Our naasto (snack) jar is the equivalent of a cookie jar — one minute it’s full and the next only a few crumbs remain at the bottom. It’s most often filled with chakri (savoury rice sticks), gathia (spiced chickpea flour noodles) and chevdo (the spicy-sweet-sour mix of dreams). The moment when you sit down to masala chai and ‘naasto’ is when troubles fizzle away. The soothing, milky masala tea erases the furrows in your brow and the crunchy, savoury, sweet and spicy snacks are a welcome cuddle from the inside. It’s the kind of home comfort that becomes an occasion without even trying. Flawless.

Of course, there is no naasto time without chevdo.

Chevdo is a crunchy, savoury Indian snack in which every ingredient is fried or baked to golden perfection before being tumbled together with salt, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and chilli. The ingredients vary from recipe to recipe but the essentials include: potato sticks, roasted moong daal, corn flakes, nuts, crispy curry leaves and sultanas. You’re probably thinking that this sounds similar to that notorious bar snack, Bombay mix? Let me assure you that it’s not the same.

Bombay mix is a form of chevdo in the sense that it’s a load of sweet, spicy, salty, crunchy ingredients but traditional chevdo isn’t made up of mainly chickpea flour noodles like Bombay Mix is. The flavours aren’t as complex in Bombay Mix which usually includes salt and chilli.

I’ve created a quick, lightened up version of chevdo using a mix of unsweetened breakfast cereal and much less oil than the traditional recipe (which involves a lot of deep frying of everything). It includes all the usual spices for an explosion of flavour without all the deep frying.

The crispy curry leaves and spices are tempered in rapeseed oil and then mixed thoroughly with the cereal, nuts and potato sticks. My recipe makes 1.5kg — it sounds like a lot but in our home, it’s traditional to bag it up and share with friends and family, especially during special occasions.

Serve with masala chai or a cold beer for snacking that goes above and beyond your usual bag of nuts down the pub.

Print

Baked Cereal Chevdo

A spicy-savoury Indian snack mix using breakfast cereal, nuts and seeds.

Course Snack

Cuisine Indian

Keyword baked, cereal, chevdo, easy, healthy

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 1 kg

Ingredients

• 375 g unsweetened multigrain cereal loops
• 375 g unsweetened cornflakes
• 500 g unsalted baked potato sticks or crisps
• 150 g cashews
• 85 g almonds
• 85 g redskin peanuts
• 12 g curry leaves approx 50 leaves
• 5 green chillies
• 50 g sesame seeds
• 30 g coconut
• 25 g raisins
• 25 g coriander leaves
• 20 g fennel seeds
• 10 g cinnamon sticks 1 stick, broken
• 2 g cloves 15 cloves
• 5 g citric acid don’t substitute lemon/lime juice as they will add moisture and affect the shelf life of the chevdo
• 12 g salt
• 70 ml oil
• 6 g turmeric 2 tsp

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
• Place the cereal on a large baking tray and bake for 6-8 minutes until golden and toasted. Allow to cool.
• Place the nuts on a large baking tray and bake for 6-8 minutes until golden and toasted. Allow to cool.
• In a large container, add the cereal, nuts and potato sticks.
• Heat the oil in a pan. Add the remaining ingredients and saute for 2 minutes until aromatic. Mix this with the cereal and nuts and toss well to coat everything well.

Notes

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. The chevdo will keep well for a month.

Pin it for later!

A lighter take on Indian trail mix with a surprising ingredient… breakfast cereal! Add a mix of nuts, spices, chilli and crispy curry leaves for a snack you simply can’t stop eating.

The post Easy Cereal Chevdo appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Stuffed with rich coconut, pistachios and paneer before being baked in a tomato masala containing no fewer than eleven incredible spices (important: in small amounts) to create a beautifully balanced, aromatic aubergine experience.

You’ve probably worked out by now that I’m a total aubergine fiend, always thinking about where my next fix is coming from. Whether it’s Slow Cooker Aubergine Makhani or the love of my life, Burnt Aubergine and Spinach Curry, I’m obsessed.

Kolhapuri Vegetables and Kolhapuri Chicken are popular dishes from, you guessed it, Kolhapur, Maharashtra in India. These curries are notoriously spicy and almost always contain a killer combo of crimson Kashmiri chillies, black pepper and poppy seeds.

I’ve played about with the masala recipe to come up with my own blend, which I think lends the ultimate kick to vegetarian dishes. Meat eaters won’t even complain. The masala recipe makes double the amount you’ll need for this recipe but I like to keep some in an airtight container in the fridge for later. It’s amazing sprinkled into pasta sauce, over crispy fries and in spicy soups.

