This beautiful preparation of basmati rice and freshly-toasted spices takes serious thought, time and effort.

From soaking the rice, to frying onions, and if you’re really committed, making your own glorious Biryani Masala, this is no 30-minute meal.

Biryani is a food that you make for special occasions and sharing. It’s decadent, opulent and more of an emotion than it is a meal.

What is Ruffled Vegetable Biryani?

It’s a little twist on the original dough-sealed biryani with stunning golden filo pastry ruffles as the crowning glory. With each scoop of aromatic biryani, your friends and family can help themselves to a buttery pastry ruffle.

These scrunched up bits of filo just melt in the mouth and they’re SO simple to make (even though it looks super fancy!).

My favourite thing is that the butter from the pastry seeps down into the steamy rice to create rosy saffron steam that contrast with spices like cardamom and cloves. Indeed, this veg biryani will knock your socks clean off.

How to make Biryani Masala at home

Sure, a packet Biryani Masala mix has a place in the kitchen cupboard. It’s great for those days when you’re short of time, let’s not be snobby about it. However, there’s truly no match for a batch of homemade Biryani Masala.

I toast whole spices until the oils release and become fragrant. It’s as satisfying to make as it is to eat. Plus, everything is fresh and you get to see exactly what goes in.

My all-in-one Homemade Biryani Masala

My Biryani Masala is an all-in-one recipe. I add dried chilli, garlic and ginger to the masala so you don’t need to add their fresh counterparts when you cook your biryani.

I find this to be a welcome time saver since there are already so many other ingredients required.

How much Homemade Biryani Masala does this recipe make?

My recipe makes approximately 75g biryani masala, which is enough to make biryani for six people three times, give or take. Of course, this depends on the amount of masala you add to your dish.

My calculations are based on adding 2 tablespoons of biryani masala to a biryani for 6 people (around 225g rice and 1.5kg of vegetables or protein).

Tips for making Homemade Biryani Masala

• A dry frying pan is perfect for getting the spices nicely toasty. You don’t need to use oil for dry masalas.
• Don’t toast the spices over a high heat. A low heat will help coax the oils from the whole spices perfectly. Patience pays off.
• Keep the spices moving the whole time they’re in the pan to ensure they don’t burn. They have a tendency to catch in hotspots.
• Let the spices cool completely before you grind them.
• Store the homemade Biryani Masala in an airtight jar or container for up to six months. It’s okay to leave it beyond this date but the spices may lose some of their potency.
• I recommend making masalas in small batches so you can use them at their best.

What kind of Vegetable Biryani is this?

Absolutely not traditional is the answer. While it has all the flavours of a wonderful biryani, its presentation and method of preparation is unique.

I never claim authenticity in recipes because I believe recipes are in a constant metamorphosis, informed by our environments and tastes.

Purists will insist that there cannot be a vegetarian biryani as this dish has almost always been prepared with meat.

My opinion is that if there can be plant-based “chicken” burgers, vegan “steak” and other no-meat meats, anything is possible.

Every food has roots, or an origin of sorts. To deny the existence of something based on a belief that it shouldn’t be, doesn’t make it cease to exist. Enough chat. Let’s make biryani.

Why add pastry on top?

India’s most traditional biryanis are cooked in “Dum”. This refers to a seal of dough around the rim of a cooking pot so the food inside cooks in steam.

A seal ensures steam builds up inside the pot, plumps up the rice grains and infuses them with the flavours of spiced veg, crispy onions (in the biryani layers) and saffron.

Once you crack it open, the ‘Dum’, translated as “warm breath” will escape and you’ll be ready to pile mounds of biryani on your plate.

This Ruffled Pastry Vegetable Biryani takes inspiration from the dum method but isn’t wholly traditional. I sprinkle the biryani is sprinkled with saffron milk which, along with the rice and veg releases steam upwards.

The crispy filo pastry sits on top and since it’s spread with butter, the entire biryani soaks up the buttery drips that fall from above. It really is the veggie biryani of dreams.

Ruffled Pastry Vegetable Biryani: Troubleshooting

My biryani-making essentials (contains affiliate links)

• A wet/dry grinder with a powerful motor is your best friend when it comes to grinding your own masalas. It’s an invaluable tool for this Biryani Masala. I have a Boss one which is years old but this Premier Xpress Mixer/Grinder is amazing.
• Indeed, if you’re looking for a one-stop quick fix that’s suitable for lots of things, try a coffee grinder like this Bosch Coffee Grinder. You’ll probably only want to use it for spices though. Nobody wants biryani-flavoured coffee… or do they?
• All the spices you need for this biryani can be found here.
• I use a springform cake tin like this for my Ruffled Vegetable Biryani but a casserole pot like this one or this one is ideal.
• Indeed, you can use your favourite brand of Basmati rice for this biryani. Some of my favourites include this Dehraduni Basmati Rice or the classic Daawat Extra-Long Grain Rice.

