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.

As I set up a cocoa-dusted tile under the skylight in our attic room, ready for a rich, chocolatey banana loaf, cream and hazelnuts, it struck me how much writing this blog has become ingrained within my very bones. From developing recipes, to jotting down measures on the butter-splattered pages of my notebook, and the photography and digital journey I love so much, the process of maintaining it has helped me achieve focus in almost every aspect of life.

So you can imagine how much taking a six-month blog break for wedding planning bothered me.

Of course the only way to make things right is with Banana and Nutella Hazelnut Cake. When it’s baking in the oven, the entire house smells like the Sunday afternoons of my childhood when mum and I would be experimenting with flavours and egg replacements. This recipe uses sweetened condensed milk which slightly caramelises in the oven, filling the entire house with the smell of how Banoffee Pie tastes. As for the egg replacer, the bananas, cornflour, baking powder, cocoa and vinegar work in such a way that the cake rises and holds its shape like a trooper.

A problem I often encounter with loaf cakes is that the longer baking time makes for a drier texture. I recently read in a wonderful book on French pâtisserie, À la Mère de Famille (the renowned Parisian confiserie) that if you wrap the cakes in cling film whilst they’re still warm from the oven, they remain moist both outside and in. Try it.

Baking Nutella right into this cake means there’s no need for drizzles or icings – it really is sweet enough. Simply dusted with cocoa powder, it’s perfect with a cup of tea or served slightly warm with a generous splash of ice-cold single cream.

Eggless Banana and Nutella Hazelnut Cake
Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

2 medium bananas
1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk
220g Nutella
220g extra-fine cake flour (you can use plain flour if you can’t get this)
15g good-quality cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate)
20g coarsely-ground hazelnuts, toasted
1 tbsp melted butter
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cornflour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and line two 1lb loaf tins (16 x 11 x 7cm H. (6¼" x 4¼" x 2¾"). I used this one from Lakeland.

2. Place the bananas in a food processor and blend to a smooth puree.

3. In a stand mixer or large bowl, add the condensed milk, banana puree, Nutella, melted butter and white vinegar. Whisk until completely smooth and combined.

4. In a separate bowl, sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and cornflour.

5. Add the cake flour to the wet mixture in three stages, whisking until smooth each time. Be careful not to overwork the batter or your cake will be heavier than it should be. Finally, fold in the toasted hazelnuts.

6. Divide the batter between the greased and lined loaf tins and smooth out the tops. Bake in the over for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Remember not to open your oven door during cooking – this will deflate your cakes and make them sink in the middle.

7. When the cakes are fully baked, run a sharp knife around the edge of the tin to loosen it. Turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack and after 20 minutes, wrap each cake in cling film and allow to cool completely this way. As these are naked, non-glazed cakes, this will ensure the loaves remain moist.

8. To serve, dust lightly with cocoa powder. My favourite way to eat this is with a cup of chai or with a generous splash of pouring cream straight on top.

Love Sanjana

The post Eggless Banana and Nutella Hazelnut Cake appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Happy 2014! It’s a new year and time to start getting excited about the adventures ahead. This year I get to marry my best friend and biggest supporter in all my work and passions. I have never felt so excited and nervous in my whole life.

I thought it would only be right to begin the year with a recipe that’s close to my heart; one which combines my love for Gujarati and East-African food in a beautiful way. Traditional Gujarati Daal Vada are crunchy, spicy and perfect for dipping into yoghurt. My East-African version incorporates bananas to add a hint of sweetness against the intense chilli and lemon heat. The magical thing about adding ripe banana to the batter is that it reacts with the lemon and baking powder, creating a puffy, fluffy-in-the-middle fritters that still have an incredible golden crunch on the outside because of the ground mung daal, urad daal and rice.

For me, rice is an important addition to any Daal Vada recipe because it ensures the fritters are crispy on the outside – essential when you’re craving a crunchy deep-fried starter to begin an Indian meal. But my favourite way to enjoy crispy Daal Vada is with hot, sweet masala chai and great company.