If you don’t have baby aubergines, you can omit the stuffing part and roast regular, cubed aubergines before adding to the sauce and simmering for 20 minutes. The sauce base is also delicious with regular white chickpeas (serve with Masala Poori), potatoes or mixed mushrooms and sweetcorn.

Be creative and play around with it until you find your favourite combinations. This one is mine.

Stuffed and Baked Baby Kolhapuri Aubergines
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

16 long baby aubergines, washed and dried

For the Kolhapuri masala:

3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut
2 tsp red Kashmiri chilli powder
2 tbsp white poppy seeds or sesame seeds
4 curry leaves
1 tbsp fennel seeds
½ tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp salt

For the Pistachio and Coconut filling:

100g unsweetened desiccated coconut
30g unsalted pistachios
100g paneer, grated (replace with an additional 70g unsweetened desiccated coconut and 30g unsalted pistachios if vegan)
1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
1 tsp white pepper
¼ tsp salt

For the Sauce:

2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp Kolhapuri masala
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar

400ml water

Fresh coriander and sliced red chillies, to garnish
Paratha and optional plain yoghurt to serve

Method

1. Begin by making the filling. Toast the pistachios and desiccated coconut in a dry non-stick pan until golden and aromatic. Transfer to a food processor and pulse to a crumb-like texture. Transfer to a bowl and add the grated paneer, amchur, white pepper and salt. Stir to combine well. Set aside.

2. To make the Kolhapuri masala, blend all of the ingredients together in a coffee grinder or food processor until fine. Set aside. This will make twice as much masala as you’ll need for this recipe but I love to stash it away in the fridge in a sealed container to sprinkle over fries (guilty pleasure alert!)

3. Next, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and add the sliced onions. Allow to soften, about 8 minutes. Don’t let them get too brown. Add the tomatoes, 4 tablespoons of Kolhapuri masala, water, salt and sugar. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on a low heat for 20-30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, slit the aubergines lengthways not slicing all the way through. Stuff each aubergine with the pistachio and coconut masala.

5. Make yourself a cup of tea and pre-heat the oven to 190C.

6. Take four cast iron skillets or any deep, large baking dish and pour in the sauce. Arrange the aubergines on top of the sauce and bake for 60 minutes until the aubgerines are tender all the way through.

7. Serve with flaky paratha, a bowl of cold natural yoghurt and nothing more.

Love Sanjana

The post Stuffed and Baked Baby Kolhapuri Aubergines appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Turns out it’s only bloody brilliant.

I’ve been nuts about pistachio desserts ever since my taste buds got their first fix of the gorgeously-green ice cream as a kid. That sweet fragrance of pistachios and just a hint of almond reminds me of both Indian sweet shops with their rows upon rows of Pista Halwa and cherry-topped Bakewell Tarts. It’s what I imagine heaven for sweet-toothed food bloggers smells like. Also present in said heaven would be Mr Kipling (the master of baked goods), Lionel Ritchie (with his smooth-as-buttermilk voice) and Madhuri Dixit (with her timeless beauty). So like all the components of this, my dream cake… all the greats.

To get the perfect green pistachio paste, the pistachios should be unsalted, shelled and skinned. If you have the good fortune to encounter them in all their emerald-green glory in a shop, buy them. If, like me, you can’t find them, you’ll need to remove the outer shells, blanch them in boiling water for three minutes, drain and refresh under cold water, then slip the skins off. Finally, give them a quick toast in a hot oven.

Marzipan gives the paste a delicious nutty edge and liquid glucose brings it all together like a dream.

In this recipe, I use a combination of sweetened condensed milk, milk powder and buttermilk as an egg replacer and it really works wonders in helping the cake hold its structure once risen which I find is the trickiest part of egg-free baking.

Finish the cake with a slathering of cream cheese frosting, raspberries and extra pistachios. A few white chocolate curls are also welcome to join the party.

Eggless Pistachio and Raspberry Buttermilk Cake
Serves 10-12

Ingredients

For the pistachio paste blend together:
200g pistachios, shelled and skinned
150g white marzipan
220ml liquid glucose
A drop of green food colour, if required

For the cake:
1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk
180g caster sugar
320ml buttermilk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
190ml groundnut oil
3 tbsp pistachio paste
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp skimmed milk powder
450g cake flour

For the frosting:
250g unsalted butter, softened
250g full-fat cream cheese
300g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

To decorate:
400g raspberries
Pistachios
White chocolate curls

Method

1. Grease and line two 10-inch wide x 4-inch deep cake tins.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 160C.

3. In a stand mixer, combine the condensed milk, milk powder, cider vinegar, buttermilk, oil, pistachio paste and sugar. Beat on high speed for 5 minutes.

4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in three stages, folding in gently between each. Don’t overbeat this.

