picture from https://pixabay.com/
Recipe Contributed by Peter Sheva
Have you already prepared international Christmas dishes at home? It could be very interesting to mix some traditional Indian dishes with a German Christmas cake stollen and make your menu more diverse. On the eve of the holiday, the shelves of all German stores are bursting with this delicious cake, but many people prefer to bake this dish by themselves. And, of course, each of them has her special recipe for making the perfect pastry. In Germany, traditional stollen cakes are baked a few weeks before the holiday. And Christmas cake keeps for about two or three months, not stale at all, but even more delicious and flavourful. With its shape and white colour, stollen was supposed to “resemble” a wrapped Christ-child. The first mention of stollen is dated 1329. And since then, its history is filled with interesting variations and flavours. In Dresden at Christmas, the Germans even bake such a huge stollen cake that the knife alone to cut it weighs 12 kg. The giant stollen is put on display at the Christmas market, cut up on December 6, on children’s favourite day, St. Nicholas day, and eaten by the whole world. The money raised from the sale of several thousand servings is donated to charity. For a classic stollen, heavy yeast dough is prepared, and certain proportions of butter and candied fruits must be observed! For example, about 30% of the flour is butter and about 55% is candied fruits. You can find a lot of variations of this Christmas dish. In addition to the classics and the cottage cheese, we know the Dresden stollen, so as stollen with almonds. Even if you enjoy the Indian holiday, gamble, listen to Indian music, or make bets at bet India with your friends, and relatives, or enjoy the traditional Indian dishes, it could be great to diversify your menu and enjoy the taste of this delicious German cake.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup wheat flour 2 cups mixed nuts 120g butter 6 egg yolks 15 g dry yeast 1/2 cup milk 3 tbsp . brown sugar 1/2 cup dark rum 1/2 lemon zest 1 tsp . sugar 1 tsp . salt Large handful of candied citrus fruit mixture Big handful of dark raisins Butter – for greasing Flour – for sprinkles
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FROSTING
100g butter 1/2 cup vanilla pod 1/2 cup powdered sugar
The mixture of nuts, candied fruits, and raisins should be prepared in advance. To do this, pour them in rum and leave for 4-6 hours. After that, drain the liquid, which is no longer needed, and dry the ingredients. Then knead them in flour, so that they do not stick together.
Take a deep bowl and combine in it the milk, the usual sugar, pour the yeast, and 5 tbsp. of sifted flour. Knead the stew and leave for 20 minutes, covering with cling film. In a separate bowl put crushed lemon zest, vanilla seeds, and room temperature butter. Mix well.
Take the sourdough and add the flour that remains, brown sugar, vanilla oil, and yolks. Knead the dough. Then add the nuts, candied fruits, zest, and salt. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead the dough well. Then cover it with a towel and leave for two hours to allow the dough to rise.
Form the dough into an oval shape and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover again with a towel and leave to rise for an hour.
Bake the stollen at 180 degrees for an hour. After 40 minutes, cover the cake with foil to keep it from burning.
Melt the butter and add the vanilla pod seeds. Stir and grease the hot Christmas stollen. Sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup wheat flour 2 cups mixed nuts 120g butter 6 egg yolks 15 g dry yeast 1/2 cup milk 3 tbsp . brown sugar 1/2 cup dark rum 1/2 lemon zest 1 tsp . sugar 1 tsp . salt Large handful of candied citrus fruit mixture Big handful of dark raisins Butter – for greasing Flour – for sprinkles
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FROSTING
100g butter 1/2 cup vanilla pod 1/2 cup powdered sugar
The mixture of nuts, candied fruits, and raisins should be prepared in advance. To do this, pour them in rum and leave for 4-6 hours. After that, drain the liquid, which is no longer needed, and dry the ingredients. Then knead them in flour, so that they do not stick together.
Take a deep bowl and combine in it the milk, the usual sugar, pour the yeast, and 5 tbsp. of sifted flour. Knead the stew and leave for 20 minutes, covering with cling film. In a separate bowl put crushed lemon zest, vanilla seeds, and room temperature butter. Mix well.
Take the sourdough and add the flour that remains, brown sugar, vanilla oil, and yolks. Knead the dough. Then add the nuts, candied fruits, zest, and salt. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead the dough well. Then cover it with a towel and leave for two hours to allow the dough to rise.
Form the dough into an oval shape and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover again with a towel and leave to rise for an hour.
Bake the stollen at 180 degrees for an hour. After 40 minutes, cover the cake with foil to keep it from burning.
Melt the butter and add the vanilla pod seeds. Stir and grease the hot Christmas stollen. Sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/how-to-bake-a-german-christmas-cake-stollen/
Easy beginners raw mango pickle. Made with grated mango and spices. Recipe with video instructions.
This is a very beginner friendly mango thokku / pickle that can be made in under an hour including prep work. This is a very forgiving recipe that comes well every single time. This thokku has less than 10 ingredients (9 to be exact). I am not a big mango pickle fan in the house but my husband polishes it off with much gusto with curd rice. This goes well with dosa too. A family favorite. Do try it at home.
While grating the mangoes, grate it along with the skin as the skin adds a nice textural contrast to the pickle/thokku.
Be liberal with the use of oil so the thokku stays for long without getting spoiled. I store my thokku in the refrigerator at all times. Use a dry spoon to take the pickle everytime. If stored correctly, this thokku will stay good for a couple of months (it never lasts that long) easily.
A note on fenugreek seeds powder – I grind the fenugreek seeds to a powder in a mixie and add. Some households dry roast the fenugreek to golden before grinding. A classic in pickle making. I feel that raw powder works as good for this recipe.
Here is the video of how to make grated raw mango thokku
750 grams raw mango 3/4 cup Indian sesame oil 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder 1.5 tablespoon red chili powder 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds powder 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon jaggery
Grate the raw mango along with the skin and set aside. We will need about 3 cups of grated mango for this mango thokku recipe. Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add in the mustard seeds. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the grated mango and mix well to coat the grated raw mango in oil. Add in all the spice powders and the salt. A note on fenugreek seeds powder – I grind the fenugreek seeds to a powder in a mixie and add. Some households dry roast the fenugreek to golden before grinding. A classic in pickle making. I feel that raw powder works as good for this recipe. Mix the masalas well so it coats the mangoes. Cover the pan and cook on a medium flame for about 15 minutes. Keep stirring once a while so it does not scorch at the bottom. After 15 minutes, add in a tablespoon of jaggery. The jaggery adds a nice balance to the thokku. Cook for 5 minutes more. The thokku is ready after this time. The oil would have come out on the sides of the thokku. Let the mango thokku cool completely before bottling. Use a ceramic or a glass jar to store the mango thokku. I prefer to store the mango thokku in the refrigerator at all times.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 15m
- Cook Time: 30m
- Diet: Vegetarian
