BAKLAVA

OK,friends,I thought I am being a little too lazy so I decided to post the Baklava recipe today lest the week's routine work takes its demonic hold on me!

Ingredients:500 gms Phyllo dough

500 gms of mixed nuts-I used walnuts,almonds,pistachios and cashews

250 gms of unsalted butter

1 cup sugar(granulated white)

1/2 cup Honey

1 tsp cinnamon powder


Method:First thing,preheat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas mark 4.

Chop the nuts finely.You have to really chop them fine as it gives the final product a good texture.I had a few big pieces left and I did have trouble cutting the baklava where those big pieces were lodged.

Mix the nuts with the cinnamon and keep aside.

Now for the phyllo part:

Open the package and lay the sheets open.Immediately cover them with a kitchen towel so that the sheets do not dry up.Damp kitchen towels did not work for me as I had to throw away some of the soggy sheets.

Take a 9 by 13 inch pan and brush it generously with melted butter.Phyllo does not have any fat in it,so it does need the butter.So don't skimp on it.If you find that the sheets do not exactly fit your pan,just fold over the remaining part of the dough over.

Lay one sheet in the pan.brush it with melted butter,then lay another sheet.Continue till you have 8 sheets layered.Now spread about 1/4th cup of the chopped nuts on the sheets.Top with a layer of phyllo,brush again with melted butter.Layer two sheets like wise, and spread 1/4 cup nuts and so on until you finish the nuts.

Finally,layer 8 more of the sheets brushing them with butter after each layer.Take a very sharp knife and score it into diamonds or squares as you wish.make sure that the cuts go down to the base of the baklava.Then,bake it for 45-50 mins.The baklava should be a nice golden brown and crisp.

While you are baking the baklava,make your syrup.Combine the sugar and honey with the water and cook until the sugar melts.Then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 25 mins.Let the syrup cool completely.As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven all done,pour the syrup onto it and leave it to cool.Once it is cool completely,take out of the pan and serve.This stores well in an airtight box.Store it in layers.


My Notes:I halved the recipe.You can make the syrup using sugar too.Just substitute the honey with sugar and follow as usual.I made this in a 9 by 5 inch pan.Mine doesn't look all that good because my camera phone refused to comply with me that day!

BTW,Phyllo dough or sheets can be found in the freezer section of your grocery stores.A very
good thing to remember is never to cover your phyllo sheets with damp paper towels.I used a kitchen towel to cover my phyllo sheets and it worked wonderfully.

Once the phyllo is thawed,never refreeze it.It might become a soggy mass(atleast that is what happenned to a 3rd pack that I had taken out and refroze later.


I have read over the internet that you should either pour hot syrup on cold baklava or vice versa.Doing this prevents the Baklava from becoming soggy.So choose what suits you and go ahead.This is a real attention grabber.The process is a bit laborious but you will be rewarded in the end,I promise you!

New Updates, and Some of my Recent Work

Hello friends,

I am so very thankful to you all for your concerns and wishes.The happiest update is that Ananya has now adjusted well to the nursery.Today it is exactly one month since she started going.Today she waved a very happy "bye" to me.I felt so relieved I could have danced then and there!

In between,I managed to bake a few cakes,and decorate them.Here are a few snaps:

I baked this Van Cake for my friend M's son Neel.He turned 3 this year on 12th this month.He had a grand party with all the lovely food cooked by his mom.




Here is another peek:


I baked this Barbie cake for my friend D's daughter Aditi,who turned 2 on 17th this month.



Aside from that,I tried making Baklava for the first time from a recipe that I had copied into my computer long ago.I will post the recipe with my modifications in my next post.Take a look at the result:I had only made a small quantity,so I could not take pictures of individual pieces-they went direct from the pan to our mouths!:)


I am glad to say that I can be back to posting regularly now.Thank you all,once again,for your wishes.

My break continues

My dear friends,

Thank you all ,for your concern.I am still very much around.Just getting used to life with a kid in the nursery.Ananya still has problems in adjusting, and that means more attention from mom!:)I cannot say when I will be back to blogging.But I am hoping it will be pretty soon.Meanwhile,I will be visiting your blogs,dear friends, as and when possible, and ofcourse,leaving my comments.I just hope this break is not too long because I started this blog as an outlet for myself!:)

A belated Happy Easter to you all!Keep smiling.