Jamaican Coconut Toto

Hello there... We are already a week into the new year, but better late than never... so let me first wish all of you a very happy 2012!

Though I would like to blog more than I normally do, I have been very irregular at blogging. So naturally among many of my new year resolutions I have decided not to ignore my poor little blog, and I hope I live up to this resolution.

I read and watch a lot of food related stuff, and keep bookmarking the recipes I think I would definitely try. Now I honestly think that my bookmark is kinda of a mess. Let's see if that changes soon.

One such recipe is 'Jamaican Coconut Toto' which I have been wanting to try for over a year. My cousin had tried this recipe and had sent me a link. Finally I made it! Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand, so when DH was out with friends the entire evening yesterday, I spent the time cooking and baking.

Jamaican Coconut Toto

(from this Sanjeev Kapoor Recipe)

I made a few changes to the original recipe -

• Used sweetened coconut flakes instead of fresh coconut.
• Used 3/4 cup of sugar instead of 1 cup, since I used sweetened coconut.
  
• Used coconut extract instead of vanilla extract.
• Used cardamom instead of cinnamon (since I absolutely detest cinnamon flavor in sweets).
  

To make coconut toto, I used -

• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp coconut extract
  
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  

1. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and beat until the mixture becomes light.

2. Add coconut extract.

3. Sift together - APF, baking powder, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder, and add it to the batter; mix well.

4. Fold in coconut flakes.

5. Lastly, add condensed milk and mix until well incorporated.

6. Transfer the mixture into a greased loaf tin and top off it with some coconut.

7. Bake at 325F for 50-60 minutes (I have had an experience with baking coconut in the past. The last time I tried baking a cake with coconut, it started browing too quickly at the suggested temperature and looked over browned by the time it was done. So this time I reduced the oven temperature, and let it cook longer).

8. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Cut into slices and serve.

The outcome is a delicious, nutty cake. However, I would like to mention a couple of things here. My cake was moist from inside, but I felt that the edges were a bit chewy. I don't know whether to attribute it to my modifications to the recipe (using coconut flakes instead of freshly grated coconut, which could have caused lack of moisture or baking at lower temperature for a longer time), or the use of condensed milk. I have never used condensed milk in baking, so I am really not sure if it makes your baked goodies slightly chewy. But, in spite of this the browned edges were the yummiest part of the toto!

Chutney for Idlis, and B&W Wednesday

I love South Indian food since childhood. I grew up eating a lot of idli-dosa-uttappams as Mom would often make them for Sunday breakfasts. I am still big on these dishes and you will often find them on our weekend brunch menu.

Back in the late 90s, when I was still in college, I worked at a firm of Chartered Accountants. I had an awesome time working there as almost everyone who worked there was still in college (most of them pursuing their CA certification), and it was just like any other college group. There were a few south Indian ladies working there who would bring me and my friend G some delicious southern dishes for our love for the cuisine. Once they got us dosas with chutney that I had never eaten before. I loved it so much that I asked them for the recipe. I still make it sometimes to go with idlis.

Coconut Chutney with Peanuts & Onion

To make this chutney you would need -
3/4 C shredded coconut
1. 5 tbsp raw peanuts
1 small onion (roughly chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp tamarind (soaked for 5-10 mins)
5-6 dried red chillies (soaked for 5-10 mins)
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

For tempering-
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafetida
1 tsp urad dal
3-4 curry leaves
2 dried red chillies

1. Grind together coconut, tamarind, peanuts, garlic, onion and red chillies. Add salt and sugar.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil and add mustard seeds, asafetida, urad dal, curry leaves, and red chillies to it.

3. Pour this tempering over chutney and mix well.

Serve with idlis, dosas or uttappams.

***
Idlis in the Making!

A few days back, I came across a blog event by Susan of 'The Well Seasoned Cook'. She's hosting 'Black and White Wednesday'. It's a culinary photo event where people can send any food related photos that are clicked in B&W. I went through the first two roundups and was amazed to see how good those B&W pics looked. I was actually tempted to click a few B&W shots.

(Click on the image for larger view)

I clicked the photo above on Saturday when I was making Idlis for brunch. I was waiting for first batch to come out and quickly took a shot with my cellphone camera. It turned out pretty good.

Sweet Coconut Rice

I am back to blogging after two long months. I was studying the entire summer and am so glad that it is over. So no more studying for me now. The laziness really took over me for a couple weeks after the exam. My poor brain was so tired that I needed to relax for a while.

