Bolo Rei - King’s Cake

Merry Christmas to all...

Bolo Rei (King’s Cake) is a traditional Portuguese cake that is eaten around Christmas, that’s 25th December to 6th January. There won’t be any Christmas without Bolo Rei on the table. Each family in Portugal either buys or makes it at home during the season. 

This recipe made it’s way to Portugal from France during the 19th century when Confeitaria Nacional opened it’s official bakery in 1829. The Confeitaria was the first to introduce this recipe. 

Although it is called a cake,  Bolo Rei is more like a sweet bread.  Traditionally there is a large fava bean and a coin placed inside the Bolo Rei. And the one who gets the bean has to make the cake  for the following year and the one who gets the coin, is the lucky one. 

Normally you can add 50 ml of Port wine into the dry fruits and keep it for overnight but I haven’t add the port wine into my recipe. The dough is kept overnight for rising, but I kept it for 2 hours. 

Here is my version of the recipe - 

Ingredients

500 grams All Purpose Flour 

125 ml Lukewarm Milk

65 grams Caster Sugar 

1 sachet / 11 grams Dry Yeast 

2 Eggs

1 Egg white

100 grams Butter

2 tbsp Candied Apricot chopped 

2 tbsp Candied Cherry chopped 

2 tbsp Raisins chopped 

2 tbsp Black Raisins chopped

1/2 cup Dried Fruits chopped

2 tbsp Walnuts chopped 

2 tbsp Almond chopped 

2 tbsp Cashews chopped 

1 Egg yolk to brush 

2 tbsp Powder Sugar for sprinkle 

For Garnishing 

Ingredients 

1 tbsp Almond chopped 

1 tbsp Walnut chopped 

1 tbsp Dried Fruits

1 tbsp Candied Apricot sliced 

1 tbsp Candied Cherries whole 

Some Lemon Candied peels sliced 

Method 

Take 1/2 the quantity of the lukewarm milk, add 1 tbsp of caster sugar, stir the milk, then add the yeast.  Stir it once again and let it rise. Meanwhile mix all the dried fruits, candied fruits and nuts together and keep it aside. 

Take flour, sugar, butter, eggs, remaining milk and yeast in a mixing bowl and knead it into a dough for 5 to 7 minutes. I have used a kneading machine, but you can also knead it by hand. Cover and keep it aside to rise. Now add the dried fruits and nuts. Knead the dough again. Divide the dough into 2 portions. Take a portion of the dough, roll it into a thick rope and round it into a wreath on a baking sheet.  Cover and keep it for 30 minutes. Then brush the dough with the egg.

Garnish the cake with candied peels, nuts and dried fruits. Bake it in an pre heated oven for 25 minutes at 180 degree celsius. Remove it from the oven and let it cool a bit. Sprinkle with some powdered Sugar.

Ram Rochak Tarkari

It’s a delicious Oriya vegetarian dish popular in the Baripada region of Odisha. This dish is made during Ratha Yatra. This a very simple dish. Mung dal dumplings are cooked with vegetables like brinjal and potatoes.  This dish can be served with rice.

This recipe is adapted from Sweta Biswal's blog Oriya Rasoi....

For the Dal Dumplings / Bara

Ingredients

1/2 cup Yellow Split Lentils(Mung Dal) soaked for 1 to 2 hours

1/4 cup Whole Green Gram (Whole Green Mung Dal) soaked for 4 to 5 hours

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

2 Red Dry Chillies

A pinch of Asafetida

Salt to taste

Oil for fry the dumplings

Method

Add the cumin seeds, dry red chillies, asafetida, salt, yellow mung dal and green whole mung dal in a grinder. Add very little water as the batter should be thick. Grind the dal into a batter. Take oil in a wok and let it heat up. Add a tsp of the batter in the oil. Repeat the process for 3 to 4 times. Fry it till golden brown in colour. Remove it from the oil and keep it aside.

For the Masala Paste

Ingredients

2 to 3 small pieces of Ginger

2 Dry Red Chillies

1 small Green Chilli

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

3/4 tsp Coriander seeds

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

Method

Add the ginger, red chillies, green chilli, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and turmeric powder in the grinder and grind the ingredients. Add 2 to 3 tbsp water and grind it again into a paste.

