Almond mocha bars - chewy, chocolatey bars for the holidays

How have you all been? I disappeared for the past week as we had family visiting. It has been loads of chitchatting, catching up, eating, outings and movies. DD had a blast with her 2 cousins and they all had long faces as we said 'bye' to them yesterday. It was a nice wrap up of 2012 and we are back again to the 3 of us at home with a couple of days left before the New Year begins. It is time now to take stock of how well and fast 2012 went by and get ready for another exciting year and unlimited opportunities.

As the girls got together for Christmas, there was obviously lot of anticipation and excitement starting with decorating the tree, we decided to get a small fresh one this time unlike the previous years where we have stood up the pre-lit plastic tree. The small tree actually looked beautiful and smelled fresh after all the ornaments went on it. The girls were very considerate to respect the potential, future diabetic Santas at home and instead of cookies, left crackers and milk by the fireplace :-). I baked a batch of these warm almond mocha bars for the girls and they enjoyed the slightly chewy texture of the bars loaded with roasted almonds and a hint of coffee to keep them awake through the night (they didn't need it as each other's company was intoxicating enough for them :-)).

We adults at home got treated to a dinner cooked by the girls one of the nights. The two sets of parents and one set of grandparents were all banished away from the kitchen, kitchen was cordoned off and draped by sheets so we don't even get a peep into the happenings. Amma was only consulted when it was critical and there was no other way out and she was allowed only once in the kitchen with eyes blinded on the sides to dig out the yogurt from the refrigerator. We were very pleasantly surprised when they served us with appetizers containing a very creative ritzies (Ritz crackers topped with onion, tomato, cilantro, chat masala and such), baked samosas followed by a full course of methi paranthas, rice, mutter paneer, raita and subzi and rounded off with brownies. Although they took the help of some semi prepared food, we were all extremely proud and happy about the well orchestrated effort that went off smoothly with no fights, no walkouts but a very mature and calm execution. They were completely tired by the end of dinner and moms & dads had to pamper them by feeding them their dinner :-). I wanted to share a few pictures of the dinner we had to give a glimpse of the girls efforts. Very proud of you S,K & N.

This is another recipe I got from Michael's cookie books I mentioned in my previous post, doesn't have eggs but we all loved the subtle coffee taste as you bite into the rich bars loaded with almonds and chocolate pieces. I am sure you can replace almonds with other nuts of your choice and I want to try with some roasted coconut flakes next time I bake these as I like the flavor it gives to the cookies.

What do you need to make Almond mocha bars?
Makes about 24 bars of 1.5inch X 2.5 inch
1/2 cup butter or 1 stick (US measure) - at room temperature
1/2 cupfirmly packed brown sugar
1/2 Tsp almond extract
1 cup AP flour
1 Tblsp instant coffee granules
1/4 Tsp baking powder
1/8 Tsp salt
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sliced almonds

How do you make Almond mocha bars?

• Toast almond on medium heat until you can smell the toasted nuts (takes about 5-7 minutes on stove top), chop into small pieces and keep aside. 
• Cream butter, brown sugar and almond extract until fluffy - I used my hand electric blender for 3 minutes
• In a small bowl sieve together AP flour, coffee granules, baking powder and salt. 

• Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture and stir to form a soft dough. 
• Add the chocolate chips and chopped almonds.
• Press the mixture into baking pan (I used 8X11 and the dough covered about 3/4 of the pan), keep the thickness of the pressed dough to about an inch. 
• Bake in a 350F pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the top turns light golden. 
• Let it stand for 5 minutes and make markings with a sharp knife for desired size. 

• Let the bars cool completely in the pan before cutting them out. 

