Saffron Scented Yogurt Cream & Peach Tarts

Saffron Scented Yogurt Cream & Peach Tarts. Dairy products, fruit and vegetables are things I love to splurge on! I would rather have an excess of these in my refrigerator, than wait to cook or plan cooking after a hurried trip to the store. The milk is boiled and refrigerated the previous day, a few tetra-packs of them stashed away for emergencies. Lassi and buttermilk in tetra packs come in handy always. And how can we not have paneer , and no we don't ever get tired or bored of it ubiquitous though it undoubtedly is! I mostly make it at home with 3% milk, though I prefer the firmer packaged variety for grilling. 

We eat yogurt like there is no tomorrow and I set it every night. Its an integral part of our breakfast, lunch , dinner and snacks. Chilled low fat yogurt sweetened with a bit of sugar and vanilla, topped with nuts is often my guilty pleasure post lunch! Blitzed with fruit it's a refreshing drink in the kids' snack box. The hunger pangs born out of boredom can often be remedied with some yogurt sprinkled with chat masala! Sounds very dramatic, but yes, not a day goes without yogurt!  

     

I made these little tarts filled with saffron scented yogurt cream, pistachios and peaches. Hung curd, sweetened, whisked with some saffron infused cream can't be anything but good of course! A bit of texture with chopped pistachios makes it even better. Light and delicious, a simple, make ahead recipe for Mother Dairy's  Summer Of Happiness Challenge. 

To participate, submit a recipe using any of these Mother Dairy products. Mother Dairy Paneer, Chach, Curd, Blueberry Yogurt, Mango Lassi, Aam Doi and Mishti Doi. More details and recipes by Chef Vikas Khanna here. 

Saffron Scented Yogurt Cream & Peach Tarts (serves  6-8)

Delicately flavored yogurt cream and peaches in crisp buttery tart shells. 

Ingredients:

Short Crust Pastry (recipe below)

Mother Dairy Curd - Two 400 gram boxes to give about 1 1/2 cups hung yogurt.

Fresh cream, 25% fat (I have used Amul) - 1/2 cup / 120 ml

Saffron - 2 generous pinches

Powdered sugar - 4 tablespoons ( or more to taste)

Chopped pistachios - 1/4 cup

Fresh peaches (or mangoes), sliced for garnish

Method : 

For the tart shells: 

Flour : 175 grams

Butter : 113 grams, cubed and chilled till very cold

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Powdered sugar - 1/2 tablespoon

Ice cold water - 2 tablespoons (plus 1 tablespoon if needed)

Equipment : One Small and another large metal bench scraper. Chill these at least for 15 mins.  Alternatively you could use a food processor. 

A rolling pin.

Pie weights or kidney beans. Small squares of aluminum foil.

Cling film

Special instructions : Work in a cool kitchen.

Method : To make the pie crust : 

Mise en place.

Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt, transfer mixture onto your kitchen counter. 

Dump the cold butter on the flour. Toss the pieces in the flour so that the flour coats it. 

Using the bench scraper, briskly cut the butter into the flour till the mixture resembles bread crumbs. This will take a couple of minutes.

Make a well in the middle of the flour. Take 2 tablespoons cold water from the freezer and pour into the well. Gently gather the flour into the water using your fingertips. The dough will begin to come together. 

If you pinch some dough between your thumb and forefinger, it should hold together and not crumble apart. Though the mixture may look dry-ish at this stage, it will come together well. Add more of the chilled water just half a teaspoon at a time if the mixture doesn't hold when pinched. Remember, excess water will make the pastry tough. 

Once you have added the needed amount of water, divide the flour mixture into two portions.  Smear each portion gently once across the counter with the heel of your hand. Gather it back, the pastry will be smoother now. 

Flatten, wrap well in cling film and refrigerate for at least half an hour. Overnight is fine too.

When ready to bake : 

If the pastry is very firm, leave it (still wrapped) on the counter for 15-20 minutes or till firm but malleable enough.

Flour your counter very lightly. 

Gently roll out the pastry about 3-4 mm thick. Cut out circles . 

Slip them in gently into the tart molds, taking care not to stretch it or it will shrink later. (If I ever learn to do this neatly, will tell you how) Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour or overnight to suit your schedule. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with cling film and refrigerate. 