5. Divide the cake batter between the two prepared tins, smoothing out the tops.

6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted into the middles comes out clean. It’s really important not to open the oven door for the first 30 minutes – your cakes will almost certainly collapse if you do.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Leave to cool completely.

8. To make the cream cheese frosting, in a stand mixer beat together the butter, vanilla and sugar (add the sugar gradually) for 5 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Next, add in the cream cheese and beat in very briefly. If you overwork this, the frosting will become runny. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

9. To decorate, sandwich the cakes together with half of the cream cheese and an even layer of raspberries. Top with the remaining frosting. Scatter with pistachios and white chocolate curls.

Enjoy with your favourite people or all by yourself.

Love Sanjana

The post Eggless Pistachio and Raspberry Buttermilk Cake appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

This pilaf is one of those recipes.

 It takes 90 minutes to prepare, 35 minutes to bake and probably just 10 minutes to devour. Like any Indian rice dish, it requires a dash of spice and a whole load of TLC. The end result is a buttery platter of golden rice and crisp-tender vegetables that pair perfectly with any curry or simply with a bowl of lime and coriander yoghurt.

The idea is to partially cook each component of the dish before arranging it in a buttered roasting tin, covering with damp greaseproof paper (cartouche) and foil, and then baking until the rice is steamed to fluffy perfection. It’s a foolproof way to ensure your rice is spot on every time. The best bits the golden brown edges but don’t tell anyone I told you that.

I love to ribbon vegetables; whether they’re for a salad, pasta or rice, they look so beautiful and are quick to cook. The ones I find work best are all used in this recipe – carrots, courgettes and asparagus. However, you can use any veggies you like. I also added baby pearl potatoes, paneer (of course, don’t you know me at all?), petit pois, cashews and echalions (banana shallots). Be experimental and add whatever you fancy.

I’ve intentionally kept the spicing mellow in this pilaf. There’s nothing worse than killing the flavour of fresh vegetables and golden rice with OTT spicing. It happens all the time in restaurants and makes me sad. When cooking rice, you’ve got to remember that it will take on every flavour you add and this is particularly important in things like baked rice and biryanis because of the slow cooking. It has lots of time to infuse with the spices so it’s very easy to go overboard. Don’t fall into this trap.

I’ve added black cumin and black cardamom for a smoky flavour, saffron and green cardamom. They are perfectly balanced against all the sweet, buttery vegetables.

This recipe makes enough for eight hungry people because it was simply made for sharing. The leftovers are delicious the next day and even the day after that.

Baked Buttered Vegetable Pilaf
Serves 8

Ingredients

550g golden Sela rice
500g baby pearl potatoes, parboiled
400g carrots, peeled and ribboned
150g asparagus, ribboned
450g courgette, ribboned
225g paneer, cut into rectangles and grilled
5 banana shallots, peeled and sliced in half – root trimmed but left on
100g cashew nuts
150g petits pois

Hot water to boil the rice
Salt, to taste

100g butter
2 tbsp oil
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 black cardamom pod, whole
2 inch cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 tsp black cumin
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 whole green chillies
150ml water
Large pinch saffron

Fresh coriander, to garnish

Method

1. Wash the rice and soak the rice in cold water for an hour.

2. In a large pan, melt the butter and add the oil. Add in the cardamom pods, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black cumin, ginger, cashews and chillies. Saute for a few moments before adding the potatoes. Allow the sizzle on a low heat for 5 minutes.

3. Add the shallots and paneer and keep on a low heat, trying not to break the shallots. Once everything s lightly golden, season with salt, add the saffron and 150ml water, then switch off the heat and set aside.

4. Drain the soaking liquid from the rice. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the rice. Boil it until it’s 50% cooked, just as you would boil pasta. Drain and set aside.

5. Grease a large roasting tray with butter and add the drained rice. Pile on the potato mixture, plus all of the ribboned vegetables and give it a very gentle mix. Try not to break up the vegetables.

6. Take a piece of greaseproof paper and scrunch it up under the tap, squeezing out any excess water. Place this directly on top of the rice and vegetables. Cover the tray with foil, leaving room for it to rise up as the rice steams.

7. Bake in a pre-heated oven t 180C for 35 minutes.

8. Remove from the oven and allow to sit, covered for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and paper and fluff up the rice with a fork. Arrange on a platter or into bowls. Garnish with fresh coriander.

Serve with your favourite curries or like I have it… with plain Greek yoghurt and nothing more.

Love Sanjana

The post Baked Buttered Vegetable Pilaf appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

After a blissful late honeymoon in Phuket, Thailand, life in chilly England resumes. But thankfully I brought a few exotic Thai goodies back in my suitcase. Mango wafers, longan toffees, Thai honey and this gorgeous flaked coconut crowning my loaf cake.