Remember to wash your daal and rice thoroughly and soak overnight for easy grinding and beautifully-textured vada. The frying process is a little tricky – and utterly frightening for the first few vada, but go carefully and you’ll get the hang of it in no time (I say as my finger throbs with pain from the oil splash I got from frying these vada an hour ago). Totally worth it though.

Think crunchy, fluffy, deep-fried pancake bites with a touch of sweet banana, a zip of fresh lemon and a punch of chilli heat (hence the ‘Bullet’). Serve immediately after frying with lemon wedges and fresh coriander and yoghurt chutney.

Coriander and yoghurt chutney is my go-to dip for any Indian starter because of it’s amazing power to perk up any dish from samosas to tikkis and of course, these Daal Vada. All you need to do is open your blender, throw in a washed bunch of coriander, a few dollops of yoghurt, a peeled clove of garlic, green chilli and lots of lemon juice, salt and sugar. Blend until smooth for the ultimate dipping, dunking or drizzling experience.

Bullet Banana Daal Vada
(Serves 8)

Ingredients

75g mung daal
55g urad daal
35g basmati rice
1 ripe banana, peeled and broken into large pieces
2 hot green chillies, stems removed
2 hot red chillies, stems removed
3-inch piece ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
250ml warm water
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
140g gram flour (chickpea flour)

2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 tsp ground fennel seeds
Pinch turmeric
½ tsp asafoetida
2 tsp baking powder
Juice and zest 2 lemons
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Pick through your mung and urad daal to ensure there are no stones or other foreign objects. Place the daals and rice in a sieve and wash them until the water almost runs clear. Soak them in cold water overnight.

2. Once soaked, drain the daals and rice and wash again until the water runs almost clear. Place in a blender or food processor and grind with 250ml warm water until you get a smooth paste. Place the paste in a large bowl and rinse the blender as you’ll need it again.

3. In your blender or food processor, add the chillies, ginger, banana, salt, sugar, ground coriander seeds, ground cumin seeds, ground fennel seeds, turmeric, asafoetida, lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh coriander. Blend until you get a smooth, but not entirely uniform paste. Add this to the daal and rice paste.

4. Next, whisk in the gram flour and 1 tbsp oil, ensuring there are no lumps.

5. Heat the oil in a deep, non-stick pan or wok. You’ll know the oil is ready when a cube of bread browns all over in 50 seconds.

6. Quickly whisk the baking powder into the vada batter, ensuring it is mixed in thoroughly. It should resemble pancake batter.

7. To fry the vada, dip your fingers into a little water and shake off any excess. Now, make a ‘cup’ with the four fingers on your dominant hand and scoop enough batter into your fingers to come up to the first line on your middle finger, using your thumb as a stopper. Gently drop the batter into the oil, ensuring your hand is close to the surface of the oil but not touching it on so close, the batter splashes back when you drop it. Use your thumb to push the batter down into the oil. You will almost certainly get smaller blobs of batter in your oil but don’t worry about this – you can scoop them out and scoff them later. Do about 8 vadas at a time and don’t overcrowd the pan. Fry until puffed up and crispy all over. Remove the vada and drain in a colander lined with kitchen paper. Repeat the process until you run out of batter.

Serve hot with lemon wedges, cooling coriander and yoghurt chutney and a cold beer.

Here’s to a spicy, sweet and utterly heavenly New Year. 

Love Sanjana

The post Bullet Banana Daal Vada appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Firstly, I’d like to apologise to the French for this recipe. I can only imagine the kind of chaos an eggless banana and cardamom crème brûlée would cause. It’s not even the cool sort of chaos.

I’ve been working on this recipe for eggless crème brûlée for a while now and I think it’s about time I unveiled it before your hungry eyes. You’re probably thinking that this dish is notorious for being laced with eggs and that I’m a total nutcase for thinking otherwise. But trust me… It can be made beautifully without. Otherwise I wouldn’t be typing this right now.