Pre-heat oven to 190 C/ 375 F. Remove cling film, place squares of foil inside the cups, put some kidney beans to weigh them down and bake for 18-20 minutes or till light golden and crisp. Store airtight till needed.

Saffron Scented Yogurt Cream

Drain the yogurt in a muslin lined sieve, placing a large bowl underneath to catch the whey. Place in the refrigerator for about 8-10 hours  to get very thick yogurt.

Warm the cream with the saffron very gently over low heat. Refrigerate. 

Whisk together 1 cup of the hung yogurt, sugar and 1/2 cup cream till light. (vary proportion to taste) Stir in the pistachios. 

Keep refrigerated till serving time.

Just before serving, spoon the yogurt cream into the tart shells, top with the fruit slices and more pistachios.  Serve immediately. 

Basundi - Creamy Milk Pudding

Long before butter and cream became the major culprits for shrinking my clothes, I had a standard dessert I would make quite often. Super rich and creamy, delectable Basundi. As a just married, new entrant in a kitchen all my own, the thought of cooking three meals a day was intimidating enough. I honestly don't remember making much at home by way of dessert as frequent visits to Baskin Robins and Corner House more than took care of the sugar cravings!

The perfect time to make this sweet dish was when the (only) gas cylinder was just replaced. The luxury of having the stove on for 3 hours non-stop without the fear of it flickering away half-way through! And then, chill it and present it to hubby with all the pride of a new bride in the kitchen. The left-overs would only taste even better eaten while I read my Sidney Sheldons and Mills and Boon!

The aroma of saffron from these tuiles lingered in my memory long after they were eaten. Milk and saffron were made for each other, (well, Romeo and Juliet can come later if you insist as it's Valentine's Day!) and I just had to make basundi! Brother and sister-in-law coming over for dinner was the perfect excuse to put that whole milk on the stove. Rich desserts are lighter on the conscience when meant for company!

My preferable time of the day to make basundi is after the lunch is cooked, when I do not have rasam or kadhi simmering on the next burner. Am all set with music and a book as all I need to do is just hang around the place and stir the milk as and when it calls for attention. Made early in the day, there is enough time for the pudding to chill and thicken further, dessert's ready by dinner time!

The basic recipe and the procedure broadly remain the same, slight variations depending on your preference and convenience. I like to put the milk on sim, though it takes a good 2 hours plus to reduce it. Lesser chances of the milk burning, a little easier on your arms and the milk tastes so good after simmering for so long! Please do it as you like.
 

Basundi : Creamy Milk Pudding laced with cardamom and saffron. A lovely summer dessert!

What you need : You will need a wide, thick bottomed kadhai / deep pan, big enough to allow stirring without the milk spilling out. A good strong ladle or a flat slotted skimmer to help break the layer of cream on the top of the milk effectively. A small clean plate near the stove to keep the ladle on when not in use. Be sure everything you use is really clean, free of any acidic substances as it may cause the milk to split. A small cup to soak the saffron in.

Ingredients: (Makes about 1 liter of Basundi, depending on how thick you want it)

Whole milk (at least 4.5% fat) : 3 liters / 12 cups

Sugar - 6 - 8 tablespoons

Saffron strands - a generous pinch or two

Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Sliced pistachios and or sliced toasted almonds - 1/3 cup

Extra chilled milk and powdered sugar to adjust the consistency if needed on chilling.

• Bring the milk in the pan to a boil, reduce the heat to low.. 

• Reserve 2 tablespoons of hot milk from the pan, soak the saffron in it, cover and let infuse.
• Simmer the milk on low, checking every 8 -10 minutes.
  
• Using the ladle or skimmer, scrape the cream at the sides as and when it forms, back into the milk. 
• Break the layer of cream on top with continuous, stirring motions on the surface of the milk. Its important to break the layer of cream which will keep forming on the top too. Or you will end up with long bits of dry-ish cream in the milk. (Some people do prefer it that way).
• Avoid scraping the bottom as you may get unappealing brown bits here and there. Continue doing this every 8-10 minutes or so, while you keep a constant watch on the milk. Do not let the milk boil over or form too thick a layer of cream on top. Do not leave the milk unattended for more than 10 minutes.
• What we want to do is let the milk reduce, while scraping back every bit of cream into the simmering milk. What you do want is very thick pudding, full of bits of soft cream (not smooth like condensed milk, not grainy like mava / khoya). It will have lots of  soft cream bits, but will still be homogenous.
  
