CHRISTMAS MEMORIES - DECCAN HERALD 23RD DEC 2014 - KALKALS AND CHRISTMAS CAKE

 

DECCAN HERALD – METROLIFE - DOWN FOODPATH      Bring on the Batter   http://www.deccanherald.com/content/449186/bring-batter.html

                              Bridget Kumar,Dec 23, 2014, DHNS:

I have always associated Christmas with the smells, sounds and sights of the season. It brings back the memories of my hometown — Kolar Gold Fields. The smell of the decorated pine Christmas tree in the sitting room, the enticing aroma of Christmas cakes being baked and the ‘kalkals’ and rose cookies being fried, the sight of all the Christmas decorations, buntings and the soothing sounds of Christmas carols — I have great memories of everything and all these are a part of the wonder of Christmas.

My mother would start the preparation of the traditional sweets and treats that are a part and parcel of Christmas a fortnight in advance. Kalkals, rose cookies, fruit cakes, coconut sweets, the Christmas pudding, bole cake, dodol, bebinca, marzipan, peanut fudge, cashewnut fudge and rice crispies were some of the goodies that were prepared in abundance by her. The delicious aroma of these goodies would drift through the house and neighbourhood.
I am sharing the recipes of two of my favourite Christmas delights — kalkals and Christmas cake.
As kids, we would wait for the Christmas holidays to begin so that we could all help my mother in the preparation of sweets. We would all sit around the dining table and each of us would take a lump of dough and spread it on a fork to make as many kalkals as possible with it. These kalkals were like small shells and we would also cut out various other shapes like hearts, clubs and diamonds with the help of cutters. It was fun competing with each other to see who made the most. As soon as we completed a good number my mother would start frying them till all were fried and a huge heap was kept in basins and trays on the table. Once cold, she would make the frosting by pouring hot sugar syrup on the kalkals. We had a lot of fun helping her and sometimes even our non-Christian friends would join the fun. Of course, a good portion of the fried kalkals would go into our mouths in the process! The Christmas spirit would set in early thanks to the Christmas cake. The earlier it is prepared with your choice of liquor, the more delicious it turns out to be. Most Anglo-Indian families have their own recipe for Christmas cake, which is usually handed down through generations. Candied fruit, plums, currants, raisins and orange peels are dexterously cut and soaked in rum or brandy a few weeks in advance. Nuts are peeled and chopped and the whole family comes together to make the Christmas cakes. In our family, different tasks would be allotted to each person — while one whipped up the eggs, another creamed the butter and sugar. A person with strong arms would do the final mixing and stirring. After the cake batter was poured into the tins, the real fun would begin with everyone fighting to lick the leftover batter in the mixing bowl and on the spoons and spatulas! 

Recipe for Kalkals (Serves six)

Ingredients

 Refined flour - 1 kg
 Eggs (beaten well) - 6
Milk or thick coconut milk - 2 cups
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Sugar - 300 grams
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
Oil for frying
Mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Add the coconut milk and eggs and knead to a soft dough. Keep aside for an hour. Form kalkals by taking small lumps of the dough and roll on the back of a fork or a wooden kalkal mould, to form a scroll. Alternately, roll out the dough and cut into fancy shapes with kalkal or cookie cutters. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry as many kalkals as possible at a time. Keep aside.
To frost the kalkals, melt one cup of sugar with half cup of water and when the sugar syrup crystallises, pour over the kalkals and mix well. Store in air-tight boxes when cold.

Recipe for Christmas cake 
Ingredients
Refined flour or plain flour - 500 grams
Dark brown sugar - 300 grams
Unsalted butter - 500 grams
Mixed dried fruits (black currants, raisins and sultanas chopped finely and soaked in rum or brandy before hand) - 500 grams
Chopped orange / lemon peel - 100 grams
Lemon or orange zest - 1 tablespoon
Salt - ¼ teaspoon
Nutmeg powder
- ½  teaspoon
Cinnamon powder - ½ teaspoon
Eggs (beaten) - 4
Milk (optional) - 4 tablespoons
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
Vanilla essence/extract - 1 teaspoon
Black currant jam or orange marmalade - 2 tablespoons
Black treacle syrup or date syrup  (optional) - 2 tablespoons

Preparation
Heat the oven to 150°C. Remove the chopped fruit from the rum, drain and keep aside. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and salt together. Dust the orange/lemon peel and the chopped soaked fruit with a little flour. Cream the butter and sugar well. Add the beaten eggs, treacle/date syrup, vanilla essence, orange/lemon zest and mix well.
Now add the black currant Jam/marmalade, orange/lemon peel and chopped fruit. Slowly, add the flour and mix gently till all the ingredients are combined well. If the mixture is too thick, add a little milk.
Pour into a greased and papered baking tin and bake in a slow oven for about one hour or more. Check if cooked by inserting a tooth pick. If the tooth pick comes out clean, your cake is ready.
Remove from the oven when done and set aside to cool. When the cake is completely cool, poke all over with tooth pick and drizzle brandy or rum.  Repeat once in every week or ten days if you are preparing in advance. Wrap in foil paper. This cake will last for months if stored in an air-tight container.  

