The Hindu festival Diwali celebrates the return of Rama, a king and avatar of Vishnu, from an epic journey called the Ramayana. It is the celebration of good over evil.
Today, Diwali is the biggest religious holiday in India. By my parents’ description, it sounds like a combination of Christmas, the 4th of July and New Years. Houses are lit up with oil lamps and presents are exchanged. Fireworks are ignited in all of the neighborhoods. Children eat at several family friends’ houses in one day. Unfortunately, I’ve never been in India at the right time and there are no travel plans in sight. But at least I learned how to make one of the best things served during the Diwali celebrations.
Sheera is semolina/farina/cream of wheat toasted in butter, saturated with milk and sugar, and gilded with cardamom and golden raisins. It is traditionally eaten along with savory meals, not afterward. I am weak and usually make a meal of it alone.
My mom told me to take a picture of the semolina so you know how it should look when it’s done toasting. Make sure it’s toasted before you add the other stuff! If you leave it raw it’ll taste raw.
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup rava (farina/cream of wheat)
- 1 1/3 cup of water + milk (50% each)
- 6 cardamom peeled & pounded to powder
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 2/3 cup sugar
Heat the water and milk concoction on low flame until lukewarm. Use a pot at least twice the volume of the liquid, and watch so that it doesn’t boil over. In another large pot melt butter, add rava and toast it on low heat stirring almost constantly till golden brown. Add the liquid in 4 stages, stirring at each stage. Cover and let dry on low fire. If looks dry break it up, add a little more milk, and stir. Add sugar, cardamon and stir well. Cover and cook on low fire for 2 mins to dry the sheera slightly. Garnish with raisins.
Posted in Dessert, Indian
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This is how Thanksgiving happens at my house:
- Around 6 or 7 am – mom and dad wake up and start cooking
- 9 am – the kids wake up to the sound of a lot of banging pots and pans, and are tempted out of their warm beds by the smell of cooking food
- 9:15 am – kids wander into the kitchen in hopes that they will be able to sneak a little food
- 9:16 am – kids are told to “get out of the kitchen or else”
- 9:17 am – kids walk off in a huff, but settle down in front of the tv to watch the delightfully annoying Macy’s Christmas Parade
- 9:18 am – mom and dad tell the kids to get off our butts and help out
- 9:20 am – 10:00 am – kids attempt to help out in the kitchen (peeling potatoes, cutting carrots, etc.) until mom and/or dad realize the kitchen is way too small to have 5 people trying to work at once
- 10:00 am – kids get a reprieve and are told to “go to homework or something”
- 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – kids “do homework or something”
- 12:00 pm – kids are bored and try to sneak some food.
- 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm – kids torment each other, while mom and dad continue to work in the kitchen
- 2:00 pm – kids get yelled at for tormenting each other and are told to set the table
- 2:00 pm – 2:02 pm – everyone oohs and aahs over the food
- 2:02 pm – 2:30 pm – silence. everyone is stuffing their face.
- 2:30 pm – onset of food coma…mom, dad and kids swear they can’t eat another bit…but then the pie comes out.
Despite all the food we shove in our face, there’s still always room for pie. My mom used to always argue that you only have room for dessert if you didn’t eat enough of the “healthy” food…Evolution, however, would disagree with this belief. Turns out our bodies are actually designed to eat sweets no matter how full we already are. Given the high energy content of carbohydrate rich food (for example, pie), and the relatively low availability of these kinds of foods during “cave man” times, our brains developed so we will always be hungry for at least one slice of pie. So don’t worry. Next time your mother tells you to stop trying to save room for dessert, tell her it’s not your fault! Tell her to blame evolution, and then reach for a slice of sweet potato pecan pie.
What you need:
Dough:
- 3 tbs unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbs sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ whole egg, beaten until frothy the rest is for the filling)
- 2 tbs cold milk
- 1 cup all purpose flour
Sweet Potato Filling:
- 2-3 sweet potatoes (enough to yield 1 cup), baked
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbs sugar
- ½ egg (from above)
- 1 tbs heavy cream
- 1 tbs unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
Pecan Glaze:
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup dark corn syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ tsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- pinch cinnamon
- ¾ cup pecan pieces
What you need to do:
Dough:
- Combine the sugar, salt and butter in a large mixing bowl, and beat on high until creamy.
