Panfusine

Kumquats definitely lucked out in the aesthetic beauty department when it comes to citrus fruits (although, Mayer lemons come in a close second). Tiny, golden,  olive sized, and a spectacular shade of vibrant orange that almost seems to radiate a glow from within.

 Its sad that 99% of New Years resolutions go bust on Jan 2nd. Thankfully this group resolution went on until the year end. Cannot say how thankful I am to Aparna Balasubramanian and her motivation & enthusiasm in guiding the lot of us through a dozen delicious yeasted confections. I admit, I missed out on one assignment - The crunchy salty pretzels (which no one in my family cares for)  while on vacation in India, but got a personal face to face exemption from Aparna herself! And so here is yeasted confection # 12: The Bee sting Cake, known as Bienenstich Kuchen in German. Couple of anecdotes behind this unusual name  -  The baker who came up with this recipe was shooing a bee away from the sticky almond topping when it retaliated and stung him.  another story - The inhabitants of a village drove away hostile invaders by flinging beehives at them and celebrated with this victory cake, which they christened Bienenstich Kuchen. But whatever the reason,...

I seem to be running out of excuses about avoiding eggs. Yes, I have a teensy fear of  eggs. I enjoy them as much as anybody else, in custards, cakes, cookies & ice cream, but the mere mention of trying to buy a box, and my brain goes into an overdrive to come up with bizzarre excuses to get away from that part of the grocery store. I've analyzed & hyper analyzed it & am perfectly aware that I sound like one of those afflicted  patients described in V.S Ramachandran's book 'Phantoms in the brain', perfectly capable of acknowledging that my quirk is 'eggcentric' to say the least, but balk at the thought of doing something to overcome it.

You know you're passionate about something like blogging when missing out on one post for  a week sends you into a spiral of guilt & blanked out grey matter. The confusion, nagging feeling of  the high that invariably kicks in once you click on the orange 'Publish' button.

Shortbread traditionally has always been a Scottish biscuit, the 'Short' is indicative of shortening or the fat used in making these delicious & calorie rich treats. Personally, I love making these since they do not involve the use of egg ( Don't get me wrong, I'm fascinated by these protein packed globes that pop out from a hen's rear end, but have this odd avoidance/ phobia about working with them.. It had something to do with a mildly traumatic incident involving my 8th birthday cake, a broken window... Someday If I write my biography, I'll tell the tale!) Food52 my favorite community blog, had this contest with coffee as the theme ingredient last week. & the  number of fabulous recipes that were sent in was simply amazing! The enthusiasm itself was worth creating a tribute dish for & the 4C shortbread was my contribution! The Inspiration came from 3 individuals and the dishes they had submitted for the contest.  Bevi , a food consultant fr...

Anyone familiar with the street food scene in India would invariably have come across a firm favorite: The 'ragda patty' This surprisingly nutritious street side snack consists of a pan fried potato patty drowned in 'ragda', a mildly seasoned curry made with dried peas, & liberally garnished with raw onion & cilantro. In the early days of panfusine & this blog, I had created a version of ragda substituting the patty with gnocchi. The dish was delicious, but my inexperience in writing about its potential as a star recipe may have pushed it towards oblivion. My interpretation of this dish consists of a rather large pan fried gnocchi stuffed with a ricotta cheese mixture. The ricotta itself is seasoned with mint, coriander & lemon zest. Its paired with a split pea puree, seasoned with ginger, scallions & garam masala. I've resorted to including store bought tamarind sauce for the sake of convenience. A basic version of the recipe can be ...

Oh boy, that recipe name almost qualifies as a tongue twister!, 'Sundals' are simple stir fries using lentils or beans as the key ingredient. Primarily of South Indian origin, they are a staple holy offering during the Hindu festival of Navratri. While the choice of lentils & beans may be numerous, the basic seasoning is almost always a 'tadka' (mustard, a dried arbol & dehusked split 'Urad' dal, sputtered in smoking hot oil) and a pinch of asafetida powder. Certainly NOT toasted Schezuan pepper ! The inspiration for this recipe comes from Merill Stubbs of Food52.com who suggested this recipe http://www6.food52.com/recipes/3098_shichimi_edamame created by chezsuzanne , a contributor on food52. Asafetida is a spice pretty much confined to Indian cuisine & it was pleasant to discover that it paired very well with schezuan pepper. The pepper itself lends a nutty aroma that complements the dish beautifully. Thanks Merill & Chez...