How to make Homemade Biryani Masala and Vegetable Biryani

Print

Ruffled Pastry Vegetable Biryani

Aromatic vegetable biryani hidden beneath a layer of crispy, buttery filo pastry ruffles. This show-stopping vegetarian dish is inspired by "dum" cooking where pastry is used to seal a pot so the dish cooks gently in steam.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword rice, vegetables, vegetarian

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Sanjana

Equipment

• 1 x 26cm (10-inch) diameter springform cake tin, 10cm (4-inch) deep or cake tin, casserole or pie dish of a similar capacity
• Frying pan or pot

Ingredients

For the rice:

• 225 g long-grain basmati rice
• 2 L hot water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 5 cm cassia bark or cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 1 tbsp dried rose petals (optional)

For the vegetables:

• 1 tbsp ghee or oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 80 g cashews
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp Biryani masala recipe below
• 150 g plain yoghurt
• 350 g potatoes cut into large chunks and fried until cooked and golden
• 200 g cauliflower florets fried until slightly golden
• 150 g carrots sliced into batons and steamed until 75% cooked
• 100 g peas I used frozen
• 100 g peppers sliced into large pieces
• 200 g paneer cubed and fried until golden
• 1 large onion sliced and fried until golden and crispy
• 150 ml water

You will also need:

• 150 ml hot milk
• 1 large pinch saffron
• 1 large onion sliced and fried until golden and crispy
• 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

For the pastry top:

• 500 g filo pastry sheets
• 200 g butter melted

Instructions

To prepare the rice:

• Gently wash the rice in cold water, changing the water out 2-3 times. Soak the rice in plenty of cold water for one hour.
• Heat a large pot of water (around 2L) over a medium-high heat. Add salt, cassia bark or cinnamon, 2 cardamom pods, 3 cloves and 1 tbsp optional rose petals. Bring to a boil.
• Add the rice and bring to a boil again. Simmer over a medium heat until the rice is 80% cooked. It should break when you press a grain between your fingers, not smush. Drain in a colander and set aside.

To make the vegetable mixture:

• Heat the ghee or oil in a large frying pan or saucepan. Allow to melt, and then add some whole cumin seeds. Sizzle for 20 seconds or so, then add tomato purée, cashews and biryani masala. Cook for a further 30 seconds, and then add plain yoghurt. Stir constantly, for about 2 minutes until the paste cooks through. You'll know it's ready when the oil separates from the paste. Turn the heat down low.
• Add potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, peas, peppers, paneer and fried onions. Stir well. Pour in around 150ml water and bring to the boil. Cook for no longer than 2 minutes and then switch the heat off.

To layer the biryani:

• Grease a springform cake tin, cake tin or pie dish with plenty of oil. Spread another third of the rice mixture in the bottom of the tin. Top with half of the vegetable mixture, some fresh mint leaves, fresh coriander leaves and fried onions.
• Add another third of the rice and the remainder of the vegetable mixture. Flatten it gently – don't press it down too hard. Top with some fresh mint leaves, fresh coriander leaves and fried onions.
• Layer in the final third of rice. Pour over the saffron milk and sprinkle some fresh coriander leave on top.

For the filo pastry ruffles:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
• Take the first sheet of filo pasty and generously brush it with the melted butter. Keep the rest of the pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Scrunch the pastry up from one end to the other, like a rough concertina. Take one end and wrap it around into a spiral or rosette. You don’t have to be neat — the more rustic, the better.
• Place the scrunched pastry on top of rice, starting from the outside edge. Repeat for the remaining pastry until all of the rice is covered with ruffled pastry. This pastry top will help the rice and spices gently steam in the oven whilst the surface becomes golden and crispy.
• Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes until golden and crispy.
• Serve hot with your favourite biryani accompaniments. Raita and mirchi ka salan are my favourites.

Video

Print

All-In-One Biryani Masala

Aromatic masala that's perfect for any biryani preparation. Set aside your packet of biryani masala and try this beautifully-fragrant biryani masala inspired by the flavours of north India. Just add two tablespoons of masala per 1.5kg of vegetables or protein. No need to add additional ginger, garlic, chilli or salt because this masala contains it all.

Course Condiment

Cuisine Indian

Keyword biryani, masala

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Equipment

• High-powered wet/dry grinder or coffee grinder
• Frying pan or saucepan
• Container with a tight-fitting lid for storing the masala

Ingredients

• 20 cloves
• 20 black peppercorns
• 15 green cardamom
• 4 black cardamom
• 20 cm cassia bark or cinnamon sticks
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 2 blades mace
• 5 dried red chillies
• 2 tbsp dried rose petals
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 3 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 tsp dried garlic
• 2 tsp dried ginger
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ajwain
• 2 tsp ground turmeric

Instructions

• Heat a dry frying pan or saucepan over a low heat.
• Add all the whole spices and toss to combine. Cook over a low heat for about a minute-90 seconds.
• Add the powdered spices, salt and sugar. Toss again and cook, stirring all the time to ensure the masala doesn't burn. This shouldn't take longer than 2 minutes. Allow to cool.
• Pile the spices into a spice grinder or the bowl of a mixer/grinder (recommendations for these are included in the blog post above). Blend until the mixture becomes a fine powder. You might need to stop and stir everything once or twice to ensure all the spices are getting some blade time.
• Pile the mixture into an airtight container or jar. This biryani masala will keep well for a year but is best used within 6 months.

