Jun 23

Harry’s Brookies

brookies
My favourite cooking show is Masterchef Australia. I don’t really like the other country versions that are on air. They seem TRP focused, while the Australia one is warm, delicious and u connect with the judges as well as participants.

brookies
The episode where Nigella and Matt wake up the participants for a midnight snack was superb. Harry made these Brookies and I just wanted to jump into the TV and share a midnight snack with him. Both the Brookies and Harry looked scrumptious. This is my layout for a midnight snack with Harry ?

brookies

Finally made these and they are to die for. Made 2 lots. One bigger and with less cooking time, they were chewy like a brownie and then these ones with the mentioned cooking time which were crunchy. Both though were simply delicious.

Recipe from http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/masterchef/recipes/dark-chocolate-brookies (with a few inputs & changes)

Ingredients

350 gms pure dark chocolate (i used 50% Van Houten)

45 gms Amul Butter

210 gms Caster Sugar

80 gms Cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp Nescafe powder

ChocoChips for decoration

  1. Preheat oven to 180C.
  2. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl and microwave for a minute. Stir to melt and combine. If not completely melted then microwave at 10 seconds interval. Remove and set aside to cool until needed.
  3. Sieve the cornflour, sugar, coffee powder and baking powder and mix it well.
  4. Add the eggs, Vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.
  5. Add cooled chocolate butter mixture and mix until well combined.
  6. Let it rest for 15-20 mins.
  7. The mixture is wet, so fill it in a piping bag and pipe it on a silicon mat or baking paper.
  8. Dot the top of the cookies with the dark chocolate chips, pressing gently into the dough. Bake for 10-11 minutes in the preheated oven. Shut the oven and leave it in for 3-4 mins. Then remove from oven and set aside to cool.

(Cooking for a minute less or more will change the texture of the brookies. Lesser will make it soft and chewy like a brownie and longer will give u a crunch. Both taste yum This batch will give a huge amount of brookies so experiment with both textures. Makes 22-25 pcs)

Jun 15

Crunchy Chicken bites

crumchy

My mom and sis decided to come over for lunch after ages. And being the chef in the family, I couldn’t get over with dal rice or Maggi. Blame it on this crazy weather that’s sucking the energy out of me.

crunchy
First I made elaborate plans to go and buy some fish or prawns and cook up something yum. Then my lethargy won and I didn’t step out. So had to rack my brains for something special.

I had some boneless chicken in the freezer and left over chicken stock from Sunday’s fried chicken. So used the stock to make some flavoured rice and to go with it, made these crunchy chicken bites. Full jugaad recipe but it was really delicious that I had to quickly click pictures to feature it on my blog.

crunchy

INGREDIENTS

500 gm boneless chicken (marinated in salt and chilli powder for 1/2 hr)

1 big chopped onion

1 tbsp chopped coriander

1 tbsp Chings Shezwan chutney

4 tbsp butter

3 tbsp maida,

1/2 cup milk,

3/4 tsp salt,

1/4 tsp red chilli flakes

Coating – 1 egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup crushed cornflakes

 

  1. Heat butter and fry the marinated chicken. When nearly cooked add the shezwan chutney and mix well. Cool and shred it to fine pieces. Keep aside
  2. In the same pan, add chopped onion, sauté till soft
  3. Add coriander and sauté.
  4. Add maida and stir on low heat. Remove from fire
  5. Gradually add milk, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Ensure that the final paste has no lumps
  6. Put the pan back on the fire and add salt and chilli flakes. Cook till the sauce turns thick and leaves the side. It should look like a slightly wet dough
  7. Remove from heat, add shredded chicken. Mix well and cool
  8. Shape the mix into round tikkis or any shape u want
  9. Beat the egg, add salt. In a separate plate sprinkle breadcrumbs and in another bowl keep crushed cornflakes.
  10. Coat each tikki in egg batter and the roll in bread crumbs. Dip again in egg batter and cover with crushed cornflakes.
  11. Pan fry with little more oil till golden crisp.

Jun 13

Kulfi Chicken

kulfi

When a friend called and said ‘Am unwell, make something to make me feel better’. I was left flummoxed. What to make now. Something new for sure. Searched my saved recipes and liked one but then this friend messages to say make kulfi chicken.

kulfi
KULFI CHICKEN! What in the world is that. I was like no way am making something so weird. He was like no u see the recipe, it’s nice. I thought he was joking that there is a dish like this but when I surfed the net, found quite a few recipes for it.