Over the past couple weeks I haven't been cooking anything much besides regular meals. I have spent those weeks watching movies and tv, going out shopping/window shopping, knitting and sleeping. Now I feel fresh and am all set to try those bookmarked recipes.

Two days back it was Narali Pournima and I thought I should make coconut rice at least this year. Narali Pournima is a Maharashtrian festival. A dish called 'Naralibhaat', which means coconut rice is a special preparation on this day. I remember celebrating even the tiniest festival as a kid. My grandmother used to make all those special dishes associated with each festival. Thinking of those days really makes me nostalgic. My granny made an awesome coconut rice. It's literally been ages since the last time I had it.

If you have a sweet tooth like I do, you would definitely love this rice. Another reason I like it is the combination of coconut and jaggery. I totally enjoy all those foods that have the coconut-jaggery combo. This rice is made by adding a mixture of coconut and jaggery to cooked rice.

Sweet Coconut Rice

To make this rice, you would need the following -
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups water
1.5 cups jaggery
1.5 cups shredded coconut, fresh or frozen (I used fresh)
A pinch of saffron threads soaked in a tablespoon of warm milk
1.5 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
5-6 pieces of cloves
1/4 cup mix of cashews and raisins (optional)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1. Before you start, wash the rice two to three times and keep it aside for about 30 minutes.

2. Cook the rice as you would normally do (1cup rice + 2cups water) and pour saffron milk over it. Now gently mix it with a fork. An alternative to making this rice is to saute washed rice on ghee and then cook it.

3. In a pan add about 1-2 tsp of ghee, jaggery and coconut. Let it simmer until coconut and jaggery are mixed well. Make sure that there are no lumps of jaggery. Once cooked, the mixture will look like this -


4. In another pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee and add cloves to it. Add cooked rice and saute for about a minute.

5. Now pour the mixture of jaggery and coconut over rice and gently mix everything together. Add nuts before mixing. Let it cook for another minute or so.

6. Add cardamom powder if you like. Serve hot or at room temperature.

I made this rice in a jiffy and forgot adding nuts to it. That is why you don't see any nuts peeking through the rice.

Rich and Creamy Naaral Wadi (Coconut fudge)

Back in India, there is a huge coconut tree in our garden. My grandparents planted this tree in the early 60s and it is still standing strong. It always had a massive yield and still does today. We probably never had to buy coconuts. My grandmother had a sweet tooth... a real big one :) and she always made naaral wadi. It is such a delicious sweet. Naaral wadi or coconut fudge is made by boiling a mixture of coconut, sugar and milk. The mixture is then poured on to a cookie sheet and squares are cut once it cools down.

Ingredients:
(makes about 15-20 squares of 2"x2")
1 cup shredded coconut (frozen or fresh)
1 cup half and half/ whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
A few strands of saffron (optional)


To make naaral wadi, mix coconut, milk and sugar. You need to stir the mixture almost constantly until it cooks. As the mixture heats up, milk will start boiling. If you want to add saffron add it once the milk starts to boil. Saffron gives it a nice flavor and color. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thicker. As the milk starts to condense, the mixture becomes creamier. Just a heads up: As the milk starts to boil and mixture starts to thicken, it will start splattering vigorously.

Now turn the heat off , let the mixture cool down a little, and add powdered sugar and cardamom powder, and mix well. This will thicken the mix further. Grease the cookie sheet or place a plastic wrap on the sheet and pour the mixture. Roll it out or press it with your fingers to a desired uniform thickness and then cut into squares.

Matar Usal (Green Peas Curry)

Matar usal is another dish made with green peas that I totally love. It is a Maharashtrian style curry... A quick and easy to make dish mostly served with bread. Freshly ground masala of coconut, green chillies, ginger, garlic and cilantro gives it a nice taste. I totally follow my mom's recipe without even a slightest moidification as I simply love her dish. When I made it the first time I was so not happy. I was trying to find the taste of her dish but it did not taste the same. Now after making it so many times I am really happy the way it turns out.
Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
2 cups green peas
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups water (or as needed)
1 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 tbsp tempering
For masala:
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
3/4 green chillies (more or less depending on taste)
Handful of cilantro


Before you start grind all the ingredients of masala to a fine paste and set aside. To make the curry start by making tempering. Add to it chopped onions and saute until tender. Add green peas, freshly ground masala, salt, sugar, water and mix well. Let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. This curry should be liquid enough so that you can dunk the bread in and enjoy the flavors. Squeeze in some fresh lemon/lime juice right before you serve it. Serve hot with the bread of your choice.