.....From My Palate

orange blossom water

Irani Café – Mawa Cake

by

IMG_6640.CR2

Long time no see! It has become a custom for me to start my blog with this expression these days. How are you guys doing? Officially its summer, long bright days are making me happy and more productive. Afternoons are really warm and sunny, compelling me to stay indoors and spending more time in exploring other blogs or browsing idly for some instant entertainment. I really like such lazy afternoons, sitting with my feet up on my favorite spot of the couch with laptop and relishing my penchant for hot cuppa of ginger tea. That’s the most creative and entertaining time of the day for me. I really like spending time with myself in the age when you hardly get any moment alone with all these what’s up, facebook, snapchat, twitter and what not…. Its not that I am against technology, I like it and using it to the best but spending some time with or for myself like old school are still in my priority.

IMG_6644.CR2

While enjoying my own company last week, one afternoon I stumbled upon this video on you tube. Its about an old man going to a Irani bakery and bought a Mawa cake for himself. He ordered a cup of tea with it. While serving his tea a small boy broke the cup and spilled the tea. Another server came and try to hit the boy for his mistake but that old man blamed himself to save that small boy. While eating mawa cake a big piece fell on the floor by the old man. He tried hard but couldn’t reach it. He was disappointed and was really sad. But all of a sudden he realized there is another box of mawa cake on table. The owner of the café who was impressed by his kindness treated him with another box.

IMG_6648.CR2

The moral of the story was “Believe in the magic of kindness”. The story was really simple but it touched the heart really deep. The name of the story was Mawa Cake. After watching the video I had this irrefutable urge to bake and eat a mawa cake. Very next morning I obliged my craving and baked the Mawa Cake.

IMG_6656.CR2

How I wish, if I can share my mawa cake with the same old man. May Kindness rules and make this world more humanly and full of love.
Amen

IMG_6657.CR2

 

Mawa Cake With A Middle Eastern Touch
Recipe Type: Baking / Cake
Cuisine: Parsi
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups Cake Flour
  • 1 1/2 cups Castor Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 cup Khoya, grated
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Orange Blossom Water
  • 1 tsp. Rose water
  • 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 6-7 Green Cardamom, powdered
  • 1/2 cup Milk with 1/2 tsp. of crushed Saffron
  • 1/2 cup Sliced Almonds
  • Sliced Pistachios for garnishing
Instructions
  1. Pre heat oven at 375F. Grease and line the bottom of the cake pan.
  2. Mix cake flour, salt, cardamom powder and baking powder.
  3. Whisk butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  4. Add khoya and whisk again while adding eggs one at a time.
  5. Add orange blossom water, rose water and milk. Mix it well.
  6. Now add dry mixture tbsp. at a time. Mix it well until all combined.
  7. Do not overmix.
  8. Finally add almonds and mix it.
  9. Pour it in a prepared tin.
  10. Garnish with pistachios and saffron thread.
  11. Bake it for around an hour until skewer inserted in a cake comes out clean.
  12. Cool it for 10 minutes.
  13. Serve with tea or coffee.

Baklava – Nutty Sweet Multilayer Pastry

by

IMG_3611.CR2.jpg

I have a Cooking Bucket List, Yes! It is long and I wanted to make each item in the list in my lifetime. When I accomplish any recipe in the list as per my satisfaction, its a proud moment for me and very motivating for my tiny cooking repertoire. Well, in a time of “no sugar-no oil” healthy food (pun intended if you find one) fulfilling cooking bucket list is a big dream. Putting check sign on any particular dish gives me immense pleasure and few extra pounds on my waist.
I wanted to share one of that happy day for me with you guys and my trophy for the day is Baklava- Nuts Filled Flaky Multilayered Pastry sweetened with rose flavored Sugar Syrup.

IMG_3618.CR2.jpg

Baklava is a Middle-Eastern dessert, famous all around world for its flaky, nutty, sweet and rich taste. Home made baklava tastes so good, its fresh, pastry is more flaky and crunchy and sweetness according to taste. It was in my list for really long, i have no idea why i didn’t try it before…its really easy and delicious.
IMG_3619.CR2.jpg
IMG_3621.CR2.jpg
IMG_3623.CR2.jpg

 

Baklava
Author: Bhawana
Nutty Sweet Multilayer Pastry
Ingredients
  • 1 box Phyllo Pastry Dough
  • 1 cup Walnuts
  • 1 cup Almonds
  • 1 cup Butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup crushed Pistachios for garnishing
  • Sugar Syrup
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice
  • (I used 1/2 tsp. Rose Water and 1 tsp. of Orange Blossom Water for extra flavor)
Instructions
  1. haw phyllo sheets according to package instructions.
  2. Mix nuts and pulse them in food processor until coarsely ground.
  3. Boil sugar and water in a pan for sugar syrup.
  4. Add lemon juice and continue boiling syrup for more 10-12 minutes.
  5. Add rose water or orange blossom water for extra flavor.
  6. Preheat oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
  7. Take a deep baking dish and butter the bottom and sides.
  8. Trim phyllo sheets to fit in to the baking dish.
  9. Place a phyllo sheet in a dish, butter it all over with a brush.
  10. Repeat the same process until you stack 15 sheets at the bottom of the dish.
  11. Spread half of the nut mixture over phyllo sheets.
  12. Add five more phyllo sheets brushing butter in between each sheets.
  13. Spread rest of the nut mixture over phyllo sheets
  14. Again, repeat stacking 15 more layers of buttered phyllo sheets.
  15. Cut Pastry diagonally in to diamond shapes.
  16. Pour rest of the melted butter over the phyllo sheets.
  17. Bake for 50-55 minutes until the top of the baklava are golden brown.
  18. Pour the sugar syrup on hot Baklava.
  19. Garnish with Pistachios.
  20. Set aside for few hours or preferably overnight.
  21. Enjoy the goodness of your hard-work.