Video

Notes

Makes approximately 75g biryani masala. This is enough to make biryani for six people three times, depending on how much masala you like in your biryani.

Pin this Ruffled Pastry Vegetable Biryani for later!

If you like this, you’ll love my recipe for Saag Paneer

The post Ruffled Pastry Vegetable Biryani appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

To demonstrate how easy this is, I’ve pulled together a short video where you can see how it’s rolled and coiled for that awesome shape. As much as I love this, it wouldn’t be half as amazing to eat if it wasn’t for the epic Carrot and Cucumber Mustard Salad. It’s loaded with hot and sour flavours which cuts right through the richness of the pie.

I glazed these pies with a combination of melted butter and turmeric for as a cheeky replacement for egg wash. Nobody will ever know.

This is perfect for serving up when you have friends over for dinner, taking along to picnics and stowing away in the freezer prior to baking for a quick meal.

Watch the video, read the recipe, make it for your friends and family and let me know how it goes. I love seeing the pictures of what you create at home so keep ‘em coming. BTW, I get to say hello to you again today!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFRhzjynokI&feature=youtu.be

Palak Paneer Snails
Serves 6

Ingredients 

700g leaf spinach
250g paneer, crumbled into large pieces
250g ricotta
1 tbsp ground fennel seeds
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp coarse semolina
1 medium red onion, chopped finely
1 tbsp grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp garam masala
4 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
16 sheets filo pastry (approx. 12″ x 22″)
200g butter, melted
Pinch or turmeric
Sesame and nigella seeds

For the Cucumber and Carrot Mustard Salad

2 large cucumbers
5 carrots
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp English mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar (optional)
Juice 2 lemons
Fried green chillies (optional)

Method

1. To make the pies, heat the sunflower oil in a pan and add the cumin. Allow to sizzle before adding the red onions. Sauté for a moment and add the ginger, garlic, chillies, garam masala and salt. Cook for 5 minutes and set aside.

2. Place the spinach in a colander (you might have to do it in batches) and pour boiling water from the kettle on top. Rinse with cold water and squeeze out all the excess water. Repeat for all the spinach.

3. Pile the spinach into a large bowl, add the paneer, onion mixture, ground fennel seeds, semolina and ricotta. Combine thoroughly.

4. To assemble, place one sheet of filo pastry on a work surface. Brush it generously with butter before adding your next sheet. Repeat the layering process until you have 4 filo layers.

5. Along the longest edge of the pastry, make a line of filling. Roll it up as tightly as you can without breaking it. Roll it 1 ½ times over itself. If you have excess pastry, trim it with a pizza cutter.

6. Once you have a pastry snake, brush it with more butter, and then take one edge to start rolling it into a coil shape.

7. Take some additional butter and mix it with the turmeric. Brush this all over the top of the coil. Sprinkle with nigella and sesame seeds.

8. Repeat for the next three snails.

9. Place your four palak paneer snails onto a baking tray and wrap with cling film. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake for 45 minutes at 160C.

To make the Cucumber and Carrot Mustard Salad

1. Make the salad a couple of hours before for best results. Chop one of the carrots with a crinkle cutter or slice them thinly. Using a peeler, ribbon the other cucumber all the way around. Don’t include too many of the seeds as they’ll make the salad watery. Save them for a snack later. Ribbon the carrots in the same ways as the cucumber.

2. To make the dressing, heat the oil in a saucepan and add the mustard seeds. Wait for the mustard seeds to pop and crackle, and then add the mustard, lemon juice, salt and the optional sugar. Mix this all together and then turn off the heat. Pour the dressing over the cucumber and carrot and mix together. Allow it to stand for around 30 minutes. Lots of water will come out of the salad. With clean hands, squeeze the salad removing excess water. You’ll be left with firm vegetables and slightly pickled flavour. So good.

Love Sanjana

The post Palak Paneer Snails appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

This chocolate tart makes me feel that way too. A crumbly, sweet shortcrust pastry base (without eggs, might I add), ridiculously smooth and rich chocolate filling with the most incredible roasted white chocolate swirl which takes me back to the days of sitting on the steps of our family shop eating Caramacs… except there’s loads more chocolate involved.

If you’ve never roasted your white chocolate, you’ve been missing out. Gone will be the days you insist dark chocolate is superior to white. This whole time you had forgotten one amazing detail… it is that white chocolate can be transformed into the most beautiful caramel you ever tasted. 

Inspired by the baking guru that is David Lebovitz, I set to work making the roasted white chocolate, following his brilliant instructions to the letter – and you should too. 

  
One tweak I made was that I added a small amount of coconut oil out of fear my chocolate would seize. It resulted in a super smooth caramelized white chocolate with a hint of exotic coconut that of course, was most welcome. 

