Soni's Food

Indian Inspiration!

Ricotta Cardamom Fudge #Diwali

10 | 11 | 2015
By Soni Sinha

Our biggest festival Diwali (festival of lights) is just a day away and I’m excited!Its the time when you decorate your home with Diyas (earthern lamps)and candles.I love selecting the diyas from our local Indian stores and they come in various shapes and colors.Diwali is the festival of lights and as such homes are lit up inside and out with colorful lights.Colorful rangoli patterns adorn the entrance of homes for good luck.It’s all such a pretty sight.Coincidentally schools are also closed tomorrow and I’m so happy that my kids get to celebrate Diwali and help me out with things.Our kitchen is going to be busy and I’m looking forward to some festive cooking!

Ricotta Cardamom Fudge

Festivals are also the perfect excuse to indulge in those sinfully delicious foods both sweet and savory and enjoy them to your heart’s content.I try and recreate recipes from Mom’s repertoire like this one and the one I have for you today. It’s an easy fudge (burfi in Hindi) made with Ricotta (Mom uses paneer) and flavored with Green Cardamom and Saffron. If you’re familiar with Indian desserts you’ll notice that green cardamom is used extensively and I personally love the flavor.Just use it sparingly since a little bit goes a long way.

Ricotta Cardamom Fudge (Ricotta Burfi)

It comes together in minutes and tastes phenomenal.The Ricotta is cooked in a pan along with some condensed milk, cardamom and saffron until all the moisture evaporates and then cooled off to set.Once set just cut it into desired shape and you’re good to go.You can store it in the fridge and it stays good for upto a week.The fudge is rich and creamy and flavors from the saffron and cardamom comes through.Its reminiscent of the treats back home from the sweet shops and is perfectly sweet just the way I like it.Enjoy!

“Wishing you all a very happy Diwali”

Ricotta Cardamom Fudge

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tub Ricotta Cheese- 425 gms
  • 1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk- 14 oz
  • 2 Green Cardamom crushed
  • Few Saffron strands
  • Sliced almonds for garnish
  • Ghee or unsalted butter-2 tbsp

Instructions
 

  • In a pot heat the ghee/butter.
  • Add the ricotta and condensed milk.
  • Mix well and keep stirring on low heat for about 15 minutes.
  • Add the saffron strands and cardamom.
  • Mix and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until all moisture evaporates.
  • Line a dish with parchment paper long enough to let the ends stick out.Pour the mixture onto the parchment paper and let it cool for a bit.
  • Lift the edges of the parchment paper and empty it upside down on to a tray.
  • Cut into desired shape.
  • Garnish with sliced almonds and some crushed cardamom.
  • Enjoy.

 

 

Beet Hummus

03 | 11 | 2015
By Soni Sinha

There’s something magical about the holidays.It just brings about a renewed energy and enthusiasm to plan your perfect gathering.But it can also be quite stressful if you’re not used to cooking for a crowd.The key to reducing your stress is to plan things in advance.Write down the menu, prepare the grocery list accordingly, and prep up as much as possible a day in advance.I personally believe that a wide spread of appetizers are the key to a party.They get the guests started and give you the opportunity to serve flavors from around the world in small bites.But you don’t have to go overboard with complicated dishes, instead go with simple yet tantalizing flavors in your dishes.

Our calendars are marked with parties almost every weekend leading up to Thanksgiving and keeping that in mind, I’ve been working on a few recipes that I’ll be sharing with you over the course of the next few weeks and hoping you’ll try them and enjoy.

Beet Hummus 2

 

My first recipe is an easy Beet Hummus that tastes amazing and looks absolutely stunning with a vibrant pink color. This dip is a great addition to your party menu, that’s bound to get your guests raving.I first tasted Beet Hummus in a Moroccan restaurant and immediately fell in love with its gorgeous color. The flavors from the beet give the hummus a slight hint of sweetness which when combined with the garlic,lemon and the chickpeas just rounds up the perfect balance of sweet, salty and tangy. I didn’t have any tahini on hand, hence went ahead without it and it was still delicious.

