My perfect recipe for Tart Frozen Yogurt

Happy Diwali Everyone :)

Wanted to post something different than traditional Indian Sweets for this Diwali day.

Just made this on Friday,  came out perfect !! Stayed very creamy and soft even after putting the left over in the freezer overnight.
Easy and simple to make and very delicious !!



As I mentioned earlier on this blog earlier that crazy it may sound but my sons or my husband could never convince me to try any of the frozen treats at any of the local frozen yogurt shops, but when we went to California last year, my friend Aarti convinced me to try the "Tart" yogurt from "Pink berry" so reluctantly I did with fresh mangoes on top...and I was hooked !! to Plain tart yogurt with seasonal fruits and roasted almonds toppings.
Since then I have been trying to replicate the Tart flavor yogurt and this one came out pretty close and even better.   All fresh and natural ingredients with no additives and preservatives :)

You can go crazy with the topping or can have it plain, or try with just one or two fruits like I did, my favorite toppings are mangoes and pomegranate. Lychees, Blackberries  and Raspberries are not bad either, but they tend to get little frozen when smeared the yogurt.
Mangoes are almost at end of its season, but thanks to Costco  we found some Brazilian Mangoes there and they were pretty good for being at the tail end of its season.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

So here is how I made it this time.


Ingredients:

• 4 cups plain home made yogurt from 2% milk but can use fat free milk. (Recipe for home made yogurt is on this blog)
• You will need a cheese cloth to drain all the water out of yogurt
• 1 cup of  sugar (You can use Splenda, but when it comes to homemade dessert, I am not crazy about using artificial sweeteners and I mostly stick to sugar, but if someone is diabetic they can use Splenda,  it should work well.
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• Desired fruit topping, I used two ripe mangoes and seeds from 1 red pomegranate.
• You will need an electric ice cream or frozen yogurt maker, make sure the ice cream maker container has been in the freezer for at least 24 hours before use. I have Cuisinart brand of frozen yogurt maker and works really well.

 

Method:

• This time I tied the cheese cloth on top of Tupperware strainer container as shown in the pictures (early morning before heading to work on Friday).
•  I placed the yogurt on this cheese cloth with empty bowl on the bottom of stainer so did not have to worry about hanging this anywhere.

• Went to work on Friday and came back after 9 hours,  all the water was drained from the yogurt, but you could do this for 4-5 hours. I wanted to leave the yogurt at room temp so it becomes a little tart.
• Added this yogurt to the frozen container from ice cream maker with sugar and vanilla and turned the ice cream maker on while I was cooking, it was done in 35 min.
• Served it with small cubes or ripe mango and pomegranate seeds. 
• It was delicious and better than store bought, and much much cheaper too :)

 

 

Suggestions: 

• Tart plain yogurt is preferred choice for this recipe.  You can make the yogurt ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge  for one week before using it for this recipe.
•  If not making the yogurt at home you may use the store bought plain Greek yogurt. 
• Try to avoid plain store bought yogurt as it has some jelly like substance that makes the yogurt very creamy and water does not drain well on cheese cloth.

• You can make any flavor of yogurt by adding that ingredient to it, but the The Tart flavor is the Best in my opinion.
• If yogurt is not tart, you may add fresh lime juice. That should work well too.
• Again this recipe yields 6 servings.

I must say, got carried away with the pics as I always do :)

Enjoy the pics and hopefully they will inspire you to create this mouthwatering treat at home !!

Recipe and Photographs by yours truly Surekha :)

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Spicy Mexican Veg Chili with Medley of Peppers

Hats off to my co-worker T. O. F.  for having Chili cook off this time of  year, which is perfect for all the warm colors of fall, with little chill in the air, that makes the heat of the peppers more tolerable and hearty taste of beans and veggies makes many hungry souls satisfied.

Every year she inspires me to make my vegetarian very spicy chili. So this year I made this one and garnished it with my "Red Hot Spicy Chocolate Bark"(recipe on this blog)  along with cheese, guac and green onions cilantro and red onions.... and for creativity I named it Spicy Mexican Chocolate Chili...but for the basic recipe for this blog I will call it Spicy Mexican Veg Chili with Medley of Peppers.

There were 28 entries all together in this cook off and everything with different kind of  meat with very creative ideas.  Mine was the only lonely vegetarian Chili :( I had no chance of winning but just getting together and taking part in it was half the fun. Needless to say I had a very good time. Thank you T.O.F :) and your loving family that adds additional zest to the event and just makes it well worth taking part in this cook off :) I was glad to be part of it this year too.

