Zaiqa

Deep fried, crisp and sweet. This is how I how I describe my childhood favorite tea time snack~Suhali (plural – suhaliyaan). They are just like poori, but rolled a little thinner than poori for a crisp end result and sprinkled generously with powdered sugar after being deep fried.

Suhali – Deep fried Sweet Discs

Ingredients:

All Purpose flour/Maida – 3 cups
Salt – to taste
Canola oil – 3 tbsp
Water

Oil to deep fry
Powdered sugar as topping

Method:

Mix flour, oil and salt in a bowl. Add water little by little to make a soft dough. Knead for a couple of minutes. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and keep aside for 15-20 minutes. Knead again for 5 minutes. Pinch off walnut-size balls of dough and roll them between the palms of your hands to smooth round balls. Cover the balls with a kitchen towel. One by one roll the balls into thin discs using as little flour as possible.

Deep fry the discs in hot oil in a deep kadai/wok on both sides until golden and crisp. Remove them using a slotted spoon from hot oil and place on a platter. Immediately sprinkle the fried suhali with powdered sugar. Continue until all are done. Serve when cool. Store at room temperature. Finish within a week.

Note:
1. It is necessary that you roll the discs for suhali preparation thinner than you roll for poori.
2. You can add ghee and cold milk to the flour instead of oil and water respectively to make the dough if you wish. My aunt even adds a spoon or two of semolina to the dough.
3. Use as little flour as possible while rolling the suhali.

Luv,
Mona

Just like Sharmila, and I believe many other Indians, I tend to get confused between cookies and biscuits. Back home in India, only those that are studded with chocolate chips were called as cookies, whereas all others are referred to as biscuits. So you are free to call them whatever you wish, fruit biscuits, or fruit cookies, these melt in mouth morsels studded with dry fruits and nuts are a treat.

dry fruits and nuts biscuits

The famous Karachi Bakery in Hyderabad city is popular for fruit biscuits, among many other baked food products that they are known for. I had always loved these when I was a little kid. These were perhaps one my most early loves. So you can imagine my joy when I discovered a recipe for fruit biscuits at one of my favorite TV chefs website, Ina Garten. I have tried and took delight in many of her recipes, her homely style of cooking is something that I can identify with.

Simple to prepare and delightful to taste, these biscuits have become a regular in my house. Ofcourse I miss those that were available at Karachi Bakery, but these have been successful enough to win my heart and rock my tastebuds. I have made a few changes to the original recipe so that it suites me. For an eggless version, try Priya’s version.

Dry Fruits & Nuts Biscuits/ Cookies
Adapted from this original recipe

Ingredients:

Dried fruits – 1 cup [I used a mixture of tutti frutti and raisins. You can use whatever dry fruits you fancy, like dried berries, candied cherries (or any fruits) etc]
Dried nuts – 3/4 cup [I used a mixture of cashewnuts and walnuts]
Honey – 1 tbsp
Fresh orange juice – 2 tbsp
Fresh lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Unsalted butter – 1/2 cup (at room temperature)
Canola oil – 1/2 cup
Powdered cloves – 1/4 tsp
Light brown sugar – 1/3 cup
Granulated sugar – 1/2 cup
Eggs – 2, large
All purpose flour – 2 2/3 cups
Salt

Method:

1. Chop the dried nuts and fruits roughly. Place them in a mixing bowl, add orange juice, lemon juice, honey and a pinch of salt. Mix well. Cover with a plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight.
2. In a mixing bowl add butter and oil, powdered cloves, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Using a whisk or an electric hand mixer, beat for 3-4 minutes. Add eggs and beat for a minute or two until mixed. Add the the dried fruits and nuts, including any liquid in the bowl. Now add the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt just until combined. Don’t over-mix! Divide the dough in half. Place the half on a wax paper and using the long edge of the paper as a guide, shape them into logs. Cover the logs with plastic wrap entirely if you plan to freeze them now to use later. Or else, refrigerate the logs wrapped in wax paper for 1-2 hours or until firm (you can even freeze them for just 15-20 minutes) so that you can easily cut them into slices.

biscuit dough logs

biscuits, cut and ready to be baked

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a small, sharp knife, cut the logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the slices 1/2-inch apart on aluminium foil lined cookie sheets and bake for 14 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden on the edges. Mine were done in just 14 minutes. Once done, transfer the biscuits immediately on a rack and let cool. Once cool, store in air tight food storage containers.

Luv,
Mona

Its been drizzling here since the last few days, bringing everything that was in sleep back to life.

Frozen Moment #6 – April Showers

I was craving for some deep fried pakodas. During a recent visit to the grocery market, I had bought a beautiful green cabbage which was lying the refrigerator waiting to be cooked up into something delicious. It was so large that after making some gobi gosht for the meal, there was enough left to make a few pakodas.

cabbage batter

We enjoyed them along with tea in the evening today.

Bund Gobi kay Pakoday ~ Cabbage Fritters
(Note: Cabbage is called as Bund Gobi or Patta Gobi in Urdu language)

Ingredients:

Thinly Sliced Cabbage – 4 cups
Ajwain – 2 tsp
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Besan – 1 cup
Corn fluor/Rice flour – 1/4 cup
Water – 1/2 cup

band gobi kay pakoday ~ cabbage fritters

Method:

In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well using hands. Heat oil to deep fry in a kadai. Once the oil is hot, gently drop small amounts of mixture using your fingers into the hot oil. Deep fry them on both sides until golden brown in color. Using a slotted spoon remove into a paper towel lined platter or into a wire mesh strainer for the the excess oil to drip away. Enjoy the pakoday along with chutney.

Luv,
Mona