Indian Tapioca (Sago) Pudding

Sabudana kheer is a gourmet dessert. Kheer is lightly flavored with cardamom and saffron. This is easy recipe to make. serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup tapioca (sabudana, sago)
  • 3 cups milk
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sliced pistachios
  • Few strands of saffron
  • 1/4  teaspoon cardamom powder

Method

  1. Wash and soak the tapioca in about 1/3 cups of water for at least two hour – sago will soak up most of the water and become light and fluffy.
  2. Boil the milk in heavy bottom pan after milk comes to boil let it boil for about another 8 to 10 minutes making sure stirring occasionally so milk does not burn in bottom of the pan.
  3. Add the tapioca, cook until soft and translucent – this should take about 4 minutes.
  4. Next add sugar, cardamom, pistachios, and saffron and boil for 2 to 3 minutes.
    Turn off the heat. As kheer cools it will become a little thicker in consistency.
  5. Serve chilled or warm.

Baked Spicy Lentil Cake (Handvo)

A popular Gujrati snack. This is a baked, spicy lentil cake made with rice and different lentils fermented batter mixed with spices. This is served with chutney. Handvo is crisp outside and soft inside.  serves 8

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup rice – small grain
  • 1/4 cup chana dal (split chickpeas)
  • 1/4 cup urad dal** split with skin (**use mung beans or azuki beans instead)
  • 1/4 cup toor dal*** (***use yellow lentils or any beans)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • About 1 inch piece ginger chopped
  • 1-2 green chilli adjust to taste
  • 1-3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon asafetida^ (use garlic or onion powder instead^ )
  • 1/2 cup yogurt
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • 1 cup laucki* shredded (subs zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, pumpkin)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Eno fruit salt (contains bicarb, citric acid and salt or use baking powder
    or whipped egg or cashew white perhaps

For Seasoning

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/8 teaspoon asafetida*
  • 1 Tab sesame seeds

Also need

  • 2 teaspoon oil to grease the baking pan
  • 8×8 baking pan (preferably glass)

Method

TO FERMENT – or instead buy handvo flour already made up

  1. Wash and soak rice, chana dal, toor dal, and urad dal in about four cups of water for at least four hours.
  2. Drain the water and in a blender, or processor, blend the soaked rice & lentils, ginger & chilli to a lightly coarse texture (no water).  Add yogurt, turmeric, salt, sugar and asafetida* and blend it again for few more seconds. Transfer the dal mix into a bowl and let the mix ferment for about 10 to 12 hours.
  3. Add the squash, 2 tablespoons of oil and lemon juice to the fermented dal mix – mix it well. Add ENO to the mixture and mix (this will make the handvo mix light & fluffy)
  4. Grease the 8×8 baking pan generously and pour the handvo mix into the greased pan.
    Tap the pan; it will help to spread the mix evenly.
  5. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the batter.SEASONING –
  6. Heat the oil for seasoning in a small pan over medium heat – after oil is moderately hot, add the mustard seeds and asafetida*. As the mustard seeds crack, turn off the heat.
  7. Drizzle the seasoning over the top of the sesame seeds. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C.
  8. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it on middle oven rack and bake for 20 minutes.
  9. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes until top of the handvo is light golden brown or until knife inserted in centre of cake comes out clean.
  10. Let the handvo cool off for about 15 minutes. Cut into sixteen pieces and serve.*  A ½ teaspoon of the asafetida powder can be substituted by 2-minced garlic gloves or 2/3 of a cup of minced onion. Tiny amounts of asafetida give a gentle lift to cheese dishes, egg, salad dressings and fish.