CHRISTMAS CAKE

CHRISTMAS CAKE

Christmas time is that very special time of the year signifying happiness, caring and family togetherness. Preparation of the traditional cakes and sweets that are a part and parcel of Christmas starts a month in advance, filling the house and neighbourhood with enticing smells. For many people, one of their strongest childhood memories, is the enticing aroma of baking at Christmas. This is the time, when the whole house is in a festive mood, with the anticipation of Christmas, and everyone in the family chips in to help prepare those heavenly delights, such as  the traditional Christmas Cakes, kalkals and Rose Cookies, many other sweets and goodies that are prepared specially for Christmas. Christmas cakes are the best place to start if you want to get in the Christmas spirit nice and early. Christmas cakes are delicious if you make them in advance and feed it your chosen liquor gradually over the weeks leading up to Christmas. Most Anglo-Indian families have their own recipe for the Christmas Cake, that  is usually handed down through generations. Candied fruit, plums, currants, raisins, orange peel etc are dexterously cut and soaked in Rum or Brandy a few weeks in advance.  Nuts are peeled and chopped and the whole family comes together to make the cake. Jobs are allotted to everyone -  one to whip up the eggs, while another creams the butter and sugar, the flour is sieved, cake tins are lined, and a strong pair of arms are requisitioned to do the final mixing and stirring. After the cake batter is poured into the tins, the real fun starts with everyone fighting to lick the leftover batter in the mixing bowl and from the spoons and spatulas --  Here is a recipe for Christmas Cake that I’ve been using for many years. It may not look very dark but its rich and tasty.

Ingredients:

500 grams refined flour or plain flour              

300 grams dark brown sugar

500 grams unsalted butter

500 grams mixed dried fruits (equal quantities of black currants, raisins and sultanas) which have been chopped  finely and soaked in rum or brandy before hand

100 grams chopped orange / lemon peel          

1 tablespoon Zest of lemon or orange
¼ teaspoon salt                                          

½  teaspoon nutmeg powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon powder

4 eggs beaten well                                             

4 tablespoons milk (optional)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence / extract

2 tablespoons Black Currant Jam or Orange Marmalade

2 tablespoons Black Treacle Syrup or Date Syrup  (optional)

Heat the oven to 150°C

Remove the chopped fruit from the rum, drain and keep aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and salt together.

Dust the orange / lemon peel and the chopped soaked fruit with a little flour.

Cream the butter and sugar well. Add the beaten eggs, treacle / date syrup, vanilla essence, orange / lemon zest and mix well. Now add the Black Currant Jam / Marmalade, orange / lemon peel and chopped fruit. Slowly add the flour and mix gently till all the ingredients are combined well. If the mixture is too thick add a little milk.

Pour into a greased and papered baking tin or dish and bake in a slow oven (150°C ) for about one hour or more. (Check if cooked by inserting a tooth pick. If the tooth pick comes out clean, your cake is ready. Bake for some more time if still raw inside)

Remove from the oven when done and set aside to cool.

When the cake is completely cool, poke all over with tooth pick and drizzle brandy or rum all over the cake, (repeat once in every week or ten days). Wrap in foil paper, and store in an air tight container. This cake will last for months if stored in an air tight container. 

ANGLO-INDIAN CHRISTMAS GOODIES - Christmas Cake, Plum Cake, Kalkals, Rose Cookies, Marsh Mallows, Grape Wine and Ginger Wine

Bridget White-Kumar shares some easy recipes from the Anglo-Indian Festive hamper of Christmas cakes, sweets 
Christmas Fruit Cake
Ingredients: 300 gm plain flour or maida; ¼ tsp salt; 250 gm butter; 250 gm sugar (powdered); 300 gm mixed dried fruit (chopped into small pieces); 3 eggs beaten well; ½ cup cold milk; 1 tsp vanilla essence; 1 tsp baking powder.
Method: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a big bowl. Mix in the butter and rub finely with the fingertips to form crumbs. Add the sugar, vanilla essence, chopped fruit and mix well. Add the milk and eggs. Using a fork mix to a semi-stiff batter without churning or beating. When evenly mixed pour the mixture into a greased and papered cake tin and bake in a hot oven for 45 minutes or till the cake is cooked inside and brown on the top.

