri happens to be one of them. Summer days do not make you crave for milk based sweets.

Rabri is a gift of Mughals to India. Just like they brought in Gulab Jamuns and jalebis, or any other sweet dish that requires sugar syrup, they also brought in sweets that are made from milk solids and require thickening of the milk. Mughals were very dedicated to cooking good and rich food. The use of dry fruits, nuts, cream, Khoya, Kewra or screwpine water, orange blossoms or even rose water comes in from them. An amazing addition to India food, that foodies like me love reading about.

Anyways, I definitely cannot change the time I travel to Jodhpur and there was no way my cravings could be turned off. So I did what people like me are born to do…. Make my own Rabri. And boy, that was one of the best decisions I ever made. I still remember making it the first time, not being sure of whether the 2 liters of milk would go down the drain and saying my silent prayers that even if this Rabri came out half as good as what I like, I would be immensely happy. To my surprise, my hard work paid off so well that what I made was the best Rabri I have ever tasted. Amazingly delicious, thick, perfectly sweet and a teaspoon in your mouth makes you sweetish romantic.

The key to a perfect Rabri….apart from the ingredients, time, patience and a good cooking saucepan. You will need Milk, sugar, Kewra water and Khoya. You are required to use Whole Milk because you will have to take the cream off every 5-7 minutes and stir that cream into the milk. You need time to make rabri and undivided attention, which I believe we need each time we make any milk based sweet, but slightly more when it comes to Rabri. The milk has to be cooked on very low heat and needs constant stirring. It has to be cooked till it remains only quarter of the original quantity. In between that we add Khoya and sugar and cook it more since Khoya tends to make the milk thick, sugar on the other hand releases water. It needs constant stirring. Adding cardamom powder and Kewra water gives it an appetizing fragrance. You can also add saffron strands like I did, but its completely optional.

Rabri once cooked needs to cool down and refrigerated for at least 6-7 hours before you serve it. Rabri can be perfectly served by itself but also goes well with warm sweets, mostly Jalebi and Malpuas. This dish can be refrigerated for a week. Enjoy!!!

Mango Kulfi

Kulfi or Qulfi is an indian word derived from the persin word “Qufli” which means covered cup. The dessert was likely originated during the Mughlia Reign in the 16th century. The Mughal Khansamas or cooks were already popular with their mastered skills of creating sweet dishes with dense evaporated milk.

Kulfi is traditionally prepared by evaporating sweetened milk. The key is constant stirring and slow cooking. The milk has to be reduced, thickened and later add your favorite flavors. The best thing about kulfi is that once the milk is thickened, it accepts all flavors , be it fruits, dry fruits or even just plain essence. Reduced milk is very accepting when it comes to other flavors and the blend is delicious. The thing that most people don’t understand is a basic rule of constant stirring to keep milk from sticking to the bottom of the vessel where it might burn, until its volume is reduced by a half, thus thickening it, increasing its fat, protein, and lactose density. The semi-condensed mix is then frozen in tight sealed moulds and put in the freezer.

Desserts are every family’s favorite and Kulfi for us seems to top the chart during summer. My homemade kulfi is always loved by my family and friends. After trying different types of Kulfi using a variety of dry fruits, I decided to venture out using fruits. One of the first fruits I experimented with was Lychee and though the end product wasn’t a disaster, the Kulfi never came through.

I believe after that failed experiment that fruits for Kulfi should always be fresh. The Lychee I used was canned, but this time when I tried the delicious Mango Kulfi, I wanted to make sure nothing goes wrong and we get to enjoy the most loved fruit combined with the most loved dessert.

And that’s when I thought of making Mango Kulfi. Although I would have loved to make this delicious treat with Hapus Mango, but unfortunately Hapus isn’t available here like India, so I had to bear with the best ones we get here and so I did. Remembering Hapus, I was actually challenged by someone recently claiming that with the confusion I have with Mangoes, I surely have never tried Hapus. Honestly, I am one of the weird ones who isn’t a big fan of Mangoes and as much as people find it insanely funny, its a fact that I can look at a wonderful and beautiful mango and walk away. So, I will definitely share my hapus story another day but for for now, Please enjoy this wonderful and beautiful recipe.

French Toast with Chocolate Sauce

As a kid, I just loved French toast. I had a Master for Arabic and religious studies who would come every evening for an hour, but on Sundays, it was every morning and as much as it would never excite a 7 year old, it still had to be done and now I realize how important it was then. Anyways, my teacher or Maulana was always served a good breakfast every Sunday morning. My mom would mostly make the awesome French toast, or omelette or sunny fried egg with parantha for my teacher. My teacher was very found of his Sunday breakfast at our house, I could always make that out with the way he ate and I mom also made sure that the teacher was well fed… Something that we all have lost with time. Today’s time is so busy that feeling that way for a teacher or even the guests.

Now comes the fun part, my mom had a clear breakfast designed for us daily. It was a done deal and my mother wasn’t those who would cater our demands on daily basis. My Sunday class would be at 7 AM and I would usually have my breakfast after the class. the funny thing was that every time my mom would make French toast, I would ask my teacher to excuse me and run to the kitchen to ask my mom to make the same thing for me, because I always felt that if she can make it for him, she will gladly make it for me too, and she did. But now that I am all grown up, my mom laughs at the fact that she always knew that she will find me in the kitchen 5 minutes after the breakfast was served to my teacher. I guess some memories from childhood might be a little embarrassing to share, but almost all childhood memories are sweet and always bring a smile to your face.

This is one of my two types of French toast and my boys like both kinds. French Toasts are easy to make with bread slices dipped in egg, milk and white sugar mixed together. If you are a little more experimental like me, add a little cocoa powder and cardamom powder to it. My boys like me serving this French toast with chocolate sauce. You can always make a little change to it to suit your taste.

French Toast with Chocolate Chips

As a kid, I just loved French toast. I had a Master for Arabic and religious studies who would come every evening for an hour, but on Sundays, it was every morning and as much as it would never excite a 7 year old, it still had to be done and now I realize how important it was then. Anyways, my teacher or Maulana was always served a good breakfast every Sunday morning. My mom would mostly make the awesome French toast, or omelette or sunny fried egg with parantha for my teacher. My teacher was very found of his Sunday breakfast at our house, I could always make that out with the way he ate and I mom also made sure that the teacher was well fed… Something that we all have lost with time. Today’s time is so busy that feeling that way for a teacher or even the guests.

Now comes the fun part, my mom had a clear breakfast designed for us daily. It was a done deal and my mother wasn’t those who would cater our demands on daily basis. My Sunday class would be at 7 AM and I would usually have my breakfast after the class. the funny thing was that every time my mom would make French toast, I would ask my teacher to excuse me and run to the kitchen to ask my mom to make the same thing for me, because I always felt that if she can make it for him, she will gladly make it for me too, and she did. But now that I am all grown up, my mom laughs at the fact that she always knew that she will find me in the kitchen 5 minutes after the breakfast was served to my teacher. I guess some memories from childhood might be a little embarrassing to share, but almost all childhood memories are sweet and always bring a smile to your face.

French Toasts are easy to make with bread slices dipped in egg, milk and brown sugar mixed together. If you are a little more experimental like me, add a little cinnamon powder and cardamom powder to it and sprinkle some confectioner’s sugar to it. My boys like me serving the French toast with maple syrup and chocolate chips. You can always make a little change to it to suit your taste.