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons olive oil(divided in two parts)
• 4 teaspoon cumin seeds (divide in two parts)
• 4 dried whole red round chili peppers
• 4 dried whole red cayenne peppers
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 black large cardamom pods
• 2 sticks of 1 inch cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of asafetida divided in two parts (optional) 
• 4 medium yellow onion, chopped

• 2 teaspoon ginger paste or 1.5"root of peeled and grated fresh ginger
• 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 small chopped Zucchini
• 6 red radishes chopped
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 4 tomatoes chopped (I grind tomatoes and carrots in food processor together gives a nice colorful paste and carrots cook faster this way)
• 2 Hungarian peppers chopped
• 1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped

•  2 sweet small yellow, red and orange variety of peppers chopped

• 1 large yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1-2 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped 
• 1 oz pack of sliced snow white of portabello mushroom chopped
• 2 MAGGI Vegetarian Bouillon Cubes make broth per instructions
• 4 cups pf Black tea made from 4 Lipton or Tetley teabags
• 1 (32- ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14-ounce) can Black beans 
• 1  (14-ounce) can Lima beans

• 2 (15 ounce) can of Pinto beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can of Harmony beans

• 1 (15 ounce) can of Garbanzo beans
• 1 (14-ounce) can Dark red kidney beans
• 1 (14 ounce) can of Cannellini beans
• 1 can of chili beans or any other beans you can get from your pantry
• 1 can of Kernel of corn
• 1/4 cup of sliced pickled jalapenos

Spices:

• 1/4 cup of taco seasoning
• 4-5 tablespoon ground cumin powder
• 1-2 tablespoons cayenne pepper powder
• 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoon of garlic chili sauce (optional)
• 4 tablespoon of Spanish paprika powder
• 2 teaspoons of Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups of water
• 3/4 cup dry red wine
• 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa
• 1 bottle of beer (12 oz)
• 1 can vegetarian refried beans
• 1 pouch of Madras lentils and red beans from Costco (optional)

• 1/2 cup ghost pepper cheese sauce (optional or

you can use any cheese sauce)

• 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
• Lime juice for 1 fresh lime
• 1 tablespoon of Tamarind paste

For Garnish:

• 8 ounces (2 cups shredded) spicy Monterey jack or extra sharp Cheddar
• 1 bunch chopped green onions chopped with whites and greens
• 1 Spanish red onions chopped
• 2 fresh Jalapenos chopped
• 1 Hungarian pepper chopped

• 4 fresh tomatoes diced
• ½ cup Chopped cilantro
• 1 container of Sour cream
• Blue and red corn tortilla chips or black bean tortilla chips, for dipping
• Pickled Jalapeno  slices
• 2 cups of Guacamole or fresh avocado slices from two avocados

Method:
• Over moderate heat, add divided oil to two  deep pots
• When oil is hot add divided cumin seeds and
asefitida to these two pots
• To one pot add all the chopped vegetables and salt and saute until vegetables are soft, do not cover to retain color of veggies. Stir occasionally
• To another pot add cinnamon stick, bay leaves and dried chili peppers
• Then to this pot add onions, ginger and garlic.
• Saute until light brown
• Add sauteed and softened vegetables from another pot.
• Add veggie broth, tomatoes, beer, all the beans except refried beans and madras lentil paste
• Season the all the dried powder spices, hot
sauce, cocoa powder and salt.
• Add red wine, black tea and salt to taste.
• Thicken chili by stirring in refried beans and Madras lentil paste.
• Simmer over low heat about 10-15 minutes with occasional stirring
• Add Tamarind paste and lime juice, chopped slices of jalapenos if desired and mix well
• Add Ghost pepper cheese sauce
• Add Cilantro and mix well
• Serve bowls of chili and top with shredded Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese, green onions chopped peppers,  cilantro, and tomatoes and
sour cream if desired.
• Top with guac or avocado slices
• Serve hot with tortilla chips on side for dipping.

 

 

Suggestions:

• You may omit or add any beans that you like or dislike.
• Before adding to chili, you may want to rinse all the canned beans and corn under water in a colander to wash off additives and salts added to the canned beans and corn.
• You can use medley of dry beans, just soak them for few hours and cook them in pressure cooker, if cooking them in pressure cooker, you may want to add little baking soda, salt to taste and tea bags to bring out color, but cans of beans are easier to use for large group of people.
• This recipe yields about 8 quarts of chili so it is lot of chili, you can adjust to your size of party.
• You can omit any ingredient that you are not fond of.
• You can be creative with different kinds of veggies. I love Okra and many times I have thought of adding Okra to it. You may want to try it, but be sure to stir fry Okra before adding to cut down on the stickiness (I call it slimy nature) of this particular veggie.
• I personally don't like Celery but you can add it if you like.
• Heat can be adjusted by cutting down on hot sauce and amount of Cayenne peppers and Jalapenos :) Potatoes can be added to cut down the heat, but Chili with potatoes may not freeze well and you may need to utilize it sooner.
• Tamarind is used for tangy taste, if not available you may add more lemon or lime juice and can adjust the amount based on your desire for tangy taste.
• You can easily freeze portions of this chili, so you can make it in large amount in fall and take small servings out of freezer and serve in cold snowy weather to warm up your taste buds and clear your sinuses :)
• It can be served with Rice or Naan or any of your favorite warm bread.

 Enjoy :)

 Recipe and Photographs by Surekha

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