Poha ( Flattened Rice Breakfast)

This delicious and nutritious dish is a breeze to make and one of my favourite go-to recipes when we want a wholesome breakfast.

Ingredients

2 cups poha (flattened rice)

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

5 to 6 curry leaves

2 green chilies (chopped fine)

1 medium onion (chopped fine)

1 medium potato (chopped fine)

A handful of unsalted peanuts (toasted)

A pinch of turmeric

1/2 a lime (juiced)

Salt to taste

Sugar to balance

A pinch of Hing

Garnish: chopped coriander

Directions

Place the poha in a sieve and rinse it through some running water twice and drain completely. Add the turmeric powder, salt and sugar and mix gently. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. When they start to pop, add the onions and hing. Saute until the onions turn transparent and then add the potato. Add a few drops of water and cover to let the potatoes cook. Once the potatoes are done, add the poha, peanuts and mix thoroughly. Turn off the heat, and garnish with fresh coriander and lime juice.

Fruit Salad Custard

Ingredients

500 ml Milk

3 tbsp Vanilla custard powder

4-5 tbsp Sugar as per taste

2 1/2 cups Mixed fruits of your Choice, Chopped

1/4 Cup cashew nuts/almonds, chopped

Handful Raisins (optional)

Method

Boil the milk along with the sugar, the add the custard powder slurry ( dissolve powder in 2 tblsp water), stirring continuously till it thickens. Cool and then Refrigerate till cold. When Serving mix in the chopped fruit and nuts. Use any seasonal fruits of your choice apples,grapes,bananas,mango, pomegranate etc taste and look good in a fruit custard. Its the jeweled hue of the fruit in the creamy custard that makes this fruit salad so attractive.

Dose Bhaji (Broken wheat pudding)

The name 'doce bhaji' literally means a combination of something sweet and something savoury. Put simply, it is a broken wheat pudding made using ingredients readily available in almost any Goan kitchen - wheat, coconut milk, sugar, clarified butter (ghee) and flavourings. This traditional tea time sweet dish is excellent for lactating mothers and children because of its strengthening properties. The uninitiated could easily mistake a plate of doce bhaji for a halwa or a sheera, but take a bite of it and the play of textures on your palette will definitely make you want to reach out for one more piece.

Ingredients

1 cup Broken Wheat

2 cups thick Coconut milk

1-1 1/2 cups thin coconut milk

2-3 tbsps Ghee

3/4 dark coconut jaggery

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp Cardamom powder

¼ cup chopped Cashewnuts/Almonds

¼ cup Raisins

Salt to taste

Method

Wash and soak the broken wheat in in water for 3-4 hours to reduce cooking time.Drain the broken wheat and add it to a heavy bottom utensil along with the thin coconut milk and salt cook on a medium flame, stirring constantly. Once the wheat is almost cooked, add the thick coconut milk,jaggery, sugar and continue cooking. Finally add the cardamom powder, nuts, raisins and ghee. Keep stirring till it absorbs all the moisture. Remove it from the flame and transfer it to individual serving dishes or a greased platter of your choice. When cooled and set you can cut it into squares to serve if you prefer. Make sure you refrigerate leftovers (if you have any, I didnt) as docebhaji spoils easily because of the coconut in the recipe.

 

Photo Credit: Lloyd Vas

Pineapple Sheera

Ingredients

1 cup semolina(rava)
2 cups milk

1/2-1 cup water (vary the amount based on how firm or soft you want the sheera to be)
1/4 cup pure ghee
1/3 -1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pineapple (can be substituted with mango, or skipped altogether)
8-10 chopped cashews

20 raisins
1/2 tsp clove powder/ elaichi powder

1 pinch kesar

Salt to taste

Method

Heat a heavy bottomed pan and roast the rava for about 5 minutes on low heat Add the ghee and fry some more. When rava turns to golden brown remove from pan and keep aside. Heat the milk,water,kesar,salt and add the roasted rava in a thin stream,stirring continuosly and then cover and cook on low flame , till milk is absorbed. Now add the sugar and pineapple and finally the nuts,raisins and clove/elaichi powder. Cook for another 3-4 minutes till done and and turn off the heat. This Goan sweet is delicious had with a steaming cup of tea.

Patholi and Hole'

This aromatic goan sweet dish is traditionally made by catholics on the feast St. John the baptist celebrated on 24^th June and on the feast of Assumption on 15^th August ( also India's Independance day). The turmeric leaves impart a unique aroma and flavour to patholi. A variation of patholi is made with jackfruit leaves and shaped like cones. Making this dish always brings back childhood memories of simpler times and healthier foods.

Ingredients

2 cup Rice, Soaked

Salt, to taste

2 cups fresh grated Coconut
3/4 cup coconut jaggery
20 Turmeric leaves for patholi or jackfruit leaves for Hole'

Soak the rice in water for 3 hours. Grind it to a thick paste along with the salt. Add very little water while doing this, the paste should be the cosistency of a wet dough. Keep aside Mix the fresh grated coconut and jaggery till the jaggery melts and forms a uniform mixture.

To assemble Patholis: Spread a thin layer of the rice paste on a tumeric leaf that has been washed and wiped. Spread two tea spoons of filling and fold the leaf lenghtwise. 

To Assemble Hole': Make a cone with the jackfruit leaves and secure it with a toothpick. Spread a thin layer of the rice paste inside the cone, add about two tea spoons of filling and close the cone with another thin layer of rice paste.

