Recipe for Ghevar - Teej recipes

Ghevar is the delightful delicacy linked with the monsoon festival of Teej. It is a round cake made made from plain ghee and flour.

Ingredients

Plain Flour : 3 cups

Solidified ghee : 1 cup

Water : ½ cup

Milk : ½ cup

Ice cubes : 3-4 pcs

Yellow food color : ¼ tsp

Ghee : 1 cup (for deep frying)

Kewra essence : 5-6 drops

Syrup

Sugar : 1 ½ cups

Water : 1 cup

Topping

Cardomum powder : 1 tsp

Chopped almonds : 1 tbsp

Pistachios : 1 tbsp

Milk with saffron : 1 tbsp

Method of Preparation

1. Add sugar to the boiled water to prepare a sugar syrup of 1 thread consistency.

2. Take solidified ghee in a large bowl and rub it with ice cubes till it turns white.

3. Add milk, flour and 1 cup water. Mix together to make a smooth batter.

4. Dissolve some color in the water with kewra essence and to the batter. Add more water if required.

5. Batter should be very smooth and thin.

6. Take an aluminum cylinder or a long cylindrical container with height 12 inches and diameter 5-6 inches.

7. Fill half the container with ghee and heat.

8. When ghee is hot, take 50ml glass full of batter and pur it slowly in the centre of the ghee.

9. Allow foam to settle. Similarly, pour one more glassful in hole formed in the centre.

10. When foam settles again, loosen ghevar with an iron skewer inserted in the hole.

11. Place ghevar on the wire mesh to drain excessive oil.

12. Pour hot sugar syrup in the flat bottomed container to fit in ghevar.

13. Put ghevar in it and drain excessive syrup.

14. Cool it for a while, cover with silver foil.

15. Splash a few drops of saffromn milk and sprinkle some pistachios and almonds with cardomum powder.

16. Ghevar is ready to serve.

sorry. and i've lost everything.

hari ni. bgn awal. hurm, terpakse. ade presentation final project audio, editing.
trailer n montage da settle. khamis plak VIVA & final presentation SCP.
the whole day dkt college from 9am - 5pm. it's tiring... lunch d red island cafe with dila.
and something bad happened. bad, worse & worst. terrible. nightmare. what else?
i've lost a friend. not really A FRIEND but, 4 friends. not just friends. love.
i've lost their trust on me and most of all i'm losing those i love again n again...

well. it happened a lot of time and i guess i should've put all the blame on me.
yar, since it happened over and over again, mmg da terang la sume slh sy kan..?

dear friends, love, life. what else?
2 guys and 2 girls. sorry. sorry sorry sorry. told ya. million time. i'm not good.
not a good girl. not a good friend. not a good.... not good in anything at all.

my one and only syg [girl] - ms scorpio
miss almost perfect - FS
mr nice guy / ms bbylove bf - MHF
last but not least, my only syg [boy], TTM, mr notty - syg

at 1st. sy mengaku mmg sy marah, serabot, penink dgn semua yg jd nih.
da la sy dlm class. tgh presentation. mcm2 plak jd. tp sy bkn mrh dgn kalian sgt...
sy mrh sbb bende yg x sepatutnya jd, jd. bnde yg x de kaitan, terus berkait.
jujurnya sy ckp, mmg sy tgh x ok. sekarang sgt x ok. tp biar sy handle sendiri blh?
uh. nak ckp camne pon tataw da. ok, sy tgh x ok & sy buat semua cam biase. kan?
yer. sy dgn TTM pon x berape nak stabil, n mmg sy baru dlm usaha nak OK kan semua.
then mcm2 jd. sy pun reti serabot. fhm x? sy taw semua org pun de mslh masing2.
erm. entahlah. tataw camne nak ckp dgn kalian...n tataw nak rase ape da pon.
yg pasti. tak marah. serabot, ya. rasa x berguna, ya. rasa sy menyusahkan, ya.