• The milk will become very thick and reduce to almost a third. You can reduce more or less as you prefer. This takes about 2.5 hours. Do remember, the pudding will thicken further on cooling.
• The time will vary depending on the quantity you are making, the pan and the heat given, so go by what you see in the pan.
• Five minutes before you turn off the heat, add 6 tablespoons sugar and the saffron infused milk. This may alter the consistency slightly, but the basundi will thicken again as it cools.
  
• Once you take it off the heat, cool, add the cardamom powder and the sliced pistachios. Taste. Add some powdered sugar if needed.
• Chill thoroughly. If the pudding is very thick on chilling, add some chilled milk little by little to adjust the consistency.
• Serve chilled, garnished with sliced pistachios.

Please note : Use whole milk with at least 4.5% fat for best results. Low fat milk will neither give the consistency needed nor enough yield. You could use a touch of rose water if you wish.

Saffron Tuiles With Saffron & Pistachio Diplomat Cream

And I am still enamored with tuiles! I had planned to make saffron tuiles with a creamy filling as one of the desserts for hubby's birthday. Made the batter with a generous pinch of the precious strands from my new box of saffron. Much to my disappointment,  I could not detect the aroma of saffron in it. Bah! The batter was promptly chucked into the fridge. A day and a half later, I baked the tuiles anyway. The flavor and the aroma they exuded made me fall in love with tuiles all over again! All the saffron needed was a good soak!

I wasted no time in making some saffron and cardamom pastry cream, lightened it with some whipped cream. A drop of rose essence and some sliced pistachios to finish. Think really creamy kesar -pista kulfi filled in dainty saffron wafers. Traditional Indian dessert flavors fill the French cookies in this easy, make-ahead dessert, Saffron Tuiles With Saffron And Pistachio Diplomat Cream.
 

For The Saffron Tuiles (makes about 40 tuiles, depending on size and shape)

Ingredients:
Unsalted Butter - 45 grams /  3 tablespoons, melted and still very warm
Sugar - 130 grams / 2/3 cup / 4.625 oz    approximately
Egg whites, large - 90 grams/ 3 large
All Purpose Flour - 60 grams / 1/4 cup 3 tablespoons

Saffron strands - 1/2 heaping teaspoon, crushed (or more)
Crushed cardamom - 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
Salt - 1/8 teaspoon
Yellow gel color - a streak or two, use very carefully (optional)
More butter to grease the pan liners


Equipment - Baking trays or pans or cookie sheets, heavy duty aluminum foil dull side up. Small cups, small box (like you smallest box of baking powder) rolling pin for shaping. A cooling rack.


Procedure:  If baking cookies right away, preheat oven to 150 degrees C / 300 degree F. If baking cookies later, just mix the batter as mentioned below. I highly recommend resting the batter overnight to get the best of the saffron aroma and flavor.

If you would be using foil, measure the size needed to line your tray or pan. Cut carefully making sure you do not cause major creases. If there are any small creases smooth it out. Wrinkles will mar the appearance of the cookies. Line your pan(s) foil dull side up. Using a silicon brush, grease the foil with butter lightly  but thoroughly. I used my 9'' square tin. I could bake 2 at a time. So be warned, you will need patience to bake these in batches if using a small oven. Quarter the recipe if patience is not among your virtues.

• Stir the saffron in the very warm butter. In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients till well blended. This won't be like regular cookie batter, rather spoon- able. Let the batter rest for at least 10 minutes or keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Overnight will bring out the flavor of saffron better. The batter firms up slightly on refrigerating.
• Drop level teaspoons of batter 2 inches apart on the prepared foil. Using the back of a spoon, spread the batter evenly in strips or in 2 1/2 inch rounds or oval or other shape. This will look almost translucent. If using multiple trays, you could spread the batter and keep the trays in the oven one by one. A test batch of one or two will tell you the right amount of batter for the shape and size of cookies you need. 

