Go Galette Go! My heart will always Galette on…

5 Beautiful Galettes: Red Pear Galette, Peach Tej Patta Galette, Panchphoron Mango Chutney Galette, Cherry Clove Galette n Paneer Tomato Basil Galette

Some recipes lift you up, some recipes push you down, some recipes don’t make any impression at all, some recipes become a part of you- Galette with fresh fruits is such a recipe that impresses you n becomes something that you wanna make time n time again to the point that now I’m looking for an excuse of when I can make them again. So until more galettes come out of my oven I will tell you about them, they are a crispy buttery base on which fresh/poached/candied fruits are baked, sometimes a layer of frangipane is added between the fruits n the base. They are often savory, sometimes topped with tomato n basil n cheese, sometimes spinach, feta cheese, pine nuts, mushrooms, ham, eggs, cheese -the variation are endless whether sweet or savory.

The amazing thing about a galette is that they are freely formed, they are not looking perfect like a tart, you can just cut them into rough circles or pleat their sides, a galette does not have a high side like a tart, its so much fun playing with their unsymmetrical shape n they look wonderful with all of that. I will always suggest eat your galette when they are warm, the warm buttery flakiness of the base, the light crunch dissolving with the flavor of the fruit, it’s unreal n ridiculously good. I kept on biting them even when they were cold n my calorie count jumped out of the window n didn’t come back in a long time, so the day you make them, eat some galette n skip other food n eat some more galette, I am only kidding, by the way it will be a hit with children I believe.

The dough of the galette can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time, almost 2 months wrapped in cling film, so whenever you feel like having some take it out n let it come to almost room temperature, you can even roll them n prepare the discs and store them beforehand, so all you have to do it to bring them out in time and get started with the fruits n all.

For the peach version, since the peaches were still farm, I simmer them in a sugar syrup infused with tej patta known as Indian bay leaf until the they got tender but not mushy, I saved all the extra syrup for the final glaze and another burst of that sweet flavor, later I arranged the peach on the baked base.

For the Panchphoron Mango chutney, first of all I made the chutney with Panchphoron which is 5 spice mix- cumin, nigella seeds, black mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds(less in quantity), fennel seeds, this blend of whole spices produces an incredible flavor , this fantastic combination is used in Bengali cooking n used both in savory n sweet recipes.

For the red pear galette, a very ripe fruit was carefully cut n fanned onto the base n baked. It tastes incredible.

For the cherry version, they were macerated with sugar n a touch of clove n black pepper, I baked them with the stone in them, it gives an extra flavor.

For the savory version, the paneer was combined with cherry tomatoes n basil, the paneer was sautéed in caramel first, and then I gave them a touch of balsamic vinegar.

Now I will give you the recipes.

For The Recipe: You will need

For The Quick n Easy Flaky Pastry for the Base:

Butter- 110 gm, chilled in the freezer for 30-45 minutes

Flour-175 gm

Salt – a pinch

Sugar- 1 tbsp, powdered

Red Rum- 1 tbsp (cold)

Water- a little (cold)

If you are gonna make savory galette you can skip the sugar n rum

For the Peach Galette

Peach – 2 medium sized, firm

Sugar- 2/3 tbsp

Tej patta/Indian bay leaf- 2, broken in half

Pink rock salt- a pinch

water-6-9 tbsp

For the Panchphoron Mango Chutney

Green mango- 1 big, peeled and cut into stripes, leave out the seed

Panchphoron- 1 tsp

Sugar- ¾ cup, the sugar varies depending on the sourness of the mango

Turmeric- 1 pinch

Mustard oil- 1 tsp

Salt-a pinch

Black pepper- ½ tsp, freshly crushed

For the Red Pear Galette

Red pear- 1 medium, very ripe, cut along the length leaving some space near the stalk

For The Cherry Galette

Cherry- 12/14, split near the top but don’t remove the stone

Clove- 1 small, slightly roasted n powdered

Sugar-1 tbsp

Black pepper- a pinch, freshly crushed

For the Paneer Galette

Paneer-50 gm, sliced into small triangles of 2 cm thickness

Sugar- 1 tbsp

Balsamic vinegar- 2 tbsp

Salt

Basil- 3 tbsp

Cherry tomato- 10/14, halved

Green chili-1 , sliced into stripes

Red chili powder- ¼ tsp

Oil-1 tbsp

Pre-heat the oven to 220 Celsius/425 Fahrenheit.