The dark chocolate filling is a glorious ganache which requires very little effort and no baking whatsoever. The best thing about the filling is that it sets so beautifully after a couple of hours in the fridge.

Cut yourself a piece and feel the cool chocolate filling melt in your mouth. I think it’s time you had the recipe now.

Eggless Dark Chocolate, Almond and Roasted White Chocolate Tart
(serves 8-10)

For the filling:

300g 70% cocoa dark chocolate
100g good-quality milk chocolate
400ml double cream
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp almond extract

For the Roasted White Chocolate Swirl:

300g good quality white chocolate, chopped into small pieces
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp sea salt

For the pastry:

300g plain flour
125g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp icing sugar
3-4 tbsp buttermilk
Pinch of salt

Toasted flaked almonds, to garnish

Method

1. To make the roasted white chocolate, place the chocolate and coconut oil on an ovenproof tray. Place the tray in the oven and switch it on to 120C.

2. Allow to melt, stirring very gently every 10 minutes for around 60 minutes or until golden and caramel-like. Seriously, no matter how much you want to stick your finger in that melted chocolate – don’t. Instead, sprinkle over the sea salt and set aside.

3. To make the pastry: In a food processor, pulse together the ingredients for the pastry until you have a rough dough. Using your hands, bring the dough together on a clean surface. Don’t knead or handle it too much. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4. Lightly flour a large, clean surface and roll the pastry out until it’s 5-6mm thick. Roll it around your rolling pin and line a 9inch fluted tart tin with a loose bottom. If your dough tears slightly, don’t be afraid to patch it up. Leave some dough hanging over the edges. Place the tart on top of a flat baking sheet.

5. Place a large piece of food-safe cling film over the pastry and fill the top with flour. Pack it down slightly. This will ensure your pastry is beautifully even and doesn’t rise in the oven. Bake at 160C for 30 minutes.

6. Remove the tart from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the cling film filled with flour. Use a fork to prick holes all over the bottom of the pastry and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes or until golden.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

8. To make the dark chocolate filling: Heat the cream on a low heat until hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat. Add the chopped dark and milk chocolate, almond extract and butter and stir very gently until you have a luxurious, even chocolate mixture.

9. Trim the sides of the tart case, cutting away the excess pastry. Fill the tart with the chocolate mixture. Take dollops of the melted white chocolate mixture and swirl into the tart – you’ll need around half of it. Put the rest in a jar and use it to sandwich cakes and macarons or just spread it on toast.

10. Sprinkle over the toasted flaked almonds.

11. Place the tart in the fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight.

Love Sanjana

The post Eggless Dark Chocolate, Almond and Roasted White Chocolate Tart 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.

Like Beyoncé, who transforms into her alter-ego, the confident ‘Sasha Fierce’ on stage, I had to take on a new persona before I embarked upon making my first pastry for the latest Food Network UK recipe challenge using seasonal peaches.

But a three-octave vocal range and bootylicious behind wasn’t going to help me in the kitchen – not today anyway. To make the perfect tart, I would need to become someone whose skills lay in the art of flour and butter, a pastry mastermind. And then it hit me – I needed to become Andy Bates.

The recipe itself is a simple concept. It’s a pepped-up version of the very English Bakewell Tart, using traditional ground almonds in the tart shell, peach jam, an eggless almond sponge mix, fresh peach slices and a cardamom-spiked mascarpone cream to serve. Sounds adventurous but if I, the world’s worst pastry maker, can do it, you shouldn’t have any problems.

Be sure to check out the blog post and recipe and please leave a comment for my viewing pleasure.

I’m going to be focusing on recipe requests in the forthcoming months as I have as pile of requests as tall as myself

The post Eggless Peach and Cardamom Bakewell Tarts appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Was it you who said egg-free quiches were as impossible to make as licking your own elbow? Well if it was, you couldn’t have been more wrong.

You can stop trying to lick your elbow now. It’s never going to happen and plus, you look ridiculous.

I wanted to create a quiche with strong flavours that cut through the creaminess of the dish while also making a small slice go a long way. This was imperative because if I didn’t, I’d have ended up squirming on the floor with a protruding belly and crumbs all over my face having eaten it all. And I promised myself that would never happen again.

Sweet potatoes added just that – a strong velvety sweetness, caramelised onions gave the quiche some colour, texture and flavour, and the sharp, salty feta cheese cut through the rich filling. Perfecto.

I’m quite pleased with myself for making my own pastry. I know shortcrust is the easiest pastry to make but lazy is the best way to describe me. There’s no excuse for it. All my pastry endeavours have ended up as crummy disasters. I’m hasty, hot-headed and fiery tempered as opposed to a cool-handed pastry whiz-kid.

This had to change.

I took my time, made sure everything was cold (ice water, frozen and grated butter and cold hands) and things weren’t looking too shabby if I say so myself.

Then I burned myself… twice.

