"SUTARFENI"- A FINE THREAD DESSERT

 Sutar means thread and feni means fine, therefore the texture is described by the name. It is not suggested to prepare sutarfeni at home because it is a time-consuming process that can last up to three days. Sutarfeni is supposed to have been originated in the Rajasthani and Gujarati deserts, and then spread to Mumbai via traveling merchants. Sutarfeni is a sweet Indian dessert made from rice flour cooked in ghee and mixed with melted sugar to form a cotton candy-like texture. Cardamom is commonly used in the dessert, which is then covered with nuts like almonds and pistachios.

Making Sutarfeni is a three-day process that requires incredible attention to detail. It's critical if the finished product is to be light and fluffy. According to halwais, the fragility of the threads and the lack of sharpness determine its quality.

Making of Sutarfeni with Refined flour/ Maida- 

It's made by kneading refined flour with ghee for five hours and then storing it in a cool, dark area overnight to soak up the fat. Arrowroot is added if the temperature isn't cooperating. After being slathered with a mixture of maida and ghee the next day, the dough is separated into circular parts and gently stretched. Pull, smear, wait 15 minutes, then repeat. Only when the dough reaches string consistency does the halwai come to a halt. It might take the entire day. The stringed parts are then coiled and deep-fried in ghee into serving size chunks. Gratefully, this is when ghee exits the recipe, but only to make way for thick sugar syrup. The coils are arranged over a strainer and left to drain overnight.The sieve is then placed over a shallow well of thick sugar syrup the next morning. One of the apprentices will pour sugar syrup over the mound of coil throughout the rest of the day, allowing it to drain back into the well. This will continue until the sugar fattened coils are put on a shelf and left to sleep it off under a damp cloth at night. In the morning, the halwais wake up to fresh, soft, and airy sutarfeni.

Pic Courtesy- 

• Shree Krishna sweets and snacks.
• Khambat Sweets.

HARIYALI LAUKI KOFTA

Bottle guard fritters cooked in green gravy made up of spinach, mint and coriander leaves.

S.No	Ingredients	Quantity
1	Bottle guard (grated)	250 grm
2	Onion chopped	100 grm
3	Ginger chopped	10 grm
4	Garlic chopped	10 grm
5	Green chillies	15 grm
6	Tomatoes finely chopped	100 grm
7	Cumin seed	1/2 tbsp
8	Dry red chillies	2-3 no
9	Turmeric powder	½ tbsp
10	Red chilli powder	¼ tbsp
11	Coriander powder	½ tbsp
12	Garam masala	½ tbsp
13	Kasuri methi	½ tbsp
14	Mustard oil	2 tbsp
15	Spinach	200 grm
16	Mint leaves	25 grm
17	Coriander leaves	25 grm
18	Salt	10 grm
19	Ghee	25 grm
20	Besan/maida	20 grm
21	Corn flour	10 grm
22	Refined oil	For frying kofta
23	Cream	10 ml

Method of Preparation

1.       Blanch the spinach and add with mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chillies in a blender make a fine paste out of it.

2.       Grate the lauki and squeeze it so that extra water goes off.

3.       Then add cumin seed, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, chopped onion, ginger, green chillies and garlic in grated lauki. Then add besan or maida and corn flour into it.

4.       Make a 15 grm balls out of it and deep fry it and keep it aside.

5.       Take a kadhai add mustard oil heat it and then add cumin seed and dry red chilli.

6.       Then add chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies fry it for approx. 1 minute.

7.       Then add chopped onion and cook it until onion is brown colour.

8.       Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and then add chopped tomatoes.

