Christmas special recipes

[minisoji]

Wines

Grape wines

Ingredients :
1. Black Grapes - 1 kg
2. Sugar - 3/4 kg 5. Clove - 5 no's
3. Boiled Water - 6 bottles 6. Yeast - 5 gm
4. Cinnamon - 2 pieces 7. Egg White - 1

Method of Preparation :

Clean and wash the grapes. Dissolve 5 gm yeast and 10 gm sugar in 100 ml hot water and keep it for half an hour.

Smash the grapes with a wooden ladle. Add the remaining sugar, water, prepared yeast, cinnamon and clove and stir well. Store in a mud vessel ( only up to 3/4 level )and tightly close the mouth of the vessel.

After 10 days filter the wine. Beat egg white and add to the wine. Keep this in the vessel for 2 days. It can be used after filtering.


Pineapple Wine

Ingredients :
1. Pineapple - 1 kg 3. Water - 5 bottles
2. Sugar - 2 kg 4. Yeast - 2 tbs

Method of Preparation :

Wash the pineapples and cut into small pieces. Don't remove its skin. Boil it for about 5 minutes with water and 1 kg sugar. When cool, add yeast and store in an air tight mud vessel for 20 days. Stir the content daily with a wooden ladle. After 21 days, filter the wine through a fine cloth. Do not squeeze the contents. Add the remaining sugar and store it for another 21 days without stirring.


Grape Ginger Wine

Ingredients :
1. Black Grapes - 2 kg 3. Warm water - 12 bottles
Crushed ginger - 1/4 kg 4. Yeast - 1 tsp
2. Sugar - 3 kg 5. Beaten Egg white - 2 no's
Wheat - 1/2 kg 6. Caramelised Sugar - 1/2 kg

Method of Preparation :

Smash grapes and mix with 2kg sugar, wheat and crushed ginger. Place it in an air tight mud vessel and pour water over it. Add the beaten egg white and store for 22 days. Stir the content well once or twice in a week with a wooden ladle.

Filter the wine. Add caramelised sugar and the remaining sugar kept aside. Stir well and store for another 22 days. The wine can be used after filtering.

You can add 2 cups rum to the wine (Optional).


White Wine

Ingredients:
1. Plantain (Palayankodan) - 1 kg 3. Boiled &Cooled Water - 2 bottles
2. Sugar - 1 kg 4. Yeast - 1tsp

Mix sugar with the water. Cut banana into thin round pieces and add it along with yeast to the water and store it in a mud vessel for 10 days. Stir the contents once daily with a wooden ladle. After 10 days, filter the wine and store in dry bottles.

Gooseberry Wine

Ingredients:
1. Gooseberry - 2 kg 6. Yeast - 2tsp
2. Sugar - 2 1/2kg 7. Egg White beaten - 2
3. Boiled & Cooled Water - 12 bottles 8. Nutmeg -1 small piece
4. Cinnamon - 2 pieces(1/2 inch pieces )
5. Clove - 12 no's

Method of Preparation:

Clean and dry gooseberry. Crush cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg together. Caramelize 1/2 kg sugar and keep it aside.

Take a dry mud vessel and place gooseberry, 1 kg sugar and crushed masalas layer by layer. Dissolve yeast in a little water and add to it. Pour water till the level of the gooseberries and add egg white on top. Close the vessel tightly and store for 22 days. Stir the contents once or twice in a week with a wooden ladle. After 22 days, filter the wine, remove the gooseberries without breaking them. Store again in the mud vessel by adding caramelized sugar and the remaining 1kg sugar for three more days. On the 25th day strain the wine in a fine cloth and store in dry dark bottles.

Beetroot Wine

Ingredients:
1. Finely Chopped beetroot -1/2 kg 6. Lemon Juice - 4 dsp
2. Sugar - 1/2 kg 7. Yeast - 2dsp
3. Water - 8 cups
4. Cinnamon - 2 pieces(1 inch long sized )
5. Clove - 9 no's

Method of Preparation:

Cook well chopped beetroot, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and water together. When it is done keep it aside. When cool, squeeze well and strain through a fine cloth several times. Filter the lime juice and mix it with the yeast. Stir well, filter once more and store in a mud vessel. It can be used after 40 days.


Instant Lemon Wine

Ingredients:
1. Water -1 bottle 7. Vanilla Essence - 4 drops
2. Lemon - 3 no's 8. Sugar for caramelizing -2tbsp
3. Sugar - 1/4kg
4. Cinnamon - 3 pieces(1 inch)
5. Cloves - 6 no's
6. Rum - 1/4 bottle

Method of Preparation:

Extract the juice of lemon. Boil water with the lemon juice and sugar. Tie the rest of the ingredients (except rum, vanilla essence and sugar for caramelizing) in a small piece of cloth and put it in the boiling water. Boil for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from fire, take out the small cloth bundle with the masalas, squeeze the contents into the wine and then strain. Caramelize sugar (2tbsp) by adding little water and add it to the wine. Add more caramelized sugar if more colour is needed. Add rum and essence. Mix well. Refrigerate when cool. Serve cold.