MHF minx no syg. sy kasi no, tp MHF x bgtaw sy utk ape. just ckp urgent.
syg msg sy & ckp MHF call 20x, and FS ade masalah. sy pelik... utk ape? mslh ape?
sy x sure ttg semua tu & musykil, sy msg Ms Scorpio & tnye anything x kena?
Ms Scorpio ckp semua ok, tp sy taw die pon tgh x ok sbb x bape sehat. hurmm...
then syg bgtaw sy semuanya maklumat yg dia dpt dr MHF, FS. sy tnya Ms Scorpio.
die tataw pape, n akhirnya merujuk pd FS. FS plak ckp die ok and actually...
semua kekusutan tu bermule d situ. kalo sy explain d sini pon, x de sape fhm.
sbb sy jd org tgh d antare 4 org yg terlibat secara tak sengaja nih...


1 - Ms Scorpio
sorry sy kaco awk pagi2 + kusutkan lg diri awk yg x bape sehat. sorry if buat awk penink.
tp sy x puas hati & just nak kepastian. tp, sy harapkan awk biar perkara tu antara kte je.
tp lain plak jdnye... hurm. salah fhm terus menerus & bila da ptg tuh, sy mmg da leteyh.
hp sy dua-dua x de bttry. laptop pon da x de bttry. presentation x abis2 lg. sy penat...
jd sy tolak HP ke tepi. malas da nak layan. sbb mase tuh, sy da hilang semuanya.
semua msg sy x reply dah. sbb x de bttry + sedang buat2 ok. then awk msg...
sy x sampai hati nak biar. sy balas n ckp, "x ok. tp buat2 ok. no worries". mcm tu la kot.
tp awk sebut plak ttg FS trase dgn sy sbb sy x reply msg die. Ya Allah tlg la. bkn saje2.
hp x de bttry. sy dlm class. sy pun tak boleh nak positive setiap mase. sy tgh serabot.
jd sy tolak ke tepi dlu. last2 FS trase ape sume plak... jd sy reply. sy reply jgk msg FS ptg td.

and sorry if awk ingt sy marah awk. sy x marah. sy taw awk tgh x ok.
dr msg awk pon taw awk tgh x ok. just awk da babitkan FS jgk. sy taw.
awk pon nak kepastian. tp. saat sy tgh nak lupekan semua tu sekejap,
awk terus sampaikan pesan FS. sy jd. cam...serabut blk.
i just need some time 2 get over it 4 a while. and x niat pon buat FS trase.
then, sy reply msg semua org akhirnya time tu jgk dgn hp yg akan OFF anytime.
bkn salah awk. sy taw awk just sampaikan ape yg FS rase and so on.
jd. maaflah semua ni salah sy. cuma...sy percayakan awk sgt3. sbb tu sy tanya.


2 - dear FS
aku tataw pe mslh ko. ko x bgtaw aku straight. so, aku tnye Ms Scorpio just utk pastikan.
and aku mmg taley la nak mrh ko lelame. aku pon mmg x marah ko. jd...jgn trase.
aku btol2 x de bttry da time tu + aku da sgt xok dgn syg time tuh.
aku pon tataw nak ckp camne da. otak aku da sebu dgn class 1 hari, dgn syg.
dgn salah fhm ni semua. entahlah. ko pun taw aku tgh ade class. kan?
ko jgn la riso if ko x de buat slh pape dgn aku. tahlah. x de ape da pon. semua slh fhm.
n aku rase dgn sume ni jd, ko pun da x caye aku. sorry libatkan ms scorpio.
aku just nak kepastian and aku just kurang gemar ble syg terlibat.
sbb aku n die pon x bape ok, aku pon da bnyk sshkan die. tibe camni plak. tu je.
sorry. semua salah aku. ko tayah risaw k? take care. aku xmarah. aku xbenci.
btw. aku nak ko taw. MHF syg gileee dkt ko. semua org buat slh. ko pk la k?


3 - MHF
knowing some1 like u, is great. FS untung pnyai kamu. tataw la if FS x seda?
da la MHF. org x marah. x benci FS pon. x pernah...sbb die kwn org. hurm...
sorry if sshkan lg kamu yg tgh bnyk masalah jgk. sorry dgn slh fhm ni.
and org just x ske ble babitkan syg jgk. and jd slh fhm semua lg. and in the n.
org gadow dgn syg... gadow utk tah kali ke berape. sorry again. and i guess.
org pon da x dipercayai agaknye kan? sorry. org xmarah. org ok. jgn riso.
take a good care of FS. good luck with her. jage diri jgk.


