POM-tastic Koresht - e -Fesenjan!

Recently, I was sent a case of POM Wonderful juice by the company to taste and test recipes. As soon as I was told I was getting the product, I started dreaming up things to make with it. And, the first thing that popped into my head was Fesenjan, the rich Iranian special occasion dish made with pomegranate molasses and walnuts.

There used to be a lovely Iranian restaurant in Bangalore, named Sufi (now closed) that served Fesenjan on special orders. You had to call in a day ahead and let them know if you wanted to order it. No, no, it does not take that long to make but the flavors in the dish develop and mature the longer it sits and overnight is the minimum recommended. All these elaborate arrangements coupled with the fact that it is a dish reserved for occasions, in Iran, just drew the mystic aura around it and I wanted to recreate that at home. :)

Now, I love pomegranates. I remember my mother lovingly peeling the rind and cartilage off the fruit for her dearest daughter (that's Me..). Interestingly, this is one of those things that is also very good for you (what a lucky coincidence!). It is full of antioxidants and is beneficial to cardio-vascular health. You can read more about the health benefits of POM Wonderful juice here.

So, back to the Fesenjan. It really is a very simple dish getting it's flavors primarily from the ground walnuts and pomegranate reduction. The toasted walnuts are slightly bitter and the pomegranate is sweet and tangy at the same time. As the pomegranate juice reduces, the sweetness gets enhanced. The resulting gravy is rich, deep and yet subtle in flavor. I made it with chicken as it is traditionally made. You can also use lamb or beef.

Yes, I get the irony. Fesenjan is not a heart friendly dish but I do think it showcases the pomegranate very well indeed! :)

For more recipes using POM, please check out their website.

Koresht - e - Fesenjan

**
Fesenjan tastes better the longer it sits, atleast overnight. So, try to be patient and plan ahead.
It is important to cook the sauce until the oil renders from the nuts.
**

1-1/2 lbs chicken bone-in thigh and leg meat
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 lb walnuts, toasted and ground
3-1/2 cups POM wonderful pomegranate juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1-2 T sugar (depending on taste and sweetness of juice)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 T lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
3 T olive oil

Brown chicken pieces in a heavy bottomed pan in 2 tablespoons of oil. Remove and reserve. Add some more oil and saute onions until soft. Add the garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg and fry for a minute.

Mix in the walnut paste into the onion mixture. Add the browned chicken pieces and toss to coat with the walnut and onion mixture. Stir in the pomegranate juice. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for atleast an hour until the sauce is thickened, the walnuts release their oil and the sauce has reduced to about half the original volume.

Stir in lemon juice and sugar according to taste. Adjust seasoning if needed. Continue cooking for a 20 more minutes. A minute or two before taking off the heat, mix in the ground cardamom.

Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. Next day, if the sauce is too thick, stir in 1/2 cup of warm water and bring to boil. Serve over hot white rice, garnished with walnuts. I would have sprinkled some fresh pomegranate as well, but I did not have any on hand.

Daring Bakers - Vols-au-Vent

I am sooo excited!! I recently joined the Daring Baker's group and this month I completed my first challenge. Daring Kitchen is a great collection of culinary enthusiasts who challenge themselves to create some exotic item every month. I have been following some of my favorite bloggers recreating some fabulous baked goods and I finally decided to take the plunge! :)

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Oohhh!! Puff pastry... How many times have I happily used the frozen ones from the store for a quick appetizer, canapes or dessert?! It is one ingredient that is a staple in my freezer. And, now, I appreciate the effort and skill required to get that rectangular piece of dough that transforms into the beautifully flaky and richly buttery pastry.

Some background on puff pastry from our hostess:

Puff pastry is in the ‘laminated dough” family, along with Danish dough and croissant dough. A laminated dough consists of a large block of butter (beurrage) that is enclosed in dough (détrempe). This dough/butter packet is called a paton, and is rolled and folded repeatedly to create the crisp, flaky, parallel layers you see when baked. In the hot oven, water in the dough and the melting butter creates steam, which expands in the trapped air pockets, forcing the pastry to rise.


