Apple - Beetroot Jam

Hola - It’s the happiest season of the year… as Christmas is just around the corner and the true magic of Christmas is  Love, Joy, Togetherness, Kindness and Care…..

Apple plays a significant role during festivals … as is considered to be an image of paradise that symbolises Joy and apples being winter fruit has made its way into so many winter holiday traditions. 

During Christmas,  stockings use to  be filled with apples and oranges, over the time now the stockings are filled with different goodies, but still today the toe of the stocking is filled with an apple or an orange. Apples are given as gifts in Eastern European culture, men have traditionally given girls a decorated apple as a romantic gesture during Yuletide (Christmas time). In China many young people have developed a tradition of giving gift wrapped apple on Christmas Eve as they say in Chinese language the word for Christmas Eve and Apple almost sounds the same meaning Peaceful / Safe night. 

Apples and Honey is a traditional dish served by Ashkenazi Jews on Rosh Hashanah - The Jewish new year. A blessing is said in Hebrew for Sweet New Year. The apple is dipped in honey and eaten. Apples have been a part of the Christmas decoration too. 

- Net source 

So let’s make Apple- Beetroot Jam this Christmas- 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 kg Apples boiled 

1 Big Beetroot boiled and grated 

Juice of 2 Oranges or juice of 1 big Lemon 

1 tbsp grated Ginger 

1 tsp Salt

750 grams of Sugar 

2 Star Anise 

1 stick of Cinnamon 

Method 

Take the boiled apples, remove the peel,  the core and seeds of the apple, blend the apple and strain the pulp through a wire mesh strainer. Take a heavy bottom pot, add the apple pulp, orange juice or lemon juice, a bottle of water, star anise, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir and let the pulp simmer on medium to low flame, stir occasionally. Gradually remove the jam foam that gathers on the top of the liquid. Once done add the beetroot. Continue to simmer the until the liquid has thickened. To test if the jam is ready, place a small spoonful onto a cold plate. Wait for 2 minutes or keep the plate back in the fridge for few minutes, the jam will hold its shape, incase the jam is still runny then continue to cook. Once done cool the 

Jam, while still warm, keep the jam in a clean sterilised glass bottles. This portion makes 6 bottles of jam. This jam is good to pair with bread butter, bacon and ham. The jam stay good for a year when refrigerated. 

Panch meshali Sabji r Chechki

 

Now this time of the season the market is flooded with winter vegetables - it’s fresh,  vibrant and adds special flavour to the dish … and we tend to buy varieties of vegetables… and then finishing them is a task specially when we have less members in the family. 

Here is a Bengali recipe that is very easy to make, with many varieties of vegetables and this absolutely pairs up with paratha, luchi, ruti for breakfast, snacks or dinner. 

Panch meshali means medley of vegetables.. and chechki means vegetables cut in small strips and stirred fried in mustard oil, tempered with nigella seeds and seasoned with just salt, turmeric powder and little sugar (optional) and I have used little ghee and coriander leaves for garnishing 

We make Alu Kumro r chechki, alur chechki, phulkopi alur chechki, badakopir alur chechki that goes will for breakfast… 

Here in this recipe I used cauliflower/ Phool kopi, Kumro / pumpkin, Carrot/ gajar and  French beans and Potatoes… 

Ingredients 

1 big bowl of vegetables -  Carrot, Potato and Pumpkin cut into small strips, small cauliflower florets and French beans cut into half.. 

2 to 4 Green Chillies slit 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

1/2 tsp Nigella seeds 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp Sugar (optional) 

1/2 tsp Ghee (optional) 

1 tbsp Mustard oil 

Method 

Take a wok, add mustard oil, once the oil heats up, reduce the flame and add nigella seeds, once the seeds crackle, add all the vegetables and green chillies, salt and turmeric powder, stir and cook on low flame, sprinkle little water once in a way, cover continue cooking until the vegetables are almost tender, add sugar and continue to cook without the lid until the vegetables are cooked completely, drizzle ghee and sprinkle coriander leaves. Serve the dish with luchi, porotha or ruti.