1. First of all lets prepare the quick n easy flaky pastry for the base, so sift the flour, salt, sugar into a large bowl, take the butter out of the freezer, fold back the foil n hold it over the foil which will save it from your warm hands. Take a grater and dip the butter in flour and on the coarse side start grating the butter over the flour, dipping the butter several times in the flour so that it stays easy to grate that cold butter. You will have a big pile of grated butter on the flour, now with a blunt knife start distributing the butter all though the flour until it becomes quite homogenous , don’t use your hands yet, then add the cold rum n 1 tbsp of cold water and try to bring the dough together  still with the knife, if you feel it is not coming together add 1 tbsp more water and distribute it and wait for 1 minute, the flour needs time to absorb the water, so if you wait for 1 minute you will see the dough starts to come together, now finish with your hands to bring it all together, it should leave the bowl fairly clean with no big chunks of butter anywhere, small chunks r just fine. Now wrap it in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before using.

2. After 30 minutes take the dough out and on a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of floured cling film roll the dough out very thinly to about 1/8^th inch, 3 mm or even 2mm. I rolled out to 2 mm for my sweet galettes, then carefully with a palette knife pick them up and place them on a baking sheet.

3. Prepare all the fruits while the dough chills.

For the peach, in a saucepan mix the sugar with about 6 tbsp water, add the bay leaves, let the sugar melt on a low heat then add the peach and let it come to simmer, now let it simmer for about 10 minutes until the peach becomes tender, if water dries up add some more, it will be sticky n syrupy at the end, don’t make it dry, we need some syrup to glaze them afterwards, when the peach is tender add a tiny pinch of pink rock salt, then take them out in a bowl. Take 1 tsp of the syrup and sprinkle on top of one of the galette base and put it into the oven.

4. Take a saucepan and add the sugar and 1 ½ cup of water and let the sugar melt on a low heat, when it melts add the mango stripes and let it come to a simmer. In another frying pan heat 1 tbsp mustard oil till it just begins to smoke, then pop in the panchphoron mix and as it begins to sputter add that whole oil n spice mix over the mango n sugar solution, add the black pepper. Add a tiny pinch of turmeric and now let the whole thing simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the mangoes go very tender, taste and see if it needs any more sugar, if it is very sour add a tablespoon more. Add a pinch of salt and then take it out in a bowl, let it cool a bit. Before you place the galette in the oven arrange some mango slices from the chutney on top of the base and then into the oven.

5. For the cherry version, slice the cherries on the top part and keep them whole, sprinkle sugar and clove powder n black pepper on them and let them macerate for 15 minutes, that’s all, before you place them in the oven arrange the cherries on the base, sprinkle some more sugar on top them n then into the oven.

6. The red pear has to be sliced carefully along the length but leaving some space intact near the top so that it stays in shape so first half the pear n then slice it lengthways keeping it intact, then carefully fan out the slices and place them over the base and then spread them out a little more carefully, then into the oven.

7. In a frying pan heat the oil on a medium flame, then add the sugar and let it turn into dark caramel, as the sugar becomes caramel, lower the flame , it will soon become dark caramel, then place the paneer triangles on the caramel, they will sizzle, give them 2 minutes,  add the chopped green chili, after 2 minutes increase the heat, add the balsamic vinegar, it will sizzle , mix it well with the paneer, add a touch of red chili powder n salt, mix well, then take them off the pan.

        First arrange some of the basil leaves on the base, then arrange the paneer, then the cherry tomatoes, dip some basil leaves in oil and scatter on top the tomatoes, sprinkle with some salt n bit of extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil n pinch of pink rock salt. Pleat the sides of the galette the way you want to and then put it into the oven.