4 - syg.
syg... sy syg awk sgt3~!!! erm. sy tataw nape awk leh terlibat. n sy x ske itu~!
sy dgn awk baru nak ok kan? tp bnyk la plak halnya n td kte gadow lg... huu. sorry syg.
tp. btol sy sdeyh. sy taw sy sshkan awk. slaloo. tp sy x ske dgn ape awk ckp tuh.
sy taw awk gurau. tp wrong timing kot. entah. sorry. sy serabot. sy geram. sy...tah.
sy kene jage kepercayaan FS dkt sy. kepercayaan MHF dkt sy. kepercayaan Ms scorpio jgk.
then td salah fhm tu makin berkecamuk n kte gadow, n sy pujuk tp...sy taw.
awk da mls nak layan. syg. sy sdeyh. sdeyh sgt n serabot sgt ble syg msg camtuh...
serius. btol2 menusuk ke jantung, hati, sy. sampai sy bace je. mmg kosong sy rase.

syg ckp...
"mlas ah msg awk..k2. g bwat keje2 awk lg bgus.."

"msg awk xgmbirakn sy lgsg.. dah lah"

huu. sy mmg x pernah gembirakan syg ek? hurm... sorry. sy tataw. utk kali ke bape.
sy ckp sorry tuh. and tah kali ke bape awk malas nak layan sy da. sy tataw.
dan ble awk ckp camtu td la. sy terus malas da nak ckp bebnyk dgn FS, MHF, ms scorpio.
sy bgtaw mereka, abaikan semuanye. sy dgn awk da gadow da pon. sy ckp...
"i've lost everything"

i've lost everything. y?

ms scorpio. semua ni mesti serabotkan awk lg. maaf.
it's ok. awk...pergilah. sy bkn kwn yg baek. tah kali ke berapa sy ckp tuh.

FS. sure ko da x caye kat aku da kan? sorry. sudahlah.
lupakan aku. aku da sshkan ko je...

MHF. sorry too. mmg salah org. i know, u too. x kan caye org da.
it's ok. take care. be happy.

syg...hari makin hari. sy makin hilang awk.
tp hari ni...1st time syg ckp camtuh. maaf...utk kali ke bape tah.
sy x berniat dgn sume ni. sy x berniat buat awk sdeyh.
sorry. sy tataw nak ckp camne. just. sy syg awk sgt3~~~


and. mereka ber4 ni mmg semua bererti bagi sy...
tp hari ni yg pasti. sy da hilang mereka.
yg plg besar, sy da hilang kepercayaan mereka.
sy x slhkan sesiapa. salah sy. maaf, buat julung kalinya.

at d n of d day, setelah tamat semua class...sy gi JJ sorang.
erm. akhirnya, sy buat manicure + pedicure. setelah sekian lame.
then sy ddk d taman itu sorang diri tah utk bape lame...
mama. thanks ambik. jgn tngglkan qila.
i've lost everything.

Bagels!

Bagels have been on my "To Bake" list for some time now. Ever since I realized this was something you COULD do at home, it's been hanging out in the back of my mind as something to try. But I kept putting it off. There are a lot of steps involved in bagel-making, which made it somewhat intimidating. Not to mention the fact that you really need two days from start to finish. Time is always an issue with me an bread-baking, so I was always thinking "maybe next weekend..."

Enter Father's day weekend. My dad is a diabetic with a pretty terrible sweet tooth. He's constantly trying to sneak sugar and other things he can’t eat when no one's paying attention. White bread products are an issue. He refuses to eat whole wheat bread and loves cinnamon raisin bagels even though the store-bought variety is chock-full of sugar.

Anyway, I figured that I'd be in Ancaster for two days with no real plans. Why not make my own bagels with (some) whole wheat flour and less sugar so that my dad could enjoy them without guilt?

I started these on Saturday evening and finished them Sunday morning. I followed mostly the Smitten Kitchen version of Peter Reinhart's bagel recipe.