A vols-au-vent, as you might have guessed from the photo, is a pocket/cylinder of puff pastry that is filled with savory or sweet filling. Depending on which course you want to serve them, they can be of appetizer or main course sizes. I have a

I decided to do bite sized savory and sweet portions for this challenge. Now, that was another challenge! I pondered over what filling to make for like a week, even dreaming up flavors in my sleep. (yes, yes, I know.. I am that crazy!). Finally, I settled on mushroom mousse and shrimp orzo filling for savory and a simple lemon pudding for sweet.

Mousse just seemed to go with the French-ness of the pastry. And, mushrooms automatically lend themselves to little bites. I kept the mousse simple using just sauteed mushrooms and shallots and folding in goat cheese (which, I picked up at a Dutch festival in the city) to create the texture of the mousse.

I thought my first batch of pastry did not puff up as prettily as the store bought dough does. I tried again. The result wasn't very different and I suspect that it was because I halved the recipe and so, the measurements got skewed in the process and the butter was over processed into the dough. So, note: If you are planning to make puff pastry using this recipe, make the whole batch and then use as much as you want. Puff pastry freezes very well, so you don't have to worry about it spoiling.

For second take, I took inspiration from my lunch! I had planned on making pasta for my lunch and I thought "Why not serve little bites of pasta in a pastry!". I mean pasta gets universal acceptance and the pastry casing just added that bit of elegance that carried it off as an hors d'oeuvre! :)

For the pudding, I used instant pudding mix (I did say simple!) and tuned up the lemon flavor with fresh zest. Topped off with dark chocolate shavings, it was just about sweet enough for a bite!

So, now that the challenge is done, I must say while it was an interesting experiment, I think I will stick with the store bought sheets henceforth ....

Please visit the Daring Kitchen, to see what other bloggers have designed for their vols-au-vents!


Mushroom Mousse Vols-au-Vents

10 2-1/4" vols-au-vent shells(recipe here)
1 pint cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 oz goat cheese, room temperature
1 tsp milk
1 tsp chopped chives for garnish
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the shallots and mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil until the water evaporates. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and oregano. Let the mixture cool and then blend in the food processor to a smooth paste. Whip the goat cheese with a teaspoon of milk until light and airy. Fold in the mushroom mixture into the cheese. Fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip (I used Ateco #864).

Pipe the mousse into warm vols-au-vent shells. Garnish with chives and serve immediately.

You can truss this recipe up by sautee-ing the mushrooms in white wine and using mascarpone or creme freche instead of goat cheese.


Shrimp Orzo Vols-au-Vents

6 2-1/4" vols-au-vent shells
handful of orzo
2 cups lobster/shrimp/clam stock
3 T marinara sauce
1.5 T sour cream
3 shrimps sliced vertically
1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
fresh grated parmigianno regianno for garnish

Cook the orzo until slightly underdone in the stock. Heat the marinara sauce and add the drained pasta to it. Cook for a minute or two until pasta is cooked. Off the heat fold in the sour cream. Meanwhile, toss the shrimps in salt, pepper, cajun seasoning and dry parsley and saute until cooked.

Spoon pasta into the vols-au-vent shells. Top each with a shrimp slice, garnish with fresh grated parmigianno and serve immediately.

All 'feet' and no head ....

Recently, at a friend's party, I was asked about my food blog and the dishes I put up here. And, I nonchalantly replied "Oh! you know, a little of this and a little of that and I work my little magic", blah blah to that effect. Even as I was saying that, a small voice inside me was saying that I was going to pay for my over-confidence. And,I got it in full measure!

Splat on my face when I tried to make the incredibly delicate and for that reason elitist french Macaron. Macarons as I learnt are temperamental to put it mildly. Everything has to work right for them to bloom; the weather, your mood and well, their mood!