Note : If you want more quantity of wine, double the ingredients except rum.

[minisoji]

Cakes

Fruit Cake

Ingredients :

1. Ghee - 1/2kg
Butter or dalda - 1/2kg

2 Powdered Sugar - 1kg
Sugar for browning - 1/2kg

3 Refined flour - 1kg

4. Baking powder - 4tsp

5. Egg - 1kg

6. Vanilla essence - 4tsp

7. Salt - 1/2tsp

8. Ground nutmeg, cinnamon & clove - 1tsp each

9. Cumin - little

10. Grapes with seeds - 200gm
Grapes without seeds - 200gm
Cherries - 175gm
Cashew nuts - 175gm
Lion dates - 250gm
Skin of 11/2 orange
Brandy - 4ounce

Method of Preparation :

Slice all the 10th ingredients, except cashew nuts, into small pieces. Soak and keep the slices in brandy one week before preparing the cake.Powder 1/2kg sugar. Dissolve (Burn) it on a low flame and keep it aside. Allow it to cool.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together. Add the ground masalas, the fruits soaked in brandy and the chopped cashew nuts in it. Mix together all the ingredients. Rub ghee and butter together. Mix it with the powdered sugar. Beat the egg yolk and egg white separately. Add the egg yolk little by little into the sugar-ghee mixture and mix well. Add the burned sugar. Add essence to the beaten egg white. Mix it with the sugar-ghee mixture.

In a greased and floured vessel pour the sugar-ghee mixture first and then the fruit mixture evenly. Repeat alternately. Spread cumin over the cake batter and bake it.


Chocolate Cake

Ingredients :

* Sugar - 1/2cup
* Cocoa powder - 1/2cup
* Water - 1/2cup
* Egg - 3nos
* Soda powder - 1tsp
* Baking powder - 1/2tsp
* Refined flour - 2cup
* Powdered sugar -11/2cup
* Butter - 3/4cup
* Curd - 3/4cup
* Vanilla essence - 1tsp

Ingredients for Icing:

* Icing sugar - 1cup
* Cocoa powder - 1/4cup
* Salt - pinch
* Water - 1cup
* Sugar - 1/4cup
* Butter - 1/2cup
* Vanilla essence - 1/2tsp
* Refined groundnut oil - 1dsp

Method of Preparation :

Mix sugar, cocoa powder and water. Boil the mixture and make it thick. Stir continuously. Remove from fire and allow to cool.

Beat the yolk of an egg and vanilla essence. Mix butter and powdered sugar. Add the beaten egg and the remaining eggs to it and soften the batter by stirring. Add the prepared cocoa mixture to this.

Mix baking powder and refined flour. Add soda powder to the curd. Mix the flour and the curd to the early prepared mixture. Stir it well. Pour it to a greased vessel and bake in a preheated oven at 350oF for about 45minutes.

Icing :

Sieve icing sugar, cocoa and salt together. Heat water and sugar, until the sugar dissolves and then remove from heat. Add the sieved contents into the warm sugar solution. Also add the essence, butter and oil to it and mix well. Pour this over the cake uniformly.


Spunch Cake

Ingredients :
1. Refined flour - 125gm
Soda powder - 1/2tsp
Baking powder - 1/2tsp 5. Orange juice - 2dsp
Ground orange skin - 1/4tsp
Grated lime skin - 2pinch
Vanilla essence - 1/2tsp
Warm milk - 1/4cup
2. Egg - 4nos
3. Sugar - 125gm
4. Butter - 1tsp

Method of Preparation:

Mix all the 1st ingredients and sieve. Beat the eggs till light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat again. Mix the 4th ingredients together. Alternately add the 1st and 4th ingredients into the egg mixture and mix well.

Warm lightly the milk and the butter and add it to the cake mixture. Pour this to a greased vessel. Bake the cake in the preheated oven, 400oF, for about 20 minutes.


Raisins Cherry Cake

Ingredients :

* Raisins - 1cup
* Cherries sliced - 1/2cup
* Rum - 1/2cup
* Refined flour - 11/2cups
* Baking powder - 3tsp
* Salt - a pinch
* Powdered sugar - 3/4cup
* Butter or Ghee - 3/4cup
* Egg - 2nos
* Vanila essence - 1tsp

For Icing :

* Icing Sugar - 1cup
* Milk - 11/2tbs
* Vanilla essence - 1/4tsp

Method of Preparation:

Mix cherries and raisins with rum. Keep on fire and remove when it begins to boil. Keep it for a night, so that the fruits will soak up the rum. Sieve the flour, baking powder salt and powdered sugar together. Add ghee and mix it well. Beat the eggs till fluffy. Add this to the flour-ghee mixture and mix. Pour vanilla essence and the prepared fruit solution to it and stir well. Pour the cake mixture in a greased ring mould. Bake for at least 45 minutes or till the cake is done. When cool, gently turn the cake out. Beat the ingredients for icing till light and fluffy. Pour this over the prepared cake and bake it before use. Decorate the cake by topping with grated chocolate over the icing.