8. The galettes will need 10/15 minutes in the oven, put one baking tin on the high shelf and one in the middle, after half the time exchange their places, the galette will just begin to color at the end of the time, if this doesn’t happen at all, put the top grill on and carefully watch them, soon they will begin to color, so when they have got a bit of good color you can take them out.

I baked all the sweet galettes together, so prepare all the fruits beforehand n you bake them together.

When they are out of oven, take the peace slices and arrange on top of the base, sprinkle some syrup on them and they will look so shiny. Take some more syrup and brush the red pear with that too. Take some syrup from the mango chutney and sprinkle on top of the mango galette.

They just look so wonderful right! I know I know…now eat them while they are warm and you will know what I am talking about. Tell me how they turned out when you made them. So until the next galette I will wish you Bon Appétit.

Gurjali Fish En Papillote

Indian Salmon/Gurjali Mach/Rawas Machli cooked with mustard paste n green chili, carrot n green beans wrapped in French love-fish en papillote 

Here is the thing, when you wanna prepare fish en papillote, make little or medium pouch or parcels, out of parchment paper or baking paper/aluminum foil, place the fish inside the parcel before you seal in, you make the fish sit on a bed of vegetables kept on the paper, choose something that goes with that particular fish you are cooking, you add herbs or spices or any sauce, season it, then you fold the paper overlapping each fold with the prior fold so that parcel becomes sealed and steam can’t escape from it, then you place it in the oven and the fish gets cooked in its own steam inside that paper bag- that is what at the heart of cooking fish en papillote.

The flavor of the Gurjali fish reminds me of Elish/Hilsa a bit, especially the big sized ones, the flavor of a small fish is different than a matured n big one. For this recipe I chose a small to medium size, otherwise I need to make a big parcel n it won’t fit my oven. Gurjali fish is known as Rawas/Ravas/Ramus/Gurjali/Ranwa across India, often it is known as the Indian Salmon. It is beautiful to look at, though there are no play of colors on its body but shades of grey, looking at the head of a gurjali reminds me of the shark, the low sitting lower part of the jaw in the head brings the picture of shark in my mind.

In a Bengali kitchen the technique of steaming the fish is popular along with frying and making a spicy stew with fish. The method of steaming is called ‘Bhapa’ in Bengali culinary terms, which is the same thing happening in a papillote, the fish is getting steamed in a paper bag. In a Bengali kitchen the steaming takes place inside a metal bowl, sometimes the fish is warped along with spices n oil in banana leaves, then placed carefully inside a steamer. It produces incredible taste often times.

Now there are many unwritten rules when it comes to combining fishes with spices in a Bengali kitchen, each fish is combined with a particular set of spices n herbs n vegetables, there is no common set of sauce or spices that is used for every fish, as every fish has a different flavor, it is treated differently-it produces a sophisticated array of flavor spectrum. But that doesn’t mean a fish is prepared the same way across Bengal, many subtle to strong variations exist even within a popular recipe, an unwritten war exists in the mind of people arguing whose combination is best-that is the fun.

I like the combination of nigella seeds/kalonji/black cumin/kalo jeere/onion seeds n green chilies n mustard paste with the flavor of the gurjali fish. They take up the flavor of the fish to a new level, the mustard gives a kick of pungency n heat, the green chilies give away their amazing savory flavor and the nigella seeds give away their smooth mellow flavor, it’s delicious. I made a bed of carrot ribbons n green beans n few slices of ginger on which the fish sat while being steamed inside the parcel n it was all in harmony. I know you want to give it a try, so it is time for the recipe.