• Bake cookies of similar shapes and sizes using the same amount of batter for each batch to get the same results. Don't forget to note down the baking time. The cookies will be really crisp when cool and will be delicate enough to shatter even with gentle pressure.
•  
• Bake for about 10-11 minutes. The time depends on the thickness of the cookies. Watch very carefully, bake till the cookies are golden brown half or three quarters way to the center, but still pale in the center. I baked the cookies till they turned golden all over. If the cookies are not baked thoroughly, they won't be completely crisp when they cool. But be careful not to burn them. Rotate pans if using a large oven and multiple sheets. I baked for about 11 minutes. 
• Remove the cookies sheets or pans from the oven and set them down, let cool completely. Carefully lift the entire foil with the cookies out.Very carefully and gently, peel the foil from underneath the tuiles. Set the cookies down very gently on a tray or airtight flat box if you don't want to shape them. 
• After baking all of the cookies, keep your rolling pin or cup or little box (to make cylinders) right beside the oven if you want to curve it. You won't have time to turn, go to the table and then shape. Very gently put one cookie at a time on the sheet and then in the oven (at 150 C)  for 40-60 seconds till it becomes very soft and flexible. Then shape. They harden very very quickly as in a matter of 4-5 seconds, so its really important that you work very quickly.  So timing is the most important thing.
• They will be really really delicate, so handle the cookies with care. Store in an airtight container. Alice says they can be airtight for at least a month.

Saffron, Cardamom And Pistachio Diplomat Cream - Makes about 2.5 cups

Whole milk - 2 cups / 480 ml
Saffron strands - 1/2 teaspoon, heaping
Cardamom, crushed - 1/2 teaspoon
Rose essence (or rosewater, read note) - 2 drops
Egg yolks - 108 grams / 6 large
Granulated sugar - 1/4 cup / 50 grams
All-purpose flour  - 48 grams - 6 tablespoons
Unsalted butter - 30 grams / 2 tablespoons
Pistachios, sliced - 1/2 cup
Sweetened whipped cream, chilled - 1 - 1.5 cups or as needed , read note
A tiny tiny streak of yellow gel color (optional) 

Method:

• Suspend a fine meshed strainer over a medium sized heat proof bowl. Set this near your stove. Have a spatula ready nearby.

• In a medium sized saucepan, combine the milk, saffron and cardamom. Heat till just before the boiling point. Turn off the heat. Cover. Let infuse for at least half an hour. After half-an-hour heat again and bring to a boil.

• In the bottom of another medium sized heavy saucepan, off the heat, beat or whisk the egg yolks, rose essence and 1/4 cup sugar.  Whisk in the flour until fully incorporated.

• Whisking all the time, using a small ladle, drizzle the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at a time. Very gradually, add all the milk. Do not rush this process. 

• Bring the saucepan to your stove and heat it over low heat, whisking constantly, until it begins to bubble. Once bubbling and fairly thick, remove it from the heat. Do not heat for very long as the cream will turn very thick and tough to press through the sieve. Immediately stir in the butter until combined, without waiting, press through the strainer (a workout!)
•  Press cling wrap to the surface, chill till needed. You could refrigerate this for up to 3 days.

• Gently fold in the whipped cream into the cooled pastry cream. Add the color if needed. Stir in the pistachios. Keep this covered and chilled until serving time.
•  Just before serving, fill in the tuile cups or cylinders. Garnish with fresh rose petals and serve immediately.

Please note : Good quality saffron gives great flavor. Use rose essence very very carefully as even a drop more can be excessive. The smell must be there but not quite. Use food grade rosewater  if you can find it. I have used sweetened whipped cream so the sugar in the pastry cream has been reduced greatly. If using unsweetened cream for whipping, increase the sugar in the pastry cream. I have used pastry cream and whipped cream in the ratio of 2:1. Vary it as you like.

You could try adding some sliced pistachios in the tuiles batter as well if you don't want to shape them. I did not add as it would be difficult to shape.

The amount of pastry cream you will need depends on the number and size of tuiles. 

Endless possibilities, so easy, love, love tuiles! Expect to see more of these here, later if not very soon!