Dates & nuts burfi - celebrate the festival of lights

South India celebrates Deepavali as Naraka Chaturdashi (celebrating the victory of Krishna & wife Satyabhama over the evil demon Narakasura) and Bali Padyami (celebrated as Diwali all over India). Diwali is also celebrated as Laxmi pooja in business communities where accounting starts afresh on this day of the year. No matter what it was called, the festival of lights was dear to us as kids. It meant lots and lots of food, fire crackers to burst throughout the day and deepa (or diyas) to light up in the evening. While we were in elementary school, me & my younger brother decided not to buy or burst crackers but put all our energy into lighting the Deepas in the evening. I am not sure how it started but it had something to do with the seemingly unending noise and dust that clouded the Deepavali festival for us, it was a very small way of contributing towards a healthier environment. While we did get called names by friends for the 'noble deed', I am happy we stuck to it. The few times I have broken the self imposed rule is the year I got married and BH brought home some crackers and when DD was 2 years old and we lighted some flower pots for the baby to enjoy. I try not to be a spoil sport and join in the fun but I don't go out & buy crackers myself without someone putting pressure on me :-)

Come evening, lights were a big part of the festival for us. Amma used to make lamps with wheat flour in addition to the clay lamps and get them ready with wicks and oil in the afternoon. Arranged in a wide platter, we would take them outdoors and put them at a few inches from each other all over the wall around the house and light them with a candle. Invariably, Deepavali would come with wind and some rains which used to ruin the lights but the indomitable spirit in us as kids saw to it that we kept relighting them every time a wind blew them out. In addition to the lamps, we also have started putting up our strings of electric light as everybody here gets ready for the holiday season.

May this Deepavali bring everyone lots of joy and happiness.

I have been visiting and going over the scrumptious Deepavali/Diwali treats cooked by many blogger friends for the past 2 weeks or so. While I thought I would join in and post my festive recipes, I got pulled back for lack of time and also the fact that we have been eating heavily for some time now to enjoy the goodies with visiting family and the trend will continue on for a while to come. So to keep it simple and yet delicious, I made these dry fruits and nuts burfi. If you are looking for a festive treat to celebrate the festival of lights, cooking can't get any simpler than this healthy treat.

What do you need to make the Dates & nuts Burfi?
About 10 good quality dates - pitted (I used medjool dates which are on the sweeter side)
About 4 dry figs (optional, if not using, increase the quantity of dates by another 4)
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1 Tblsp pine nuts (optional)
1 Tblsp poppy seeds/gasagase
1 Tsp ghee

How do you make Dates & nuts Burfi? 

• Chop the dates and figs (if using) into small pieces and keep aside. 
• Dry roast the poppy seeds for a couple of minutes until they start to pop, cool and powder them. keep aside.
• Dry roast the nuts for a couple of minutes and chop them into small pieces.
• Heat the ghee in a pan, add the chopped dates and figs and let it soften up on medium heat. 
• As the dates become softer, push them together into a single mass with the help of the spatula. 

• When the dates pieces are no longer visible (5-7 minutes), add the chopped nuts and powdered poppy seeds. Give a good mix and switch off the stove. 
• Take everything onto a wide plate/cutting board and work with your hands to ensure nuts get mixed in well. 

• Break into 2 balls and roll them into logs, let it sit for 8-10 minutes or until it cools off. 
• With a sharp knife, cut them into 1/2 inch thick discs, store and enjoy. 

Notes: 

• I do not add any sugar in this recipe as the dates I get here are quite sweet, you may want to add sugar if you prefer it. 
• Adding roasted poppy seeds powder gives a very nice flavor to the burfis, a little amount of poppy seeds goes a long way. 
• If you want to make this more festive looking, get some sheets of edible silver foils and wrap the logs in them. When you cut the discs out from the logs, you have a nicely silver coated burfi.

• Roasting the nuts is not mandatory but I prefer it for the crunch it gives the nuts. You can spread the nuts in a single layer in a microwave safe plate and zap it for a minute for the same roasted crunch.
• You can mix & match any unsalted nuts of your choice in this recipe. 
• Chopped dates+figs should be the same volume as the chopped mixed nuts. 

