PISTACHIO & ROSEWATER CAKE

Ilove the colour and flavour of pistachios.Growing up,Jogy Chachan and Mini Aunty,along with Appu,Tichu & Tia would come over to stay with us for every single holiday. When they came from Goa,tinned salted pistachios with shells on were one of the goodies they brought along with Bebinca,Bournvita Biscuits,Shrewbury Biscuits, Chocolates etc. I liked those Pista's mostly for it's salted shells. As a child, I would sneak into the dining room and drink salt water and add extra salt to my rice,for every meal. I just loved it. Everyone knew this habit of mine and they still talk about it. But, that habit of mine died over the last few years. I don't salt even my rice anymore!

Getting hold of unsalted,shelled Pistachio's in Kannur was impossible until a few years ago.It could be because they are always highly priced.When I wanted to make the Chocolate Pistachio Fudge (which I make every year as a part of our Christmas hamper)a few years ago, I bought some during a familt trip to Mysore. I still remember the happiness of holding that small packet of green nuts. Gone are those days of excitement because everything is in available in plenty in the US.

When I saw the recipe for a Pistachio & Rosewater Cake in NY Times, I immediately bookmarked it to try it for the coming weekend,as we had planned to celebrate a dear friend's birthday at home. We,as a family, believe in having quality friends over quantity.We make their special days a day of celebration for us! Our friend's birthday coincided with Amma's birthday,so it was extra special for me. Let me warn you, this cake is dense,like how it should be and it's an adult cake unless your kids are good eaters! It's chock full of nuts and other goodness and contains very little flour. It is flavoured with rose water and orange and iced with a simple glaze icing.

PISTACHIO ROSEWATER CAKE
Makes one 8 inch cake

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup finely ground unsalted pistachios
1 cup finely ground blanched almonds
Juice and finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon rosewater
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Glaze Icing:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoon lime juice

Grated lime zest and chopped pistachios for decoration

Method: Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C and line the bottom of an 8 inch cake tin with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar till light and fluffy.Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the ground nuts and mix well. Add in the orange juice,zest and rose water and mix well. Fold in the flour,gently using a rubber spatula. Do not overmix.
Transfer the batter into a cake tin and bake until top is firm and golden brown,about 40 minutes. Cover the top loosely with a piece of foil and continue to bake till the cake is done,about 10 minutes.Allow the cake to cool in the tin for several minutes,then take it out and let it cool completely.

Icing: Mix together the ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the cooled cake. I garnished the top with grated lime zest and chopped pistachios. Let the icing set for a minimum of 1 hour ( which I didn't!) so that you can slice it beautifully.

*There are no leavening agents for this cake.

Like I said earlier, this is a very moist,fragrant,dense cake.You should really try it even if you like are into the fluffy cakes.Make sure you have the best quality ingredients. I source my rosewater and almonds from Kashmir, India. Jobin's sister sends it through his mom,when she visits us.A lot of rosewater lack flavour. Try to get the purest,if you can. It really make a big difference,just like a real vanilla extract.It adds character to your goodies.

These days, I am exploring new flavour combinations like this one and I must say, I am loving it! This cake was so good and our friends enjoyed it thoroughly. I had one too many glasses of wine that night,so cannot really remember if Ian took a bite of it! Our friend had brought in some Raspberry wine that his super talented friend makes,so you know,someone's got to taste it, right? ;-)

 

BAKLAVA

There was a time when I pretty much hated everything that had dry fruits or nuts in it. I would never eat a Cadbury Fruit & Nut and always wondered how people loved a Christmas fruit cake! Things didn't change much with regards to dry fruits until a few years ago when I first ate a Baklava. It was during my Masters when a friend of mine visited Dubai and brought some goodies for us. It was good. Things changed when I moved to Minneapolis post wedding. We found a good Mediterranean cafe in our little city which sold exceptionally good Baklava. Pistachio and Walnut. They were sold in tiny squares which made it even more special. Talk about portion control!

We are in Kannur right now. It's our second trip this year. So, the last time when we came here, which was in March, I made a batch of Baklava and brought it to Kannur, for Amma. She fell in love with it when she tasted it back in Minneapolis. I really wish Phyllo dough was easy to source here. I have read a couple of recipes online where they have used packaged Samosa sheets. I haven't tried it myself,so cannot really comment on how the outcome would be.

A long time back,I made an Apple Strudel for the Daring Bakers monthly challenge. That dough was super easy to put together and bakes up very well in the oven. I am guessing,maybe that could be used instead of phyllo. The Apple Strudel dough had to be rolled super duper thin,like a phyllo dough,so it might work. I took this recipe from this popular website,a site I rarely visit though. No regrets. It turned out to be really good. Making a Baklava can be intimidating to some, but, it really is simple if you follow the directions the first time you make it. Once you are happy with what you made, then, the next time onwards, you can adjust the recipe to your taste. Atleast, that's what I do. That way, I will know if it's my mistake or not if the dish doesn't turn out the way I expected it to be.

BAKLAVA
Makes about 2 -3 dozen

Ingredients:
One 16 ounce package phyllo dough,thawed
1 pound chopped walnuts
1 cup unsalted butter,melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey

Method:Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 X 13 inch baking tray with tall sides.
Syrup: Boil water and sugar until the sugar is melted. Add honey and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla. Let it cool,while you assemble the baklava.

Toss the chopped nuts with cinnamon. Trim the phyllo dough, if need be, to fit the baking tray.Cover the phyllo dough with a damp cloth,if you are slow at working with it,because it will dry out otherwise.Place two sheets of phyllo in the pan and brush with butter. Repeat till you have 8 layers of phyllo sheets.Top it with 3 tablespoons of nuts. Top the nut mixture with two sheets of phyllo,butter it and then layer it again with nuts. Repeat till you have 8 sheets left.
Butter every second sheet of phyllo,just like how you did in the beginning.Butter the topmost sheet too. Cut them into desired shapes all the way through, using a very sharp knife. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crisp.
Immediately,pour the cooled syrup slowly evenly over the Baklava and let the whole thing cool completely. Serve as needed. Do not cover the Baklava tightly. It will get soggy.

This was a total hit among my family. Also, I realised that it's one of the simplest complicated looking thing to make! Every bite was crisp on the top and it gets succulent as you go deep into the layers.It was simply delicious!

As you might have noticed, I've been very irregular here. Holidays are meant to be spent with family right? I try to stay away from all sorts of distractions but, I couldn't leave without wishing you all a Happy New Year! I sincerely hope you had a fabulous Christmas, just like how we did! So,see you all next year then!