Pre-heat the oven to 190 Celsius/375 Fahrenheit/Gas mark 5 

For The Recipe: You will need

Gurjali fish- 1 medium about 400-500 gm

Mustard paste- 1 tbsp, you can use mustard powder, readymade mustard paste

Kalonji/Nigella seeds- ½ tsp

Green chilies- 2

Mustard oil- 4 tbsp

Carrot- 1 medium, made into ribbons with a peeler

Green beans- 50 gm, chopped into 1 inch pieces

Ginger- ½ tsp, cut into stripes

Salt

Sugar- 1 small pinch

Lime -1 medium, cut into round thin slices

Turmeric- ¼ tsp

Red chili powder- 1 pinch

You need a parchment or baking paper, cut a 2ft/2ft square, fold the paper in half, draw the biggest half heart shape on one half, then open it n it will become a heart shape, cut it out, smear some mustard oil on top the paper where the fish will sit.

1. First lets prepare the mustard paste, so in a heavy stone mortar n pestle or grinder, take 1 tbsp of black mustard seeds along with 1 green chili n a pinch of salt and make it into a paste, then thin the paste down with 2 tbsp of water and strain it through a sieve, the black husks will separate out this way.

2. Put a frying pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsp of mustard oil , when the oil is smoking, reduce flame to low, add 1 slit whole green chili, the kalonji seeds, then add the mustard paste, mix it well, add the turmeric, a small pinch of red chili powder, sugar, on a low heat give it 5 minutes stirring in between until the water has almost evaporated, if the water dries completely in between sprinkle a little water, we want the final sauce thick but still like a paste so that we can apply it on the fish. When done take the sauce in a bowl. In the same pan add the rest 2tbsp of mustard oil n heat it until it begins to smoke, then put the flame off and let it cool down.

3. So now take the fish, make sure the scales are removed n the guts taken out, then score the fish at regular intervals with a sharp knife, but don’t go too deep to the bone, then mix the mustard paste with the mustard oil and coat the fish well with this mixture, making sure the scored parts are well rubbed with this paste, with a sharp knife open up the part just under the gills and apply the paste over there. Now on the greased part and one half of the heart shape of the paper make a bed of the carrot ribbons, beans n ginger, sprinkle little salt over them,  season the fish with salt on both sides and lay it on this bed. Put 2 round thin slices of lime on the fish.

4. So now fold the other half of paper back on the fish and start from the bottom of the heart, make one fold, then pick up from around the middle of the first fold and make another fold, so we have overlapping 2 folds, now make 3^rd fold overlapping the 2^nd fold and go on until you reach the top part of the heart, before you put the final fold pour 1 tbsp of water inside the parcel, press down on all the fold carefully and on the top n bottom part fold the folds again so that they don’t open up easily, if you see any fold open up, press it or make another fold over them, when the oven is ready place the parcel on a baking sheet and place it in the middle of the oven and give it about 10/15 minutes. Most fishes are done in 10 minutes; since the fish was big I gave it 5 more minutes.

5. You will see the parcel will puff up as you approach the finishing time and the baking paper will start to color a bit n it will becomes translucent. So take it out of the oven and get ready with a scissor.

Bring the parcel to the dining table where everyone is sitting, this is the moment, cut open the parcel n let the steam hit everybody with the aroma of the fish...watch their faces n then dig in. Bon Appétit.

An Upma Cake with Leek, Tomato, Rosemary n Milk

Semolina Upma Porridge cake with sweet flavors from Leek, the fleshy tartness from Tomato, the crunch of Peanuts n herbal cool depth from Rosemary

As far as I can remember my first taste of upma took place about 15 years ago when one evening my elder sister got back home n cooked upma excitedly for the first time in our home n I watched her, she must have learned it from the mother of one or her friends I guess. And when everything came down on the plate it was like tasting a new island…you know that sorta feeling! And then we loved it n then it was prepared again n again with hundreds of variation…well almost.

Upma is a savory preparation using semolina n vegetables as the two main ingredients, semolina/sooji/rawa is almost at every home in India and so often in the morning breakfast table or evening snacks time the kitchen is filled up with the aroma of curry leaves n roasted sooji, sound of sizzling vegetables in oil, sound of sputtering of mustard seeds play across the kitchen. An Indian kitchen is dramatic n full of life, the popping mustard n cumin seeds in oil, the humming exhaust fan gushes out the flavored smoke across the road hitting the home coming people  n making them hungry as they reach home, their feet hurry up to reach even quicker.

