Creating a blog was out of the question for a long time for me, as measuring everything in the kitchen was like biting into an eggshell. I enjoy cooking and don’t want to waste even a slightest bit of enjoyment in that small world of mine. But little did I know that everything will change, when my husband came home with the Oscar nominated film ‘Julie and Julia’( a real life story) where Julie Powell (part played by Amy Adams) challenged herself to make all the 524 recipes from Julia Child's cook book ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ and blogging all her experiences (The Julie/Julia Project). It was an inspiring movie. A few days later when we were discussing this casually with a friend of ours over tea…everything changed dramatically…..” How about you making at least half of it in one year? Not French but your own. 262 recipes that will inspire others and present it as a blog?” For a minute my mind traveled faster than light… With an experience as a helper in my mother in laws kitchen for 6 years followed by a three year everyday struggle to satisfy the palate of my foodie husband, if I cannot do it then why should I cook? But on the other side with an experience in English literature extending no more than expanding outline stories in English grammar class when I was 18 and two small kids that come in handy at times, will a commitment for the next one year work? Anyway my ‘cook's ego’ didn’t allow me to say no...

So my friends …here I am opening my recipe book, trying to perfect and present 262 recipes in the coming 365 days….A Challenge that will of course tastes good. Come.. Have a walk with me along my journey.. Cheering and inspiring….Forgiving and tolerating…Testing and tasting….for ‘A Tasty Challenge’

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Friday, July 23, 2010

Diamond Cuts

Recipe No: 65
When I posted the recipe for Mixture, I mentioned about my mother making a variety of snacks during the vacation. This is one among those delicious treats. But now I have one more incident to remember when I think about Diamond cuts. Last year when we went for a vacation one of our friends asked me to bring some Diamond cuts from Kerala. But unfortunately, I was not able to bring them. By telling this, he bullied me for a long time even though his lovely wife tried to  scare him with her angry face many times!!! So the first thing I made after settling down from vacation was to make some Diamond cuts and give him. But after one year, he still says “anyway you didn’t bring Diamond Cuts from Kerala”. So this post is dedicated to my friend and his dear wife.
Ingredients
For the dough
  • All Purpose flour...4 Cups (or Maida)
  • Egg……………………1
  • Salt…………………...1/4 Teaspoon
  • Water………………..1-1 ¼ Cups or as needed
For the sugar syrup
  • Sugar………………..1 ½ Cups
  • Water……………….1/2 Cup

  • Oil for deep frying
Method of Preparation
  1. Mix Flour, Egg and Salt and make a soft dough with water (at room temperature). Start with 1 cup of water and then use more if needed. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
  2. Heat at least 3 inches of oil in a deep pan on a medium heat until hot.
  3. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.
  4. Roll each of them into 8 inch circles and cut them into diamond shapes.
  5. Drop the pieces in hot oil and fry till it is crispy and attains a light brown color. This will take at least 6-8 minutes per batch. Don't overcrowd the pan.
  6. Repeat this process for all the other pieces. You can easily roll and cut the next piece while frying one batch . Keep this aside till it is ready to be used.
  7. In a large pan on high heat, add sugar and water, boil and wait till it reaches a one thread consistency.
  8. Put all the fried Diamond cuts together into the sugar syrup and mix well till each of them are coated with the syrup evenly.
  9. Switch off the flame as soon as all the syrup is stuck to the Diamond cuts and no syrup is left behind.
  10. Once cooled store it in an airtight container and use when needed.
Notes:
  • The oil for frying shouldn't be on high heat. Otherwise the dough will become brown fast but will not be crispy. So it is better to maintain a medium heat (or slightly above depends on your stove) and fry them till crispy. This will take a few minutes. So please be patient.
  • To check the one thread consistency touch the syrup with your index finger and press and separate it between the index finger and the thump. If the syrup forms one thread in between, it is ready. In the above given measurements this stage will be reached immediately after the sugar is melted.






Make it, enjoy the deliciousness and
serve it to your family with love…

2 comments:

Indian Khana said...

Ohh how much I love these...we call sakarpara....yummy

anilasa said...

Asha,It came out really good, crispy and yum!! Revived our tea parties and the yummy taste of those diamond cuts you made...

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