Combined 2-3 recipes to finally experiment on this dish. If u like cheesy creamy flavours, then this is the dish for u. Super easy recipe and can be used with paneer too.

kulfi

 

Ingredients
1-1.25 kg chicken pcs with bone

1 box Britannia curd

1 pkt Amul Cream

15 cashew nuts soaked in 1/4 cup warm milk

2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped

10 cloves garlic

1 inch Ginger

5-6 cubes grated cheese

Salt

1 tsp Chilli powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp garam masala

1/2 lime

Aluminium Foil for baking

1-2 tsp olive oil

 

  1. Hang the curd for an hour to remove the water.
  2. Make gashes with a knife and prick the chicken with a fork. This ensures that the pieces are marinated well.
  3. Grind ginger, garlic and green chillies together.
  4. Soak Cashew nuts in warm milk for 20 min. and grind it into a smooth paste.
  5. In a bowl mix all the ingredients – Hung curd, Cream, grated Cheese, Cashew paste, ginger-garlic-chilli paste, chilli powder, salt, garam masala, lime, cumin powder.
  6. Add Chicken to this marinade and marinate it for minimum 4 hours. It can be kept overnight.
  7. Put the chicken pieces with all the marinade on an aluminium foil and drizzle some olive oil on it.  Place another sheet of foil on top and fold it like a parcel sealing it well.
  8. In a preheated oven at 220 degree Celsius, bake the chicken for 25-30 min.
  9. Serve hot. Maybe with some sriracha sauce on the side if u want a spicy kick.

Jun 10

Armenian Nutmeg & Walnut Cake

armenian
I love baking and am mostly self taught. I enjoying reading new recipes but sometimes I feel too lazy to attempt them. But when u have company, that encourages u to try new things. So a group of us bakers try out new recipes and it’s so much fun gorging on bakes u never would have attempted before. Thanks again Anuja Sule from Simple Baking for another amazing recipe.

armenian
When I made this cake I was so confused as the recipe is so different from a regular cake. The base mix is dry and the rest so watery. I was worried how it would bake but the end result was a chewy delicious base with a light cake on top. Such an interesting combination. Was polished off so fast, I was shocked.

armenian
ARMENIAN NUTMEG CAKE – Anuja Sule (Simple Baking)
Ingredients:
1 cup (240 ml) milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups (280 gm) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups (400 gm) brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup (170 gm) butter, preferably unsalted, cubed
1/2 cup (55 gm) walnut pieces, may need a little more (I used pistachios)
1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg (try to grate it fresh yourself; the aroma is enchanting)
1 egg

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to moderate 175°C.
  2. Mix the baking soda (not baking powder; that’s for the next step) into the milk. Set it aside.
  3. Sift together the flour and the baking powder into a large bowl. One sift is fine.
  4. Add the brown sugar. Go ahead and mix the flour and brown sugar together.
  5. Toss in the cubed butter. Mash the butter with a fork into the dry ingredients (you can also use your fingers if you want). You’ll want to achieve a more-or-less uniform, tan-colored crumbly mixture.
  6. Take HALF of this resulting crumbly mixture into your springform (9”/23cm) pan. Press a crust out of it using your fingers and knuckles. It will be easy.
  7. Crack an egg into a mixer or bowl. Toss the nutmeg in with the egg. Start mixing slowly with a whisk attachment and then increase to medium speed, or mix with a hand whisk if you’re doing it manually.
  8. Once it’s mixed well and frothy (about 1 minute using a standing mixer, or about 2-3 minutes of vigorous beating with a whisk), pour in the milk and baking soda mixture. Continue to mix until uniform.
  9. Pour in the rest of the crumbly mixture. Mix that well, with either a paddle attachment, or a spatula. Or continue to use the whisk; it won’t make much of a difference, since the resulting batter is very runny.
  10. Pour the batter over the base in the springform pan. Gently sprinkle the walnut/pistachio pieces over the batter.
  11. Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 30-40 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the top is a golden brown, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  12. Allow to cool in the pan, and then release. Enjoy!

May 24

Mango Indulgence

Mango

I like mangoes. If I am in the mood then I love them too. Strangely I don’t like mango in any other form except as a fruit. I hate mango icecream or lassi or kulfi or barfi or etc etc.

Mango

My cousin visiting from Canada decided to come to India in the peak of the summers and in the midst of full fledged mango season. And he fell in love with the King of fruit. Starts his day eating mango. One bite mango and one sip chai. What a combination. Go figure.