Have I told you about my war wounded arm? My right arm is covered in several burn marks from hurriedly fetching things to and fro the oven and grill. Each one carries its own story and in a way, I’m quite proud of the ugly little guys.

Shall we get back to the quiche?

Eggs are to quiche as gelatine to jelly; they help it set so you can slice it. A set custard if you will. In place of eggs I used cornflour (a tip I picked up from revered chef Kurma Dasa and his fabulous book Great Vegetarian Dishes). However, I also added some self raising flour, mature cheddar cheese and baking powder. The flour and baking powder helped my quiche puff up, lighten up and set in place as it would if I added eggs. I also added plenty of cheese to make it very savoury and golden brown on top.

A small wedge of this quiche served warm or cold with a green salad (dressed in something sharp) will make you forget about how much cheese, cream and butter actually went into the dish. I’ve forgotten already.

I’d always make this quiche a day ahead as it needs at least 8 hours to cool and set before you slice it. When it comes out of the oven it should still be a bit wobbly in the middle, and then when it chills it will begin to set.

Eggless Quiche with Sweet Potatoes, Caramelised Onions and Feta
(cuts into 8-10 slices)

For the cumin pastry crust:

280g plain flour
140g butter, frozen and grated on a cheese grater
1 ½ tsp toasted cumin seeds
½ tsp salt
8-9 tbsp iced water

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, cumin seeds, butter and salt. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Add the iced water and bring the mixtures together to form a firm dough. Cover in cling film (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, grease a fluted tart case (with a removable bottom) with oil.

5. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to 5mm in thickness and around 5-6cm larger than your tart case (I used a 10 inch wide, 2 inch deep case).

6. Lift the pastry up with your rolling pin and drape it over your tart case so there is an overhang of pastry on the sides. Gently push the pastry into the sides of the case, taking care not to stretch or tear it. Prick some small holes

7. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Place a large piece of greaseproof paper in your pastry case and fill with baking beans. I used rice which worked just as well.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove the greaseproof paper and baking beans/rice. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes to turn golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the quiche filling:
240g red onions, sliced
140g sweet potato, cubed
200g feta cheese, cubed
4 tbsp self raising flour
1 ½ tbsp cornflour
400ml milk
300ml double cream
100g cream cheese
80g mature cheddar cheese
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp butter
Olive oil

Method

1. To caramelise the onions, heat the butter in a pan with 1 tsp of olive oil. Add the slice onions and 3 tbsp of sugar. Cook on a medium heat for around 20 minutes, stirring all the time. Try not to break them up too much, though. Add the dried organo and set aside.

2. Wash the sweet potato cubes, place in a bowl with 2 tbsp of water and microwave on high power for 3 minutes. Refresh under cold water and drain. Set aside.

3. In a large pan, heat 4 tbsp olive oil and add the cornflour and self raising flour. Cook until slightly pink, grab a whisk and slowly add the milk, whisking all the time. Add 150ml double cream, the cheddar cheese, cream cheese and 50g of the feta. Keep whisking for 5 minutes until you’re left with a smooth sauce. I sieved mine at this point to make sure there were no lumps at all.

4. Add the remaining 150ml double cream and allow to cool. This will thicken on standing so when you return to it after cooling, you will need to adjust the consistency to its previous state by using some hot water and whisking.

5. Fold in the onions, potatoes and feta and pile the mixture into the cooled pastry case. Fill a baking tray with hot water and place it in the bottom of the oven (this will keep the environment moist so your quiche won’t dry out).

6. Place your quiche on a baking tray and put it on the rack above. Bake for 45 minutes at 180°C until almost golden.

7. Turn the oven off but leave the quiche inside. Open the oven door for a few minutes to let some heat escape so your quiche doesn’t burn.

8. After two hours your quiche should have cooled. Remove it from the oven, cover in cling film and refrigerate for 7-8 hours. Once you remove it, trim the excess pastry and then it should be ready to devour.

I know this sounds terribly long and complicated, and it sort of is (for me, anyway). I’m not gonna lie.

But take one bite of this lush, creamy eggless quiche and you’ll know why it took so much of your love and effort.

Also, feel free to experiment with flavours. You could add anything from green peas, cherry tomatoes and spinach to a variety of other cheeses. Just remember to send me a piece in the post.

The post Eggless Quiche with Sweet Potatoes, Caramelised Onions and Feta appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

I haven’t fallen off of the edge of the Earth, just in case you’ve been wondering where your favourite Gujarati food blogger has gone. I hope you’ve been wondering – have you been wondering?

I trust you all had a delicious Christmas and New Year. I’ve been spending my precious time recovering from the most brutal lurgies seen this side of London. I’m ashamed to admit I’ve hardly cooked, feeding only on unsatisfying take-aways and frozen pizzas. Interestingly, I’ve lost weight on this questionable diet full of fat, salt and cholesterol. FYI, I’m not endorsing this depressing diet in any way – just observing an unexpected fact.