The process starts with roasting the beet in the oven and then adding the rest of the ingredients in your food processor.It can be made a day in advance and is best served chilled with any chips of your choice or crudites.It lasts for up to a week in the fridge.My kids loved it for their school snack too!Enjoy.

Beet Hummus

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • Beet-1 medium
  • 1 15 oz can of chickpeas drained
  • Juice of a medium sized lemon
  • Garlic cloves-2
  • Salt and pepper
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil-1/4 cup

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Wash the beet and wrap it in a foil and bake it for an hour.Once done let to cool a bit.
  • Once cool to touch, chop into small pieces and add into the food processor along with the rest of the ingredients and blend.
  • Check the seasonings and adjust.
  • Enjoy.

Uncommon Goods Product Review and Giveaway!

19 | 10 | 2015
By Soni Sinha

We’re already half way through October!

Is it just me or this year has really flown by!Didn’t our kids just start school after a long summer hiatus and it’s already time to start planning for the holidays.And while I’m adept at food and menu ideas, the one thing I always struggle with are the gifts.And that can be quite a tedious task especially when you have to take into account everyone’s tastes.I find myself frantically looking for gift items at the last-minute and they seem all too mundane.My agony was addressed about two weeks ago when I was approached by Uncommon Goods to partner with them for a product review!If you haven’t heard of them then now’s a good time to explore their website for ‘that’ one special gift for him from this collection or to surprise her with a gift that she would cherish from these unique items.SoapstoneUncommon Goods is a store that sells unique gifts, half of which are handcrafted and made right here in America.Almost one third of their items are made using recycled or upcycled materials.Navigating through their site is convenient since you can easily choose from different categories like their Christmas gifts collection over here .I was spoilt for choices and wanted everything right from this cute serve-ware, to fondue set or this neat little jewelry stand!

Soapstone Oven-to-table Platter

But given my love for entertaining, I eventually chose this beautiful Soapstone Oven-to-table Entertainment Platter and absolutely love it!Its just the perfect size for a crowd and keeps hot foods hot and cold foods cold!It can be used for baking and has a convenient wood caddy to transfer it on to the table.I used this to make my Pesto and Olive Flatbread Pizza and it came out just perfect.Soapstone is one of the most effective natural materials this planet produces for conducting and retaining temperature.For keeping foods cold just keep the soapstone in the freezer in advance.It can be heated or chilled to any desired temperature and keeps foods warm or cold for approx. 45 mins.It’s also dishwasher safe that makes for easy clean-up.An amazing product that I would highly recommend.

Soapstone Party Platter 1

For more info on this product and all other gift ideas visit Uncommon Goods over here.There’s something for everyone and with a huge variety to choose from, they’ve got you covered for all your gifts this season!

Now for the exciting part!Uncommon Goods has agreed to send a $25 gift certificate to one lucky winner here on Soni’s Food!To enter this giveaway all you have to do is answer this question..

What is your favorite gift item from Uncommon Goods?

Leave a comment and one lucky winner will be chosen using Random.org.This giveaway is open from 6am Monday Oct 19th until 12am Sunday Oct 25th.The winner will be announced on Monday Oct 26th.Good luck to you all!

Update: Congratulations Sandy Hill for winning my giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed.

Disclaimer-Uncommon Goods provided me with the product to review and all opinions are my own.

 

 

Olive Oil Cake

01 | 10 | 2015
By Soni Sinha

Life is all about enjoying simple pleasures.

Like this simple cake..

I started making this cake as I was craving for something sweet.But little did I expect that my kids would be raving and going for seconds since it’s a tad different from the cakes that they’re used to.This cake uses Olive Oil instead of butter and going by the response in our family it certainly looks like a new favorite!