For the Curry

Ingredients

Mung Dal Dumplings

1 cup Brinjal cut into medium cubes

2 medium size Potatoes cut into medium size cubes

1 Green Chilli slit

1 Green Cardamom

1 small piece Cinnamon

2 Cloves

Salt to taste

Masala paste

2 tbsp Oil

1/2 tsp Ghee

Method

Reduce the oil in which the dumplings had been fried to 2 tbsp. Add the cumin seeds, clove, cardamom, cinnamon and green chilli. Let it crackle. Add the masala paste. Sauté it till the oil leaves the masala. Add the potatoes. Stir and cook for a minute. Add the brinjal. Stir and cook for another minute. Add 1 1/2 cups of water. Stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Open the lid, add salt to taste. Stir, cover and continue to cook until the potatoes are 80 percent done. Open the lid, check if the potatoes are almost done. Add the dumplings and continue to cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. Drizzle ghee and switch of the flame. Serve it with hot steaming rice. 

Dumur er Dalna

Dumur means ‘Fig’ in English. It is commonly found all over the world. Ripe and dried fig (Anjeer)is eaten and known to all of us, but the raw / tender fig which is cooked into delicious curry or sabji is not known to many. 

This is not only delicious but is healthy too.

As kid when ever I travelled to Kolkata, I have eaten this many a times in my Aunty’s house, but staying in Mumbai, though there are many fig trees, the raw tender fig or kochi Dumur is not available at all. Since I have not been to Kolkata for many years, I couldn’t source it out. A big thanks to my neighbor who got this for me from Kolkata. I was craving for it.

These ones are very small in size so, I had to cut into 2 halves and scoop the seeds out. The little bigger ones can be cut from the sides and the center seeds can be directly discarded. As the cutting and cleaning process is a bit tedious, this recipe is now not made very often in the urban kitchen. 

There are many recipes made with dumur. I still remember as a kid Dumurer Jhol was given when I was sick. This is an vegetarian recipe without onion and garlic. You can serve this dish with roti or rice. 

Ingredients

250 grams Dumur or Fig

2 medium size Potato cut into small cubes

1 Tomato puréed

1 tbsp Ginger and Cumin paste ( 1 small Ginger piece and 1 tsp Cumin seeds)

2 Green Chillies slit

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

2 Bay Leaves

Salt to taste

1 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder

2 tbsp Oil

1/2 tsp Ghee

Method

Cut the fig into 2 halves and with the edge of the knife scoop out the seeds. Put the cut pieces into the water. Now take some water in the vessel. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and salt. Add the fig pieces into the water and boil it till tender. Don’t over cook. Drain the water and keep it aside.

Heat up the oil in the same vessel. Add the cumin seeds and bay leaves. Let it crackle. Add the ginger and cumin paste. Sauté it on low flame for a minute. Add the tomato purée. Stir and cook for a minute. Add the sugar, turmeric powder and salt. Stir and let it simmer for a minute till the oil separates from the paste. Add the potatoes, stir and cook for a minute. Now cover and cook for another 2 minutes on low flame. Open the lid and stir, add the green chillies and stir again. Now add the boiled dumur. Stir and cook for a minute. Now cover and cook for another 2 minutes on low flame. Opened the lid, stir and add a cup of water and stir again. Cover and let it simmer on medium low flame till the the water has reduced and the potatoes are cooked. Open the lid and check if the potatoes are cooked. Sprinkle garam masala powder and drizzle some ghee on top. Switch off the flame. Serve Dumur er Dalna with roti or rice.

Instant Fresh Turmeric and Ginger Pickle....

Turmeric is a root that can be found in the market through out the year, but the fresh ones are seen in winter. It is easy to grow in a container or a pot. It has many medicinal properties like anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and it’s antibacterial. It’s used for internal health related issues as well as applying on cuts and bruises.

In India we grind the dried turmeric roots into powder and use it in our daily cooking. We also add turmeric into a glass of milk and drink it. My father when he was alive, always wanted a piece of fresh turmeric with his meal... 