Simple Plum Cake Ingredients: 300 gm flour or maida; 250 gm butter; 250 gm powdered sugar; 3 eggs (whites beaten well separately); 1 tsp baking powder; 2 teaspoons chopped orange or lemon peel; 100 gm black currants chopped; 2 tbsp date syrup (for colour); 2 cloves and 2 small pieces of cinnamon powdered; 1 tsp vanilla essence; ¼ tsp salt.

Method: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Dust the orange/ lemon peel and chopped black currants with a little flour. Cream the butter and sugar well. Add the egg yolks, date syrup, cinnamon and clove powder and vanilla essence and mix well. Add the orange/ lemon peel and black currants. Slowly add the egg whites and flour and fold in well. If the mixture is too thick, add a little milk. Pour into a greased and papered baking tin or dish and bake in a slow oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven when done and set aside to cool.

Special Steamed Christmas Plum Pudding

Ingredients: 200 gm fresh bread crumbs; 200 gm butter; 2 tsp instant coffee (Nescafe or Bru); 2 tsp date syrup; ½ tsp baking powder; 2 eggs beaten well; ¼ cup rum;1 tsp ground cinnamon and cloves; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; 100 gm raisins; 100 gm chopped sultanas; 100 gm mixed peel; ½ tsp salt; 100 gm sugar.

Method: Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs and mix well. Gradually add all the other ingredients and mix well. Grease a pudding mould or any suitable bowl with butter. Pour the pudding mixture into it and steam the pudding for about 1 hour on low heat till it is firm to touch.

Note: This pudding can be made in advance and refrigerated till required. Steam for 10 minutes or microwave for 3 minutes before serving.

Fruit Mince Pies
Ingredients: 200 gm flour or maida; 2 eggs beaten; 150 gm powdered sugar; 1 tsp cinnamon powder; 250 gm chopped dry fruits soaked in a little rum before hand; 150 gm butter; ½ tsp baking powder.
Method: Sieve the flour with the baking powder. Cream butter and sugar till creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs, then mix with the flour. Knead to a smooth batter. Roll out the dough and cut out circles. Line a few pie shells with this. Fill each one with the marinated dry fruit and seal with another layer of the dough. Prick on top with a toothpick. Bake the pies in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes.

Kalkals
Ingredients: 1 kg refined flour or maida; 6 eggs beaten well; 2 cups thick coconut milk; ½ tsp salt; 300 gm sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; Oil for deep frying.
Method: Mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Add the coconut milk and eggs and knead to a soft dough. Keep aside for an hour. Form kalkals by taking small lumps of the dough and roll on the back of a fork or a wooden kalkal mould, to form a scroll. Alternately, roll out the dough and cut into fancy shapes with kalkal or cookie cutters. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry as many kalkals as possible at a time.

Rose Cookies
Ingredients: ½ kg refined flour or maida; 250 gm rice flour (optional); 1 cup coconut milk; 200 gm sugar; 6 eggs beaten well; ½ tsp salt; 1 litre oil for frying; 1 tsp vanilla essence; 1 tsp baking powder.
Method: Mix all the ingredients together to form a smooth and slightly thick batter. Heat oil in a deep pan till it reaches boiling point. Now place the rose cookie mould into the oil to get hot. When the mould is hot enough dip it half way only into the batter and put it back immediately into the boiling oil. Shake the mould to separate the cookie from it. Heat the mould again and repeat the process. Fry rose cookies till brown. Continue in this way till the batter is finished.

Note: The batter will stick to the rose cookie mould with a hissing sound only if it is sufficiently hot; otherwise it will just slide off the mould.

Marshmallows
Ingredients: 2 tbsp gelatin; 1 tsp vanilla essence; 250 gm sugar; 2 tbsp icing sugar; ¼ tsp pink food colour.
Method: Soak the gelatin in ½ cup cold water and keep aside for some time till it dissolves completely. On low heat, melt the sugar with ½ cup of water in a pan. Add the dissolved gelatin mixture, mix well and bring to boil. Keep cooking on high heat for about 6 to 8 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and allow to cool. When it is still lukewarm, add the vanilla essence and the food colour and beat well with a fork or egg-beater until thick. Pour this mixture into a dish or plate. Refrigerate till set. Cut into squares then roll in icing sugar.