I cannot begin to describe how much I’ve missed blogging and sharing my favourite recipes with you. Working full-time really takes its toll, especially now I must resign blogging to the weekends. Thankfully, I’m feeling much better now and can’t wait to get back to dreaming, cooking, photographing and writing about my favourite things to eat.

I have some big dreams for 2011 and the determination to accomplish them, so I hope you stick around and see them through with me. I promise you won’t regret it.

Something simple to start the New Year never goes amiss, and this recipe for Cheese and Potato Puff Pies are just the ticket. Soft cubes of rosemary-peppered potato are combined with sautéed onions, mature cheddar and crème fraîche, then the whole thing is enveloped in crisp, buttery puff pastry. Trust me, this is the kind of dinner you want to eat on a cold January evening with a crisp green salad.

Green chillies are my personal fiendish addition, but you don’t have to add them if you’re cooking for kids or don’t like chillies. However, I think a mild kick of chilli is exactly the type of cuddle simple potatoes, crème fraîche and pastry needs.

You can present your pies in any way you like – I’ve shown two of the simplest ways here. One version is a pot pie, with the filling piled into a ramekin or pie dish, topped with a slice of red Leicester cheese and a sheet of puff pastry.

Another way to serve these is by wrapping them into traditional crescent shapes, reminiscent of the time-honoured English pasties. Somehow, I think these are the way they should look – although the choice is entirely yours.

Cheese and Potato Puff Pies
(makes approx. 6-8 depending on size and shape)

Ingredients

2 medium potatoes (450g), peeled and cubed
2 large onions (450g), peeled and roughly chopped
250ml/200g crème fraîche
120g mature cheddar cheese, grated
8 slices Red Leicester Cheese slices
1 tbsp olive oil
1 hot green chilli, chopped finely
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
500g puff pastry, thawed if frozen
Milk to glaze the tops of the pies

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until they’re just cooked but still hold their shape. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and add half of the chopped onions, sugar and 1 tsp rosemary. Sauté for about 10-15 minutes until just golden at the edges. Add the rest of the onions and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes. Allow to cool.

3. Combine the potatoes, onions, crème fraîche, grated cheddar, 1 tsp rosemary, chilli and salt. Mix thoroughly.

4. If you’re making pot pies, pile the filling into pie dishes or ramekins. Top with a trimmed slice of Red Leicester cheese. Brush the edges of the dish with some milk. Roll out the pastry about ½ cm thick and cut out a disc slightly larger than the top of the dish and place the pastry over the top, edges overlapping the sides. Brush with milk all over, make a slit in the top and place in a 200°C oven for around 20-25 minutes or until golden and puffy.

5. To make traditional pasty shapes, divide the pastry into 6 equal portions and roll out each to about 7inches, using flour if it sticks. Place a slice of Red Leicester cheese in the middle of a pastry circle, top with around 2-2 ½ tbsps of the filling. Brush the edges of the pastry with milk and fold one end over to meet the opposite end. Stick down firmly and crimp with a fork. Repeat for each pie.

6. Place each pie on a non-stick baking tray, make a slit in the top and bake 200°C oven for around 20-25 minutes or until golden and puffy.

Serve with a crisp green salad and not much else. If this doesn’t make up for my time away, I don’t know what would.

I’ll be back. Honest.
 

The post Cheese and Potato Puff Pies appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Isn’t miniature food always better than supersized food? Take cupcakes for instance; tiny morsels of individually iced, fluffy cake is so much more alluring than a massive, calorie-laden, brick-ish cake.

Well, for me anyway.

In the same way, I would always pick a box of tiny chocolate truffles over a chunky chocolate bar. If you had given me the choice when I was a child I would have definitely supersized every time. Hence the regrettable existence of the unsightly pot-belly that tormented me in my early years.

I consume far too much salt, sugar and fat, which I am told will affect my twentysomething body in a number of gruesome ways before I hit my thirties and forties. This is one of those recipes which will carry most of the blame.

Luckily for you, I miniaturised these delicious mung daal and paneer samosas so that you can enjoy them without all of the guilt and fear of heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Just don’t eat all of them at once. Having said this, I’m not a doctor and cannot advise against and diagnose illnesses using a computer. That’s how they all do it these days, right? I’m kidding with ya. Lots of prem to all of my doctor readers out there…

Whipping up samosas from scratch will play havoc with your new manicure, but it’s a labour of love and well worth the effort when you finally take a spicy bite. Lazy girls and boys may want to think twice about embarking upon this wonderful, time-consuming task.

These little pastries are perfect for parties and make excellent appetisers and hors d’œuvre’s. Your guests will also worship you for your delicious efforts.

They would partner well with a drizzle of tangy tamarind chutney (recipe coming soon due to a reader request) and served alongside a cooling raita (would you like me to post a recipe for this?)