It all started off well. My meringue looked perfect and the almond meal, nice and dry, albeit too sweet. And then, it went downhill! I know what I did wrong; I over mixed the almond meal into the meringue. DUH!

So my macaron mixture was runny to point that when I piped them onto the baking sheet into little rounds, they decided they wanted to socialise with each other and become homogeneous! Well.. as you can guess, I was dismayed to say the least. There can't be much upside from here after all.

Interestingly, almost all of them developed nice feet but, as my title says, were completely broken elsewhere. Out of a batch of 30, I got ONE perfect little bugger!!

Anyway, lesson learnt... I am going to keep trying till I get them right. And, if all self-attempts fail, I am going to get professional help. Macarons will be made, and pretty ones at that, in my kitchen! I give you my word!

Mango - Saffron Ice Cream for a Taste of Yellow

Yesterday, I had a bowl of yolks glowering at me from inside the fridge willing me to make something out of them. Today I had icecream for dessert! :)

How? Well, it happened this way! I was scouring my favorite blogs for inspiration and ran into Barbara's Livestrong with a Taste of Yellow event at her blog winoandfoodies. And, that struck a chord. This event is in support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation to raise awareness of cancer and the idea is to make a dish that contains a yellow food. It was perfect in so many ways!

I lost a very cherished family member to the disease and reading that post flooded back the memories and gave me the much needed spark. My grandad loved food and his favorite dessert was ice cream. He would sneak into the kitchen in the night (when my mom was asleep) and help himself to some chilled goodness :)). Through his travails with cancer, he would ask for milk to cool down and it did make him feel better....

Anyway, so I thought ice cream would be a perfect ode to him, the Foundation and my yolks! :)

This is my first attempt at homemade ice cream and honestly, it blew me away. And, I don't even have an ice cream maker. I am almost convinced not to get the store bought variety again! Well, there is the convenience factor but aside from that homemade beats the store many hands down.

I used alphonso mango puree from the tin to make the ice cream. Alphonsos are the sweetest and richest of mangoes, available in India during season and no other mango matches that taste. If you can find the fresh mangoes, they are the best but second to that I would definitely recommend these tinned purees for any dessert preparation. You can find them at most Indian grocery stores.

So, after a day of preparation, hand churning and many stolen sips and tastes and licks of the mixing blades (even a drop is too good to waste!!), my mango and saffron frozen custard was set and ready to be devored.

It may not be summer any more but it is always ice cream time and the homier the better! :)


Mango - Saffron Ice Cream

**
Making ice cream is really easy. But, if you don't have an ice cream maker then it needs some maintainence and constant churning for the first few hours. So, please budget time accordingly

Ice cream made this way, needs to be consumed within a couple of days as there aren't any preservatives in it. But, I don't see that as a problem, anyway! :)
**

3 egg yolks
1-1/4 cups half and half or light cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

generous pinch of saffron
1 cup alphonso mango puree

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the yolks and sugar until smooth (about 2 minutes). Meanwhile, heat the half and half in a heavy bottomed pan to just below boiling point.

Slowly, and while continuously whisking the mixture, incorporate the hot milk into the yolk mixture. It is very important that you continue whisking, else the yolks will scramble.

To prepare the custard, pour the mixture back in to the pan and over medium heat, gently heat the mixture, stirring often. The mixture will start to thicken. Continue heating until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon and if you run your finger along the back of the spoon, the streak remains without the cream running down through the streak.

Remove from heat immediately. Do not over heat as the eggs will curdle (done that before!). Whisk the mixture for a minute to stop the custard from cooking further. Strain through a fine sieve to remove any lumps or scrambles. Stir in the saffron and let sit for 5 minutes for the strands to release color (they will continue to color even after). Stir in the vanilla and mango puree till fully incorporated. Cool the mixture to room temperature.

Cover the custard with plastic wrap and refrirgerate for atleast two hours until completely cold. At this point, you can process the mixture in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions.

