Zafrani badaam pista kulfi

After I got married and shifted to Delhi, faithfuly visiting Nirula's 21 in Connaught Place was one of our favorite spots. It always had 21 flavors of ice creams on its shelf. The Zafrani badaam pista used to be loaded with lots of pistachios and left a very lip smacking flavor in your mouth.

Since the time, I started making kulfi at home, this apart from other flavors is a favorite in our home.

Ingredients:
one measure basic kulfi mixture, Pista elaichi kulfi

To be added to mixture:
20 almonds, blanched and slivered
2 tbsp pistachios, roughly chopped
a good pinch of zafran / saffron

Method:
To the basic mixture, while still hot, add saffron strands. They will release their color and flavor in the warmth of milk.
Add slivered almonds and pistachios to the mixture.

Transfer the mixture to kulfi moulds or the container of your choice. I decided to freeze kulfi in an earthern pot this time.
Before you use the earthern pot, soak it in water for at least one hour. This way the milk is not absorbed by the porous material.

Cover with an aluminium foil properly and put it in the freezer.

The kulfi will be very hard so to make it a little soft, you need to let it sit outside for sometime.

 The kulfi is now ready to be served....

 Enjoy spoonfuls of soft and creamy kulfi :)

Moong besan khaman dhokla

Having made besan dhokla many times, inspired me to mix besan and moong flour together this time. The result was quite satisfying. The dhoklas were soft, light and spongy.

Somehow, khaman seems to have made a mark as one of the favorite dish in our house.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chickpea flour, besan
1/2 cup yellow moong flour
2 tbsp semolina
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
water to make batter
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp eno fruit salt

for tempering:
4 tbsp oil, I used only 2 tbsp
3-4 green chillies, slit
a good pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
coriander leaves, chopped


Method:
Sift both the flours properly to remove any lumps.
Add salt, semolina, turmeric, sugar and mix properly.

Add sufficient water to make a batter of dropping consistency.
Add ginger-green chilli paste.

Check consistency...

Leave the batter to rest for about 10 minutes.

Add lemon juice and mix.

Fill water in the steamer and put it on heat.

Grease a container and put it inside the steamer. Cover with lid.

While the water is about to come to a rolling boil, add eno fruit salt with a little water.
Whisk thoroughly. The batter will foam up and become almost double in volume.

Pour batter into the container.

Cover the steamer with lid. Set timer to 8 minutes and let the batter cook.
Switch off the flame and let the dhokla remain in steamer.

Meanwhile, prepare the tempering.

Slit green chillies, remove seeds if desired. Add to hot oil and let them saute' for sometime.

Add a good pinch of asafoetida, sesame and mustard seeds.

Pour the tempering on to the dhoklas.

When cool, cut into squares.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and dessicated coconut, if desired.

Notes:
You can substitute green moong flour for the skinned moong flour. It will give a slightly green color to khaman.

Inculcating decision making in children

The fruits of parenting are visible only after your children have grown up. Before that you are so busy making them see right from wrong that you don't realise the end result till you experience the outcome.

When my daughter visited us and we were both chatting, she mentioned that decision making was one of the very positive things that they learned at a very early age. I was surprised for I, obviously assumed it was natural and a part of the family approach. She said that there are people who find it difficult to make proper decisions. That made me think about this post.

Is decision making inborn or we can teach such things? To some extent, it is a part of the personality but they can be inculcated in children.

Small everyday decisions taken in the house lead to major decision making ability later on in life. We parents have the tendency to take all decisions, may it be what would be cooking for dinner, who would be invited over, what clothes our child would be wearing or even what the menu would be for his or her birthday ! I often hear parents decide even when the child becomes an adult.

We take the leash in our hands.  If we decide everything for the child, but do not consider the basic question- am I leaving anything for them to decide on?  The problem most often is we do not want the child to make decisions for himself, for once he starts taking decisions, your role is over ! he might not even need to ask you.  But, this is so wrong, on the contrary your child will come back to you in any major decision makings. It is sign of a healthy family where parents ask for opinions from their children and all important decisions are taken together as a family.

We are all born with some traits and those form our over all personality. But exposure to situations can also bring about a change in that personality to a very large extent.

Inculcating decision making is not a one-day thing. It is an ongoing process.
You do not ask for important advise from a small child but maybe take his opinion about mundane things, such as where do we go out for dinner? You tell him that we are going to spend a specified amount of money and therefore what would be best place to go. Also, why that place? These small "unimportant" decisions taken by the child hone their major decision making ability later in life. This also imbibes a lot of confidence in them for they learn how to weigh his priorities.

I am suggesting a few ideas of instilling decision making in your child. You do not need special events for that, make it a part of everyday practice. A weekend outing and managing the food and drinks to be packed or purchassed makes the child think of the small details. Obviously as a parent, you have to keep a watch on what is being packed or what is missing. Maybe, give some ideas and let them decide for themselves.

Maybe, give the child certain amount of money and let him decide as to what should be bought. This leads to money management abilities also.

I feel elated that the things which I had thought as a natural part of parenting have made my children so confident and well adjusted to life.