9.       Then add salt and cook it until tomatoes are cooked well.

10.   Then add kofta and add salt according to your taste.

11.   Add garam masala and roasted kasuri methi powder.

12.   Finish it with cream.

13.   Serve hot with pulao/roti/paratha/naan.

AWADHI CHICKEN KORMA

Chicken cooked in smoked and aromatic brown gravy

S.No	Ingredients	Quantity
1	Onion (Deep Fried)	300 grm
2	Ginger (Deep Fried)	10 grm
3	Garlic (Deep Fried)	10 grm
4	Cashewnuts (Deep Fried)	50 grm
5	Curd	100 ml
6	Ginger paste	1 tbsp
7	Garlic paste	1 tbsp
8	Green chilli paste	½ tbsp
9	Cinnamon	1 small stick
10	Green Cardamom	2 no
11	Clove	2-3 no
12	Bay leaf	1 no
13	Mace- Green cardamom powder	¼ tbsp
14	Garam masala powder	½ tbsp
15	Kewra water	½ tbsp
16	Gulab water	½ tbsp
17	Khoya	25 grm
18	Ghee	40 ml
19	Charcoal	1 small piece
20	Chicken	500 grm

 Method of Preparation

1.       Marinate chicken with salt, ginger and garlic and keep it aside for 1 hour.

2.       Make a fine paste of fried onion, cashew, ginger and garlic by adding little water.

3.       Heat ghee in a pot; add Cinnamon, Green Cardamom, Clove and Bay leaf.

4.       Then add ginger, garlic and green chilli paste and cook it until raw flavour goes off. Then add brown gravy paste and cook it for 12-15 minutes at medium to low flame. Then add beaten curd and cook further for 5 minutes.

5.       Heat little ghee in other pot and add chicken and sauté it for 5 minutes. And remove it and put it in gravy and then add khoya in gravy.

6.       Burn the charcoal on the open flame and put it on small katori or you can make a small katori from aluminium foil too.

7.       Add ½ tbsp of ghee in that charcoal and immediately place the katori in the chicken gravy and close the lid for 1 minute. You can add one clove also in charcoal. Smoke should trap inside. Remove katori after that.

8.       Then remove this katori and add garam masala, mace – cardamom powder, rose water, Kewra water and salt as required.

9.       Cook for 2-3 minutes or until chicken is tender.

10.   Serve hot and garnish with cream/ Rogan or fried onions.

Subz Korma

Assorted vegetables cooked in rich white gravy.

S.NO	Ingredients	Quantity
1	Onion (slice)	500 grm
2	Cashew nut	50 grm
3	Poppy seed	10 grm
4	Melon seed	10 grm
5	Coconut	25 grm
6	Cinnamon	1 stick
7	Cardamom	2-3 pcs
8	Clove	2-3 no
9	Mace	1 pcs
10	Bay leaf	1 no
11	Cumin seed	¼ tbsp
12	Curd beaten	100 grm
13	Garam masala powder	¼ tbsp
14	Ginger paste	½ tbsp
15	Garlic paste	½ tbsp
16	Green chilli paste	½ tbsp
17	Ghee	25 grm
18	Salt	½ tbsp
19	Rose water	½ tbsp
20	Kewra water	½ tbsp
21	Beans (1inch diamond cut)	50 grm
22	Carrot (medium dice)	100 grm
23	Cauliflower (medium floret)	100 grm
24	Peas	50 grm

 Method of preparation

1.       Heat oil in pan then add Cinnamon, Cardamom, Clove, Mace, Bay leaf then add sliced onion and allow it to cook until it is translucent.

2.       Then add Cashew nuts, melon seed and cook for 2 minutes and then finally add coconut and poppy seeds.  Allow it to cool and make a fine paste out of it.

3.       Blanch all vegetables and keep it aside.

4.       Heat ghee in pan then add ginger, garlic and green chilli paste and cook it it is cooked

5.       Then add fine paste of korma in medium to low flame for 10-12 minutes.

6.       Then add beaten curd into it and cook for further 5-6 minutes then add blanched vegetables

7.       Add salt, garam masala powder, Kewra and rose water.

8.       Garnish with fried nuts and Rogan.

9.       Serve with pulao/Naan/paratha.