CHRISTMAS MEMORIES - DECCAN HERALD METRO LIFE 23RD DEC 2014

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES - DECCAN HERALD METRO LIFE 23rd Dec 2014 - KALKALS AND CHRISTMAS CAKE

DECCAN HERALD – METROLIFE - DOWN FOODPATH

23rd December 2014

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/449186/bring-batter.html

Bring on the batter   Bridget Kumar,Dec 23, 2014, DHNS:

I have always associated Christmas with the smells, sounds and sights of the season. It brings back the memories of my hometown — Kolar Gold Fields. 

The smell of the decorated pine Christmas tree in the sitting room, the enticing aroma of Christmas cakes being baked and the ‘kalkals’ and rose cookies being fried, the sight of all the Christmas decorations, buntings and the soothing sounds of Christmas carols — I have great memories of everything and all these are a part of the wonder of Christmas.

My mother would start the preparation of the traditional sweets and treats that are a part and parcel of Christmas a fortnight in advance. Kalkals, rose cookies, fruit cakes, coconut sweets, the Christmas pudding, bole cake, dodol, bebinca, marzipan, peanut fudge, cashewnut fudge and rice crispies were some of the goodies that were prepared in abundance by her. The delicious aroma of these goodies would drift through the house and neighbourhood. 

I am sharing the recipes of two of my favourite Christmas delights — kalkals and Christmas cake. 

 As kids, we would wait for the Christmas holidays to begin so that we could all help my mother in the preparation of sweets. We would all sit around the dining table and each of us would take a lump of dough and spread it on a fork to make as many kalkals as possible with it. These kalkals were like small shells and we would also cut out various other shapes like hearts, clubs and diamonds with the help of cutters. 

 It was fun competing with each other to see who made the most. As soon as we completed a good number my mother would start frying them till all were fried and a huge heap was kept in basins and trays on the table. Once cold, she would make the frosting by pouring hot sugar syrup on the kalkals. We had a lot of fun helping her and sometimes even our non-Christian friends would join the fun. Of course, a good portion of the fried kalkals would go into our mouths in the process!

The Christmas spirit would set in early thanks to the Christmas cake. The earlier it is prepared with your choice of liquor, the more delicious it turns out to be. Most Anglo-Indian families have their own recipe for Christmas cake, which is usually handed down through generations. Candied fruit, plums, currants, raisins and orange peels are dexterously cut and soaked in rum or brandy a few weeks in advance. Nuts are peeled and chopped and the whole family comes together to make the Christmas cakes. 

In our family, different tasks would be allotted to each person — while one whipped up the eggs, another creamed the butter and sugar. A person with strong arms would do the final mixing and stirring. After the cake batter was poured into the tins, the real fun would begin with everyone fighting to lick the leftover batter in the mixing bowl and on the spoons and spatulas! 

Recipe for Kalkals

  (Serves six)

Ingredients
n Refined flour - 1 kg
n Eggs (beaten well) - 6
n Milk or thick coconut milk - 2 cups
n Salt - 1 teaspoon 
n Sugar - 300 grams 
n Baking powder - 1 teaspoon 
n Oil for frying

Mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Add the coconut milk and eggs and knead to a soft dough. Keep aside for an hour. Form kalkals by taking small lumps of the dough and roll on the back of a fork or a wooden kalkal mould, to form a scroll. Alternately, roll out the dough and cut into fancy shapes with kalkal or cookie cutters. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry as many kalkals as possible at a time. Keep aside.

To frost the kalkals, melt one cup of sugar with half cup of water and when the sugar syrup crystallises, pour over the kalkals and mix well. Store in air-tight boxes when cold.

Christmas cake 
Ingredients
Refined flour or plain flour - 500 grams 
Dark brown sugar - 300 grams 
Unsalted butter - 500 grams 
Mixed dried fruits (black currants, raisins and sultanas chopped finely and soaked in rum or brandy before hand) - 500 grams 
Chopped orange / lemon peel - 100 grams 
Lemon or orange zest - 1 tablespoon
Salt - ¼ teaspoon 
Nutmeg powder 
- ½  teaspoon 
Cinnamon powder - ½ teaspoon 
Eggs (beaten) - 4 
Milk (optional) - 4 tablespoons 
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon 
Vanilla essence/extract - 1 teaspoon 
Black currant jam or orange marmalade - 2 tablespoons 
Black treacle syrup or date syrup  (optional) - 2 tablespoons 

Preparation
Heat the oven to 150°C. Remove the chopped fruit from the rum, drain and keep aside. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and salt together. 

Dust the orange/lemon peel and the chopped soaked fruit with a little flour. Cream the butter and sugar well. Add the beaten eggs, treacle/date syrup, vanilla essence, orange/lemon zest and mix well. 

Now add the black currant Jam/marmalade, orange/lemon peel and chopped fruit. Slowly, add the flour and mix gently till all the ingredients are combined well. If the mixture is too thick, add a little milk. 

Pour into a greased and papered baking tin and bake in a slow oven for about one hour or more. Check if cooked by inserting a tooth pick. If the tooth pick comes out clean, your cake is ready. 

Remove from the oven when done and set aside to cool. When the cake is completely cool, poke all over with tooth pick and drizzle brandy or rum.  Repeat once in every week or ten days if you are preparing in advance. Wrap in foil paper. This cake will last for months if stored in an air-tight container.  

COCONUT SWEET / COCONUT CANDY

COCONUT SWEET / COCONUT CANDY - Recipe from my book THE ANGLO-INDIAN FESTIVE HAMPER 

Coconut Sweet / Coconut Candy / Coconut Fudge / Coconut Barfi - call it whatever name you want. A simple and easy recipe for a timeless Anglo-Indian Delicacy. Bursting with the goodness of fresh grated (scraped ) coconut, sugar and milk and a hint of vanilla essence. This baby pink sweet will rekindle nostalgic childhood memories of helping to stir the sweet while its being prepared to greasing the big plate the molten pink lava would be poured on to and finally to scraping and licking the residues left in the dekshi!!! 

Makes 30 pieces    Preparation time 1 hour

Ingredients

2 cups grated coconut                           

3 cups sugar                                         

½  cup milk

½ cup condensed milk                           

1 teaspoon ghee or unsalted butter

½ teaspoon vanilla essence or extract                

½ teaspoon food colour either pink or green

Melt the sugar with the milk and condensed milk in a thick bottomed vessel. Add the grated coconut and mix well. Cook till the coconut is soft. Add the vanilla, essence, food colour and ghee / butter and mix well. Simmer on low heat till the mixture becomes thick and leaves the sides of the vessel. Pour on to a greased plate and cut into squares.

FISH MINCE FRY (FISH PUTTU)

FISH MINCE FRY (FISH PUTTU)

Serves 6 Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 kg shark fish without the skin and bones cut into pieces or any other fleshy fish such as Seer, King Fish etc

3 onions minced well

2 green chilies minced

2-teaspoons chillie powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste

4 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

Wash the fish pieces well then boil in a little water with a pinch of turmeric and a little salt till soft. 

Drain the water, and crumble into mince when slightly cold.  

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions till golden brown. Add the garlic ginger paste, green chillies, chillie powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder and fry for a few minutes till the oil separates. 

Now add the boiled fish mince and mix well. Add salt to taste. Cook on low heat turning all the time till it turns a nice brown colour.  

Serve with White Steamed Rice and Pepper Water or as a side dish with bread or any other Indian Bread