Recently my friend Rachana had had got fresh turmeric and ginger pickle with the paratha and I just fell in love with it... I got inspired to make this delicious pickle. 

Here is my version of the pickle...

To make the Spice powder

Ingredients

15 Guntur Chillies

1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

1 tbsp Coriander seeds

Method

Add the red chillies, coriander seeds and fennel seeds in a grinder. Grind the ingredients into a fine powder. 

To make the Pickle

Ingredients

250 grams Fresh Turmeric peeled and grated

200 grams Mango Ginger peeled and grated

100 grams Ginger peeled and grated

Spice Powder

Salt to taste

Juice of 3 Limes 

2 tbsp Split Mustard seeds

1 tsp Split Fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp Asafetida

100 ml Sesame Oil

Method

Roast the split fenugreek seeds and split mustard seeds on a low flame for few seconds. Remove them from the flame and let it cool. Mix the split mustard and fenugreek with the spice powder.

Take the oil and heat it up. Once the oil is hot, lower the temperature of the flame. Add the mustard seeds and let it crackle. Add the asafetida and ginger. Stir and cook for a minute. Now add the grated mango ginger and fresh turmeric. Stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the spice powder and salt. Stir it together for a minute. Add the lime juice. Stir it well for few seconds. Switch off the flame. Cool the pickle and store it in a dry container. This pickle can stay for 6 months in the fridge. Enjoy the pickle with paratha or curd rice. 

Phulkopir Singara

Singara in Bengal is different from Samosa which is made in other parts of India because of the stuffing and the spice powder that is used. Phulkopir singara is best to make during winters as cauliflower is easily available in the market.  

To make the singara crispy, the  moyen / amount of ghee or oil has to be proper and mixed well with the flour.  Instead of cashews you can also fried peanuts and add it to the stuffing. 

While frying the singara the temperature of the oil has to be low to get uniform golden colour and crispness. Serve the singara with tetuler / tamarind chutney. 

For the Stuffing 

Ingredients

1 large size Potato cut into medium size cubes 

1 cup Cauliflower cut into small  florets 

1/2 cup Green Peas 

2 Green Chillies chopped 

1 tsp Ginger minced 

1 tbsp Raisins 

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 

2 Bay Leaves 

1 tbsp broken Cashew nuts

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tsp Sugar 

Salt to taste

2 1/2 tsp Bhaja masala (Dry roast 1 tsp Cumin, 1 1/2 tsp Coriander seeds and 1 Dry red chilli. Cool it and grind it into fine powder)

1tbsp Ghee

Method 

Take 2 cups of water in a pot. Add potatoe, cauliflower, peas and salt. Boil it till the vegetables are cooked. Drain the vegetables and keep it aside. Heat Ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds and bay leaves. Let the Cumin seed crackle. Add the cashews, stir an sauté till the cashews are brown in colour. Add the green chillies and ginger. Stir for a minute. Add the vegetables, raisins, salt, sugar and turmeric
powder. Stir and cook for a minute. Add the bhaja masala. Stir and mash some of the vegetables. Switch of the flame and transfer it into a bowl. 

For the Dough and Singara

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Soda bicarbonate

1 1/2 tbsp Ghee

Stuffing 

Oil to fry 

Method 

Add salt and soda bicarbonate into the flour. Mix it. Add 1 tbsp ghee. Mix the flour well using your finger tips. Add little water at a time and knead the flour into a hard dough. Add 1/2 tsp ghee and knead it well. Keep the dough in a bowl, cover and let it rest for 15 minutes. Take a lime size ball. Roll the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball on the rolling board. Apply little ghee on the dough and roll the dough into a round disc. Cut the disc into halves. Take one part of the cut disc. Fold the straight edges to make a cone. Fill 3/4th of the cone with the stuffing. Seal the opposite ends of the opening by pressing with your finger. Repeat the same process till you make all the singara. Take oil in a wok. Heat the oil on a low heat. Add the singara and fry on a low heat till it is uniformly golden brown from all sides. Remove it on a paper towel. Serve it hot with tetuler / tamarind chutney.