ROSE COOKIES

ROSE COOKIES
Ingredients

½ kg refined flour or maida
250 grams rice flour (optional)
1 cup coconut milk
200 grams sugar
6 eggs beaten well
½ teaspoon salt
1 litre oil for frying
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix all the ingredients together to form a smooth slightly thick batter.
Heat oil in a deep pan till it reaches boiling point. Now place the rose cookie mould into the oil to get hot. When the mould is hot enough dip it half way only into the batter and put it back immediately into the boiling oil. Shake the mould to separate the cookie from it. Heat the mould again and repeat the process. Fry rose cookies till brown. Continue in this way till the batter is finished.

Note: The batter will stick to the rose cookie mould with a hissing sound only if it is sufficiently hot otherwise it will just slide off the mould

KALKALS


KALKALS 
Ingredients
I kg refined flour  or maida                                       
6 eggs beaten well
2 cups thick coconut milk                                                 
½ teaspoon salt                             
300 grams sugar                       
1 teaspoon baking powder             
Oil for deep frying
Mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Add the coconut milk and eggs and knead to a soft dough. Keep aside for an hour. Form kalkals by taking small lumps of the dough and roll on the back of a fork or a wooden kalkal mould, to form a scroll. Alternately, roll out the dough and cut into fancy shapes with kalkal or cookie cutters. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry as many kalkals as possible at a time. Keep aside.
To ice the kalkals, melt 1 cup of sugar with ½ cup of water and when the sugar syrup crystallizes pour over the kalkals and mix well. Store in airtight boxes when cold.

SPICY ROASTED CHICKEN

Serves: 6
Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
1 whole chicken jointed into 4 to 6 pieces
6 medium size potatoes peeled
3 large onions quartered
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garam masala powder or all spice powder
2 teaspoons pepper powder
2 teaspoons chilly powder
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons lime juice

Wash the chicken and the potatoes. Mix in all the above ingredients and leave aside for 15 minutes. Place the marinated chicken in a suitable vessel or pan and cook on low heat till the chicken is tender and the water dries. Keep turning the chicken every 10 minutes or so to ensure that it roasts evenly and is a nice brown colour
Serve with Steamed vegetables and any type of bread

Alternately, the chicken could be roasted in an oven as well. Arrange the marinated chicken and potatoes in a buttered oven-proof dish. Cover the dish with foil. Bake in a moderate oven (355 degrees) for about 45 minutes. Serve with Steamed vegetables and any type of bread.

TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS CAKE

500 grams refined flour or maida


300 grams soft brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons spice powder

500 grams mixed dried fruits (equal quantities of currants, raisins and sultanas) chopped well and soaked in rum before hand

100 grams chopped orange / lemon peel

500 grams butter

3 eggs beaten well

4 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon baking powder

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and spice powder in a bowl. Add the fruit, orange / lemon peel and brown sugar and mix well. Add the butter and mix with a fork. Add the beaten eggs and milk and mix well to give a stiff consistency. Pour the mixture into a greased and papered cake tin and smoothen the top. Bake in a moderately hot oven for about 1 hour or till the cake is cooked and the top turns brown. Turn out and cool

To prepare the Almond Icing, soak the 300 grams almonds in water overnight then grind to a thick paste. Add 500 grams Icing sugar, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon almond essence and 2 tablespoons lime juice and cook with a little water in a heavy bottom pan till it solidifies. Remove from heat and cool. Knead it into a stiff ball.

To prepare the Royal Icing sift 200 grams icing sugar into a bowl. Beat two egg whites then fold them into the sugar. Add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and ½ teaspoon vanilla essence. Mix to a stiff consistency.

Brush the cake with a layer of Jam or Egg white to help the icing stick to the cake. Add a thin layer of the Almond icing over the cake, pressing it gently to cover the whole cake. Using a flat spatula dipped in water spread the Royal icing over the layer of Almond icing. Decorate the cake as desired