IMRATI: LIP SMACKING SWEET

I have been wanting to make Imrati for quite sometime. This used to be my mother's favourite sweet dish. So every time I miss my Mom I tell myself to make this sweet dish. Other day i with my sister's help made Imrati. Experiment was a success as you can see in the picture

But before we start collecting the ingredients for the Imrati, let us look into the origin of this popular sweet.   Imrati or Jahangiri is a popular sweet of sub continent of India.  There is a saying the Imrati originated in the Mughal kitchen. Prince Salim,  Jahangir was very fond of sweets. Once he got bored with all the usual sweets and demanded to eat something new.  Royal kitchen cooks were in a fix. Finally one cook remembered a sweet similar to Imrati in Persia, known as Zulbiya.  The cook gave it an Indian twist and added the urad dal (lentil) and deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup for a short while.  Thus originated the Imrati.

Another theory is that Jalebi originated in ancient India where it was called Kundalika or Jal-vallika. It is said this name was given because the sweet was full oh watery syrup.  Actually Jalebi is the mother of Imrati. Only difference is jalebi is made of white flour or maida while Imrati is made of Urad dal (black gram split)paste. Rest of the process is the same.

Here is the recipe for Imrati which will come handy during Diwali preparations.

Ingredients:

2 cups urad dal(black gram split), 3 cups sugar,  1 1/2 cups of water, 4 drops of orange food colour,  1/2 tsp of cardamom powder, 500 grams ghee for frying, 1 tbsp of crushed pistachio.

Method:

Wash and soak dal for at least five six hours. Drain water and grind dal with very little water so that the batter turns out to be thick.  Mix the food colour and beat the ground dal till fluffy and light.  To test if it is done, put a droplet of this batter in a glass of water. If it floats up, the batter is done.  

Cook sugar and water over low heat till sugar is dissolved.  Cook it for seven minutes or when one thread consistency is formed. Test this between your thumb and finger by putting one droplet and pulling it apart. If it turns into a thin thread, it is done.

Add cardamom powder to the syrup and mix it well.  Heat the ghee in a pan.  Fill the cake Icing tube or empty plastic bottle with a nozzle.  Fill it with batter.  Lower the flame.  Make two circles and then flowery pattern around the circles direct in the ghee. Once Imrati is crispy, take it out and drop it in the sugary syrup for 3 - 4 minutes.  Repeat the process till batter is finished.

Take out the Imrati in a plate and sprinkle with crushed pistachio before serving.

SWEET AND SOUR PUNJABI VEGETABLE PICKLE

Cauliflower. Carrot and turnip pickle is a spicy North India pickle with sweet and sour taste.  This pickle is eaten in small amounts to add flavour and to accent a meal.

Most Indian pickles are prepared using oil and some souring agent like vinegar, lemon or tamarind.  The spices and ingredients vary from one region to another which is a speciality found only in Indian pickles.  One thing is common with pickling process in india, almost all pickles are made with salt, spices, vegetables, oils and are set to mature in sunlight.

Pickling began 4000 years ago although its origin is unknown.  But in India pickles were known in the Vedic period as well.  The Vedic scriptures indicate quite relevant knowledge of the pickles.  Those days pickling was probably done to preserve food for out of season use and for long journeys.

When I was young, I recall making cauliflower, carrot and turnip pickle with my mother and my aunts. It used to be a big production, a ritual and a reason to be together one afternoon.  One aunt will chop the vegetables, second aunt will blanch them and the third one will spread them on a white sheet on the rooftop in the blazing sun. I often helped my mother in grinding the spices and telling jokes to keep everyone's spirits high.

With those memories I ventured out to make this pickle all by myself.  I made these one month ago but that big jar finished in one week.  That encouraged me to make second batch. In the second batch I made a few changes in the process.  Instead of blanching the vegetables, I started steaming them and then drying them in the afternoon sun. This way vegetables dried faster and better.  Any water content in the vegetables can spoil the pickle.  The jar has to be sterilised well.

Here is my recipe of that famous punjabi cauliflower, carrot and turnip sweet and sour pickle which I learnt from my mother and aunts

Ingredients:

1/2  kg cauliflower, 1/2 kg carrots, 1/2 kg turnips, 1 cup white vinegar. 2 cups grated jaggery. 1 cup mustard oil, 1/4 cup grated ginger, 24 medium size cloves of garlic, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp Garam Masala. 1 tsp turmeric. 1/4 tsp asafoetida. 2 tbsp anise, 2 tbsp brown mustard seeds, 2 tbsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp fenugreek seeds, 4 tsp table salt, 3 tsp black salt.

Method:

Wash and peel carrots and turnips.  Chop them into small pieces.
Keep cauliflower in warm water for 15 - 20 minutes and chop into small florets and  drain water. Dry them in the sun or in the shade. If you want you may dry them in the oven with minimum temperature.
Steam chopped carrots and turnips for a few minutes and let them dry just like cauliflower.
Make a ginger and garlic smooth paste in the grinder.
Ground anise, mustard seeds, cumin and fenugreek seeds.
Heat oil in a big pan, add asafoetida and ginger garlic paste. Let it cook well.
Add salts, spices, red pepper, Garam masala and turn off the stove.
In the meanwhile cook white vinegar and jaggery on a medium flame till jaggery dissolves.
Add this to oil mix. Now add all dried vegetables and simmer for two or three minutes.
When it turns completely cool, spoon the pickle in a big jar.
Tie a muslin cloth with a string on the lid of the jar.
Let it sit in the room temperature for next 24 hours.
If you want you can put the jar in the sun for a couple of hours for next two three days.  It helps pickle with the marination process.
Although this pickle can be eaten immediately but it tastes better after two days when spices get into the vegetables.
Enjoy with rice or paranthas.