Let me just say, I was SO excited about finally making my own bagel during the entire process. So excited in fact, that I may have deliriously made some adjustments to the recipe that probably weren’t a great idea. Like substittuing the malt syrup with molasses. The recipe specified malt power OR syrup OR brown sugar. I didn’t have the first two, but I had just bought some molasses and I figured...brown sugar is sugar WITH molasses...why not? This didn’t turn out terribly but the molasses definitely added their own flavour that wasn’t exactly bagel-y. And deciding that lining my pans with flour instead of cornmeal was okay (I only did this for the proofing and refrigeration, on Sunday morning I realized that my parents DID have cornmeal and used that for the baking step). The flour stuck to the dough and made white clumps form on some of the bagels during the boiling step. But anyway, overall the bagels did turn out quite well. They were a bit flatter than I would have liked, and I probably won’t use molasses next time. But the flavour was still quite nice and the bagels were so nicely chewy and soft. Plus, the cinnamon raisin ones tasted great. And I finally made BAGELS!


Bagels!

Sponge
1 ½ tsp active dry yeast
4 cups bread flour
2 ½ cups room temperature water

Dough
½ tsp active dry yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 ¾ cups bread flour
2 ¾ tsp salt
2 tsp malt powder OR 1 tbsp dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar (I used molasses...)

I split the dough in half and added also:
1 cup california raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp brown sugar
a bit more molasses for that "swirl" look
Cornmeal or semolina for dusting

1. Make the sponge: combine yeast and water, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and whisk until you have a thick pancake-batter like consistency. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it has at least doubled in size and is bubbly.

2. Stir in the remaining yeast, then 3 cups of the remaining flour. Stir until the ingredients form a ball. I will say that if you’re doing this by hand (as I was) this is pretty hard. You’re going to have to put some muscle into it to really get a ball going. I gave up pretty quickly and just started mixing witih my hands until I pretty much had a ball.

3. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead for at least 10 minutes (I ended up kneading for about 15). Knead in the remaining ¾ cup of flour to stiffen as you go. The dough should be smooth and not too tacky by the time you’re done, and feel fairly stiff. A few minutes into the kneading I also split my dough and added the ingredients for cinnamon raison bagels to half of the dough.

4. Divide the dough into 4 ½ ounce pieces, or smaller if desired (I did 3 ounces)

5. Cover the dough balls with a damp cloth and let rest about 20 minutes

6. Lightly grease a few cookie sheets with oil, and sprinkle with cornmeal (this is where i made that flour error: do not repeat my mistake)

7. Shape bagels: Just take the balls, poke a hole through with your thumb and widen gently untli they look like bagels. I didn’t measure mine so I’m not exactly sure how large they were.

8. Place bagels on the cookie sheets, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature

9. At this point, you’re supposed to do the “float test” to make sure that they float. Take a bagel and drop into warm/room temperature water and see if it floats within 10 seconds. Though I’ve read at a few places that they didn’t do this (or let the dough rest at all before refrigerating) and the bagels floated fine, so I’m not sure just HOW necessary this step is.

10. Refrigerate bagels for 12-24 hours

11. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. You’re going to want to use your widest pot for this so that you can fit in as many bagels as possible at a time. I ended up using a deep wok because it was wider than any pot that my mom had, and it seemed easier than using a deep pot. I had no issues.

12. Add 1 tsbp of baking powder to boiling water

13. Boil bagels for 1-2 minutes per side, in batches. I think I ended up boiling for about a minute and a half per side. Remove with a slotted spoon and place back on baking sheets lined with cornmeal. If you’re adding any more toppings at this point, do it immediately after removing from the water so that the toppings stick.

14. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees farenheit for 5 minutes, rotate 180 degrees and continue baking for another 5 minutes. I think I baked for about another 5 minutes because they weren’t so dark by the end of this.

15. Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Suckerrrrrrr

If your healthy habits aren't habitual, train and trick yourself into making healthier food choices. Here's my top 10 recommendations:

10. If you're going to a restaurant which lists the nutrition facts online (consult websites such as thedailyplate.com or fitday.com) or in print, pick what you'll order before you walk in the doors. Don't even look at the menu. Stick with the plan! P.S. I love the thedailyplate.com -- check it out!

9. Pack your lunch! And when you pack it, make sure there's at least one truly satisfying item so that you look forward to your lunch and aren't (as) tempted to head out with your co-workers to the nearest burger joint.

8. ...when you pack your lunch, cut up and/or peel your fruit and vegetables ahead of time. That apple will be brown tomorrow, so you'd better not waste it.