Mango

When he decided to come home for a night in, I knew I needed to whip up a dessert with mangoes for him. And this is what I came up with. Mango indulgence. And for a change I liked it too 😄

 

Ingredients

200 gms vanilla cake or any store bought cake

3 chopped ripe Alphonso mangoes

2-3 tbsp (white) Alcohol – bacardi, smirnoff, cointreau, tequila (optional)

or

3-4 tbsp sugar syrup

150 gms whipped cream

3-4 tbsp chopped pistachio

chocochips

 

  1. Divide the cake into serving bowls or glasses – Around 6 servings
  2. Pour little alcohol mixed with sugar syrup or if you do not want to use alcohol then put only sugar syrup just to soak the sponge.
  3. Place the chopped mangoes on top of the sponge generously.
  4. Pipe the whipped cream on top of the mangoes in a nice pattern.
  5. Sprinkle pistas and choco chips generously.
  6. Chill for an hour before serving.

May 17

Fudgy Eggless Brownies

IMG_5148

My egg based brownies turn out super awesome. Gooey and Fudgy with an amazing crust. But when it comes to eggless have not met success until now.

IMG_5149 2

This recipe by baking Guru Anuja Sule from Simple Baking uses flax seeds as a replacement for eggs. Its soft and fudgy and left my daughter confused as to which brownie is better. And a plus as always is that the recipe is super easy to follow.

IMG_5150 2

Ingredients
150 gms chopped chocolate
113 gms butter cut into pieces
15 gms cocoa powder
200 gms caster sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp flax seeds powder (just grind the flax seeds in your mixer till it turns into a fine powder) + 6 tbsp water
1/4th cup curd
95 gms all-purpose flour (maida)
1/4th tsp baking soda
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
  2. Butter an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan, and line the bottom of the pan with parchment or wax paper.
  3. In a small bowl, mix two tablespoons of flaxseed powder with six tablespoons of water. Keep it aside.
  4. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water.
  5. Remove from heat and stir in the cocoa powder and sugar .
  6. Next, whisk in the vanilla extract, flaxseed paste and curd.
  7. Finally, stir in the flour and baking soda.
  8. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a little batter and a few moist clumps clinging to it. Do not over bake.
  9. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. If its soft to cut, keep in the fridge for a couple of hours and then cut it.
  10. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Apr 22

Cheese Corn Poppers

poppers

U see a post, u like it, u save the recipe. But for some reason never make it. I wonder why it took me nearly a year and a half to make it.

poppers

Am so glad I did finally try the recipe. These potato corn poppers have the perfect little piece of mozzarella cheese hidden in its folds, that turns into this molten lava of yumminess when u bite into it.

poppers

Super delicious and once again I have to thank Suchit Save for another phenomenal recipe.

poppers

Ingredients

1 cup boiled corn
1 cup boiled and mashed potatoes
1/2′ cubes of Mozzarella Cheese
2 tsp Mixed oregano and chilli flakes
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp finely chopped garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste

3 tbsp All purpose flour mixed with some salt and chilli powder

1/2 cup curd mixed with water to make buttermilk

breadcrumbs

 

  1. Saute the chopped garlic in some olive oil till light golden in colour
  2. Combine corn, potato, oregano, chilli flakes, coriander, sautéed garlic, garlic powder and salt.
  3. Now, take a tablespoon of the mixture and insert a mozzarella cube in the center so that it is completely encased with the potato and corn mixture. Repeat till the filling is all used up.
  4. Take 3 bowls…
    Bowl 1: APF + Salt + Chilli powder
    Bowl 2: Buttermilk
    Bowl 3: Breadcrumbs
  5. Dip the poppers in bowl 1 (shake off excess flour) then in bowl 2 (let the excess buttermilk drip away) and finally in the breadcrumbs. Repeat dipping in bowl 2 and 3.
  6. Store poppers in the freezer for at least 15 mins before deep frying them to a golden brown. Ensure your oil is not too hot, temperature is important else the poppers may burst. Once the oil is hot keep the flame on medium. When u drop the poppers in ensure not to overcrowd as if they stick, they will break. Gently move the poppers so that they don’t stick to the bottom.
  7. Enjoy piping hot with any dip of your choice.

poppers

Mar 08

Mom’s Chicken Fry

chicken fry

All these years we have been salivating and hogging on Mom’s chicken fry and I never bothered to ask her for the recipe.

chicken fry

Today when I wanted to make it, I quickly dialled mom and asked her for the recipe. And guess what, it’s the same masala that I use for fish fry 😂😂😂. Don’t know why I waited so long to make it

