Glossary

To the possible extent alphabetical:

 

A

B

Blanching:  A cooking process wherein a food, usually a vegetable or fruit, is dropped into boiling water, removed after a brief, timed interval, and finally plunged into iced water or placed under cold running water  to halt the cooking process. This helps in keeping the vegetables  tender (al dante) and retains the color and flavor. Particularly good for spinach leaves as in palak-paneer or when you need to freeze cut vegetables or shelled peas.

S

Sprouts for Salad: Wash the sprouts with plenty of water and add a pinch of saltand mix well. Take the sprouts (250 g) in a bowl, add 2 or 3 tbsp of water and cook it for three or four whistles.

Steaming:  A process where food is placed in a pan or dish above boiling water and the food is cooked by the steam that percolates around. For usili, the ground lentil is placed on a dish and allowed to cook in a  steamer or apressure cooker for 10 minutes till the lentil feels firm enough and toothpick comes out clean.  When steaming any food in cooker make sure that there is no weight placed in the snout. This holds good for idlis, kozhukattai, dhokla or an food that is steamed.

 

 

 

Carrot Halwa/Gajar ka Halwa

 

 

 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes                                                                  Cooking Time: 20 minutes

 

A very popular dessert from North India, carrot halwa is much sought after, more so in the winter months when a bowl of this dessert can be very satiating. No wedding in the northern region is complete without this dish in the menu. Often a favorite with many along with ice cream and a sense of total contentment thereafter!

Ingredients

Carrot 1½ kg that gives about 6 cups of grated carrot

Ghee 2 tbsp

Wholecream Milk ¾ cup

Condensed milk ½ cup

Sugar ¾ cup

Mawa 100 g (¼ cup when grated)

Cardamom powder ¼tsp

Raisins  ¼ cup

Cashew  10 to 12 pods broken into small pieces

Method

• Peel the washed carrots and grate them to give about six cups of grated carrot.
• In a wide pan heat a tablespoon of ghee and roast the cashew till light golden in color and set them aside for garnishing.
• In the same pan, add another spoon of ghee and saute the carrot for two minutes to retain the color and texture. When cooked directly in milk, it can get soft and mushy.
• Add the whole cream milk, cover the pan with a lid and cook on a medium flame for about 5 minutes till the carrot gets cooked. Wait for the milk to evaporate  and add the sugar and cook till the sugar has melted and thickens the mix. Add the condensed milk and stir now and then and wait for the halwa to leave the side of the pan.
• Add the  grated mawa (you can save a spoonful for garnishing) and cardamom powder and mix well.  Save a small part of the raisins and cashew for garnishing  and ad the rest to the halwa and mix
• Transfer to a bowl, garnish and eat it hot or cold.

 

Chef’s Notes

• Red carrots taste better than orange carrots and are more moist. You can add less milk (½ milk) when using red carrot.
• Ensure you saute the carrots to retain the grated texture; sometimes one prefers to cook the carrots in the cooker as it works faster but it gets very soft.
• Mawa adds texture and taste but it is optional.