[minisoji]

Strawberry Cake

Ingredients:
1 - recipe basic sponge cake (refer eggless cake recipes)
1 cup - strawberries, cleaned and hulled
1/4 cup - sugar granulated
1/2 cup - sugar powdered
1/4 tsp - strawberry essence
1/4 tsp - vanilla essence
1 cup - chilled whipped cream
1/4 cup - chocolate curls

Method:

1. Make sponge cake, using strawberry essence instead of vanilla.
2. Clean, halve, wash and put strawberries in a heavy pan.
3. Sprinkle granulated sugar, toss lightly with wooden spatula.
4. Place on low heat, sprinkling 3 tbsp. water over berries.
5. Allow sugar to melt, berries to soften, and simmer for a minute more.
6. Take off fire, allow to cool completely at room temperature.
7. Drain berries, save liquid, keep aside till required.
8. Beat chilled cream and powdered sugar till thick enough to hold in peaks.
9. Keep chilled till required.
10. Cut cooled cake into half horizontally.
11. Soak both halves with the drained strawberry liquid.
12. Spread 1 tbsp. whipped cream over top of lower half.
13. Spread out strawberries over cream, evenly.
14. Save a few for decorating on top.
15. Put 2 tbsp. cream over strawberries, spreading evenly.
16. Place upper portion of cake to sandwich strawberry filling.
17. Spread out remaining whipped cream over top and sides of cake.
18. Decorate with the saved strawberries, and chocolate curls.
19. Chill for an hour before serving.

[minisoji]

Christmas Tea recipe

Ingredients

1 ¾ cup of Tea, instant (no sugar or lemon).
2 cups of Orange flavouring.
1 ½ cup of Sugar.
2 teaspoons of Cloves.
2 teaspoons of Cinnamon.
1 packet Lemonade mix, small size, no sugar.

Method

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Put 3 teaspoons of the mixture into a cup.

Cover with boiling water and stir, adding sugar to taste.

[minisoji]

Turkey and Stuffing Pie recipe

Ingredients

2 cups of cooked turkey, cut up.
1 cup of Bisquick.
1 cup of milk.
1 cup of chopped celery.
½ cup of chopped onion.
3 medium eggs.
1 teaspoon of sage.
½ teaspoon of salt.
½ teaspoon of poultry seasoning.
Pinch of pepper.

Method

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Grease a suitably sized pie plate.

Mix together the turkey, onion, celery and seasonings in the plate.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a blender and pour into the pie plate.

Bake for 30 minutes, then allow 5-10 to cool.

[Perfection]

Coconut Burfi

Ingredients

2 cups Sugar
2 Coconuts
35 g Cashewnuts
7-8 Cardamom
70 g Ghee

Procedure

Shred the coconut. Break the cashew nuts into small pieces and fry them in ghee. Powder the cardamom. Heat water in a vessel containing 250 ml of water and add the sugar to it. After the sugary liquid is no longer thin, add the coconut shreds and heat it until it turns thick.

After sufficient stirring, add the fried cashew nut pieces and ghee and stir the mixture well. Add the powdered cardamom and mix it thoroughly and stop heating. Pour the mixture onto a plate which could accommodate sufficient thickness. Cut into rectangular pieces while hot.

[Perfection]

Coconut Fudge

Ingredients (Serves 10)

1 cup milk
2 tsp. veg. oil
2 cups sugar
1 coconut, shelled and grated
1 tsp. ground green cardamom

Procedure

Lightly grease a medium size shallow baking pan or cookie sheet. In a large saucepan, bring the milk and oil to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the sugar and add the grated coconut and cardamom, stirring constantly for 6-8 minutes, until the coconut becomes thick and glazed. Remove from the heat and pour into the baking pan. Cool, cut into squares, and serve.

[oceancadet]

Gulab Jamun

The dough for this dish takes only minutes to assemble, but the balls must be fried under carefully controlled temperatures. Some recipes call for more flour, but the less flour in the dough the better the qulaity of the gulab jamun.