If I have to describe the primary flavors of a traditional upma I will mention the curry leaves, the tomato, the chana dal, the semolina, the onion, the mustard seeds and lastly the ghee or the tomato sauce! Yeah when we serve upma we scatter a touch of ghee/clarified butter over it  which gives it a fuller rich yet  light flavor or tomato ketchup which gives u sweet n sour edge  n both are very delicious. As a kid I was a fan of tomato ketchup, so often my upma  looked red, you know why.

In this version of upma I have featured the mild flavor of the leeks which is like sweet onion in a way, the brilliant fresh aromatic astringent quality of rosemary, the satisfying rich n crunchy peanuts, the fleshy lovable tomato and the richness of milk. I have walked in a different path from the traditional upma, using milk as the liquid part, taking the mustard n the dal away but the structure remains the same, the result is a delicious smooth creamy upma with brand new flavors! How cool is that…new flavors are always welcome, new islands are to be ventured.

The origin of upma is in the southern part of India, a part from where came brilliant vegetarian preparation now enjoyed across the globe. May be it also came from Sri Lanka, the region of Tamil Nad n Sri Lanka are so close. Upma is known as ‘Uppuma’, ‘Uppittu’, ‘Uppindi’, ‘Uppumavu’, ‘Upeet’, ‘Rulanv’ across all the Sothern states of India, ‘Upma’ is a short term used in Hindi.

So now I’ll give you the recipe.

For The Recipe: You will need

Semolina/Rawa/Sooji- 1 cup

Milk-2 cups, skimmed or full fat- your choice

Water -½ cup

Leek- I medium stalk, washed n halved length-ways, chopped into ¼ inch half moons

Capsicum- quarter of a big, chopped into 1 inch pieces

Tomato- 1 medium, chopped

Rosemary- ½ tbsp

Green chili-1 medium, chopped

Dry ginger powder/Saunth- ½ tbsp

Red chili powder- ¼ tsp

Turmeric powder- 2 pinch

Freshly ground black pepper- to season

Butter- 1 tbsp

Ghee/Clarified butter-1 tbsp vegetable oil- 3tbsp

Peanut- 3-4 tbsp, roasted

Pink rock salt- 1 pinch

Sugar- ½ tsp

Salt

1. Put a frying pan on low heat, when the pan is hot pour the semolina over it and shake it to spread it out. Give it 5-6 minutes in low heat and shake n toss every 1 minute, then increase the heat to medium and give it 4 minutes tossing every 30 seconds, make sure nothing is going red or brown, don’t go anywhere, stay right there, we have to shake n toss the pan frequently this time so that no part of the semolina gets too roasted, we don’t want any reddish color to the semolina, the semolina should stay white,  so after 4 minutes take them off onto a plate. In case the semolina got reddish while you are away its okay, carry on, it will give a different flavor.

2. In the same pan add 3 tbsp of vegetable oil n the butter, as the butter sizzles n melts  in a low medium heat add the chopped garlic, stir, then add the green chili, don’t let the garlic brown, add the leeks and stir well, let the flame be on low heat now, give them 5 minutes n stir in between, then add the capsicum n the roasted peanut , add a pinch of sugar, stir, increase the heat to medium now, give them 3 minutes, add some salt now, then add the tomato, a pinch pink rock salt n ½ tbsp dry rosemary,  give it a mix, give them around 5 minutes, the tomato will almost melt and the leeks will start to brown a bit, add the  ground ginger powder, chili n turmeric powder with a dash of water so that the spices don’t burn, keep the heat to low now,  give them about 3 minutes, the tomatoes would have melted now. Now add the milk n water, a pinch of dry rosemary again, add salt to taste and the sugar, taste n keep the salt slightly higher than normal because the semolina will go in the pan and absorb the salt, so when the liquid comes to a simmer, lower the heat and start sprinkling the semolina in one hand  as you keep stirring with other hand, keep stirring constantly and if you spot any lumps, press it and break it away, the mixture will immediate thicken, 1 cup of semolina will absorb minimum 2 ½ cup liquid, so if the mixture still need a little more add a little more milk and work it in. Move the pan away from the heat and add 1 tbsp f ghee and mix it well. The consistency will be smooth, thick; always keep stirring to mix the ghee really well.  Take the mixture off in plate.