Packed with coconut flavour, this eggless cake can be baked in a loaf tin or round cake tin. It’s great sandwiched with raspberry jam and buttercream but today, I wanted an exotic cake that reminded me of the mouth-watering flavours of Thailand. If you have a large loaf tin (25cm in length), this will make one loaf. If not, two smaller tins will be perfect.

Greek yoghurt is the perfect way to ensure this cake stays fluffy and rich inside and of course, there’s not a speck of butter in sight. Why use butter when coconut oil has so much more to give?

Cold-pressed coconut oil makes a wonderful loaf cake as it helps it retain its shape as well as keeping the cake fluffy and perfect inside as the coconut oil cools. It’s also packed with sublime coconut flavour. A touch of vanilla extract will help bring this out.

I always make it at least a day ahead of serving. When it comes out of the baking tin, wrap the cake in cling film and leave to cool like this. It will keep the cake lovely and moist. 

When toasting your coconut, keep an eye on it. It will scorch in the blink of an eye if you’re not careful.

The icing is just a simple mix of icing sugar, coconut extract, vanilla extract and a few drops of water added just until you have a thick ‘drizzleable’ consistency. Is that a word? It is now.

I love this with a cup of hot, milky masala coffee.

Eggless Coconut Drizzle Cake 
Serves 10

For the dry ingredients:

400g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cornflour
100g desiccated coconut

For the wet ingredients:

200g coconut oil
350g caster sugar
200g Greek yoghurt
250ml coconut milk
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1 tsp coconut extract

For the icing:

200g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp coconut extract
20-30ml water or enough to make a thick icing

20g coconut flakes, toasted in the oven, to decorate

Method

1. Grease and line a 25cm x 8cm oblong loaf tin. Pre-heat the oven to 160 C

2. Combine all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. In a stand mixer or large bowl, beat together the coconut oil and sugar for 5 minutes.

4. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and beat until well combined.

5. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, and beat until fully combines – no more than a minute.

6. Pour into the line baking tin and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 60 minutes or until a skewer poked through the middle comes out clean.

7. It’s important not to open the oven for the first 40 minutes of baking.

8. Remove from the oven, run a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen it and turn out onto a wire rack. Wrap the cake in cling film and allow to cool completely.

9. To make the icing, beat together all the ingredients and drizzle over the top of the cooled cake. Scatter over the toasted coconut flakes and allow the icing to set at room temperature for an hour or so.

Enjoy with masala coffee on a chilly afternoon.

Love Sanjana

The post Eggless Coconut Drizzle Cake appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

I’ve been rushing around like a mad woman on too many jalebis this month. Developing recipes (which I’ll show you later), catching up with friends I haven’t seen since our wedding and generally thinking about what to blog about next.

Sifting through my mum’s handwritten recipes, clippings and annotations on pudding recipes, I once again became a tubby eight year old. Making Indian sweets like white chocolate penda, butterfly burfi (milk fudge with almond ‘butterfly wings’ like the buns we used to make at school) with mum was what made me so passionate about playing with food. She fuelled my curiosity for learning about how flavours really work and our shared enthusiasm for putting an Indian spin on everything. It is something I try to practice every single day.

We’d always make enough to feed the five thousand so quite often, the puddings would be taken to our temple for prashad – food which has been offered to the gods. Once it has been ‘blessed’ the food can be shared.

Unashamedly, this was my favourite bit.

Sampling the prashad brought to the temple by all the different families was something new and adventurous for me. One family would always bring kheer – an Indian rice pudding. It was packed with saffron, cardamom and nuts. Plus, in my eight year-old mind it had to be good… It’d been blessed by GOD! I. Was. Hooked.

The next time there was an event at the temple, I was there faster than a buttered bullet.

Anyone who knows me will be aware of my infatuation with Raymond Blanc. Every time I see him create a French classic on my TV screen, I melt. A simple recipe prepared with hunger and respect for ingredients is something that inspires me to my very bones. So when I saw him make his mother’s recipe for Riz au Lait, I had to try it. He suggested serving it warm, or cold with a brûlée top. Bloody brilliant.

Of course, I had to put my own spin on it so taking my inspiration from childhood experiments and that ‘holy rice pudding at the temple’, I created this Saffron Rice Pudding with Banana Brûlée.

Saffron Rice Pudding with Banana Brûlée
Adapted from Raymond Blanc’s Riz au Lait
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
1.2L semi-skimmed milk
500ml double cream
½ tsp saffron
150g rice
100g caster sugar
4 bananas
Extra caster sugar for caramelising the pudding tops

Method

1. Pour the milk and cream in a large pan, then add the sugar, rice and saffron. Bring to the boil and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 40 minutes. The rice should be pretty much cooked all the way through. Don’t worry that there’s lots of extra liquid – it will all come together.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 190C

3. Next, take individual ramekins placed on a tray or one large ovenproof dish and ladle in the rice pudding. Bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes or until nicely browned on top. If it gets too brown, cover with some foil. Remove from the oven.

