Fried breaded ripened cheese
Few foods divide Czechs like Olomoucké tvarůžky, the little golden rounds of ripened quark from Loštice near Olomouc in Moravia. Their smell is famously strong, but the flavour is savoury, salty and surprisingly mild once cooked. Pubs across Moravia serve them breaded and fried, the outside crisp and the inside oozing, with raw red onion and buttered rye bread, and a cold beer for those who drink. Tvarůžky are made from acid-set quark and are usually free of animal rennet, but check the label if it matters to you. The usual mistake is frying them too long: after a minute the cheese bursts out of its crust and the pan fills with molten cheese. Chef's tip: chill the breaded cheeses in the fridge for 10 minutes before frying, and fry them hot and fast.
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Rustic, crunchy cookies made with wholewheat flour, porridge oats, brown sugar and fresh coconut, with a gentle aniseed note from fennel seeds. Not too sweet, so they are good with a cup of tea or masala chai, and they keep well in a tin.
A big batch of party biscuits: a buttery dough with mixed nuts, chocolate pieces, cherries and coconut, bound with coco-pine juice (mixed coconut and pineapple juice). The dough is shaped into rolls, chilled and sliced thin, so you can bake as many as you need. Leftover coconut milk can be frozen in ice-cube trays and used whenever required.
Flaky little crescents made from a rich yeasted dough, cut into wedges, spread with cinnamon sugar and rolled up from the wide end. Serve them with coffee or tea; they are best on the day they are baked.
Plain, crisp, old-fashioned biscuits flavoured with custard powder, the kind that fill a big tin. Shape them as thin ovals with a fork, or roll and cut rounds and prick holes in them. For a change, swap the custard powder for 5 tsp ground ginger and 1½ tsp ground cardamom, or use wholemeal wheat flour instead of plain flour.
Kaju katli is one of the best-loved Indian sweets: finely ground cashews bound with a sugar and milk syrup, rolled thin, scattered with nuts and cut into diamonds. It's smooth, dense and delicately sweet with saffron and cardamom. Makes about 40 diamonds; perfect for Diwali boxes and gifts.
A crunchy no-bake chocolate slice: crushed rich tea biscuits, cornflakes, rice krispies and shredded wheat, nuts and coconut are bound with cocoa, margarine and golden syrup, then covered with melted chocolate. It's sweet, crisp and chocolatey, like a homemade cereal bar. Makes about 50 fingers, ideal for parties and lunch boxes.
Coconut pinwheels are a pretty no-cook sweet: a soft dough of desiccated coconut, milk powder and icing sugar is split, half coloured, rolled together into a swirl and sliced. They're sweet, coconutty and great fun for children to help make. Makes about 60 slices, perfect for party platters.
Dhosa ladoo is a traditional Gujarati ladoo: a thick wheat and gram flour dough is baked twice until dry, ground to a coarse crumb, then bound with melted jaggery and warm ghee and pressed into balls. They're crumbly, rich and warm with nutmeg, with poppy seeds on top. Makes about 35, and they keep well for festivals.
A lighter way to make lapsi: fine cracked wheat (bhaidku) is roasted in a little oil, mixed with jaggery water and steamed until soft and fluffy instead of cooked in lots of ghee. It's gently sweet and grainy, with a toasty flavour. Serve it hot with warm ghee poured over at the table.
Shrikhand is a classic Gujarati dessert of yogurt hung until thick and creamy, then sweetened and flavoured with saffron, cardamom and ground nuts. It's cool, tangy-sweet and silky. Serve it chilled with hot puris, or on its own as a dessert; add fresh fruit for fruit shrikhand.
Siro (sheera) is the Gujarati version of sooji halwa: semolina roasted in ghee until light brown, then cooked with hot saffron milk and sugar until the ghee separates. It's soft, rich and fragrant with cardamom and nuts. Serve it hot, as a festive sweet, for prasad, or as a comforting treat.
Kesar mani is a rich, crumbly Gujarati sweet of gram flour roasted in ghee with popped edible gum, then mixed with milk powder, coconut, ground nuts, cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. It's nutty, fragrant and warming, a favourite in the winter months. Makes 25–30 pieces.
Kesar paneer kali are oval sweets of soft home-made paneer coloured with saffron, poached in light rose syrup and soaked overnight, then split and filled with cherries and pistachio. They're spongy, juicy and delicately floral. Serve them chilled; the book's photo shows them topped with a swirl of whipped cream too.
Katlo pak is a traditional Gujarati winter sweet, eaten for strength and warmth: wheat flour and oats roasted in ghee with fried edible gum, coconut, nuts and a warming blend of katlo, dill, aniseed, fenugreek, ginger and spices, set with a dark jaggery 'pie'. It's crumbly, rich and spicy-sweet. Makes about 50 pieces; eat one a day in the cold months.
Kesaria ghari are pretty fluted sweets: a soft coating of paneer and mawa (khoya) cooked with sugar and milk wraps a golden filling of coconut and milk powder in saffron syrup. They're milky, delicate and fragrant with cardamom. Press them in a patterned mould and decorate with flaked nuts; the recipe makes 14.
Barfi churmoo is a rich Gujarati sweet: a firm dough of coarse wheat flour and gram flour is fried in ghee, ground to an even crumb, then bound with roasted mawa (khoya), hot ghee and saffron syrup and set in a tray. It's crumbly, fragrant with cardamom and nutmeg and topped with nuts. Makes about 40 pieces, perfect for Diwali boxes and weddings.
