Goiabada

Goiabada
Goiabada is a popular dessert throughout the Portuguese-speaking countries of the world, dating back to the colonial days in Brazil, where guavas were used as a substitute for the quinces used to make marmelada (quince cheese). An abundance of sugar and slave labour were crucial for its confection, in large cauldrons cooking over a slow fire. It is a conserve made of guava and sugar. It is still commonly made at home for family use or by home industry outlets (traditional recipes) or as processed food. It is known as guava paste or guava cheese throughout the English-speaking Americas, especially the Caribbean and pasta de guayaba or guayabate in Spanish-speaking Americas. It is commercially available, most often packaged in flat, metal cans. It is called Perad in Goa, an old Portuguese colony. In Brazil, goiabada is usually eaten with Minas cheese. This combination is referred to as "Romeo and Juliet." It is particularly popular spread on toast at breakfast, or served hot with cheese inside an empada pastry, as a kind of miniature pie. In Portugal, it is used as the filling of the popular bolo de rosas (rose cake) in which a layer of pastry is covered with goiabada, then rolled and cut into pieces that resemble roses. This same cake is called rocambole in Brazil, and also uses a layer of pastry covered with goiabada, then rolled and served, as a Swiss roll. Another popular dessert is the bolo de rolo. The many different kinds of goiabada depend on the type of guava, and with slightly different textures and flavors. In Brazil, the most widely accepted to be the best (for "Romeo and Juliet") is called goiabada cascão (with fragments of guava in the paste)
Information source Net....

Goiabada is made from ripe Guavas, peeled and cut into pieces; blended onto smooth pulp, strained and cooked with sugar; adding some of the peels into the pulp back. Set for 4 hours and then eaten.

This is my version; I made it from remaining pulp while making Guava jelly... and followed the same process.

The actual recipe of Goiabada

Ingredients
12 ripe Guavas
3 cups Sugar
1 1/2 cups Water

Method

Wash and peel the guava fruits, reserving the peels.Cut the guavas into pieces place in a blender at medium speed until it reaches a smooth and even consistency.
Pass it through a sieve and set aside. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook over high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring and let it boil for 3-4 minutes.
Add the puree and a quarter of the reserved peel. Stir until the mixture thickens and you can see the bottom of the pan when stirring. Remove from the heat.
Add the guava paste to a serving dish and let cool in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
Once cooled, unmold from the serving dish and slice into pieces to serve.

My version of Goiabada
Ingredients
15 ripe red Guavas
3 cups Sugar
1 1/2 cups Water
1 tbsp Lime juice
Pinch of Salt

Method
Cut the guavas into pieces. Take a pot, add the guavas and water just above the level of the guavas. Boil the guavas till it is cooked. Cool the guavas and blend it in a blender into a smooth pulp. Strain the pulp and throw away the remaining left on the strainer.. it will be the seeds of the guavas. Strain it again. Take the pulp left in the strainer and keep it in a pot. Keep staining 2 times more, add little water at the time of straining, the liquid will collect in a vessel and collect the pulp remaining in the strainer in a pot. The liquid which is collected will be used to make guava jelly and the pulp will be used to make Goiabada. Take a pot; add sugar. Boil the sugar till it dissolves. Add the pulp to the boiled sugar syrup. Cook the pulp on a low flame stirring occasionally. Add salt and lime juice when half done. Stir until the mixture thickens and you can see the bottom of the pan when stirring. Remove from the heat. Stir until the mixture thickens and you can see the bottom of the pan when stirring.  Add the guava paste to a serving dish and let cool in the refrigerator till it sets. Once cooled, unmold from the serving dish and slice into pieces to serve.

Strawberry Cashew Mawa Barfi

Strawberry Cashew Mawa Barfi 

This is my Chef's Special Choice winning recipe for the Sugar free contest 

Ingredients
250 grams Mawa
250 grams Cottage cheese  (Paneer )
1/2 cup Cashewnut powder
1/2 Sugar free powder
1/2 Strawberry pulp
Few drops of Strawberry essence
Few Pistachio chopped for garnishing
Method
Take a plate and make crumbs of Mawa and paneer. Take a heavy bottom pan, add the mawa and paneer and stirring it continuously cook it for 10 minutes till the liquid in it dry up a bit. Divide the mixture in to two parts. Take one part in a pan, add the cashewnut powder and 1/4 cup Sugarfree in it. Stir and cook for 5 to 10 minutes more till the mixture forms almost like a dough. Take it out and spread the mixture on a greased plate. Take the next mixture in a pan, add the strawberry pulp, 1/4 cup Sugarfree powder and few drops of Strawberry essence. Stir and cook till the mixture forms almost like a dough. Take it out and spread the mixture on the cashewnut barfi. Let it cool. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Cut and serve it in
pieces.