4. Slice the bananas and top the rice pudding. Sprinkle over a liberal amount of sugar and place under a hot grill until dark and the colour of burnt caramel. If you have a blowtorch you can use that. I do have one but it’s new and if I’m honest, I’m a bit scared of it.

Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving because burnt tongues are nobody’s favourite.

Love Sanjana

The post Saffron Rice Pudding with Banana Brûlée appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Two of my favourite things in the world are naan and pizza. I love them in all shapes and forms from classic peshwari naan to hybrid naan pizzas – especially when they involve cheese, green veggies and lashings of garlic. I’ll be honest, getting home from a long day at work and sitting down to a naan pizza made with shop-bought garlic and coriander naan and leftover paneer butter masala is one of the most incredible dinners ever! Don’t believe me? Try it yourself.

Here’s a simple recipe that celebrates my love of naan and pizza in an easy-to-eat fashion. My recipe for naan pockets uses crumbled paneer and crushed peas as a stuffing for the deliciously-light and buttery naan envelopes. They’re folded into the classic teardrop shape, brushed with a mixture of butter and turmeric, sprinkled with kalonji seeds, and then baked in a hot oven until golden.

If you’re not a fan of paneer, these are also great with a filling of grated broccoli and spinach, steamed sweet potato, and cauliflower and green chilli cooked in the exact same way as I do the paneer and peas filling.

To serve, slice the pockets in half and serve with a bowl of my spicy pizza dip which is infused with a touch of garam masala, green chillies and ground coriander.

These are the perfect party nibbles, starters for an Indian meal and a sure-fire hit with kids. I even love them for dinner, served with both the spicy pizza dip and a cooling cucumber raita.

Stuffed Naan Pockets with Spicy Pizza Dip
Makes 18-20 mini pockets

Ingredients

For the naan dough:
310g strong white bread flour
7g fast-action dried yeast
1 tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp kalonji (nigella seeds)
1 small clove garlic
1 tbsp plain yoghurt
2 tbsp sunflower oil
135ml warm water

For the peas and paneer stuffing:
250g shop-bought paneer, cubed
130g frozen peas, thawed
1 clove garlic
2 green chillies
1 inch piece ginger, peeled
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1 tbsp crème fraiche
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped finely
2 tbsp sunflower oil

To brush the pockets:
Melted butter
¼ tsp turmeric
Kalonji seeds

For the spicy pizza dip:
2 large tomatoes
1 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
1 clove garlic
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Method
First, make the naan dough. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt kalonji seeds and garlic. In a separate jug, whisk together the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil and yoghurt. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid. Bring together using a spoon and then your hands. Knead for 10 minutes. The mixture may seem stick at first, but keep kneading and it’ll come together. Grease the bowl with come oil, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend together all the ingredients for the spicy pizza dip in a food processor. Add the mixture to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and allow to simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.

To make the stuffing: in a food processor, blend the garlic, chillies and ginger. Remove and set aside. Next, pulse the peas a few times until coarsely chopped. Remove and set aside. Repeat the same process with the paneer. Bring the peas and paneer mixture together in a bowl. Heat a saucepan and add the oil. Sauté cumin seeds and the garlic, ginger and chilli mixture until aromatic. Add the peas and paneer mixture, black pepper, salt, crème fraiche and coriander and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a few baking trays with greaseproof paper and spritz with non-stick cooking spray.

To fold the pockets: take the risen naan dough and knock out all of the air. Take a ping pong ball-sized amount and roll into a ball. Use and rolling pin to roll into 3-inch in diameter round. Don’t add any extra flour – the oil in the dough should stop it from sticking too much. Take a tablespoon full of the cooled stuffing mix and place into the middle of the dough. Starting with the top and bottom of the dough, pull the dough around the filling, pinching the dough to seal until you get to the outer edges. Ensure the dough is well sealed without any cracks by pinching it all together until smooth.

Roll the dough gently until around 3 inches in diameter. Then use your hands to gently pull the top of the dough into a teardrop shape. Place the other side up on the greased and lined baking tray and repeat for the rest of the pockets.

Use a sharp knife to make small holes (not all the way through) in the naan pockets. Melt the butter and whisk in the turmeric – this will give them a lovely golden colour. Brush the pockets generously with the butter mixture and sprinkle on the kalonji seeds.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden all over.

Serve hot from the oven with the warm spicy pizza dip.