Steam patholis or Hole' in a steamer for around 20-30 mins till the white rice pastry is translucent.

                                                     Assembled Hole' ready for steaming

                                                 Fresh steamed  Hole' ready to be devoured

Most Goan families make the hole' from separate jack fruit leaves, my mother in law however, adds some extra flair to this sweet, that she learned from her mother. She  makes the hole' with the leaves attached to the branch as seen above, which makes for very beautiful presentation as well as gave them as kids added excitement of who would get the biggest bunch. Enjoy these traditional Goan sweet dishes, and don't forget to have fun making them like I did.


                                                              Steamed Patoleo

 Photo Credit: Lloyd Vas

Teias de Aranhas/Gons (Goan tender coconut candy shaped like Cobwebs/Spiderwebs)

Ingredients
1 tender coconut*
200 gms Sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Sheet of white butter paper

Method

Cut the sheet of white butter paper into 4" squares. Traditionally the paper is cut with pretty snowflake designs very similar to paper doilies. Lay out on the squares a flat surface, ideally not far from the cooking area.

Remove the kernel from the coconut neatly, avoiding the thin brown skin. Cut into thin, long strips. Keep a pan on the fire with the sugar and water, when the sugar is melted add the coconut strips. Cook on a slow fire, stirring with a wooden spoon all the time till it thickens and leaves the sides of the vessels.

Working quickly, spread a spoonful of the sweet onto the small sheets of paper with a fork. Leave till it hardens. Store in an airtight container. 

 *tender coconut should be a little firm and not at the 'malai' coconut stage

Alle Belle (Goan crepes with coconut and jaggery filling)

Ingredients

1 cup refined wheat flour(Maida)

2 eggs

     1 teaspoon castor sugar

20 gms ghee

½ to ¾ cup milk(as required)

Salt to taste

1 cup fresh coconut(grated)

1/2 cup black coconut jaggery(grated)

25 gm cashew nuts (broken)

Dash of Nutmeg powder

Oil for frying crepes

Method

For the filling heat the jaggery, fresh grated coconut, nutmeg powder and cashew nuts for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. To make the batter for the crepes, mix flour, salt, eggs, castor sugar, milk and melted ghee together to form a smooth pancake batter. Keep this batter aside. Brush a flat non-stick pan with oil and heat over moderate heat. Pour a small ladle of the batter into the pan and move the pan so that the batter spreads over the whole surface as thinly as possible to form a thin crepe. Cook until firm and remove from the pan.To assemble each alle belle place a spoonful of filling on one edge of the crepe and roll it tight. Serve warm with a hot cup of tea.

Batica (Batega)

Batica/Baath or  Batega is essentially a traditional Goan Christmas cake. This cake, made of semolina and the usual suspects gets an exotic flair with the addition of rose water and some aromatic cardamom.  Soaking the batter in a cool place allows the semolina to soften and absorb the flavours of rose and cardamom and ensures that the cake turns out moist, soft and crumbly. A slice of Batica with a hot cup of tea is the perfect evening indulgence.

Ingredients

250 gms semolina

1 ½ cups fresh coconut, ground

3 eggs

1 ½ cups Sugar

5 tblsp butter/ghee

1tsp salt

½ tblsp baking powder

1 tblsp Rose water

1/2 tblsp ground cardamom

¼ cup milk

Method

Beat the eggs, sugar and butter till fluffy. Add the semolina, coconut, cardamom, salt and rose water, mixing well. Set aside for 12 hours, or overnight in a cool place so that the semolina can soak and soften. Add the baking powder and the milk beat together and pour into a 7 by 7 inch lined pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees till done and the cake passes the skewer test. 

Marzipan

The Goan version of this delicious German sweet is made widely for Christmas and Easter; we of course substitute local cashew nuts for almonds. Marzipan is generally molded into seasonal shapes using silicon mold that will be available at your closest baking supplies retailer. You may also shape the dough into miniature fruits and paint them using food colour for some beautiful food art right out of your kitchen. This recipe makes a loaf of marzipan dough of approximately 500 gms.

Ingredients

250 gms finely ground cashew nut/almond meal

250 gms powdered sugar/confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp almond/rose extract+ 1/3 cup water

Method

Sieve the cashew nut/almond meal and sugar together. The finer the nut flour, the smoother the marzipan will be. In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, almond/rose extract, and water.
Then, start adding the liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients. Add one teaspoon at a time and then mix and check the consistency. Once combined it should look like a soft ball of dough. Do not over mix or the nut oils will be released which will make the marzipan oily. Wrap in Cling wrap and leave to rest for a while.  

You may colour this dough using edible food colour and mold it as per your choice. Store sealed well in an air tight container. The marzipan will stay in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Coconut Macaroons

This moist and chewy gluten free cookie is delish had with a cup of chai. Biting into one of these will transform you to warm and coco nutty Goa!

Ingredients

 3 egg whites whipped

 4 cups fresh shredded coconut

 ½ cup powdered sugar

 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence

 Dash of Salt to balance

 Melted Chocolate (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 C. In a large bowl beat the egg white, sugar, salt and vanilla until foamy and the sugar is mostly dissolved - at least 2 minutes. Fold in the coconut, making sure the coconut is evenly moistened. Form 1 inch compact mounds and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pan to ensure even baking. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets before enjoying. Drizzle the macaroons with some melted chocolate if desired. Cover leftover macaroons tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days or 3 days at room temperature. Have fun trying out this easy Goan recipe during this festive season.