No Ice Cream Maker Instructions:
Don't fret. It really is simple to make ice cream without all the gadgets. I used to be under the false impression that it was tedious and painful but seriously, it just needs a teeny bit of commitment.

Once the custard mixture is cold, move it to the freezer. After about 45 minutes, check on the mixture. If it has started freezing on the edges, remove and whip up the mixture with a hand-held mixer to break the ice crystals and incorporate some air to create the fluffiness. Return to the freezer and repeat the whisking every hour, three more times. Freeze the mixture for atleast 6 hours or overnight, depending on the texture you like.

Scoop and enjoy! :)

This post is linked on Foodista .....

Sweet Bananas!

I need something sweet at the end of every meal. It's my thing! I can see you rolling your eyes there, you know! Anyway, yes yes, it is really an obesession but honestly, isn't it much better than so many other things that it could have been?! Sugar is so much healthier, after all... :)

Anyway, after that long-winded start, the point of my post was to say that sweet things need not be complicated or labor intensive. It can be something as simple as store bought ice cream topped with homemade fudge or coulis.

Or, caramalized bananas with ice cream. I just had it.. Yum! :)

Fig and Apricot Cheesecake

Mmm.. I like spring cleaning my pantry, mostly because it gives me the perfect excuse and free reign to use a bit of creativity and make a bunch of stuff. After all, 'It'll go bad soon, if not used' is a compelling argument that even my husband cannot find a counter for! Ha!

So, when I found the mostly unused bar of cream cheese (which, I diligently buy every time I run out of it, even though I never have bagels at home!), I decided to make cheesecake. That happened Monday. But, I dragged my feet about it for two days, because, plain vanilla cheesecake sounded boring and nothing inspiring struck me. Yesterday, I walked by the organic grocers next door and saw these luscious black figs and that sent my mind into overdrive.

I tossed around pairings in my mind to go with the figs in the cheesecake and settled on apricots and port wine sauce. I made fig and apricot cheesecake topped off with a warm port wine - cognac sauce. I actually used a short cut for the sauce using some of the incredibly good porto et cognac gelee that I picked up in Montreal. But, you can easily make a simple reduction of port wine, sugar and a tiny bit of lemon juice.

This was a really fun, rewarding exercise. I made up the recipe as I went and substituted some of the traditional ingredients (that I did not have on hand) with stuff that was in my pantry. To my honest surprise, some of them worked much better than I expected.

I was out of Graham crackers and so, I made the crust with ground glucose biscuits (Parle G for those familiar with it!) and almonds. It came out nice and crumbly and perhaps, because of the glucose in the biscuits and not to mention the almonds was more flavorful than the traditional cracker crust.

The fig and apricot reduction puree was flavored ever so slightly with dark rum and honey. I blended the puree into the cheese cake mixture and for added punch made a lava center of it as well. So, even if the mild flavors of the fruits are not sufficiently bold in the cheesecake the puree brings them to the forefront with every bite.

I actually intended to make one 4 inch size cheesecake but I ended up with about a cup more than I needed of the cheese cake mixture. So, I spooned the remainder into a couple of ramekins over a base of the fig-apricot puree. Something like an upside down cheese cake, only I could not really get it out of the ramekins. Nevertheless, it was just as yummy scooped out of the containers directly as it was pretty arranged in the traditional layers!



Fig and Apricot Cheesecake with Port Wine and Cognac Sauce
(one four inch cheese cake)

** The cheesecake bakes in a water bath. To prevent seepage into the crust, generously and tightly wrap the spring form pans with foil. **

For the crust:
6T ground glucose biscuits
1 T ground almonds
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 T melted butter

For the fig-apricot puree:
1/2 cup fresh ripe figs
3-4 dried apricots
1 T honey
2 tsp rum
1/4 cup hot water

For the cheesecake:
6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/8 cup sugar
pinch of salt

2 tsp of warmed port wine-cognac gelee or reduced port wine sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and heat water for the water bath. Soak apricots for about 10 minutes in hot water. Remove and chopped the apricots and the reserve the water. Grind biscuits and almonds to a fine powder and with fork mix in the butter and extract to a meal like texture. Press the crust into the base of the spring form pan. If you like crusty sides as well, make more of the mixture as needed.

Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes until it is golden. Meanwhile, mix together the figs (chopped), apricots, honey and about 3 tablespoons of the apricot water in a small sauce pan. Cook the fruits over low heat till they become very soft and the water reduces to 1/2 the original volume. Cool the mixture and puree it.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until creamy and smooth (about 3 minutes). Add the egg and beat to incorporate. Blend in the mascarpone, almond extract and salt. Mix in about a third of a cup of the fig-apricot puree.

Wrap the spring form pan tightly in foil. Spoon in the cheese cake batter into the pan until half full. Spread about 2 T (I eyeballed it) of the fig puree over the batter. Fill the rest of the pan with the cheesecake batter.

Place the pan inside a larger oven proof pan. Pour hot water so it comes up to half the level of the cheesecake filling. Bake for 45 minutes until almost done. Turn off the oven and let the cake gradually cool down for an hour inside it so it doesn't crack on top. Remove the pan from the water bath and cool on rack to room temperature. Refrigerate for atleast 6 hours, overnight is better.

Before serving, lightly warm the port wine sauce and spoon over the top of the cheese cake. Garnish with a couple of fig halves and serve.

Oil tarts are in!

Yes, you read it right! Not butter.... oil. When I first came across the recipe for a tart shell with oil instead of butter on Passionate about baking, I was instantly inspired to make it! I have long wondered if oil could create that wonderful flakiness that is most loved about a butter crust. After all, the Indian paratha has a lovely flaky texture and is made with oil or ghee. So, armed with a recipe to help me out with the measures, I was ready to test my hypothesis .

Recently, a friend of ours introduced us to a small farmers' market in midtown Manhattan (52nd street between 8th and 9th avenues). Bang in the center of prime real estate, it carried fresh produce at admirably reasonable prices. When I found a butternut squash that was perfectly sized for two, I was sold!

As soon as I saw the squash, I decided to make roasted butternut squash tart with the new healthy version for the crust. That crust experiment unfortunately, did not go as well as I expected. As I followed the recipe, I felt that the dough was a bit dry and tough and it stayed that way after being baked as well. The tart filling was moist but the crust was way too hard. But, I did not give up. I decided to give the oil tart another chance, this time, with some modifications.

For take #2, I decided to make rosemary tart with a layered filling of ricotta, marinara and zucchini, like a lasagna. I made the crust with minced fresh rosemary. I also upped the amount of water and substituted half the olive oil with canola oil. The result was much better than the previous time.

The crust was soft, supple, light yet flavorful. But, it did not turn out flaky! A butter crust definitely has a better texture and arguably a richer flavor. However, I liked the oil crust quite a bit. It is a pretty good, much healthier version, which, is a whole lot easier to work with (especially with no constraint to work quickly to prevent the butter from melting!).


Oil Tart Crust
adapted from here

1-3/4 cup spelt wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp minced rosemary
1/2 cup + 2T ice cold water (I did this more on a add as you go basis. So it could be a bit more or less)
1/8 cup olive oil
1/8 cup canola oil
2 tsp oil

Sift together flour, salt, pepper and rosemary. Add the oil and mix it in with a fork. Add water slowly, mixing it in and kneading the dough until it comes together into a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the out into a circle large enough to fit your tart pan. Transfer the dough carefully into the prepared pan and line it without stretching. Trim off the excess dough with the rolling pin. Refrigerate for atleast 30 minutes.

Blind bake the crust in oven preheated to 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove pie weights and continue baking for five more minutes. Dial down the oven to 350 degrees.