Ingredients

2 1/2 Cups water
2 1/4 Cups sugar
1 Tbsp rose water or 1/2 tsp rose essence
ghee for deep frying
2 Cups instant nonfat dried milk powder
1 1/2 Tbsp self-rising flour
1/2 cup warm milk, or as needed
1 tsp ghee or unsalted butter

Method

Combine the water and sugar in a 3 qrt pan over moderate heat and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Raise the heat and boil for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rose water or essence and set aside. Pour ghee to a depth of 2 1/2 - 3 inches in any deep-frying vessel at least 10 inches in diameter. Place over very low heat while making your dough. Brush a plate with a film of oil. Place the milk powder and flour on a sheet of waxed paper or in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Combine the warm milk and 1 tsp ghee in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the dry mixture with one hand, stir with the other hand to make a pliable dough. Working quickly, wash and dry your hands and rub them with oil. Divide the dough into 24 portions and, exerting pressure, roll each portion between your palms into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a
plate.

Raise the heat to moderately low and when the ghee reaches 102 deg C, slip in the balls, one by one. They will sink to the bottom of the pan but do not try to move them. Instead, gently shake the pan to keep the balls from browning on just one side. After about 5 minutes, the balls will rise to the surface. Now they must be gently and constantly agitated with a wooden spoon to ensure even browning. After 5 minutes, the temp should increase to 104 deg C; after 10 minutes to 107 C; after 15 minutes to 110 C. After about 25 minutes, the balls should be golden brown and the temp between 118 - 121 C. Remove one ball and slip it into the syrup. If it does not collapse in 3 minutes, add the remaining balls. Otherwise, fry the balls for about 5 minutes more. The balls should soak in the syrup for at least 2 hours before serving and may be stored, well sealed and refrigerated, for up to four days. Return to room temp or warm before serving. Makes 24 gulab jamuns.

[oceancadet]

Jelebi

Ingredients

Yield: 4 servings
Batter
2 c Plain flour
1/2 c Rice flour
7 g Fresh compressed yeast or 1/2 t Dried yeast
1/2 c Lukewarm water
1/4 t Saffron strands
2 T Boiling water
1 T Yoghurt
Vegetable oil for frying
Syrup
3 c Sugar
3 c Water
1 T Light corn syrup
Rose essence to flavour
1 1/2 t Liquid orange food colouring

Method

Sift the flour and rice flour into a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast on the warm water in a small bowl, leave to soften for 5 minutes and stir to dissolve. Put saffron strands in a cup and pour the boiling water over. Leave to soak for 10 minutes. Pour dissolved yeast and saffron with its soaking water into a measuring jug. Add tepid water to make up 2 1/4 cups.

Stirring with a wooden spoon, add the measured liquid to the flour and beat well until batter is very smooth. Add yoghurt and beat again. Leave to rest for 1 hour. Batter will start to become frothy. Beat vigorously again before starting to fry jelebis. (While batter stands make syrup and leave it to become just warm). Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan and when hot use a funnel to pour in the batter, making circles or figures of eight. Frying, turning once, until crisp and golden on both sides. Lift out on a slotted spoon, let the oil drain for a fews seconds, then drop the hot jelebi into the syrup and soak it for a minute or two. Lift out of the syrup (using another slotted spoon) and put on a plate to drain.

Syrup: Heat sugar and water over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Raise heat and boil hard for 8 minutes; syrup should be just thick enough to spin a thread. Remove from heat, allow to cool until lukewarm, flavour with rose essence (about 1.2 tsp of good quality essence is sufficient) and colour a bright orange with food colouring.

*Jelebis are coils of crisply fried batter with a rose-scented syrup inside the coils. How the syrup gets into the coils is a mystery unless you do some research on the subject.

[oceancadet]

Cham-Cham Bengali Dessert

These milky-white ovals, floating in a clear sweet sauce, are irresistible.

For the dumplings:

Fresh cheese
1 tsp. regular Cream of Wheat
10 to 12 unsalted raw pistachios, chopped
For the syrup:
1 cup sugar
4 cups water
Flavoring: dash of rosewater (optional)

Method

Make sure that the fresh cheese is well drained; too much moisture may cause the dumplings to crack as they cook. Place the well drained and well kneaded cheese on a board. Sprinkle Cream of Wheat evenly over the cheese and knead again to uniformly incorporate it. Let rest a few minutes.

Prepare the dumplings: Pinch off portions of the dough and roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Gently insert your little finger halfway into each ball, place 1 or 2 pistachio bits in the indentation, and reshape into a smooth ball that doesn't show any cracks on the outside. Flatten into an oval about 2 inches long and 3/4 inches thick. ( Use any remaining
pistachios for garnish.)

Make the syrup: Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a deep pan about 10 inches in diameter. Boil for 10 minutes, then lower the heat. Place each ball on a spoon and gently lower into the syrup. Simmer, covered, 1 hour. Transfer cham-chams and any remaining syrup to a large bowl. Let cool, then refrigerate for several hours or, for best results, up to 2 days. Sprinkle with rosewater and decorate with any remaining pistachios.
Makes about 20 cham-chams.