Eid Special - Sheerkhurma

Eid, for me, is never Eid without making some sheerkhurma. When I was a girl and not a woman, I had the luxury of enjoying it made by my mum and I used to ask her to make lots of it. I liked no one else's recipe of sheerkhurma but my mum's. That used to be my highlight of any Eid.

So, Sheerkhurma is a sweet delicacy, which is made of milk and a variety of nuts together. I personally like using only sliced and toasted almonds and pistachios, but there are a lot of people around the world who love adding some pine nuts, cashewnuts and also dates. Now that it is upto me to make the sheerkhurma, I really miss the one made by my mother.

Here's the recipe for Sheerkhurma. I am giving the ingredients to make 2 litres of sheerkhurma.

Ingredients are:

• 2.5 Litres of full fat milk
• 8-9 tbsp of sugar
• 3 tbsp together of sliced almonds & pistachios (I slightly toast them all in a little ghee or clarified butter, till they are lightly roasted and aromatic)
• a pinch or two of saffron strands
• pinch of salt
• one stick cinnamon
• 5-6 pods of whole green cardamom pods
• 3 tbsp of roasted sevaiyan

Method:

• Boil the milk on a low flame for a good 10 minutes. The quantity of the milk should have been reduced down somewhat but the milk should not be thick.
• The next step is adding the cardamom, cinnamon and saffron strands. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Then add the sevaiyan along with the sugar. Now at this stage, you can also reduce the amount of sugar and add one can of sweetened condensed milk. It's a variety which will give sheerkhurma a rich taste in the end.
• Then add the almonds and pistachios. Stir in between. Keep in mind that the flame should be on low all the time. The main trick is the slow cooking, this needs a lot of patience and attention. 
• Lastly, add the pinch of salt. Now at this point many people love to add a few drop of the rose essence. It's a personal choice so you can try with a different essence like the kewra which is the screwpine essence.
• Cook for another 5 minutes and your sheerkhurma is ready.

I feel the sheerkhurma should be made the night before Eid. Because overnight the flavors intensify and gives a depth to the sheerkhurma.

So, go ahead, try this and am sure you will want another bowl !!

Till then....Happy Eating :)

US Travelogue Part 1

Last year I had the chance of going to the US for a couple of weeks and my destination was San Francisco. So basically my travel plans were for in the east coast. But then how is it possible that I visit US and not go and make a trip to my favorite bakery which is the Carlos Bakery of Hoboken, New York. It was like I had to go there, only then my trip would be successful and meaningful. I wanted to meet the Cake Boss Buddy Valastro too. Initially this thing was not possible as we had a very few limited days. But somehow The Man worked out things and he casually, very casually informed me one day that our travel is Mumbai-AbuDhabi-New York-San Francisco. I was like "Wait, Whaattt?!" But he warned me "It's gonna be one long journey, mind it!!!" But anything for Cake Boss right? Hell yeah :)

So this 'little' detour made our travel time from Mumbai-SFo to be of a total of 48 hours. Yes, 48 hours of air travel, of walking and taking subways and metros to reach Hoboken!! Also, New York was going through an unexpected day of rain and chilly winds. We were all wet from the rain and freezing to the bone. For a Mumbaikar, it was a totally new experience for me being in the New York rain and feeling what its all really like. No amounts of coffee helped me. Ugh. But all that in the name of Carlos Bakery. And when I saw the bakery it was worth it all, really. I had forgotten how tired I was and sleep deprived and hungry hahaha. This makes me sound like some mangled being travelling in the 1900s. But anyway, I entered the bakery and all I could feel was a moment of exhilaration and too much excitement. Although I didnt get to meet Buddy or any other family members and people from the show, I atleast got to taste his goodies. It was worth it all. And I felt lucky & fortunate to be there. Couldnt thank The Man enough for making this possible!!!

 This was the sight I was so looking forward too!!! It was a sight for my sore eyes.

 The wonderful and artistic cakes on display. There were many more like these...

An artist at work... shes lucky to be working there ***sigh***

Finally, my very own goodie bag from Carlos. I took their infamous lobster tails, cannolis, and their cheese cake which was absolute yumm. Never tasted such an awsome cheesecake before ever.

A few displayed goodies...

The lovely cheescake, up close and personal !!!

Their tiramisu was also very good.

So, all in all I had one thing striked off my bucket list and I was happier than ever.

And whoever happens to be in Hoboken, this is a must visit.

Stay tuned for more of my travel food stories from US.

Till then lots of love 

Happy Eating :)

Risotto with Caramalised Onions & Roasted Chicken

Hello everybody out there !!!

Today's post is all about the yummy risotto and the 'death dish' which is so lovingly called this in the Masterchef Australia. I was always intimidated by this dish and thought maybe I will never attempt making it. But, here I was all ready with the ingredients and hoping dearly that it does not fail me.

Here's the recipe that I followed... The ingredients are:

• One and half cups Arborio rice
• 6-7 cups of stock you can use vegetable or chicken as per your taste
• Two onions chopped
• Roasted chicken
• Salt and pepper
• Thyme fresh or the dried one
• Two tbsp butter
• Parmesan cheese, lots of it!!!

The first step is to caramalize the onions. The trick for best caramalized onions is heat the oil quite hot then add in sliced onions. For one minute or two keep the flame high and then lower the flame to lowest and caramalize the onions on low flame till the onions are golden in color. Remove the onions and keep aside.

In the same pan, add the roasted chicken. Cook for some time and keep aside.

Now in a separate pan, saute the rice with the butter or the olive oil for two mins. Now remember, do not wash or soak the rice use them as it is because if you wash the rice then the rice will loose its gluten and the risotto will not become sticky and gluey as it is supposed to be.

So moving ahead, cook the rice by adding the stock gradually. That is one cup at a time. This entire process takes 20 mins approximately. 

When the rice is cooked, that is it should be a bit hard in the centre and not completely cooked like a mash. There should be a bite to it. So when the rice is done, add the caramalised onions and the chicken. Then the seasonings and lastly parmesan cheese. 

You can also try any variation of vegetable you want for instance you can add sauteed mushrooms alongwith the chicken. I have tried it and it tastes heavenly!!!

So, go ahead, conquer the risotto and dont be scared of it.

Happy Cooking ya all !!!

Lots of love :)

Welcome Again ...

Time is of the essence, it always was and will always be. We think we have all the time in the world. Enough time to love, to have fun, to appreciate & help others, to live…but the truth is quite contradictory. Humans, we are so naïve! Every morning when we wake up, we are given the choice of living our life the way we want to, we are given the gift to help someone or make them smile. We are given the beautiful opportunity to connect with our family and friends and the ones we love. But instead, we whine and cry and curse and complain and think of ways to pull someone down. So lost in our own little world, oblivious to the ones in pain around us.

Ramadan, it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on ourselves…to evaluate our souls and to set our affairs in order. Who knows, this might be our last chance. Our last chance to live. There are many beautiful souls, including of my father’s, who aren’t with us now. Some I knew very well, some I didn’t at all. The souls have departed, leaving behind their loved ones with the guilt of many ‘what-ifs’ and ‘why-nots’. Why didn’t I hug him a bit longer that last time? Why was I so busy to talk to him? Why didn’t I pay more attention? So, my dear friends, mend those relations and your hearts and your ways while you have the chance and while you can. Use this month wisely, to reach out to those who would never ask for help. Make a difference. It does not cost you to be nice to someone. Trust me, you would not like to live your life in regret.

Ramadan Mubarak!!!