Presenting Mom’s style chicken fry

chicken fry

Ingredients

1 kg chicken legs

2 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder

1 tbsp cumin powder

3/4 tsp turmeric

1 heaped tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 .5 tsp vinegar

salt

1 tsp oil

 

  1. Wash the chicken and make slits on the pieces,
  2. Mix all the ingredients mentioned and marinate the chicken for minimum 2 hours.
  3. Place the chicken in an oven proof dish and cover with foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 20 mins. (Alternately try my mom’s style where you can put the chicken in a vessel with little oil and cover with a high rim plate. Place water on the plate and let the chicken cook for 15-20 min. We do this if the leg pieces are big to ensure a cook through, if the pieces are small you can pan fry directly.)
  4. Once out of the oven, heat oil in a pan and get a good golden colour on both sides of the chicken by pan frying for about 4-5 mins on each side.
  5. Serve hot.

Mar 07

Goan Mince Potato Chops

chops

Another wonderful dish from Goa. My love for the beautiful state is unparalleled.

chops

Chops are a wonderful way to present all kinds of meat and just right with a glass of your favourite spirit. A starter and meal all in one.

chops

Here mutton mince is lovingly embraced by silky potato mash caressed with an egg wash and bread crumbs and pan fried to a golden crisp. The textures and flavours from crunch to smooth to spice makes it one of my favourites.

chops

Ingredients:

600 gms mutton mince
6 boiled potatoes
3 large chopped onions
2 chopped tomato
2 chopped green chilli
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp jeera powder
Chopped coriander
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp vinegar
Salt,
1 beaten eggs
Breadcrumbs

 

  1. Heat oil in a vessel, add onions and sauté till translucent.
  2. Add ginger garlic paste and brown it
  3. Add washed mince and dry off on high flame
  4. Lower the gas, add tomatoes, jeera powder, chilli, salt and mix well
  5. Add some water and bring to a boil. Close the lid and lower gas and cook for 30 minutes. Add coriander and vinegar. When the mince is cooked, dry excess water. Shut the gas
  6. Mash the potatoes with salt and make small balls
  7. Make a well and stuff with mince mixture
  8. The potato coating should not be too thick. Equal balance of mince and potatoes
  9. Beat eggs with salt. Coat with egg and then breadcrumbs and pan fry to golden brown.

(You can also Pressure cook the mince, 2 whistles and leave on slow gas for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar after the mince is cooked and dry out excess water)

Mar 07

Mutton Stew & Neer Dosa

Mutton stew

Mom is home and it’s time for me to be pampered. Well anytime mom is around whether at her place or mine it’s time for me to relax and be fed some of her famous delicacies. 😋😋

Mutton stew

Had nagged her once for the stew recipe but never landed making it for the blog. This weekend when she asked “What u want to eat” I said stew and neer dosa 😍.

IMG_2555

Just love this combination and even though she made it and not me, I had to click pics for the blog as this recipe is a winner.

So here is one from mom for u

 

Ingredients

Masala:

8-10 green chillies

1.5″ ginger

1 cup coriander

1/2 cup mint

10-12 garlic

1 big onion

1 tsp cumin seeds

1.5″ cinnamon stick

8 cloves

1 tsp fennel seeds

Other:

1 kg mutton pcs

1 big sliced onion

4 chopped tomatoes

1 lime

3 tbsp curd

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 coconut milk pkts

salt

ghee/oil

 

  1. Grind the ingredients under masala to a fine paste using little water.
  2. Heat oil/ghee in a cooker & fry the sliced onion to light brown.
  3. Add the ground masala & fry for 5 mins to remove the raw smell.
  4. Add the chopped tomatoes and 1 lime juice & cook till soft.
  5. Add the curd & mix well till colour is back to normal.
  6. Add the mutton, turmeric & salt and mix well. Fry on high for few minutes. Add water if its less.
  7. Close the cooker & keep for 5 minutes after the whistle.
  8. Once the mutton is cooked, add the coconut milk and simmer for 5-10 mins on slow flame.

 

NEER DOSA

1 cup kolam rice

water

salt

  1. Soak the rice for min 4 hours or overnight.
  2. Wash and grind it very fine with some water and salt.
  3. When extremely fine, add more water till its of a thin watery consistency. Mix well.
  4. Heat a pan and grease it with oil. When hot splash the batter and swirl the pan in a circular motion to allow the batter to cover the pan.
  5. Cover with lid and keep flame on medium to high.
  6. When the sides leave the pan, turn over and cook for another minute or so.
  7. Remove and serve hot.