How to Beat Eggs with Hands

BEATING EGGS WITH HANDS

·         Beating egg whites with hands.

·         The Right Bowl

• Use a small deep bowl with a rounded bottom for four to five egg whites or a large, deep bowl for more.

• A copper bowl is ideal, since it will react chemically with egg whites to form fluffy, high peaks.  

• When using a stainless steel or glass bowl, add cream of tartar or lemon juice to achieve the same result as with a copper bowl

Avoid aluminum bowls which can cause whites to turn gray and wooden bowls, which tend to absorb oils from other usages and can retard your whipped whites.

• Bowl and beater should be completely clean and dry. 

The Right Eggs

• Fresh eggs will achieve the fullest volume as they are slightly acidic and this helps stabilize the proteins. As an egg ages, it slowly becomes more alkaline, which makes the proteins less stable. 

• The addition of an acid will fluff up your whipped egg whites. It stabilizes the whites and adds volume. Add 1/8 teaspoon of acidic ingredient (such as lemon juice, vinegar, or cream of tartar) per egg white, except for meringues, where 1/8 is used for two egg whites. The acid should be added to the whites just as they begin to become frothy during beating.

• You will get more volume when beating egg whites if you first bring them to room temperature. Set the eggs out on your counter at least 30 minutes in advance of your preparation. For a quick method, place the eggs in a bowl of very warm, but not hot, water for 5 to 10 minutes.

• If your recipe calls for the eggs to be separated, do this when the eggs are cold. Separate Eggs and Yolks carefully. 

Separated egg whites should not have any traces of egg yolks.   Beating egg will take time... minimum of 20 minutes , if it is done by hands.  Egg will raise nicely , i.e. you need more space .  Take big bowl and big egg beater. Beat egg nicely, with a very good speed.  Don’t give stirring movement.  You have to literally beat them.  While doing so, keep turning the bowl to get it mixed nicely while beating.  

When beating egg whites, at first you'll have a puddle of clear liquid with some large bubbles in it.

As you continue beating, the liquid will become opaque as it forms many more, smaller bubbles

If a point forms and then falls over immediately, the egg whites are at a soft peak, where the tip will bend . It may take time to get this consistency... be patience.





soft  Peak

From here, 20 to 25 more strokes with a whisk will bring you to a medium peak, and another 15 to 20 strokes to stiff peaks.






Stiff  Peak

According to the recipe…. Keep beating till you get soft or stiff peaks.



·         Use within 10 minutes.   The more you keep it as it is, the more the air gets escaped from the beaten eggs. 

Beating Egg Yolks with Hands :

Beat the yolks in the same procedure as beating egg whites, in a high speed.

If specified in recipe , add sugar and then beat.

For making ribbon,  yolk should be beaten till it changes its colour,  become thick and will fall like Ribbon , if you pour.

How to separate Egg Whites and Yolks

We generally separate egg whites and yolks. 

Reason may be , we want to avoid fat ( yolks ) or may be some recipe demand to do so.

Let it be.   Let’s find how to separate egg whites easily using empty plastic , water bottle.

Eggs taken out from fridge is the best option to remove whites and yolks easily.

If the eggs are in room temperature, keep it in fridge for some time and then break it.

egg white

yolk in plastic bottle

First carefully tap and open the egg and pour gently the content into a plate.  Now take a water bottle ( plastic ) … now squeeze the bottle to let air out…  remain the position and let the mouth of the bottle rest on the yolk nicely and gently pull out  , to let air inn.   By doing so , automatically , egg yolk will be sucked into the bottle leaving only the egg whites in  the plate.  To take out the yolks from bottle, just squeeze out and pour yolk in the bowl. Keep Egg whites separately and Yolks separately in clean bowls and use.  



Isn't it simple ? .  Try it out... you will love to do it again... how playful it is  :-D . 

Fruit Cake

Eggless Fruit Cake

 

 Ingredients:

 1 cup -- all-purpose flour

 1/2 cup -- sugar

 1/2 cup -- unsalted butter

 1/4 cup -- whole milk

 2 tbsp -- raisins

 2 tbsp -- glazed cherries

 1 tbsp -- honey

 1/2 cup – fresh curd

 1/4 tsp -- soda-bi-carbonate

 1/2 tsp -- baking powder

 

 Method:

 

 Preheat the oven on 'convection' at 180 degree.

 Sieve flour, soda-bi-carbonate and baking powder in a bowl.

 Beat butter and sugar well. Add honey and curd to it and rest of ingredients to the cake batter.

 Grease the baking dish & pour the batter into it.