3. Serve it hot n warm, scatter some roasted peanuts on top, if you want some fresh chopped tomato, then submerge your spoon into the creamy thick smooth Upma and have your hungry bite.

It is even good when cold, one healthy recipe that you can have time n time again, for this time don’t delay your bite, dig in, Bon Appétit.

A Fragrant Rice with Chicken, Saffron N Prawn-A Tale of Tantalizing Taste

Gobindobhog Rice cooked with Fresh water Prawn n Chicken with dry Red Chilies, Jalapenos, Saffron, Tomatoes- pure taste of delish

First I should tell you about this rice-Gobindobhog, a type of short grain rice from Bengal, the east of India. It smells amazing, how do I describe that smell, let me try- sweet, pleasant, fragrant, decent, subtle and full of promises. When you taste it, the depth of flavor coming from it takes you in a journey. So no wonder it is such a favorite rice to use when you are cooking something special, sweet or savory it handles both the sides extremely well. It has a sweet smooth buttery aromatic flavor, so often they are cooked with milk n sugar or jaggery to produce Payas/Rice Pudding/Chawal Kheer, sometimes they are cooked with chicken or fish or vegetables to produce fantastic pulao/pilaf, they are the base to make a fantastic “Murighonto- A savory rice dish with fish head n potatoes and whole garam masala”- it’s a never ending love story.

                          Now chances are if you live outside India, or even let’s say outside Bengal, you won’t get this rice easily, but still ask for this rice in Indian or Bangladeshi shops, it is every worth searching for. For this dish you can replace it with any short grain rice like risotto rice, Thai sticky rice, paella rice.

                                                                 I didn’t have a doubt when I combined this rice with prawns n chicken, what came out impressed me much more than what I imagined, the rice absorbs all the flavors so vividly, at the same time lifting the flavors up with its own flavor, in every bite I could taste the prawns, the tomatoes, the chicken, the garlic, the jalapenos, the saffron. It was like all the flavors were in harmony, n to top it all off it doesn’t take much time to cook, the rice takes 15 minutes to be done and all you have to do when the rice is cooking is to stir it in between.

Another layer of flavor comes from the aromatic spices that go in it, cloves, green cardamom, Indian Bay Leaf n Cinnamon sticks-as the broth simmers the spices release their flavor n blends into everything in the pan.

                     There are some recipes when you cook them it makes you a hero, people love you n the food that you cook-this is one such recipe. So next time there is a gathering of friends cook this and see them getting lost in the plate, which is actually a great sight to watch for a person who cooks with his/her heart.

                                    So now let me serve you the recipe, here we go…

For The Recipe: You will need

Govindobhog rice- 1 cup

Chicken breast-1 medium with bone, cut into 2 inch pieces, around 250 gm

Prawn- 4 big/ 6 medium, veined, washed but not peeled

Garlic – 3 medium cloves, chopped

Onion-1 medium, chopped

Tomato- 2 medium, chopped

Jalapenos- 2 tbsp

Green capsicum- 2-3 tbsp, chopped

Dry red chili- 1 medium, torn into pieces

Saffron- 2 pinch

Red chili powder- ½ tbsp

Turmeric- ¼ tsp

Cumin powder-1/4 tsp

Coriander powder-1/4 tsp

Bay leaf- 2

Clove-4

Green cardamom-1+1

Cinnamon stick- 2 inch

Soy sauce- a few drops like ½ tsp

Black pepper- 1 tbsp, freshly ground

Pink rock salt- few pinches

Salt

Sugar

Brown fried onion- to serve, 1 medium onion-sliced n fried till brown in a pan, it’s optional