Little Mung Daal and Paneer Samosas
(makes 25-35 little samosas- this may vary according to the size of your samosas)

Ingredients for the filling
1 cup mung daal, washed, soaked overnight and boiled until tender
2 cups crumbled paneer (recipe coming soon due to a request via Facebook for KO Rasoi)
¾ cup onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp white or red chilli powder (I used extra hot white chilli powder)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp garam masala powder
¾ cup fresh coriander, chopped
Salt to taste

Ingredients for the pastry
(To form a firm, smooth dough. The basic rule of thumb is that if your dough becomes sticky, add a tsp of oil and knead, if it becomes too soft, work in a little more flour, and if it becomes way too firm add a little more water and combine)

1 ½ cups plain flour
4 tbsp oil
2 tbsp lemon juice (makes the pastry light and crisp)
½ tsp salt
½ cup cold water
½ tsp garlic, crushed (optional)

Other ingredients
Enough oil to deep fry the samosas
An extra bowl of flour
Cold water

Method
1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and add the cumin seeds and onions. Sauté until translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients except the coriander and garam masala and cook the mixture until it’s dry and comes away from the sides of the pan. Add the coriander and garam masala. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients for the dough. Knead until firm and non-sticky.

3. Get to work rolling out and lightly cooking your fresh pastry sheets (I rolled mine to around 4 inches- step 2). Use my step by step below as a guide. I cook my pastry sheets on a dry skillet (step 7) making sure they do not brown. You just want them sealed enough so that you can work with them. Sandwiching two circles of dough together with oil and flour and lightly rolling over the top of them (steps 3, 4, 5 and 6) makes the pastry thinner and the whole process a little quicker. When they are cooked, carefully peel them away from each other (step 8), then half the circles into semi-circles (step 9). Wrap these in a tea towel until you need to use them.

4. In a small bowl, make a sticky paste from flour and cold water. You will need this to seal the edges of the samosas when you fold them.

5. Use my next step by step below to fold and fill all of your samosas with the cooled mung daal and paneer mixture.

6. Heat enough oil in a deep pan to deep fry the samosas until they are golden brown. Place on kitchen paper to drain away any excess oil. That’s my contribution to promoting good health right there.

The post Little Mung Daal and Paneer Samosas appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Fresh baklava has to be one of the most famous sweets across the globe. Throughout the Middle East and across Mediterranean lands it is king.

Boy, do those people have good taste.

Nutty, chewy and ultimately calorific, baklava sticks to your teeth and your thighs. My philosophy is to enjoy devilishly sweet treats in moderation and occasionally in excess.*

This take on one of my favourite sweets was inspired by baklava I ate at an odd little Turkish cafe I visited in London not so long ago. It was very dark and very greasy. The cafe, not the baklava.

In fact, the baklava was amazing. It had all of the super flavours of traditional baklava with a wonderfully textured twist. I love me some twists.

Sweet rice and the traditional spiced nuts were enveloped in thin, crisp filo pastry layers, then drenched in sugar syrup and left to absorb until chewy and divine. Pouring the hot sugar syrup on when the baklava is fresh from the oven makes it easier for it to absorb into the thirsty sheets of filo and down the diamond-cut grooves.

As for that twist… Rice in baklava is amazing just in case you’re wondering.

I flavoured my rice with rose and pistachio but essentially you could use anything. Don’t go too crazy though; try to stick to traditional Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours like orange blossom water, honey or saffron. You could even keep it simple and use plain rice, or rice flavoured with a lemon zest.

I used jasmine rice for these bakalava as I wanted it to be firm enough to keep its shape, but not so hard you could use a lump of it as a tennis ball at Wimbledon. This cannot be whetting your appetite.

Sifting through pages and pages of information in books and on the internet just leaves me more and more curious about where the origins of this dessert lie. The lands in which it was created and the etymology of the name remains unclear as the facts are perched upon blurred lines and borders. It feels rather like a family tree in which each little segment must be traced in order to view the bigger picture.

Links, lines and roots connecting people, countries and history can all be represented in a simple pastry. Amazing. I think I long, long book could be written about the cultural histories of legendary and delicious desserts such as baklava.

I can imagine kings and queens of the East, and Greek gods and goddesses gorging themselves on fresh baklava every night before bed. Hundreds of servants wheeling out golden trolleys stacked tall with sweeties. Do you think they’re hiring for servants? If they are, email me the details at: sanju(dot)modha(at)hotmail(dot)co(dot)uk

A diamond wedge of fresh baklava warm from the oven and a strong espresso may not be the ideal everyday breakfast* but to be honest, it should only really be reserved for special occasions anyway.

*Huge and delicious pieces of baklava should be devoured at the diners peril and in some cases may cause diabetes, ‘chunky butt’ syndrome and severe sweet toothism. KO Rasoi and Sanjana do not take any responsibility for occurrences of these symptoms and/or any other greed-related illnesses.

Rose & Pistachio Baklava

Ingredients
250g pistachios, ground coarsely
400ml single cream
200ml ghee (clarified butter), melted
270g frozen filo pastry, defrosted (cut it to the size of your baking dish)
120g jasmine rice
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp rose syrup
1 tbsp rose water

For the syrup
225g granulated white sugar
½ cup hot water
2 tbsp lemon juice (this stops the syrup from crystallising)

Method

1. Gently boil the rice in the single cream and 1 tbsp sugar until creamy. Keep stirring it as it simmers because it will stick. When thick and luscious, add the rose water, rose syrup and cardamom powder and stir well. Set aside to cool.

