Kesari Bhath (Habba oota or Festival Food)

Indian festivals and Indian weddings are all about the food. There’s a multitude of mouth-watering, finger-licking delicacies prepared to offer to the Gods at our festivals. Families come together on days like these to flavour a taste of simple Indian cooking. Traditional food which, sadly, is going so ‘out of fashion’ is the food that really satiates the soul. Sadly, my generation has lost touch with what constitutes the core of every Indian home. It’s literally what we are made of- our traditional cuisine.

Most of us are so consumed by learning how to make pizzas, pastas, cakes and puddings for our loved ones, that we have neither time nor energy left to experiment with those simple spices tucked away in mom’s Pandora box...remember the conglomeration of spices she packed, sealed, labelled and sent when you got married and didn’t know crap about cooking? It’s time you start using them.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I believe that we must all remain true to our genes. My husband will definitely appreciate a continental meal once in a while, but will be sure to say ‘You are the best wife in the world’ when I make him a simple rice-rasam-palya or masala dosa-coconut chutney meal. And I’m sure that’s what aloo paranthas or rajma-chawal do for husbands from North India. Eat what you grew up loving, and life will feel so much more real and gratifying.

So I decided to add some simple recipes I’ve learnt from my mum and grand mum, those that take me back to where I belong. The first, being this one.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 30min

Cooking time: 15min

Ingredients

2 cups steamed rice (spread out to cool on a plate, so the grains don’t clump together)

1 ½ cup granulated sugar

5-6 cloves

5-6 green cardamom, peeled and ground

10-15 saffron strands soaked in 2tbsp warm milk

2 tbsp homemade ghee

Fistful of nuts, chopped: almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts, raisins

A pinch of nutmeg powder

Method
Heat ghee in a wide non-stick saucepan. Add cloves and nutmeg powder. Add the steamed rice and granulated sugar. Simmer and cook till the sugar melts and the mixture is dry yet sticky. Add the chopped nuts, ground cardamom and saffron strings. Stir for a minute on low flame. Add 1tsp of ghee and stir. Remove from flame and serve warm.

Bench notes
I used ‘sona masuri’’ rice to make the ‘kesari bhath’. ‘Basmati’’ rice makes it dry and gives it an undesired dry and grainy texture. So it is advised that you use a variety of rice that doesn’t dry and separate too much on cooking. The rice once cooked should be soft and light. Use your discretion, depending on the variety of rice used.

You can replace half the granulated sugar with palm sugar (khajoor gud). This gives it a beautiful flavour and golden colour.

Classic Thandai

Thandai reminds everyone of one singular festival, and that is Holi, the festival of colours! This dry fruit and saffron drink often mixed with ‘bhang’ (an intoxicating drink prepared from the female cannabis plant); is also offered to Lord Shiva during the festival of ‘Mahashivaratri’.  For those who have read Amish’s Shiva Trilogy, I’m sure you can connect the ‘smoking up from the chillum’ parts of Shiva’s story to this Indian tradition!

Summers are almost incomplete without this ‘taste bhi, health bhi’ drink. My version is alcohol free, but, feel free to customize and offer thandai shots at your next bachelorette!

Green food colour is often added to make this drink look authentic, but I refrain from using any external colouring agent. If you think it necessary, please go ahead.

Serves: 2

Preparation time:  15 min (does not include soaking time)

Ingredients

Almonds 5 nos

Pistachios 4 nos (for garnishing)

Melon seeds 1 tsp

Poppy seeds ½ tsp

Saunf or fennel seeds ¼ tsp

Green cardamom 2 nos

Peppercorns 5 nos

Dried rose petals 4 nos

Cold water 200ml

Sugar 50g

Saffron strings 4

Cold milk 200ml

Rose water 1ml

Kewra water 1ml

Method

Soak all the dry nuts, spices and dried rose petals in 100ml of water. Let it soak for at least 2 hours.

Dissolve sugar and remaining water together. Soak saffron strings in 20ml of warm milk.

Grind soaked nuts, spices and dried rose petals to a fine paste. Add the paste to the cold milk. Now, add in the prepared water and sugar mixture.

Pass the prepared drink through a strainer. Add in the soaked saffron. Chill the drink in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Garnish with chopped nuts and serve chilled.

Saffron ice-cream with dried figs poached in an orange reduction

I had to make something from the saffron that my husband brought from Kashmir last month; and I didn’t want to do the usual ‘biryani’ or ‘kheer’! So what more interesting that my very own version of the ‘kesar badam’ ice-cream! My version is more of a shrikhand ice-cream with buttermilk as a basic ingredient. This adds a favourable sourness to the ice-cream, making it less rich, and yet soft and creamy. I have slightly changed the flavour profile by eliminating the almonds and adding some cardamom powder instead. It is egg less, and doesn’t require the making of custard; the ingredients are just whisked together and chilled! S-I-M-P-L-E!

It is absolutely necessary that you use saffron strings and not an essence, as the whole flavour quotient of the ice-cream lies in the saffron. Use the saffron sparingly, a little goes a long way! Since the flavours in the ice-cream are so muted, I have done a sweet and tangy orange reduction (fresh juicy oranges are in season) to cut the monotony of the ice-cream. It would be ideal to use fresh figs to poach in the reduction, but dried figs work as well. The fruit neutralizes the sharpness of the orange syrup and adds texture to an otherwise creamy dessert. Every bite should surprise you, shouldn’t it?

I love to mix flavours and textures, and savour food that feels different with every bite! As you play with ingredients and understand the harmony of flavours, you will see what a difference it makes to your dishes. That’s exactly what makes you go back to your favourite restaurant every time and order for the same dish!

I did not use an ice-cream churner to make this ice-cream; instead I just placed the ice-cream in an air tight container in the freezer, removed it every half hour, blended it in the mixer and put it back to freeze again. This will prevent the formation of icicles in your ice-cream giving it the desired creaminess, and the right temperature that won’t make your teeth cry when you take a bite.




Serves: 3-4 scoops
Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min (plus the time you need to blend the ice-cream every half hour)

Ingredients
Ice-cream
1 cup double cream
scant ¼ tsp saffron threads, loosely packed
1 ½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup caster sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of cardamom powder
1 tbsp lemon juice, to taste

Orange reduction
½ cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 dried figs

Method
Ice-cream
Bring ¼ cup milk to a slow simmer, take off the heat and add the saffron threads to bloom their flavour. Cool the saffron-infused milk. Keep aside.

Whisk the double cream and buttermilk together. Add the caster sugar, pinch of salt, pinch of cardamom powder and the lemon juice, to taste. Adjust the sugar to your taste if you'd like a sweeter ice cream. Pour into a clean airtight container.

Chill thoroughly, preferably for 2-3 hours for the first time. Once the ice-cream in chilled, remove and churn in a blender every half hour to dissolve the icicles (they will form because of the water content in the buttermilk). Do this 4-5 times or until the ice-cream turns a creamy consistency. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Orange reduction
Punch tiny holes into the figs with a fork. Combine the orange juice, sugar and vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the figs to the pan. Bring just to a boil and reduce, turning the heat down to medium-low. Continue cooking until it thickens and is reduced by about half. The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools. Once cooled, serve along with the ice-cream.