 Bake at 180 degree for 30-35 mts on the lower rack.

 Cool the cake on the wire rack for 10 mins.

 

I would like to hear from you...  Kindly share your thoughts here, as a 'Comment' . Thank You.


 

Honey Coated Dinner Rolls

Honey Coated Dinner Rolls.

( Recipe Courtesy …   Julissa  Roberts webpage.)

 

1-1/2 cups :  Milk

2-1/4 tsp. :  instant or active dry yeast

 1/4 cup :  vegetable oil

2 Tbsp  :   unsalted butter

 1/4 cup  :  granulated sugar ( 50 grams )

 5-1/4 cups  :   bread flour

 1-1/4 tsp. :   salt

 1 :  egg

 

 Make the dough: 

 In a small pan, heat the milk until Luke warm. Remove from the heat and whisk in the yeast until it dissolves. Add the oil and butter—the butter may begin to melt, but it’s OK if it doesn’t melt completely—and then whisk in the sugar. Let rest until the yeast just begins to float to the surface, about 5 minutes.

In a big bowl …combine the flour, salt, and egg. Add the yeast mixture and mix on low speed with a large spoon until a coarse ball of dough forms, about 1 minute. Let rest for 5 minutes.

 

 Knead on a lightly oiled work surface until the dough feels soft, supple, and pliable, about 3 minutes; it should feel gluey to the touch, but not sticky, and pull away from your finger when poked instead of sticking to it. If the dough is too sticky, add 1 Tbs. flour at a time, kneading to incorporate. If it’s stiff, knead in 1 Tbs. of milk at a time.

 

 Stretch and fold the dough over itself from all four sides to the center, crimping it where the folded ends meet, to form it into a tight, round ball.

 

 Put the dough seam side down in a lightly oiled bowl that’s twice the size of the dough. Tightly cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, about 90 minutes, or refrigerate for 1 to 4 days so that it slowly rises to double its size.

 

 Shaping:

We can bake like a small bun or can shape as per our wish.

I have given 3 examples on how can we shape them…. ( Detailed instruction on how to shape at the end of this post )

1.  Rose 

2.  Knotted

3.  Butter flakes

 

 

 Let the rolls sit at room temperature until they just begin to swell, 30 minutes to 1 hour for room-temperature dough, 1 to 1-1/2 hours for refrigerated dough.

 

 Baking the rolls:

 Preheat oven @ 190 degree.... bake the shaped rolls for 12 to 15 mts.

 After removing from oven apply melted honey on these rolls and let it cool on wire rack.

 

 

SHAPING:  

1.  Shaping like Rose : 

 

 

Take ball size dough.

Divide them into 5 pieces.

Roll one piece just like a thin cylinder.

Roll the rest of the pieces like roti / disc.  You will get 4 disc .

 

Keep all the discs overlapping one over the other.

 

At the end keep the thin cylinder shape .

Now start rolling from one end to another like a mat .

 

Divide the rolled mat into 2 equal parts.

 

Keep the chopped end facing bottom so that you can have a nice rose like shape on front view.

 

 

Shaped roll is ready.

Make all the pieces of dough into rose like shape and Bake them.

 

2.   Knotted dinner rolls.

 

 

With your hands, roll one piece into a 12-inch-long rope. If the dough starts to stick, mist your work surface lightly with vegetable oil spray or wipe it with a damp towel. Don’t use flour.

Wrap the dough around your fingers into a loose knot; there should be about 2 inches of dough free at each end.

Wrap the left end of the dough up and over the loop.

Wrap the right end down and around the loop. Lightly squeeze the two ends of dough together in the center to secure them.

Gently squeeze the whole piece of dough into a nice rounded shape.

Make all the pieces of dough into knotted rolls and Bake them.

 

3.  Butter flakes Rolls.

 

 

Form a smooth round ball .

Using kitchen scissor, cut through the top center of the roll, almost all the way through, leaving about 1/4-inch of dough at the bottom to hold the two halves together. Cut one of the halves twice more at 1/2-inch intervals parallel to the first cut.

Make all the pieces of dough into butter flakes rolls and keep them in muffin pan and Bake.

 
I would like to hear from you...  Kindly share your thoughts here, as a 'Comment' . Thank You.

 

7 Curries Kootu

7  Curry  Kootu

7 curry Kootu is generally prepared on the festival, Thiruvathirai / Arudra Darshan, as a side dish for Kali.   This is typically like Arachuvita Sambar but will be thicker like Kootu with loads of veggies and Dal.  