Love Sanjana

The post Stuffed Naan Pockets with Spicy Pizza Dip appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

I remember the days my brother and I would raid the biscuit selection box, grabbing our favourites before the other one could get their paws on them. In our house, it was always the jammy dodgers, bourbons and custard creams that went first.

I first spotted this recipe on The Boy Who Bakes, Edd Kimber’s website whilst doing some last-minute baking for a party. Short, delicate butter biscuits with a hint of vanilla sandwiched with that sweet custard flavour I’ve loved since I was a kid. To say Edd’s recipe is heavenly would be an understatement.

For me, milk and cookies has always evoked memories of ice cold rose milk and shortbread in the summer sun at my aunt’s house. My brother would complain and demand chocolate Nesquik, meaning I got to guzzle down his share of bright-pink rose milk too. Winner.

Combining the two flavours of my childhood was a no brainer – adding a hint of lemon thyme was a last-minute addition which worked a treat.

These make lovely gifts for Christmas (they have that sweet Turkish Delight-feel about them) or are great with tea or coffee after dinner. But my favourite way of serving them is with a glass of cold milk. There’s nothing like a bit of nostalgia around this time of year.

Eggless Rose Custard Creams
Adapted from Edd Kimber’s Custard Creams recipe
(makes 20-25)

Ingredients

225g plain flour
50g custard powder
30g icing sugar
170g butter, cold and cubed
½ tsp vanilla bean paste

For the filling:

40g butter
1 ½ tsp rose syrup
120g icing sugar
2 tbsp custard powder
Lemon thyme for sprinkling

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

2. For the biscuits: Combine the flour, custard powder and sugar. Lightly and quickly, rub in the butter until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the vanilla bean paste and bring together using your hands. If the mixture seems too dry, wet your hands a little and bring together to form a dough. Try to work quickly.

3. Wrap the dough in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, whip together all the ingredients for the filling. Set aside in a cool place.

5. On a floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to about 3-4mm in thickness. Use a round cutter to cut out the dough. Place the discs on a lined baking tray and allow to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

6. Make a few holes in the top of the biscuit dough to prevent it from rising. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

7. Take small amounts of the filling and roll into balls. Take a few leaves of lemon thyme (don’t overdo it) and sandwich the biscuits with the balls of rose filling and thyme, pressing gently and being very careful not to break them.

Merry Christmas!

The post Eggless Rose Custard Creams appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

It’s safe to say that when it comes to pastry-making, I’m no professional. However, when I was challenged via Facebook, to come up with a hearty lunch idea, I was determined to deliver something good. And we all know pies are good.

These mini pies (made in a muffin tin because as I’ve discovered, I’m rather ill-equipped) are stuffed with a mixture of sautéed Portobello and chestnut mushrooms, sharp feta cheese, kalonji seeds and lemon thyme. They’re perfectly portable so you won’t have any trouble taking a couple to work, and even though they’re small, they’ll fill your belly no matter what.

Hot water crust pastry is usually made with lard because butter is seen to have too much of a rich flavour for the traditional pork pies it’s used to make. Obviously there’s no lard lurking in my fridge, but there is plenty of butter. I think the butter in my pastry can stand up to the vegetarian filling because of the robust mushrooms and sharp feta having enough flavour to balance it out. However, you can use vegetable shortening if you prefer.

So, how do you get that golden yellow colour on your pie? I’ve been trying to work out an alternative to egg yolks for ages. Usually, recipes say to use milk as an alternative to egg wash, but I always find the pie top looks really anaemic when it comes out of the oven. Then I realised the answer had been staring me in the face the whole time – I warmed my milk and whisked in ½ teaspoon of turmeric before brushing onto the pastry lids. It wasn’t sticky and once baked, did a great job in colouring the pie tops, just like egg yolk would do.

I’ve used kalonji seeds and thyme to flavour the pie filling because they’re gentle and aromatic enough to compliment the mushrooms and cheese – which, by the way, don’t need much help becoming delicious at all.

I’d serve these with real English chips, salad and Yorkshire’s finest yellow lemonade (obvs Ben Shaws), either for lunch or dinner.

Mini Mushroom, Kalonji and Feta Pies
(makes 6 pies)

Ingredients

For the filling:

500g mushrooms, sliced (I used a mixture of Portobello and chestnut mushrooms)
100g feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp kalonji seeds
1 tsp lemon thyme, picked through
½ tsp black pepper

For the vegetarian hot water crust pastry:

235g plain flour
55ml water
50ml skimmed milk
75g unsalted butter
1 tsp salt

Milk and turmeric to brush the pastry lids

Method

1. First, make the filling. Heat the butter in a large pan and add the kalonji seeds and garlic. Throw in all the mushrooms and combine. Leave on a low heat for five minutes, then once some moisture is released from the mushrooms, turn up the heat. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the thyme and black pepper. Remove from the heat, place in a colander and allow to cool.