- Add the egg and beat for 30 seconds.
- Add milk and heat on high for 2 minutes.
- Add flour and beat on medium for 5 seconds, and then high until blended (about 5 seconds).
- Remove the dough and shape it into a patty about ½ inch thick.
- Dust the patty in flour, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (you can leave it overnight if you want to prepare the dough before hand).
- Once the dough is chilled, roll the dough out to 1/8 to ¼ inch thick.
- Place the dough in a greased and floured 8’’ cake pan.
- Trim the excess dough and refrigerate for 15 minutes (I used the extra dough to make a small apple pie…there’s no such thing as too many pies!).
Sweet Potato Filling:
- Combing all ingredients and beat at medium for about 2-3 minutes until smooth (be sure not to overbeat the mixture).
- Set Aside
Pecan Glaze:
- Combine all ingredients except the pecans.
- Mix thoroughly at a slow speed until opaque (takes about 1 minute).
- Stir in the pecans and set aside.
Putting it all together…
- Spoon the filling into the dough-lined pan (pile it up a little higher on the sides so the extra glaze doesn’t run off the pan).
- Pour the pecan glaze on top.
- Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 ¾ hours.
- Cool before serving.
- Enjoy!
Note: An update on Club Isabella can be found here.
Click on the navigation arrows below to see my attempted photosynth of the CWRU School of Medicine Campus at the corner of Cornell and Circle Drive. Club Isabella is just across the bridge.
A lot has changed since I moved to Cleveland in 2005: I was facebook abstinent; I owned a Discman; downtown Cleveland at sunset resembled the city of Charn. Six years later I check facebook more often than I check the weather, I’m shopping for iPhones, and and a number of new restaurants have opened all over the city. The latest, only a two-minute walk from the med school, is Club Isabella.
Chef Fabio Mota grew up in Cleveland with three brothers. Every single one knew how to scramble his own eggs at a young age thanks to their mother, who is herself an experienced cook. He went to St. Ignatius for high school and eventually returned for college at John Carroll University. He remembers cooking for his roommates every night; he knew that his true calling lay in what he could prepare for dinner.
Mota left Cleveland to study at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris’s premier culinary school. He was drawn to the French style of preparation and presentation: “It’s all about manageable portions and a clean presentation that makes people really appreciate the food they’re eating,” says Mota. Although he considered staying in Paris to continue his career, in the end Mota returned to Cleveland to bring his talents home. He worked for Johnny’s Group for 7 years, as well as for the old Club Isabella on the other end of Cornell Road. When development of the UH Cancer Center necessitated the close of Club Isabella in 2007, Mota decided to develop his very successful catering business. He acknowledges that a catering outfit is much easier and more consistent source of profit than a restaurant. However, Mota is ready to have a physical presence in Cleveland.
Club Isabella is scheduled to open in early 2011. The theme is eclectic gourmet with a French flare, including a full tartare menu. Says Mota, “the biggest obstacle to mount when opening a unique restaurant in Cleveland is working with the Midwestern palette.” Knowing this, Mota plans to put a twist on some old favorites. As an example, a section of the menu will be dedicated to sliders featuring some surprising ingredients.
Most of the menu is still a delicious mystery. But with the opening only a few months away, Ari and I are excited to make Club Isabella a new favorite for the last 2.5(+?) years we’re in Cleveland. Stay tuned for more updates closer to the big day!
As much as I love the excitement that surrounds the winter holiday season, I think there’s something to be said for remembering to take advantage of the simple things in life, especially with regards to what we eat. We will ultimately spend many nights over the next month and a half stuffing our faces with delicious, comatose-ing foods. While I do enjoy those nights, I find myself craving “simple” food following these binge sessions. So in honor of the glutton I’m bound to become when I head home for the Thanksgiving break, I’m gonna take today’s post as an opportunity to present you all with a simple to prepare, yet delicious to eat, dish. Just as an FYI, this dish is technically meant to be eaten as an appetizer, but I’m not going to stop anyone from eating a bowl of this by themselves!
What you need:
- 1 8oz can of diced tomatoes
- 5-6 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 loaf of sliced and toasted bread (enter – jimmy john’s day old bread)
- Grated parmesan (optional)
What you need to do:
- Combine the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and salt in a bowl
- Stir
- Spoon mixture onto toast
- Stuff face