Red gram split / Tur dal  :  2 cup

Turmeric powder :  1/2 tsp

 Mix Veg :   2 cup ( Any 7 type of veggies )

Arachu vitta Sambar Powder :  2 tbsp

Sambar Powder :  4 tsp

Salt to taste

Tamarind Paste :  2 tsp

Jaggery powder :  1/2 tsp

Hing :  1/4 tsp

Curry leaves :  6

Tempering :

Mustard seeds : ½ tsp

Red chilly : 2

One spring of Curry leaves for Garnishing

          Keep Tur dal with adequate water  + Turmeric powder in a vessel / cooker separator.

  Chop vegetables into big cubes. Mix it with all the other ingredients together + 2 glass of water in another vessel / cooker separator …

 Cook both for 3 whistles in a pressure cooker.

After opening , mash cooked dal and mix with the cooked veggies and give a nice boil  .  Consistency of 7 curry Kootu should be thick like kootu and not like Sambar.  Adjust water accordingly.  If it is watery , can mix a tsp of rice flour and give a nice boil, which acts as a thickening agent.

Temper with Mustard, red chilly.  

Garnish with Fresh curry leaves.  

 

Very tasty 7 Curry Kootu is ready to serve with Kali.

Note: 

·       For mix veg , we can use any 7 types of veggies like Potato, Ash gourd, Pumpkin, Brinjal, Carrot, Beans , Yam, Broad Beans, Peas , sweet potato, Snake gourd etc.

·       Though it is said as 7 curries Kootu, we can also include more than 7 types of veggies.

·       As we are preparing on auspicious day, it’s better to avoid, drumstick, onion in this dish.   But we can add Brinjal, as brinjal is a favorite veg of Lord Shiva.

·       Instead of preparing with sambar ingredients, we can prepare like Kootu.  Cook Green gram split ( Moong dal )… Cook vegetables with salt…  Grind cumin seeds, green chilly with coconut to a paste…  Add this paste with cooked Dal + veggies and give a boil. This will tastes exactly like Kootu.  Add tempering and garnishing.

THIRUVATHIRAI / ARUDRA DARSHAN

THIRUVATHIRAI  /  ARUDRA  DARSHAN

Thiruvathirai / Arudra Darshan is observed on the full moon night, in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December – January) and this is also the longest night in a year. The festival is mainly observed in the Tamil speaking world.  The most important Arudra Darshan festival takes place at the Chidambaram Shiva Temple in Tamil Nadu.

This is of special significance in Shiva temples when thousands of devotees worship Nataraja early in the morning on the full moon day of the month of Dhanurmasam / Margazhi.   This is called Arudra Darshan. 

Lord Shiva will be in the form of Nataraja in his cosmic dance form.

The cosmic dance is called Ananda Thandavam or Dance of Bliss. 

The grace of this dance , of Lord Shiva represents five activities – Creation, Protection, Destruction, Embodiment and Release. In essence, it represents the continuous cycle of creation and destruction.  Arudra Darshan celebrates this ecstatic dance of Lord Shiva.

Ananda Thandavam Posture symbolizes:

The demon under his feet represents Lord as destroyer of Ignorance/Ego

The Fire in His hand signifies Destroyer of Evil Forces

The raised hands – Abhaya Hastha – Savior of life

The radiance behind Lord reveals the perpetual motion of the Universe

The drum beats represents the origin of ‘Om’ Pranava Manthra (Origin of Sounds)

The left, right and the eye on forehead represents Lord Sun, Lord Moon and Wisdom/Knowledge/Fire respectively.

The ear rings on both the ears of Lord represent the union of man and woman – The inseparable form of Lord as Shiva Shakthi.  The right ear and left ear embellished with Makara Kundalam and Stri Kundalam denotes the indivisible form of Lord.

The crescent shaped Lord Chandra on his matted hair locks symbolizes the perfect benevolence and splendor.

The matted hair locks and Goddess Ganga signifies the absolute Energy and perpetuity of life in this Universe. 

          Thiruvathirai is holy day and devotees’ worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi, submitting them to seek their blessings. Observing Thiruvathirai Vratham would bring long life to the husband and thereby prosperity and good life to the family.  But Vratham is optional and not compulsory.

We celebrate this festival by offering Kali  and 7 curry Kootu to Lord Nataraja. 

Married Women will change new Saradu, yellow sacred thread which holds Thirumangalyam / Mangal Suthra.  In some families, Women and girls, also tie Nombu Saradu around the neck.  

RECIPES OF THIRUVATHIRAI  :  

KALI   

7 Curry Kootu

I would like to hear from you....  Kindly share your thoughts here as a 'Comment'.