Hutspot

Hutspot is a very Dutch dinner which I Love! As do all my family and friends who have had it with us. Must say it was tough to convince them and often people have raised their eyebrows when I would ask them if I could cook them a Dutch meal.

However, once they had tried the food they all agreed it was delicious & remark: "the Dutch eat like this? its tasty"

I recently had one such successful lunch here at our residence ,all Indians who had never heard or known what Hutspot was and they loved it too....Rohit,Anu,Sudeep,Ritesh,Dipen, Kishan, Ruta..will all agree with me....

So please try this out.

Making Dutch food takes less time unlike our Indian cooking. I make sure we have Dutch food (potatoes) every alternate day and enjoy every bit of it!

Ingredients.
500gms. of potatos
250gms. of onions
250 gms. of carrots
1 veg. soup cube
25 gms. butter
(I would count 2 potatos, an onion and a carrot per person)

Method
Peel potatos and carrots and cut them into fingerchips size pieces.

Slice the onions lengthwise.

Take a heavy pan and add the carrots , the onions & the potatoes on top.

Add water until potatoes are all immersed in water. Add the soup cube and some salt.

Bring this to boil. Then close pan with its lid and cook the hutspot for 15 to 20 minutes.
(you need to leave the pan open a bit to allow steam to escape.)

Check if the potatoes are done.

Before you drain the water keep aside a few cups of it to make the sauce for the hutspot.

Once the hutspot is drained of all water add butter and mash it well:

Hutspot is ready.

This is served with fried meat or sausage or if you are a vegetarian a soya
burger & a sauce or 'jus' as the Dutch call it.

To make readymade sauce / jus
You need to buy this sauce powder which comes in vegetarian and non veg.
form.

How to make the sauce/ jus
Take a pan and melt a knob of butter and add one or two tab.sp. of this jus
powder and fry for a few seconds.Then add the water you had kept aside and
stir well & simmer for a few minutes until the mixture thickens.This is then
poured on the Hutspot and served with a piece of meat, apple moes,
gerkins(augurk) & pickled onions

yummy! Yummy! Yummy!

Onam Special: Ghee Rice

WE WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY ONAM 2013!!

Rajani & Ilse

This is no doubt one of the exotic rice dishes that brings out the quality of the home made Ghee and the Basmati rice, King or Queen of the rice.
I have hardly had anyone say no to Ghee Rice, even though its very rich in ghee (clarified butter)
A rice dish that is made for occassions like a festival or a birthday, using only ghee. 16 September is Onam 2013 and
this dish fits perfectly in the Onam lunch or dinner.

When I prepare this dish my entire neighbourhood would get the aroma of the ghee, the basmati rice and the whole spices & I have often got remarks like: "woman what are you cooking we get so hungry!"
Yes, that's exactly what this rice dish will do to you as it brings out its exotic qualities .....
Try this out, it takes no time and you will LOVE it....


Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati rice
2 cups of hot water
Juice of half a lemon
3 cardamom pods
4 cloves
2 sticks of cinnamon
A pinch of Saffron soaked in a tab. sp. of hot water
A handful of cashewnuts
Half a handful of raisins
2 to 3 tab. spoons of Ghee
1 tsp. salt
A heavy pan ( i use the cast iron / Dutch oven)
A cotton/ woolen quilt

Method:
Wash & soak rice in cold water for half an hour and drain this well in a colander.This rice needs to feel and look dry.

In the mean while heat a heavy pan and add the ghee.As the ghee begins to melt on a medium flame add the cashewnuts and as it turns light brown add the raisins, the whole spices(cardamom,clove & cinnamon) & then the rice.

Using a wooden spoon gently stir the rice making sure every coral is coated in ghee and let the rice get fried on a medium flame for 3 to 5 minutes stirring just a few times.

Then add the hot water, saffron water, lemon juice and the salt .Again gently stir the rice and turn the flame to high and let it cook/ boil for 5 minutes.

Afer the rice has been boiling for 5 minutes on a high flame lower the flame, give it a final stir ,clover the pan with its lid and immediately place it on a quilt and pack it well allowing no part of the pan exposed and place a heavy object on top.

See how well the rice is cooked ..all in a quilt......the whole process took less than 10 to 12 minutes.

Done! that's it ...Can it get any easier?
Remember your rice is being further cooked so do not open until it's time to

serve.

Tips:

• Rice remains hot for hours if u follow this and remember you are using less electricity or gas....
• If you have a large wooden box you can line this box with an old blanket and place the rice inside this box.
• When I make boiled rice I use this method. Even after 4 to 6 hours I am able to serve HOT rice.
• Buy a cast iron / Dutch oven vessel specially to make rice items. They are expensive but they are life long pans!.
• Don't your neighbour give you a good smile passing by......smelling the aroma of Ghee Rice you have just made?
• Please leave a message if you tried it!

Sheera / Khesari

As a kid I never liked this sweet dish.It was only recently I had started tasting it.
I made this as an item for the Friday dinners and realised how everyone
liked it.
(I still have to like it though ;-).....perhaps its because i am not really fond of sweets)

However, I must say it's a very easy, sweet dish one could make & I could remember how my mum would slowly slip into the kitchen when we got unexpected guests and in no time serve the guests hot Sheera and coffee.

In Udupi, my home town, we called it Sheera or Khesari.The name Khesari was given perhaps because of the keser(saffron) which gave out a beautiful golden color to this dish.

This recipe is specially here for MANISHA Samal who's favourite dish it is & who has often asked me to teach her how to make it. Here you go...

Ingredients:

1 cup of rava / semolina /griesmeel (fine or medium fine)
1/2 cup of sugar
A handful of cashewnuts split
A handful of raisins
1/2 a cup of pineapple pieces
3 cloves
3 crushed cardamon pods
A pinch of saffron soaked in a tab. sp of warm water
A pinch of salt
3 cups of hot water
2 to 3 tab.sp of ghee

Method:

Heat a heavy bottomed pan and add 3 tab sp. of ghee (click to see how to make ghee).

Fry the cashewnuts &raisins until it turns slightly brown.

Now add the cloves and the rava/ semolina and fry on medium flame taking care not to burn the

mixture.

Make sure the rava is well coated in the ghee.

This will take about two to three minutes.

Add now the pineapple pieces, sugar & salt and mix well.

Add the hot water & the saffron and mix well. Close pan with its lid and
simmer for five minutes.

Then stir and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Sheera is done:)


Tips:
Serve this hot with ice cold mango pulp or even ice cream.
You can serve this hot or cold.

GHEE / Clarified butter

If you follow this method, Ghee is not difficult to prepare.
I have taught all my cookery students how to make ghee and they
have all told me they have succeeded in making good ghee after few failures.
So dont give up!

To make Ghee you need to buy the pure butter (in Dutch: roomboter).

Here we go:


Take a heavy pan and simmer the butter on a low flame for 10 to 15 minutes.

At some time you will have to almost close the pan with its lid to avoid the spluttering of the butter that begins to boil.

After 10 to 15 minutes it should look like this:

Then in another few minutes bubbles begin to form on top and this is when you
need to be careful as at this state the ghee can get burnt.




Finally when u see dark spots forming on the bottom & sides of the pan
turning brown you need to switch off the fire.
When the ghee is done, this is how the bottom of the pan will look:

Allow the ghee to cool for 10 minutes and strain & store in a clean air
tight bottle.


Tips:Ghee remains fresh for a longtime if kept in the fridge.
Hot rice tastes excellent just with a few drops of ghee on it.

Hope you succeed !...