Saffron Pistachio Kulfi

Wow. This was AMAZINGLY good, and Bhumi guarantees that it's super simple to prepare as well. I wasn't sure what to expect with this dessert, but I think the closest I can come to describing it is "Indian ice cream". The saffron and pistachios really added a nice touch to the creaminess of the dessert, and on such a warm night, the dessert was an instant hit. Bhumi says that the kulfi is traditionally made with a popsicle stick stuck in it so that you can eat it like a popsicle, but since she didn't have any, we just used some spoons and had the kulfi directly out of the Dixie cups. Delish!

I suppose I should add that the below method is the "quick" way; there's apparently a longer, more traditional way to go about this, but of course we're all about the quick wins here!

Ingredients:

Sweetened condensed milk - 14 oz.

Evaporated milk - 12 oz.

Heavy whipping cream - 16 oz.

Cool Whip whipped topping - 16 oz.

Saffron - 1 big pinch

Sugar – 1 tsp

Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds - 1/2 cup, coarsely ground (I think she only used pistachios in ours)

Instructions:

1. With a mortar and pestle, grind together Sugar and Saffron.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine Sweetened Condensed Milk, Evaporated Milk, Heavy Whipping Cream and Cool Whip.
3. Using an electric hand blender, gently mix all ingredients together.
4. Add in Saffron and Sugar mixture and Nuts. Mix well.
5. Pour mixture into small dixie style plastic cups. Cover cups with foil and insert a wooden popsicle stick into the center (or use a popsicle maker).
6. Freeze Kulfi for at least 4 – 6 hours, preferably overnight. Serves 20-25.

Chaana Masala

This is one of my favorite dishes whenever I go out for an Indian lunch buffet. I love the way the tomatoes complement the chickpeas; it's a perfect dish to serve over basmati rice or with some warm naan to wrap around it. The list of ingredients is long, but as I was watching Bhumi prepare this dish, it looks like you don't really need to know any super fancy cooking technique to prepare it. Just keep an eye on it, stir things around, and add things as stated in the recipe. :) Bhumi's recipe below:

Ingredients:

Kabuli Channas/Garbanzo Beans – 2 cup
Water – 8 cups
Black Cardamom – 1
Bay Leaf – 1
Cinnamon Stick 1″ pc
Salt – to taste
Oil – 1.5 tbsp
Hing/Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp
Crushed Tomatoes – 14.5 oz can/400 gms
Channa/Chole Masala – 1 tbsp
Anardana – 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder – 1/2 tsp
Chaat Masala – 1/2 tsp
Amchur/Dry Mango Powder – 1/2 tsp
Onions & Lemon/Lime – for garnishing

Instructions:

1. Soak the Chick Peas overnight (this could potentially be done away with canned garbanzo beans but I’ve never tried this).
2. Transfer the Chick Peas and the water it has been soaking in into a Pressure Cooker.
3. Add in Cinnamon Stick, Bay Leaf, Black Cardamom & Salt and cook Chick Peas in the Pressure Cooker.
4. Seperate the water and the Channas, do not discard the water.
5. In a pan, heat Oil on medium heat. Once hot, add in the Asafoetida and right after that add in the Crushed Tomatoes. Cook till the Tomatoes seperate from the Oil.
6. Add in the Channa Masala, Chaat Masala, Red Chilli Powder, Dry Mango Powder & Anardana Powder. Mix well.
7. Add in the Chick Peas and mix again.
8. Add in the Water that had been set aside, little at a time.
9. Mix occasionally and cover and allow the Chick Peas to cook.
10. Repeat the process till the water is all consumed and the consistency of the gravy looks good.
11. Garnish with Onions and Lemon/Lime.
12. Serve hot with Puris, Bhaturas, Bread, Chapati, Parathas or Naan.

Palak Paneer

To be honest, we cheated a little with this dish. Most of it was already prepared by Bhumi prior to our arrival at her place, and the only thing left to do was to dice up and sautee the paneer. I was surprised that the cheese could be sauteed like that without it melting, but it turned out great. Bhumi says that this dish usually requires the cheese to be deep fried, but sauteeing it works just fine without adding a heapload more grease to the dish. I approve! Anyway, try out Bhumi's recipe, and let me know how it goes. :)

Ingredients:

1 Onion (finely chopped)

1 Tomato (finely chopped)

1 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste

½ Tsp Chilli Powder

½ Tsp Green Chili Paste or 1 fresh Green Chili

1 Tsp Cumin Powder

1 Tsp Coriander Powder

1 Tsp Fenugreek Powder

Turmeric a pinch

Salt to taste

Paneer as desired

Fresh Spinach – 1 bunch

Whipping Cream (optional) – I didn’t add this but most restaurants do

Whole Garam Masala (Cloves, Cardamom, Cinnamon) or Garam Masala Powder

1 or 2 Garlic cloves minced (optional)

Instructions:

1. Clean and wash spinach and immerse in boiling water for 2 min, puree it in a blender and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a deep pan, add garam masala. Now add onions and fry till golden brown, add turmeric and ginger garlic paste, cook for a minute. Add all spices and red chili powder, cook for a minute or two.
3. Now add the spinach (palak) and cook until the gravy oozes with little bubbles.
4. Cut Paneer into 2-3 cm cubes, sauté it in shallow oil (it can also be deep fried if desired but it’s not necessary). Add Paneer pieces to the gravy and simmer in for few minutes.
5. Add some heavy cream to the spinach gravy and mix well (optional).
6. Serve with Roti or Naan

Chaat

This was a suprisingly easy appetizer packed with a lot of flavor. Beware - those little balls are quite spicy, but paired with the cool yogurt on the side, the taste has your mouth coming back for more. Yummy yummy in my tummy. I think I might have filled up my tummy with a lot of this before I even got to the entrees!

Here's Bhumi's recipe below (with my own comments in parentheses):

Ingredients:

1 large Potato, boiled and diced

1 small red onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 cup yogurt

Chaat Masala to taste, optional (this comes in a package in powder form)

Chaat (the little ball things; I thought they looked like mini-Kix)

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together except yogurt and chaat masala.

2. Blend yogurt with ½ cup of water and add some chaat masala. Serve the chaat with yogurt sauce as a dressing on top.