Olive Oil Cake

Olive Oil Cake is a easy dessert that uses ingredients you have on hand..I first thought this cake would have a strong Olive oil flavor but it has just a slight hint of the Olive Oil along with the vanilla and tastes delicious.Its perfectly moist and fluffy.I’ve kept it simple although you can make different variations using lemon or orange.I followed this recipe except for the orange juice and zest since I didn’t have any at hand and it still turned out perfect!A little sprinkling of powdered sugar is all you need to dress it up.

Olive Oil Cake 1

Enjoy it as a light snack or dessert with your cuppa!As for me I’ve just made a bigger batch since my kids wanted it for their school snack too.Happy Mom 🙂

Olive Oil Cake

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Grease and flour a 9-inch square cake pan. Mix together the sugar and eggs in a medium bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed until blended and light.
  • Drizzle in the olive oil and vanilla and mix until light and smooth.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl.
  • Add the flour mixture half at a time to the wet ingredients and mix on low just to bring it together.
  • Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake, 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Let the cake cool 15 minutes, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

Cream Cheese and Peach Chutney Pastry Cups #SundaySupper

06 | 09 | 2015
By Soni Sinha

Labor Day weekend is here and its the last long weekend of the summer.So enjoy it to the full before you’re swamped with work,kids’ activities,school, homework etc etc.The idea is to not tire yourself,so try and go easy on those complicated recipes if you’re entertaining.And if you’re lost for ideas then fret not since our Sunday Supper has some amazing No Labor recipes lined up for you!

Cream Cheese and Peach Chutney Pastry Cups 2

My contribution is a delectable appetizer that’s also pretty versatile and you might want to make a bigger batch.My Cream Cheese and Peach Chutney Pastry Cups are full of some very unique flavors from the fennel, nigella, cumin, fenugreek and mustard seeds that come together in the form of Panch Phoran also called Indian Five Spice.You can assemble them yourself or find them at your local Indian grocers where they come pre-made.Easy.

Peach Chutney

The chutney is a staple family recipe that Mom has been making for years.I’ve added the cayenne for some kick.The sweet juicy peaches combined with the distinctive flavors from the seeds is the perfect balance of the sweet and salty and the redolence is unbelievable.Once it’s chilled its ready to be smeared on your toast,served alongside a good roasted pork or chicken, served as a dip with crackers or as a topping on a cheese crostini.The possibilities are endless.

Cream Cheese and Peach Chutney Pastry Cups 1

The pastry cups are a real blessing saving time and effort and give you the freedom to get creative.The combination of the cream cheese and chutney works together in this cute little appetizer bites that’s bound to get your guests raving!That’s what I call a No Labor Recipe!Enjoy.

Cream Cheese and Peach Chutney Pastry Cups

Cream Cheese and Peach Chutney Pastry Cups #SundaySupper

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • Frozen Puff Pastry Cups-1 pck
  • 1 8 oz pack of Cream Cheese at room temperature
  • Peach Chutney

Peach Chutney

  • 2 large ripe peaches peeled and diced
  • 1 tbsp of panch phoran Indian Five Spice-a mix of equal amounts of mustard,fenugreek,fennel,nigella and cumin seeds
  • 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • Cayenne-1/2 tsp
  • 2 tbsp oil

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the puff pastry cups according to instructions and let it cool on a wire rack.

Peach Chutney

  • In a pan heat oil and add the Indian five spice (panch phoran).
  • Add the peaches, brown sugar,salt and cayenne.
  • Let it all simmer on medium low heat until the peaches are tender.
  • Check the seasonings and adjust.
  • Store in the refrigerator to chill.

To Serve

  • When ready to serve drop a tsp or two of cream cheese in every cup and top with a good amount of chutney,Serve immediately.

See what our Sunday Supper tastemakers have come up with for our No Labor Recipes event:

Savory Snacks and Sides:

Labor Free Main Dishes:

Sweet Treats and Drinks:

Labor Free Labor Day:

Sunday Supper Movement

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtagand remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out ourPinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.