7. If you go to a buffet, picnic, or place of infinite choices, survey your options before making your selection. Further, try not to let foods touch one another so you'll pack less on a plate. If you must go back for second helpings, limit yourself to 1 item. Two items, tops.

6. In scenarios such as the above, use the "plate method" of serving yourself. Aim for 1/2 fruits/vegetables, 1/4 protein, and 1/4 carbohydrates. This will keep your calories down and ensure you're eating a balanced meal.

5. At parties or restaurants (think chips and salsa on the table or the bread basket), sit AWAY from the appetizers and snack foods. They're nothing but trouble!

4. If you have a craving (gyros come to mind for me), take a friend you can share with (as in half-and-half, not the infamous "80-20" plan) . Scratch the itch, but don't draw blood...if you know what I'm sayin'.

3. Add fruit and vegetables to some of your favorite foods -- zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions go great on a quesadilla (made with low-fat cheese and high-fiber wheat tortillas) while berries and bananas go great in your morning cereal or oatmeal.

2. Keep a piece of fruit in your car or office at all times. When the healthy stuff is easily accessible, you're more likely to eat it. Further, if you're finding it difficult to eat all your F&V's, commit to having 2 snacks a day and making at least one a fruit or veggie. Another great idea is having a cut-up veggie tray with hummus or low-fat dip in your fridge at all times. If hunger is striking the second you walk in from work, the veggies can stave off hunger long enough to get dinner on the table without racking up the calories.

1. Bite it, write it. Keeping a food journal is the tried and true best method of keeping your intake in check. Keep a small journal or notebook with you and commit to writing down everything you eat. When you're accountable for writing it, you typically always think twice before eating it.

What's in a name?

Prepare to be confused.

Confusion isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I remember vividly the first time I watched a David Lynch movie. Trying to unravel that particular puzzle noir was a complicated but ultimately rewarding experience.

But food and drink labelling is a different beast entirely.

Much hoo-hah has been made of the provenance of so-called British pork pies, with the Conservative party dedicating an entire viral campaign around the misleading labelling (pork from the continent assembled into pie form on these fair shores) of this particular snack.

These little culinary wolves in sheep’s clothing seem to be in other places too, hiding out waiting to pounce on the unwitting consumer at less than a moment’s notice. Even in wine bottles.

It was in such a state of blissful ignorance that we bought three bottles of Three Mills – one red, one white, one rose – from the supermarket.

At two quid a bottle it seemed silly not to take the chance. Having spent three years at university imbibing wine of dubious origin and questionable quality, it seemed logical to think that the contents would at least be drinkable. And if not then there was always the option of cooking with it.

What really swung it for us, though, was the proud wording on the label: British Wine. Six pounds to help the fledging wine industry of Great Britain? Well worth the money.

How wrong we were. On all counts.

The wine itself was undrinkable. Cloying. Sweet and with all the depth of a dried up puddle. It sat limply in the glass and at a mere 8% alcohol wasn’t even worth drinking with the sole purpose of getting merry.

To cook with it would be a crime against food. I shuddered at the prospect of ruining a glorious free range chicken or beef short rib by sluicing it with this vile concoction. It went some way to proving the maxim that one shouldn’t cook with wine one isn’t prepared to drink. In fact, it went all the way, proving beyond all reasonable doubt that if you wouldn’t put it in a glass, don’t put it in the pot.

But at least it was British. Right? Wrong. It transpired that we had been the victim of a cruel marketing sleight of hand.

British wine is a very different beast to English wine which is made with grapes actually grown in this country by people who actually know what they are doing and who actually take pride in what they do.

We had been fooled into buying three bottles made with imported grape juice somehow turned into something that resembled wine in the same way Frankenstein’s Monster resembled a fully functioning human being.

It had been made with the sort of contempt that a nefarious character from Grimms’ Fairy Tales might show an innocent stepchild standing in the way of a vast inheritance.

To call Three Mills ‘wine’ is questionable, at best. To call it ‘British’ is downright duplicitous. Even at two pounds a bottle we were left feeling conned, and without wine. Not a combination leading to satisfactory happiness.

For more on this visit english-wine.com And don't forget to follow me on Twitter. But only if you want to.