Apple Pie

On a day when I had lot of time on hand, I set myself up for a herculean task - making a Pie from scratch. An Apple Pie is an American favorite and makes an appearance on special occasions everywhere in US. The crust of the Pie baked perfectly, the stuffing was delicious and it was certainly a dessert suited for the kings. I am incredibly proud of this giant stuffed-to-seams pastry! :)

I used Granny Smith Apples, the light green hued apples are apt for Pie cooking, have a good crunch and bite, and can withstand higher temperatures of baking without losing their shape and form. I played around with the stuffing and added powdered Oats for a crumbly texture. A slice of Pie and a scoop of Vanilla ice-cream is a delicious marriage. I put good 2-3 hours aside from my schedule when I was preparing the Pie. This Pie is a cool way to enjoy cooked fruits with pastry and is a relished labor of love!

~ Apple Pie ~
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes + 10 minutes
Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking with few changes
Yield: 9" Pie

Ingredients:

Basic Pie Crust -
All Purpose Flour - 2 and 1/2 cups
White Sugar (powdered) - 2 tablespoon
Butter (unsalted) - 1 cup, chilled and cut into tiny cubes
Salt - 1 tsp
Ice water - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Apple Filling -
Apples (Granny Smith variety - Peeled, cored and sliced) - 4
Oats (Old fashioned Oats, coarsely ground) - 1/2 cup
White Sugar (powdered) - 1/4 cup
Light Brown Sugar (powdered) - 1/4 cup
Golden Rum - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon (ground) - 1 tsp
Nutmeg - 1/5 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Cornstarch - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Butter (unsalted) - 1 tbsp

Contraption:
Pastry Blender
Pie Dish - 9" wide

Method:
Pie Crust - In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. With the help of pastry blender, cut the cold butter into tiny chunks and blend in the dough. Slowly, add ice water part by part and bring the dough together. Do not overwork the dough, just mix in to form a ball, wrap in a plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Apple Filling - Mix the apples, lime juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, rum and sugar and leave aside for 30-45 minutes. Strain the juice oozing out and boil it on low to medium flame with unsalted butter till it reduces to 1/3 of the original proportion. The resultant syrup will be sticky, caramelized and concentrated. Mix the drained apples with cornstarch. Add the cooked syrup and ground Oats now and give a gentle toss. Stuffing is now ready.

Baking the Apple Pie - Preheat the oven at 425 degrees F. Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 2 equal portions. Roll out 1 portion to fit into a 9" pie dish. Add the stuffing into the pie dish and roll out the second portion and cover the Pie. Crimp the edges to seal the pastry, make four 2" slits from the center of the Pie (as shown in the picture) and refrigerate for about 5 minutes. Bake at 425 degrees F, cover the edges of the Pie with foil to prevent burning. Bake till the toothpick runs out smoothly from the slit after 55-60 minutes and the juices bubble away through the slits. Transfer to a cooling rack and leave undisturbed for 4-5 hours. Serve with a scoop of Vanilla ice-cream warm or cold. Finish within 3-4 days and refrigerate after day 1 of baking.

Mando (Mande/ Chavde/ Mandige)

As a child in India, our second semester exams followed Ganesh Chaturthi vacations. We got school holidays for a week to celebrate the festival. I hated this, simply because this was the only time of the year I could play with my community friends and burst an array of unlimited crackers. We badly wanted to help Mom in the kitchen (trick to dig in some sweets) and she in turned pushed us back to our books. Unlike other households where a girl child had extra pressure to learn culinary skills in kitchen, my Mom would always pester us to study and get good grades and excel in exams and co-curricular studies.

Mom dedicated 3-4 days before Ganesh Chaturthi festivities exclusively for sweets and snacks preparation. The good thing is all ladies from neighbourhood helped out each other and together we all would have finished a hundred's of Chakli, kilo's of Chivda, hundred's of Karanaji/ Nevri, 2-3 large platters of Besan Laddo's and more. Some of the sweets were prepared at home just because they needed a deft hand and craft which requires good practice. One such sweet which is dear to my heart is Chavde/ Mande/ Mandige. By the time, she would finish making the sweets, some of them would have already disappeared from the platter. Incidentally, this was one of the sweets served during my wedding along with Gava Pitta Undo/ Wheat Flour Laddo. This seeking inspiration from the traditional marriages from olden days where every person attending the wedding would leave with a bag of sweets - Undo/ Mando and the rest of the heavenly and tasty ghee laden sweets.

Incidentally, they are known as Chavde in Marathi, Mando/Mande in GSB Konkani and Mandige in Kannada. The crispy disc needs a a very deft hand while cooking because if the disc gets over fried, you will get a crispy disc which cannot be maneuvered, if you fry less then the disc is not pliable at all. Timing is crucial and once done, I dare you to eat just one! They are uber delicious and super tasty. This time around when I visited India, my Pachi got me a pack of Mando which she made at home. I liked that they were tiny as compared to the conventional size of regular Mando and were super delicious. This festive season I wanted to make these at home and recreate the childhood memories of super fun festive season.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all those who celebrate!