Water-3 -4 cups

Vegetable oil/olive oil-5-6 tbsp

1.     Soak the rice in water for half an hour, then drain the water. In a frying pan heat the oil, when the oil is moderately hot reduce the heat to low, add the dry red chili torn into pieces, chopped garlic n stir,  don’t let the garlic brown, add cloves, cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, give them around 20 seconds , then add the chopped onion. Give them about 2 minutes on medium high heat stirring often, then add the capsicum, give it 3 minutes, then add the chicken pieces, put the flame high and sauté them for about 5 minutes, stir in between. Add a pinch of sugar, mix, then add the rice to the pan and give it a good mix. Keep the flame on medium high and stir often; we are now frying the rice grains to some extent. Give them around 4-5 minutes on medium heat, then add some salt and mix well. After that add the tomatoes, jalapenos  and 2 pinch of pink rock salt and ½ tsp of freshly ground black pepper, give it a good mix n give them about 2-3 minutes. Mix the red chili powder, turmeric, cumin n coriander powder with little water to make a paste, add this to the pan and mix well. Add a splash more water so that the spices don’t burn.

         2.     Heat the water in a bowl; we will use this hot water to add to the pan. So back to the frying pan add the saffron strands, mix, now add 1 cup of the hot water n stir so that everything is uniformly mixed. Keep the flame high at this stage, add the prawns to the pan, very soon the water will be absorbed by the rice, then add another cup of water, reduce the flame to low, add salt according to taste and few drops of soy sauce, ½ tsp sugar and mix well. The water will be just simmering in the pan, when this water is again absorbed , add half cup of more water, this whole process will take about 15 minutes, at the final stage we want the rice to be not dry but with some liquid part in it. So the amount of water will vary slightly, if the rice is soft n fluffy n the consistency of it some a bit flow-y it is there, if the rice still needs to be soft add 1/2 cup water and give it a little time.

        3.     Now when the rice is soft, put the flame off, we will add the final touches. In a mortar n pestle crush one green cardamom pod and 1 inch stick cinnamon with 1 tsp of water,  when it becomes a coarse mixture add this to the rice, add some more black pepper n mix n cover the pan for 2 minutes.

So it is ready to be served, serve generously and sprinkle some brown onions over it or forget it, it tastes so very delish! Mmmmm…Bon Appétit.

A Tempting Tart with Note Saag-A New Emotional Bite

Amaranth Leaves/Note Saag Tart with Coconut, Almonds n Parmesan

This dish existed in my head long before it came into being finally this June and it tasted better than what I imagined it to be for all the good reasons in life. I remember the moment the tart formed in my head, the inspiration was a dry-fry saag preparation by Mom, Amaranth  leaves  known as ‘Note Saag’  fried with onion n green chilies in pungent mustard oil and that tastes simply gorgeous, the combination of that saag n white rice makes up happy moments of eating at home. Now exactly at that point of time I decided to extend that love to a tart, I wanted to translate all that beautiful flavor of Note Saag into the tart. This is how she is born.

Amaranth is a whole family of perennial plants, some of the plants are used as leafy vegetables, some cultivated for cereals while some as decorating plants. So when ill be referring to ‘Note Saag’ it will specify one particular species of the plant family that we use in India for saag preparations, more specifically in the eastern part of India. The pictures will guide you to identify the one I used.

Its monsoon in India now, it rains almost once in a day for an hour roughly, the air becomes saturated with moisture n heavy until the wind blows n it feels fantastic! After a period of tremendous summer as the monsoon comes, it touches the soil n inspires, the soil soon comes up with fresh leafy greens. So right now the amaranth leaves/note saag is that fresh leafy green available in the local market, a gift of the monsoon. The note saag is prepared in many different ways across the home kitchens, some are dry-fried with minimum spices to lift up their flavor while some are combined with a paste of poppy seeds or other vegetables to prepare a medley of vegetables often known as ‘Chorchori’, while some are combined with fresh shrimps n sautéed together.

In this creation I combined the flavor of the note saag with fresh coconut, the parmesan, almonds together. The crispy outer layer of the tart crumbles as we bite into it n mingles with the soft deep flavor of the saag, the parmesan, the coconut-it almost becomes like a song.