2. Brush a deep baking dish with a generous amount of ghee.

3. Begin by placing a sheet of filo in the pan, butter it and cover with ground pistachios.

4. Repeat step two until you have used half of the filo and pistachios. This is a bit like layering up a lasagne. Always remember to be generous with the ghee- this is what makes the baklava crisp.

5. Halfway through the pastry layering, spread the cooled rice mixture on top of the filo. Now you can carry on layering the sheets and nuts up (always brushing with ghee) until everything is used up. Brush the top layer with lots of ghee to create a beautiful golden top.

6. Cut the baklava into diamond shapes or squares. I went for diamonds because they look very elegant this way.

7. Bake at 160 degrees Celsius for around an hour until crisp and golden.

8. Meanwhile, heat the ingredients for the sugar syrup until it is of a one string consistency (this is called the ‘soft ball’ stage on a sugar thermometer). Set aside.

9. Remove the baklava from the oven. By now it should be super crisp and smelling divine. Carefully pour over the sugar syrup and allow it to stand and absorb for at least 8 hours. I left mine for 24 hours and it was just perfect.

Tip: For super chewy baklava, return the baking tray to the warm (but turned off) oven as the sugar syrup is absorbing and leave it for 8+ hours,  or up to 24 hours.

Store in an airtight container in a very cool place for up to three days. Not that it will last that long.

Serve with espresso for breakfast.

Or dessert.

Or both.

The post Rose & Pistachio Baklava appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Kataifi (also known as konafi, kanafeh, kunafah and a whole range of other names in various languages) is a Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean shredded filo pastry. It is a little fiddly to work with but worth every second of the time it makes to create luxurious pastries, whether they are sweet or savoury. With this one, patience is most certainly a virtue.

Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean pastries are famously known for their use of nuts, spices and syrups, but the varieties of these ingredients differ from country to country, and region to region. Some of these ingredients include almonds, pistachios, rose, cinnamon, honey, fruits and sugar syrups. The list of possible combinations for pastries is endless, and they can be every bit as indulgent as your imagination dares to allow.

The fine threads of kataifi are massively delicate and resemble angel hair pasta which, when drizzled with golden streams of butter crisp up divinely in the heat of your oven. Syrup is poured on once the kataifi has finished baking and is still warm and able to glug up all of its sweetness and moisture.

Indeed, kataifi is very versatile and provides an amazing crunch to lots of dishes. It can also be filled with savoury ingredients such as cheeses like sharp fetas or also fruits like spiced mashed avocado. It can be baked and deep fried, although when you bake it, you must agree to add lots of butter. It’s wholly necessary.

You’ll have never tasted anything crispier. That’s a promise. And I always keep my promises.

Fun Fact: Palestinians made the largest kanafeh [kataifi] in an attempt to get into the book of Guinness World Records. The plate of the Palestinian delicacy measured 75 meters in length and two meters in width with a weight of 1,350 kilograms.*

Sadly, they never saved a piece for me.

*Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanafeh

Cinnamon & Orange Blossom Kataifi Rolls
(Yields 35-45 pieces depending on their size)

Ingredients

500g kataifi pastry (I used a Syrian brand of frozen pastry, defrosted)
250g salted butter, melted

For the filling

240g ground nuts (I used a combination of equal amounts of pistachios, almonds and walnuts)
2 tsp cinnamon powder
60g granulated sugar

For the syrup

400g sugar
360ml water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp orange blossom water

Method

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the filling and set aside.

2. On a large, clean surface separate the kataifi pastry carefully until it is as thin as it will go without having large gaps in it. Make sure the strands are left whole.

3. Cut the pastry into 6X10inch rectangles and working quickly on the longest edge, butter the pastry all over with a pastry brush. Then place 2-3 tbsp of the filling in a horizontal line across the pastry an inch from the bottom.

4. Carefully and tightly roll the long edge of the pastry from the bottom, making sure the filling doesn’t fall out. Place in a buttered baking tray and brush the top all over with more butter. (Note: Next time I roll the kataifi I will be using a sushi mat to get a perfect roll as the method of rolling kataifi is very similar to rolling sushi maki).

5. Repeat the above process for the rest of the pastry. Tightly pack each roll into the baking tray, one next to the other.

6. Bake the kataifi at 140 degress Celsius for around an hour. If you find it is burning then brush on more butter and bake at a lower temperature for longer.

8. Once the kataifi is golden brown all over, remove from the heat and gently ladle on the warm sugar syrup. Cover the tray with a piece of foil and allow to rest and absorb for a minimum of 8-12 hours, although 24 hours would be ideal.

9. When rested and cooled, cut the pastry logs into 1 inch pieces and place on greaseproof paper. Serve with Arabic coffee (qawah) or espresso.

The post Cinnamon & Orange Blossom Kataifi Rolls appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.