Mawa, Saffron And Cardamom Cakes

Rich, milky, cardamom laced cakes with mawa / khoya - these are mawa cakes for you. Mention these and most likely people will recall Irani cafés in Mumbai famous for mawa cakes, bun maska (bread and butter) and Irani chai among other things. No, I haven't been to Mumbai in ages, much less to one of these Persian cafés. The city supposedly had a good number of these little cafés, but now the numbers have substantially dwindled down, thanks to the ever growing numbers of new age restaurants and coffee shops.

Milk, cream and mawa. You either love them or hate them. I love them!! How about you? My affinity for these milky things and the urge to bake something with a traditional twist during Diwali, led me to bake these little cakes. Perfect for the very festive mood in the air! Honestly, when beauties like these peek out of a blog as stunning as Helen's Tartelette, you don't really need Diwali around the corner to bake a batch of mawa cakes!

 These cakes are among those meant to be slightly dense I suppose, given the khoya that goes into it. But I wanted the cakes a little lighter, so I have increased the amount of baking powder, threw in a pinch of saffron for good measure! Saffron, cardamom and mawa - can't go wrong together really!  For once, when I baked, I felt happy that I live in India with the luxury of being able to simply buy some khoya at a one of the sweet shops around the corner. If you don't have access to ready mawa, you would have to make it as Helen does.

The cakes are rich, so small they would have to be for me. Bake them as bigger cupcakes, or in charming canele moulds (really pretty) or maybe in mini cake tins or mini bundt pans. The baking time would then vary of course. Chopped toasted nuts folded into the batter will add a nice crunch and complement the flavors of saffron and cardamom very well. Some chopped nuts sprinkled on top before baking are just the perfect adornment for these tea-cakes.

As mentioned above, I have increased the amount of baking powder, added a bit of baking soda (for color) and added a pinch of saffron to the milk. I would ideally have loved to make these egg-free and an egg-less version is on the cards to try. If you have a tried and tested substitute suitable for use in the recipe, please do try...

I got 8 small cupcakes from the recipe below (this half of the original recipe). You can find Helen's recipe here

Ingredients
  
For the cakes:
All purpose flour / maida - 78 grams 
 Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Baking soda - 1/8 teaspoon
Green cardamom - seeds from 2 pods
Unsweetened mava / khoya, at room temperature - 1/4 cup /50grams (zap in the microwave to soften for 10-20 seconds if hard)
Fine grained sugar - 50 grams (just about sweet), use 60 grams for slightly sweeter ones 
 Unsalted butter, at room temperature - 3 tablespoons / 42 grams
 Egg, large - 1
Whole milk / low fat milk, warm - 3 tablespoons
Saffron strands - 1/8 teaspoon
cashew halves to place on top
Or
chopped toasted cashews/pistachios, tossed in 1/2 tsp flour (optional)

Procedure : Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F. Spray your muffin tray or cupcake moulds with baking spray or lightly grease and flour the tins you would use.

Grind the cardamom with a tablespoon sugar (out of the 50 grams). Soak the saffron strands in the warm milk, allow it to release its flavors and come to room temperature. Sift the flour, baking powder and soda 2-3 times. Keep aside.

In a medium sized bowl, place the butter, mawa and sugar and the crushed cardamom-sugar. With your hand held mixer, mix on low for a few seconds (the ingredients will at first look like they won't come together, but they will) and then increase the speed to medium (speed 3) and cream the mixture till pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. The mixture will be fluffy, but you can still feel the slight grittiness of the khoya.

On low speed (speed one) add the egg, beat till it disappears into the butter mixture (this will take just a few seconds). Turn speed to medium, beat for a minute. Add the flour mixture and the milk in two additions. The batter will be of dropping consistency. Fold in the toasted nuts if using. Sprinkle nuts on top.

Bake for about 15-16 minutes (for mini muffins) longer if baking bigger ones, even longer if baking as one cake. The tops will be light golden and a tooth pick inserted in the center will come out clean. Do not over bake or they will be dry. Better to check a minute early than late.

Cool in the tins for a couple of minutes, then remove and cool completely on the rack. They were soft immediately on cooling, picture below not exactly pretty, but want you to see the crumb. Were relatively dense later, but still delicious! I loved them soft!

So, this Diwali if you want to take a break from the usual mithai and chocolate, bake something deliciously different, try these cakes!

Happy Diwali!!