The swirling pink
Originally uploaded by bilbobaggins.
For some one who calls herself lazy, I sure am doing a lot of cooking. Or not. Was reading nupur’s awesome blog and came across a new food blogging event, In the pink. I started googling for recipes in an earnest. Now, pink though a pretty color, is a tad rare in Indian cooking, unless one wants to use food color. I am all for experimenting with food, but, I draw a line at artificial additives, especially when I don't really need to use them.
So thought of using beetroot. But I am not really a fan of beet so had to toss that idea. Swiss rolls with strawberry jam was the next idea, but its too much work and am just too lazy for it. Was browsing for recipes when I came across a link to Japanese food. Now I know next to nothing about making Japanese dishes, though Japanese cuisine does have a lot of the pink color in it. The page had a section on tea and that’s when it struck me. I could use rose hip tea for the color.
And that’s my pink food for the day. I took a traditional Indian recipe and modified it to incorporate the color.
The original recipe for shrikhand, from the book Complete Indian Cooking , calls for
2 cups plain yogurt
1/8 tsp saffron
1Tbsp sugar
1Tbsp rosewater.
The saffron provides the shrikhand with a yellow color. I substituted the saffron with rosehips and instead of yellow, I get pink :)
To make this, all you have to do is to line a strainer with 2-3 layers of cheesecloth and pour the yogurt into it. Tie the cheesecloth and let the yogurt drip for about 4-6 hrs. I usually leave this suspended over a bowl and put everything in the refrigerator. It is a funny arrangement but the yogurt does not turn sour when it’s in the refrigerator. While the yogurt is dripping, in a bowl, place a teabag of rose hip tea and add the rose water. Let this steep. After 6 hrs, add the yogurt to a bowl and add sugar. And add the rosewater, which is now dark pink due to the tea.
That’s it. You are now ready to savor a yummy dessert.
So thought of using beetroot. But I am not really a fan of beet so had to toss that idea. Swiss rolls with strawberry jam was the next idea, but its too much work and am just too lazy for it. Was browsing for recipes when I came across a link to Japanese food. Now I know next to nothing about making Japanese dishes, though Japanese cuisine does have a lot of the pink color in it. The page had a section on tea and that’s when it struck me. I could use rose hip tea for the color.
And that’s my pink food for the day. I took a traditional Indian recipe and modified it to incorporate the color.
The original recipe for shrikhand, from the book Complete Indian Cooking , calls for
2 cups plain yogurt
1/8 tsp saffron
1Tbsp sugar
1Tbsp rosewater.
The saffron provides the shrikhand with a yellow color. I substituted the saffron with rosehips and instead of yellow, I get pink :)
To make this, all you have to do is to line a strainer with 2-3 layers of cheesecloth and pour the yogurt into it. Tie the cheesecloth and let the yogurt drip for about 4-6 hrs. I usually leave this suspended over a bowl and put everything in the refrigerator. It is a funny arrangement but the yogurt does not turn sour when it’s in the refrigerator. While the yogurt is dripping, in a bowl, place a teabag of rose hip tea and add the rose water. Let this steep. After 6 hrs, add the yogurt to a bowl and add sugar. And add the rosewater, which is now dark pink due to the tea.
That’s it. You are now ready to savor a yummy dessert.
13 comments:
love, love, love that picture! the shrikhand looks amazing, and you found just the right kind of bowl to serve it in. very nice work.
thanks nupur,
Its fun to go through your blog , and it serves as a ready reckoner for the upcoming events (even though I might not participate :P)
I really am having fun with this blog , though I do wish I could do as good a job as you.
can i invite myself over sometime?
looks great - am sure it tastes even better!
ano
ano ,
come over anytime u feel like :)
when u said hehehe, i knew it would be something else! Anyway, this was quite interesting, as I am planning to become a good cook (only on Sundays). Maybe I'll try it out. Ur photograph is as usual, absolutely yummy...
lol siggy.
Am realy honored to have you comment on my food blog. Would you be sharing your tomato fried rice recipe. Pretty please :)
that look soooo yumm! ur food blogs are such a gr8 mix of good photography and good food :D
Thanks for participating! I love anything yogurt based (especially desserts!) and I'm sure this must taste as good as it looks (and it looks great)! Thank you very much for participating.
the stuff looks great even without the cause and all that attached to it! :)
my, my bilbo! I am not able to keep up with your cooking. How do you get to do all these?? AND blog about it?
Very pretty! Such a simple recipe and a lovely presentation. Now that's the kind of dessert I yearn to make!
It actually looks like it's moving and swirling! :-)
thanks chronicler and niki, I am glad I participated and that this was appreciated so much :)
I'm a little late reading the round up but this looks fabulous. I often make a spread out of drained yoghurt. I will have to try it as a dessert.
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