When I first bite into the tart while it was still hot simply because I just couldn’t wait anymore, it made me emotional, in the next day I felt the same energy as I took my bite into the tart. So I had to share this recipe with you, so you can make it n feel that.

So now I think we should go to the recipe.

For The Recipe: We will need

For The Saag Preparation

Note Saag/ Amaranth leaves n tender stems- about 500 gm, washed, chopped into 1 inch pieces

Red onion- 1big or 2 medium, halved n sliced

Fresh coconut – 2 tbsp, cut into strips then chopped into little pieces

Green chilies- 2, sliced along the length but still in 1 piece/partly sliced

Mustard oil- 4-5 tbsp

Sugar- ½ tsp

Salt

Pink rock salt – a pinch

Red chili powder – a pinch

For the Short crust Pastry

Plain flour- 250 gm

Butter- 50 gm at room temp.

Olive oil/vegetable oil-3 tbsp (I used onion flavored vegetable oil)

Water-3 tbsp approximately

Salt – a pinch

For the Filling

The prepared saag

Egg yolks- 2

Thick cream- 150 ml

Parmesan cheese- 100 gm (you can use Gruyere cheese, its cool)

Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh coconut – 2 tbsp, cut into strips then chopped into little pieces

Almonds- 50 gm, sliced along the length

Pre-heat oven to 160 Celsius/325 Fahrenheit

1. Begin by preparing the pastry, for that in a flat vessel mix the flour with salt, then drop the oil n the butter n with a blunt knife cut the fat into the flour until it resembles  breadcrumbs, you can use your hand too, just rub the flour with the butter n oil between your fingertips, always work with a light hand, when the fat is well distributed n resembles coarse breadcrumbs add the water one tablespoon at a time and incorporating it with the knife into the mixture, then add one more n do the same. After 3 tbsp of water the dough should leave the bowl fairly clearly and should come together, try to make it come together with your hands, if this doesn’t happen nothing to worry, add one more tablespoon of water and try to do the same, if not add some more drops of water and try. Just as the dough comes together tip it on a wooden board and press down on the dough with your hands to make the whole thing come together, this is not kneading but bringing the dough together. With you both hands press on the dough and make it come together, then shape it into a flat round, cover in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. In a frying pan heat the mustard oil on a high flame, when the oil is hot reduce the flame to medium, add a pinch of sugar, let the sugar melt n go brown then add the onion n green chili, toss them around for about 2 minutes, reduce the flame to low n give them 2 more minutes, then add the coconut pieces and stir them, give them 2 minutes, then add the washed n chopped amaranth leaves, put the flame on high n mix everything well, stir fry them for 5 minutes on high heat, they will start to get a little brown, keep stirring, then reduce the flame to minimum n give 10 minutes like this, stirring often so they don’t burn, if the pan gets very dry at the end of the time add a splash of water. After that add the sugar n chili powder, mix well, then add pink rock salt, salt n taste. If there are brown bits sticking to the pan, sprinkle little water and incorporate all of that. Take them out of a plate and let them cool.

3. Roll out the pastry thinly between two cling films n line a tart tin, prick the base with a fork and bake blind in a moderate oven which is 160 Celsius/325 Fahrenheit  for 15 minutes. It should not brown. Now in a bowl mix 2 egg yolks, the thick cream, the grated parmesan with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper until well mixed. You can reduce the amount of parmesan if you wish; instead of 100gm you can use 70 gm.

4. Take the pastry out of the oven, arrange the note saag in the pastry case until the base is well covered, then pour the cream mixture over them. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds and the coconut pieces, then back in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the top slightly starts to get color, for this often at the last 3 minutes I put the top grill on. Take it out of the oven and leave it for 5 minutes then place it carefully on a glass and let the tart tin drop down.

Here you are standing in front of the warm tart with a knife in your hands and anticipation in your heart. Go on, make one slice and bite into it. It is as good slightly warm or hot or room temperature. Bon Appétit.