2. Once the filling is completely cooled, squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the mushrooms. Make sure you squeeze hard, otherwise your pastry will have a soggy bottom. Once you’ve done this, fold through the feta cheese and refrigerate.

3. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

4. To make the pastry, heat the water, milk and butter in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then add in the flour. Stir with a spoon until it comes together, then turn out onto a floured surface and knead quickly until smooth and uniform.

5. Divide the dough into 6 even pieces, reserving 1/3 of each ball for the pie lid. Roll the first piece into a ball and use a rolling pin to make a circle, about 1/2cm thick to fit inside the hole of a muffin tin. Place inside the hole of the muffin tin and press to like the base, leaving a little overhang. Do this for the remaining 5 pieces of dough.

6. Fill each pastry case with mushrooms mixture, pressing down gently to make sure you get enough in.

7. Next, roll out the lids using the smaller dough balls, so they’re large enough to cover the pies and also allow you to crimp the edges to the little overhang you left on the bases. Make sure there are no gaps between the bases and lids.

8. Heat a little bit of milk in a bowl and add enough turmeric to get an egg yellow colour. Brush the tops of the pies.

9. Poke a small hole in the tops of each pie to allow steam to escape.

10. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until golden.

Do you have a recipe request? Ask me on Facebook or Twitter.

The post Mini Mushroom, Kalonji and Feta Pies appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

There is a word in Indian cooking that used to send a chill down my spine every time it was uttered – biryani.

I was never suspicious of the biryani because it’s difficult to cook, but because it’s typically served as a main course. As a little girl, rice had always been a side dish for me – something to go with the daal or to soak up a sauce.

It didn’t matter if the rice was bland because there were other dishes on the table to perk it up. But when I discovered the world of biryani, there was a shift in balance – the rice had become the star of the show and everything it was cooked with had to taste good. If it didn’t, the whole dinner went to pot.

But now I’m a fully-fledged member of the biryani lovers club, I’m here to offer a lesson in how easy preparing it can really be, provided you know the basics.

Spice notes

Spice mixtures for biryanis tend to vary depending on the region in which they’re being prepared and the main ingredients going in. Some essentials include but are not limited to: Cinnamon, cloves, cumin, coriander seeds, black and green cardamom, bay leaves, mace and saffron.

Used sparingly, these spices infuse the rice and vegetables with the most wonderful aromas imaginable. Earthy, rich, spicy and perfumed, a true biryani should release all of these notes as soon as the lid has been lifted and the rush of steam escapes from within.

What I love about the finished dish are the flavours and smells of Southern Asia, the Middle East and Northern Africa all coming together in one harmonious orchestra of edible goodness – it’s a tour of the East in a single bite.

The rice should always be basmati – an aromatic long-grain variety used to prepare almost every Indian rice dish. It’s even used in spiced rice puddings, unlike its western counterpart which favours short grain.

At home, cooking biryani has become somewhat of a ritualistic affair reserved only for special occasions and buttering up certain people. Every component needs to be prepared in advance: The vegetables and rice should be semi-cooked, the spicy sauce made and the nuts toasted.

Sound like a chore? Never forget that if you take your time and give your biryani some love, it will love you back tenfold.

Biri-what-ni?

Thousands of years ago, the Mughals introduced the Indian subcontinent to the science of cooking rice and vegetables (or meat) together. A beautiful Iranian dish quickly became something every Indian dadima (grandmother) excelled at, and every dadaji (grandfather) dreamt of being hand fed by his doting wife each evening.

Today, I’m stepping into dadima’s slippers and in true grandma style, passing my recipe on to you.

Now let’s talk about the one of the biryani’s most noteworthy ingredients, saffron.

Saffron school

-Use saffron sparingly. By weight, it’s the most expensive spice in the world and nobody can argue over prices when each crocus contains three single strands of pure saffron, handpicked by ever-patient and light-fingered saffron collectors.

-Beware of copycats. For years, saffron fakes have been abundant and it isn’t easy to tell whether you’ve been conned out of your pounds when they look so convincing.

-Always buy from a reputable spice dealer or stockist.

-To get the most out of your saffron, place it in a bowl and microwave it on high for 10-15 seconds to lightly toast it and dry it out (be VERY careful and keep a watchful eye on it). Gently rub it through your fingers when you add it to your dish and it will release heaps of extra flavour and colour. Magic.

3 tips for the perfect biryani

– Biryanis are traditionally cooked in clay pots – not only are these hard to come by, they’re also high maintenance. Without having to invest in one of these, I find that you can get similar results by cooking your biryani in a Dutch oven.

