Recipes

White silver leaves have always been an integral part of Indian sweets, with milk based deserts being a predominant feature. Indian desserts are very often decorated with silver foils and the list pista burfi, kaju katli, gulab jamum, besides a number of traditional Bengali sweets like chumchum, rasgulas, etc. In addition, silver is also used to decorate Mughlai and other preparations. Some of the recipes that can be embellished with vark are as follows:

Pista Burfi
Ingredients

• 400 gms Pistachios (kernels removed)
• 250 gms Sugar
• Water (for sugar syrup) as required
• 7-8 leaves Edible Silver foil (vark)

Method

• Blanch the pistachios in boiling water. Drain and remove the peels.
• Make a coarse paste of the blanched and peeled pistachios in a mixer-grinder, without using any water. Remove and keep aside.
• Make sugar syrup of two-string consistency.
• In a kadai, mix together the pistachio paste and the sugar syrup, and with the help of a wooden spatula, keep on stirring the mixture till it leaves the sides of the kadai and forms a ball. (Take care not to burn the mixture).
• Pour the mixture over a flat wooden surface, and evenly cut with a spatula to the desired thickness.
• Spread out the silver foil (vark), and cut into square shapes with a sharp knife. Remove when cooled.

Kaju Katli
Ingredients

• 2 cups cashew nuts
• 1¾ cup sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1½ cup boiling water
• 4 sheets of silver leaf (optional)

Method

• Soak the cashew nuts in boiling water for 1 hour.
• Drain it and process smoothly in a mixer by adding milk & then sugar.
• Heat the butter in a large pan, put the cashew nut paste and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes thick.
• Then, put vanilla essence and mix thoroughly.
• Put this mixture in a greased tray and spread it evenly and press the silver leaf on the top. Let it cool for 45 minutes.
• After it is cooled, cut into diamond shaped pieces.

Gulab Jamun
Ingredients

• 150 gm puffed rice (murmura) - washed and soaked in water for 2 hours
• 60 gm mawa
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• Oil for frying

Stuffing

• 90 gm Amul Cheese-grated
• 90 gm mawa
• 100 gm sugar
• 1 tbsp cashew nuts-chopped
• 2 tsp grated coconut
• 1 tbp raisins-chopped
• 1tsp chironji-chopped

Syrup

• 200 gm sugar
• 3 cups water
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 2 tsp rose essence
• Thin silver leaves for decoration

Method

• Prepare syrup by boiling together the sugar and water.
• Add milk and remove the scum as it surfaces.
• Boil till 3 cups of clear syrup are obtained.
• Remove from fire and flavor with essence and cardamom powder Keep aside.
• Cook the mawa for stuffing in frying pan till it is golden brown. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Form into small balls and keep separately.
• Squeeze out the water from the puffed rice and mix it with the rest of the ingredients for Jamuns except oil.
• Knead well and from into as many balls as the number of stuffing balls you have.
• Flatten out the puffed rice balls on the plam of your hand and place a mawa ball on it.
• Fold over and close sides to make an oval Jamun. deep fry on low fire till dark brown.
• Drain well and immerse in warm syrup for an hour.
• Serve warm decorated with white silver leaves.

"Chicken Paper Wrapped"
An easy to prepare variation on the traditional 'paper-wrapped chicken'.

Ingredients

• 6 chicken breasts, skinned, boned and halved
• 3 green onions, each sliced into 4 pieces
• 1/4 tsp salt 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp dry sherry
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 4 tbs vegetable oil plus 4 tbs for frying
• Additional green onions finely chopped for garnish

Method

• In a bowl combine chicken and green onions with salt, soy sauce, sugar, sherry and sesame oil. Marinate for 30 minutes.
• Cut 12 squares of foil, each large enough to wrap around each piece of chicken 4 times. Brush foil with oil, then place a piece of chicken on each. Top with a piece of green onion, then wrap foil around to make a parcel making sure no meat is exposed.
• Heat the extra oil in a wok or frying pan.
• Add foil parcels and fry over moderate heat for approximately 2 minutes per side. Remove and leave to drain on a rack for a few minutes.
• Reheat oil and when very hot, return parcels to pan and cook for just 1 minute.

Spread silver foil prior to serving it.

Mughlai: Murg Noorjehani
Ingredients:

• 1 Chicken
• 6 tblsp Clarified Butter (Ghee)
• 4 Bay Leaf (Tej Patta)
• 1/4 tsp Saffron (Kesar), soaked in lukewarm milk
• 3 meduim sized Onion (Pyaj)
• 2 cups beaten Curd (Dahi)
• 1/2 " Ginger (Adrak)
• 8 pods Garlic (Lasun)
• 4 Green Chillies
• 4 Cloves (Lavang)
• 1 " Cinnamon (Tuj/Dalchini)
• 3 Brown Cardamom (Elaichi Moti)
• 1 tsp Aniseed (Sauf)
• 2 boiled eggs
• 2 -3 Almonds Few Sultanas
• Thin Silver Leaves

Method

• First grind ginger, garlic, green chillies, cloves, cinnamom, cardamoms, aniseed to a fine paste.
• Now prick the chicken well with a fork.
• Mix curd with ground spices and rub it over the chicken.
• Set it aside and allow the chicken to marinate for 3 - 4 hours.
• Heat ghee, fry bay leaves, add onions and let them brown well.
• Add the chicken along with marinade.
• Cook on medium flame till nearly done.
• Add salt and saffron and fry chicken till the masala begins to coat the chicken and it is well brown.
• Pour the chicken in a dish and top it with silver foil.
• Also add chopped boiled eggs, almonds sliced and fried sultanas.
• Serve with fried rice, naan and paranthas.

Once the dish is ready, spread silver leaves prior to serving it.

Besan Ladoo
Yield: 4 Ingredients:

• 350 gm Besan (gram flour)
• 200 gm Ghee
• 175 gm Castor sugar
• 2 tbsp Dried fruit
• 1 tsp Cardamom powder
• ¼ tsp Saffron strands soaked in1 tbsp. water

Preparation
Heat ghee in a large pan. Add besan and cook on a low flame, keep stirring. Remove the pan from the flame when the ghee separates and the besan turns brown. Cool. Stir in sugar, spice, dried fruit and saffron. Prepare even shaped ladoos with the help of hands. Serve decorated with extra dried fruit and silver leaf.

Mawa Misri (Reduced Milk with Crystal Sugar)
Ingredients:

• 1 litre Whole Milk
• 250 gm Condensed Milk
• 10 gm Ghee
• 50 gm Sugar
• 50 gm Sliced Almonds
• 50 gm Crystal Sugar
• 50 gm Crystal Sugar
• 05 gm Cardamom Powder

For Garnish
Silver Leaf: 2 Sheets

Preparation
Grease the pan with ghee, pour milk and bring to a boil. Stir the milk occasionally until reduced to half its original quantity. Add the condensed milk and cook, stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the quantity of the milk is reduced to quarter of its original quantity, add almonds, cardamom and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the flame and let it cool. Add crystal sugar and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate and garnish with silver leaf.