~ Ghaas Mando ~
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 15 Sweets

Ingredients:
Flour Disc - Mando -
All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup
Salt
Milk (optional) - 1/2 cup approx.
Ghee or any vegetable shortening - 2-3 tbsp
Vegetable oil - for frying

Sugar Mixture -
Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup
Flattened Rice or Pohe (Thick Pohe) - 5 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Method:
First knead a smooth pliable dough with flour, ghee and salt. You could also use milk for kneading the dough which results in a well flavoured texture. Spread the dough with little oil all over and set aside. Cover with a damp kitchen cloth to prevent drying of dough.
Roast 5 tbsp of Pohe on a low flame on its own, just lightly roast and allow to cool. Grind it to a coarse powder along with Sugar and Cardamom seeds. Mix the sugar mixture well and set aside.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan and let the oil reach a high smoking point. Begin rolling out Puri sized discs of the kneaded flour. Do not dredge them in flour as they are already coated with oil. The discs have to be 3-4" in diameter. Fry them in batches of 5-6 at a time. Keep in mind, the discs should not be crisp like a Papad, so once its pliable enough, transfer to a plate, dab kitchen towel to absorb extra oil. Sprinkle sugar mixture and fold over 2 times (the same way you would fold over Neer Dosa). Spread them on a platter and not over top of each other. The heat causes sugar to turn viscous owing to which they may stick to each other which is something you should avoid. Allow to cool, they turn crispy and gain firmness. Munch over before they disappear!

Verdict: I was apprehensive initially when I decided to make these for 'neivedyam'. With little confidence I followed my Mom's instructions and kept in mind the texture which was etched in my mind when I had eaten these last. The discs were melt-in-mouth delicious and were so tiny that we almost forgot how much we ate! :)

Note - Do not fry the discs to a golden brown; once they wilt in oil and are puffed up, transfer and begin the sugaring process. Make sure you sugar atleast 3 times to ensure all the layers and folds of the discs get the sugar-cardamom flavour. Do not compromise on adding the shortening, because that's what offers holds the dough together and adds crispness and texture to the sweet.

Simple Butter Cookies (Naan Katai/ Narayan Katar)

The first cookie I ever had in my life - Naan Katai or Narayan Katar. The name sounds funny and used to tickle the funny bone in me as a kid. Simple, delicious melt-in-mouth cookie with irresistible flavour and simplicity personified! These are made during Christmas and are also known as Snowballs.

I have quoted the exact proportion so that its easier for anyone to follow this recipe. This is a recipe demanding lot of ghee so don't get petrified with the amount of ghee being added. This recipe takes me back to childhood days. My mom made these when we were tiny tots. Those days cool, sleek Ovens cosily adoring one corner of your kitchen were unheard of, forget about owning one; she slogged in the kitchen for hours, made a huge mammoth batch and carried them all in a large aluminum tin to the local bakers. The whole bakery would have the redolent aroma of clarified butter (ghee) wafting all around. I still remember rushing to the baker with a sense of glee and excitement just to collect our cute looking cookies. Fast forward, decades later, I find myself baking these goodies on a crisp, cosy autumn evening in my humble kitchen in US. There is a brimming sense of nostalgia and I happily reminisce the joys of an exuberant childhood that was full of memories, mommy's love and good food. I only wish my Mom and Dad could sample my cookies and I could be with them to celebrate the festivities. I certainly miss home today and vow to enjoy the festivities with my family and friends out here.

Happy Diwali To Everyone!!

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour - Maida - 1 and 1/2 cup

Melted Clarified Butter (Ghee) - 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Powdered Sugar - 3/4 cup

Cardamom powder (optional) - 1/2 teaspoon

Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon

For Garnish - Almonds, Pistachio, Tutti-frutti bits.

Method:

Melt the ghee and allow to cool. Mix the sugar with ghee. Sieve the flour along with baking powder. Mix well and slowly add the flour-baking powder mix spoon by spoon. This will form a dough which is malleable. The dough is not stiff but not loose either. Add ghee spoon by spoon to form a ball. Leave in a cool place for 3-6 hours. Make cookies which are 2" in diameter. Flatten them and spread them on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet. Plonk a tutti-fruitti, almond or pistachio bits. Pre-heat the oven for 10 minutes. Bake them at 350 F for 15 minutes. Bake till the crust is done and light cracks are formed. Transfer to a cooling rack and store in air tight containers. They remain good and fresh for a week and little beyond.

Note - Do not tamper with cookies once baking is done. Transfer to a cooling rack in a cool place, let them cool down and the cookies come together to form a perfect tasting one. Do not compromise on Ghee, as its the chief binding agent for the flour and other ingredients. Use good quality Ghee for best results.