Fill the tart with filling of choice (suggested recipes below). Return to oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the tart is fully cooked. If using mozzarella on top, reserve the cheese until the last 7 minutes, then sprinkle over and cook until the cheese is melted.

Remove the tart from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the top with parmesan, chives or other garnish and serve.

Roasted Butternut Squash Tart

1 oil tart crust blind baked
1-1/4 cup homemade (or store bought) marinara sauce
1 cup roasted butternut squash dices
3/4 cup grated fresh mozzarella cheese
2 tsp chopped chives or scallions for garnish

Spread half the marinara sauce at the bottom of the tart shell. Top the layer with the roasted butternut squash pieces and then a half cup of grated mozzarella. Spread another layer of marinara sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the tart in the last 7 minutes and finish baking. Garnish with chives/scallions and serve.


Zucchini Lasagna Tart
adapted from 101 cookbooks

1 oil tart baked as above
1 medium zucchini thinly sliced
1-1/4 cups marinara sauce
1-1/4 cups ricotta cheese
1 T grated parmesan cheese

Spread half the ricotta cheese on the bottom of the tart. Then, spread a third of the sauce over it. Line the zucchini slices around the tart in an overlapping fashion.

Repeat the cheese, sauce and zucchini layers. Top of with the remaining sauce and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until tart is fully cooked.

Let tart rest for 5 minutes, garnish with grated parmesan and serve.

No-sweat dessert - Buttermilk Panna Cotta

Summer is slowly ebbing away in the Northern hemisphere and the cool of fall and winter later (brrr!!) is setting in. I know I should have written about this perfect summer dessert earlier, but, I was bit distracted with travel et all. But, here it is, now, just in time to squeeze it into your menu before the warmth runs away to vacation in the South (those South of Equator, What perfect timing!, you say, surely).

So, why is it perfect? Simple; It is light, refreshing, served cold, and needs no oven to set; a real no-sweat dessert! It all started with a craving for panna cotta on a hot summer day. I did not have cream at home and did not feel like stepping out into the humidity to get a carton. But I did have buttermilk, which, got me thinking. Soon enough (well... not counting the overnight gelatinizing) I made myself a nice dessert.

Even the husband was impressed! To put that in context, he doesn't much like buttermilk in anything other than biscuits. I, however, can drink it straight with a just a bit of salt. Have you tried that?! No? You must. It is incredibly refreshing! It cools you system and helps your digestion too. Back to the panna cotta now; so while he wasn't exactly thrilled about the concept when I mentioned it, he definitely devoured the end result pretty greedily!! LOL...

I made simple vanilla flavored panna cotta this time. But, I imagine this will pair beautifully with citrus flavors as well. The buttermilk makes the panna cotta not too sweet, so something sweet on top works nicely with it. I served it with some chunky blueberry coulis I had made earlier (chunky because I like the texture of cooked blueberries and so decided to not strain the coulis. But, if you don't swing that way, feel free to go traditional). Honey or warm apricot jelly would pair well as well.


Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Chunky Blueberry Coulis
(4 servings)

Panna Cotta:

1 T water
3/4 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small cup sprinkle gelatin over the water and set aside for about 10 minutes to let the gelatin soften.

Meanwhile, heat milk and sugar in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring just to low boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add the softened gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Cool the mixture to lukewarm. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Divide the mixture among four 4 oz ramekins. Refrigerate atleast 5 hours; overnight is better.

When you are ready to serve, dip each ramekin into hot water to loosed the panna cotta. Using small sharp knife, cut around panna cotta in each ramekin. Invert the panna cotta on to the dessert plate. Top with coulis/honey/warm jelly and serve alongside summer fruits.

Blueberry Coulis:

1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 T honey
1/4 cup water
2 tsp lemon juice
2 T rum

In a small saucepan, mix the berries, water, sugar and honey. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and stir in the lemon juice. Let the mixture simmer for 6 -7 minutes and let it thicken a bit. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum.

At this point, you can leave it chunky like I did, or strain out the syrup.