Eggs add a certain richness to crème brûlée which I reinterpreted as ‘banana’. Cute. I mean that I replaced the eggs with pureed banana which adds a velvety texture to the custard, along with a subtle banana flavour. I added cornflour to act as a setting agent just as eggs help set the custard in a usual crème brûlée. So you don’t have to worry about your custard turning into scrambled eggs when making the custard for this dessert, due to the lack of… uhh… eggs.

Oh and surprise! Guess what? This is a 2 in 1 dessert, meaning you can make two desserts with the exact same custard base. Gripping, I know. So the ‘little extra’ refers to an alternative destiny for the creamy banana and cardamom custard. That is a recipe for Eggless Banana and Cardamom Ice Cream. Warning: This ice cream is immensely creamy. Are you sure your tastebuds can handle this kinda creamy? I’m not sure they can.

Eggless Banana and Cardamom Crème Brûlée
(makes 5-6)

Ingredients

600ml double cream
200ml whole milk
2½-3½ tbsps cornflour
250g banana, peeled and sliced
1 vanilla pod, scraped of its seeds (keep the pod)
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g caster sugar (plus more for caramelising)
¼ tsp cardamom powder
Yellow food colour (optional)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 120 degrees Celsius.

2. Place the milk, cornflour and banana slices in a blender and pulse until pureed.

3. In a large saucepan heat on a very low flame the double cream, banana puree, sugar, vanilla extract and the vanilla seeds along with the whole pod. Gently whisk this from time to time.

4. Once the mixture begins to thicken, whisk it more often to ensure it doesn’t settle at the bottom. Simmer gently until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

5. Remove from the heat and add take out the whole vanilla pod (wash it and dry it and add it to a jar of sugar, et voila… Vanilla sugar!) Add the cardamom powder and food colouring if using and mix thoroughly.

6. Boil the kettle. Not for a cuppa chai. For the bain marie (water bath).

7. Pour the mixture into ramekins about 2/3 of the way up.

8. Put the ramekins in a large roasting tray with high sides and place the tray in an oven. Pull the oven rack out and pour the boiled water into the tray (not into the ramekins) until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

9. Bake for around 45 minutes until the custards are just set but a little wobbly in the middle. Did I just say ‘wobbly’?

10. Remove the ramekins from the oven and take them out of the roasting tray (be very careful because they will be hot). If you’re making these ahead of time, at this point you can cover these and refrigerate them (and follow step 11 when you’re ready to serve). If you want to eat them straight away then follow step 11 now.

11. Top the custards with 1 level tsp of caster sugar and place them under the grill until they caramelise. If you’ve got a blowtorch, use it. Sadly I’m not equipped with one. Lame.

12. Carefully remove from the grill and serve hot.

Recipe 2: Eggless Banana and Cardamom Ice Cream

Ingredients

600ml double cream
200ml whole milk
3 ½ tbsp cornflour
250g banana, peeled and sliced
1 vanilla pod, scraped of its seeds (keep the pod)
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g caster sugar (plus more for caramelising)
¼ tsp cardamom powder
Yellow food colour (optional)

Method

1. Place the milk, cornflour and banana slices in a blender and pulse until pureed.

2. In a large saucepan heat on a very low flame the double cream, banana puree, sugar, vanilla extract and the vanilla seeds along with the whole pod. Gently whisk this from time to time.

3. Once the mixture begins to thicken, whisk it more often to ensure it doesn’t settle at the bottom. Simmer gently until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

4. Remove from the heat and add take out the whole vanilla pod (wash it and dry it and add it to a jar of sugar, et voila… Vanilla sugar!) Add the cardamom powder and food colouring if using and mix thoroughly.

5. Allow the mixture to cool and place it in a freezer-friendly container. Cover this with a lid and place in the freezer.

6. Every 30 minutes for the first two hours, remove the container from the freezer and whisk to break up any ice crystals that may have formed. After two hours leave the ice cream for around 3-4 hours for it to freeze completely.

Okay everyone, I give you permission to go bananas and have two desserts today!

The post Eggless Crème Brûlée appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.