Lapsi is a festive Gujarati sweet of coarse cracked wheat (bhaidku) roasted in ghee, then cooked soft with jaggery water, fennel and saffron until the ghee shines through. It's grainy, buttery and gently sweet, finished with nuts, sultanas, nutmeg and cardamom. Serve it hot, on its own or as part of a festive thali.
These gulab jambu are made with milk powder, grated carrot and a creamy semolina mixture, fried slowly until golden and soaked overnight in syrup so they're soft and juicy all the way through. The carrot gives them a lovely colour and gentle sweetness. Serve them halved, decorated with nuts and rose petals, with fresh cream.
A soft, fudgy halwa of fresh coconut and cashews cooked in sweetened milk with cardamom and a little ghee, rolled out thin and topped with almond and pistachio flakes. It's creamy, nutty and melt-in-the-mouth. Makes about 30 squares for festivals or a gift box.
A no-cook barfi that children love: chopped dried fruit, nuts, crushed biscuits, cornflakes and rice krispies, with mixed peel, cherries and chocolate, all bound with butter and golden syrup and pressed into a tray. It's chewy, crunchy and full of colour. Makes about 42 squares, great for lunch boxes and party trays.
Pandadi are delicate layered pastries: thin rounds of butter dough stacked with custard powder, rolled, sliced and fried so the layers puff and flake. Once drained they're dusted with icing sugar, ground nuts, cardamom and saffron and scattered with rose petals. Makes about 40–45; a special-occasion sweet that keeps well in a tin.
An easy baked sweet of grated mawa (khoya) and fresh coconut mixed with warm milk, nuts, saffron, cardamom and nutmeg, baked until set and fragrant. It's soft, rich and milky, somewhere between a halwa and a pudding. Serve it hot, decorated with nuts and cardamom.
Malai sandwich is a Bengali-style sweet of soft paneer squares poached in rose syrup, soaked overnight, then split and filled with warm, sweetened mawa (khoya). They're spongy, juicy and creamy. Serve them chilled in small paper cases; the recipe makes 20.
Marble squares are a soft barfi of roasted mawa (khoya), toasted thin vermicelli, coconut and crushed nuts, sweetened with castor sugar and flavoured with cardamom and saffron. They're chewy, nutty and fragrant. Makes about 35 squares; serve them at festivals or with tea.
Madhureem are elegant festive sweets: a smooth, green pistachio coating cooked in syrup wraps a filling of roasted mawa (khoya) and chopped nuts in saffron and cardamom syrup. Each is pressed and topped with edible silver leaf (varakh). Makes 15–20 — a beautiful sweet for weddings and Diwali.
A quick almond sweet made in minutes in the microwave: semolina toasted in butter, mixed with coarsely ground almonds, saffron and sweetened condensed milk, then set in a tray. It's soft, nutty and fragrant with cardamom. Makes 20 squares, ideal when guests are on the way.
Soft, milky pendas made from mawa (khoya) and crumbled paneer cooked down in sweetened milk, flavoured with saffron, cardamom and a little nutmeg. The mixture is pressed into small moulds to give pretty shapes. Makes 15; serve as a festive sweet or offering.
Badam pak is a rich almond sweet: coarsely ground almonds and mawa (khoya) roasted in ghee, mixed with puffed edible gum and cardamom, then bound in a saffron sugar syrup and pressed into a tray. It's nutty, chewy and fragrant. Makes about 35 squares; the book also gives a soft 'hot badam pak' to serve warm.
A royal kheer that combines roasted vermicelli and short-grain rice in thickened milk enriched with mawa (khoya, dried milk solids), ground almonds and pistachios. Saffron and cardamom perfume it, and crisp cubes of fresh apple are stirred in at the end. Serve chilled, topped with almond and pistachio flakes.
Sukhdi (gol papdi) is one of the simplest Gujarati sweets: wheat flour roasted in ghee until pink and fragrant, then mixed with jaggery and aniseed and set in a tray. It's soft, crumbly and caramel-sweet, with a gentle liquorice note from the aniseed. Makes about 25 squares and keeps well for travelling.
A dark, moist eggless chocolate sponge, split and moistened with orange juice, filled and covered with whipped fresh cream, and finished with halved strawberries and grated chocolate. A show-stopping birthday cake.
An eggless, dark and spicy fruit loaf flavoured with cocoa, cinnamon and black treacle, with mixed nuts and dried fruit. It is brushed with brandy while warm and dusted with icing sugar. Serve in slices with fresh cream. Leave out the sherry and brandy for an alcohol-free loaf.
A simple, eggless fruit cake made with condensed milk, packed with mixed nuts, dried fruit and cherries and warmed with ginger and cinnamon. The book says it can be used as a wedding cake.
A classic buttery loaf cake dotted with glacé cherries and sultanas, perfect sliced at tea time. Toss the fruit in a little flour so it stays spread through the cake. Contains egg.
A homely eggless cake made with crushed Weetabix (wheat biscuit cereal), chopped apple, cashews and cinnamon, bound with condensed milk. Serve warm with ice cream.
A moist eggless cake made with semolina, coconut and yogurt, baked with slivered almonds on the bottom and top and moistened with orange juice. Serve with coconut ice cream or custard sauce.
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