– Every biryani should be slow-cooked with a lid on. An old school trick to stop any steam escaping is to seal the lid with a ring of wheat flour dough. This type of cooking is known as dum cooking. Dum simply means ‘warm breath’ to connote the steam inside the pot. Once cooked, the dough seal is broken and the beautiful aromas are released – of course, the bread is eaten along with the biryani.

– Many people cook their biryanis on the stove, but I prefer to bake mine for the simple reason that the bottom of the dish tends not to burn as quickly as it would if it was placed on direct heat. If you prefer to use the stove top method, place your pan inside another, slightly larger pan filled halfway up with water (essentially a bain marie) to promote even cooking.

Controversially, I sauté my potatoes, onions and paneer separately, in a combination of ghee (clarified butter) and sunflower oil for added flavour before adding them to the biryani. I hear you heckling me for my flippant use of ghee but when you’re pouring yogurt and double cream into your sauce, you may as well go the whole hog and make an amazing biryani for a special occasion. I’ve never been one to skimp on the good stuff.

Classic Vegetable Biryani
(Serves 6)

Ingredients (all of these are available in supermarkets)

For the sauce:
400g passata
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
5 green cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground
2 black cardamom pods, ground (optional)
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 ½ tbsp sugar
½-1 tsp red chilli powder
Pinch of ground mace (optional)
4 inch stick cinnamon, broken in half
1 bay leaf
3 cloves
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp ginger, minced
2 tbsp concentrated tomato puree
1 ¼ tsp salt
100ml double cream
3 tbsp plain yoghurt

For the rest of the biryani:

255g basmati rice
Pinch saffron
1 medium onion, sliced finely
½ aubergine, sliced into half moons
115g baby potatoes, quartered
100g paneer, cubed into 2cm pieces
5 French beans, trimmed and sliced
100g frozen peas
60g cauliflower florets, broken
10 cashews, toasted in a dry pan
2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted in a dry pan
1 ½ tbsp desiccated coconut, toasted in a dry pan
1 tbsp golden sultanas
1 tbsp dried apricots, chopped into small pieces
2 tsp salt

Ghee and sunflower oil to fry

Method

1. Wash the rice in cold, running water to remove as much starch as possible. Allow to soak in a pan whilst you make the sauce.

2. Whisk together the passata, ground coriander, cardamom, cumin, chilli powder, mace, sugar, and salt. Heat the ghee in a large saucepan and add the cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf tomato puree, ginger and garlic. Sauté for a few moments, and then add the passata mixture. Stir and cover with a lid. Allow to simmer on a very low heat for 40-45 minutes, stirring often.

3. Heat the ghee and sunflower oil to shallow fry the vegetables one by one. Start with the onions, remove from the pan when golden, then in the same oil, shallow fry the aubergines (until 40% cooked), then the potatoes (until 80% cooked), and then paneer until golden all over. Set aside.

4. Boil the rice in plenty of hot water and 2 tsp salt until 60% cooked. Drain and set aside. Note: You could boil the rice in two batches, adding a little bit of food colour to one. This is a little frivolous and totally optional.

5. Place the saffron in a bowl and microwave in 5 second bursts, checking after each one until the saffron becomes lightly toasted and brittle. Add three tablespoons of hot water to the saffron and allow to steep.

6. Combine the dried fruits and nuts. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

7. Remove the sauce from the heat and quickly whisk in the cream and yoghurt. Add in all of the cauliflower, potatoes, peas, French beans and paneer. Mix thoroughly. You’re now ready to layer up your biryani.

8. Rub some ghee into your dish/dishes (I used mini Dutch ovens)

9. Layer in some onions, aubergines, rice, saffron water, fruits and nuts, vegetables in sauce, repeating until all ingredients are used up.

10. Make a dough using 200g flour, 3 tbsp oil and hot water to bind. Roll into a rope and place onto the edge of your dish. Lightly press down the lid. Alternatively, you can place a piece of foil over the rice and cover with a lid.

‘Dum’ cooking

11. Bake the biryani for 30-35 minutes. The aim of the game is for the rice and vegetables finish cooking at the same time.

12. Break the bread seal and remove the lid when you’re ready to serve. For those final touches, garnish with plain yogurt and fresh coriander.

This biryani is best served with cucumber raita and Peshwari Naan.

Cooking biryani is an art which some chefs spend years trying to fine tune. When they get it right, people flock to their restaurants, hotels and homes, travelling from hundreds and thousands of miles away, just to sample a taste. And that’s when you know your biryani is really good.

Do you have a signature biryani recipe? Now I’ve shared mine, I’d love to read your best tips and tricks.

The post Classic Vegetable Biryani appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.