Badam mithai or Almond Burfi

Some people have a sweet tooth and some prefer savory stuff, I am bracketed into the second category. Growing up I never cared much for sweets as long as I had my deep fried snacks and hot, spicy pickles and used to give a hard time to nammamma on festivals not even touching the sweets she made. On one of those occasions, anna (my father) said simply, 'Don't refuse sweets, you will be refusing the sweetness in life', and it had a big impact. I don't say no to sweets now even if I eat a little bit of it and I honestly believe what he was saying was not to blindly refuse something I thought I didn't like but to go out and try everything life had to offer, may be I am reading too much into his simple words but for me my dad has been the greatest role model and I miss him..

Funnily though, over the years I have developed a strong liking to some sweets and all of a sudden crave for something sweet especially after a heavy lunch on a weekend, I have had my other friends & sister tell me they experience it too, may be it is a female thing..And the craving is so bad that I have to have something sweet. I like dark chocolates and keep them handy for those crazy moments. Other than me, everybody at home love sweets, especially amma. She is more of a jaggery sweet person and goes about adding jaggery to everything and she has been after me since last month to add more sweet dishes on the blog, and finally here I am with my second sweet on Sattvaa.

When I was not a blogger and didn't even have a thought about food blogging, one day I happened to stumble on Indira's Mahanandi with the help of Google. I was hooked to the pictures and her way of bringing a dish to life on the internet. When I thought of creating my own food blog, I remembered Indira and went back to see what was happening on Mahanandi, looks like she is taking a break. I wish her the very best in whatever her current pursuits are. She has blogged about Badam burfi, if you want to look at her version of it.

Burfis are very tasty and easy to make if you give them the right amount of TLC (tender loving care) and complete attention they expect out of you, avoid multi tasking with the sweet recipes. Nammamma & my SIL are experts in making melt in the mouth mysore pak and badam burfi respectively. I am a very later bloomer in this genre, infact, until recently I used tell my family they would get halwa on a good day and burfi on a better day when I set out to make it :-), I do believe I have come close to getting the elusive consistency right. So here is an easy to make, delicious and packed with nutrition - Badam burfi.

What do you need to make Badam burfi?
3 cups badam/almonds
2 and 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
A generous pinch of cardamom powder
4-5 drops of ghee/clarified butter

How do you make Badam burfi?

• Soak almonds in hot water for 30-45 minutes.
• Remove the skin of almonds by giving the soaked nuts a gentle squeeze between your fingers.
• Spread them in a single layer on paper towels/dry cloth until the moisture is gone and the nuts feel dry to touch. 
• Make a powder by pulsing them in your blender, don't grind as the nuts turn into a paste with their oils. 
• Heat a heavy, thick bottom pan on medium heat, add water & sugar and bring them a boil. 
• Keep stirring until you get the sugar syrup of the right consistency - after about 15 minutes, put a couple of drops of the syrup into a bowl with cold water, if the sugar turns into a soft ball the syrup is ready, else keep stirring it further. 
• After many trials & errors, I have realized that the soft ball consistency is reached a little before the single thread consistency, so when you lift the syrup with the ladle and let it drop it should not be threading yet. 
• As soon as you see the syrup ready, pour the almond and cardamom  powder into it and keep stirring continuously. 
• Within 5-7 minutes, you will see the mixture leaving the sides of your pan, pour the mixture into a ghee smeared plate/tray and spread it evenly. 
• Draw lines with a knife to get desired shapes of the burfi. 
• Let the burfi cool completely before cutting them.  

Note: 

• Because of the grainy texture of my almond powder, the burfi looked similar to the kobbari mithai.  I plan to make the powder a little more smooth next time.
• I haven't added any ghee except to prepare the plate but you can add ghee if you like a richer taste. 

 Tips:

• Do the entire process in medium to medium low heat, keep your focus on the syrup and use a thick bottom pan. 
• If you missed the consistency of the syrup and went to threading stage, add a couple of Tblsp of water to start the process over, but do not do this more than once as you might as well resign to the fact of eating a 'not burfi looking' sweet :-)

• Once you pour the burfi into the greased plate, wet your hands in cold water and gently coax the mixture to spread evenly to the edges of the plate, you will get a natural moisturizer to your hands - one of the fringe benefits of of this exercise.