Veg Thin Curst Whole Wheat Pizza

Veg Thin Curst Whole Wheat Pizza
With Corn, Capsicum, Onion, Tomato, Black Olives, Pickled Red Chillies and Cottage Cheese

Pizza Dough
Ingredients
500 grams Whole Wheat Flour
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Dry Yeast
1 tbsp Sugar
1/4 cup Lukewarm Water
2 tbsp Olive oil

Method
Take a mixing bowl. Mix Flour and Salt. Take Lukewarm water. Add sugar and yeast. Let it rise. Add the yeast water and extra water little at a time to make a dough. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Add 1 tbsp oil and stretch the dough while kneading. Apply oil on the dough and let it rise double in size. Punch the dough and make 2 equal portion of the dough. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

For A Quick Garliky Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
6 Ripe Tomatoes cut in to big cubes and seeds removed
1 Garlic pod minced
1 Onion minced
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Chilli Flakes
1/2 tsp Dry Orageno
1 cup Tomato purée
1 tbsp Olive oil

Method
Take tomato purée, tomatoes, salt and sugar. Coarsely grind the tomatoes into purée. Take a pan. Add the oil, Add the garlic minced and the onion minced, saute it for 3 minutes, add the tomato puree,let it simmer on low flame till the sauce reduces a bit and becomes thick and all the ingredients has incorporated well. Add the dry Orageno. Mix it. Switch of the flame and keep it aside.

For the Pizza Filling
Ingredients
Pizza dough
2 Onion finely sliced
3 Tomatoes finely sliced
1/2 of each Green, Yellow and Red Capsicum finely sliced
1/2 cup Boiled Corns
1/2 cup grated Cottage cheese
Pizza Sauce
2 tbsp Black Olives chopped
2 tbsp Picked Red chilli chopped
2 Cup or more grated Mozzarella and Cheddar. Equal portion of Mozzarella, Cheddar to be taken.

Method
Grease the baking tray. Take one portion of the dough and with the help of the fingers, start spreading the dough on the baking tray. Cover the baking tray with the dough, the dough should be 1/4 inch or less in thickness. With a help of a fork prick few time on the dough. Add and spread the pizza sauce on the dough. Then add the grated  cheese. Then add the vegetables, cottage cheese, olives and pickled chilli one by one. Add the cheese again and bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes till the cheese has melted and the pizza bread has cooked in an preheated oven. Serve hot with chilli flakes and dry oregano (Optional)

Shokhno Alur dom (Dry Alur Dom Bengali style)

Shokhno Alur dom (Dry Alur Dom Bengali style)
Ingredients
1/2 kg Small size whole Potatoes boiled and peeled
1 big size Tomato paste
1/2 tsp Ginger paste
1/4 tsp Chilli paste
1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 Bay leaf
Salt to taste
1/2 Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Sugar
2 tbsp Mustard Oil
1/4 tsp Ghee for garnishing
1 tsp Bhaja masala ( coriander seeds, pepper, cumin seeds, red chillies - all roasted and powdered)

Method
Take oil in a pan and heat it well. Add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Add potatoes and stir it well for 2 minutes. Now add  chilli paste, ginger paste and tomatoes and saute it. Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, salt and sugar. Mix and stir well on a slow flame for some time.. Add 1/4 cup water and cover the pan for 2 minutes and stir the potatoes well till the potatoes mixes well with the gravy. Sprinkle ghee and bhaja masala on top. Serve hot.

Dhonepatar Patar Chutney / Coriander Chutney

Dhonepatar Patar Chutney / Coriander Chutney
This Coriander Chutney has a different preparation... Normally the ingredients are ground raw and the chutney is ready. I remember one of the cook at my Aunt's place use to make this in Kolkatta. She use to called it Dhonepatar Bhorta and it was had with hot rice. This chutney is cooked with mustard oil and has a sweetly, tangy, spicy taste and can be preserved for 3 to 4 months. This chutney can be used to have on bread or can be used for cooking with fish or chicken.
Ingredients
1 big bunch Coriander Leaves cleaned and chopped with stems
10 Green chillies or More as per taste
1 big Lime Juice
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Sugar
1 cup Mustard oil

Method
Take all the ingredients in a grinder except oil, grind the ingredients into a paste. Take a pan, add 1/2 cup mustard oil, heat it. Add the coriander paste, on a low flame cook the coriander paste, for 10 minutes. Add 1/4 cup mustard oil in between. Cook the coriander paste till all the water has almost dried up, add the remaining oil. Keep cooking till no water remains in the paste and the oil starts to leave from the paste. Switch of the flame and cool it. Store it in a dry bottle and refrigerate it. Use when require. It stay well for 4 months. Always use a dry spoon while taking the chutney out.