Napoleon Walnut Roll

Continue with the previous chapter - Mille Feuille, I made it into a Napoleon Roll by using a swiss roll sponge, custard, whipped cream, some chopped toasted walnut and the puff pastry. The texture was crisp from the inside and soft at the outside. The walnut had added a crunchy texture and the cream and custard had moisten up the entire roll.


Ingredients for the sponge: 4 eggs / 80g sugar / 67g plain flour

Method: Place the eggs and vanilla extract into a bowl. Gradually add in sugar and whisk until pale and thickened. Sift the flour into the bowl and fold together. Pour the sponge mixture into a baking tray with baking paper and bake for 10 minutes at 200'C preheated oven. Place the cooked sponge on a wire rack and place the sponge together with the wire rack into a plastic bag for cooling down. This is to keep the sponge moisture and much easier to roll up.

Ingredients for the fresh custard: 2 egg yolks / 133ml milk / 40g sugar / 13g flour / 1 tsp vanilla extract / 6g butter / 2 tsp Rum (optional)

Method: Mix the egg yolks with two teaspoon of milk in a bowl until well combined. Then, mix in the flour and make sure there is no lumps. Place the milk in a saucepan with vanilla extract and sugar, bring to the boil. Once the sugar dissolve in the milk, gradually pour onto the eggs mixture and stir then pour back into the pan. Return to the heat and using a whisk, lightly stir the mixture to thicken, do not boil. As the egg yolks warm, it will thicken to create custard. Keep stirring until it coats the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat and keep stirring and add in the butter. When the custard slightly warm add in rum. Pour the custard into a shallow bowl and cover with cling wrap. Place it into the fridge when it completely cool down and ready to use.

To assemble the roll:

1. Spread the whipped cream onto the swiss roll sponge evenly. Divide the puff pastry into 3 longish shape portions (second picture).
2. Stack a piece of the pastry on the sponge. Spread some custard on the pastry and sprinkle some toasted walnut (chopped).
3. Stack another piece of pastry and continue like the step 2 until the last piece of pastry.
4. Roll up the sponge with cling wrap and chilled in the fridge.
5. Cut the roll with a serrated knife into 8 thick portions.

Appalam Mendhya Kozambu - Light tamarind and fenugreek gravy made with papad or poppadams

APPALAM MENDHYA KOZAMBU-
a light tamarind and fenugreek seeds gravy with Papad or Poppadams
After an elaborate Obbattina Oota and the birthday feast, we all felt that we would not be able eat anything for a week! Mother came out with one of her unusual recipes – the Appalam Mendhya Kozambu. This is a very light tamarind gravy, without any dal ,vegetables, coconut or rich masalas. Having this light Kozambu with rice and dash of ghee, was a great relief after the heavy feast.
INGREDIENTS:
Tamarind - a small lemon sized ball
Salt – 2 tsps
Sambar powder – 3 tsps
Jaggery – 1 tsp
Plain papads or appalams – 2
Sesame oil – 4 tbsps
Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
Bengal gram dal – 2 tsps
Red chillies (broken)- 2
Curry leaves – a few
Rice flour – 1 tsp
METHOD:
1. Extract the tamarind juice and add water to make ½ a pint.
2. Add salt, jaggery and sambar powder.
3. Break the papads into bits (2" - 2.5") and keep aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add asafoetida and mustard seeds.
5. When it splutters add fenugreek seeds and then the Bengal gram dal.
6. Roast the seasoning to a golden colour and add the red chilly and the broken papad pieces.
7. When the papad gets fried add the curry leaves and the prepared tamarind juice mixture.
8. Let it boil till the raw smell subsides and a pleasant aroma arises.
9. Make a paste with rice flour and little water, and add it to the kuzambu for thickening.
Bring to a boil, and switch off the flame.

Enjoy the appalam mendhya kozambu with hot rice and of course with a dollop of ghee.

Rice Wade

Rice wade / rice pooris is in my to-do list for a long time. Somehow I was skeptical about the outcome. All I knew was pooris out of wheat flour and maida. And I have not heard of this before. Nevertheless, I was tempted to try it, when I saw the recipe in Sanjeev Kapoor's Dal-Roti book.

I was not disappointed with the end result. Only thing unlike regular pooris, this cannot be rolled with a rolling pin , but each one had to patted with the fingers.

Here is the recipe

Rice flour - 2 cups

fennel seeds (saunf) - 2 tblspn

fenugreek seeds(methi) - 1 tblspn

salt to taste
water - 1 1/2 cups

Oil for deep frying

Boil 1 and half cups of water with fennel and methi seeds for about five minutes. This is to extract their flavor.Strain and reheat the water. Stir in the salt and rice flour to water. Stir continuously till it comes together and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Transfer the dough to a bowl. If you want you can add some grated onion to the dough at this stage. I did not add. Grease you palm with oil and pinch off a lemon sized dough. Pat it to the shape of a poori , using your fingers. Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry till it is golden and cooked. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot.

It did not puff much for me. May be on next attempt ,I will improve. It is the first time I am tasting this. I liked it with the subtle flavor of saunf and methi. Its indeed a good alternative to our regular pooris. I served with simple moong dal tempered with the usual mustard, green chilly, grated ginger. Since I had prepared on an no-onion day, there is no onion in the side too.

Rice Wade goes to Think Spice Think Fenugreek event, guest hosted by Kittie

And also to Herb Mania - Fenugreek hosted at Redchillies

On a different note:

Have a look at the pookalam done by my parents at my sister's home in Gurgaon.